Month: May 2011

Book Review: Manners Mash-Up

| Tasha

mannersmashup

Manners Mash-Up

Fourteen picture book creators take on manners in this mash up of talent.  Each illustrator is given a double page spread to fill with their work as well as some advice on how to mind their manners.  There is a specific setting in each one, including school, birthday party, table manners, and the supermarket.  All of the illustrators approach manners with a light touch and plenty of humor, meaning that this is one manners book that children will actually enjoy!

One of the pleasures of the book is turning the page and discovering an entirely different style from a new illustrator.   The book includes illustrators like Bob Shea, Tedd Arnold, Lynn Munsinger, Sophie Blackall, and Adam Rex.   It keeps the book very fresh, as each illustrator works in their distinct and unique style.  The lists of manner rules are very silly, especially when they deal with the ultimate manner rule of no picking! 

Manner books at libraries tend to come in sets of books and trend toward the preachy.  This is a fresh, funny look at manners that puts those to shame.  Make room on your library shelf for this one!  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books for Young Readers.

Also reviewed by:

Book Review: These Hands by Margaret H. Mason

| Tasha

thesehands

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Joseph’s grandfather’s hands can still do so many amazing things.  He used to be able to tie knots very quickly, now he helps Joseph learn to tie his shoes.  He can play the piano.  He can show Joseph how to do a waterfall shuffle with cards.  He could pitch a curve ball in his youth, now he can teach Joseph to hit a line drive.  But there were things his hands couldn’t do when he was younger.  His hands were forbidden to touch the bread dough in the Wonder Bread factory.  His hands could touch the broom to sweep the floor, work the line, load the trucks, but not touch the bread.  So his hands helped with the protests and organizing, and now all colors of hands can touch the bread dough.  His hands can do anything in the world.

This is a powerful book that speaks of discrimination in a very tangible way that children will clearly understand.  Mason writes from the point of view of that grandfather speaking to Joseph.  The book has a clear point of view, a ringing tone, and a wonderfully light hand.  Looking at a grandfather through his hands makes him so human yet so amazing.  This focused approach makes the book even stronger.

Cooper’s art is stellar.  The illustrations have a softness that is beautiful, all hard edges softer and rounder.  The light in the art is also particularly well done with its warmth that stays consistent even during the dark times of the story.  The art shows such strength, such vivid storytelling.

Highly recommended, this is a picture book about discrimination and civil rights that will work very well with small children.  There’s plenty to discuss here in a classroom or in a living room.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

| Tasha

divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Beatrice lives the selfless life of a person in the Abnegation faction.  She wears gray, avoids mirrors, and tries to always think of other before herself.  But she feels that she isn’t any good at it, unlike her brother, who manages the strict lifestyle perfectly.  In this dystopian novel set in Chicago, there are five factions who keep the peace.  Now that Beatrice is 16, she is tested for suitability in different factions and then is given the choice of which faction she wants to join.  But her results are odd, indicating that she could be suitable for three of the factions, meaning that she is divergent.  It is something that is not only rare but could put her life in danger if others found out.  Now Beatrice has a choice, leave her family behind in Abnegation or stay and be selfless as she has always been taught.

I tried to keep any spoilers from my summary above.  You’ll find that all of that action happens in the first few chapters.  I avoided reviews of this novel, waiting to get my hands on a copy, and I was very happy to discover the world of Divergent myself. 

Roth has created a dystopian fantasy that is a wild ride of a novel.  There is lots of violence, tons of action, and scenes that are guaranteed to raise your pulse from excitement.  And just with any great teen novel, there is romance.  In this case, it’s a romance that may not surprise but builds and matures with grace.  Roth has created a world that is alarming and very different from our own.  The political intrigue of the novel gives it a wonderful depth.

Beatrice is a great heroine who has plenty of self-doubt, learns about herself, underestimates herself, and learns to make friends, depend on others, yet stay uniquely independent.  She is a strong heroine who shows her vulnerability too.  With that touch of doubt, she becomes a much more human character whom readers can relate to.

A delight of a dystopian fantasy, make sure you have this in your library teen collection.  Get it directly into the hands of Hunger Games fans, who will return begging to know when the next book is coming out!  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

Reviewed all over the blogosphere.

Book Review: If I Never Forever Endeavor by Holly Meade

| Tasha

ifineverforever

If I Never Forever Endeavor by Holly Meade

Capturing the tension of a fledgling about to leave the nest, this picture book celebrates taking chances and testing your wings.  A small yellow bird muses on what would happen if they just stay in the safety of their nest, because though there would be new things to see, there is also plenty to fear.  Of course, if they stay, then there is no flying, no soaring, and no making a new friend to share the air with.  This book will speak to anyone looking to make a change, try something new, or just test the wind a bit.

Meade’s writing her is a poem that is spare yet gentle, a poem that stirs, lifts and soars.  She does not shy away from words like “endeavor” or “scallop” which I really appreciate.  This is a book that will have children and their vocabulary reaching forward too. 

Her art is done in collage, combining watercolor painting with linoleum block printing.  The result is a book that has strong patterns and lines yet also the softness of a watercolor sky to play against.  The play of the graphic against the soft adds a very dynamic feel to the book.

Ideal for the end of the school year as teachers send their students on to the next grade, it would also make a lovely graduation gift.  I’m keeping it in mind for any children’s librarian heading to a new job.  What a treat to have it tucked under one wing.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Candlewick.

Also reviewed by Classroom Connections and Kiss the Book.

Book Review: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

| Tasha

akatawitch

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Sunny is a 12-year-old who lives in Nigeria.  She was born in the United States, but that isn’t what makes her so different from her classmates.  Her albino skin and hair does that.  Sunny is also a great athlete, but she can’t play because her sun reacts so strongly to the sun.  She only gets to play when her brothers agree to play with her in the evening.  Sunny isn’t sure she will ever fit in, but after meeting Orlu and ChiChi, the three of them figure out why Sunny is so special.  She’s a free agent, a member of the Leopard People, allowing her to do juju or magic.  Happily, Orlu and ChiChi are also Leopard People, though not free agents.  Suddenly Sunny is immersed in a new dual life.  Her old life of school and family and her new life learning about juju.  But there is also darkness in her life, as a serial killer preys upon children in Nigeria: a killer who has a special connection to Sunny.

This book is incredible.  Okorafor has created a completely unique and entirely formed world within a world.  She brings modern Nigeria to life and then within it creates an entire society that makes sense, wields magic, and continually surprises and delights.  The construct of the magical society doesn’t linger on the how, rather it is presented as a fully-formed world complete with its own laws, own priorities, and a matter-of-fact relationship to death.

The characters of the four young people in the book are well written and play nicely off of one another.  I particularly enjoyed when they would depart from roles that could have been stereotypical and instead revealed themselves to be very well-rounded characters.  Sunny serves as an ideal person for the readers to learn about the magical world alongside.  She is interested, questioning and frank.  She is a very strong female protagonist who can play soccer better than the boys. 

If you have teens or tweens looking for magical reads that break into a whole new territory, this book is for them.   It celebrates Nigeria, magic and learning.  Appropriate for ages 11-14.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking Publishing.

Also reviewed by:

Gender Bias in Children’s Books

| Tasha

I don’t think that any children’s librarian is going to be surprised by the findings of a recent study of children’s books.  The most comprehensive study of 20th century children’s literature ever done, it revealed a bias towards books that feature boys and men.  Intriguingly, the bias was also present when the characters are animals.

Now, if you has asked me if more books featured boys or girls, I would have automatically answered boys.  I am surprised by the extent of the bias as well as the fact that it had not gotten any better towards the end of the 20th century.  In other words, we aren’t making much progress with gender in children’s books!

Science Daily has some bulleted points in their article about the study that I find particularly interesting:

  • Males are central characters in 57 percent of children’s books published per year, while only 31 percent have female central characters.
  • On average, 36.5 percent of books in each year studied include a male in the title, compared to 17.5 percent that include a female.

While I find the information interesting and important, even more important to me is what we do about it.  It seems to me that it is the same issue we have with all sorts of diversity in children’s books:  races, colors, sexual orientation.  So the question is universal about featuring children and adults in children’s books that speak to all levels of diversity.

What do we do as librarians who are cultivating collections for children? What do we do as book creators to get more girls and even women into our books?  How do we all take responsibility for what children in our world are reading and therefore learning about how society works?

Big thanks to Hedgehog Librarian for the link.

LA Times Book Prize

| Tasha

The winner of the 2011 LA Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature is:

Megan Whalen Turner for A Conspiracy of Kings

 

In additional children’s lit news, the winner of the 2010 Robert Kirsch Award is the amazing Beverly Cleary.  The site has a great article on Cleary’s impact on children’s literature.

Book Review: Fox and Hen Together by Beatrice Rodriguez

| Tasha

foxhentogether

Fox and Hen Together by Beatrice Rodriguez

The story begun in The Chicken Thief continues in this second wordless book.  Here Hen has laid an egg but the refrigerator is empty, so she heads out to catch some fish.  This leaves Fox to watch the egg.  Hen fishes with her friend Crab, but when she catches a large fish, an eagle swoops out of the sky and grabs it.  Hen holds on and so does Crab as the eagle carries them all to its nest filled with hungry babies.  Just when you think they have escaped, a sea monster comes out of the deeps to grab the fish.  Hen manages to escape that danger too, but then enters the house to find that Fox has been having adventures too.

Rodriguez has created a full-color immersive wordless picture book that has great appeal.  The book has a great pacing that shifts from one page to the next, making for a very exciting and fun rollercoaster of a book.  It is all told through bright colors, plenty of action and a storyline that twists and turns. 

I am looking forward to the third in the series, Rooster’s Revenge, coming later this year.  The stories make most sense if you read both of them, learning the tale of the Fox and Hen and how they came to live together.

A bright, action-filled wordless book, it is appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Enchanted Lion.

Also reviewed by

Book Review: Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld

| Tasha

cloudette

Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld

Cloudette is the smallest of clouds.  Usually it was just fine to be the littlest.  She was called by cute nicknames, she had little friends, she was great at hiding, and she even slept in a special spot on the moon.  But sometimes, she felt left out because she was so small.  She couldn’t do the important work that the big clouds did, like storm fronts and rainbows.  She wanted to do something big herself, but all of her big ideas didn’t work out.  One day, she was blown by a storm to a new area where she had never been before.  There she found a lone frog sitting in a dried up pond.  Cloudette knew she could help, but only if she tried very, very hard.  By helping in one place, she realized that there was  a lot one small cloud could do in the world.

Lichtenheld’s text is a pleasure to read aloud.  He has included all sorts of aside comments from the clouds, Cloudette herself, and animals too.  They give the book more flavor and a stronger tone.  The small making a large impact and doing something big is an idea that is featured in a lot of children’s books. Children relate to being the smallest, being envious of what bigger people can do, and feeling powerless themselves. Cloudette is certain to speak directly to the fact that small contributions can add up to something big.

The artwork here is bright, simple and entertaining.  While some pages have a paneled look, many of them are single or double-page spreads.  Lichtenheld nicely contrasts background colors to create a book that is colorful and that will work well with a group.

Cloudette will have you cheering for her and is sure to easily create small fans.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Co.

Also reviewed by:

Watch the book trailer: