Book Reviews

StarCrossed: Uncover an Amazing New Heroine

| Tasha

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StarCrossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Published on October 1st, 2010.

When I find a book that is entrancing and beautifully written, I want to linger with it.  So this book took me an awfully long time to read as I savored each page. 

Digger is a thief on the run after her partner is captured by the Greenmen.  Wounded and afraid, she finds escape from the city with a small group of aristocrats on a boat.  This turns into more than just a way to escape the city, as Digger, who now calls herself Celyn, is slowly drawn into their world.  She accompanies the family to a rebuilt fortress in the high mountains, even farther outside of the city.  There she finds herself looked after and cared for in a way that she never has been.  But as a thief, she cannot relax.  Her forays to find information get her blackmailed by one of the family friends, who wants to use her skills for personal reasons.  The more secrets Digger uncovers, the more alarming they are, as the country heads to war.

The world building in this fantasy novel is beautifully done.  The world is completely envisioned and brought to life for the reader.  Each piece makes sense, from the banning of the use of magic to the Inquisition itself.  The turning away from a pantheon of gods and goddesses to a single God makes for an additional layer to the story, adding to its depth. 

Digger herself is an incredible heroine.  She is strong, independent and smart.  At the same time, she doesn’t lose her femininity at all.  I really enjoyed a teen heroine who is not crushing on a boy, but rather is consumed with the mysteries before her.  While others do play a part in uncovering some of the mystery, Digger does all of the work.  As she uncovers each piece and is confused by the details, readers will be right there with her trying to puzzle it all out. 

Highly recommended, get this into the hands of fans of Tamora Pierce and Shannon Hale.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

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The Fantastic 5&10 Cent Store

| Tasha

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The Fantastic 5&10 Cent Store: A Rebus Adventure by J. Patrick Lewis and Valorie Fisher

Something new has appeared at the end of town.  Benny Penny sets off to find out what it is and discovers a five and dime store that is filled with unusual items.  The only thing missing at the store are customers and Benny Penny has an idea of how to bring them in!  Pure silliness, this book celebrates the hodgepodge of an old-fashioned dime store with its amazing mishmash of offerings. Told in rebus format, this book is not designed for emerging readers because the rebus clues are rather difficult.  Instead hand this one to reluctant readers who are a bit older and will enjoy deciphering the story. 

Lewis has written a poem filled with the strange and zany.  It is perfect fodder for a rebus because it offers so much to draw from for the clues.  Fisher’s illustrations and her rebus creations are very colorful and creative.  They have a combination of vintage prints, physical items and modern illustrations.  The mix is refreshing and fun, just like the rest of the book.

The puzzles in the rebus can be difficult to decipher, but that just makes it all the more rewarding and fun to try.  Readers can also use context in the sentences to help with figuring things out. 

An unusual and adept book that will have readers puzzling things out with smiles on their faces.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

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In Front of My House: A Circular Journey of Imagination

| Tasha

In Front of My House by Marianne Dubuc

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened this book.  It’s not a normal picture book size, being rather square and short.  But it was the length that threw me most of all.  It’s much longer than most picture books, having the heft of a chapter book.  But oh how I enjoyed this squat little book.

The book starts out on a hill under a tree with a house.  In front of the house is a rosebush.  On the rosebush is a little bird.  Above the bird is a window.  Head through the window, and the into the room, open the book of fairy tales and your journey really begins.  This is a very engaging book with short sentences that bridge the page turn so that the next step of the story is hidden until you turn the page.  It is a very simple concept, but one that mirrors a child’s imagination so closely that it reaches beyond that simplicity and becomes something more.  One really never knows what is around that next page turn…

Dubuc keeps her sentences very basic, using only a single adjective at times and plenty of prepositional phrases.  Her illustrations have the same simple approach with plenty of white space that allows the object itself to really be highlighted.  The book design is exceptional.  The words curve, blast, stand vertical like a tree, hang upside down.  It is a dynamic book that is delightful to read. 

This is a book that will inspire circular story telling in children and will work to get creative juices flowing.  What other book has vampires, werewolves, a whale, a dragon, a bear, and a lost baby penguin?  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.

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Ivy Loves to Give

| Tasha

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Ivy Loves to Give by Freya Blackwood

Ivy is a little girl who loves to give gifts.  She gives a snail a shoe, glasses to the dog, tea to the hen, and a pacifier to the cat.  Wait, that doesn’t feel right.  Sometimes she does get it all right.  The baby gets his pacifier.  Her mother gets her tea, now with an egg in the cup.  Her grandmother gets the glasses.  Her father gets his shoe.  But there is one thing that Ivy doesn’t want to give away, even though it’s not hers to keep.  But she has just the right gift to say thank you for something given to her.

Blackwood keeps this book short and very sweet.  Her brief lines of text are ideal for toddlers who will understand both the love of gifting and the love of keeping all wrapped up together.  While the concept of the book is simple and will have children laughing at the mix-ups, Blackwood nicely ties the end together with something a bit more complicated.  Handled very successfully, the topic of giving and taking is secondary to the family relationships we see at work in the book.

Blackwood’s art is done in pencil and watercolor, giving it a beautiful softness.  The layout of the book is done with attention to the way it will read, offering plenty of white space beyond that needed for the words themselves.  This expansive feel makes the book feel welcoming and warm.  Her colors are vibrant and work to create illustrations that will function well with a group.

A solid choice for toddlers, this book is appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

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The Last Train: Take a Trip into History

| Tasha

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The Last Train by Gordon Titcomb, illustrated by Wendell Minor

Based on a song by Gordon Titcomb, this book celebrates the days of the steam engines and small depots.  A modern child visits the decrepit old depot in his town, the rusty tracks that no long gleam.  He thinks about his grandfather and father and the work they did on the railroad.  He dreams of huge engines and shiny cars streaking past.  His box of memorabilia has plenty of memories stored inside of the glory days of the railroad.  Titcomb’s words are enduring as he speaks to the wondrous power of the steam locomotive and the days when they ran.  Minor’s art brings both modern days and history to life in warm colors, allowing young train enthusiasts to dream along with him about the power of steam.

Titcomb’s song and this book really celebrate the steam engine and the magic that those days still hold for modern children.   The entire book is nicely summed up in the final lines:

A blast of steam,

the whistle screamed its mournful last refrains,

Long silent, though its echo still remains.

The words are poetry, they rhyme and dance, chugging along at times, at others sleekly gliding past.  He captures the joy of the rails perfectly.

Minor’s art is celebrates the trains too.  From the engine in the darkness under a star-filled sky to the caboose disappearing as the snow blows in.  But he also celebrates a child’s relationship with trains.  His old depot is filled with details that bring it to life.  His meadows of flowers serve as a backdrop to the aging railyard.  His flattened coins remind us all of sunny days and the surprising warmth of a smashed coin after the train goes by.  In short, he shows us just why we all love trains.

A beautiful book, this is sure to be enjoyed by train lovers old and young.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from illustrator.

Mad at Mommy: Beautiful Anger

| Tasha

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Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai

Released in October 2010.

A new book from the creator of The Snow Day, this book offers an accurate portrayal of child anger. 

Little Bunny is very angry at his mommy.  And he is more than willing to tell her exactly why.  She sleeps late on Saturdays.  She never lets him watch cartoons.  She always yells for no reason.  She is always telling him to hurry up and then not hurrying herself.  She always forgets to do the laundry.  She told him he can’t marry her when he is older.  So he’s decided to run away.  For a moment or two.

Sakai has created a very spare and minimal picture book.  The use of texture and roughness in the illustrations complements the frustration of Little Bunny.  Originally published in Japan, the book does feel different than American picture books, especially in its illustrations. The subject matter is universal.  The book is told in the child’s voice, which Sakai captures winningly.  The complaints are offered as a list, one to the next, as if they are occurring to him as he speaks.  The effect is a rather dynamic feel to the book, leaping from one idea to the next.

A beauty of a book that will make a great contrast to other anger books like When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry by Mollly Bang and Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Chicken Big: Huge Laughs

| Tasha

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Chicken Big by Keith Graves

A fractured version of the classic Chicken Little story, this book is big on chickens and big on humor too.  A huge chick is born on a tiny farm in an itty-bitty coop.  When the chick hatches, the chickens try to figure out what in the world it is.  It’s big, even enormous, so it must be an elephant!   That theory only lasts until an acorn falls on the head of one of the chickens and the big chick eats it up rather than running in fear.  If it eats acorns, then it must be a squirrel!  When rain starts to fall and the chickens panic again, the big chick lets them shelter under his wings.  Well, if he keeps them dry in the rain, he must be an umbrella!  Their theories get more and more outrageous as the book continues.  It culminates with a showdown with a sneaky fox that finally convinces the foolish chickens what the big chick actually is. 

