Book Reviews

Review: Lindbergh by Torben Kuhlmann

| Tasha

lindbergh

Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse by Torben Kuhlman

Translated from the original German, this picture book takes a mouse-sized look at Charles Lindbergh’s flight.  A little mouse loved to spend time reading human books but when he emerged from reading he discovered that all of the other mice had left Europe for America.  He was left alone.  He tried to board a steamer ship to cross the Atlantic, but there were cats waiting and guarding the door.  Then the little mouse had a great idea, he would fly across the Atlantic.  His experiments proved dangerous as the cats and owls emerged to hunt him down.  The little mouse did not give up he kept redesigning the wings, the engine, the frame.  But would it be enough to get him across the Atlantic to freedom?

The story of this book is entirely captivating, even for those not interested in airplanes or flight.  It is both a celebration of the small overcoming the powerful and also of ingenuity overcoming adversity.  It also shows how much of a force resilience in when solving a problem.  Even better, the book itself is a history lesson about human (and mouse) flight and how it progressed from wings to full aircraft.

Kuhlman’s art is radiant.  He creates pages with no words that are panoramas of cities, of train stations, of clock towers.  Other pages are filled with mice, owls and cats from various perspectives that add drama.  Then on other pages, you can see his skill with drafting and the diagrams of various inventions.  The art here takes the book to another level, creating a world where you believe that a mouse was the first to fly across the Atlantic. 

Beautiful and memorable, this picture book celebrates flight, ingenuity and perseverance.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

| Tasha

meaning of maggie

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

Everything changed in Maggie’s life when she turned eleven.  She was one year closer to college and one year closer to finding out the things that her father said he’d explain in ten years.  Though she knew she’d never be closer to understanding her two gorgeous, leggy older sisters who were mostly interested in boys and ignoring Maggie.  But something else happened that year too.  Maggie’s father had arms and legs that were falling asleep, and now his arms and legs were starting to stay asleep for longer and longer periods of time.  Then Maggie’s mother got a job and her father stayed home.  Now Maggie’s mother was always tired and not around and her father was always around but not able to help with much.  As Maggie steadily figures out what is really happening to her father, this book reveals the impact a serious medical condition can have on even the strongest of families. 

Sovern has written a smart and intriguing heroine into the heart of her book.  Maggie is very bright, gets nearly perfect grades, asks for Coca-Cola stock for her birthday present, and loves to study ahead in her classes.  But she is also wonderfully flawed with her addiction to sugar and her ability to look past what is right in front of her until she is forced to see it.  Sovern excels at family dynamics.  Refreshingly, Maggie relates to each of her parents very differently and the two older sisters in different ways as well.  There is room in this brief book for all of the family members to be individuals.

Sovern also makes sure that though the book deals with serious issues to inject just enough humor into the story.  Maggie doesn’t manage to get everything she wants in the classroom or in life.  She has to learn that there is much outside the scope of her own determination to solve it.  Throughout the book there is clear and organic growth in both Maggie and in her entire family as they all come to terms with her father’s illness.

A book about having a parent with multiple sclerosis, this is also a book about one amazing young woman and her strong family that is filled with love.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Chronicle Books.

Review: Bad Bye, Good Bye by Deborah Underwood

| Tasha

bad bye good bye

Bad Bye, Good Bye by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Jonathan Bean

On a rainy day, a boy and his family are packing up the moving van and heading to live in a new town.  The little boy pulls at the boxes, tugs at the movers, and cries as they drive away leaving a friend behind.  As they head to their new home, gray clouds clear from the sky and the sun comes out.  Maps are pulled out, naps are taken, and the day brightens.  Night is spent at a motel with a pool and then the next evening they pull into their new town.  Everything is different and new, a new room with new views.  But there’s also a new kid, fireflies and the stars are out too. 

In only the briefest of rhyming couplets, Underwood paints a clear picture of the fear of moving and the emotional upheaval for children.  In their long drive though, the mood shifts to one of possibilities rather than grief.  Even the journey itself is a form of coping and healing that makes the happy ending feel like a natural result of the entire process. 

