Phillip Hoose has won the 2009 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for his book Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. At the National Book Award website, you can see the other winners and an interview with Phillip Hoose.
There were 251 books nominated for the award in the Young People category. The five finalists were great choices and so is the winner. Congratulations to all!
Nasreen’s Secret School: a True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter
The author of The Librarian of Basra brings readers another true story from the Middle East. This is the story of Nasreen, a young Afghan girl who has not spoken since her parents disappeared. Her grandmother hears about a school for girls which is secret and forbidden. In the hopes of bringing Nasreen out of her silence, her grandmother enrolls her. The girls attending the school must be clever. They must leave alone or in small groups. They must hide their schoolwork if they are inspected by soldiers. Little by little, Nasreen and her classmates learn to read and write. And little by little, Nasreen begins to join this community of women and girls.
Winter’s illustrations are are framed by lines and painted in thick acrylic paints. This gives them the feel of more traditional work, though they depict modern life. Though the situation is complex, Winter manages to tell the story in short sentences. American children will learn of a society where people disappear and girls are not allowed to be educated, all explained at their level of comprehension. Expect lots of questions and discussion after sharing this true story with children.
An important piece of work, this picture book allows children to glimpse another culture that is now intertwined with our American one. Appropriate for ages 4-8.
Reviewed from copy received from publisher.
Also reviewed by A Year in Reading.
Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser
As my son waited for the bus this morning, he asked when the snow was going to come. Here in Wisconsin in mid-November that is a very good question and the answer is “very soon.”
In this charmer of a picture book, Squirrel is told by Deer that it is going to snow. Squirrel hasn’t seen snow before, so he decides to wait for it. Deer explains that snow is “White and wet and cold and soft.” But it is very hard to stay awake, so Squirrel runs up and down the tree trunk. The noise wakes Hedgehog who agrees that he wants to see snow too. The two of them stay awake by singing – sea shanties. This wakes up Bear who waits with them for the snow. But what is snow has already arrived and they haven’t recognized it? So the three look around for items that match Deer’s description of snow with very funny results. In the end, they learn exactly what snow looks like.
Meschenmoser excels at telling a story through few words and wonderfully evocative illustrations. Just the appearance of the animals themselves shows how very tired they are. The close-up of Bear’s face after he is woken up perfectly captures the grumpiness and bleariness of that moment. All of the animals are wonderfully scruffy and real. Hedgehog always has leaves and other objects stuck in his spines, and Squirrels wild fur carries a lot of his frantic pace even when still.
The voice of the book is also right on the mark. Told with great excitement and delight, the tone conveys their wonder at being able to see snow even before they have caught a single glimpse of it. Meschenmoser’s pacing also works very well, filled with just enough tension but also forward movement.
A perfect choice for this time of year when snow would be met with cheers and joy by all of us who are waiting for winter. Appropriate for ages 4-7.
Reviewed from copy received from publisher.
Also reviewed by Fuse #8 and Through the Looking Glass.
/Film has the news of a new Moomin Movie that will feature a song from Bjork. This second Moomin movie, Moomin and the Comet Chase, will be done in 3D using the stop-motion style.
You can also see a trailer of the first Moomin film, Moomin and Midsummer Madness. This film was created using footage from the Polish-Austrian TV series.
Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth! by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Robert Neubecker
Sophie Peterman is a veteran big sister, and she is here to tell you the hard truth about babies. “Babies are not sweet. Babies are not precious. Babies are not cute. Babies are YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!” Told with a broad sense of humor but lots of real truths of being an older sibling, this book is a great antidote to new baby books that look only at the sweet and cuddly parts of infants. As Sophie will happily tell you, babies leak, they make strange noises, and they smell bad. Even Sophie has to admit though that you can get attached to them.
The humor here really carries the book from a swallowed marble to the ransacking of an underwear drawer. This is pure child humor that elementary age kids will really enjoy from poop to farts. Neubecker’s illustrations are done in thick lines using India ink which is then digitally colored. The various expressions on Sophie’s face are a large part of the humor as is the constant delight of the baby.
