Book Reviews

Review: Seeds of Freedom by Hester Bass

| Tasha

seeds of freedom

Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama by Hester Bass, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Violence was a large part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.  However in Huntsville, Alabama something quite different happened, quietly and successfully.  They managed through cooperation, quiet civil disobedience, and courage to stand up for what was right for all members of their community.  There were lunchroom protests where young black people sat at the counters they were not allowed to eat at.  There were marches with signs.  There were arrests, even one of a mother with an infant that gained national news. There were lovely protests like refusing to purchase new clothes for Easter and instead dressing in blue jeans to deny some stores their business. There were balloons with messages of coming together even as a segregationist ran for governor. There were brave children who attended schools where they were the only people of color. Yet it all happened in a community of support and with no violence at all.

Bass emphasizes throughout her book that there were challenges in the society and reasons for protest.  Time and again though just as the reader thinks things will be more rough and confrontational, it abates and progress is made. Her use of details from the other cities in Alabama as well as the national Civil Rights Movement will show children how violent the struggles often were. It is against that backdrop that the progress in Huntsville really shines.

Lewis’s paintings also shine.  He captures the strength and determination of those working for their civil rights.  On each page there is hope from the children reaching to the sky with their balloons to the one black child in the class and his smile.  It all captures both the solemnity of the struggle and the power of achieving change.

Beautifully told and illustrated, this nonfiction picture book offers a compelling story about a community’s willingness to change without violence.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Prairie Fire by E.K. Johnston

| Tasha

prairie fire

Prairie Fire by E.K. Johnston

Released March 1, 2015.

This sequel to The Story of Owen continues the dragon-slaying adventures of Siobhan and Owen.  Upon graduating from high school, Owen joins the Oil Watch, the international organization that trains dragon slayers and their support teams to fight a variety of different dragons. Despite the damage to her hands, Siobhan manages to qualify to join the Oil Watch too, the first bard in a long time to do so. They must first survive basic training, designed to get them working as a team and Siobhan has the added problem of figuring out a role for a bard in a situation where it is about killing dragons, putting out fires, and tending medical emergencies. As their basic training ends, the dragon slayers are sent all over the world to where they are needed most. But the Canadian government has not forgiven Owen for what happened and their posting is not one that will forge a new dragon slaying hero. That is unless Siobhan can create the songs and stories that tell a different story.

With writing just as fresh and engaging as the first book, this new novel is superb. It builds upon the first novel, returning us to that wonderful world of alternate history with a modern Canada and North America awash in dragon fire. Johnston continues to show her prowess is rewriting history and filling it with dragons as well as creating a new Canada and United States with boundaries that shift and politics that are complexly drawn.

At its heart always though is the intense friendship of Siobhan and Owen, a bard and her dragon slayer, a musician and her muse. Johnston continues as she did in the first book to create a story that is not about romance but instead two complicated people who care deeply for one another as friends. Again, there is no kissing between the two and no longing glances either. It makes for a refreshing change.

A riveting read with a powerful ending that I am working hard not to spoil in the least. This novel is beautifully written, bravely done and purely epic. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Netgalley and Carolrhoda Books.

Review: The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubuc

| Tasha

bus ride

The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubuc

Released March 1, 2015.

A little girl sets off on her first bus ride all by herself.  Her mother packed her a snack and her sweater too.  But this is not a normal bus, with its passengers of rabbits, a bear, a turtle, a mouse and a very sleepy sloth.  Stop by stop, the bus picks up and drops off more and more animals.  A family of wolves enters the bus at one point and the little girl shares her snack happily with the little wolf.  The bus goes through a dark tunnel and everything gets mixed around in the dark, but things are quickly sorted back into some sort of normal.  There is even a cunning fox thief that the little girl helps chase off the bus at the next stop.  This is one wonderful adventure for a little girl all on her own who has an amazing ride.

First published in France, this picture book celebrates a child traveling on their own.  Though the larger animals may seem threatening at first, those fears are quickly allayed by their actions.  Even the wolf family acts very appropriately on the bus.  There is the thief but again the little girl is empowered enough to put a stop to his shenanigans herself.  Children in the U.S. will be astonished at the freedom of this little girl and the trust she is given.  They will also love the Little Red Riding Hood ties that are evident in the story.

Dubuc’s illustrations are done in fine lines and subtle colors. That adds to the gentleness of the tale and the feeling that everything is nonthreatening and OK.  Subtle things change on each page and children will want time to look closely at the pictures, particularly after the tunnel switches things around.

Warm and confident, this picture book is a friendly introduction to bus rides even though real life ones aren’t likely to have bears, wolves and sloths as part of the community. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Netgalley and Kids Can Press.

Review: The Queen’s Shadow by Cybele Young

| Tasha

queens shadow

The Queen’s Shadow by Cybele Young

Released March 1, 2015.

This fascinating and unique nonfiction picture book takes a mystery and turns it into information about how various animals see.  At the Queen’s Ball, several different animals have gathered.  Then there is a flash of lightning and a moment of darkness.  When the lights come back on, the Queen’s shadow has been stolen!  Who stole it and how can they prove it?  One by one, each animal offers testimony to what they witnessed “colored” by the way they are able to see the world.  There are the eyes of the chameleon who can look in two directions at once but only shoot out his tongue when both eyes are focused on the same thing.  The shark excels at seeing contrast more than anything and notices patterns of light and dark. Pit viper sees in heat and cool. Dragonfly offers perspective from compound eyes. It will take each of their ways of seeing the world to solve this mystery. 

Young creates an entirely abstract and amazing world here. There is a strong sense of decorum throughout the book, no animals attacking each other and the human queen unafraid of any of her more predatory guests. She combines information for the mystery about what was witnessed through that specific set of eyes and then shares strictly scientific information in offset text boxes too. The result is a book that keeps you turning pages not only to solve the mystery but to continue seeing the world in such unique ways and learning more.

The illustrations have a feel of vintage illustrations with finely detailed ink drawings washed with color. This style is reworked though when seeing through other animals’ eyes so that with each turn of the page, the art is ever-changing and fascinating.

Peculiar in a delightful way, this nonfiction picture book is one that will appeal to children wanting to “see” more of the natural world.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Netgalley and Kids Can Press.

Review: Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

| Tasha

listen slowly

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

Born in California, Mai has grown up as a beach girl in Laguna.  So she has big plans this summer to spend time at the beach and time with a boy she’s interested in. But her plans have to change when her parents force her to accompany her Vietnamese grandmother back to Vietnam to see if rumors of her grandfather still being alive after the War are true. Mai hates Vietnam immediately, while the food is good and there’s so much of it, it’s also hot, smelly and filled with mosquitoes who love to bite Mai more than anyone else. Mai hides the fact that she can understand the language even if she won’t try to speak it at all. Now she is stuck alone with her grandmother in a tiny village filled with her extended family, dial up Internet access, and a grumpy cousin who seems to only care for her pet frog. Yet as time passes, Mai discovers the beauty of Vietnam, of slowing down and of taking care of family.

Lai has created another wonderful read, this one almost a love letter to Vietnam. She takes readers into the country side and village life, showing first the oppressive heat and lack of modern conveniences, but then revealing in a beautifully natural way that there is much to value perhaps because the days are filled with extra time to be together. The changes in Mai happen organically as she slowly acclimates to her new surroundings and the new society. Nothing is rushed here, even the storytelling is gently done though never dull.

Mai makes a great lens to see Vietnam through, both outsider and relative. Her struggles with the language are cleverly portrayed along with some details about pronunciation in Vietnamese. When she begins to try speaking, the words move to broken English on the page, indicating her troubles speaking the language. At other times, it is Vietnamese on the page. Mai’s growing friendship with her cousin also happens at its own pace and with its own blend of English and Vietnamese.

Rich in details and completely immersive, this novel will inspire travel dreams in those who read it, perhaps to discover their own family roots. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and HarperCollins.

Review: A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton

| Tasha

tale of two beasts

A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton

Released March 1, 2015

First we hear the story from one point of view, then the other.  A little girl tells of walking in the woods and seeing a little beast in the forest.  He was stuck in the tree and very sad, so she rescued him and took him home with her.  There she bathed him, dressed him in a hat and sweater, gave him nuts to eat and built him a house out of a cardboard box.  She even walked him in a leash to give him exercise.  But in the end, he escaped out of the window.  Alone in her bed, she couldn’t sleep and then the beast returned to get his hat so they headed off into the woods together.  But she couldn’t stop wondering about why he came back.  The second half of the book is told from the little animal’s point of view and it’s a very different perspective.  But in the end, the two of them found a connection despite their different ways of seeing what happened.

Roberton could have kept this book solely about perspectives and had it be full-on humor, but instead she manages to imbue the book with a real heart.  The connection between the two “beasts” is slow to come, with the final moment of real understanding being so freeing for both of them as they in turn realize that the other one is not quite as bad as they had thought.  Using similar language for both stories in that moment really shows their connection, particularly because otherwise their perspectives had been so very different.

Roberton uses her art to frame the story, showing the same exact story not only verbally from different perspectives but also vividly in the images as different from one another.  One moment that stands out is the cardboard box home that she builds the creature, which he detests.  The illustrations show her pleasure at it and then in turn his trapped feeling of being in the box with nothing to do.  And don’t miss their final dash together into the woods and then their clothing hanging on tree branches side-by-side.  Freedom!

Cleverly crafted and told, this picture book explores points of view and how connections are possible even with different beasts.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from online copy from Kane Miller.

Review: Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

| Tasha

echo

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Released February 24, 2015.

A stellar intertwined story that swirls around a magical harmonica, this book is one-of-a-kind in the best possible way.  When Otto meets the three girls in the forest, he sent on a quest that includes a harmonica that sings in different tones from normal ones.  Later, three young people encounter that harmonic and it changes their lives at critical points, bringing both peace and music into the darkness they are living in.  There is Friedrich, a boy in Nazi Germany, who is struggling to hold his family together.  There is Mike in Pennsylvania, placed in an orphanage when his grandmother can no longer care for him and his younger brother, desperate to find a place they can be together.  Finally, there is Ivy in California, excluded from the normal public school because she is Mexican-American and hoping that this last move is one that gets her family a permanent home.  The stories speak to the heart, each child facing the difficulties with immense courage and love for others. 

This book is a delight to read.  It marries the magic of the harmonica with more realistic historical fiction components very successfully.  Ryan explores some of the darkest times for families, put under excruciating pressure by the society they are living in.  She always offers hope though, allowing the harmonica and the power of music to pierce through and give light to the circumstances.  Beautifully, each story ends in a crescendo, leaving the reader breathless and worried about what will happen before starting the next story.  In the end, the stories weave together musical and luminous.

Ryan successfully creates four unique stories in this book and then brings them all together in a way that is part magic and entirely satisfying.  She writes of the cares of each child with such empathy, allowing readers to feel the pressure they are under.  Here is how she describes Mike’s responsibility for his younger brother on page 204:

That responsibility had become another layer of skin.  Just when he thought he might shed a little, or breathe easy, or even laugh out loud, it tightened over him.

She successfully does this with each of the stories, allowing readers to feel that tightening and the threat of well-being for all of the characters.  There is no shrinking from the racism and bigotry that these characters experience.  It is presented powerfully and appropriately for the younger audience.

A powerful book, this novel is pitch perfect and simply exceptional.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic Press.

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

| Tasha

beastkeeper

Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Sarah’s family moves all of the time, away from the cold that her mother despises.  But when her mother walks out one day, Sarah’s father falls apart.  He barely eats and never grocery shops.  It all falls to Sarah to keep them both alive.  Her father seems to be becoming less human by the day, descending into an animal with scruffy hair and yellowed teeth.  Unable to care for Sarah, he takes her to her grandparents’ home, grandparents she had been told were dead.  Left in a moldering castle in a deep woods, Sarah begins to figure out the deep curse that keeps her entire family prisoner.  Her grandmother treats her coldly, putting her to work in the gardens.  Her grandfather is trapped in a cage, fully transformed into a beast yet still able to speak to Sarah at times.  Sarah doesn’t believe in the magic at work at first but soon is forced to admit that something is happening as she witnesses it for herself.  Yet there are twists to the curse that bind her to witches, boys in the wood, and the beasts of her family, including the beast inside herself.

Hellisen beautifully converts the story of Beauty and the Beast into something quite different and extraordinary.  Her writing is as lush as the forest itself and she weaves amazing descriptions onto the pages that bring the entire book to life.  She uses this technique for both characters and the setting.  Here is her description of the castle when Sarah first sees it on page 48:

It was a single squat turret, like a jabbing finger or a lone tooth, made of mottled stone, dribbled and spattered with lichen in yellows and reds.  Furry clumps of moss clung velvety and green at the base.  Ivy grew wild, so thick in some places it distorted the shape of the tower, and sprays of leaves crowned with little blue-black berries rose over the low walls around the outskirts.  Tumbled boulders marked the faint outlines of rooms that had long since fallen.

Talk about showing and not telling!  She is a master at that, creating mood with details that linger in your mind.  This castle is no fairy tale one, or is it?

Hellisen does not set her protagonist on a simple quest either.  Sarah slowly reveals the twists and turns of the curse, binding herself closer and closer to disaster with each revelation.  Disaster waits on the other side of each breath and at times it seems to have already won.  Sarah though is up to the challenge, willing to sacrifice herself to try to prevent the curse from continuing onward in her family. 

This is a gorgeously written tale of love, betrayal, revenge and family.  Fans of retellings of classic fairy tales will find so much to adore in this fantasy novel.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Co.

Review: Here in the Garden by Briony Stewart

| Tasha

here in the garden

Here in the Garden by Briony Stewart

Released March 1, 2015.

This import from Australia tells the seasonal story of a boy and his garden.  A boy spends time in his backyard, but is missing someone.  The wind blows, he plants seedlings in the garden, and dreams of his special someone joining his side.  When the rain comes, he watches from the back steps, still missing the one who would love to see the garden turn so green.  Summer comes with its sunshine and heat and the boy continues to feel his loss but begins to realize that he can still be in touch with the one he misses by being out in nature and enjoying the same things they used to do together.

Stewart beautifully allows the book to speak to anyone who has experienced loss.  In the end though, this book is clearly about the loss of a pet rabbit, the same one who is pictured at the boy’s side throughout the story.  That reveal is done tenderly and gently, clearly tying the boy to nature and to his memories of all the times they had together.  It’s beautifully and caringly presented.

Stewart’s art is washed in watercolors, colors that sweep and blow across the page, evoking the movement of air and the freshness of outdoors.  Though the book is filled with loneliness, the art remains resolutely lovely and cheery.  Even the one in the dark of night is filled with a light that illuminates.

A quiet story of grief, loss and the healing power of nature, this is a lovely little foreign title.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Kane Miller.