Month: December 2010

12 Days of Christmas

| Tasha

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12 Days of Christmas by Rachel Isadora

I have been a fan of Isadora’s retellings of classic European fairy tales with an African flair and this is no exception.  Isadora takes the Christmas carol and turns it into a celebration of both the holiday and Africa.  While the words remain the same as the traditional carol, Isadora interprets them in a new way.   The five gold rings are around a woman’s neck like women in South Africa.  Eight maids a-milking are milking goats rather than cows.  9 ladies dancing was inspired by women from Swaziland.  Isadora builds in the repeating section of the carol with a rebus that refers back to previous illustrations with clear numbers.  You can see the images used for the rebus on the cover of the book.  This adds an ease to the book that could have been overwhelmed with all of the text otherwise.  Isadora has created a global celebration with this book.

Isadora’s illustrations are really what makes this book unique.  Her African interpretations of the carol are engaging and refreshing.  Isadora uses collage to create her images.  Her use of painting effects on the paper she uses to make her collages add a definite texture and line to the illustrations.  She has created a book that has the hot sun and the glowing colors of Africa.

A very nice addition to library Christmas collections, this book will offer a glimpse of another part of the world through a familiar lens.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Incarceron–The Movie

| Tasha
Cover of "Incarceron (Incarceron, Book 1)...

Cover of Incarceron (Incarceron, Book 1)

I am a huge fan of Incarceron and its sequel, Sapphique.  Great dystopian fantasy novel. 

So I was rather stunned to hear that Taylor Lautner has become attached to the movie project and cast as Finn.  OK, I admit I actually shouted aloud in dismay when I read that. 

Fox 2000 is doing the adaptation of the book.  Now I wonder who will play the feisty and fabulous Claudia?  I don’t dare guess.

So what do you think?  Great casting choice or disaster?

And who should be cast as Claudia?

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Four New “Pretty Little Liars” Books

| Tasha
Pretty Little Liars (novel)

Image via Wikipedia

Entertainment Weekly has the news that Sara Shepard will be adding four additional books to the Pretty Little Liars series.  This will make a total of 12 books in the series.  Everyone can thank the success of the ABC Family show based on the series for the additional titles.  The ninth book, Twisted, will go on sale July 5th. 

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Spork

| Tasha

Spork

Spork by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Spork’s mother is a spoon and his dad is a fork.  In the world of the kitchen, there was very little mixing between different types of cutlery.  Sure there were some rebels, but most of them stuck to their own kind.  But no one else was quite like Spork with his mix of spoon and fork characteristics.  To make matters worse, Spork was never chosen to be used at the table.  That is until one day, when the messy thing arrived who had no respect for cutlery and didn’t know how to use them correctly.  The messy thing needed its own special utensil.  Something that could be slurped with, that was flexible and easy to use.  It was the job for Spork!

With its clear parallels with children from mixed cultures and races, this book offers a clear message that no matter what there is a place for all of us.  Nicely, it also speaks to those children who are a little different in other ways and may not fit in with the crowd in the cutlery drawer either.  Maclear writes with a gentle humor that is evident throughout the book.  The illustrations are a delight with their subtle color tones.  The engaging personalities of the cutlery are clear to the reader, especially the loneliness of Spork with his very rounded head.  Her use of digital mixed media works particularly well as cartoon faces intermingle with vintage line drawings.  The result is a very charming book.

A book that speaks to the loneliness and uniqueness in all of us, this is a warm way to introduce the subject of individuality being just fine.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Check out the trailer for the book:

Spork Trailer

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.

Salted Fish–A Taste of Singapore

| Tasha

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Salted Fish by Yeo Wei Wei, illustrated by Ye Shufang

Lynn is visiting an art museum for the first time.  She knows that the National Art Gallery will have lots of art inside it.  She and her toy bunny find a painting of fruit and then set out to see if they can find one with strawberries in it.  As they are looking, they smell something strange coming from one of the paintings.  As she counts things in the painting, she and her bunny hear a voice speaking from the painting.  Lynn finds herself drawn into the painting and learning about the way they are making salted fish.  The taste of the salted fish reminds her of her grandmother’s home.  As she leaves the painting with a bundle of fish to take with her, she promises to return to the art museum again.

The story here is told with a quiet, gentle voice.  Lynn’s interaction with the painting is not frightening at all, but an enthralling moment of connection.   It is what one hopes a child will experience at an art museum.  The story is built around a famous painting by Cheong Soo Pieng called Drying Salted Fish.  At the end of the book, information on the painting and the artist is shared. 

Shufang’s art is engaging with the bright-eyed child and the strong architectural lines of the building itself.  A muted palette that has pops of bright color at times adds to the quiet appeal of the book. 

This book gives young readers a small taste of Singapore which they will probably appreciate much more than the smell of salted fish!  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from book received from The National Art Gallery, Singapore.

