Month: February 2013

Review: When No One Is Watching by Eileen Spinelli

| Tasha

when no one is watching

When No One Is Watching by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by David A. Johnson

With all of the discussion about quiet and introverted children in classrooms right now, this book could not be more timely.  For those of us who were shy as children, you will recognize yourself in these pages.  Told in first person, the young female narrator finds it easy to be herself when no one is watching.  She is able to dance and spin when alone, but finds herself off to one side when her extended family gets together.  Alone she can be brave and imaginative, when on the playground with other kids she leans alone against a wall.  As the book progresses, another child suddenly pops out in the illustrations.  It’s a new best friend, who is quiet and shy too.  Together the two start to not care about who is watching them at all.

Spinelli does a great job of explaining the freedom of being alone, the imaginative play and the activity that happens when a child is comfortable and free.  She contrasts that clearly in her poem, where the girl who had been brave and active is now quiet and unsure.  Happily, Spinelli does not make this way of feeling seem wrong or strange.  Rather, she has created a character who is shy but willing to make friends and starts to naturally progress to being more sure of herself.

Johnson’s illustrations have a marvelous texture to them.  The main character pops on the pages, dressed in bright colors with wild curls and tumbling shoelaces, she is engaging and shining.  The other characters fade into the background, until Loretta, the new best friend appears and is just as bright as the protagonist.  It’s a subtle and successful look at connections between people.

A strong book that looks at shyness in positive and understanding way, this book will be embraced by children looking for someone just like them in the pages of a picture book.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Review: Etched in Clay by Andrea Cheng

| Tasha

etched in clay

Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet by Andrea Cheng

Told in virtuoso verse, this is the true story of the life of Dave, an enslaved potter who lived in the years before and after Emancipation.  Dave was an artist, most likely making over a thousand pieces of pottery in his lifetime of work of which only 170 survive today.  He inscribed some of his pieces with either his own name, his master’s name and also poetry that he wrote, brief verses that offer a glimpse into his world.  The amount of bravery that small act took is monumental, since Dave faced potential death because he was demonstrating his ability to read and write in a time when it was forbidden for slaves in South Carolina to do so.  Dave serves both as an example of the injustice and brutality of slavery and also as a remarkable example of the artistry and strength of human beings. 

Cheng tells Dave’s story in very short poems.  They are not all in Dave’s voice, sometimes instead being in the voice of his owners, his wife, or his children.  Cheng does not soften the harshness of slavery, offering poems that speak directly to the separation of families through selling them apart and the brutality of the punishments inflicted.  I would not call it unflinching, because one can sense Cheng flinching alongside the reader as she captures the moment but also makes it completely human and important. 

Cheng also did the woodcuts that accompany the poetry.  They are a harmonious combination with the subject matter thanks to their rough edges and hand-hewn feel.  Done only in black and white, they share the same powerful message as the poems.

This powerful book informs middle grade readers about a man who could have been one of the many lost faces of slavery but who through art and bravery had a voice.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Lee & Low Books.

Review: Flight 1-2-3 by Maria van Lieshout

| Tasha

flight 123

Flight 1-2-3 by Maria van Lieshout

Take a ride on a plane in this follow-up to Backseat A-B-See!  The trip begins with a cab ride to the airport and asks readers what they see.  There is 1 airport, 2 luggage carts, 3 check-in desks, and the book progresses to very large numbers, like 100 passengers and 33,000 feet.  Van Lieshout uses all of the official signage you see around the airport to inspire her art.  Those signs are on each page, right next to the numbers to help with counting.  The characters too have a graphic, sign-like quality to them, though the main family has its own quirks like yellow tennis shoes and hair in a black ponytail. 

With minimal text and art that is a playful look at official signage, this counting book will appeal to kids who love planes and also to those heading out on their first plane trip.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

| Tasha

scarlet

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

The second book in the Lunar Chronicles continues the story of Cinder, who is now imprisoned waiting to be taken to Luna.  It is also the story of Scarlet, a newly introduced character, whose grandmother is missing.  Scarlet refuses to give up on her grandmother, though no one is willing to help her.  Eventually, she meets Wolf, a street fighter, who is willing to take her to where her grandmother is being held.  Along the way, the stories of the two girls draw closer and closer together as the ties between them are clarified.  The book rings with action and adventure, the echo of spaceships, and the wonder of mental Lunar abilities.  Identities are revealed, friendships are forged, and one is left breathlessly waiting for book three.

Meyer writes an amazing tale.  Her pacing is just right, lingering at moments that readers want to never end and rushing headlong into the action.  The result is a riveting read, where the author has also created a world that is believable and intriguing.  Her characterization is also strong, with now two incredible female protagonists.  Perhaps best of all is that you can rely on Meyer to not have men rescue her heroines, in fact they are much more likely to be the ones rescuing the men. 

So many series succumb to the sophomore slump, but this book is just as wild, riveting and immensely readable as the first.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Feiwel and Friends.

Review: The Museum by Susan Verde

| Tasha

museum

The Museum by Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Verde captures the energizing nature of a visit to an art museum.  Told in first-person verse, the young female protagonist dances and spins through the gallery, drawing inspiration and emotion from the art around her.  As she moves to a new piece of art, it evokes a new reaction that is entirely in keeping with the art in front of her.  Finally, faced with a blank white canvas, she discovers that her own mind starts to fill in the art on its own.  As she leaves the museum at the end of the day, her world is transformed by the art she has seen that she now carries along with her.  This is an engaging story of a museum visit that is sure to inspire young readers to want to try it for themselves.

