Book Reviews

Review: Loula and the Sister Recipe by Anne Villeneuve

| Tasha

loula and the sister recipe

Loula and the Sister Recipe by Anne Villeneuve

The inventive Loula returns for her second outing in this picture book.  Here she is sick and tired of her three brothers who refuse to play with her.  So Loula decides that what she needs is a little sister, one who is just like her.  So she goes to her parents and requests that they get her one.  Her father explains that making a sister is a lot like baking a cake and needs special ingredients like a papa and a mama, butterflies in the stomach, a full moon, a candlelight supper, kisses and hugs, and chocolate.  So Loula sets off to shop for those things with her ever-helpful chauffeur Gilbert.  In the end, it all comes together in one amazing evening filled with candlelight, moonlight, and a sister surprise.

This second picture book about Loula again shows her determination and ability to look at a problem positively as something to solve.  Infused with humor, young readers will know that her plan is probably not going to work out the way she thinks, yet few will expect the twist at the end when it comes.  Having adored Gilbert the chauffeur in the first book, I was very pleased that this second book has much the same structure with Gilbert helping Loula gather everything she needs, including live butterflies.

The illustrations in this book have a loose flowing quality that has lots of motion and energy.  Done in ink and watercolor, they vary from small illustrations with white backgrounds to two-page spreads filled with color.  My favorite is the leaping Gilbert attempting to catch a butterfly in a net.

A strong young heroine with plenty of chutzpah combines with plenty of humor in this picture book series.  Make sure to read both of the books because it’s even more time to spend with the amazing Loula!  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.

Review: I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

| Tasha

ill give you the sun

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Jude and Noah are twins and they are so close.  Both of them are artists and Noah in particular sees the world as constant inspiration for his artwork.  Noah is withdrawn from others his age and bullied by other boys.  Jude though is being noticed by the same boys who bully her brother and as they turn thirteen, the two of them may be different but they are still close.  Jude is wearing lipstick and diving from cliffs.  Noah is starting to fall for the boy across the street.  Three years later though, the two of them are completely estranged from one another.  They barely speak.  Jude is the artist now and Noah no longer paints.  Jude has discovered a mentor for her art and a boy who is just as damaged as she is.  Noah is a normal straight teen who hangs out with those who once bullied him and now dives from cliffs himself.  How did two teens change so much in such a short period of time?  That’s the story here, and it involves grief, loss, betrayal, lies, love and truth.

Nelson tells the early part of the twins’ story in Noah’s voice.  We get to experience the joy he feels about art and the beauty of his emerging sexuality combined with his fear of being discovered.  Jude tells the story after their relationship is fractured.  Her story is one of passions and change.  They are both stories of trying to hide what you are, trying to become something new.  They are stories that veer swiftly, change often and shout with emotion and pain. 

Nelson writes with exquisite emotion on the page.  She shows the passion, the fear, the grief, the love vividly and with such heart.  It is her emotional honesty on the page that avoids sentimentality at all.  Rather this book is raw and aching in every way, from the new relationships that are filled with lust and longing to the destroyed sibling relationship that is one lost and hurt betrayal after another.  She also manages to somehow capture art and inspiration on the page, the power of art to express, the emotions that it creates and acknowledges, the joy of creation and the agony of being unable to make it. 

Powerful storytelling that is beautifully written and tells the story of two siblings and their journey through being teenagers.  Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial.

Review: Little Humans by Brandon Stanton

| Tasha

little humans

Little Humans by Brandon Stanton

The photographer behind Humans of New York brings his talent to a children’s book.  Using photographs taken on the streets of New York, this book speaks to the power of children.  Children may fall down, but they get back up, because they are tough.  But they still need love and friends.  Children are helpful, playful and talented.  They learn and grow.  They also know how to ask for help when they need it.  And they do so very much so well that they just might insist they are are not little after all, they are big!

On each and every page, Stanton celebrates urban culture and diversity.  There are children of every color here, each with their own unique sense of style and and distinct personality that pops on the page.  His photographs speak volumes beyond the text that does little more than support the gorgeous, hip photographs. 

A dynamic and diverse book that can be enjoyed by the smallest of children.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith

| Tasha

100 sideways miles

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith

Finn is epileptic with seizures that he can’t control.  He’s actually not sure he’d want to anyway, because his seizures are beautiful experiences, even though he pees himself during them.  Finn also has eyes that are different colors.  But those are not the wildest things about Finn.  Finn’s mother was killed in the same freak accident that left him with epilepsy, a dead horse fell from a knackery truck passing on a bridge overhead and struck them both.  Perhaps even wilder though is Finn’s best friend Cade, who is almost certainly insane but also staggeringly funny.  Finn has a theory about his life.  His father wrote a book that has a character with many of the same characteristics as Finn who happened to be a murdering alien.  Perhaps Finn is caught in that book, or maybe the entire world is just a knackery truck.  Then Julia enters Finn’s life and he is suddenly shown that there is much more to life or the knackery than he had ever realized. 

Smith has written several acclaimed novels and this one is by far my favorite.  He writes with a solid honesty, with teen characters who swear, who have sex, who talk about sex, who love and lust.  The book is filled with humor, even the scene where Finn and Cade are accidental heroes is filled with slapstick moments mixed with profound courage.  That is the way this book plays, it is humorous but also exceptionally though provoking.

Finn is a deeply flawed character who sees the world in a unique and strange way.  He measures time in terms of distance, something that is unsettling at first but then becomes almost a natural way to view time by the end of the book.  There is also something wonderfully darkly humorous about a character in a book worrying that he is a character in another book.  The novel has layers upon layers and invites readers to look deeply into the story and to find their own way through the knackery of life.

A great teen novel, one of the best of the year, get this into the hands of teens who will enjoy the humor, understand the depth and not be offended by the strong language.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Review: The Twins’ Little Sister by Hyewon Yum

| Tasha

twins little sister

The Twins’ Little Sister by Hyewon Yum

This follow-up to The Twins’ Blanket features the same twin girls.  The book is told from their shared perspective.  In this book, the issue is that there are two of them, but they only have one mother that they have to share.  During nap time, both girls want their mother to look at them, but she can only look in one direction at a time.  Being pushed on the swings is also a problem, since their mother can only push one of them at a time.  Now they have a little sister arriving soon too and there will be even more demand for their mother’s time.  When the baby arrives, the girls are not impressed.  They can no longer be in the big bed with their mother because the baby is there.  Their mother can’t push the swings at all anymore, because her arms are full.  Then the girls discover that they get lots of attention for helping with the baby.  Soon the girls are adoring big sisters, but there’s still one problem, they need another little sister so they don’t have to share!

This is a clever twist on sibling rivalry that shows the closeness and competitive nature of being sisters and twins.  It is particularly good to see that the rivalry existed before the younger sibling arrived and that it was just another factor in the family dynamic.  The voice of the two girls together is clear and bright, they are strong-willed little girls but that is not a bad thing.  I appreciate a book that shows children being less than perfect on the page. 

Yum’s illustrations are done in pencil, watercolor and cut paper.  The girls are distinguished by their dresses and barrettes but are otherwise identical.  Emotions are clear on their faces, their eyes shining with feelings above their rosy cheeks. 

A great choice for new siblings, this picture book shows human children grappling with being siblings and sharing.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Monster Book by Alice Hoogstad

| Tasha

monster book

Monster Book by Alice Hoogstad

This wordless book shows the power of art for a whole community.  In a black-and-white town that looks like a coloring book with black outlines, a little girl picks up a red crayon and starts drawing a heart on a wall.  Soon she moves on to creating a monster on the road and her dog picks up her heart drawing and runs after her.  The orange monster comes to life and the girl quickly moves on to another creature.  One after another, she draws them and they come to life.  The rest of the town looks on with amused expressions and no alarm even as monsters dance in the streets.  Soon the monsters have crayons too and are coloring the buildings and people.  This though is too much and the townsfolk order them to leave town and the children start to clean up the walls back to white again.  Rain falls and washes all of the color away, or does it?

This is a picture book that celebrates public art and then turns whimsical and magical as the creatures come to life.  Despite their fearsome appearance, they are friendly and silly rather than mean.  The art is quite unique with its color-book feel and then the colors being drawn in.  There is a radiant quality to the colors that are used and the loose and generous way the colors are applied invites children to be even more creative when they color too.

