Rutabaga's Reads 2025: Part 20

The year will soon come to a close, but here I am with a second “Happy Hodgepodge” post! As with previous Hodgepodge posts, this is geared for younger readers. What would a Hodgepodge post look like to you? What sorts of genres and age groups would you include?

The Fintastical Tales of Mari A. Fisch: Mermaid Mission (May 27, 2025) by Monica Brown.

   Emily Mendoza, illustrator.

Junior fiction chapter book.

<This is the first book in a series.>

Mermaid Mari Triton is trading in her mermaid tail for human legs and the moniker Mari A. Fisch. She’s been sent on a top secret mission by her parents above water a.k.a. on land. Her dad is King Adair Eryx Neptune Triton of the Land of Mer in the Kingdom of Oceana. Mari is investigating why humans pollute the ocean, but it’s a super confusing mission. Humans aren’t easy to comprehend. Her host sister, Stevie, worries about something called “popularity” and being cold, er, “cool.” And what’s this about having to be funny-mean, which is totally different from mean-mean? How can Mari complete her mission in getting people on land to care about the ocean when all they seem to care about are themselves? At least she has Blub the blobfish – undercover as Blub the bulldog – with her.

            Mermaid magic and relatable elementary school tussles combine in The Fintastical Tales of Mari A. Fisch series opener. This fantasy features playful, black-and-white illustrations, and the writing is manageable for emergent readers. The dozen chapters are all brief and end with a progress bar. Mari’s naivete in the human world offers good-natured humor, while the story overall gives caring guidance in navigating the bumps of growing up. This is a sincere introduction for the promotion of environmentalism. Even when readers don’t live near an ocean, there’s still plenty to be done to reduce waste and understand the importance of recycling and upcycling.

            P.S. I thought the end bit regarding the total reading progress was a fantastical idea! I would love knowing how many words I’ve read in each book I’ve read over the years. In this one, I read 5,783 words.

Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom (July 15, 2025) by Jessixa Bagley.

Junior fiction graphic novel.

<This is the first graphic novel in a series.>

Thorny squashbottoms! In a town full of witches, Jazzy Ophelia La Luna St. James has always been unique. Her two moms and her grandma run the town’s broom (or besom) shop, but she has zero interest in flying. When it comes to flying lessons, to her extreme embarrassment in class, she’s unsuccessful. At the Enchantra School of Craft, Jazzy simply doesn’t excel (e.g. she forgets spells in spell-ing a.k.a. spellcasting). She acts as though it’s no big deal, especially once she discovers that she was born to cycle (i.e. ride a bicycle), until she goes one straw too far and Aggie, her best friend, puts her in her place with words and a spell. Despite Fiona, her pet bat, reminding her of her dire need to practice flying, she ignores her wise pleas. Fiona also hides her love of cycling from her two moms and Granny Titch (Mama Esmeralda’s mom), thinking there’s no way they can understand her love of cycling and her not-love of besoms. When the night before the Supermoon and the special flying parade are “suddenly” here, a desperate Jazzy goes to Aggie for help. Aggie, still hurt and angry at Jazzy, tells her, “You want to be your own witch? Then figure this out for yourself.” In tears, she meets Mimms, an older witch with her own unique interest, and is later reminded that, “A true witch makes her own magic.” Can she find the magic within herself in time for the Supermoon parade? Or will she be the only one with her besom still on the ground?

            I’m not familiar with this author/illustrator, and I don’t consistently read graphic novels, but this one is a delight. Bagley’s graphic novel about a young witch struggling with expectations versus her own passion is so realistic and very on par in our contemporary, very un-magical world. Young or young-at-heart, questions about who to be and how to be can pop up at any age. Bagley writes the affirming story in a way that’s playful with a darker color palette (purple, green, charcoal), the characters emotive and sweetly witchy. Themes explored include honesty and self-confidence. Jazzy is often one-track and narrow-minded, thus subtly encouraging readers to understand and embrace flaws as well as strengths. It’s a lively series opener.

