Book Reviews

Jim: A Cautionary Tale

| Tasha

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Jim: a Cautionary Tale by Hilaire Belloc and Mini Grey

Looking for a picture book that is far from sweet and a bit wicked?  Then look no further!  Mini Grey takes the classic tale by Belloc and turns it into a book with lots of tiny details and pop-up pages that make for great fun in reading.  The tale is one of Jim, who went to the zoo with his nurse and then slipped away from her.  He hadn’t gotten far when a lion grabbed him and began to eat him from the feet up.  Jim called for help and a zookeeper came running, but was too late, only Jim’s head was left.  The story is written in verse that is dry and naughty.  The voice of the poem makes what happens that much more unexpected and delightful.  Grey’s illustrations have a modern feel that works well with the tone here.  This is a picture book best shared with children who are slightly older and will understand the dark humor at work.

Belloc’s poem makes a great point from which Grey could build such a book.  Though the writing is decidedly Edwardian, Grey’s modern illustrations work well with it.  Her small touches enliven the book, getting readers interacting with panels to open, a zoo map to view, and a lion’s claws to dodge.  Though we may see modern books as those with a darker edge, it took an Edwardian author to create one of the more dark picture books I have read in a long time.  Children looking for a sudden happy ending will not find one.  They will only find the sly humor of an urn shaped just like Jim’s head that holds his remains.

This is one of those books that readers will either love or hate.  Me?  I absolutely adored it and read it again and again just to get that same jolt from the ending.  You know what kids will love this book.  Get it into their hands!  It would make an ideal holiday gift for that special child with a wicked sense of humor.

Reviewed from copy received from Knopf.

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There’s No Place Like School: Classroom Poems

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There’s No Place Like School selected by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Jane Manning

Prelutsky has selected poems that focus on school in this funny and terrific collection of poetry.  The poems are written by thirteen poets and are filled with child appeal and an understanding of the mind of a child.  Turning from one to the next takes the reader through a school day, from heading out the door and the school bus ride to the show and tell and music class and eventually the ride back home.  The poems are well selected, offering a blend of different humor that makes moving from one poem to the next a delight. 

Manning’s illustrations offer a bright and colorful view of school.  She happily embraces the humor of each poem, from the strange foods at the school cafeteria to the delights of milk squirting out of a nose.  All are offered in a quirky and positive way.

An ideal book for the first days of school, this book will be appreciated by children of many ages.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

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Sapphique: A Stunning Sequel

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Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Published December 28, 2010.

This stunning sequel to the amazing Incarceron continues the story set in motion in the first volume.  Finn has escaped the prison of Incarceron and has discovered that the Outside is not what he expected at all.   His identity as the lost prince is called into question when another young man appears claiming that he is the prince.  The other person certainly seems more princely than Finn, who struggles with his continuing blackouts and still has no memory of his time before waking up in Incarceron.  Claudia, the warden’s daughter, also questions her own beliefs about Finn.  Could it be that he is not the prince after all?  And meanwhile in the prison, Keiro and Attia are trying to find their own way to escape.  And they just may have found it in the Glove.  That is if the glove they have is the real magical glove that Sapphique once wore.  But Incarceron itself wants the glove too, so they must battle with weapons and wits to find their way out, if there even is a way to escape the prison of Incarceron.

An exciting mix of fantasy and science fiction, this book really built on the first in the series.  Fisher has built a world that is clever and amazing.  Her living prison is frighteningly real, and the violence and danger are heart-poundingly close at times.  Fisher continues to expand on the world that she brought to life in the first book.  The pleasure here is seeing even more of her world.  Nicely, she does not deviate from what was put forth in the first book.  This is an expansion of her original vision not a rewriting of the world, which is done in far too many fantasy sequels. 

Fisher’s characters are also well drawn.  She has created heroes that are human, contrasted starkly with those in power who don’t understand that things are changing both in the prison and Outside.  Finn is a magnificent hero, crowned with royalty and yet questioning his role, his sudden turn of fortunes, and his allegiances.  Keiro continues to be as arrogant and unlikeable as ever, yet he does grow on the reader.  Attia and Claudia are heroines with backbone and plenty of great ideas.  They are more alike than the male characters are, since Claudia has become less haughty and Attia has grown in confidence. 

There are some pacing issues in the first half of the book.  The final half sails and flies past, with the final hundred pages racing by at breakneck pace.  I could not turn the pages fast enough.  The first half was slower and less gripping.  The story is wonderfully deep and that layered complex storytelling does lead to slower pacing.  I just wish it had been more consistent throughout.

I must also mention the attention to detail throughout the book.  The legends of Sapphique are well built and fascinating, including the paragraphs that start each chapter.  Drawn from documents, they purport to be snippets of conversations about Sapphique and Incarceron.  The synopses of the cobbled together books that the inmates of Incarceron refer to are also a delightful glimpse at what our fairy tales and legends could become if mashed up.  These and other small moments round out the building of the world.