Verde’s verse is filled with motion and zing.  While some may see visiting a museum as a more sedentary and intellectual activity, Verde fills it with motion and emotion alike.  She conveys through the young girl’s physical reaction what is happening to her mentally.  It is a very successful take on the transformational quality of art and how it can speak on many levels to viewers.

Reynolds’ art adds to the feel of motion and engagement in the book.  His young figure is constantly in motion, even when she takes a short break, she is inspired by art.  Reynolds’ illustrations are done in his signature fluid style, yet he is able to capture different art periods very effectively.

Ideal to use with a class before a museum exhibit or with children before a family visit to a museum, this is also a book that will inspire reflection about art during a regular day.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams.

Arte Kids Book Series

| Tasha

123 Si!: An Artistic Counting Book in English and Spanish Colores Everywhere!: Colors in English and Spanish Hello, Circulos!: Shapes in English and Spanish

123 Si!: An Artistic Counting Book in English and Spanish by San Antonio Museum of Art

Colores Everywhere!: Colors in English and Spanish by San Antonio Museum of Art

Hello, Circulos!: Shapes in English and Spanish by San Antonio Museum of Art

The San Antonio Museum of Art, the San Antonio Library Foundation and Trinity Press have worked together to create a new series of books for children.  The first book, 123 Si!, was published in 2011 and the next two books followed in 2012.  There are plans for a series of 9 books with two more titles being added in the spring of 2013. 

All three books combine art from the collections at the San Antonio Museum of Art with concepts that toddlers can relate to.  The result are books that are bright and colorful but that offer a wonderful depth of subject matter too.  The books are fully bilingual, giving terms for numbers, colors and shapes in both English and Spanish.  Fully embracing early literacy, the books offer ideas for questions on each page, giving parents cues as to what to talk about in each picture.  It is done in such a way that it’s simple, easy and non-threatening.  Additional information on the art is available at the end of each book.

Three very successful board books that combine bilingual content, great art and basic concepts, these books belong at any library serving a Spanish-speaking population.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Trinity University Press.

Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers 2012

| Tasha

Every year VOYA (The Voice of Youth Advocates) offers a list of the top books of that year for middle school readers.  Middle school can be particularly difficult to purchase for, since students in that age range are transitioning to full teen reads, yet not everything in the teen collection may be appropriate for them.  So here are the best books of 2012  for that age selected by VOYA:

Almost Home The Apothecary Buddy

Almost Home by Joan Bauer

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

Buddy by M. H. Herlong

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale Child of the Mountains Chomp

The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy

Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank

Chomp by Carl Hiassen

Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact Deadweather and Sunrise (The Chronicles of Egg, #1) A Diamond in the Desert

Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact by A. J. Hartley

Deadweather and Sunrise by Geoff Rodkey

A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Double Eva of the Farm Fighting for Dontae

Double by Jenny Valentine

Eva of the Farm by Dia Calhoun

Fighting for Dontae by Mike Castan

Jump into the Sky Kepler's Dream Laugh with the Moon

Jump into the Sky by Shelley Pearsall

Kepler’s Dream by Juliet Bell

Laugh with the Moon by Shana Burg

Liesl & Po The Lions of Little Rock One for the Murphys

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

13790755 Poison Most Vial: A Mystery The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen

Pip and the Wood Witch Curse by Chris Mould

Poison Most Vial by Benedict Carey

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen

Shadow on the Mountain Sway Three Times Lucky

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus

Sway by Amber McRee Turner

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Ungifted Vessel Wonder

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Maze Runner–The Movie

| Tasha

The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)

The film version of Maze Runner by James Dashner has been given a release date.  Director Wes Ball was announced last summer.  Now we know that the movie will be released on February 14, 2014.  This puts it a month earlier than the film version of Divergent, another teen dystopian film based on a book.  Should be quite a year!

Dashner has a new series starting this fall too!

Review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

| Tasha

etiquette and espionage

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

I must admit right up front that I haven’t read Carriger’s adult series The Parasol Protectorate.  So it is with fresh eyes that I came to the first book in her new teen series.  Here we meet Sophronia who at age 14 is rough and tumble enough for her mother to send her to a finishing school, hoping that she will learn proper manners and decorum before her older sister’s debutante ball.  Sophronia thinks she is being sent to a dull school only about curtsying and clothes, but Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality turns out to be about far more than Victorian manners and society.  Instead Sophronia is thrust into adventure right from the trip to school, finding herself the heroine when they are attacked on their travels.  As she discovers her real gifts are embraced by her new school, much of which would chagrin and alarm her mother.  This blend of boarding school and steampunk espionage will not stay on library shelves for long!

Carriger has created a great world in her book, one that I understand is the same as that in her adult novels.  Populated with vampires and werewolves as well as humans, the world that Sophronia is sent to at school reveals that there is far more to life than her mother would approve of.  The setting of a school that floats in the air also adds that distance and isolation that works so well in boarding school novels. 

Happily, Sophronia is a girl who loves adventure and though she may disdain her mother’s focus on fashion and decorum, begins to learn that as well.  She is a brave character, one that is unafraid to go against societal rules.  It makes for a book that is rambunctious and wildly fun while at the same time filled with wide skirts, hats and frippery.  It’s a charming mix.

With the popularity of steampunk, this is one book that belongs in every public library collection for teens.  With no sex and plenty of action, middle school readers will also enjoy it immensely. It’s a very fun read, so expect demand for the upcoming books as well.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from library copy.