Month: January 2011

Across the Universe: Stellar Science Fiction

| Tasha

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Across the Universe by Beth Revis

What a pleasure to read some great science fiction for teens!  At age 17, Amy joins her parents on the trip of a lifetime, or many lifetimes, as they are frozen for a voyage of 300 years to a colonize a new planet.   Flash ahead several hundred years and the ship Godspeed that carries the frozen bodies has created its own society over the centuries.  16-year-old Elder is the next leader of the ship, chosen from when he was an infant to lead.  He has been raised and taught by Eldest, the current leader.  But something is going wrong.  There are secrets everywhere he turns, and no one will give him the answers he needs to be the next Eldest.  To make things worse, someone has begun attacking the frozen people, and it just might be the people Elder trusts most.  This taut thriller of a novel marries mystery, science fiction and romance into a gripping read.

Revis has written a genre-bending novel that will attract many different types of readers.  Her building of the world inside the ship is amazing in its attention to detail.  The complexities of this small world flying through space are solid and fascinating.  Readers will slowly come to understand the secret horrors of life aboard the ship and are guaranteed feel claustrophobic as the metal walls seem to close in. 

Amy is a heroine with plenty of spunk and attitude.  Elder is a more subtle hero, filled with self-doubt and sometimes self-loathing, he is a complex character who has been living with lies entire life.  It is Elder that is the amazing creation in this novel.  A boy who is destined to lead but doesn’t see how. 

I do have one quibble with the book, but it comes so close to the end that I don’t want to ruin the novel for anyone.  It was one twist too many for me and a breaking of literary conventions.  I came away frustrated by the ending but blown away by the novel itself.

An enticing blend of genres, this book would be an ideal book talk choice for librarians looking for a title that will appeal to most teens.  It has an amazing opening chapter that makes it impossible to put down.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin.

Tiny Little Fly: A Delight of a Book

| Tasha

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Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron

British Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen has created another delight of a picture book.  Readers follow the adventures of Tiny Little Fly as he buzzes past some impressive animals.  Great Big Elephant tries to catch the fly, but even with all of his tramping and crushing, the fly flies away.  When Tiny Little Fly lands on Great Big Hippo’s ear, the hippo tries to catch him by rolling and squashing.  But the fly flies away.  Even Great Big Tiger, who swoops and snatches at the fly with his pay cannot catch the fly.  Told in a wonderful rhyme with plenty of noise and fun, this book will be right at home in any toddler story time.

Rosen’s verse here is filled with a sense of fun and playfulness.  The repetition in the book gives it a wonderful pace and gait that is a pleasure to read aloud.  Each large animal takes two winks at the fly, then tries in their own way to catch it with plenty of ruckus.  Thanks to the simplicity of the story and the attraction of the large animals, I can see this being made into a felt board story very easily.  It would also convert well into a little play acting with parents or teachers.

Waldron’s illustrations are simple but sophisticated.  They have a mix of timelessness and modernism that is charming.  His use of a natural-feeling background rather than stark white makes for a warm feel throughout the book.  Waldron combines several techniques in these illustrations from ink drawings to paint.  For reading aloud to a group, Waldron’s illustrations work well thanks to their large size.  Additionally, he allows children to guess what the next large animal will be, adding to the pleasure of sharing the book aloud. 

An ideal story time pick, get this one for any insect, tiger, elephant or hippo story time you are planning.  Heck, it’s good enough to use time and again for any reason at all.  A guaranteed hit with the toddler and preschool set.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Big Belching Bog: A Quiet Exploration

| Tasha

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Big Belching Bog by Phyllis Root, illustrations by Betsy Bowen

Through this picture book, readers get to explore the wonders of a bog.  Root uses free verse to invite readers deeper into the bog, discovering the plants and creatures that live here.  Small moments of life in the bog are captured in the poetry, sights and sounds are shared and wondered at.  The book and the bog have a graceful slow pace that make one take ones time and savor.  And through it all, there is something coming, something to look forward to, something that only we might witness.  This small touch of foreboding makes the book all the more pleasurable to read.  A book for children who love nature, animals and plants, this is a rich look at the quiet bog.

Root’s verse works as if it is small poems on each double page spread rather than one long poem that runs the length of the book.  These small pieces of verse make the book more readable and allow the reader to see the tiny pieces of the bog which in turn make up the whole.  This is a book that encourages you to slow down, linger, listen and watch so that you really understand the place that you are.  The book ends with details about bogs and the animals and plants seen in the book.

Bowen’s illustrations are woodcut prints that have great deep colors and thick lines.  A hermit thrush travels through each page with the reader, often cocking its head in a thoughtful way.  The illustrations capture the beauty of the bog and also that swampy feeling, the tug on your boots, the dampness that surrounds you. 

Both verse and illustrations work as a celebration of the bog, inviting readers to visit and discover the surprise themselves.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Rot & Ruin: Terrific Terror

| Tasha

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Are zombies the next big thing?  With this amazing novel, they just might be! 

Fifteen-year-old Benny has grown up in a zombie-infested world, where his town is fenced in to protect the living from hordes of undead.  Cared for by his older brother who Benny despises, Benny tries to find work in his small town.  Unable to find a job, Benny reluctantly agrees to be his brother’s apprentice, even though his brother is not nearly as cool as the other bounty hunters who head out into the wilderness to slay zombies.  As Benny begins to work with his brother, he discovers that there is much more to killing zombies than he thought.  There are also a lot more ways to be human too. 

Maberry has melded the zombie apocalypse world with a coming of age story.  The combination makes for a zombie book with plenty of action and blood, but also one with lots of heart.  Benny is a great lens to view this world through, allowing the reader to discover along with him the truth of the world he lives in.  Maberry’s writing is wonderfully varied.  At times pausing to linger on points, view the wildness of the landscape and storms, and at others rushing into battle scenes with a whipping pace that will have readers breathless. 

The characters here are well crafted, motivated in understandable ways, and have a variety of reactions to this world they have found themselves in.  The reactions are real, honest and believable.  The world building really works well too.  While there are many questions left unanswered about what brought about the zombies rising, those are questions that are deftly built into the story line.  It works well even with the questions.  We can look ahead to more books in the series that could begin to answer them. 

The cover alone will sell this book, but it is also a great choice for teen book talks.  Set the stage of the zombie world and you will have teens lining up to read this one.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

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Me, Frida: Intensely Beautiful

| Tasha

Me, Frida by Amy Novesky, illustrated by David Diaz

2011 Pura Belpre Honor Book for Illustration

Opening this book is like opening a treasure box filled with images that are deep, fiery, passionate and intensely beautiful.  This is the story of Frida Kahlo and her travel to San Francisco alongside her husband, artist Diego Rivera.  Rivera was hired to paint a mural for the city, but Frida was restless as he started work on it.  As Rivera spent longer and longer hours working, Frida was left alone in a a foreign country and big city.  She didn’t speak much English and knew almost no one.  So Frida began to explore the city on her own, allowing the things she loved to be the focus.  And in the process, she found her own voice and her own artistic vision.  She was no longer silent, but instead a vivacious beauty who would show the world what she was capable of.

Told in simple words by Novesky, this book captures the situation Frida found herself in with clarity.  The author also revels in Frida finding herself and her art, her explorations and her self awareness.  It is a celebration of more than Frida Kahlo.  It is a celebration of women artists of all sorts.  Diaz’s illustrations are done in acrylic, charcoal and varnish on linen.  The combination of media give the illustrations an amazing depth of color that is beautifully saturated at times and light and airy at others.  Just the use of drips in the illustrations is beautifully done.  The drips become age, emotions and trees.  They add a wild beauty to the images that suits the subject well.

A beautiful picture book about an amazing artist, this was surely worthy of the Pura Belpre Honor Award.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller.

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The Fox in the Dark

| Tasha

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The Fox in the Dark by Alison Green, illustrated by Deborah Allwright

Rabbit runs home, frightened that there is a fox chasing him in the dark.  He makes it home safely, but then he hears a Rat-a-tat-tat! at the door.  Who could it be?  It’s a duck who is also being chased by the fox and needs a safe place to be.  Rabbit lets Duck in, sharing his burrow, blanket and bed.  But just then another knock comes at the door.  This time it is Mouse.  Another knock and it’s Lamb.  All of them scared of the fox in the dark.  And then another knock comes at the door.  This time it’s the fox in the dark! 

A combination of dynamic writing and energetic illustrations makes for a stirring read that will have children guessing the entire way through.  Green offers young listeners plenty of rhythm and rhyme that is rambunctious.  It also builds up the drama and tension.  The book reads aloud very well and is sure to have preschool audiences in rapt attention. Allwright’s illustrations play a lot with light and dark, offering deep underground shots of the burrow that is filled with pools of yellow lamplight.  The moods set by this use of dark and light really add even further to the dynamic nature of the story.

Recommended for preschool story times, this book would also make a great Halloween read due to the tension built up.  It would make a great breather from witches and ghosts that time of year.  But don’t wait until then to share it with children!  Fit it into any story time featuring rabbits or foxes.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Read In

| Tasha

   

Doret of theHappyNappyBookseller and Ari of Reading in Color have put together an online Read In that celebrates African American authors.  The first step is to choose from 6 YA titles by African-American authors about African-American teens.  So head to Reading in Color to place your vote for the book you want to discuss and help pick a date for the Read In. 

I have a couple of favorites on the list, which made it difficult to choose.  Votes must be in by this Friday.  (Go Yummy!)

2011 Amelia Bloomer Project

| Tasha

The Amelia Bloomer Project is part of the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibility Roundtable.  The list honors “strong, powerful girls and the books that inspire them.”  Hurrah!

There are many great books on this list, a list that should be used by children’s and teen librarians to keep a focus on strong and confident girls.  I am so happy to see favorites of mine in each of the age groups. 

ALSC 2011 Notable Children’s Books

| Tasha

ALSC has posted their list of the 2011 Notable Children’s Books.  Here is their definition of notable:

“According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.”

The list is filled with many of my favorites of the year, several that I gave as Christmas gifts this holiday season, and I delight in finding others that are new to me.  It’s a great list.