Month: November 2014

Review: 100 Things That Make Me Happy by Amy Schwartz

| Tasha

100 things that make me happy

100 Things That Make Me Happy by Amy Schwartz

This flowing and joyous picture book lists one after another things that make someone happy.  Told in rhyming couplets, the book has a jaunty lilt to it that moves it right along.  Though it could become stagnant, this list of happy things never does.  Instead there are little surprises as the book continues, moments that are funny, others that will have young readers nodding along about how much they too love things like sticky glue or camping trips or double scoops.  Perfect for preschoolers to celebrate what makes them happy too, this book is sure to create smiles.

With all of the attention on gratitude journals and seeing that small things in life are what makes us happy, this book fits right in.  Schwartz taps into moments of universal joy and also ones that will inspire new additions to the list.  She manages to keep each page fresh, listing the things one by one.  The font design adds to the cheerful feel as the words are shown straight, curving, and even wiggling along. 

The illustrations too carry that cheer with their bright color and plenty of movement and motion.  They show people of all races on the page, younger and older children, so everyone will be welcomed to share in the happiness.  The images that go from one large one per page to several at a time.  Those changes in pace make for a more dynamic read and one that never grows sing-songy at all.

A book that inspires smiles and pure joy, this book will have universal appeal.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Voyage by Billy Collins

| Tasha

voyage

Voyage by Billy Collins, illustrated by Karen Romagna

The former US Poet Laureate wrote this poem in honor of John Cole who is the Director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.  The poem celebrates reading and books, and the voyage of discovery that writing and words can take us on.  In the book, a young boy gets on a boat and travels across the open sea.  When he can no longer see land, the boat turns into a book which he starts to read.  When he finishes the book, he becomes the book.  The moon looks down as the boy returns to shore with his boat and his book.

Collins offers children a book that truly introduces them to poetry.  This is a book that asks children to stretch and understand that there is more to the story than is right on the page in the words.  The poem is about reading, about journeys, about wonder and the way that books can inspire and change us.  That is not there on the page, and yet it is there if you look for it.  This is a great book to introduce children to deeper poetry and how it too is dazzling.

Romagna’s illustrations take a literal look at the poem, offering images of what the words are depicting and also hinting at the depths behind them as well.  Filled with moments of whimsy with a friendly moon and a blowing cloud with a face, the illustrations are friendly and celebratory.

A poetic picture book that will make a great gift for book lovers, those who enjoy Billy Collins, and children who are ready for their own voyage into poetry.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers

| Tasha

once upon an alphabet

Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers

This unusual and equally marvelous alphabet book surprises and delights with its 26 short stories, one for each letter of the alphabet.  From the very beginning at “A” readers will know they have entered a rather quirky and surreal world.  A is for Astronaut, but Edmund is an astronaut whose afraid of heights.  Even climbing the ladder to the rocket is a bit much for him.  B comes right in afterwards with a tale of a burning bridge where Bob and Bernard cannot get along and so burn the bridge between their houses, but oops, one of them is on the wrong side when he does it.  The book continues, one letter after another and one story after another each with funny, intriguing characters and situations that are snapshots of the oddities of this amazing world. 

Jeffers has created some of my favorite picture books for children and this new alphabet book completely revolutionizes the sing-song of other alphabet books for children.  It’s not exclusively for preschoolers, since elementary-aged children will adore these strange little stories and the quick journeys they take you on.  Rather like potato chips, you can’t read just one but find yourself going on and on.  Jeffers also ties in previous stories to later ones.  You have to be watching, because he does it with subtlety, but it’s a lovely touch.  I admit to cheering aloud when the Lumberjack for the Letter L appeared again.

Jeffers’ art has a loose feel that works well here.  He also has a quirk to his art that matches the tone of the story very nicely.  The line drawings combine with touches of color and watercolor.  He also plays at times with the page itself, showing characters turning the page or popping out from behind. 

A delight of an alphabet book, Jeffers has revolutionized the genre with his impressive, surprising and funny work. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel.

Review: Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell

| Tasha

cartwheeling in thunderstorms

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell

Having loved Rundell’s Rooftoppers, I looked forward to reading this book.  I wasn’t expecting such a different read from her first novel.  Will has grown up on her father’s farm in Zimbabwe.  She plays with the boys on the farm, spending her days on horseback, hanging out with her best friend, and exploring the land.  Her days are pure bliss, filled with golden sunshine, fresh air, and freedom.  But that is not to last.  When her father dies and their farm is sold, Will is reluctantly sent to England to boarding school by her grandfather in a plot devised by her new grandmother.  But Will does not fit in with the girls in the school who torment Will because she is different, refuses to comb her hair, and can’t do the schoolwork.  There is only one choice for Will and that is to run away and try to survive on her own in the wilds of London. 

This book moved me over and over again.  First the beauty and the freedom of Will’s life in Zimbabwe is so beautiful and written with a tension.  It’s almost as if it is a bubble that must inevitably break, and it does.  The father’s death scene is one of the most poignant deaths I have experienced in books for children.  Will’s emotions are so strong on the page, that you literally ache for her and for the further changes to come that readers will see much earlier than Will does.  Going from such beauty to such loss is wrenching and masterful.

Rundell grew up in Zimbabwe and London, so Will’s time in England is equally well drawn.  From the bullying students to the kind teacher to the people she meets on the street, Will encounters all sorts of people.  As her situation grows more dire and one thinks she can’t go on, Will draws from the years of golden sun and freedom and continues on.  Through it all, that golden light continues to shine, hope glows even in the darkest of times. 

Will is a strong, wild heroine, a girl that you want to ride bareback with across Africa and one that all readers will fall madly head over heels for.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.