Day: April 2, 2014

Review: The Day My Father Became a Bush by Joke van Leeuwen

| Tasha

day my father became a bush

The Day My Father Became a Bush by Joke van Leeuwen

Toda lives with her father and grandmother.  Her mother left them years earlier and went to a neighboring country.  Now Toda’s father has gone to be a soldier in a war.  Toda discovers that he has learned how to become a bush, so that he will not be shot.  At first Toda stays with her grandmother in their family bakery, but that soon becomes too dangerous.  Her grandmother sends her off to her mother, but Toda must make a dangerous journey with strangers to cross the border.  Though her grandmother has made plans, they go awry along the way and Toda must navigate much of the border crossing on her own.  Even once she is across the border, she doesn’t know where her mother is and how she will ever locate her.  This is a story told from a child’s view of war and being a refugee.

With such an unusual title, I wasn’t sure what this book was going to be about.  It was surprising to find myself in a book about war.  Even more amazing to find that it was a book filled with humor.  Van Leeuwen has written a book with a wild sense of humor but even more importantly a very unique point of view.  Toda sees the world in her own special way, often misunderstanding what adults around her are trying to say.  This gets her into all sorts of adventures along the way. 

With such a grim subject of a child refugee separated from all those who love her and continuing forward on her own, one would expect it to be frightening.  It certainly is at times, yet the grim reality is held at bay much of the time through Toda’s optimism about what is going to happen to her.  There are still moments where the reader is unsure of what is going to happen next and whether Toda is going to be severely injured if not killed.  Those moments are handled with the same frank and open attitude as the more silly moments.  Together they form the fabric of the story, one that is harrowing but also incredible.

Completely unique, this book features a fresh and noteworthy point of view that comes from a young survivor who has no idea how very brave she is.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from NetGalley and Gecko Press.

Review: Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison

| Tasha

extraordinary jane

Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison

Jane lived in an extraordinary world at the circus, but she was just an ordinary dog.  Her mother could do tricks on the back of horses.  Her father could lift an elephant.  Her brothers got shot out of cannons and her sisters performed on the high wire.  But Jane didn’t do any of that.  She tried to find her own special talent, but nothing seemed to work.  She even managed to cause some disasters along the way.  Jane was just ordinary, but in her own quiet way she was very special too.

Harrison has created a quiet heroine in her picture book.  This book will speak to dog lovers but also to children who feel that they don’t live up to their older siblings.  It is a story that celebrates kindness, supportiveness and just being yourself whether that is loud or quiet, flashy or subtle.  The setting of a circus was an inspired choice, offering the most contrast between a regular dog and the daredevil family she has.

Harrison’s art is wonderfully detailed.  She offers spreads of the entire circus and its three rings filled with action.  The dogs fur is shown in individual hairs, the wrinkles on the elephants are striking, and the perspectives are engagingly diverse.

For all of the quiet stars out there, this amazing dog will be inspiring for them to just be themselves.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial.