Month: May 2010

Nobody

| Tasha

Nobody by Liz Rosenberg, illustrated by Julie Downing

Released May 25, 2010.

A charmer of a book about a boy and his imaginary friend, Nobody.  This allows for plenty of wordplay in the book with Nobody telling the boy to do anything, Nobody helping him, and Nobody cleaning up.  George woke up early in the morning and with Nobody’s advice decided to make a feast!  So he and Nobody raid the refrigerator, mix all sorts of things together including eggs, chocolate syrup and dog biscuits.  Not allowed the turn on the stove, the two friends had to wait.  So they played cards.  Nobody won.  George then invented his own game which he won.  When his parents woke up, they were surprised by the mess.  As they took the matter in hand, Nobody began to shrink and disappear until George called him back to help make pancakes for breakfast.

I’ve always loved wordplay and we don’t see enough of it in books for preschoolers.  Especially this kind of subtle playing where it can be ignored without losing the story, or enjoyed as another dimension of the book.  Rosenberg’s text is great fun to read aloud.  Children will love the concoction the two create together and will immediately understand that Nobody is imaginary.  I also appreciate the parents’ reaction to the morning mess.  They take it in stride and with humor. 

Downing’s illustrations have a soft quality that works well in this early morning story filled with imagination.  She uses sploshes and drips of paint to great effect as the kitchen becomes messier and messier.  George is quite a small child in the illustrations, which will make it inviting to young children to join in the adventure.

Recommended, this is a great book to share when doing story times on cooking or messes.  Nobody makes a mess quite like this one!  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Little Blog on the Prairie

| Tasha

Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell

When Gen’s mother signs the family up for Camp Frontier, they don’t know what they are getting into.  Now they must live like they are 1890s pioneers.  Which means wearing authentic clothing, cooking on a wood burning stove, milking cows, raising chickens, and living in a tiny cabin in the woods with an outhouse.  All of their electronics are confiscated when they enter camp, but Gen manages to sneak in her cell phone.  From there, she texts her best friends one of whom turns her texts into a blog for an assignment.  All is not dull work on the prairie, there is handsome Caleb who seems interested in Gen but might like Nora, the daughter of the owners better, and then there is the competition between the families and the drive to not keep being in last place.  Maybe this family bonding thing isn’t so bad after all.

Bell has created a book with a sharp wit and yet a homely warmth.  Gen is a great protagonist whose texts are fun to read.  Bell also has a feel for humor with the killer chickens and the cow milking scene.  Both are worth reading the novel for.  She writes best when dealing with modern teens juxtaposed with the world of 1890.  Bell’s writing is stilted in other scenes where there isn’t humor.  Her scenes with Nora and Caleb don’t flow with the same effortlessness as her humor.

Another issue is her characterization of the secondary characters.  Caleb, the love interest, is rather dull and quite normal though nice.  I don’t see why Gen who is bright, funny and complex would be entranced by this boy.  Nora, the homeschooled daughter of the proprietors, is also a disappointment.  Left to be rather cardboard and mean, she could have been a great example of a homeschooled kid.  Instead, she is envious and lonely.  What a missed opportunity she was a character!

One of the big successes of the book is that it never becomes a moral story about the dangers of modern technology and the isolation of modern family life.  Just as the book was approaching that, it veered into an unexpected direction that kept the novel fresh and interesting.

Despite the issues with the book, I could not put it down.  The humor and Gen kept me reading.  Recommended for readers who enjoyed Little House on the Prairie but also modern teens who wonder what would happen if their cell phones, iPods and computers were taken away.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from ARC received from Bloomsbury.

Also reviewed by Semicolon.

Say Hello!

| Tasha

Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora

On her way to her Abuela Rose’s house, Carmelita greets her neighbors and learns how they say hello in their different languages.  Carmelita’s dog Manny is happy to greet everyone with a friendly “Woof” that translates easily into every language.  The book is set in a diverse urban neighborhood filled with friendly faces in a variety of skin tones.  How do you say hello in your family or neighborhood?

