Book Reviews

Review: Who Goes There? by Karma Wilson

| Tasha

who goes there

Who Goes There? by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Anna Currey

On this bitter cold day in Wisconsin, it’s a treat to review a book that has a little mouse preparing for the winter cold.  Lewis lived alone in the base of a tall tree.  He prepared for winter by stuffing his home with leaves, twigs and grass.  Once he was cozy inside though he realized that something was missing.  Then he heard a noise that wasn’t the wind.  It was a scratching and tapping noise.  Lewis shouted “Who goes there!” but no one answered.  Could it be a cat?  An owl?  A bear?  As the noise repeated, Lewis continued to yell.  Eventually, he was out in the wind and night investigating the sounds.  Lewis will discover not only what is making the sound but exactly what he is missing too.

Wilson, author of the very popular Bear Snores On series, has another winning animal character.  Lewis is a gutsy little mouse who shouts at strange noises and then investigates them despite his fears.  Wilson uses lots of repetition here, making it perfect for sharing aloud.  The noises always have the same pattern of sounds and Lewis always shouts back the same reply.  This helps build tension in the story as well, just enough for little ones to be fully engrossed in the tale.

Currey’s illustrations have a great play of contrasts between the warm light of Lewis’ hole filled with tiny furniture and nuts and the wild blue of the outside at night.  Both are equally lovely, the browns and golds of Lewis’ home shine while the deep blues of the outside glimmer with moonlight. 

A perfect bedtime read for a cold day, this book is also a great choice for autumn story times.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Review: Jinx’s Magic by Sage Blackwood

| Tasha

jinxs magic

Jinx’s Magic by Sage Blackwood

In this second book in a trilogy, Jinx’s entire life has changed since his death.  He can now listen to the voices of the trees in the huge Urwald forest and they tell him things.  But his life is also in danger still.  The Bonemaster has been defeated but Jinx’s master, Simon believes he is stronger than the bindings that surround him.  Yet none of the other magic wielders of the Urwald will help Simon keep the Bonemaster restrained.  Jinx is sent to Samara, a land reached via a portal in Simon’s house and also the place where Simon’s wife lives.  Jinx must find a way to enroll in the school in order to discover the magic he needs to save their own world.  But magic is forbidden in Samara and Jinx may put the Urwald at risk as he desperately tries to save it.

Blackwood takes her already impressive world and adds onto it with Samara, a desert land where knowledge and magic intertwine.  She also deepens the readers’ understanding of the Urwald and its own sort of magic.  This interplay between different types of magic and societies makes for a book that is rich and layered. 

Blackwood also takes time to develop Jinx’s own character further, pushing him to reach the extent of his power and yet also allowing readers to see that there is more there as well.  Jinx is a hesitant hero and never quite believes he is doing the right thing along the way.  Even as his power grows, he remains fully the same character and yet changes and grows in a real way throughout. 

A web of magic and mystery, this book is a fitting follow up to one of my favorite reads of 2013.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books.

Review: Knock Knock by Daniel Beaty

| Tasha

knock knock

Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Every morning a young boy plays a game with his father.  His father knock knocks at the door and the boy pretends to be asleep until his dad is right next to him and they give each other a huge hug.  But then one day, his father isn’t there to play the game any more.  His father isn’t there to get him ready for school either.  Morning pass with no father.  The boy thinks that maybe his father is just there when the boy is at school, so he writes him a letter about how much he misses his dad and how much he expected to learn from him.  The boy waits for months and nothing happens, then one day he gets a letter from his father.  A letter that speaks to their separation but also one that encourages him to continue to live and knock on new doors.

Beaty’s text is deep hearted and searingly honest.  As his author’s note says, he had an incarcerated father who had been his primary caregiver as a young child.  So Beaty has revealed much in this picture book about the gaping hole left from a missing parent.  Yet the genius of this book is that it will work for any child missing a parent for any reason.  And I adore a book with such a strong connection between father and child.  Beaty manages to convey that in a few pages, leaving the rest of the book to reveal the mourning and grief of loss but also a hope that shines on each page.

Collier’s illustrations shine as well. Done in a rich mix of paint and collage, they are filled with light as it plays across faces, dances against buildings, and reveals emotions.  His illustrations are poetry, filled with elephants, showing the boy growing into a man, and the man turning into a father.  They are illustrations that tell so much and are worth exploring again after finishing the book.

