Book Reviews

Salted Fish–A Taste of Singapore

| Tasha

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Salted Fish by Yeo Wei Wei, illustrated by Ye Shufang

Lynn is visiting an art museum for the first time.  She knows that the National Art Gallery will have lots of art inside it.  She and her toy bunny find a painting of fruit and then set out to see if they can find one with strawberries in it.  As they are looking, they smell something strange coming from one of the paintings.  As she counts things in the painting, she and her bunny hear a voice speaking from the painting.  Lynn finds herself drawn into the painting and learning about the way they are making salted fish.  The taste of the salted fish reminds her of her grandmother’s home.  As she leaves the painting with a bundle of fish to take with her, she promises to return to the art museum again.

The story here is told with a quiet, gentle voice.  Lynn’s interaction with the painting is not frightening at all, but an enthralling moment of connection.   It is what one hopes a child will experience at an art museum.  The story is built around a famous painting by Cheong Soo Pieng called Drying Salted Fish.  At the end of the book, information on the painting and the artist is shared. 

Shufang’s art is engaging with the bright-eyed child and the strong architectural lines of the building itself.  A muted palette that has pops of bright color at times adds to the quiet appeal of the book. 

This book gives young readers a small taste of Singapore which they will probably appreciate much more than the smell of salted fish!  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from book received from The National Art Gallery, Singapore.

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The Story of Little Red Riding Hood: Dark and Luminous

| Tasha

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The Story of Little Red Riding Hood by the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Christopher Bing

This is the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood, complete with them filling the wolf’s belly with stones at the end and killing him.  The text here has an easy flow for reading aloud, never becoming too verbose.  The moments with the wolf are studies in darkness and danger, with the tension palpable on the page.  The star in this book are the illustrations which are rich and radiant.  The entire book is an homage to the Grimm brothers, their story, and yet has paid attention to the needs of modern children as well.

In his illustrations, Bing works with light and darkness.  On the path, the wolf is bathed in sunlight, almost haloed with it.  But when he has eaten the grandmother and is in disguise, he is in shadows, and it is Little Red Riding Hood that the rays of light reach for.  When the stones are being fetched to kill the wolf, the play of light and shadow on each person’s face is beautiful with the dancing dust motes from the first scenes returning again. 

Bing has also framed his illustrations with pressed flowers and leaves, as if you have found an old book that someone has used and loved.  He has also built a frame for the book itself, which shows the dogeared pages of a much larger book, giving it a sense of age and depth.  My favorite use of the pressed flowers comes on the page where the wolf attacks Little Red Riding Hood and objects are tossed around and towards the reader.  The pressed flowers become part of that, whirling on the page along with the objects in the picture.  Brilliant.

A virtuoso rendition of the classic tale, this version belongs in every library thanks to its ease of reading aloud and the exceptional illustrations.  Appropriate for ages 4-7. 

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Of Thee I Sing: Obama’s Picture Book

| Tasha

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Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long

I was very leery of this book, because in my experience politicians and celebrities rank about equal for successful children’s book writing.  In other words, odds are good that it will be bad.  But I am so glad that I did eventually pick this one up and give it a try.  President Obama has written a letter to his daughters that asks a question like “Have I told you that you are creative?” He then offers an example of a famous American who exemplifies that character trait, summing them up in a few lines.  This is a celebration of what makes America great, but also what makes for a great person.  It is a celebration of all we hope our children will become.

President Obama’s words read like verse here.  The structure is a strong one with a question, a person as an example, and words that sum that person up simply and powerfully.  One of the pleasures of the book is that when you read it, you hear the President’s voice in your head, because the cadence matches the way that he speaks so closely.  Thanks to this, the book reads aloud beautifully.

Long’s illustrations feature the two Obama girls and their dog.  Then, as each famous American is mentioned, a child appears who is like that great person.  So a girl with paintbrushes and palette is there when Georgia O’Keeffe is featured.  A boy with a baseball bat, glove and ball is there when Jackie Robinson is given as an example of bravery.  And they join the group, so that by the end there is a crowd of diverse children listening to the book along with you.   Long’s style changes when he depicts the famous Americans.  Where the children are lighthearted and full of whimsy, there is a more serious feel to the great Americans. 

A beauty of a book no matter who the author is, this book is one to be appreciated by all Americans no matter their politics.  This will make a great holiday gift this year.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Please read Debbie Reese’s reaction to the Sitting Bull image on her blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature.  I respect her opinion immensely.

