Day: December 23, 2008

Happy Holidays!

| Tasha

I’m taking the next week or so off to be with my family.  If I finish a great book, I may pop in and review it, but I am not planning to update regularly.

I’ll leave you with a super link WPClipart that has 24,000 clip art and public domain images!  But wait, head to browse the collection and then click on the fictional characters section.  Yes, over 250 images of fictional characters!  Yippee!  Lovely vintage images (like the one above) many that you will recognize and probably more that you will happily use online and on flyers and such.  Enjoy!

Too Many Toys

| Tasha

Too Many Toys by David Shannon

Spencer has way too many toys.  They pile up in his room, fill his sandbox and float in his bath.  Everyone gives him toys, all of his relatives, his friends, and even the restaurants his family eats at.  His parents reached a point after stepping on Legos and tripping on train tracks where something had to be done.  Spencer’s mother asks him to fill a box with toys he is willing to give up.  But it isn’t that easy.  Deals must be made and agreed to before any toys can be put in the box. 

Shannon always manages to capture perfectly the state of mind of children.  In this case, he captures the relationship of children to their toys.  His illustrations are perfection: the jumble of toys will make any child want to dive in and play forever.  I recognize the anguish of stepping on a Lego and the struggle of getting a child to relinquish a toy. 

The message here is clear.  Too many toys don’t add to the fun.  The ending is good humored and childlike.  A winner, especially around the excesses of the holidays.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Skim

| Tasha

Skim by Mariko Tamaki, drawings by Jillian Tamaki

Skim is a teen who defies easy categorization.  She’s trying to become a Wiccan, sometimes leans toward goth, is very artistic, and just may be gay.  She attends an all-girl private school where the boyfriend of one of the other students has just committed suicide.  Skim and her best friend, Lisa, begin to drift apart through a series of misunderstandings while Skim is drawn to one of her teachers.  This complex graphic novel captures perfectly the stress, depression and quest of being a teen.

This graphic novel has so many things going for it.  First and foremost is Skim as the main character.  She is a girl we see all too rarely in teen literature, a complicated and questing teen with brains.  The illustrations are equally compelling in their black and white palette.  They often take interesting perspectives on the scene they are portraying and offer further insight into the characters and story.

One of the top graphic novels of the year, this is a winner that is sure to be a hit with those who enjoy the Janes graphic novels by Cecil Castellucci.