Bean’s art works so well here.  He uses a translucent feel to evoke the dreary rainy misty day that they move on.  But that same effect is used for the fumes of the traffic on the road, the speeding truck on a steep downhill slope, and the bluesy evening that they arrive.  The effect offers a lot of depth to the images, creating layers to explore visually.

A book on moving that shows that moving on with your life is also part of a major family move.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Noggin by John Corey Whaley

| Tasha

noggin

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

Travis died five years ago.  Now he’s alive again.  But not the same and nothing else is the same either.  Travis’ head is now attached to a different body, a healthy body, one not dying of cancer.  You see, when Travis was dying of cancer, he and his parents took a huge risk and had his head severed from his body and frozen.  Now Travis is one of two survivors of the cryogenic procedure and he has returned to the same home, the same parents, the same friends, but not the same life.  His girlfriend is now engaged to someone else.  His best friend who had admitted he was gay just before Travis died is now dating a girl and about to move in with her.  His mother can’t look at him without crying.  And Travis’ room which used to be his haven now is sterile and hotel-like.  But Travis is the same except for his body.  It was as if he closed his eyes and reopened them.  So what is a guy to do?  Well, he still has to finish high school, get his driver’s license and of course try to regain the girl.  But nothing is simple when you are on a completely different timeframe than everyone else!

Whaley blends immense amounts of humor into his novel.  Though Travis’ experience is unique, it also speaks to the universal experience of being a teen, of not fitting in, of making bad decisions, and yet of being vitally alive at the same time.  Whaley also cleverly turns the trend of books about dying teens on its head (pun intended).  This is a book about life but also deeply about loss, grief and death and how funny it can all be. 

What is most surprising about this book is the honesty it has and that through its humor there are deep truths revealed.  Whaley deals with the emotions of Travis’ return beautifully like in this scene on page 40 when he sees his best friend for the first time:

He let go for a second and wiped his face with the back of one sleeve before holding me by each shoulder and sort of just staring at me for a while with this expression that I’m still convinced no other person has ever had, a combination of shock, joy, pain, and terror.  It was like I could see all his memories of me projected into the air between us, rushing and swirling around and enveloping us both in a nostalgic haze.

This book has tremendous heart and a strong sense of its absurdity.  It has depth, humor and cool scars too.  Pure teen reading perfection.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Review: Plant a Pocket of Prairie by Phyllis Root

| Tasha

plant a pocket of prairie

Plant a Pocket of Prairie by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Betsy Bowen

Prairies used to cover vast swaths of the United States, but are almost entirely gone now.  In this nonfiction picture book, young readers are invited to create their own small prairies at home.  Root offers ideas for what native prairie plants should be planted first and then ties each plant to a type of wildlife that will arrive along with the plants.  Butterfly weed invites monarchs to your yard.  Asters and rough blazing star bring even more butterflies.  Toads, birds, mice, bumblebees, and more may appear in your little garden.  And who knows, if lots of people plant a little prairie, eventually we may have prairies back across the nation.

Root has written this book in poetry that rhymes at times and others not.  There are rhymes at the ends of lines, then internal rhymes within a line, and other times it is the rhythm and flow of the words themselves that create the structure.  It has a strong organic feel to it, the names of the plants flowing into those of the animals they will bring to your yard.  The book ends with information on all of the plants, animals and insects mentioned in the book as well as further information on the state of prairies in the United States and where you can go to see a prairie.

The illustrations by Bowen are light and free.  They focus on the plants and animals, showing them clearly.  Along the way, one bird moves from page to page, planting seeds that grow into the garden and building her own nest in the new habitat.  There is a sense of the garden expanding and building as the book continues, yet that light feel continues throughout. 

A song of the prairie, this book will inspire young gardeners to try native plants and is a great addition to curriculums in schools doing their own garden programs.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from digital galley received from University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley.

Review: The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp

| Tasha

worst princess

The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie

Girl power is celebrated in this picture book that turns the princess role firmly on its head.  Princess Sue has been lingering in her castle for over 100 years, waiting for her prince to come and rescue her.  Just as she is about to lose it, her prince appears on horseback and whisks her off.  But just as Sue thinks that she is heading to freedom, the prince arrives at his castle where Sue is given her own tower filled with dresses and shoes and informed that she shouldn’t even be thinking of adventures.  But Sue refuses to give up on her dreams and when she sees a fearsome dragon flying nearby, she gets a clever idea.

