Month: September 2011

Review: Celebritrees by Margi Preus

| Tasha

celebritrees

Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World by Margi Preus, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

This book carries readers through the stories of fourteen “celebritrees” which have made a name for themselves.  Many of the tress are very old, some are special in different ways, and all are fascinating.  Here you will visit Methuselah, the oldest known single living organism on earth, and General Sherman, the biggest living inhabitant of earth, and Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world.  There are trees famous for events around them, trees that have objects stuck in them, and even a tree that owns itself.  This is an inviting book of trees that is a pleasure to spend time in.

Preus paints pictures of moments in history to help tell the amazing stories of these trees.  From the events they witnessed to the events they were at the heart of, the trees are much more than simply largest, oldest, and tallest.  Here they have stories that bring them fully to life. 

Gibbon’s art has a simplicity that is almost that of folk art.  There is a richness to the color palette and a flatness to the perspective.  The trees are central to the art, as they should be, and the book celebrates them in browns and greens.

It is great fun to wander through this a veritable forest of famous trees.  Enjoy the journey, I certainly did!  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina

| Tasha

tia isa wants a car

Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina, illustrated by Claudio Munoz

A little girl’s Tia Isa wants to get a car in order to take the family to the beach.  She wants one that is the color of the ocean with pointy wings at the back.  But Tio Andres laughs at the idea, calling it “ridiculous.”  They don’t have much money, but head to a car dealer where they find out they need to save more.  So the little girl sets out to help.  She stacks fruit at the store, feeds people’s pets, and teaches Spanish.  She waits until her money sock is bulging full and then surprises her Tia Isa.  Immediately, they run to the car dealer where they find just the right car way in back near the fence. 

A story of family and the importance of saving money for your dreams, this book will resonate with children who are saving their money for a large purchase as well as children from families where saving money is difficult but vital.  Medina writes with lovely imagery that creates a very vivid reading experience.  Readers discover that Tia Isa smells of lemon pies from the bakery where she works, that the car dealer smells of tar, and that work boots resemble ogre shoes. 

Munoz’s illustrations depict an urban neighborhood of apartments where neighbors help one another.  There is a feeling of safety in the illustrations, offering that rare glimpse in picture books of urban life without urban decay.  The illustrations of the family have that same feeling of warmth and belonging.

Dreams, savings, waiting and helping: this book speaks to all of those and ends with a refreshing ocean breeze.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by There’s a Book.

Review: Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan

| Tasha

pregnant pause

Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan

Released September 19, 2011.

Eleanor has always made the worst decisions but this one may top them all.  She’s now pregnant and married to her boyfriend.  Oh, and stuck in a cabin, at a weight-loss camp, with her in-laws who definitely don’t approve of her.  Her parents have left her to return to Kenya and their missionary work with AIDS infants.  Everyone wants Eleanor’s baby.  Her older sister who has been struggling with infertility wants the baby.  Her in-laws who lost a child in infancy want it too.  But Eleanor and her husband are the only ones who can decide what they are going to do.  As Eleanor works at the camp with the children, she learns that she has a real skill with kids.  And of course, she does it in her own way.  Now she just has to figure how to handle her marriage, pregnancy, and a baby.

Nolan’s writing is exquisite.  She has created a protagonist in Eleanor who is definitely a hero, but also challenges the reader with her anger, her biting wit, and her choices.  Eleanor reads as a real person, with self-doubts and real emotions that originate naturally from the story line.  Nolan writes with a confidence and skill here, showing that there is life beyond pregnancy but it is filled with difficult choices and unexpected events.

A strong and riveting look at teen pregnancy, this book reaches far beyond a single issue and straight to the heart of a compelling character.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group.

Also reviewed by:

Review: A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston

| Tasha

butterfly is patient

A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

This third book in their series together continues the beautiful detail and natural information of A Seed Is Sleepy and An Egg Is Quiet.  Here the subject is butterflies and the book begins with the egg and caterpillars, moving quickly into metamorphosis with the clear knowledge of where exactly children will be intrigued.  The book speaks to butterflies’ roles in pollination as well as their camouflage, drinking, and poisonous capabilities.  Readers will be intrigued with the scaly close-up of a butterfly wing and with the long-travels of the migrating monarch.  This book is full of great details that will have everyone understanding that butterflies are many things as well as lovely to look at.

Aston and Long create books that have readers lingering.  When I share them with my son, we take our time on the pages, talking about our favorite names of the butterflies, our favorite caterpillars, the most lovely butterflies.  He has used the fact about butterfly scales on their wings at least twice in conversations I have overheard since we read this.  When we found a dead monarch in our driveway, he was elated to be able to touch the wing and talked about how it felt “as soft as air” for a long time afterwards.

