Book Reviews

Thumbelina

| Tasha

Sylvia Long’s Thumbelina by Sylvia Long

Enter the world of Thumbelina as depicted by award-winning illustrator Sylvia Long.  This is a classic tale of the tiny Thumbelina and her birth to a woman desperate to have a child.  Thumbelina is beautiful and is stolen by a toad to marry her son.  She is kept on a lily pad until the wedding is prepared.  The fish in the pond chew her lily pad free.  She then seeks shelter from the winter cold with a field mouse who decides that she should wed her neighbor, a mole.  Thumbelina discovers a bird in the tunnels that is supposedly dead, but that she nurses back to health.  In the spring, the bird returns to save her from a marriage to the mole.  He carries her to a special place where winter never comes and where she discovers others just her size, including a handsome prince.

Long has not only beautifully illustrated this classic tale, she has also created a very readable version of the story.  It is cleanly written, making if useful for classrooms or families looking for a version to share.  Long’s illustrations are jewel toned and delicate.  The small details that fill the book help tell more of the story.  The closeups of dragonflies, the bird and fairies are entrancing.  She has created a tale filled with color and beautiful perspectives and compositions.

Highly recommended, this book with its small heroine and classic story will entrance those new to the story and become a favorite of those of us who already love the tale.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by 5 Minutes for Books.

Birth Marked

| Tasha

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien

This debut novel is an enthralling dystopian fantasy.  Gaia’s mother is a midwife and now at age 16, so is she.  Each month, the first children born must be advanced to behind the wall of the Enclave, escaping the poverty outside the wall.  It is Gaia’s duty to turn those children over just as her two older brothers were turned over.  Gaia herself was no advanced because of her scarred face.  But now Gaia’s parents have been seized by the Enclave and no one knows why.  When they do not return, Gaia decides to sneak inside the wall and see if she can find out what has happened to them.  Through her journey, Gaia learns that the lies being told to her and the others outside the wall are many and complex, but that one girl can still make a difference with one heroic act.

It took me some time to read this novel because I was savoring it.  The world building that O’Brien has done here is based on our own familiar world, but one that has suffered a climate catastrophe.  O’Brien offers just enough details about the world to make it clear, but concentrates more on the human situation than the environmental one.  Her society is complicated, fascinating and well rendered.  The same can be said of the heroine, Gaia.  She is bright though uneducated, defiant, clever and brave.  She is a great lens to view the society and her situation through.

There is adventure and romance in this novel, all told through the eyes of the girl who is a loner and outsider because of her disfiguring scar.  Get this into the hands of those who enjoy Tamora Pierce, because they will love this heroine and wait impatiently along with me for the next in the series.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Pitschi

| Tasha

Pitschi by Hans Fischer

Originally published in Switzerland in 1947 and then first published in the US in 1953, this book is a classic that I had never read before.  Old Lisette has two cats, five kittens, and a dog who are near her playing as she knits outside.  That is all of the kittens are playing except for one who is sitting still and dreaming.  Pitschi is much more interested in exploring and dreaming than playing with her siblings.  So off she heads into the farmyard.  There she finds a rooster who struts proudly.  Pitschi decides that she wants to be a rooster and gives her best strut and crow.  But when their crowing draws another rooster in and they fight, Pitschi decides she doesn’t want to be a rooster anymore.  One after another Pitschi discovers an animal, thinks it would be grand to be that, and then learns about the drawbacks.  Goats are milked.  Ducks swim.  And rabbits live in danger from foxes and owls.  Luckily the old dog and Old Lisette are there to rescue a lost kitten after dark and remind her how grand it is to be a kitten after all.

There is a wonderful pluckiness about this little kitten.  She is often unafraid, bold and always curious.  Her willingness to reinvent herself is very endearing and makes for a book that is a great foil for books where the character is seeking to find those who are like themselves.  Here Pitschi relishes the differences and the new character traits she finds. 

Fischer’s art is free form and simple.  Often colored with washes of only a few colors, his use of line is done with great skill and ease.  The simple curlicues of a tree branches, the squiggles that form a rabbit’s tail, and the swirls of a basket.  The illustrations come to life because of this simplicity.

Highly recommended.  If you missed this treasure from the 40s and 50s, you are in luck because North South is re-releasing it this year.  Share it with cat lovers or in story times about cats or farms.  It is a real Swiss treat.

Reviewed from copy received from North South.

Little Green Goose

| Tasha

The Little Green Goose by Adele Sansone, illlustrated by Anke Faust

In 1999, North South books published this story with illustrations by Alan Marks.  Now it has been re-released with new art.  This is the story of a goose who desperately wants to be a father.  When he approaches the hens and asks for eggs to hatch, they refuse to give him any.  So he sadly heads to the woods where Daisy the dog points him to an egg she uncovered in her digging.  Mr. Goose takes the egg home and sits on it.  Eventually, it cracks open and out pops a green chick with scales!  Mr. Goose was proud of his son and when he finally showed him to the others in the barnyard, they were shocked.  The little green goose was told by some of the hens that he is not a proper goose because he is green and doesn’t have feathers or a beak!  Distraught, little green goose heads out to find his real father.  But no animal is quite like him.  It isn’t until he is exhausted and hungry that he realizes that he knows just who will love him no matter whether he is a proper goose or not.

This book is about families and how they are about love alone, not about whether members look similar at all.  I particularly appreciated that it is MR. Goose who wants a baby.  That’s a male role that we don’t see much in children’s picture books.  Sansone’s text is light and a pleasure to read aloud.  Her dialogue is interestingly written.  Her setting is well developed.  She has created a wonderful world in which a baby dinosaur can not only exist but thrive. 

Faust’s illustrations are done in digital collage.  She has a knack for finding interesting visual textures that really create a feast for the eye.  The feathers on Mr. Goose are particularly successful as are the grasses, stones, wood and leaves.  She has captured the freshness and patterns of nature and used them with great effect here.

Highly recommended, this story will appeal to many families and children.  Keep it on hand for any goose or farm story times, where it will add another dimension and a bit of diversity.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from NorthSouth Publishers.

Sylvia Jean, Scout Supreme

| Tasha

Sylvia Jean, Scout Supreme by Lisa Campbell Ernst

This is the second book about the irrepressible Sylvia Jean.  In this book, Sylvia Jean’s Pig Scout troop is working on getting their Good-Dead Badge.  Each of them has to select one a good deed to do.  Sylvia Jean realizes that she can help her neighbor Mrs. VanHooven who twisted her ankle and can’t walk.  Sylvia Jean gathers everything she is going to need to help Mrs. VanHooven and arrives on her doorstep merrily blowing her tuba in case Mrs. VanHooven has difficulty hearing.  Sylvia Jean arrives with too much energy and ends up tripping and falling on top of Mrs. VanHooven.  The doctor then insists that Sylvia Jean not visit any more to let her have rest.  But Sylvia Jean is not that easily turned away.  She comes up with a clever solution that allows her to keep helping her neighbor without her neighbor knowing.  But what happens when she has to turn in her information for her badge and no one knows how helpful she has been?

Ernst has poured so much energy and creativity into this young pig that she is more than a breath of fresh air.  She is a gale.  Sylvia Jean is a great character who young readers will enjoy spending time with.  Ernst’s writing and illustrations are filled with plenty of humor and the book moves along at a brisk pace.  The story is interesting and has more depth than many picture books.  There is more text here than in some picture books.  It reads aloud very easily and the details add to the story and the fun.  Ernst’s illustrations are done in warm colors and gently waving lines.  They are equal in humor and energy to the story itself.

Recommended as a read aloud, this book will be enjoyed by a wide range of ages and children.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin Books.

The Best Family in the World

| Tasha

The Best Family in the World by Susana Lopez, illustrated by Ulises Wensell.

When Carlota is told that she has been adopted by a family, she lets her imagination range over what kind of family she will be joining.  It could be a family of pastry chefs who would let her have chocolate pastries for every meal.  Or perhaps a pirate family who will let her search for treasure and wear an eye patch and a peg leg.  Maybe a family of tiger trainers so she could take a cub to school with her.  It might be a family of astronauts and she could count the stars to fall asleep at night.  When the Perez family shows up the next morning, they are the best family in the world for Carlota who finds many of her dreams have come true in small ways.  Most importantly, she has found a family that loves her.

This is a marvelous book about adoption.  It captures the dreams of the child and then the reality itself where the reality may not be as flashy but is perfect none-the-less because they love her.  Created by an author and illustrator from Spain, this book is universally appealing.  Lopez’s text is friendly and effusive.  The daydreams are fanciful and interesting, but Lopez has allowed the reality to be the real star here.  Wensell’s illustrations are charming and friendly.  They invite young readers into the story, reveal the humor of the daydreams, and linger lovingly and warmly on the real family.

