Library Round-Up #15, Part 2: Picture Books

Mini-reviews of what we're reading now.

Picture Books

Chengdu Would Not, Could Not Fall Asleep.  Beautiful art complements a book that addresses a problem everyone - adult or child - has had at one time or another, and how snuggling with mom or dad or sister or brother can sometimes solve it.

Are You Awake?   This would make a nice complement to Chengdu, as it is about a child who wakes too early.  Clever and sweet, it exactly captures how an exasperated and exhausted parent still treasures this special time with her child.  If it sounds like one of those books more appreciated by adults than kids, it's not.  My 6-year-old loved it.


Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas.  The true story of an elephant seal who chose to live in the Avon River and sun herself on the streets of Christchurch, New Zealand, despite  being repeatedly returned to what was allegedly her natural habitat.   A lovely book about how home is where we choose to make it, with fascinating facts in the back matter.
 
Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing.  A work of historical fiction that tells of when P.T. Barnum's circus elephants traipsed over the Brooklyn Bridge to prove its safety and strength.  The compelling facts overcome the weakness and confusion of the text - is it free verse?  Is it prose?  Why does some of it rhyme?

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon.  More historical fiction, with interesting facts about Audubon and about scientists' and philosophers' very unscientific speculations about which birds migrate.  Melissa Sweet's trademark collage style is a nice match for the text.  This would be great paired with Summer Birds: The Butterfliesof Maria Merian, about another naturalist/artist.

In Front of My House.  A great concept, this book situates the narrator's house in it's place in the universe: "On a little hill, behind a brown fence, under a big oak tree, is... my house.  In front of my house... a rosebush.  On the rosebush... a little bird."  What starts out as a charming goes on for far too long, however.  While sorely in need of editing, this is still a fun read, with lovely, simply artwork, if your child has the patience for it.

The Emperor and the Nightingale.  A beautiful, and beautifully illustrated, retelling of a Chinese folktale about the power of true art and nature to move us and how wild animals should not be caged.  In this version, the live nightingale lives to continue to entertain the emperor.  I seem to remember other versions where the nightingale falls silent once caged and either remains so or is finally set free never to return.  Can anyone refer me to those?

The Green Line.   A quiet meditation on a walk in the park, illustrated with photographs, and a child's delight in simple pleasures, like rolling down a hill and blowing on dandelions.  A lovely little book for a child in the right mood.



I'm in Charge of Celebrations. The child narrator tells the reader in free verse about all the things in nature she celebrates, such as a rabbit in the mist looking at a triple rainbow, meteor showers, and the animals and weather of the desert southwest.  Again, a book with a more quiet feel.

Yussel's Prayer.  A retelling of a Jewish folktale about a boy who is unable to pray the traditional Hebrew prayers and plays his flute instead.  It turns out his flute playing is more sincere than all the rote prayers recited by the congregation, and it is his tune which opens the gates of heaven.

A Library Book for Bear.  Curmudgeonly Bear is back, with his bright-eyed, irrepressible friend mouse.  Not quite as funny as the other Bear stories, my daughter was amusingly shocked (or shockingly amused?) at Bear's proclamation that he owns 7 books and that is all he needs.

Library Round-Up #15: Part 1: Chapter Books

Mini-reviews of middle-grade and young adults books we're reading now.

Chapter Books

I Kill the Mockingbird.  Three friends harness the power of social media and supply and demand to get people to read To Kill a Mockingbird to honor the memory of a beloved English teacher.  The plot, however, intrigued me less than the role of Catholicism in the main character's life, something I have never seen in fiction, for adults or children.  Rather than emphasize the rites and rituals of Catholicism (which do appear in fiction), the author portrays Catholicism as a guiding philosophy, and a very beautiful one at that.  "We're taught [in Catholic school] that sometimes the world is a puzzle waiting for us to solve it.  Other times it's a mystery to appreciate and accept."  The protagonist's father says, "I don't believe that God has motives that we are supposed to understand or enjoy."  Lucy responds "But you still say thank you."  Her father rejoins, "Good manners never hurt anybody."  And at the end, Lucy explains the concept of Ordinary Time.  "In our church calendar, Ordinary Time is when we're supposed to be living our lives without feasting or penance or other drama.  It's not a quiet time exactly.  It's more like the days are supposed to be filled with expectation."  This novel's real gift is in bringing these concepts to young readers, whatever their religion.  And it has a great cover!

We Were Liars.  Compulsively readable, this novel's much ballyhooed "twist ending" felt more like a gimmick to me.  Perhaps if I read it again, I will find some foreshadowing that would make it more plausible?  This is a young adult novel, with themes of romance, death, and guilt.

Like No Other.  This modern Romeo and Juliet story of a Hasidic girl falling in love with a black boy in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has a happier ending than the Shakespeare play, but is not what you expect.  Devorah is a strong character who knows her own heart and mind.  It sounds cheesy, right?  It's not, I promise.  I loved it.  And it has another great cover.

Another Day as Emily.  Written in free verse about a girl who decides to become a hermit like Emily Dickinson when her younger brother commands attention for saving an ill neighbor by calling 911, this middle-grade novel was enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable.

Ava and Pip.  I had high hopes for this middle-grade novel about two sisters, the younger outgoing and social, the older one shy to the point of having emotional problems.  A good read, but nothing more, although my 9-year-old enjoyed it.  Word lovers will love the family's obsession with palindromes - hence the names Ava and Pip.

Have you or your kids read any of these?  What did you think?

Library Round-up #11, Part 2: Chapter Books

Mini-reviews of the middle-grade chapter books we currently have out from the library.
 

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park.  This book, about a Korean-American girl and her male friend who decide to enter a project about growing silkworms in the state fair, is really about much more.  MUCH more.  It's about racism (particularly mistrust and misunderstandings between Asians and blacks), ethnic identity and assimilation, what it means to be an American, sustainable farming, and novel-writing itself.  The chapters are interspersed with transcripts of "conversations" between the author and her protagonist.  My daughter gave this one 5 stars and I do too!  Also a fun book for those of us who are always on the hunt for books mentioned in other books.  The author actually lists the books mentioned in the text at the end, with the page numbers they are mentioned on, a great bonus since one of the books is identified only by a character in it, not the title, in the text.

Breathing Room by Marsha Hayles.  A historical novel set in a tuberculosis sanatorium in Minnesota in 1940.  The protagonist Evvy struggles to deal with the imposed isolation and rest (at the beginning she is not even allowed to sit up, read, or talk!!), her homesickness (and especially how she misses her twin brother and her father), the deaths of fellow patients, her own mortality, her difficult relationship with her mother, her friendship with the first Jew she has ever met, and the news out of Europe.  The historical note at the end about tuberculosis and the history of its treatment in the U.S. is very informative.  As a bonus, this book also mentions another book; Evvy receives Poems for Every Mood, compiled by Harriet Moore, as a Christmas present from her mother.  A fast-paced absorbing read about a topic most of us know little about.

Fun fact: the authors of Project Mulberry and Breathing Room are writing-critque partners.  (I know this since I always read the WHOLE book - foreword, acknowledgements, and all!)

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyle.  This book has an intriguing premise: Barnaby Brocket is born without being affected by gravity.  That is, he floats.  His parents, who only want to be normal and avoid all attention (in rebellion against their own parents, who were attention-seeking), "accidentally" let him float away at age 8.  As we follow Barnaby on adventures around (and out of) the world, he - and we - encounter a series of characters, all who have been rejected by their parents for being different from them, from a pair of lesbians (the subject is treated obliquely and I'm not sure my daughter fully understood their relationship), to an artist whose father wanted him to join the family business. I read this book aloud to my 8-year old and the idea that parents might not love their children unconditionally shocked her.  While I thought the treatment of the subject was heavy-handed, with too many examples, she liked it and said "But that's the whole point of the book."  Again, I think I expect too much subtlety than is appropriate for the intended audience.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.  I only discovered this classic when it's author died and it was mentioned in her obituaries.  The poor, wild. ignorant Herdman children bring an unintended touch of authenticity to this reenactment of the Christmas story by having the Wise Men bring Mary and Joseph a ham, and having Mary burping the baby Jesus.  Robinson manages to be funny and touching at the same time, not an easy combination to pull off.  I'm looking forward to reading The Best School Year Ever by the same author.