This book belongs in my top picks for 2013.  It is beautifully done both in writing and illustrations.  I’m hoping it is honored by the Coretta Scott King awards and I’d love to see a Caldecott as well.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Jumping Penguins by Marije Tolman and Jesse Goossens

| Tasha

jumping penguins

Jumping Penguins by Marije Tolman and Jesse Goossens

This nonfiction book is filled with facts about different animals.  And not just any facts!  These are facts that are funny, amazing and memorable.  For instance, did you know a giraffe has no vocal chords?  That caterpillars throw their poop?  That crocodiles are cannibals?  That a flamingo can only swallow if its head is upside down?  Fifty animals are shown here with whimsical illustrations by the award-winning Tolman. 

Goossens masterfully selects facts that mix the incredible with the bizarre with the humorous.  The book is a wonderful mix of fictional depictions of the animals and scientific facts.  Due to the pile up of animals on the cover, I was expecting a fictional book rather than this page-turner of a book that gets you so intrigued that you have to keep on reading.

Tolman’s illustrations are beautiful.  She has such a unique style and one that works particularly well with animals and their diverse habitats.  With each, she seems to capture what makes them interesting and special.  At the same time, she mixes in furniture, hats, sun glasses and more.  So the animals look hip, silly or serious depending on the page.

Delightful, whimsical and a great choice for children who love animals, this book is appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Lemniscaat.

Review: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

| Tasha

ophelia and the marvelous boy

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Released January 28, 2014.

Ophelia knows that everything worth knowing can be proven with science.  Her father is an expert in swords and is helping a museum set up an exhibit.  She and her older sister Alice come along, the entire family still aching with the loss of Ophelia and Alice’s mother.  As Ophelia wanders the museum in the city where it always snows, she discovers all sorts of amazing things.   But by far the most interesting thing she discovers is a boy locked behind a door.  He is a prisoner who claims to have lived for centuries though he looks like a boy.  And he believes that Ophelia is the person who can save him.  So Ophelia starts to help, and along the way, she has to give in to the magic that is around her and discover her own bravery.

A large part of the pleasure of this book is discovering all of the twists and turns of the plot.  This retelling of the Snow Queen fairy tale takes an entirely new approach to the story.  Foxlee has created a novel that is filled with frightening creatures, dangerous situations, and daring feats.  She has incorporated a clock that is counting down to the day that the Snow Queen can finally kill the marvelous boy, so that alone creates a great deal of time pressure.  Yet Ophelia is also struggling to keep her family happy and not concerned with her.  As the book goes on, the tension is tangible on each page.

Ophelia is a wonderful young protagonist.  While she does believe in science and fights against believing in magic, she is also on the adventure of a lifetime.  Her mother was a novelist and serves as the voice of courage in her head.  Ophelia has a great mix of deep courage and vulnerability.  Readers will figure out who the Snow Queen is long before Ophelia does, something that Foxlee uses to continue to crank up the tension.

Magical, frightening and beautifully written, this book is pure warmth and friendship in the face of icy brutality.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss.

Review: The Message of the Birds by Kate Westerlund

| Tasha

message of the birds

The Message of the Birds by Kate Westerlund, illustrated by Feridun Oral

The old owl tells the story of Christmas to a gather of birds.  He tells the story of Jesus in the manger and the birds above in the rafters.  The birds heard a song in the baby’s voice, a special song that they would carry through the world.  The robin asked why the birds don’t sing that song anymore, and the partridge explained that people don’t listen.  The little robin suggested that even if they don’t know the language anymore, their hearts could understand it.  The birds talk about whether the message would be heard and understood, and then the robin realizes that children are the most likely to hear the message.  So all of the birds sing the song, spread the message, particularly to children.  And something amazing happens.

I’m never sure with any Christmas book what level of Christianity I’m going to find in them and then what type of message it is going to be communicating.  When this book’s second set of pages had the manger scene, I thought I was in a very traditional Christmas book.  What followed though, was a delightful surprise as the book immediately turned from the traditional Christmas tale to one that is universal, a story of peace.  Westerlund tells the story with a pacing right out of folktales.  Her wise older owl, the inventive young robin are characters that are traditional in the best sense of the word.

Oral’s illustrations have a soft beauty to them.  Throughout his images of the birds, there is thick snow in the air.  The colors are consistently subtle and wintry, tawny browns, creamy whites and deep browns are punctuated only with the colors of the birds and the green of the trees. 

A lovely addition to Christmas stories, this book is beautifully written with rich illustrations.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Mo’s Mustache by Ben Clanton

| Tasha

mos mustache

Mo’s Mustache by Ben Clanton

Mo just got a brand new mustache in the mail!  But when he shows it to all of his friends, they all get their own mustaches and soon it isn’t special anymore.  So Mo decides to wear a striped scarf instead and leave his mustache off.  Then all of his friends get scarves too.  Mo loses it and shouts at his friends, demanding to know why they are copying him.  Everybody explains to him that he has a great sense of style, so they like to imitate him.  Mo had never thought of it like that.  So he sets up a fashion show where everyone can show off their own sense of style.  And you will never guess what Mo wears to the party!

Clanton’s writing is brisk and brightly funny.  He uses dialogue from the various monsters to tell much of the story and each one has an impressively different voice and tone from the others.  It all makes this book a treat to share aloud.  It is also a book that celebrates being yourself and having your own personal style. 

The art is modern and zany.  Mo himself has a star on the end of his tail, other monsters are furry, still others are tiny with just one eye.  They are all clearly individuals from the start and so it is a treat to see how they all use the new accessory in their own unique way. 

Clever, smart and full of zest, this book will have you picking out your favorite mustache and scarf too.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon

| Tasha

herman and rosie

Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon

Herman is a crocodile who lives in New York and finds it very lonely.  He loves playing his oboe in his apartment.  His job selling things on the telephone, makes his life less lonely because he can talk to people, but doesn’t make him very good at his job.  Rosie lives in the building next door to Herman and she loves to sing.  She has a job washing dishes but loves most of all her singing lessons and performing in a little jazz club on Thursday nights.  The two are lonely but fairly happy because both of them hear great music floating into their windows from time to time.  Then one day Herman loses his job and Rosie discovers that the jazz club is closing.  The two of them head home and don’t make any music for a long time.  Until they wake up one morning and things have changed.  They are craving their favorite food and want to make music. 

Gordon has written a picture book ode to big city living, particularly New York.  He incorporates the potential loneliness of urban life but also praises the bustling, the music, the lifestyle.  The characters are quirky and believable.  They are the sort of characters who make perfect sense, whose actions are credible, reactions ring true, and they make the entire book work. 

Gordon writes and illustrates with a playful tone.  His illustrations are done in mixed media, including photographs, paint, and pencil.  The different media are worked together so thoroughly that at times you never notice the photos mixed in.  They are so cleverly done that it all forms one unified piece until something catches your eye.

Two musical souls in one big lonely city where they live next door to one another.  It’s a combination just as exquisite as New York itself.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Review: The Camel in the Sun by Griffin Ondaatje

| Tasha

camel in the sun

The Camel in the Sun by Griffin Ondaatje, illustrated by Linda Wolfsgruber

Based on a story from Sri Lanka and a traditional Muslim hadith, this book is the story of an aging camel.  The camel has traveled the deserts carrying his owner and bundles of trade goods for years.  One day the camel starts to cry with his misery, but his owner shows no compassion and simply climbs back on.  The camel never showed his misery in the daylight again, but at night he started to escape and float like a boat on the water.  Then they arrived in the city of Medina, where the Prophet was staying.  The camel’s owner immediately goes to sleep in the shade, leaving his camel on a short lead, tied in place, and in the full heat of the sun.  The Prophet sees the grief of the camel and shows the owner what the camel is feeling. 

Beautifully told, this book pays deep homage to the traditions that it is based on.  The origins of the story are clearly detailed in his author’s note.  Ondaatje demonstrates the misery of the life of the camel and his sadness in detail, making sure that readers understand that this is deep sadness and a life of misery.  He clearly explains compassion in a tangible way, showing readers what it means to learn how to be compassionate.

The illustrations are exceptional.  They capture the grittiness of the desert with earth tones using different painting techniques combined with line drawings in various colors.  Readers will notice that the Prophet is not depicted in the images, showing respect for the culture and beliefs. 

A strong story about compassion, this book offers a glimpse at Muslim traditions as well as a beautiful story that everyone can enjoy and learn from.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from library copy.