Author: Tasha

Katherine Paterson – 2nd National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

| Tasha

Wow, I did not see that coming!  I am very pleasantly surprised.  What a lovely choice!

Katherine Paterson has written some of my favorite children’s books.  Note to self: must include at least one in my list for Fuse #8’s Top 100 Children’s Fiction. 

I adore two of her books in particular.  One from the 1980s, Jacob Have I Loved has so much going for it.  Rivalry, drama, tension, complex family relationships and beautiful writing that can carry such a strong story with ease.

The other is Paterson’s latest, The Day of the Pelican, which speaks to the plight of modern refugees.  It is a thin volume with such an important story.  You can see my review here.

Congratulations to Ms. Paterson may she reign with the same heroism and strength we see in her novels. 

The Everything Machine

| Tasha

The Everything Machine by Matt Novak

On planet Quirk, they have an Everything Machine that does all of the work.  The machine cooks, cleans, gardens, paints, and even colors in the children’s coloring books and scratches people’s backs.  But one day, the machine stopped working.  There was no noise from its gears and whirring.  The people tried to fix it, but nothing worked.  Then they found a label that told them to call a repairman from Planet Bing Bong.  He immediately arrived and took the machine apart.  But now what were they to do!  They tried to help themselves but it was very hard to suddenly have to care for yourself.  Eventually it got easier and then it became fun to cook, garden, and color.  After months and months, the machine was finally fixed.  The problem was then that the people liked doing things themselves, so what could they do with the Everything Machine?

A brilliant statement on modern life and technology, this book is filled with humor both in its text and illustrations which keeps it from becoming heavy handed.  Novak’s illustrations feature cartoon-like aliens which are very human except for their single antenna topped with a red ball.  Novak excels at framed illustrations that show the people struggling to do things for themselves.  Nearly wordless, that two-page spread is pure vaudeville humor that every child will love. 

Highly recommended, this book has Everything and humor too.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Maze Runner

| Tasha

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The only thing Thomas remembers when he wakes up on the lift is his name.  When the doors open, he is in the Glade where he is greeted by many other teen boys who also don’t remember anything beyond their names and the Glade.  The Glade is a community based on order and structure. Every morning the doors open to the maze, every evening they close.  Though some boys have been there for years, they have never solved the maze and found an exit.  There are monsters in the maze, creations of flesh and metal that roam the maze and attack any boy they find there.  Thomas finds himself wanting to be a Runner, one of the boys who tries to solve the enormous maze, even though commonsense tells him not to do it.  The day after Thomas arrives, everything changes when an unconscious girl arrives on the lift, and deep inside Thomas recognizes her though he can’t remember anything else.  Could she be the key to the maze?  Could he?

Grippingly written, this book grabs the reader from the moment the lift doors open and never lets go.  Dashner has created a wonderfully conceived compact world that really works well.  The reader knows no more than Thomas, making it a book with constant questions and tensions.  One of the only issues I had with the book was Thomas himself.  I would have enjoyed a more regular protagonist rather than a boy who is braver, stronger, and more clever than any of the others.  The book has great pacing which is headlong and wild, fitting the subject perfectly.  And though Thomas may be a bit to super, his character has a strong inner voice that works well.  The setting is written with such clarity that readers will feel they know the space well by the end of the novel. 

Highly recommended, the next book in the series will be eagerly awaited by those who read it.  Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games series, this book is appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Bravo, Jon Scieszka

| Tasha

First, let’s all be pronouncing his name correctly, which I hadn’t been for years and years until I listened to this. 

Jon brings such a manic glee and joy to children’s literature.  As a children’s librarian many years ago, I loved putting his books into the hands of skeptical older children and seeing their faces light up when they read the first pages.  There was an instant kinship, a connection, a silliness.  His books are infectious in the very best way.   Ideally shared with others, they spread viral laughter everywhere.

Better than handing the books to children was to get the opportunity to read them aloud to third through fifth graders.  Those grades where pulling a picture book out of your bad draws groans and an assumption that you don’t understand them.  A misapprehension that disappears as it is replaced with delight.

They are part of my never-fail pile, my go-to books that speak to everyone and light up the room.

So Bravo Jon Scieszka.  Bravo!

Christmas Break

| Tasha

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I’ll be taking a long Christmas break with my family until January 4th.

May your holidays be filled with great books, reading together, and plenty of love and food. 

Happy Holidays!

One of the Survivors

| Tasha

One of the Survivors by Susan Shaw

Joey’s mother died in a fire a little more than a year ago, so when the new fire alarm system at his school starts to go off, it makes him jumpy.  Finally, when the static combines with the alarm to garble the message from the office, Joey insists that his class has to leave the building.  But no one listens to him except for his best friend Maureen.  They are the only two in their class to survive the fire.  Now Joey and Maureen are being accused of setting the fire by those who lost family members.  Joey begins a journal to try to get some of the images out of his head, hoping that he can start to heal himself even as he struggles with the grief of an entire community.