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Welcome to My Neighborhood! A Barrio ABC

| Tasha

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Welcome to My Neighborhood! A Barrio ABC by Quiara Alegria Hudes, illustrated by Shino Arihara

This alphabet book, from the author of the musical In the Heights, takes a gritty and realistic look at urban life that will be familiar to many children while exposing other children to a new setting.  Ava takes her friend on a tour of her neighborhood and many words in Spanish.  She starts with a hug for her abuela and passes through G for graffiti, M for los muralistas painting murals on the walls, V for vegetables in what used to be a vacant lot, and ends at Z Street where the cars zoom past.  Ava adds lots of small details to her alphabet tour that really show her enthusiasm for her neighborhood as well as giving the reader more details about her home.  This is a tour worth taking!

This book does not sugarcoat what you will see in an urban neighborhood with abandoned cars, graffiti, and a burned building.  But for children who see these things in their own neighborhoods, they will find a picture book that depicts their own world, something invaluable for a child.  The Spanish words add a great rhythm to the book and another layer of information.  Airhara’s illustrations use a lot of open space, emphasizing the stretches of blocks, the expanse of the city.  They are simple and have a pleasant mix of bright color and earth tones. 

A book that fills a need in children’s alphabet books for books set in urban locations, this will be welcomed on library shelves.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Arthur A. Levine Books.

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Lulu and the Brontosaurus

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Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lane Smith

Lulu was a pain, a real pain.  She demanded that her parents give her everything she wanted.  And if they didn’t?  Then she threw a fit, screaming, throwing herself on the floor and kicking her feet.  Until her parents agreed to give her exactly what she wanted.  But that all changed when Lulu demanded a brontosaurus for a pet for her birthday.  Her parents tried to explain that a brontosaurus was huge and wild and not suitable, but Lulu threw a tantrum.  However, this time it did not work.  So Lulu set off on her own to find herself a brontosaurus.  As she entered the forest, she sang herself a song about getting a brontosaurus for a pet.  Going deeper into the forest, she encountered some wild animals but even they could not scare her from her mission.  Eventually, Lulu does find a brontosaurus deep in the forest, but will he be the ideal pet she has been expecting?

A great beginning chapter book, young readers will enjoy the over-the-top humor that will keep them laughing.  The short chapters will also help keep reluctant readers going as will the large number of black-and-white illustrations from the master Lane Smith.  The illustrations hearken back to Syd Hoff’s Danny and the Dinosaur with the smiling brontosaurus, but are edgier as well with great perspectives.

Viorst has obviously had fun playing with the book format here.  She opens the book saying that of course she knows that humans and dinosaurs have never existed at the same time!  It sets the tone perfectly for the story itself which is filled with humor throughout.  Various fonts are used throughout the book, some for singing, others for effect in reading.  Later in the book, the chapters are numbered by the half chapter just for fun and to laugh about the very short chapters of the book.  And finally, the book ends with different endings for the reader to choose from. 

A winning early chapter book, this has the dinosaur appeal combined with great illustrations and clever writing.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Reviewed from book received from Atheneum.

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Little Tree: Christmas by Cummings

| Tasha

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Little Tree by e.e. cummings, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray

This reissue has been out of print for sixteen years.  It is a joy to see it returning in time for this year’s Christmas.  A story of two children finding a tiny tree and taking it home will remind all readers what the holidays are truly about.  The care of the children is clear in both the poem and the illustrations.  They stand the tree, decorate it with ornaments from a shelf high in the closet where the decorations have been waiting to be on display again.  The tree stands splendid in the window, facing the street below, and the children sing around it.

The soft illustrations by Ray have a delicacy about them that is perfect for the poem which dances and skims.  Done in colored pencil, the colors are rich but also gentle and quiet.  The poem remains resolutely a poem, never becoming words on a picture book page, making this book even more unique and special.  

Fans of cummings will find his poem lifted by the illustrations rather than obscured in this quiet holiday book.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Dragonfly Books.

Blank Confession

| Tasha

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Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

This book begins with Shayne Blank entering a police department to confess a murder.   The question for readers is how this kid who is new to school got into the situation.  Mikey is a kid whose mouth always gets him into trouble.  Though he thinks he wants to blend in and be invisible at times, he dresses in secondhand suits that make him stick out from the regular high school crowd.  When Shayne seems interested in being his friend, Mikey has just ticked off his sister’s boyfriend, drug dealer Jon by dumping a bag in order not to be caught in a sweep of the school.  Jon now says that Mikey owes him $500 and that he will pay it back.  As the tension grows throughout the novel and the damage done by Jon and others gets more intense, readers will be caught in flashbacks looking for the trigger to the murder.  A riveting and tense story about truth, friendship and what one is capable of, this slim novel will hook many readers.