These are gateway to science books, offering just the right tone and perfectly selected facts.  Add the illustrations that are large, interesting and filled with details.  You now have the ideal package to get children interested in the nature right in their own backyards.

If you haven’t read any of these books, run to your library and get them!  This is one gorgeous and inviting look at butterflies.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Review: The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy

| Tasha

cheshire cheese cat

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright, illustrated by Barry Moser

Skilley is an alley cat who is down on his luck, he has a broken tail, tattered ears, and has grown used to dodging brooms and wheels.  So when he hears that Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a local inn, needs a mouser, he concocts a plan to become that cat.  But Skilley has a horrible, shameful secret that he carries with him: he doesn’t eat mice.  Instead he prefers a good nibble of cheese.  Discovering this, a mouse named Pip strikes up a deal.  The mice of The Cheese will provide Skilley with the cheese he needs in exchange for him pretending to nab them and eat them.  The plan is perfection for a short time, until an evil cat named Pinch enters the inn and more secrets start coming out.  Add some historical British figures and you have an engaging romp of a novel for middle readers.

The authors have created a historical fiction novel that is also an animal novel.  It has figures like Charles Dickens and Thackeray, but mostly focuses on the animals themselves.  It is a novel that explores friendship and accepting yourself even if there are things that you might be ashamed of.  These messages are woven skillfully throughout the story and never become overbearing.

The pacing of the novel is also skillfully done.  There are quieter moments in the novel, but the foreshadowing makes even those uneasy ones.  Once the story really gets going, it reads quickly.  I couldn’t put it down in the last few chapters because I was so caught up in the story.

I’m not a huge animal story fan.  It seems that they tend to be tearful, overly emotive, and generally tragic.  That is not the case here.  Instead readers will cheer on the heroes, worry for their safety, and find themselves in the midst of a grand adventure in Elizabethan England.

Highly recommended, this book is one delicious read with a pleasing mix of sweet and savory.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Also reviewed by:

Review: King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently

| Tasha

king jack and the dragon

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Open this book and you are immersed in a wonderful world of make-believe that you will not want to leave.  There is a timelessness to not only the story here, but the way it is told. 

Jack, Zack and Caspar were making a fort for King Jack out of a large box, a sheet, a blanket, some sticks, broken bricks, some trash bags, and other odds and ends.  Then they spent the entire day fighting dragons and beasts until they returned back to their fort for a celebratory feast.  Unfortunately, after that a giant came and took Sir Zack home.  Then another giant came and took Caspar off to bed.  That left King Jack alone on his throne in his fort.  As darkness fell, he tried to not feel frightened of the noises of wind and the scurrying of animals.  He wasn’t really truly scared until he heard the four footed beast approaching in the dark. 

Beautifully told by Bently, this book reads aloud with zest and style.  The story moves from the building of the fort to the playing of pretend through to the end of the day when reality comes calling for each of the children.  It is a story that speaks to the power of imagination, the ability of children to create worlds that they fall into, and the love of play.  The entire text captures that sense of play, merrily creating tension towards the end of the book without any real fear.

Oxenbury’s illustrations help to strengthen the timelessness of the story.  The sweetness of her illustrations is tempered by the ferocity of the dragons and beasts she depicts.  Yet there is no real danger here, and her illustrations help underline that to the youngest of readers.

Have large boxes and plenty of “swords” ready after you share this book.  It is sure to create some new knights out of any children who listen to it.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

| Tasha

page by paige

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Paige has just moved with her family to New York City.  She is having trouble relating to her mother and had to leave her best friend behind.  Now she has to find people in the big city who can understand her.  But before she can do that, she has to start to understand herself.  Is she the quiet girl or can she become an extroverted artist?  As Paige struggles to find herself and to find her voice as an artist, readers are treated to an extraordinary look at the process of art combined with the process of finding friends and love.

Gulledge has created a graphic novel where the visuals are powerful and speak volumes.  She turns the comic format into one that is strongly artistic and very visual.  Here we see the emotions of Paige brought to visual life from her self-doubts to her most self-aware.  Paige is a character that readers with artistic interests will relate to easily.  Her yearning to create combined with her doubts and worries make for a book with plenty to inspire other young artists to take the risk of creation.

Get this in the hands of tween and teen artists and step back.  A truly inspiring read.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Check out the trailer that gives a sense of the great art: