Author: Tasha

The Goblin and the Empty Chair

| Tasha

 

The Goblin and the Empty Chair by Mem Fox, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Long ago, a goblin caught sight on himself in a reflection.  Frightened so much by what he saw, he vowed never to show his face again.  He spent many years alone.  But then he saw a farmer stop chopping wood, sigh and put his face in his hands.  The goblin went to work that night and though he tried not to be seen, the farmer saw him.  The following day on the same farm, the goblin saw a woman stop  gardening and put her face in her hands.  That night the goblin again worked on the farm and though he tried to be careful, the woman saw him.  The next day, a child on the farm put down her book and buried her face in her hands.  That night, the goblin soothed her and sat with her and though he was careful, the girl saw him.  The next morning, the family gathered for breakfast at a table with one chair that had been empty all winter.  They left the door open for the goblin to come in and fill that empty chair. 

This book told is an original fairy tale by one of the world’s top story tellers.  Mem Fox has created a sympathetic character in a goblin, which one would not expect.  Her skill at the fairy tale format with its repetition and spare style is masterful.  She has created a story that is open wide with opportunity.  There is space here for haunting, for fear, for spine tingles and for a happy ending.

Leo and Diane Dillon took that opportunity and created a goblin that is graceful and princely, with large ears and flowing green hair.  Readers never see the goblin’s face, making him more of a tragic hero than a monster.  There is a touch of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast here, speaking about the quality of the internal rather than external.

A highly successful collaboration between a master storyteller and master illustrators.  Appropriate for ages 4-8. 

You can listen to Mem Fox read the book here.

Reviewed from library copy.

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway

| Tasha

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway by Amy Hest, illustrated by Elivia Savadier

When you meet a bear on Broadway, you stick out your hand and ask them to stop.  Then you politely ask what his business is there.  He bursts into tears saying that he has lost his mother.  The two of you think of how to find her together.  Then you look uptown.  And downtown.  Along the river.  Until you find a forest where the bear climbs a tall tree and shouts for his mother.  But will a mama bear be able to hear him in the middle of a bustling city?

Though the styles are very different, this has the feel of Laura Numeroff’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie feel.  It is the short lines and the repeating phrase of “When you meet a bear on Broadway.”  Hest takes this form and creates a book about being lost, being helped, and being found.  There is never any sense of panic about the child helping the bear.  It is far more of a problem solving book about what to do when you find a bear on a city street. 

The book has a nice bit of old-fashioned whimsy about it though the setting is modern.  Savadier’s illustrations contribute to this with their gentle lines and watercolor washes.  The little girl and the bear are often the only bright color on the page, magnifying their relationship rather than the largeness of the city itself.

Funny, quiet and very satisfying, this book would be nice paired with any of Numeroff’s If You titles.  It also offers a nice change of pace for any bear-themed stories.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books.

2010 Kate Greenaway Medal Longlist

| Tasha

The longlist for the 2010 Kate Greenaway Medal has been announced.  This is the UK award for children’s book illustration. 

Here are the nominees:

Allwright, Deborah (text by Jill Lewis) Don’t Read This Book!
Ayto, Russell (text by Andy Cutbill) The Best Cow in Show
Baker-Smith, Grahame (text by Angela McAllister) Leon and the Place Between
Bartram, Simon Bob’s Best Ever Friend
Blackwood, Freya (text by Margaret Wild) Harry and Hopper


Blackwood, Freya (text by Roddy Doyle) Her Mother’s Face
Bright, Rachel What does Daddy do?
Clare, Imogen (text by Sanchia Oppenheimer) Lucy Goes to Market
Clark, Emma Chichester (text by Colin McNaughton) Not Last Night But The Night Before
Cleminson, Katie Box of Tricks
Cooper, Helen Dog Biscuit


Fardell, John Manfred the Baddie
Fearnley, Jan Milo Armadillo
Finlay, Lizzie Dandylion
Foreman, Michael A Child’s Garden: A Story of Hope
Fucile, Tony Let’s Do Nothing!
Gliori, Debi The Trouble with Dragons
Gravett, Emily Dogs
Gravett, Emily The Rabbit Problem
Grey, Mini Traction Man meets Turbodog
Horacek, Petr Elephant


Hyde, Catherine (text by Carol Ann Duffy) The Princess’ Blankets
Ingman, Bruce (text by Allan Ahlberg) The Pencil
Jeffers, Oliver The Great Paper Caper
Kitamura, Satoshi Millie’s Marvellous Hat
Kitamura, Satoshi (text by John Agard) The Young Inferno
Kohara, Kazuno The Haunted House
Lloyd, Sam Mr Pusskins Best In Show
Lord, Leonie (text by Martin Waddell) The Dirty Great Dinosaur


MacLennan, Cathy Monkey, Monkey, Monkey
McKean, Dave (text by Neil Gaiman) Crazy Hair
Milton, Alexandra (text by Giles Milton) Call Me Gorgeous!
Odriozola, Elena (text by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz) The story blanket
PatrickGeorge A Filth of Starlings
Rayner, Catherine Sylvia and Bird
Riddell, Chris (text by Martin Jenkins) Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote
Riddell, Chris (text by Neil Gaiman) The Graveyard Book
Roberts, David (text by Julia Donaldson) The Troll
Roberts, David (text by Paul Fleischman) The Dunderheads


Ross, Tony (text by Jeanne Willis) Big Bad Bun
Russell, Natalie Moon Rabbit
Scheffler, Axel (text by Julia Donaldson) Stick Man
Schwarz, Viviane There are Cats in this Book
Sharratt, Nick The Foggy, Foggy Forest
Stojic, Manja (text by Harriet Blackford) Gorilla’s Story
Tatarnikov, Pavel (text by John Matthews) Arthur of Albion
Williams, Marcia My Secret War Diary, by Flossie Albright
Wormell, Chris Ferocious Wild Beasts!

Carnegie Medal Longlist

| Tasha

The 2010 Carnegie Medal Longlist has been announced.  This is the UK’s outstanding children’s book award.  I love that they do a long list and always hope that the Newbery folk are going to add a long and short list to their process.  Talk about adding drama! 

Here are the nominees:

Agard, John The Young Inferno
Allen-Gray, Alison Lifegame
Almond, David Jackdaw Summer
Anderson, Laurie Halse Chains
Anderson, R J Knife
Ashley, Bernard Solitaire
Bowler, Tim Bloodchild
Brennan, Sarah Rees The Demon’s Lexicon
Brooks, Kevin Killing God


Burgess, Melvin Nicholas Dane
Caldecott, Elen How Kirsty Jenkins stole the elephant
Cassidy, Anne The Dead House
Chancellor, Henry The Remarkable Adventures of Tom Scatterhorn: The Museum’s Secret
Christopher, Lucy Stolen
Creech, Sharon Hate That Cat
Crossley-Holland, Kevin Waterslain Angels
Dogar, Sharon Falling
Donaldson, Julia Running on the cracks


Dowd, Siobhan Solace of the Road
Dowswell, Paul Auslander
Finn, Daniel Two Good Thieves
Fisk, Pauline Flying for Frankie
Forman, Gayle If I Stay
Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book
Golding, Julia Wolf Cry
Grant, Helen The Vanishing of Katharina Linden


Hardinge, Frances Gullstruck Island
Hearn, Julie Rowan the Strange
Higgins, F E The Eyeball Collector
Hoffman, Mary Troubadour
Kennen, Ally Bedlam
LaFleur, Suzanne Love, Aubrey
Laird, Elizabeth The Witching Hour
Manning, Mick & Granstrom, Brita Tail-End Charlie
Muchamore, Robert Brigands M.C.
Ness, Patrick The Ask and the Answer
Newbery, Linda The Sandfather
Patterson, James Max


Peet, Mal Exposure
Perera, Anna Guantanamo Boy
Philip, Gillian Crossing the Line
Pratchett, Terry Nation
Rai, Bali City of Ghosts
Reeve, Philip Fever Crumb
Riordan, James The Sniper
Riordan, Rick Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
Sedgwick, Marcus The Kiss of Death


Sedgwick, Marcus Revolver
Strangolov, Lazlo Feather and Bone
Stroud, Jonathan Heroes of the Valley
Valentine, Jenny The Ant Colony
Ward, Rachel Numbers
Whitley, David The Midnight Charter
Wilson, Leslie Saving Rafael

Remember, lots of these may not be out in the US yet.

Thanks to Charlotte for the heads-up that the list was announced!

What’s Coming for Christmas

| Tasha

What’s Coming for Christmas? by Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben

Something was coming, but what could it be?  Images of a farm family on the wintry days before a holiday are filled with snow, icicles, sleds and snowmen.  The home is filled with cinnamon, wrapping paper, and pine.  Even the animals out in the fields know that something is coming.  With lots of foreshadowing and wonderful suspense, this book has a great twist in the end that will delight everyone.

Christmas books can often leave one feeling jaded and distant from the holidays.  Santa in a swimsuit, elves bowling, and the emphasis on piles and piles of presents.  This book does a great job of being about the season itself with its scents, sounds, tastes and activities.  Banks starts each page with a refrain: “Something is coming.”  From there she uses poetry to take readers on a holiday visit to the farm with all of its wonders.  Hallensleben’s illustrations are done in lush, thick colors that reflect the warmth, spice and chill of the season. 

The best holiday book I have seen this year.  Find a spot for it on library shelves and share it for holiday story times.  Appropriate for ages 3-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Lips Touch

| Tasha

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo

In three stories, this book explores the power of a kiss and its ability to change one’s life.  The first story, Goblin Fruit, features a teen who has been raised by a family who still lives off the land and believes in the old stories.  But Kizzy longs to be loved, yearns to be noticed.  She is noticed by a beautiful new boy at the school.  Readers will immediately realize that this is too good to be real, but will Kizzy?  The second story, Spicy Little Curses, is set in India.  An elderly woman visits a demon in hell and negotiates for the lives of children.  In one deal, she trades the lives of over 20 children for a single curse.  That curse gives a young English woman who has been born and raised in India the most beautiful voice in the world.  The twist is that if she speaks, anyone who hears her will die.  In the final story, Hatchling, readers find themselves in a fairy tale that turns dark with the howling of wolves and a race of beings who collect children as pets, breed them for coloring, and have lost their souls. 

