Month: October 2013

Review: Moo! by David LaRochelle

| Tasha

moo

Moo! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

Told in just a couple of words, this picture book is one wild ride.  When the farmer puts a sign up that says that his car is for sale, it catches the attention of a cow nearby.  She jumps right in and starts off driving up hill and down:  Moooooooooooooooo.  But then disaster strikes:  Moo!  And she lands in trouble with the police.  She tries to explain herself, but the officer just sends her back home, walking.  When the farmer finds out, what is a cow to do?  You will just have to see how this romp of a picture book ends.

The partnership between author and illustrator is so seamless that I not sure who came up with the concepts.  The text in the book is entirely animal noises and is so simple that any small child will be able to read it on their own after just one shared reading.  Who knew that “moo” could say so much!  The illustrations are simple as well, and play up the jolly humor of the book. 

A simple book perfect for storytime, expect lots of giggles on this joy ride.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

| Tasha

curtsies and conspiracies

Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Released November 5, 2013.

This is the second book in Carriger’s young adult Finishing School series.  Sophronia is still getting into all sorts of trouble aboard the floating finishing school she attends.  It’s an unusual finishing school that prepares its students to be spies and agents as well as ladies of quality.  The girls are tested on their skills and Sophronia when is announced as getting record high scores, the other girls shun her.  Sophronia tries to fill the loss of her friendships by spending more time down in the boiler rooms, but soon she has other distractions.  Boys from Bunsen’s school are on board to travel with the female students to see the testing of a vehicle that will be able to travel the aether.  But there is more to it than that, and Sophronia is determined to figure out why and how the vampires and werewolves are involved.

I loved the first book in the series and was pleased to see the second one lived up to the promise of the first.  Second books in series often suffer from a sophomore slump, but that is not the case here.  In fact, this book builds on the premise of the first and adds much more to the information that the readers have of this steampunk world and its rules.  It also has just as much action, subterfuge and adventure as the first, all done in petticoats and ruffles.

The best part of these books is the humor that laces everything.  Sophronia is a girl who sees past the beauty of society and into the ridiculousness beyond it.  She is a strong protagonist whose wry takes on her own world make for sparkling humor.

For teens looking for steampunk novels, this series is a great one to recommend.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from digital review copy received from Edelweiss and Little, Brown.

Review: Night Light by Nicholas Blechman

| Tasha

night light

Night Light by Nicholas Blechman

Count from one to ten in this picture book all about lights at night.  The book begins with a black page and just one light shining through from a die cut to the page beyond.  Turn the page and you see that one light is a train.  Keep turning and you start counting more and more lights, each attached to a different vehicle.  Some of the pages have clues so that you can guess what sort of vehicle it is.  This is a book perfect for small children to start to count and ideal for children who love trucks, planes and trains.

Blechman keeps his writing very simple.  The real draw of the book is the clever use of die cuts to show just the lights before you turn the page.  The blackness of the page also adds to the drama and suspense very nicely.  The book is printed on heavier pages, making it very friendly for toddler hands.

A simple and engaging book for young truck lovers that is a mix of counting and guessing game.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Ann Jonas Has Died

| Tasha

 

Ann Jonas, creator of some amazing picture books, has died at age 81 according to Publisher’s Weekly.  She is the creator of the very innovating Round Trip, a black and white picture book that flipped over and you read it backwards to finish the story.

Jonas was married to Donald Crews, also an author and illustrator of children’s picture books.  She is also the mother of Nina Crews who too creates children’s books.  That’s one talented family!

Review: Battling Boy by Paul Pope

| Tasha

battling boy

Battling Boy by Paul Pope

This is the first book in a new graphic novel series.  Monsters are attacking Acropolis but they are protected by the hero Haggard West, until he is killed.  Now their fate is in the hands of a young twelve-year-old sent from outer space.  He has powers of different animals that he accesses by wearing different t-shirts.  He can fight, but the monsters are cunning and strong.  Teens from his planet go rambling, but few return.  Battling Boy must not just save Acropolis, he has to prove his worth, make a cunning plan, fight epic battles, and survive.

The reader is quickly thrown into the story in this graphic novel which lays very little background at all.  That approach is perfect for this fast-paced storyline where everything is explained on the fly and the reader has to pick up on clues to put it all together.  Even as the reader is wondering about some things, the action has picked them up and moved them onward.  The result is a brawling book that is a surprisingly engaging read.

Pope’s art has a wonderful vintage comic feel.  The storyline also has its vintage moments but also bursts of surprises.  The melding of steampunk, deities, outer space and monsters makes for a fresh read.

