Ken Kilback
@kennethkilback.bsky.social
150 followers 250 following 54 posts
Kidlit writer, teacher, picture book reviewer, SCBWI member, SCBWICanadaWest member, Canadian Children's Book Centre member, CANSCAIP member
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Catharina Bach has a hard time speaking to her famous dad. Only her mom knows how music infuses her life. Hannah has lost her mother & struggles to play Bach's Concerto for Two Violins; she can't talk to dad about her mom. The two girls reach across time to help one another find courage. Fab book!
Knox & siblings move to the States with mom to get away from the coronavirus in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the situation there gets worse, Mom loses her job & Dad's pay in HK gets cut. Knox & his siblings come up with a plan to bring Dad home to the States while also combatting racism. Great book!
Felix's life is in a mess right now. Mom depressed and finding it hard to keep a job & the 2 of them no longer having a place to live except the van. Felix can't even tell his friends what's happening. Can his love for remembering facts & trivia save them? Fabulous book!
A collection of 5 graphic comic horror tales. Anything can happen when you live near or in the woods. The artwork by Emily Carroll is stunning and powerful! Enjoy!
When a mysterious free library appears overnight, Evan takes 2. One book seems to hold a clue to the fatal fire that destroyed the only & never replaced town library, a fire no one wants to talk about. And steadfast under the free library is an orange cat named Mortimer with his own secrets. Fab!
While mom has returned to Turkey to retrieve documents for immigration services, Silas goes along on a work call for dad, she discovers a kind older man who has a connection to her past. As their friendship grows, both their lives & those of others are transformed in amazing and unexpected ways.
Lina finally joins her family in America--but things are not as described in her parents' letters. Lina gets laughed at while learning English & refuses to talk. When a fav book is banned, Lina must learn to speak for herself so that she & others can finally be seen. Beautiful! Fab book!
Shad is a loner, spending time with Teta, his grandmother, creating amazing food dishes-until he's attacked by some kind of shadowy creature. A mysterious mentor sends him to a school for alchemists where he discovers evil necromancers have a secret agenda for taking over the school & the world.
Genie & big brother Ernie are sent to their grandparents' place in the rural woods for the summer. Grandpop is odd & Grandma gives them chores. As Genie discovers more oddities about Grandpop, he also learns how complex the past can be and how it can impact the present in unexpected ways. Beautiful!
After washing up on shore, Hans grows up to be a graverobber's apprentice, which he hates doing. Countess Angela tries to outwit the evil duke forcing her into marriage. When they come together, Hans & Angela must discover Hans' true ID & save her parents & the kingdom. Lots of Shakespearan fun!
After several different foster homes, Nova is alone, waiting for her sister to return so they can watch the launch of space shuttle Challenger together. This story of a non-verbal autistic child is powerful, & deeply touching. Highly rec'd! @nicwritesbooks.bsky.social @randomhousekids.bsky.social
Leo & new kid Tia suspect something strange is going on when Mr. Bob starts taking left over lunches from the garbage & taking them down into the basement. In the 2nd book, the friends find them face to face with real werewolves at Halloween. Lots of fun! GNs Dom Pelletier
In these first two books of a GN series for young readers, Juniper Mae is an inventor with no friends. In one book, she must get the city's power back from invading bug-bots. In the other book, she & Albie must stop a monster from the past. Great! @sohsilly.bsky.social @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social
Squire is brainy & bookish; Knight is brawny, egotistical, & somewhat inept. In the first book, they arrive in a village cursed by a destructive dragon. In the second, they are taking Cade to Wizard school but find themselves going in circles & attacked by beasts. Fab! @01firstsecond.bsky.social
I love Steve in his picture books; and I love him too in these early graphic novels. In Pretty Exceptional Horse, he finds something that he thinks makes him look more than ordinary. In A Rare Egg, he finds a Thingamabob that must be a very special egg. Funny! @kidscanpress.bsky.social
Freddy & Peter are perfect twin socks. But when a dog chases Freddy into a washing machine's spin cycle, he ends up in the sock-verse. In his desperation to find Peter, Freddy begins a search to find a mysterious being who may be able to send him home. Fab! @andrewsmcmeelkids.bsky.social
Once again, @kaaauthor.bsky.social writes a powerfully touching story of friendship, courage, adversity, and grief. When Ruby sees a familiar person from her past in Africa, she shares her life story with Ivan & Bob. An amazing addition to the series! @kaaauthor.bsky.social
Nizhoni can see monsters. When one attacks her & then kidnaps her dad, she, her brother, & her best friend Davery run away, their only clue to search for the Navajo's Spider Woman, then race to the house of the Sun for weapons to defeat the monsters. Great story! @rebeccaroanhorse.bsky.social
Davis & Emily's teacher wants everyone to share spooky, chilling stories. Each student tells an eerie tale until it's finally Emily's and then Davis' turns. The stories they tell will reveal the deepest secrets of the school itself. Fab book! @grickle.bsky.social @01firstsecond.bsky.social
In Sachiko Kashiwaba's The Village Beyond the Mist, Lina is sent by her father to a mysterious town far away that holds incredible secrets. She must earn her keep in this magical town by working with a different amazing beings in a variety of shops. The inspiration for Miyazaki's Spirited Away
Love these amazing books by Sachiko Kashiwaba. In Temple Alley Summer, Kazu is the only one who knows Akari is a ghost while his classmates believe they've always known her. In The House of the Lost on the Cape, Hiyori, taken in by an elder following an earthquake & tsunami, must help fight demons.
Looking forward to it!!
And book 2 comes out next year!
When aging Captain Amazing botches a takedown, he decides to hold auditions to look for a sidekick. Amazing's hamster-Fluffy-is already fighting crime & discovers others are too. They apply together as sidekicks & find themselves in an epic battle against Dr. Havoc. Love it! @dansantat.bsky.social
When dad gets a new job at a museum, Ophelia discovers a boy locked in a room, claiming he was trapped by the Snow Queen whom he must kill in 3 days. Agreeing to help him escape despite her doubts, she finds herself part of a magical quest in the midst of grief. Fab! Powerful! Highlhy rec'd!