Shaw, author of The Boy from the Basement, writes spare, electric prose.  She has an ability to take an overwhelming subject and tame it enough for readers to truly understand the emotional wreckage left behind.  Joey and Maureen seem younger than high schoolers in this novel, something that makes them read as even more vulnerable and damaged.   Joey is a fascinating lens to see the events through, as he battles the guilt and loneliness of being a survivor.  Joey’s story is told with honesty and great strength.

Highly recommended, this novel is a gripping and also thoughtful book about the consequences of small choices and the bravery it takes to survive them.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

 

A Friend Like You

| Tasha

A Friend Like You by Tanja Askani

Through photographs taken at her animal shelter and rehab center in Germany, Askani explores friendships.  The photographs are unusual pairings of animals from pigs and dogs to owls and squirrels.   The book has one line of text per photo making it very child-friendly though the textual content never matches the quality of the photos.  It is the photos and the afterward that is filled with details about the relationships of the animals that really make this book special.  Children will page through it again and again, and even adults will want to share the image of the bunny sticking his tongue out at a hedgehog.  OK, I want one for my office wall.

Don’t let it’s cutesy cover and text fool you, this is a charming book with lots to offer.  The book features wild animals as well as domesticated, making for some of the most intriguing photographs.  Readers will ignore the text provided, and instead have conversations about the animals and friendships of their own.  No one will miss the message that no matter how different we seem, we can be friends. 

Recommended for libraries where the photographs will easily get this into the hands of animal-loving children.  This won’t work well for a story time, because the pleasure is in the end pages and the personal discussions, but children will love having a chance to pore over the pages and share their favorite images.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by 4IQREAD.

Tell Me a Dragon

| Tasha

Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris

Explore the world of wondrous dragons that come in all sizes and colors.  There are huge white dragons that fly through night skies, dragons that breathe flower petals not flame, and enormous dragons with tails as long as rivers that share cupcakes.  There are also tiny dragons, dragons made of fire, dragons that whisper stories and songs in your ear, and dragons that curl around you in your bed.  So the question is, with so many dragons what does yours look like?

Morris has created a book that is a lyrical song in honor of individuality and imagination.  Her dragons are all very different but all have curling talons and gleaming eyes in their combination of feline and lizard.  Dragons here are not to be feared but adored as the illustrations show.  The range of dragons from ice to water to fire and beyond is a delight to page through. 

This book is a great conversation starter or would serve as a wonderful basis for dragon art where children could draw their own dragon.  My 8-year-old is often unwilling to indulge in the questions of picture books anymore, but this one really spoke to him.  By the end, he had his own large dragon firmly in mind, a combination of all of the elements with all sorts of fire and ice breath and a deep blue-black color.  He was also eager to look at the end pages of the book and select which of the eggs his dragon would emerge from. 

A book that is beautiful in its own right and one that also demands that children participate, dream and wish on their own as well.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Featured on 7-Imp.

Odd and the Frost Giants

| Tasha

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Brett Helquist.

Odd’s father died on a Viking ship, leaving Odd and his mother behind.  A few weeks later, Odd tried to chop down a tree with his father’s axe and ended up shattering his leg.  Now he still walks with a limp and is teased and mocked at home.  Tempers are rising in the village because spring should have come but winter continues its hold on the land.  Odd heads off to his father’s hunting lodge to escape the increasing teasing.  There he meets three animals: an enormous bear, a fox and an eagle.  The three turn out to be Norse gods who are trapped in animal form and banished from Asgard which has been invaded by Frost Giants.  Can one limping boy and three animals get back into the land of Asgard, bring peace and return spring to the land?

Neil Gaiman has written a small jewel of a book about an unexpected hero.  It is a focused story told in a voice that is meant to be shared aloud.  Odd is a pleasing character.  A smart boy with a sad past who is braver and stronger than anyone knew.   Gaiman’s language here is plain and simple, the story short and fast-moving.  Yet at the same time this is not a shallow piece.  It has heart and plenty of depth.  The occasional illustrations by Brett Helquist add to its friendliness for young readers and offer tantalizing glimpses of Odd’s world.

Any teacher doing a unit on mythology should add this book to your list.  It will also be useful with reluctant readers who will enjoy the direct story and the fast pacing.  Appropriate for ages 8-11, younger for reading aloud.  This is a perfect book for cold winter nights.

Reviewed from library copy.

Reviewed by Tor, Charlotte’s Library, Eva’s Book Addiction, and Chasing Ray.