Month: November 2012

Review: Life-Size Farm by Teruyuki Komiya

| Tasha

life size farm

Life-Size Farm by Teruyuki Komiya

This fourth in the “Life-Size” book series takes on farm animals in glorious full-size photographs.  Just like the others in the series, there are panels that offer more detailed information, including the animals name, age, and scientific name.  There are details about physical characteristics that are explained further as well as a list of facts.  All of these are presented in bright colors and with a playful feel.  But it is the photographs in their large size and with the clarity and detail that they offer that will have children taking this book home and lingering over it.

Several of the pages unfold to show even larger images of animals.  The huge furry alpaca and the enormous cow will generate lots of interest.  What is most amazing here is that the size of all of the animals is surprising and fun.  Even better, the quality of the photographs is always high and offer lots of small details to pay attention to.

A great pick for library shelves, though the size is large enough to make them not fit on shelves easily!  This is an excellent addition to a popular nonfiction series for children.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Seven Footer Kids.

Review: Ask the Passengers by A. S. King

| Tasha

ask the passengers

Ask the Passengers by A. S. King

Astrid wishes there was someone who could just listen to her without pressuring her.  Her mother is too pushy and driven to confide in, her father too withdrawn and high.  Her younger sister makes jokes that would make it impossible for Astrid to tell her the truth.  The truth is that Astrid has been kissing a girl and may just be in love with her.  But Astrid isn’t sure that she is really gay.  It may be that she just loves Dee for being Dee and not because they are both gay.  To make matters worse, Astrid’s best friends are in a fake relationship to keep their own secrets.  Astrid spends a lot of time on the picnic table in her backyard watching the planes fly overhead.  She beams them her love, tells them her secrets, and asks them for advice.  When the gay club that she and her friends frequent gets raided, Astrid is forced to start to confront the truth about herself, her family, and her friends.

King has captured the story of a girl questioning her sexuality here, but the story also transcends that and will reach teens who are questioning other aspects of themselves too.  It is a story that encapsulates that particular blend of wonder and fear that comes as a teen who is learning about themselves in such a private way that the rest of the world doesn’t change along with them.  Beautifully written, this is a book that speaks to the fragility and yet strength of that time.

In addition, King has created such a strong character voice here.  It rings with truth, never becoming snarky but really capturing a teen aspect.  Astrid’s messages to the plane passengers add an additional sense of magic and wonder to the story.  As she beams her love up, passengers receive it, make decisions based it, question their own lives, and react.  It adds an important dimension to the book, showing that throughout our lives people are still questioning.

This is a striking read with a vibrant heroine and a radiant point of view that itself beams with love and acceptance.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts this week that you might find interesting:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

30 Picture Book Biographies | Delightful Children’s Books http://buff.ly/PM4OXS

Tony DiTerlizzi’s Top 10 Books for Creeping Out Kids | GeekDad |http://Wired.com http://buff.ly/RnCar9

Top tips for writing ghost stories: Cornelia Funke | Children’s books |http://guardian.co.uk http://buff.ly/Q5ZHBT

E-BOOKS

[In the US], "e-books are beginning to acquire the low-growth behavior of their print equivalents":http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/10/have-we-already-reached-peak-e-book/ …

LIBRARIES

Supreme Court Justices Worry About ‘Parade Of Horribles’ If They Agree You Don’t Own What You Bought | Techdirt http://buff.ly/SrWo7h

PUBLISHING

Are Self-Publishing Authors Killing the Publishing Industry?http://buff.ly/S7Oa47

SOCIAL MEDIA

How Pinterest Is Getting More People Into Crafting http://buff.ly/RtIdM0

Meet the man behind “Is Twitter Wrong?” who helped debunk fake pictures during Hurricane Sandy | PandoDaily http://buff.ly/Rprb0u

The Social Media Zombie Apocalypse: http://mashable.com/2012/10/31/social-media-zombie-infographic/

Trace social campaign results down to the Tweet with Google Analytics: http://owl.li/eIt6v #ROI

TECHNOLOGY

Google’s Street View Goes Into The Wild http://buff.ly/S3Lwwr

How a Google Headhunter’s E-Mail Unraveled a Massive Net Security Hole | Threat Level | http://Wired.com http://buff.ly/S435w9

One of the most impressive things at Apple’s last event last were the uber thin iMacs. Here’s how Apple did it: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/imac-tech/ …

TEEN LIT

America’s Facebook Generation Is Reading Strong : NPRhttp://buff.ly/PO7PHd

Top Five Most Epic Romances of Young Adult Fiction http://buff.ly/RqhOxx #yalit

WORK/LIFE

Why I’m Joining The Movement To Stop Answering After-Hours Emailhttp://buff.ly/PZf1QG

Review: The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech

| Tasha

great unexpected

The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech

When the boy falls out of the tree right at Naomi’s feet, she thinks it’s a dead body.  But instead it’s Finn, a boy who seems to have come from nowhere and be tied to no one.  Naomi too could seem adrift as an orphan, but after her father died a neighbor couple took her in and gave her a home.  Her best friend Lizzie is also an orphan and hoping to be adopted by her foster family.  Their story entwines with that of a wealthy woman in Ireland whose background is slowly exposed and the connections tightened.  This is a journey of a book, one that offers great eccentric characters, a town that has many secrets, and the amazement of unexpected ties to one another.

A new book by Creech is always something I look forward to and this is one of her best.  The intricate ties and reveals in the book make it a spectacular read and a book that unwinds like a curving road before you.  The writing is solid and lovely.  Creech takes the time to make each character special, even when just glimpsed for a single scene.  There is always something tantalizing about them and you know there are further depths there. 

Creech’s novel is all about hope and connections in life.  It is a book that uplifts and brings joy.  There is also some darkness here, death and life next to each other, survival and loss.  It is not an easy world that is portrayed here and things are not simple.  But there is beauty and hope and transcendence.

Highly recommended, this is a book that will delight Creech fans and create new ones.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins.

2012 New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books

| Tasha

Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books by reading!  This is a great list of some gorgeous books.  Here are the winners:

Bear Despair The Beetle Book

Bear Despair by Gaëtan Dorémus
The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins

House Held Up by TreesThe Hueys in the New Sweater
House Held Up by Trees by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Jon Klassen

The Hueys in the New Sweater by Oliver Jeffers

Infinity and Me Little Bird
Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford, illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska
Little Bird by Germano Zullo, illustrated by Albertine

One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World Red Knit Cap Girl
One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World by Joe McKendry
Red Knit Cap Girl by Naoko Stoop

Stephen and the Beetle Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad
Stephen and the Beetle by Jorge Luján, illustrated by Chiara Carrer
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

Review: The Insomniacs by Karina Wolf

| Tasha

insomniacs

The Insomniacs by Karina Wolf, illustrated by the Brothers Hilts

When Mrs. Insomniac gets a new job, the family moves 12 time zones to their new home.  They had been a regular day-light family, but in the new place they found it hard to stay awake in the day and fall asleep at night.  They tried everything from warm milk to meditation, but nothing worked.  Looking out of their dark windows, they discovered that there were many nocturnal animals out there.  There were bats, bears, and owls.  So the family decided to spend their awake time in the darkness.  They had breakfast at dusk, grew moonlight cactuses as a garden, studied the stars and attended night school.  They are a happy night-time family.

Wolf has created a gorgeous tribute to the wonders of the night here with a delight of a strange family as the lens.  There are such lovely little moments like watching “the fishes nipping at the surface of the sea: when the family goes moonbathing.  The family adventures out and finds the flower market open and the bakeries bustling.  It makes one want to head out in the darkness and see what is happening in your community.  There is also a memorable tribute to the dark side of nature and nocturnal animals that removes the scare and makes the entire nighttime welcoming.

The Brothers Hilts’ illustrations glow with the light of the moon and play darkness upon darkness.  The entire book is shadowy, but somehow also cheery and dazzling.  Darkness is celebrated in all of its black and blue beauty.

A treat of a picture book, this is a quirky winner that will have everyone staying up well past their bedtimes.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

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