Book Reviews

Shark vs. Train

| Tasha

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Two young boys dash to the toy box and dig around.  One emerges with a shark toy while the other brandishes a toy train.  So now the sides are clear, but which toy would win a battle?  Well, that all depends!  Would it be underwater or on train tracks?  Would they be eating pies or having a burping contest?  The ideas of the sorts of competitions will have readers giggling in delight as the shark wins one and then the train wins the next.  Each competition is illustrated for humor and the reasons for winning are often surprising and funny.  Get this book into the hands of children as quickly as you can!

Barton’s text is kept simple and easy.  He frames the competition and then steps back to witness who wins.  Towards the end, the competitions get wilder and neither shark nor train are comfortable.  The book ends with the two boys being called to lunch.  The illustrations are a large part of the pleasure and success of this book.  The emotions on the faces of both shark and train will have readers quickly understanding the situation.  There are small touches and asides in the illustrations that bring the story depth and added humor. 

This book is sure to be popular in any library.  Place it face out and it will disappear.  The only question is whether it is the shark or train that gets the book more attention.  Competition anyone?  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Remembering Crystal

| Tasha

Remembering Crystal by Sebastian Loth

Zelda is a young goose who adores her friend Crystal who is an aging turtle.  Despite their age difference, the two of them enjoy many of the same things.  They love reading books, swimming together, taking trips and talking about life.  But one day when Zelda goes to the garden, Crystal is not there.  The other geese try to explain that she was old and is gone, but Zelda doesn’t believe them.  She searches for Crystal and when she can’t find her begins to remember what Crystal taught her about art and the world.  After some grieving, Zelda realizes that Crystal will be with her always.

A warm, sweet book that speaks to the impact of losing a friend, pet or a grandparent. Though short sentences, Loth slowly exposes readers to the special friendship of the two characters.  It is this lingering pace and tone that makes the book work so well as you have time to think and appreciate while reading.  Loth also keeps the illustrations simple.  They are pleasingly presented on paper that is marked, creased and aged.  Beautifully and gently presented.

Books on death can verge on the saccharine at times.  This book manages to be sweet and fresh thanks in part to the humor of the book and the illustrations.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from NorthSouth.

Dear Primo

| Tasha

Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh

One cousin in America and one cousin in Mexico write letters back and forth describing their lives.  Carlitos lives on a farm in Mexico with all sorts of animals.  Charlie lives in a city filled with skyscrapers and lights.  The lives of the two boys are contrasted with one another from food and games to shopping and celebrations.  Underlying the differences though are the similarities between the boys with their energy and strong communities.  Tonatiuh’s art strengthens this tie between the boys, making this book a cohesive whole.

Students learning Spanish will find the words peppering Carlitos’ part of the story interesting and useful.  They serve to add more than flavor to the text, strengthening the text and tying it more closely to Mexico.  Tonatiuh’s text is simple and interesting, allowing for a glimpse of two different lives.  It is his art that will really get this book off the shelves.  He combines a primitive feel in the characters faces and bodies with a modern collage technique that uses digital components.  The juxtaposition of the two makes for dynamic art that show both boys living with tradition and modern components to their lives.

A successful book about cousins who have plenty of differences but also lots in common, this book will be useful for young students learning Spanish.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Once

| Tasha

Once by Morris Gleitzman

This book looks at the Holocaust through the lens of one boy.  Felix is an extraordinary boy whose head is filled with stories that help explain the horrors he sees around himself.  His parents had left him in a Catholic orphanage to keep him safe as Poland was invaded.  But when he saw the books from the orphanage library being burned, he feared his parents were in danger since they were book sellers.  He isn’t sure why the Nazis hate books so much, but he certainly doesn’t want his parents to be hurt.  So Felix runs away from the orphanage and towards the big city, which means he is heading directly toward the Nazis.  As Felix travels, he tries to make sense of what he is seeing.  At first he naively explains much of it away, but as the book progresses he begins to understand what is happening to him and the people he loves.  Powerfully written, this book allows children to understand the horrors of the Holocaust without being overwhelmed.  It also shows children that they too can be heroes even when their world is falling apart.