While this could encourage children to color on white walls, this book is much more likely to end up in a family coloring together appropriately and creatively.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Lemniscaat and Myrick Marketing.

Review: Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton

| Tasha

shh we have a plan

Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton

The author of Little Owl Lost returns with another great picture book in his signature style.  In this book, four people head into the forest with nets at night.  There, they find a gorgeous red bird.  The littlest of them calls out “hello, birdie” but the others shush him and declare that they have a plan and show the cage they are holding.  They slowly tiptoe up to the bird, count off and jump!  But the bird flies up into a tree.  No worries, they have another plan.  And when that fails, another and another.  Finally, the smallest of them comes up with a plan that just might work, or maybe not.

This book is a stupendous read aloud.  The chipper, bright voice of the littlest of them, the hushed shushing from the others, the counting off and finally the shout of GO!  This happens again and again and will keep even the wiggliest of children paying close attention.  Even better, the little one is the one who figures things out and presents a solution.  Add at the end a wonderful twist to continue the story, and you have an outstanding picture book for sharing.

Haughton’s illustrations are created digitally but have the feel and texture of cut paper.  He uses beautifully deep blues throughout the nighttime story and then the bright red of the bird pops.  It also helps that the bird seems to live in its own beam of light, one that follows it as it escapes again and again.  It’s a clever use of stage lighting in a picture book.

A top pick for sharing aloud, this picture book is a dazzling dark delight.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman

| Tasha

tales of bunjitsu bunny

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman

Isabel is the best at Bunjitsu in her school.  They call her Bunjitsu Bunny, but she knows to never use her martial arts skills to hurt anyone, unless she has to.  This easy reader features a series of short stories about her Buntjitsu skills and how she uses them throughout the day.  Isabel figures out before anyone else in her class how to get into the school when the door is locked.  She outwits pirates who want to steal from her.  She races a tortoise in a fresh take on the Tortoise and the Hare story.  In one story after the other, Isabel shows her poise, her intelligence and her sense of honor. 

This book for the early chapter book reader will appeal on many fronts.  First of course is the martial arts aspect, though those looking for flying fists and fighting will find something very different here.  Inside the covers is a unique mix of Eastern philosophy and problem solving that is presented at a level that children will understand. 

Himmelman’s illustrations offer just the right amount of break for young readers, so that they will not be put off by the amount of text.  The fonts are equally welcoming with their large size.  The illustrations are done in black, white and red.  They are welcoming and cartoony, created often with just a few lines that carry plenty of action and humor.

A unique and fascinating chapter book for new readers, this is a wonderful mix of girl power, martial arts and restraint.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Co.

Review: Hunters of the Great Forest by Dennis Nolan

| Tasha

hunters of the great forest

Hunters of the Great Forest by Dennis Nolan

Released October 28, 2014

This wordless picture book is the story of a group of hunters who head out from their small village one day and into the forest.  Bringing only a handful of items with them, the group must face large rocks, mountains and enormous trees.  It quickly becomes apparent that the hunters are tiny people as they are forced to run from buzzing dragonflies and then from a hungry toad.  After escaping those creatures, the hunters must then flee from a bird and a chipmunk.  Sneaking out later from their hiding place, the hunters discover a girl sitting by a campfire roasting marshmallows.  But even though they have food to bring back to their village, the dangers are not over for our intrepid group of hunters.

Wonderfully detailed pictures make this a spectacular picture book to share.  The journey of the hunters makes for a page-turning delight filled with dangers, mishaps and surprises.  If you pay close attention to the illustrations, some of the surprises can be predicted with clues about the next page.  For example, you can see the toad’s legs in the corner of the page before the toad is fully revealed after the page turn.  This makes for a book that reads as a continual stream of story, rather than individual images strung into a story.

I applaud Nolan for including plenty of little female hunters on the journey as well.  There are young and old little people too.  And even better, if you watch, it is not the women who need rescuing on the journey.  In fact, the older of the little women carries the spear the entire journey and seems ready to use it at times.

Join the hunters on their quest for the elusive marshmallows in this journey through a forest filled with dangers of all sorts.  It’s a jolly read that is sure to please.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.