Hautman has written a novel with a structure that creates tension all on its own.  Add in some evil drug dealing teens, a mouthy unusual teen who tells the bulk of the book in his voice, and the natural vibe of the police department, and this is one pulse-pounding book.  Additionally, Hautman puts the characters in situations where murder is not only possible but likely.  This adds to the taut nature of the book even further.  The characters are interesting, especially Shayne who is very bright, very tough and a complete mystery.  Mikey is a character who would be easily unlikeable but because much of the book is shown through his perspective becomes understood at least by the reader. 

That said, the book is not perfect.  The ending was brilliant, twisting away from the twist I had expected to my great delight.  But the book should have ended a chapter earlier than it does.  It should have left us hanging a bit, figuring it out for ourselves.  With the final chapter added in, the mystery of Shayne is revealed and it is all a bit too neatly resolved.  I’d have much preferred the mysteries and questions to remain.

A book that teens will relate to and be unable to put down, this is a tense and thrilling ride from confession to deed.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Tropical Rainforests: Beautiful Nonfiction

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9780061142536

Tropical Rainforests by Seymour Simon

Veteran children’s nonfiction author, Seymour Simon, returns with this Smithsonian Institution book on rainforests. With full color images featuring interesting wildlife and grand expanses of forest, the book is an enticing introduction to tropical rainforests for children.  The importance of rainforests for the entire planet is woven into the particulars about the animals and plants that can be found there.  Making up just 2% of the earth’s surface, these forests are home to millions of insects, plants and animals.  Simon reveals their uniqueness and beauty as he writes with passion about their importance. 

Though he is writing nonfiction, Simon writes with an almost poetic voice.  He has a graceful sense of wonder in his prose, never allowing the rainforest to be reduced to a list of creatures that inhabit it.  Instead, Simon waters the book with plenty of facts, offers a sunshine of lovely little moments (like the way that you can hear the army ants hiss because there are so many of them) and brings out the beauty with the lush photography.  This is a science book for real science lovers, where the science is the loveliness of the world around us with so many details that make it amazing.

Unlike most science books, this one reads aloud very well.  Though you will find yourself stopping regularly to discuss an interesting point or take a closer look at an image.  A book that is sure to warm up wintry days, this is a scientific vacation to the rainforest.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books

A Tale Dark and Grimm: And Very Funny Too

| Tasha

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A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

I was very hesitant to start this book, because I love the original tales so very much.  I still have my faux-leather copy of the Grimm’s tales that I read when I was little.  In this debut novel, Hansel and Gretel serve as the uniting characters in a series of stories inspired by the Grimm tales.  Written with a narrator who interrupts, gleefully warns of upcoming bloodbaths, thrillingly cautions to get small children out of the room, and generally makes the book tantalizing, readers will find themselves unable to stop turning pages just to see what in the world the excitement is all about next.  And excitement there is, with stories that involve cutting off fingers, chopping off heads, battling dragons, and turning into a wolf creature.  Hansel and Gretel do a lot more than find a house made of candy here, though that story is part of this book too.  Get ready for a wild read that is sure to surprise and delight.

OK, so I tend to not like books with narrators who insert their opinions or foreshadow upcoming scenes.  It bugs me that the author had to resort to that rather than skillfully telling the story.  But here, that narrator actually adds a lot to the book.  The narrator tells readers that it’s OK to be thrilled with being frightened.   The narrator teases the reader with endings, merrily romping through the book and adding to the mayhem and fun.  This is a narrator who has become a character himself. 

Gidwitz has taken liberties with the stories.  While some bear close resemblance to a Grimm tale, others are very different.  Delightfully, without a book of Grimm at hand, the stories all work side-by-side, a testament to the skill of the author. 

Best of all, this is a book for older elementary children that needs to be read aloud.  It needs to be shared, laughed aloud at, gasped together at, and delighted in with someone else.  So grab a kid, cuddle up and get ready for a great wild read.  Appropriate for ages 8-12, or whenever you think a child is ready for such grisly and grand fare.

Reviewed from copy received from Dutton.