Pumpkin Party: Ready-to-Read Level 2 (July 15, 2025) by Joe McGee.

   Ethan Long, illustrator.

Early-Reader fiction chapter book.

<This is part of an unnumbered series.>

With Halloween coming means party preparation is underway at Castle Dracula. Youths Vampyra, Franky and Wolfy are very excited. They have the wonderful idea to each choose a pumpkin from the castle’s pumpkin patch, carve them up and set small lights in them for the pumpkin-carving contest. They excitedly pick out their preferred pumpkin, but the pumpkins aren’t having it. Be carved with tools? No, thank you! Vampyra, Franky and Wolfy are disappointed. They really think decorating pumpkins will be fun. What if they can decorate them without having to carve them? Might they still pull off a pageant featuring the pumpkin patch?

            The not-at-all spooky Halloween story in the Junior Monster Scouts series is sweet and thoughtful. For anyone who enjoys Halloween, this story will be right up their alley, perhaps inspiring them to host a Halloween party, come up with the coolest costume, best games and awesome contests. It’s themed around finding a solution to an unexpected issue with the monster youth exhibiting thoughtful consideration of the pumpkins. The illustrations are bold with a twilight setting to help capture the sweet monsters and giving it a spooky, but not ever downright scary, edge. Now, who’s ready to decorate some pumpkins?

The Smart Cookie (Nov. 2, 2021) by Jory John.

   Pete Oswald, illustrator.

Children’s picture book.

<This is the fifth book in a series.>

On the corner of Sweet Street in a bakery near a river lives a cookie who hasn’t always felt smart. Cookie didn’t get the best grades. Cookie once wrote “doe” instead of “dough.” Another time, she added instead of subtracted. It felt like, “…my desk was a raft and that I was completely lost at sea.” When Ms. Biscotti assigns the class to create something original, Cookie is stressed until the right idea pops up. Not only will Cookie discover that one doesn’t have to be great at everything, she’ll also discover that one can be smart in many ways. Just like the Smart Cookie she is.

            The fifth book in the Food Group series whisks anxiety and insecurity with growing splashes of confidence and a generous portion of creativity to bake a delightful confection that is this picture book. It’s relatable, and John’s honeyed puns work well with Oswald’s playful, buoyant illustrations. There’s no room on this menu for woe. The story serves a plate of empowering and uplifting lessons and shows readers that we don’t need to measure ourselves by our successes. We all enjoy different things and are good at different things, and that is what makes us all smart cookies.

Where Is Tornado Alley? (Jan. 7, 2025) by Wes Locher.

   Dede Putra, illustrator.

<This is an official Who HQ book.>

The term “Tornado Alley” was coined in 1948 after Captain Robert Miller and Major Ernest Fawbush did a cram session of studying tornadic patterns around Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. They determined that many tornadoes in the United States were concentrated in states like Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa, though tornadoes aren’t exclusive to certain states. There are no official boundaries for Tornado Alley. It’s simply a nickname that “refers to an approximately 500,000-square-mile area within the United States.” This Where Is? book gives readers a history of Tornado Alley, the shift in tornadic patterns since Fawbush & Miller coined the term and advises readers on how to respond when there is a tornado in one’s area (and no, it isn’t to jump in your vehicle and be a storm chaser ... unless, of course, that is your passion and you have the armored vehicle and equipment to support it). The book also explains how tornadoes are formed and more.

            No matter where we live, we’ve all experienced weather phenomena. Minnesota has been my home virtually all my life, so tornado season has never been the exception, but the expectation. As with all Who HQ books, this one is informative in an easily understandable way (they are, after all, geared for youth ages 8-12). Tornadoes are impressive, but they are intimidating and terrifying, and the destruction they can cause should never be taken lightly. It’s an educational book that keeps the attention of the reader with illustrations and riveting facts. There’ll be no storm chasing for me, though. I’ll leave that to the passionate professionals.