Highly recommended, this is a wonderful and very worthy sequel to the first.  I keep waiting for this series to launch the way that Hunger Games did, perhaps the time will be right with this second book.  In any case, it will delight fans of The Hunger Games, so get it into their hands.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

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Nini Lost and Found: A Charmer That Feels Like Home

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Nini Lost and Found by Anita Lobel

This second book about Nini the cat follows the award-winning Nini Here and There that won a Caldecott Honor in 2007.   In this book, Nini discovered that the door to the house has been left open and escaped out into the garden.  While the house was cozy, the outdoors was also fun.  There were grasses, flowers, and an entire woods to explore.  But when night falls, the woods became more frightening, darker and filled with noises that could be large animals coming after her.  Nini hid under a tree, but realized that she could not just stay there.  That’s when she heard voices calling her from the house.  With a burst of courage, Nini ran home, through the open door that closed behind her.  Back to the familiar things and smells and food.  She was very happy to be home and safe, for now.

Lobel’s deep colored illustrations show both the comforts of home and the enticements of the outdoors as equally welcoming.  The richness of the autumnal landscape brings a warmth to the outdoors, inviting both Nini and readers to explore.  Children will understand Nini’s wish to escape, wander and explore.  They will also understand her conflicting desire for safety and warmth.  It is a gentle take on the theme of running away from home.  When the book turns darker with nightfall, Lobel’s color palette turns to deep blues, blacks and browns.  The contrast is distinct and makes for a more chilling moment when Nini is hiding and scared.  The contrast is clear and effective.

This simple picture book will be enjoyed by children for many different reasons.  Some for the story of a cat, others will see the parallel with children running away, and others will enjoy the adventure at night in the dark.  I look for books that can be enjoyed by many types of children for different reasons.  This is most certainly one of them.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Knopf.

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

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Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Dave the Potter was an outstanding artist, poet and potter whose influence is still evident in South Carolina pottery.  He lived in the 1800s and created his pottery with amazing skill, building enormous pots that could up to 40 gallons.  He was one of only two potters known to have the strength and skill to create such large pieces.  Dave was also a poet, inscribing his verse on his pottery, offering two lines of poetry and then a date.  His poems have the beauty and simplicity of Haiku and offer a unique perspective of a poet surviving in slavery.  This is a picture book that makes an important figure in history come alive, revealing his art and poetry for children. 

Hill has created a free verse of his own to tell the story of the life of Dave.  Hill’s verse is simple and striking, drawing together the connections between the simple ingredients of the clay and what it can become and the simple life of a slave and the wonder of what Dave created.  The poem leads children through the stages of making a pot from the gathering of the clay to the magic and work of creating pottery.  The book ends with more of Dave’s poetry as well as an author’s note and an illustrator’s note.  All of them speaking to the influence and importance of Dave the Potter.

Collier’s art work here is stunningly beautiful.  His watercolor and collage art speaks to the strength of Dave, the skill of his hands and the glory of his work.  The colors are rich and deep, filled with a warm earthiness that evokes pottery and clay. 

A radiant tribute to an artist, this picture book echoes the transcendent artist that Dave was.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything

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Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Robert Byrd

Get a real sense of the great Khan who ruled over the largest empire in the world during the 13th century.  This picture book biography invites readers to be amazed by what Kubla Khan managed to create and build.  The emphasis is on the Khan’s achievements and the scope of his realm.  There are so many little facts shared that are fascinating and engaging.  They all demonstrate the largeness of his life and his achievements, from his one hundred children to the three million workers who extended the Grand Canal.  The feel of the book is rich and dramatic as well, thanks to the illustrations by Byrd.  Filled with small details, the illustrations and words work together to really bring this legendary leader to life.  While a boon for report writers, this is also a biography that reads aloud very well thanks to the engaging style.

Krull excels at making famous people from history more human.  With Kubla Khan, she humanizes him by sharing his youth in Mongolia.  Yet Krull allows Kubla Khan to remain larger than life, his power and success is so large that it would be wrong to minimize what he managed to accomplish.  Krull also emphasizes the fact that the Khan was very open to different opinions and new ideas.  His ability to remain open is what allowed him to become the leader he was. 

Byrd’s illustrations change as the Khan changes.  The youthful years in Mongolia have a freedom to the illustrations with racing horses, hunts, and smoky battlefields.  As Kubla Khan becomes more powerful and rules China, the illustrations reflect the Khan’s own changes and adoption of the Chinese style.  Beautifully depicted, the illustrations are detailed, rich and add to the deep texture of the book.

Highly recommended for all public library children’s nonfiction collections, this is a dazzling biography.  Appropriate for ages 8-11.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

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Zombies vs. Unicorns: How Short Stories for Teens Should Be Done!

