What I Read in April--Very late edition

April was far busier than I expected it to be. I'll follow up this post with my next Newbery Rewind. For now, here's the best of April.



Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
This moving book is based on the true story of Artemisia Gentileschi, a painter who began her career mixing paint for her father. She then moved on to creating paintings for which he took credit. Finally, she seemed to be headed for a career of her own when her father hired a painting teacher for her; unfortunately he was only there to take advantage of a young girl without the interference of her family.

In vivid verse, McCullough tells not only of Artemisia's rape and the trial that followed, but also the stories of two others who were misrepresented and used by the world of men. Definitely a Printz and/or Morris contender.



Lighthouse by Paco Roca
A teen soldier washes up near a lighthouse while escaping from the Spanish Civil War. There the lighthouse keeper teaches him about hard work, adventure, and hope in a beautifully simple illustrated story. Like with most of my favorite graphic novels, the pictures tell even more of the story than the words.

  

If I Had a Horse by Gianna Mario and They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki
Both of these picture books are gorgeous and have a great chance of earning a Caldecott award. The warm, glowing watercolor silhouettes in the first pull the reader into the dream, while the contemplative prose and the complex associations of the illustrations make the second a standout look at how a child's mind works. Try to get your hands on both!

 1. Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
 2. Firebug by Johnnie Christmas
 3. Flying Lessons and Other Stories ed. by Ellen Oh
 4. Sandwiches!: More Than You've Ever Wanted to Know about Making and Eating America's Favorite Food by Alison Deering
 5. Giant Days vol. 4 by John Allison
 6. Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension vol. 1 by Nick Abadzis
 7. Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill
 8. Sarah Scribbles: Herding Cats by Sarah Andersen
 9. The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill
10. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy
11. The Wicked + the Divine vol. 6 by Kieron Gillen
12. The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
13. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
14. Look & Learn: Let's Make Music by National Geographic Kids
15. Floaty by John Himmelman
16. I Got It! by David Wiesner
17. Roughneck by Jeff Lemire
18. Narwhal and Jelly Book 3: Peanut Butter and Jelly by Ben Clanton
19. The Diabolic by S. J. Kinkaid
20. Jonesy vol. 3 by Sam Humphries
21. Bird by Angela Johnson
22. Nightwing vol. 1: Better Than Batman by Tim Seeley
23. #Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy
24. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie by Anthony del Col
25. If the S in Moose Comes Loose by Peter Hermann
26. Lighthouse by Paco Roca
27. Ladycastle by Delilah S. Dawson
28. Motor Crush vol. 1 by Brendan Fletcher
29. This is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose
30. Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen by Candace Fleming
31. Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson
32. They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki
33. If I Had a Horse by Gianna Marino
34. The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror by Mallory Ortberg
35. Tales of the Talented Tenth vol. 2: Bessie Stringfield
36. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
37. Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir by Maggie Thrash
38. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting