Month: June 2010

2010 Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards

| Tasha

The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards “reward excellence in children’s and young adult literature.”  They are given in three categories and have one award winner and two honor books in each category:

Fiction and Poetry

Winner

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Honor Books

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Peter Sis

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

 

Nonfiction

 

Winner

Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge

Honor Books

Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

 

Picture Book

Winner

I Know Here by Laurel Croza, illustrated by Matt James

Honor Books

It’s a Secret by John Burningham

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

 

An amazing list of books.  I’ve read most of them and loved all that I have read.  Great stuff!

Seeds of Change

| Tasha

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

We have already seen two incredible picture books about Wangari, so I was hesitant to pick this one up.  I should never have hesitated.  This book adds to Wangari’s story by telling the story of her youth growing up in the bounty of Kenya.  Her mother teaches her about each tree and what it offers.  Though it was unusual for girls in Kenya to be educated, Wangari’s parents saw how bright she was and sent her to school.  After she graduated from elementary school, Wangari went to the city to continue her education, eventually heading to the United States to study biology.  Throughout her travels, she thought often of Kenya and her home.  Kenya had changed with the land being harvested for timber by big foreign companies.  Wangari returned to Kenya and taught women and children to plant trees, giving the people a way to feed themselves and turning the barren land green again.  In 2004, Wangari won the Nobel Peace Prize, the first African woman or environmentalist to receive it. 

Johnson has taken the time to really reveal where Wangari came from and what created the seeds of environmentalism within her.  Other picture books pick up where Wangari is seeing the damage done in Kenya, but this addition of her childhood and education make for a more complete understanding of her.  Sadler’s illustrations use thick white lines which remind me of batik or stained glass.  The images show interesting design choices that are often dreamlike. 

I would recommend pairing this with both Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli and Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire A. Nivola.  The three together offer a strong environmental message combined with a complete view of the woman behind the movement.

Highly recommended, this book tells the powerful story of Wangari and her legacy in Kenya.  It shows readers that one person can definitely make a difference.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Lee & Low.

Also reviewed by:

Nebeel’s New Pants: an Eid Tale

| Tasha

Nabeel’s New Pants: an Eid Tale retold by Fawzia Gilani-Williams, illustrated by Proiti Roy

Nabeel had a busy day selling shoes, now he was ready to buy his family gifts for Eid.  He purchased a burqa for his wife, a dupatta for his mother, and bangles for his daughter.  On his way out, the shopkeeper recommended that Nabeel buy himself some new pants since his were worn and patched.  Nabeel agreed, but the only pants there were 4 fingers too long.  Once he got home, Nabeel gave his wife her gift but she was too busy to shorten his pants for him.  His mother was given her gift, but she was also too busy to shorten his pants before Eid.  Mariam, his daughter also was too busy.  So Nabeel went home and shortened the pants himself, 4 fingers.  His wife found time too to shorten the pants 4 fingers.  His mother came over and also shortened them 4 fingers.  Finally, his daughter too shortened the pants.  Now what was Nabeel to wear to Eid?

With the feel of a classic tale, this book offers a universal style of folktale with plenty of repetition and cumulative action.  Children of all cultures will immediately feel at home here.  Gilani-Williams has kept the text tight and focused, making a great read aloud Muslim story.  Even when the humor is unfolding, the text keeps a straight tone that adds even more humor.  Roy’s illustrations have a classic feel to them merged with a cartoon style. 

A clearly Muslim tale with a universal feel, this book is perfect for any public library collection.  It will fit in well with story times or units about clothing or celebrations.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Marshall Cavendish.

I Know Here

| Tasha

I Know Here by Laurel Croza, illustrated by Matt James

The little girl in this story lives in a remote area of Saskatchewan where her father is helping to build a dam.  She lives in a trailer among a group of trailers.  There are woods to play in, a creek to catch frogs, and lots of animals.  But now her family is moving to Toronto.  Her teacher in their one-room school suggests that the children draw pictures to remind them of this place.  So the girl decides that she will draw a picture of her beloved home and all that surrounds it so that she can carry it with them to her new home, safe in her pocket. 

Croza’s words are understated and so allow us to really feel the emotion coming through them.  She has captured the emotions with skill and grace, not overwhelming them, but allowing them to stand on their own.  So many children have either moved or are about to move that this book will find a welcome audience and even better will offer children a way to deal with their emotions and what they miss or will miss. 

James’ illustrations are wild at times with a giant, alien frog on one.  They have intriguing perspectives and through the deep color also help reveal the emotions of the text.  They are imaginative and fantastical, capturing a world of wonder for the reader in their paint.

Few picture books have ever moved me to tears.  This is one of them.  There was such a bittersweet tone at the end that I responded from the gut.  Beautiful.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

 

A deeply-felt picture book, this picture book captures a setting with

Mercury

| Tasha

Mercury by Hope Larson

A fascinating combination of history and fantasy, this graphic novel tells two parallel stories, both set in Nova Scotia.  Different generations of the same family, one modern and one from 1859, are played against one another.  Tara is the modern girl who is dealing with her family home burning to the ground.  Her mother has had to leave and find work elsewhere while Tara stays with a friend.  Tara has been homeschooled the last two years, and is returning to the school district that she used to attend.  She soon finds romance and magic.  Josey’s story takes place 150 years earlier.  Josey is the sheltered daughter of a farmer who is besotted when she finds herself the focus of a stranger’s attention.  The man has found gold on her father’s farm and soon the two of them enter into business together mining the gold.  Tara finds her own modern world connected to that of Josey in unexpected ways.

Larson has created an intriguing and winning book.  While the two stories are vaguely parallel in romance, they diverge quickly into very different stories.  The book is beautifully designed.  Readers will immediately understand that the historical story is bordered in black while the modern is bordered in white.  Larson’s art is welcoming and great fun to read.  She has created a story with the best of graphic novels, romance and fantasy woven seamlessly together.  The two heroines are very different people, but both romantics and both tied together in intriguing ways.  There were some characters that I wish had been more fully developed such as Tara’s mother and the family she is living with.  I think it would have made it easier to enter her world.

Highly recommended, this graphic novel is one that will easily cross borders between teens who enjoy graphic novels and those who read romance or historical fiction.  This is a great entry book into the world of graphic novels for new readers.  Appropriate for ages 13-15.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum.

Also reviewed by:

Three Rivers Rising

| Tasha

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of The Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards

Celestia has always been the daughter who obeys her father, preferring books over boys.  But when she meets Peter, a boy who works at the hotel she is staying at with her family, she falls in love.  The two of them spend secret hours together swimming in Lake Conemaugh, talking and stealing kisses.  Distracted by her budding relationship, Celestia is not aware that her sister is also in love, but Estrella has gone much farther and ends up pregnant.  Celestia must now give up her love and attend to her family.  When she returns a year later, Peter no longer works at the hotel, and Celestia must make a fateful choice – to be disowned by her wealthy family and follow her heart or to obey and marry a man she doesn’t care for.  Her choice, made in 1889, comes just before the historical disaster of the Johnstown Flood.  Far more is about to be at stake than being disowned.

Tautly written in verse, this book immerses the reader into the culture of the day.  It is a world where class is protected, where wealth is new or old, where hotel boys do not mingle with guests, where children are disowned, where love flourishes despite it all.  Richards has cleverly taken different voices and told their stories here.  The reader knows that disaster is about to happen, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout the story.  As each voice speaks, there is another character to care about, another perspective to view the flood and the society from. 

Though this is the story of the flood, it is also the story of love that transcends barriers.  It is at heart a romance set in a terrible time.  Richards’ poetry is by turns sweet and bitter.  As the flood occurs, readers will find themselves amazed, saddened and devastated.  We are in Richards’ hands here and what great hands they are.  It is hard to believe this is a debut novel given the confidence and ability that she demonstrates.

Highly recommended, this book is historical fiction at its best combined with the best of a verse novel.  Prepare to be mesmerized.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from library copy.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Illyria

| Tasha

Illyria by Elizabeth Hand

Maddy lives in a sprawling complex with her large extended family.  Descendants of a famous actress, the family members are dramatic, eccentric and interesting.  Maddy is wildly in love with her cousin Rogan.  As children they stole kisses under the porch, but it becomes more serious and complicated as they become teens.  During one of their secret trysts together in the attic, the two discover a tiny stage hidden behind the wallboards, complete with effects and lighting.  When Rogan and Maddy are both cast in their school’s performance of Twelfth Night the magic that is the two of them together is threatened. 

In a world of bloated, oversized teen novels, this short book is a powerful gem.  Hand has created a book that really shines with its strong setting of the family home where so much of the action takes place.  Hand’s descriptions bring the entire book to life as she paints a vivid picture for the reader.  What is amazing is that she has created a story with such depth in so few pages. 

The story is based strongly in reality, making the discovery of the tiny stage that much more special and strange.  The book is a beautiful realistic story with a strong thread of magic running through it.  This is helped by the romantic, beautiful writing that soars with detail. 

Some readers will find the two cousins in a romantic relationship to be confusing and startling.  Hand has woven this sort of deep feeling into the text in such a way that it feels very real, very honest.  This is not there for effect, rather it is an important, inherent part of their relationship and roles with one another.  Their closeness is deepened by their kinship.

A beautiful soaring novel in a tightly-written package, this book is sure to appeal to those who enjoy fantasy but also those readers looking for a great romance.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

Also reviewed by:

It’s A Book!

| Tasha

Looking for a book trailer to get you in just the right mood for the weekend?  Well, this one had me grinning from ear to ear:

Looking forward to reading this one in paper in August!

Thanks to pbjunkies for the link!

A Book about Color

| Tasha

A Book about Color: A Clear and Simple Guide for Young Artists by Mark Gonyea

This book approaches color as a street with houses.  The houses for the primary colors are bigger than those for the secondary colors, setting them apart.  The book then goes on to talk about the meaning of colors and how one color can mean different things.  Warm and cool colors are discussed along with the way they appear in a picture.  Complementary colors are explained by lining the houses up on opposite sides of the street, the houses next to each other are analogous colors.  The book finishes with saturation of colors, and white and black.  Visually interesting and using a great analogy for learning about colors, this book is a treat.

Gonyea has created a book that really demonstrates aspects of color.  His use of a street and house analogy works very well, keeping the primary houses large throughout the book, using the same street design to show complementary and analogous colors.  His use of strong graphical images and clean design make this a book that children and adults will enjoy using.  It goes well beyond a book for toddlers about color, making it a welcome choice for young artists.

Recommended for art rooms and library collections, this book is best in the hands of artists or those learning about art.  A strong nonfiction book appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.