A very funny book on babies perfect for those older siblings who have seen it all or for that new sibling who will appreciate a humorous cautionary tale. Appropriate for ages 4-7.
Reviewed from copy received from publisher.
Rocker Babies Wear Jeans by Michelle Sinclair Colman, illustrations by Nathalie Dion
Part of the Urban Babies Wear Black series, I consider this one of the best of that group. Perfect for hip parents who want to raise a little rocker, this book is filled with humor and puns. Favorite lines are “Rocker babies shake their booties” and “Rocker babies do jam sessions.” Both showing babies doing very normal baby things. A winning entry in a popular series.
Reviewed from copy received from publisher.
Yum Yum, Baby Bundt by Jamie Harper
This board book opens with a charming recipe for lunch that combines 1 hungry baby, 1 washable bib, 1 highchair, toys, and then the lunch itself and all of the plates, sippy cup, etc. The book then moves into more of a narrative story where a helpful big sister gets her younger sibling through a meal of pasta, veggies, fruit and cookies. The story is told briefly with the humor added through the illustrations. A recipe for a great read, this book is a gem because of the positive relationship it shows between siblings.
Reviewed from library copy.
Guess Again! by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex
If you have ever been asked to read a story aloud to a class of second and third graders, you know how hard it can be to find the perfect book. It has to take less than five minutes to read but not insult these elementary children by being too juvenile for them. Well, have I got the perfect book for you!
The book starts in a traditional format with a rhyming poem that for these older children obviously is talking about a bunny. You may even get a few eye rolls from the crowd. How young does this person think we are?! Turn the page though, and watch the crowd go wild as the entire format of rhyming clues is turned on its head. Expect a delicious moment of stunned silence and then lots and lots of laughter. Filled with entirely silly moments, children will still enjoy trying to outguess the joke. And in the end, they will have one final surprise as a running gag turns on its heel.
This is a book you must pick up and take a look at. It is delightfully silly, monumentally funny to the target audience, and a complete hoot. Make sure you are in the mood for laughing, or even better find a kid around 8 years old and laugh together. As I look at it, it is also a great choice for reluctant readers because there are plenty of pictures, lots of whitespace, and humor!
This is not a picture book for small children who will not understand the joke. Save it for the jaded age of 7 and 8 year olds to get the best reaction. Hey, I just may have to volunteer to read to my son’s class this year just to be able to share this book.
Appropriate for ages 5-8, older the better.
Reviewed from copy received from publisher.
Also reviewed by A Year of Reading.
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
Holly was now placed with a family of her own after years in a residential home for teens. Fiona and Ray seemed to want her, but it might turn out the same as the last place where she was sent back. Best that she leave on her own terms and head to find her mother in Ireland where she was waiting. Holly dons a blonde wig that makes her look much older than her 15 years and calls herself Solace. From London, she hitchhikes her way across Britain. On the way, she meets kindness in surprising places and finds out more about herself and her past.
There is magic in Dowd’s writing, filled with crystalline moments and complexity and no simple answers. This road-trip novel has the essential ingredient of slow progression in self-awareness. Holly is a complicated character, filled with bravado, anger and confusion. She is portrayed with so many layers, that just discovering her is a joy. Holly’s use of an alter ego to understand herself is drawn with caring and a supreme gentleness. There are moments of stillness in the novel where insight is just around the corner, but then life intervenes and the reader must wait patiently for the next moment to come.
Dowd uses the setting as almost its own character in the novel. Readers who have never been to Britain will still find themselves picturing it clearly in their head, hearing the birds, visiting the dark towns.
This is a beauty of a character sketch created by a gifted author whose career ended way too early. Highly recommended for fans of problem novels, this book will stun with the quality of the writing. Appropriate for ages 14-17.
Reviewed from library copy.
Also reviewed by Abby (the) Librarian and Crossover.
Boing Boing featured this great video of author/photographer Walter Wick and one of his complicated creations. This one appears to defy gravity.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-sjDm8-IuA%5D
Waking Brain Cells 