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The Story of Little Red Riding Hood: Dark and Luminous

| Tasha

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The Story of Little Red Riding Hood by the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Christopher Bing

This is the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood, complete with them filling the wolf’s belly with stones at the end and killing him.  The text here has an easy flow for reading aloud, never becoming too verbose.  The moments with the wolf are studies in darkness and danger, with the tension palpable on the page.  The star in this book are the illustrations which are rich and radiant.  The entire book is an homage to the Grimm brothers, their story, and yet has paid attention to the needs of modern children as well.

In his illustrations, Bing works with light and darkness.  On the path, the wolf is bathed in sunlight, almost haloed with it.  But when he has eaten the grandmother and is in disguise, he is in shadows, and it is Little Red Riding Hood that the rays of light reach for.  When the stones are being fetched to kill the wolf, the play of light and shadow on each person’s face is beautiful with the dancing dust motes from the first scenes returning again. 

Bing has also framed his illustrations with pressed flowers and leaves, as if you have found an old book that someone has used and loved.  He has also built a frame for the book itself, which shows the dogeared pages of a much larger book, giving it a sense of age and depth.  My favorite use of the pressed flowers comes on the page where the wolf attacks Little Red Riding Hood and objects are tossed around and towards the reader.  The pressed flowers become part of that, whirling on the page along with the objects in the picture.  Brilliant.

A virtuoso rendition of the classic tale, this version belongs in every library thanks to its ease of reading aloud and the exceptional illustrations.  Appropriate for ages 4-7. 

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Of Thee I Sing: Obama’s Picture Book

| Tasha

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Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long

I was very leery of this book, because in my experience politicians and celebrities rank about equal for successful children’s book writing.  In other words, odds are good that it will be bad.  But I am so glad that I did eventually pick this one up and give it a try.  President Obama has written a letter to his daughters that asks a question like “Have I told you that you are creative?” He then offers an example of a famous American who exemplifies that character trait, summing them up in a few lines.  This is a celebration of what makes America great, but also what makes for a great person.  It is a celebration of all we hope our children will become.

President Obama’s words read like verse here.  The structure is a strong one with a question, a person as an example, and words that sum that person up simply and powerfully.  One of the pleasures of the book is that when you read it, you hear the President’s voice in your head, because the cadence matches the way that he speaks so closely.  Thanks to this, the book reads aloud beautifully.

Long’s illustrations feature the two Obama girls and their dog.  Then, as each famous American is mentioned, a child appears who is like that great person.  So a girl with paintbrushes and palette is there when Georgia O’Keeffe is featured.  A boy with a baseball bat, glove and ball is there when Jackie Robinson is given as an example of bravery.  And they join the group, so that by the end there is a crowd of diverse children listening to the book along with you.   Long’s style changes when he depicts the famous Americans.  Where the children are lighthearted and full of whimsy, there is a more serious feel to the great Americans. 

A beauty of a book no matter who the author is, this book is one to be appreciated by all Americans no matter their politics.  This will make a great holiday gift this year.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Please read Debbie Reese’s reaction to the Sitting Bull image on her blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature.  I respect her opinion immensely.

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William C. Morris Award Finalists

| Tasha

Here are the five finalists for the 2011 William C. Morris Award for a debut author of a book for young adults.  I’ve only read two of them, but really enjoyed them both.

  

Hush by Eishes Chayil (my review)

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber (my review)

 

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston

Welcome to My Neighborhood! A Barrio ABC

| Tasha

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Welcome to My Neighborhood! A Barrio ABC by Quiara Alegria Hudes, illustrated by Shino Arihara

This alphabet book, from the author of the musical In the Heights, takes a gritty and realistic look at urban life that will be familiar to many children while exposing other children to a new setting.  Ava takes her friend on a tour of her neighborhood and many words in Spanish.  She starts with a hug for her abuela and passes through G for graffiti, M for los muralistas painting murals on the walls, V for vegetables in what used to be a vacant lot, and ends at Z Street where the cars zoom past.  Ava adds lots of small details to her alphabet tour that really show her enthusiasm for her neighborhood as well as giving the reader more details about her home.  This is a tour worth taking!

This book does not sugarcoat what you will see in an urban neighborhood with abandoned cars, graffiti, and a burned building.  But for children who see these things in their own neighborhoods, they will find a picture book that depicts their own world, something invaluable for a child.  The Spanish words add a great rhythm to the book and another layer of information.  Airhara’s illustrations use a lot of open space, emphasizing the stretches of blocks, the expanse of the city.  They are simple and have a pleasant mix of bright color and earth tones. 

A book that fills a need in children’s alphabet books for books set in urban locations, this will be welcomed on library shelves.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Arthur A. Levine Books.

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