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Review_CHILDREN’S

by the advances of her peers and older Sci-Fu on Mars, no one could come and fix me.”
men, she begins a secret relationship with Yehudi Mercado. Oni, $12.99 trade paper Motum’s mixed-media illustrations clev-
her lab partner Aman, who seems inter- (144p) ISBN 978-1-62010-472-9 erly recall art popular during the infancy
ested in more than her curves (“who knew In 1980s Brooklyn, eighth-grader Wax of space travel—muted colors and spare,
words,/ when said by the right person,/ by may be respected for his DJ skills (and, geometric patterns compose often-dia-
a boy who raises your temperature,/ moves with his flattop and track suit, he looks grammatic illustrations. One close-up
heat like nothing else?”). Xiomara pours the part), but his raps leave something to details the rover’s many parts: “Just like
her innermost self into poems and dreams be desired. After Wax’s spinning attracts you, I have a shoulder, elbow, and wrist.”
of competing in poetry slams, a passion extraterrestrial attention, he’s transported With one of its cameras resembling a large
she’s certain her conservative Dominican to the futuristic city of Discopia along eye, Curiosity appears lifelike, almost E.T.-
parents will never accept. Debut novelist with his friend Cooky, his crush Polly, and esque, in keeping with the first-person
Acevedo’s free verse gives Xiomara’s his family. Wax quickly learns the art of narrative. The book’s large trim size and
coming-of-age story an undeniable pull, Sci-Fu, a mixture of music and martial expansive scenes work in tandem to evoke
its emotionally charged bluntness arts, from Kabuki Snowman, just one of the vastness of star-filled skies and reddish
reflecting her determination and many odd creatures they encounter. In a Martian landscapes. Originally published
strength. At its heart, this is a complex series of musical confrontations reminis- in the U.K., this accessible look at inter-
and sometimes painful exploration of love cent of the Scott Pilgrim stories, Wax planetary exploration will appeal to a
in its many forms, with Xiomara’s must fight the Five Deadly Dangers broad range of young space enthusiasts. A
growing love for herself reigning before taking on giant robot Choo Choo. glossary and timeline of Mars missions is
supreme. Ages 13–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Mercado has created a visually delicious included. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)
Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Mar.) adventure that does its best to imbue a
visual medium with the power of sound. Claiming My Place:
Comics Mercado uses onomatopoeia and visual- A True Story of Defiance,
Deception and Coming of Age
ized sound
waves to in the Shadow of the Holocaust
Mega Robot Bros emphasize that Planaria Price, with Helen Reichmann West.
Neill Cameron. Scholastic/Fickling, $8.99 this is an aural Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99 (272p)
trade paper (96p) ISBN 978-1-338-18595-9 adventure; ISBN 978-0-374-30529-1
When not fighting over comics, color-coded Price’s rendering of West’s mother’s
brothers Alex and Freddy attempt to have speech balloons early life reads like suspenseful historical
an ordinary childhood in a future London. help readers fiction, telling a rarely heard side of the
But, because they are sentient robots, nor- keep track of Jewish experience during WWII. Barbara
mality escapes them: whether they are vis- who is spitting Reichmann, born Sura Gitla “Gucia”
iting the museum or attending a royal rhymes. His car- Gomolinska in 1916, described to Rice,
birthday celebration, they inevitably end icatured figures in sensory detail, her prewar Jewish child-
up fighting evil robots run amok. Their and dynamic layouts, coupled with a neon hood in a town in central Poland, followed
adoptive parents want to keep things palette and graffiti flourishes, make for an by the tense war years living in Poland,
quiet, but secrecy becomes increasingly entertaining story with a little something Germany, and Switzerland as a Polish-
impossible with each incident. Eventually, for everyone: hip-hop, tech-driven action, Catholic girl named Basia. Reichman’s
older brother Alex is drafted into RAID, a and romance. Ages 9–12. (Mar.) education, fluency in Polish, and fair hair
military robot team, in an attempt to cap- and coloring allowed her to pass as a non-
ture Robot 23, who seems obsessed with Jew while many of her friends and family
the brothers. Cameron delivers an ener- Nonfiction suffered through or died during the
gized and goofy romp featuring siblings Holocaust. Writing from an engrossing
whose relationship is equal parts bick- ★ Curiosity: first-person perspective, Price makes
ering, rivalry, and camaraderie—just like The Story of a Mars Rover Gucia/Basia a fully dimensional character,
that of many human brothers. The action Markus Motum. Candlewick, $22.99 (56p) tracing her development from taking her
is balanced with a good dose of humor, as ISBN 978-0-7636-9504-0 heritage and faith for granted to becoming
when Freddy rescues a trio of animal The Mars rover Curiosity narrates her a leader in the youth Zionist movement at
droids only to get stuck dealing with an own story in Motum’s handsome and age 13. She left the organization at 18,
ape that speaks French, a barking tricer- engaging children’s book debut, from her realized that she might survive the war by
atops, and a penguin that only quotes construction in a clean lab in California to hiding her identity. Family, friendships,
Sartre. The vivid colors capture the opti- her multistage launch into space and and romance give poignancy to this
mistic and light mood of the SF adventure, landing on the red planet: “years of unique coming-of-age story, which is fur-
which features a diverse cast and lots of testing were needed to make sure every- ther enhanced by maps, photos, a glossary,
quippy banter. Ages 8–12. (Mar.) thing would work correctly the first time. and an afterword. Ages 12–up. (Mar.) ■
After all, if something were to go wrong

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