Isadora has again created a book for very young readers that is inviting and fresh.  The urban setting is depicted as colorful and friendly, something that young readers may not see in many picture books.  Isadora includes just enough text to keep the story moving with most of the book focusing on the various greetings in each language.  Her illustrations are done in cut-paper collage.  They have an interesting mix of painted papers and printed ones that come together in a dynamic way.  Signature Isadora style!

Recommended for toddler story times, this book will work well with young children who will be eager to repeat the unfamiliar greetings and to share those from their homes as well.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Putnam.

Sick Day for Amos McGee

| Tasha

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

I was utterly charmed by this book.  It has a gentle humor, a sweetness and an inherent loveliness that really makes it special.

Amos McGee got up early every morning, changed into his uniform, and headed to work at the City Zoo.  Even though he had a busy work schedule, he always had time to visit his friends.  He played chess with the elephant, ran races with the tortoise, sat quietly with the shy penguin, wiped the rhino’s runny nose, and read books to the owl who was afraid of the dark.  But one morning, Amos woke up and didn’t feel well enough to go to the zoo.  His friends waited for him, but when Amos didn’t come they set out to visit him instead.  The elephant played chess with him.  The turtle played hide and seek instead of running races.  The penguin kept Amos’ feet warm.  The rhino always had a handkerchief ready when Amos sneezed.  And at bedtime, the owl read them all a book.

The husband and wife team who created this book really worked well together.  Philip’s tone of writing has a gentle feel that matches his wife’s art perfectly.  Philip’s writing is very readable and works well aloud.  The small touches of detail make the world more convincing, including the elephant taking a lot of time to make his move in chess and the spoonfuls of sugar Amos uses at breakfast.  It is these little facts that really invite one to linger longer in the book.

Erin’s art is delightfully realistic for such a fantastical story.  The animals are very true to life except for their hobbies.  Her art uses delicate lines and subtle colors.  I especially enjoyed Erin’s two-page wordless spreads as the animals head to Amos’ home.  Again with her art, the small touches add so much: the elephant lining up his chess pieces while waiting for Amos and the socks on the feet of the penguin.  Small details but very important to the tone and feel of the book.

Highly recommended, this book will be embraced by all who read it.  Share it for units on zoos, colds or save it for a great bedtime read.  Now all I need to find is a shy penguin to keep my feet warm…

Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Also reviewed by The Reading Tub.

How You Got So Smart

| Tasha

How You Got So Smart by David Milgrim

From infant to child, you have a come a long, long way!  This book reveals just how you got as smart as you are.  You watched and listened.  Chewed on things.  Explored and asked lots of questions.  You investigated, made friends, and were very brave.  Each and every step taught you something, and that is what made you so very smart.  This jolly book takes a humorous but sincere look at how babies grow into amazing children every day.

Milgrim’s success with this book is in its tone.  It is funny but really honest and truthful about what makes each of us smart.  The best part is that it is about normal children, who all grow in their own way, who all explore, who all invent.  Every child will see themselves here and relate effortlessly to the book.  Milgrim’s illustrations add to the humor.  They also bring the necessary bright colors and charm. 

Perfect spring reading for classes of children who are advancing to the next grade.  This reminds everyone that they are special and smart.  Appropriate for ages 4-7, older as a treat read-aloud around graduation time.

Reviewed from library copy.

Judy Moody – The Movie

| Tasha

Candlewick Press has announced that Smokewood Entertainment will be producing a Judy Moody movie. 

John Schultz will direct the film.  The screenplay was written by Kathy Waugh and Megan McDonald. 

Production starts in August.