Family Tree #1: Better to Wish by Ann M. Martin.  The first in a series of books following a family through the generations, this one focuses on Abby, who is 8 years old in 1930, during the depths of The Great Depression.  A nice but ultimately forgettable historical novel.

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee.  This story of an intellectually gifted but socially awkward 11-year-old who tries to change who she is to make friends but in the end finds it is best to be true to herself was a mildly entertaining but predictable read.

Have you or your children read any of these?  What did you think?  What middle-grade fiction have you been reading lately?

Library (and Bookstore) Round-up #11, Part 1: Picture Books and Early Readers

Reviews of the latest picture books we have out from the library... or couldn't resist buying!


The Twins' Blanket by Hyewon Yum.  A sweet story about twin sisters who have shared everything since - and including - the womb - as well as a bed and a blanket.  When their mother decides it is time for them to each have her own bed and blanket, she settles sibling rivalry over who should keep the original blanket with a satisfying Solomonic decision that provides each girl with a memento of their shared nights together.  The first time the girls retire to their new beds and blankets, they discover that they can't fall asleep without each other.  They hold hands across the divide between their beds and fall asleep, alone yet together, for the first time.  The illustrations here, with the endpapers done in the pattern each girl chooses for her own blanket, are beautiful, with bright bold colors.  It is amazing how many themes Yum addresses in this short, seemingly simple picture book: about siblings, twins, sharing, rivalry, parenting, bedtime, loveys and more.  The author description states that Yum is herself a twin, and her understanding of the special relationship twins have is very much in evidence here.  A perfect baby gift for new twin girls.

Ling and Ting Share a Birthday.  Another book about twin girls, this time an early reader! The sequel to Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same!, this book contains six stories about the girls' birthday and how they, too, like to share everything.  My five-year-old loves the first one so I actually purchased this one.  A great addition.

A Funny Little Bird by Jennifer Yerkes.  This book's stunning artwork, with its amazing use of negative space, is the real draw (tee-hee) here.  The plot, with its lesson about being humble and using your talents to help others, and the seemingly sudden ability of the invisible bird to make other animals invisible, is much weaker.  But the illustrations more than make up for it. 



ABC is for Circus by Patrick Hruby.  What a shame that this alphabet book, with its vibrant, unique illustrations, wasn't published when my daughters were toddlers!  Unfortunately, my daughter have long outgrown alphabet books, but I highly recommend it to anyone with children in their life who are the right age for it.


 
Rifka Takes a Bow by Betty Rosenberg Perlov.  The debut book by a 96-year-old author.  Isn't that reason enough to check this book out?  This book is set in the heyday of the Yiddish theatre in the 1920s, for which the author's parents actually performed, wrote, and produced.  However, I found the exaggerated, cartoony illustrations, combined with the varying fonts which wander across the page, to be too busy for my taste.

What picture books do you have out from the library now?

Library Round-up #9

Mini reviews of some of the books we have checked out of the library.

Infinity and Me.  A young girl wonders about the nature of infinity and asks the adults in her life what it means to them.  The ending, with the idea that love can be infinite, manages to avoid sappiness.  My daughter's been interested in infinity for a while, so she liked this one.  She doesn't totally grasp the concept though, since she tells me she loves me "infinity plus 152 blocks" (presumably city blocks).

Open This Little Book.  My five-year-old put it succinctly: this book is sort of boring but sort of cool.  The design aspect is amazing but design alone does not make a book.  The plot here is definitely lacking and the idea of stories within stories is not fully fleshed out, but it's worth picking up just for a look at the design and the illustrations.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt.  One of the best writers of children's non-fiction (particularly biographies), Deborah Hopkinson here tells a tale of historical fiction.  Based on the true stories of slaves who hid maps in the patterns of quilts that they made, she tells how one girl finds her way to freedom and leads others to it as well.  A wonderful book about a lesser known aspect of how slaves escaped.

What do you have checked out from the library now?