Graves writes with such great comedic timing and wonderful surprises that children will be in stitches listening to it.  The very silly chickens are a treat to read aloud, because they are so very idiotic.  The smallest chicken is the really funny one, who offers the various guesses as to the chick’s identity.  Always with a stout and definitive declaration. 

Graves’ illustrations add to the hilarity.  He uses a mix of frames and full page illustrations.  The combination is dynamic and modern.  Often the chickens and the big chick speak in speech bubbles, lending asides that are very clever and funny.  This is a book that has a feeling of mischief and mayhem about it.  It reads wonderfully aloud and will be sure to capture attention that may be wandering in story time.  It’s a perfect final story time book to get them hooked again.

A hilarious take on a classic, this book is perfectly designed and vibrantly original.  Appropriate for ages 5-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

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Piglet’s Picnic: Yummy Fun

| Tasha

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Piglet’s Picnic by Jessica Souhami

On a sunny day, Piglet posted a note about a picnic by the river, just bring your favorite food to share.  She headed off to the river with her friend Mouse.  Both carried covered baskets with their favorite foods in them.  Some crows fly up with a bundle, two frogs come with promises of something crunchy.  Dog arrives with a newspaper packet and two sheep bring a knitted bag.  It was then time to open the parcels of food.  But as each is opened with a flap that the reader gets to open, the other animals are disappointed to see what is there.  Luckily they all brought enough for each of them to each their favorite food, the food they brought.

This friendly and fairly predictable story has plenty of toddler appeal.  Small children will enjoy opening the parcels with the flaps as well as the surprise of the final foldout page that shows the entire picnic laid out.  Nicely, different concepts are layered in the book unobtrusively with numbers and addition as new animals arrive.  Souhami’s cut paper illustrations are bright and bold enough to show nicely to a group. 

A simple story perfect for toddler story times or sharing with your own small child.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

Dust Devil

| Tasha

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Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

This companion book for the wonderful Swamp Angel is filled with the same tall tale antics of the first.  Swamp Angel grew too big for the state of Tennessee, so she had to move to the wide open spaces of Montana.  Unfortunately, the sun woke her too early so she plucked some mountains and placed them around to create some shade, making the buttes of Montana.  But her biggest problem was finding a horse that she could ride.  They were too small to carry her.  Then a huge storm came across the state, kicking up dust and sucking the roof off of her barn.  Swamp Angel jumped onto the storm and rode it until it turned into a horse that could strike lightning with its hooves.  When Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes enter the state, Swamp Angel and her horse, Dust Devil, have to combine their strength and size as well as a secret weapon to bring them to justice.  A wild stampede of a story, this is a tale worthy to follow in the huge footsteps of the original.

Isaacs has a wonderful time with the language of tall tales, using words that dance and whirl, immediately placing readers on familiar ground but amping it up to a new level.  Her description of the jail is worthy of note as a great example of her word play: “single-starred, double-barred, triple-guard jail.”  Isaacs’ story is completely jam-packed with Angel being a tall tale heroine.  She exemplifies everything readers want in adventure.  Isaac also adds a punch of humor to the book from the rollicking words she chooses to the villains themselves.  Backward Bart speaks his sentences in reverse-word order, which will have children listening very closely to be the first to decipher what he is saying. 

Zelinsky’s illustrations are done in oils on cedar, aspen and maple veneers.  This gives the illustrations a great framed effect that is rustic and perfectly suited to the story.  Zelinsky enjoys playing with perspective in his illustrations, offering views that intensify the size of Angel and Dust Devil.  The illustrations have a timelessness that is very appealing.

Swamp Angel is a girl who will give Paul Bunyan a run for his money, just as Dust Devil stands up well to Babe, the Blue Ox.  This brand new tall tale heroine stands tall among giants.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Schwartz & Wade Books.

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