Young fans of graphic novels will find a lot to love here: big battles, a young hero and a mashup of genres.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

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 I hope you find interesting:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

13 Day of the Dead books for kids | Babble http://buff.ly/19JdgfJ #kidlit

Bewitching Tales | Great Books for Halloween | SLJ – http://buff.ly/1hR3f2Z #kidlit

Caldecott winner David Wiesner bends kids’ brains with Mr. Wuffles! | Artery | Indy Week http://buff.ly/H1Q7fz #kidlit

Neil Gaiman: Let children read the books they love | Books | The Guardian http://buff.ly/H1QzdJ #kidlit

EBOOKS

ALA welcomes Macmillan expansion of library ebook lending | District Dispatch http://buff.ly/1asgmn2 #ebooks

Calvin and Hobbes | Coming Soon to a Tablet Near You – http://buff.ly/15ZJUfS #ebooks

LIBRARIES

BeerBrarian: The End of "The End of Libraries" http://buff.ly/1arfMWI #libraries

In digital age, librarians are needed more than ever [infographic] http://buff.ly/1hQWrSX #libraries

Looking for a 2 a.m. library fix? Milwaukee to debut 24-hour vending http://buff.ly/H1Qo24 #libraries

New breed of teen-services librarians emerges – Lifestyle – The Boston Globe http://buff.ly/19H2ad2 #libraries #librarians

READING

7 Unconventional Reasons Why You Absolutely Should Be Reading Books http://buff.ly/1ahPZAc #reading

Read Literary Fiction Before Dates or Meetings for Social Success http://buff.ly/16EupbJ #reading

Reading gives kids an edge, study says http://buff.ly/1hR47oi #reading

TEEN READS

Lockwood & Co. | The Interactive Game – YouTube http://buff.ly/1gLcS5l – Looking forward to the new book by Jonathan Stroud!

Neil Gaiman novel banned by New Mexico school after mother objects | Books http://buff.ly/19yiqgc

Review: Dusk by Uri Shulevitz

| Tasha

dusk

Dusk by Uri Shulevitz

On a snowy December evening, a boy, his dog, and grandfather talk a walk.  They stop to watch the sun sink over the river and then they head into the city.  There people are in a great hurry.  There are people shopping for gifts for their children, others heading home to feed their cats, and even an alien speaking its own language.  As darkness falls, the lights in the city start to turn on.  First just a few, then more, and finally the boy and grandfather are downtown near the large shop windows and it is revealed that this is a holiday book with different windows celebrating Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa. 

It took until that final reveal to realize that I was reading a holiday book, and that is a wonderful thing.  Instead of centering on the holidays, this book is about quiet moments and time spent together just looking at the changing light in the sky and in the city.  The text is so simple, then becomes dancing complexity when the people start to talk, then returns to the simplicity again.  Readers will be jolted by the change, just as if their own quiet walk at dusk was interrupted.

Shulevitz’s art is so beautiful.  He captures the setting sun with colors that will make readers linger alongside the characters in the book.  He plays throughout the book with shadows, light and darkness.  As the lights come on in the book, the light is warm against the winter darkness and pools in liquid on the ground.  In the reveal of the holiday windows, the illustrations become detailed and honeyed.  Again, a place to linger and bask in that holiday mood.

A top holiday pick, this book is a lovely companion to Snow and stands on its own too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Review: Don’t Spill the Milk by Stephen Davies

| Tasha

dont spill the milk

Don’t Spill the Milk by Stephen Davies, illustrated by Christopher Corr

Penda lives in a tiny village in Niger with her family.  Her father has headed up into the grasslands with the sheep.  Penda volunteers to take her father a bowl of milk and has to try not to spill any along the way.  She puts the milk on her head and starts to walk.  She has to walk along the sand dunes and between the dancers at the rainy-season mask dance.  Then she takes a boat across the Niger River with the milk still on her head.  After that she has to climb one last mountain and there is her father.  She’s almost there when…  You will have to read whether Penda delivers the milk successfully or not.  

Davies has traveled extensively in Africa and carefully chose the setting of the Niger River thanks to its varied landscape and intriguing animals.  All of the landforms in the book exist in this area as do the animals too, including the unusual and endangered pale giraffes.  Davies writes with a lovely rhythm that moves the book along quickly.  Penda speaks to herself as she walks, reminding herself to pay attention in couplets of natural verse.

Corr’s art is eye-poppingly bright with yellow skies, orange hills, and blue water.  Against those bright colors, the characters wear even more color filled with designs.  The book evokes the vibrancy of Africa and the bustle of its villages. 

Expect small children to want to try to carry bowls of liquids on their own heads after this beautiful introduction to Africa.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Explorer: the Lost Islands

| Tasha

explorer lost islands

Explorer: The Lost Islands edited by Kazu Kibuishi

This second book in the Explorer series again takes a single theme and has short illustrated stories that center on that.  The book is a collection of different illustrators and authors, so one story to the next is very different both in the story itself and in the style of the art.  It makes for a very compelling book to read.  I had several favorite stories in the book, including The Mask Dance by Chrystin Garland where the setting is dark and looming and people are disguised by masks.  The reveal of the truth is great fun while still being dark and eerie.  Another favorite was Desert Island Playlist by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier.  Readers of Smile and Drama will enjoy seeing another piece of work by Telgemeier.  This story too has a mystery at its heart all set on a desert island.  This is another strong graphic novel that young readers are sure to enjoy.

This second book loses some of the darkness and wonder of the first which was a masterpiece.  At the same time, it is a book worth getting because it displays such a wide range of art styles and story types.  Both books in the series are like unwrapping presents when you turn to a new story, you are sure to be surprised.

Amulet fans, graphic novel readers and students interested in art should all find something to love in this new collection.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams.