Month: December 2013

Review: King for a Day by Rukhsana Khan

| Tasha

king for a day

King for a Day by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Christiane Kromer

It is Basant in the city of Lahore, Pakistan and Malik has only made one kite to use in the kite battles over the city.  Malik is still sure of himself though, eager to show how fast his Falcon kite is.  Malik is especially interested in teaching the bully who lives next door a lesson for all of the times he’s said horrible things to Malik and his sister.  He also dreams of being the king of Basant, the best kite fighter in the city.  Malik spends his day freeing other kites by cutting their strings, and at the end of the day he has a pile of kites at his feet.  Then the neighborhood bully emerges again and tries to take a kite from a little girl, but Malik uses his new status as King to solve the problem.

Khan has captured a unique festival in Pakistan that is vivid, visual and offers children the ability to take on the city for a day.  Malik sits in a wheelchair throughout the book, but it is never mentioned in the text.  This quiet acceptance of a disability adds power to the idea that Basant is a holiday for everyone and that all abilities and ages can participate.  Khan has a nice touch with the kite battles, creating drama by sharing details but also making sure that the story is fast-paced and interesting.

Kromer’s illustrations are a beautiful mix of paper art and textiles.  Using textiles from the region brings in the deep colors and textures.  The paper arts capture the crispness of the kites in the sky and also the beauty of the people.  The mix of the two has a richness that suits the subject.

Celebrate Basant with this picture book that offers a glimpse of the Pakistani culture through the eyes of a young boy.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from digital copy received from Edelweiss.

Kirkus Best Teen Books of 2013

| Tasha

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Kirkus has released their list of the Best Teen Books of 2013.  Fifty books that include a lot of my favorites of the year and also some nice new books for my to-read list.  What are your favorites from the list?

Review: Salt by Helen Frost

| Tasha

salt

Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost

In 1812 in Indian Territory, two boys forge a friendship over hunting, fishing and survival of their families.  James’ family runs the trading post at Fort Wayne, living right outside the walls of the fort.  Anikwa’s family, members of the Miami tribe, has lived on this land for generations.  Now two armies are heading right to Fort Wayne to battle, the Americans and British will meet for a critical battle.  The question becomes whose side the Miami will be on when the battle occurs.  But even more deep is the question of whether the friendship between the two boys and their two families can survive this battle and the losses that it brings.

Frost has mastered the verse novel, creating a work that functions as beautiful poetry with profound depths and also as a complete novel.  Frost puts a human face on history in this novel that tells the story of a major battle in the war of 1812.  By the time the soldiers arrive, readers care deeply for both boys and their families.  So when the destruction starts, the wounds are real and the losses far beyond numbers.  The poems show readers the beauty of the landscape, the bounty of the land, and all that is possibly lost afterwards.

Frost writes from both boys’ points of view in alternating poems.  So the lifestyle and losses of both families is shown from their own points of view.  Anikwa’s poems are done in a poetic form that creates a pattern on the page.  Frost explains in her notes at the end that this is to mimic Miami ribbon work.  Without knowing this while reading, I could still see the square form of James’ poem representing the fort and the home he lived in next to the motion-filled form of Anikwa’s poems that exuded nature. 

An exquisite verse novel that fills history with real people and war with real loss.  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from library copy.

2013 GoodReads Choice Awards

| Tasha

GoodReads has announced the winners and runners-up in their 2013 GoodReads Choice Awards.  With almost 2 million votes cast for books in 20 categories, here are the ones that are children and teen related.  You can click on the link in the category name to see all of the nominees and how the votes were cast.

Graphic Novels & Comics

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia Avatar by Gene Luen Yang

WINNER: Beautiful Creatures: The Manga by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

RUNNER UP: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 1 by Gene Luen Yang

 

Middle Grade & Children’s

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

WINNER: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

RUNNER UP: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

 

Picture Books

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt The Dark by Lemony Snicket

WINNER: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

RUNNER UP: The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen

 

Young Adult Fantasy

Allegiant by Veronica Roth Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

WINNER: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

RUNNER UP: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

 

Young Adult Fiction

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

WINNER: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

RUNNER UP: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Review: Winter Is for Snow by Robert Neubecker

| Tasha

winter is for snow

Winter Is for Snow by Robert Neubecker

A brother and sister have very different reactions to the newly fallen snow outside.  The boy opens the curtains and quickly announces that “Winter is for snow!”  But his younger sister is not convinced.  The boy tries and tries to explain how wonderful winter can be, but she remains grumpy.  She does get on her coat, books, hat, mittens and more to head outside though, still protesting about how it is too cold outside and she’d rather watch TV.  Once the two reach the sledding hill, her resistance is starting to crumble and she puts her tongue out to catch some snowflakes.  Back home warm in front of the fire, it is now her turn to talk about how amazing winter and snow are. 

Written in clever rhymes, the book also has a wonderful rhythm to it that makes it great fun to read aloud.  The entire book is written in the dialogue of the two children as they go back and forth about winter.  The little boy has so many examples of why winter is incredible, including ones from the Arctic, sledding and skating, snowmen, and holidays.  It is a wonderful, jolly take on winter that we don’t see enough.

Neubecker’s illustrations are simple and large, perfect for sharing with a group.  The two children have bright orange hair, and more colors come in when the outdoors is shown.  I love that winter outside is more than blues and whites, it is filled with the colors of a community celebrating snow themselves.

This is a great book to share for a non-holiday winter story time with its rhyming text and exuberant love of snow.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Africa Is My Home by Monica Edinger

| Tasha

africa is my home

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd

Based on a real person from history, this fictionalized account is told through the eyes of Margru, one of the few children aboard the Amistad.  Due to a famine in Mendeland, West Africa, Margru’s father was forced to pawn her out to feed the rest of the family.  From there, Margru is taken captive and put upon a slave ship with many other people heading for a plantation in the Caribbean.  But on the journey, the captive men rebelled against their captors and took over the ship, attempting to sail it back to Africa.  Deceived by the ship’s navigator, they landed in Long Island, NY and the adults were put on trial.  The children were kept as witnesses to the crimes aboard the ship.  Margru longed for her African homeland but also ended up learning not only to read but graduating from college as a teacher.  This is Margru’s story of fear, bravery, slavery, captivity and freedom.

Edinger beautifully captures this famous moment in history from Margru’s point of view.  The use of the first person perspective makes the book read as easily as fiction, but throughout the reader can also feel the weight of the historical research behind the story.   The use of historical information throughout the book is very helpful and combined with that first person view it is a book that is compelling reading with a heroine who is equally fascinating.

Byrd’s art is stunning.  He uses moves gracefully between historically-accurate images that capture important historical moments to more stylized pictures that flow with lines and dream of Africa.  He starkly contrasts the worlds of the greens of Africa and the cold, formality of the United States. 

Beautifully written and illustrated, this book gives a first-person account of the Amistad, looking beyond the revolt into the trial and what happened to one little girl caught in history.  Appropriate for ages 8-10.

Reviewed from library copy.