When Angels Sing; The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael Mahin, art by Jose Ramirez

This picture book is as colorful and beautiful as the music of the subject of this book, Carlos Santana. Jose Ramirez's illustrations in acrylic and enamel markers pop from the page with their color, graphic simplicity and latin flavor. Michael Martin's text brings Santana's story to life in an unconventional way. The story of Carlos Santana is told in the second person to Carlos Santana himself. It's as if "the angels" are telling Carlos the story of his life.

Carlos was born into a supportive family in Mexico. His father was a traveling violinist. He felt his father's music made angels real, made them sing for people. Carlos wanted that too, so he started playing the clarinet, trumpet and violin, but none satisfied him. He heard the blues and the guitar and that was what he wanted. His father sent him an old battered guitar, which he learned to play himself, from his heart. His family was poor, but eventually immigrated to San Francisco. Life was hard but eventually Carlos found that a combination of blues, jazz and rock was unique and drew a following for his Santana Blues Band. It was not until he performed in front of 400,000 people at the Woodstock Music Festival did Carlos discover that he was looking for the angels in the wrong place, the angels were inside himself all the time. Carlos became and is a world famous musician that makes people feel and enjoy music in a way that they never had before.

The book speaks to the struggle success comes with, and that failure is what pushes us forward. A picture book for older readers. A fine read-aloud, but would be best accompanied by Santana's music.

Mark's Book Picks Score: Non-Fiction

Dewey: 921 • Reading Level: 4.0 • Interest Level: K-3 • AR Points: 0.5 • Lexile Level: 610 • Publisher: Atheneum • Pages: 48 • Copyright: 2018 • ISBN: 978-1-534-40413-7 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

Max & the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce

After reading such heavy, depressing books, I needed something light. Sent to me a few months ago as an advance reader copy, Max & the Midnights sat with a pile of other books. In my depression, I looked at the cover, saw that the author is the writer of the Big Nate series, and decided that this just might be the right medicine...

Max travels from town to town with his troubadour uncle, Budrick. This is the middle ages, and travel like this can be dangerous. Max is frustrated with Uncle Budrick, as he is a poor business man, and consistently loses focus on what he's doing. Max is bored, and wants nothing to do with this troubadour business. Max wants to be a knight! They approach a town called Byjovia, which Max finds out is Uncle Budrick's hometown, and was once in knight school there.  This amazes Max, as Uncle Budrick is such a wuss...the reason he is now a troubadour.  Lo and behold, as they travel to Byjovia they are threatened by a robber. While Uncle Budrick freaks out, Max hits him in the head with a rock. It's lights out for the robber, and Max takes his knife. As they approach Byjovia, Uncle Budrick talks of Byjovia's kind king, King Conrad. When they get to the city gates, they notice that people are cold and mean. They find out King Conrad has died, and has been replaced with his scalawag brother, Gastley. King Gastley's cruelty has rubbed off on his subjects, making Byjovia an unwelcoming place. Max can't put up with this, and speaks up to the King. King Gastley takes Max, but Uncle Budrick pleads mercy and offers himself. King Gastley takes Uncle Budrick captive as his personal troubadour. And so the adventure starts, how will Max save Uncle Budrick?

Max & the Midknights is half graphic, and half text...well, maybe a little more graphic than text. It is a fun romp with puns and jokes galore. It's a simple story, and while somewhat predictable, who cares? It's what we look for in a story like this! While fun, there is a  strong agenda here in gender equity, family, and friendship. Ideal for upper elementary and middle school.
Marks Book Pics Score: 3.5

Reading Level: 3.0 • Interest Level: 3-6 • AR Points: NA • Lexile: NA 
Publisher: Crown Publishers • 279 Pages • Copyright: 2019 • ISBN: 978-1-10-193108-0 • Available in Perma-Bound binding.

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Matthew Dunbar is pecking away on an old Remington typewriter to tell the story of his brother Clay. The story comes out as jumbled memories, with no time continuity, that ultimately goes beyond his brother Clay and becomes a sweeping saga of the Dunbar Family. There are five Dunbar boys, Matthew, the narrator, Rory, Henry, Clay, and Tommy. The boys live by themselves in a house on Archer Street. Their father, who abandoned them, is thought of as The Murderer, because the boys feel he took their lives when he left.  He suddenly reappears, and is greeted with hurt and anger. Their father lives several hours away in the country, and has come back to ask his boys to help him construct a bridge. All his sons refuse, except one, the one that said "Hi, Dad." That one is Clay. Clay leaves his brothers, with much resentment on their part, to help his father build a bridge. A bridge that ultimately becomes a metaphor for the bridge that brings the Dunbar family back together. The story beautifully unfolds revealing the back stories of their father, Michael, their mother Penny, and of Clay. This is a story of warmth, love, family and extreme grief.

I will not lie, this is a difficult book. The story jumps time and place; there is no continuity. Parts drag on with horse racing details that add little to the story's progression. Yet it's a story that is so poetic, told with such love, that I couldn't help but embrace it and read with tears often streaming. I well up just writing about it. This book will be with me for a very long time.

Bridge of Clay  is really an adult book. While marketed as YA in the U.S., it is considered adult elsewhere. For mature high school readers and beyond. The story's value is in the way these five brothers hold together, overcome their hardships and grief, and how the strength of family provides a bond that can't be broken.
Mark's Book Picks Score: 5

Reading Level: 5.3 • Interest Level: 9-12 • AR Points: 19 • Lexile: HL650L 
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf • 537 Pages • Copyright: 2018 • ISBN: 978-1-9848301-5-9 • Available in Perma-Bound binding.