Thumbelina

| Tasha

Sylvia Long’s Thumbelina by Sylvia Long

Enter the world of Thumbelina as depicted by award-winning illustrator Sylvia Long.  This is a classic tale of the tiny Thumbelina and her birth to a woman desperate to have a child.  Thumbelina is beautiful and is stolen by a toad to marry her son.  She is kept on a lily pad until the wedding is prepared.  The fish in the pond chew her lily pad free.  She then seeks shelter from the winter cold with a field mouse who decides that she should wed her neighbor, a mole.  Thumbelina discovers a bird in the tunnels that is supposedly dead, but that she nurses back to health.  In the spring, the bird returns to save her from a marriage to the mole.  He carries her to a special place where winter never comes and where she discovers others just her size, including a handsome prince.

Long has not only beautifully illustrated this classic tale, she has also created a very readable version of the story.  It is cleanly written, making if useful for classrooms or families looking for a version to share.  Long’s illustrations are jewel toned and delicate.  The small details that fill the book help tell more of the story.  The closeups of dragonflies, the bird and fairies are entrancing.  She has created a tale filled with color and beautiful perspectives and compositions.

Highly recommended, this book with its small heroine and classic story will entrance those new to the story and become a favorite of those of us who already love the tale.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by 5 Minutes for Books.

Birth Marked

| Tasha

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien

This debut novel is an enthralling dystopian fantasy.  Gaia’s mother is a midwife and now at age 16, so is she.  Each month, the first children born must be advanced to behind the wall of the Enclave, escaping the poverty outside the wall.  It is Gaia’s duty to turn those children over just as her two older brothers were turned over.  Gaia herself was no advanced because of her scarred face.  But now Gaia’s parents have been seized by the Enclave and no one knows why.  When they do not return, Gaia decides to sneak inside the wall and see if she can find out what has happened to them.  Through her journey, Gaia learns that the lies being told to her and the others outside the wall are many and complex, but that one girl can still make a difference with one heroic act.

It took me some time to read this novel because I was savoring it.  The world building that O’Brien has done here is based on our own familiar world, but one that has suffered a climate catastrophe.  O’Brien offers just enough details about the world to make it clear, but concentrates more on the human situation than the environmental one.  Her society is complicated, fascinating and well rendered.  The same can be said of the heroine, Gaia.  She is bright though uneducated, defiant, clever and brave.  She is a great lens to view the society and her situation through.

There is adventure and romance in this novel, all told through the eyes of the girl who is a loner and outsider because of her disfiguring scar.  Get this into the hands of those who enjoy Tamora Pierce, because they will love this heroine and wait impatiently along with me for the next in the series.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Pitschi

| Tasha

Pitschi by Hans Fischer

Originally published in Switzerland in 1947 and then first published in the US in 1953, this book is a classic that I had never read before.  Old Lisette has two cats, five kittens, and a dog who are near her playing as she knits outside.  That is all of the kittens are playing except for one who is sitting still and dreaming.  Pitschi is much more interested in exploring and dreaming than playing with her siblings.  So off she heads into the farmyard.  There she finds a rooster who struts proudly.  Pitschi decides that she wants to be a rooster and gives her best strut and crow.  But when their crowing draws another rooster in and they fight, Pitschi decides she doesn’t want to be a rooster anymore.  One after another Pitschi discovers an animal, thinks it would be grand to be that, and then learns about the drawbacks.  Goats are milked.  Ducks swim.  And rabbits live in danger from foxes and owls.  Luckily the old dog and Old Lisette are there to rescue a lost kitten after dark and remind her how grand it is to be a kitten after all.

There is a wonderful pluckiness about this little kitten.  She is often unafraid, bold and always curious.  Her willingness to reinvent herself is very endearing and makes for a book that is a great foil for books where the character is seeking to find those who are like themselves.  Here Pitschi relishes the differences and the new character traits she finds. 

Fischer’s art is free form and simple.  Often colored with washes of only a few colors, his use of line is done with great skill and ease.  The simple curlicues of a tree branches, the squiggles that form a rabbit’s tail, and the swirls of a basket.  The illustrations come to life because of this simplicity.

Highly recommended.  If you missed this treasure from the 40s and 50s, you are in luck because North South is re-releasing it this year.  Share it with cat lovers or in story times about cats or farms.  It is a real Swiss treat.

Reviewed from copy received from North South.