Month: June 2010

Restoring Harmony

| Tasha

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

Sixteen-year-old Molly has lived her entire life on a sheltered island in Canada.  Despite the Collapse ten years ago in 2031, her family has food, shelter and lives an agrarian, self-sufficient life.  But now Molly must leave the island and venture into the United States to bring her grandparents home.  The family doesn’t know if her grandmother is alive or dead, due to communication problems.  To make it worse, Molly must sneak into the United States and only has enough money to get there, not to return.  Molly must brave a country filled with poverty, starvation, no transportation, and ruled by the Organization.  It is one farm girl and her fiddle against the world.

World building is very important in a book like this.  One faulty line of logic and the entire book crumbles.  Anthony has created a world that is carefully built on logic and a great extension of the direction the world is heading in.  The loss of petroleum, the decay of large cities, and the reliance on trading and bartering make for a world that is alarming in its nearness and ambitious in its scope. 

Molly is a glorious protagonist.  She shines with intelligence, resourcefulness and kindness.  Her reliable farmer’s knowledge serves her well in this dystopian novel.  Molly is neither too brave nor too frightened.  She faces danger with squared shoulders and does not seek it out.  Many of the secondary characters are equally well drawn.  Spill, the boy who is able to get anything because of his connections to the Mob, is multidimensional and a great romantic foil to Molly. 

A dystopian fantasy that is hauntingly honest and offers a marvelous heroine, this book is appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from copy received from Putnam.

Also reviewed by:

2010 Americas Award

| Tasha

The Americas Award is given for works in the US published in the previous year in either English or Spanish that “authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or
Latinos in the United States.”

“The award winners and commended titles are selected for their 1) distinctive literary quality; 2)
cultural contextualization; 3) exceptional integration of text, illustration and design; and 4)
potential for classroom use.”

Winners

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

What Can You Do with a Paleta? / ¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta? By Carmen
Tafolla, Illustrated by Magaly Morales.

 

Honorable Mentions

Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

I Know the River Loves Me / Yo sé que el río me ama by Maya Christina González

My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art / Mi papa Diego y yo:
Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte by Guadalupe Rivera Marín and Diego Rivera

Preschool Day Hooray!

| Tasha

Preschool Day Hooray! by Linda Leopold Strauss, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

This friendly, bouncy book offers a glimpse at a preschool day that is perfect for children heading to preschool for the first time.  The book follows the course of a day in preschool.  It begins at the breakfast table, moves through arrival and drop off, crafts and playground play, snack and naptime, dancing and toys, to parents picking up the children.  Strauss’ verse is just right for small children with a happy cadence that is easy to read aloud. 

Nakata’s illustrations add to the friendly appeal of the book with their rosy-cheeked children who are often doing their own thing rather than acting as a group.  The illustrations are very child-focused and reveal the mess and exploration of preschool. 

My only issue in the book, which is filled with children of different colors, is that at the end of the book only Mommy is mentioned as picking children up after school even though the illustrations also show a father.  I’d rather have had Mommy changed to parents in the verse to show that Daddy is just as involved.

A very positive view of preschool, get this into the hands of new preschoolers!  It is printed on heavy pages with a sturdy binding, ideal for little eager hands.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

How Does a Seed Grow?

| Tasha

How Does a Seed Grow? by Sue Kim, photographs by Tilde

A visually interesting book all about seeds, sprouts and the harvest.  Each page is dedicated to one kind of seed complete with photographs of the seeds.  That then unfolds to show a large photograph of the seedling in a cutaway format that shows below the ground to the roots and up above the ground for the leaves.  Readers then unfold the page one more time to see a photograph of a child holding the fruit or vegetable.  The text is very simple and rhyming.  The illustrations are the heart of this book.  It is a book guaranteed to fascinate children not only with the unfolding pages but with the details of the seeds and seedlings.

The book covers tomatoes, blueberries, bell peppers, peas and oranges.  The brief rhymes do give a sense of the needs of plants from loose dirt to warmth to water and sunshine.  Readers will enjoy looking at the differences in the shapes and sizes of the seeds and the different ways that the seeds grow.  The children pictured with the fruits and vegetables are multicultural.  One quibble is that some of the pictures are a little blurred, which is noticeable when compared with the crispness of the other images. 

This book will work well in a classroom setting or in a story time focused on spring and plants.  The foldout pages will not survive circulation at a library for long unless they are reinforced with tape.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

A Love Story: Starring My Dead Best Friend

| Tasha

A Love Story: Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner

When Julia is killed in a car accident, it left a hole in Cass’ life that was impossible to fill.  When Julia’s drama friends discover that the secret project that Julia was working on is a musical with ninjas, they decide to perform it as a tribute to her.  But Cass doesn’t fit into the drama group without Julia there.  Especially not when Heather, a bully from middle school who publicly questioned Cass’ sexuality, is cast as the lead.  But Cass feels she must do something to fill that hole in her life Julia left behind, so she sets out on a solo bike trek over the summer from Chicago to California.  The book moves from the time following the bike trip when Cass returns to school and her travels.  It is about journeys, tributes, friendship, and love.  It is a book that fills holes, honors all kinds of love, and celebrates those of us who don’t quite fit in until we find the right people.

This book is not easy.  There are no simple solutions to a friend’s death, and Horner honors this friendship with a grand tribute.  From the beginning of the book, readers know that Cass does not complete her ride to California, but this makes the book even more powerful.  It becomes not about the accomplishment of the goal, but about the journey itself.  There are ugly truths in the book that readers are asked to understand and there are beautiful twists and turns along the way.  The book is a ride, a journey, a tribute and so it must be difficult and contain things that bring us to another place.

Horner’s writing is constantly showing and not telling.  Emotions are told through reactions, allowing them to be complex and much more honest.  She has created a heroine in Cass with such heart.  She is complicated, fascinating, and marvelous.  Horner also excels at backstory without burdening the reader.  Cass’ parents are Quakers and that influences her life tremendously.  Through the skill of Horner’s writing, that too is told as it comes up, revealing itself and its layers slowly.  This is much the same way that Cass’ sexuality is handled, honoring the process that Cass is going through to understand it herself.

Simply a magnificent book, get it on your shelves, into your hands and most of all into the hands of teens.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

Also reviewed by:

Moon Bear

| Tasha

Moon Bear by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illlustrated by Ed Young

Follow a moon bear through a year from one spring to the next.  Each page begins with a question that is then answered through a short verse.  So much of the book, just as with the bear’s life, is taken up with the search for food.  Food that will make children squirm and food that they too would love to find.  Guiberson’s text is more poetry than scientific information, offering readers a beautiful look at a rare creature.  Adding to the beauty of the book are the amazing collage illustrations by Ed Young.

The question and answer format of the text in this book make the book very intriguing and inviting.  The fact that it is verse works very well here, brief condensed verse.  This is certainly a nature picture book but never becomes dry with facts, rather it is an ode to an endangered creature.

Young’s illustrations add an exciting element to the book.  Done in collage, they contain photographs and patterns that keep the eye fascinated.  The illustrations also capture textures, combining them to great effect.  As the book comes full circle, it offers children a treat at the end of the book.  The author’s note at the end contains facts about moon bears as well as photographs of the bears.  To my eye, the ones built out of Young’s collage look even more real and true. 

Highly recommended, this is a celebration of a unique bear that we should all get to know with this unique treatment.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

At the Supermarket

| Tasha

At the Supermarket by Anne Rockwell

This updated edition of Rockwell’s picture book from 1979 offers a modern and timeless feel.  A little boy heads to the supermarket with his mother.  They buy meat, fruit and vegetables, bread and peanut butter.  In the cold dairy case, they get milk, butter, eggs and cheese.  Then there are the items in boxes and cans like coffee and napkins.  But it turns out that this is a special grocery trip and the boy and his mother select items to help them bake a birthday cake, including sprinkles and ice cream!  Returning home, they bake the cake together.

There is something special about books that focus on a specific activity.  This book is both universal and specific.  Children will enjoy seeing the similarities of what their family buys and also the differences.  Rockwell wisely lingers on the specific purchases, offering images of many of them.  Her illustrations that update this new version of the book are done in acrylic gouache.  They are simple and specific, underlining the universal appeal of the book and its subject.

Toddlers will relate quickly to this book and enjoy seeing another child heading out to the grocery store with a parent.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Dancing Feet

| Tasha

Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown

This bright, fun book is sure to have toddler toes tapping in no time.  In alternating double-page spreads, children see the feet of an animal and then get to guess what it is.  When the page is turned, the answer is revealed.  The rhyme and rhythm here are great, adding to the dancing theme.  Each set of animal feet make a noise from Tippity! Tippity! to Thumpity! Thumpity!  This engaging picture book is ideal for toddler story time where children need to get their wiggles out.

Craig’s verses are filled with infectious rhythms.  The sound words she has selected make for book that will get kids moving and enjoying the guessing game.  Brown’s collage is filled with vibrant color made even more interesting with textures.  The illustrations are large and will project well to a group of children.

Toddlers who are wiggly will enjoy doing movements to this book, making animal noises and even using instruments to follow the rhythm of each type of foot step.  With so many animals inside, it is sure to find a place on your go-to shelf for toddler storytimes.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from Knopf.

Also reviewed by:

Breaking Dawn Will Be 2 Films

| Tasha

 

Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn

Cinematical reports that Breaking Dawn will definitely be two films.  Bill Condon will direct both films.  Production begins this fall with the first of the two scheduled to be released on November 18, 2011. 

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