In this book, Gleitzman has hit the balance perfectly between honestly depicting the atrocities of the Holocaust and yet making it accessible and appropriate for young readers.  He does this entirely through Felix who is an incredible protagonist, protectively telling himself untruths and stories about what he is witnessing.  It is a powerful device to use, as we see Felix almost killed time and again.  Because of Felix’s misunderstanding of the situation he is in, the book can be chilling and frightening.  Modern readers will understand more clearly than Felix what being a young Jew in Nazi-occupied Poland means. 

Gleitzman’s writing is wry and warm.  Told in Felix’s voice, the story is gripping, filled with action, and moves along at a brisk pace.  This brisk pace can be alarming as Felix is almost always moving closer and closer to more perilous areas and situations.  Gleitzman plays with our own understanding of history, creating our own lens to contrast with Felix’s. 

This is the sort of book that invites you in for carrot stew, shares stories whispered in the dark, and brings you to tears.  It is a story to savor, to linger with, to be amazed by.  I don’t hug every book I read, but this is one that I had to sit with my arms wrapped around for a bit.  I was holding Felix tightly to me because he had become so vivid and real to me as I read.

Beautifully done, this book should be shared with classes learning about the Holocaust.  It is a story of hope, a celebration of childhood, and a way to tell young people the truth of history.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Poetrees

| Tasha

Poetrees by Douglas Florian

Florian has turned his poetic talents to trees in this newest collection.  His poems move from the parts of a tree like bark and roots to specific types of trees.  He includes oaks, baobab, Japanese cedar, yews and many more.  In each, he celebrates what makes them unique and special.  He merges puns with poetry, offering a funny twist or humorous phrase.  Florian evokes the essence of trees with ease here.  His forest is one that is definitely worth wandering in.

Florian has also done the art work in this book.  Done with a variety of media on paper bags, they evoke a roughness, a bark and a natural feel that perfect mesh with the poems.  I particularly appreciate that you can see the folds and creases in the bags.  They make you want to run your fingers across the page, only to find them glossy smooth. 

Ideal for Earth Day or Arbor Day, this is a beautiful way to spend time with the trees around us.  Appropriate for ages 5-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Publishers.

Also reviewed by Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup.

What Will You Be, Sara Mee?

| Tasha

What Will You Be, Sara Mee? by Kate Aver Avraham, illustrated by Anne Sibley O’Brien

Sara Mee is about to celebrate her first birthday.  For Korean Americans, that means that she will participate in a special game called toljabee which will predict what she will be when she grows up.  Her older brother Chong can’t wait to see what items she will pick from the table.  But first there is plenty of preparation for the big day, including special clothes for Sara Mee, great food, and music.  When the time for the game comes, Chong is allowed to help set the items before Sara Mee.  What will she pick?

Part of the specialness of this book is the depiction of the extended Korean family, some who still live in Korea and others who live in the United States.  There are grandparents, aunts, uncles, and more who bring the event and the book to life, filling it with faces and noise.  Avraham’s text is sprinkled with Korean words and written in a light tone that invites the reader into this family get-together.  O’Brien’s art is done in ink and watercolor.  The smiles on all of the faces as well as the use of bright colors really create a book filled with joy.

A welcome book about Korean Americans and traditions, this book should find a place on library shelves across the country.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Possum and Wattle

| Tasha

Possum and Wattle: A Big Book of Australian Words by Bronwyn Bancroft

This alphabet book takes readers on a journey through Australia.  Mixed in with words that are familiar, like ants and apple, are fascinating words like adze, bandicoot, and dingo.  The book is illustrated with the Aboriginal art of Bronwyn Bancroft, a Bundjalung artist who demonstrates her skill and knowledge of Australian through her art.  The art is filled with dots, amazing color combinations, and energy.  It is through Bancroft’s art in particular that readers really get to see frogs, fish and other mundane words with a new eye.  In the art, they become fantastical, strange and uniquely beautiful.

