Author: Tasha

Sit-In

| Tasha

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illlustrated by Brian Pinkney

Inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. four young men sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960.  They placed their simple order of a doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side, and sat quietly, refusing to comply with the Whites Only rule.  The next day, more people joined them, sitting still for what was right.  The sit-ins got bigger and moved beyond lunch counters to buses, parks and libraries.  The students were jailed for loafing, but they didn’t resist.  All of these brave actions led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Pinkney has written this book with such verve and style that it reads like a King speech.  Throughout, she has woven the threads of the lunch counter, coffee and recipes, reminding readers again and again where it all started.  Her use of repetition and poetic style really make the book sing.  Brian Pinkney’s illustrations are done in watercolor and India ink.  They capture the time with an exuberant style that is filled with colors and the swirls of motion.  Though the people sit still, the illustrations are in motion, moving to the future with them.

Highly recommended, this book truly captures the wonder of this time, the courage it took to sit still, and the progress that was made.  This husband and wife team have created a powerful book about a vital time in our history.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Little Brown and Company.

Also reviewed by Muddy Puddle Musings and Wild Geese Guides.

Mockingbird

| Tasha

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Released April 15, 2010.

In this small novel, Erskine has combined the tragedy of a school shooting with the unique voice of Asperger’s syndrome.  Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has been killed in a school shooting along with others.  As Caitlin struggles to understand the emotions around her and the feelings she herself has, she has to do it for the first time without her brother helping her.  She tries to do it without flapping her hands, without burying herself in her father’s sweater, but she does retreat to her safe places like under the dresser in Devon’s room.  Her world is black and white, just like her award-winning drawings, color only confuses things.  But as the days go by, Caitlin begins to connect with other people in new ways and perhaps through her own literal understanding of things she just might find closure and help others find it too.

I don’t feel that I can encapsulate this book in a paragraph.  It is so much larger than I can describe, so much more profound and uplifting.  Erskine has taken two ideas that seem very divergent and created something amazing from them.  The two become more vital and important joined into a single book than they would have been separately.  Caitlin’s own grief is explored in such a literal and detached way that it becomes even more painful to witness.  Her inability to speak her emotions hands them over to the reader to feel for her.  We all become a part of her syndrome and feel it to our bones.

Through the lens of Caitlin readers also get to witness the grief of others.  Get to wince when Caitlin puts something too bluntly.  Cry when she is unable to understand.  Rejoice when connection is made, no matter how small.  Through Caitlin we get to see difference as a sliding scale that we too fit on somewhere.

This is a book about one family, one tragedy, one girl, but it reaches far beyond that.  It is a book about surviving, about scrambling for connections, about living life in color.  It is about fear, about being alone, and about reaching out despite how very hard it is.

I think we are going to hear a lot about this book with its large scope of ideas offered in a small package through the eyes of a brilliant girl.  I hope we do hear a lot about it.  It should be read in classrooms, discussed and embraced. 

Beautifully written, this book has the power to unite.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy provided by Philomel.

2010 Astrid Lindgren Award

| Tasha

Kitty Crowther has won the 2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s literature.  She is a Belgian illustrator and author of more than 30 books.

The award comes with a 5 million kroner prize, about $620,000.

2010 Bistro Book of the Year Awards Shortlist

| Tasha

Ten books have been named to the shortlist for the best children’s books in Ireland.  The winners will be announced on Monday, May 24th.

 
An Greasaí Bróg agus na Síoga by Catríona Hastings, illustrated by Andrew Hastings

Chalkline by Jane Mitchell

Gluaiseacht by Alan Titley

Colm and the Lazarus Key by Kieran Mark Crowley

Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by PJ Lynch

Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd

 

The Eyeball Collector by FE Higgins

The Gates by John Connolly

The Third Pig Detective Agency by Bob Burke

There by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick

 

Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom for the link!

Where Is Catkin?

| Tasha

Where Is Catkin? by Janet Lord, illustrated by Julie Paschkis

Catkin heads out to hunt in the garden.  He sees and hears different animals in the garden but he can’t catch them.  There is a cricket, a frog, a mouse, a snake, and a bird.  After Catkin pounces them they disappear from view.  But sharp-eyed readers will be able to spy them hiding.  Finally, Catkin climbs a tree to catch a bird, but goes too high.  Now it is Amy’s job to find Catkin in the garden and rescue him!