Recommended for all library collections, this book about adoption is something special.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Kane Miller Publishing.

Also reviewed by Jen Robinson and A Patchwork of Books.

Tutus Aren’t My Style

| Tasha

Tutus Aren’t My Style by Linda Skeers, illustrations by Anne Wilsdorf

Emma loves getting dirty, chasing frogs, and just being outside.  So when a package arrives from her Uncle Leo with a pink ballerina costume inside, she isn’t sure how to even pretend to be a ballerina.  The mailman offers her tips about how to float, flutter and twirl but Emma just ends up in the birdbath.  Mrs. Gurkin walks by and tells her to walk on her tippy-toes, but Emma falls into the petunias.  When Emma heads inside, her brother suggests that music might help.  Emma tries her kazoo, but that doesn’t work quite right.  As she tries to adapt to being a ballerina, Emma finds herself returning to her cowboy boots and shorts that have handy pockets. In the end, she dances in her own way and style.

This book is perfect for children who don’t fit into the mold of pink for girls and blue for boys.  Emma is a girl that one doesn’t see often in picture books.  She is her own self, yet open to trying new things to see if they work for her.  She will have readers cheering her on!  Skeers has written a heroine with plenty of personality and spunk.  There are wonderful humorous touches that really make the book a pleasure to read aloud.  The text moves along at a brisk pace.  Wilsdorf’s illustrations add to the humor with their cartoon style.  They also show the reactions of Emma’s cat which is an important piece of the story. 

Appropriate for all kids, this book should not be saved just for the tomboys who come to the library.  We all have unique things about ourselves that we don’t want to change to conform.  This book is about that, not limited to solely pink tutus.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

The Humblebee Hunter

| Tasha

The Humblebee Hunter: Inspired by the Life and Experiments of Charles Darwin and His Children by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Jen Corace

Told from the perspective of Etty, one of Charles Darwin’s daughters, this book is an invitation into the lives of the Darwin family.  Etty does not want to stuck inside with her mother and Cook learning to make honey cake.  She would much rather be outside with her father helping with his scientific observations.  The children grew up asking questions just like their father.  They measured worm holes, experimented with seeds and salt water, counted snakes, and captured moths.  So when her father appeared at the door and asked her to bring out the flour shaker, Etty happily did so.  The question was how many flowers a humblebee would visit in a minute.  The flour would make the bees the children would be observing more easily seen.  And what is the answer to the question?  You will just have to read the book to find out or dust your own humblebee with flour!

I was immediately charmed by the illustrations of this book.  They have an old-fashioned feel merged with a modern edge.  The colors used are vintage and immediately place the story in the correct era, but the illustrations themselves are crisp and add interest.  Hopkinson’s text is equally successful.  The pacing is varied which makes for an interesting read.  From the slow pace when Etty is inside baking and remembering her father’s stories to the brisk pace and excitement of following a bee from flower to flower. 

This book will make every child want to have dust a bee with flour and observe them.  It is a book that has you itching to head outdoors and measure your own worm holes or capture moths.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Charlotte’s Library.

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Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas

| Tasha

Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas, Not Mommies and Daddies by Gayle Byrne, illustrated by Mary Haverfield

Look at family through the eyes of a young girl who lives with her grandparents.  Nonnie, her grandmother, gives her hugs all the time.  Poppy snuggles in bed, watches TV with them.  They are a close-knit and loving family made up of two grandparents and a child.  The book oozes love and warmth.  It is filled with a strong sense of home, the sort of home that every child deserves and would adore living in. This loving picture book, written by a grandmother who takes care of her granddaughter will fill an important place in library collections and speaks with love of how well different types of families work.

I was very pleased to see a book on this subject, because so many children are being raised by their grandparents.  Then after reading it, I was thrilled once again to have found a book that so embraces a child and delights in the warm world it is creating.  So yes, this is a wonderful book on grandparents being parents but is also a book that children in any sort of family with relate to and enjoy.  Byrne’s use of repetition as a framework for the story works well, particularly because the repetition is about Nonnie cuddles.  Her depiction of a special family is enhanced by the soft watercolor illustrations that help depict the connections of the family members.

Highly recommended, this book is simply lovely and will fill an important niche in library collections.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Abbeville Press.