I appreciated the mix of the normal words with Aboriginal ones.  The combination makes the book inviting and intriguing at the same time.  I am also in awe of the art here.  It is accessible to children, beautifully rendered and so very evocative of the region.  The result is a book that truly is Australia between two covers.

Highly recommended, this book opens the world of Australia to young readers who will probably want to learn far more.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Stolen

| Tasha

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

In a Bangkok airport on her way to Vietnam with her parents, sixteen-year-old Gemma stops for a cup of coffee to take a break from arguing with them.  It was then that her life changed.  She was drugged and taken to the outback of Australia where Ty, the man who took her, had created a self-sufficient home for both of them.  Gemma fought back as best she could when the drugs wore off, tried to escape multiple times, but the outback itself kept her bound at home with Ty.  Ty is handsome, well-built, and deeply in love with Gemma, whom he has been watching for years.  Readers get to experience their strange, disturbing, but captivating relationship grow and change through the form of a letter from Gemma to Ty. 

Christopher’s book explores what freedom really is, what love means, and how relationships can morph and change despite ourselves.  In Gemma, Christopher has created a strong modern female that readers will instantly relate to.  She has domineering but distant parents, close friends, and much to miss.  But the most remarkable character Christopher created is Ty.  Ty the monster, the angel, the wronged, the wrong-doer.   He is so complex yet so simple to understand.  And readers will come to understand him, and perhaps like Gemma love him in the end.  The writing masterfully takes readers on the same course as Gemma, loving Ty despite themselves.

The third character in the novel is the setting itself.  The Australian Outback is vividly rendered from its incredible heat to the redness of the sand to the plants and animals that make their home there.  It forms the walls of Gemma’s prison, beautiful and horrible at the same time.  Christopher weaves imagery from the setting into much of her writing, further tying the book closely to the setting.  She does it with skill and subtlety.

Highly recommended, this book is one that twists underneath you, bringing you to a place you never expected to reach.  Beautifully written, this book is appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Also reviewed by Melody’s Reading Corner.

Alchemy and Meggy Swann

| Tasha

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

The Newbery Medal winner for The Midwife’s Apprentice returns with a book set in Elizabethan London.  Meggy has been summoned for by a father she has never met.  When she arrives at his doorstep with only clothes and her lone friend, a goose, she is met with disdain and dismissal.  It could be that she is a girl, but it probably also that Meggy can’t walk without using two crutches.  She calls her gait “wabbling” and has spent her life hidden from sight at her mother’s inn.  Now Meggy doesn’t have any choice but to head out into the streets of London to find food since her father has more important things to do than feed her.  He is an alchemist searching for the secrets of transformation and perfection.  When Meggy heads out into the streets, she makes more friends than she ever has had before, finds a young man who could be more than a friend, and allows readers to experience the colors, smells, and noises of life in England at this time.

Cushman has created a marvel here.  It is a short novel filled with entrancing details about Meggy and her surroundings that never bogs down and moves along without any “wabbling.”  Meggy is a great character.  She is far from perfect which makes her very interesting.  She is sharp-tongued and says her mind.  She is brave but often frightened.  She is scorned but also makes lasting friends.  She is a wonderful, realistic enigma whose wide eyes make a great lens to see Elizabethan England through.  Her growth throughout this book is truthful and lovely to experience.  It is especially noteworthy in such a short book.

Beautifully written with a strong female heroine, Cushman is at the top of her game with this title.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Clarion Books.

Also reviewed by Book Aunt, BooksforKidsBlog, Children’s Books Too Cool for School, Rebecca’s Book Blog, and Reading It All.