I must admit to a certain adoration for books that take girls away from the stereotypical princess role and make them active participants in their own destinies.  So this book is right up my alley.  Told in rhyme, the effect is dashing and active rather than sweet and stately.  It also has the feel of a bard’s story about Princess Sue.  The writing is also humorous and fun-filled.

The illustrations of the book are bright-colored and also filled with humor.  Sue’s long braids dangle down, her dress changes as the story progresses, and the sharing of tea with a dragon is definitely something to see. 

Get this in the hands of modern children who want to be more than princesses (and princes) as well as dragon-lovers.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Review: The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat

| Tasha

adventures of beekle

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

Join Beekle, an imaginary friend, who is so special that no child seems to be able to even imagine him.  He waits and waits along with the other imaginary creatures, but he is never dreamed of by a child.  So Beekle does what no other imaginary friend has ever done, he heads out to find his child in the real world.  He finds himself in a big city, filled with grey people and lots of adults.  Luckily, he spots a bright familiar color and shape and follows it to a playground where he thinks he can find his special friend.  But they don’t come.  Beekle climbs a tree to see if he can spot his friend, but still no one comes.  Beekle climbs down, then a small girls gestures for him to get her paper out of the tree.  And on that page…  Well, you will just have to imagine it for yourself or get this charmer of a book to read and find out what happens next.

Santat has created a book that reads like a modern classic.  He has combined so many wonderful moments and positive feelings here that it’s like drinking a cup of cocoa for the spirit.  Beekle himself is perfection, a round and friendly little soul whose crown is made of construction paper and tape and who is unwilling to sit lonely when he could do something about his situation.  His positive reaction to a dismal situation is a great model for children. 

At the same time, this is a testament to imagination.  Both a warm embrace of imaginary friends and their positive role in children’s lives.  But also a celebration of Santat’s own imagination.  The world he creates is filled with the grey of adulthood, but childhood and imagination make that world shine in new colors. 

A delight of a picture book, this is one to share cuddled up in bed and to cheer aloud with the story.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward

| Tasha

mama built a little nest

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Told in rhyme, this book explores the many different ways that birds create nests for their eggs and babies.  The jaunty rhyme is accompanied by informational text on each species and their habitats and nest building style.  Bird species range from penguins to falcons to flamingos.  There are also more unusual birds like weaverbirds as shown on the cover of the book. 

Ward’s rhyme works well here, offering a playful feel to a book filled with scientific information.  She has also selected a great mix of species with familiar birds mixed in with more exotic ones.  Each has its own unusual way of creating a nest, making this a book where turning the page is part of the adventure.

As always, Jenkins’ cut paper art is spectacular.  He manages to create so much life with textured paper and different colors.  From the subtle colors of a cactus plant to the feathers on an owl’s wing, this art is lovely and makes this book very special.

Intelligently and beautifully presented, this nonfiction picture book will entice young readers to learn even more about birds.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.

Review: The Fox and the Crow by Manasi Subramaniam

| Tasha

fox and the crow

The Fox and the Crow by Manasi Subramaniam, illustrated by Culpeo S. Fox

A new version of a classic Aesop fable, this picture book explores the tale of Fox and Crow.  Crow is all set to perch with his fellows on a wire but then smells the bread cooling in a window below.  Down he swoops and heads into the woods with it.  But Fox is there too, sneaking along.  Fox howls, singing beneath Crow.  Crow must respond in song, opens his mouth and down falls the bread into Fox’s waiting mouth below.  It’s a tale we all know, but told in such a masterful way that it is made new again.

Subramaniam’s text adds to the drama of this short tale.  This is writing with lushness and body, using words that will stretch young children in just the right way.  Words like raucous, wafting, twilight and temptress fill the story and enrich it.  They cleverly play up the darkness, the wildness and the tricks that are being played.

Fox’s illustrations are just as rich and dark.  Each illustration is a painting that stands on its own in composition and beauty.  Fox uses spatters to add texture to his deep color palette that evokes the encroaching twilight and evening.  On some pages the colors of the sunset enter, adding more drama.

A reinvention of an old tale, this is an incredible new telling.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.