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Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

Before opening the book, I was firmly a Team Zombie type of gal.  Rotting flesh captures my attention a lot more than lovely white horses.  Sick, I know.   But by the end of this anthology of short stories, I’m leaning more towards those lovely and vicious white horses.

Created from a conversation on Holly Black’s and Justine Larbalestier’s blogs, these stories answer the age-old question of whether zombies or unicorns are better.  A group of bestselling authors of teen fiction joined the battle with their short stories.  The book reads in alternating stories.  One zombie, the next unicorn.  I was impressed by the level of the stories in the collection, offering such a range of takes on zombies and unicorns.  This book is sure to fly off of the shelves thanks to the zombies, the unicorns, and the tantalizing authors involved.  Those authors include, Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, and Meg Cabot.

Just as with any short story collection, there are some stories that stick with the reader longer.  Carrie Ryan’s Bougainvillea is a zombie story set in a world where the zombies have taken over almost completely.  Iza’s father took her and her mother to the safety of an island where he became dictator and kept the population alive.  The story is about control, heritage, and of course, life and death.   There is a wonderful tone to this story, an anchored feeling that remains even as the zombies emerge.  Another of my favorites is The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund.    Wen saw her cousins slaughtered by a unicorn, now when she sees a captured unicorn at a side show, she is shocked to find herself connecting with it.  She returns the next day, drawn by something and ends up saving a new born unicorn from being killed.  Now she has to figure out what to do with the adorable but deadly creature.   Peterfreund builds a great story effortlessly here, offering a wry tone and another look at her take on killer unicorns.  Scott Westerfeld’s Inoculata offers a zombie tale with a twist.  Here the humans are barricaded against the zombie onslaught again, but something happens that changes everything.  Westerfeld is master of horror mixed with science and that is evident in this story as well.   The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey tells the story of a unicorn who heals but also steals years of life away.  He is an addict, unable to stop killing or shortening lives.  He meets two virgins who bring him deeper into connection with emotions and happiness, but loses both of them.  Now he is seeking a third virgin.  He hopes that this one can either stop his pain altogether or kill him.  It is an achingly beautiful story with a cunning twist. 

A delight of a short story collection.  It turns out it doesn’t matter if Team Zombie or Team Unicorn wins the battle.  The people who really have won are the readers of the stories.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from McElderry Books.

Reviewed across the blogosphere with far too many to link to. 

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Day and Night: Movie to Picture Book

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Day & Night by Teddy Newton

The Pixar short film that accompanied Toy Story 3 in theaters has been transformed into a picture book.  Showing the same style, humor and charm of the film, this book captures the interplay between day and night.  Told in short sentences on black paper, the two characters immediately see their differences but through their interaction develop a friendship.  In the end, they discover they have a lot more in common than they had thought at first glance.  There is a wonderful whimsy about their interaction as they both use their bodies as a canvas for communication.  Each shows off the wonders of their time of day.  There are parades, rainbows and butterflies for Day.  Night responds with fireworks, outdoor movies and fireflies.  Told mostly in images, the story will appeal to young and old.

Newton’s illustrations carry this story, infusing it with appeal.  The use of the black background makes the characters really pop.  This creates a dynamic look and feel for the book.  The most effective piece of the book is the ending when day changes to night and night changes to day.  When their bodies fit together to create the horizon and to complete the sunset and dawn, it is very visually arresting.

Children who have seen the short film will enjoy this picture book version, but so will children who are looking for a friendly book with inviting illustrations.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

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Mostly Monsterly

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Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Scott Magoon

Bernadette had claws, a tail, fangs, and pointy ears.  She was a monster.  She caused all sorts of mayhem, but underneath she was different.  She liked flowers, kittens, and baking treats.  So Bernadette was nervous to go to school with the other monsters.  Her niceness did not fit in with the group well.  She asked for a group hug and got glares.  She sang a sweet song and someone ate her microphone.  Even her cupcakes with sprinkles get the monsters to turn tail and run.  How was she going to make friends?  Bernadette had a plan, a very monsterly, yet sweet one. 

Sauer nicely turns the pink and princessy on its head with this small blue monster.  The mix of sweet and monster is a winning one, nicely cleansing the saccharine that can accumulate from too many pink sparkly picture books.  Sauer has a great sense of humor that is on display in her title.   The things that the monster children hope are in the box as treats are silly and great fun.  Sauer does not limit herself to normal picture book words in a any way.  Make way for slobber, conquer and dismantle, among others.  Magoon’s illustrations offer plenty of monster styles and types for the reader to gape at.  None of the monsters are frightening.  This is a funny book and the illustrations stay in that style as well.  They are bright, intriguing and silly.  Bernadette is a monster we can all relate to, thanks in large part to the way she is depicted in the illustrations.

A book that celebrates our diversity and differences, this is a great monster book to add to your not-so-scary stories pile.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon and Schuster.

Check out the trailer:

Mostly Monsterly Book Trailer