The first thing you will notice about this book is its amazing illustrations.  Done in an almost Slavic motif, they are rich, deep colored and stylized.  As Catkin pounces an animal it appears in the yellow and red border, adding another layer to this book.  Lord’s text is brief and invites young readers to participate in the seeking and finding of the animals.  Readers will enjoy spotting not only the animals in the text, but also insects and other animals. 

A richly illustrated seek-and-find book that is perfect for the youngest listeners.  I would suggest using this with only a very small group, because the pleasure of the book is to look closely at the illustrations and talk about them. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Also reviewed by Beth Fish Reads, 7 Imp, and We Love Children’s Books.

Boom Boom Go Away!

| Tasha

Boom Boom Go Away! by Laura Geringer, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Vintage toys combine with noise and mayhem to create a fabulous bedtime read!

When a small boy is asked to go to bed, he responds by starting up his toys one by one in response.  The little gnome is at the heart of it all as he bangs the drum with a “Go away, boom boom.  Go away!”  An elf dings on a gong, a prince screeches on his bassoon, a knight plays his bells, more and more toys join in, creating a great rhythm and song as they do.  But in the end, the noise is not enough to keep the little boy awake and they all wind down with a “Go away! Hush, hush… boom boom. Go away.”

Reading this book is great fun.  Geringer has created just the right mix of noises and sounds to make reading this book aloud a treat.  The rhythm makes it easier, the sounds are different enough to be interesting, and her framing of the story is done with a gentle touch.  Ibatoulline’s illustrations are beautifully done in a soft yet bright palette that really reinforces the vintage feel of the toys.  The writing, the fonts and the illustrations all work together to create a charmer of a book.

Highly recommended for pajama story times or a bedtime read, this book may become one of those books that is asked for again and again.  If you are going to use this with a group, consider handing out instruments or assigning noises to kids.  They are sure to love adding to the rhythm.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from book received from Atheneum Publishers (Simon & Schuster)

Also reviewed by The Excelsior File and Young Books.

2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners

| Tasha

IBBY logo

The 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners have just been announced!

David Almond from the UK has won the author award!

Jutta Bauer from Germany has won the illustrator award!

Now, I haven’t read the Jutta Bauer book above, but don’t you love that cover?  Makes me wish I could read German better!

Little Brother – The Movie

| Tasha

According to Heat Vision, Angryfilms has optioned Cory Doctorow’s novel Little Brother.  Doctorow is the also the co-editor of the very popular blog BoingBoing.

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Hex Hall

| Tasha

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

When Sophie’s love charm goes horribly wrong at prom, she is sentenced to Hex Hall, a reform school for witches, shapeshifters, fairies and vampires.  Having been raised by a non-gifted mother, Sophie knows little about the magic world which gets her into trouble at Hex Hall.  In her first day, she is rooming with the controversial vampire, Jenna, she has angered three powerful dark witches, and she has a hopeless crush on one of the dark witch’s boyfriend.  Could it get any worse?  Throw in detention time spent cataloging garbage in a cellar, a strange spirit who won’t leave her alone, and family secrets and you have a wild ride of a book that is sure to please.

Hawkins has managed to write a story filled with witches, magic, vampires and other fantasy elements but also not to take herself too seriously.  The writing has a lot of humor, much of it pitched directly at current fantasy novel tropes.  Sophie herself is a character filled with sarcasm and a biting wit.  Without this writing style, the book could have suffered from the over dramatic and serious tones of many of these novels.  Here the lightness works well, creating a very funny and readable novel.

At the same time, the book is not just light.  There are dark themes here, real dangers and delightful diversions.  I quite enjoyed the mix of light and dark, humor and tension.  It kept the pages turning quickly.

Recommended for fans and non-fans of Twilight, both will find reasons to enjoy this novel and to look forward to the rest of the series.  Appropriate for ages 13-15.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Tempting Persephone, Whimsical Whamsical Whumsical, My Life Uncensored, Wondrous Reads, Frenetic Reader, The Compulsive Reader, Beyond Books, and many more.