Taylor’s writing here is lush with imagery.  Her language is rich and sensual, dark and frightening.  She explores large, deep themes without hesitation, leading readers through explorations of lust, longing, and trust.  Through her skilled characterization, readers are captivated almost immediately by each story.  They are not linked stories, but are laced together loosely by theme and tone.  Taylor creates three distinct stories, each fascinating and complex.  The grouping of the three together is masterful with each of them becoming stronger by being next to another. 

These are short stories that will have teen readers asking for more.  Point them towards Margo Lanagan for more short stories that have dark themes.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from publisher.  ARC did not contain the bulk of the illustrations.

Also reviewed by Becky’s Book Reviews, Charlotte’s Library, and A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy.

All of Me! A Book of Thanks

| Tasha

All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang

A small child thanks each body part for how well they work.  Fine feet hold you up, hands can grab and hold, arms to hug, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and heart.  Each bit of us is constantly supporting our life, allowing us to do what we need to do.  Every day we feel so many different things, do so many different things.  And in the end?  We are part of the universe and alive!

Bang’s art is so beautiful and simple here.  The end pages of the book feature some of her work space and then some ideas for children to start creating their own illustrations and books.  The book features felt, crayon, paint, and most importantly for its inherent feel: brown paper bags.  The brown paper creates a very organic feel to the book that works brilliantly with the subject.

Her words are simple too, allowing children to really think about what each of their body parts does. They will also realize how important each of these small functions are to their days and lives.  Bang approaches all of this with a sense of joy and playfulness that is echoed in the art.

For parents who are practicing mindfulness or daily gratitude, this book is the perfect way to get your children thinking in a positive way about small, basic parts of their lives.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Luv Ya Bunches

| Tasha

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

Yes, this is the book that was not included in Scholastic Book Fairs because one of the characters has lesbian parents.  Sheesh!  That has since changed and they will be carrying the title. 

This book though is so much more than the subject of that controversy!  It’s funny, smart, and simply wonderful.

It all starts with a big gesture in the hallway made by Katie-Rose, who slams into Milla, sending her backpack and everything in it skittering across the floor.  Katie-Rose skulks away, so Yasaman is blamed for the event though she had nothing to do with it.  Violet, the new girl, saw it all and is the one who discovers a tiny toy turtle left behind on the floor.  The mean Modessa and her lackey Quin are a large part of the bad things that happen next, but you will have to read the book to find out what that is!  Let’s just say that friendship will triumph in the end.

The book is told from the point of view of all four girls and as in Myracle’s previous books incorporates online chatting.  It also has her trademark ease with dialogue as well as her deep understanding of tweens.  The four main characters are distinct, unique and interesting.  They all have their own insecurities, moments of bravery, and challenges.  Each girl approaches school and creating friendships differently.  All four girls are racially different and this book nicely avoids any stereotyping of them. 

And just for the record, the same-sex parents are seen in passing just like the rest of the parents in the story.  They drop off, pick up, make costumes, etc.  They are not the focus of the story at all.  Another thing that makes this book so refreshing and real.

This is a fun, candid book that will have late elementary school girls hooked before the first page ends.  The issues faced by the girls are real, tangible, and very intriguing.  It only gets better when readers learn at the end that there will be more in the series!  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Welcome to My Tweendom and TheHappyNappyBookseller.

Finn Throws a Fit!

| Tasha

Finn Throws a Fit! by David Elliott, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering

I was sold on this book from the very first page, which features a huge image of Finn hugging a peach.  The look on his face of complete and utter bliss is the essence of joy.  Then of course, the book changes… 

Today, Finn does not like peaches.  He doesn’t like anything at all.  He is just plain grumpy!  He slams doors, yells, cries, stomps his feet.  His temper is so huge that when he does these things they have disastrous effects.  His tears flood the house.  Lightning flashes when he yells.  It’s an earthquake when he stomps his feet.  And then it is over.  Readers find out why he was cranky, and now?  Now, he’d like a peach please.

For any parent who has ever survived toddler tantrums, this book hits the mark perfectly.  The drama of the fit itself is right on, cranked up to the ultimate level just as every tantrum feels.  For me, the best moment of the book beyond that charmer of a first page is the end of the fit which ends with this line:

“It lasts until it doesn’t.” 

Exactly.  Perfectly and succinctly put. 

Elliott’s writing is very simple and yet dramatic.  The short sentences on each page make this a perfect book for toddlers who just may be capable of this sort of tantrum.  Ering’s art is delightfully wild, filled with stormy clouds of emotion.  Done in charcoal, oil paint and grease pencil they work very well in both the sunny parts of the book and the dramatic. 

A perfect choice for toddler story time, you could have them yell, stomp, and more while reading.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.