Book Reviews

I Can Help

| Tasha

I Can Help by David Hyde Costello

Little Duck is lost in the tall grass and is helped by Monkey.  This starts a chain of helpful actions where one animal helps the next.  Monkey is caught by a giraffe when he falls from a tree, Giraffe is helped when Gorilla bends a branch low enough, Gorilla’s splinter is pulled out by a bird.  And it continues, one after the other until the chain loops back when Little Duck helps Elephant find a cool pool of water.  Unfortunately, moments later Little Duck is once again lost in the grass, but now there are lots of animals willing to help!

Very simply written in short sentences, this book clearly demonstrates how one good deed gets repaid again and again.  Costello’s art is as clear and simple as his text with illustrations filled with deep colors that are very inviting.  As the chain continues, each animal is united with a parent after they are helped.  This small touch adds to the warmth of the book.  It is also pleasant to see that each animal gives thanks for the help they receive. 

Perfection for toddler or even baby storytimes, this book exudes a bright friendliness that all children will find inviting.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Captain Small Pig

| Tasha

Captain Small Pig by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Susan Varley

Spend a day on the lake with Old Goat, Turkey and Small Pig.  Small Pig is the youngster who is eager about everything and wants to do things himself.  Turkey automatically responds with a no to every request while Old Goat allows Small Pig to do what he asks.  Small Pig gets his own turn to row, gets to try to fish for a whale, and declares himself to be Captain Small Pig!  Old Goat and Turkey shepherd him safely through the day and into the evening, even carrying a dozing Small Pig home to bed.  This book is gentle, reassuring and a beautiful way to spend a day on the water with friends.

The dynamics between the characters is an integral part of the success of this book.  Turkey may seem stern, but he is the one who carries the sleeping child home wrapped in a warm blanket.  Old Goat is doting and exactly what every child needs in their life.  The skill of Waddell is that the two adult characters’ relationship is never clarified.  So readers can see it as they wish.  They could be two grandfathers, two uncles, or two fathers. 

Waddell has built a world of safety and contentment in the this book.  Varley expands that feeling with her pen and ink illustrations that use soft colors and have a timeless feeling to them.   Readers will yearn to be on this outing with these characters, fishing, gliding and just spending time.

A lovely addition to library collections, this gentle story will float its way to bedtimes and quiet reading corners.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Also reviewed by Becky at Young Readers.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

A Very Big Bunny

| Tasha

A Very Big Bunny by Marisabina Russo

Amelia is a very big bunny, the largest bunny in her class.  She stands out in a crowd, but wishes that she was a more normal size.  At recess, no one will play with her because she is too tall for jump rope, her feet are too big for hopscotch, and she is too heavy for the seesaw to work.  So she spends recess standing at the edge of the playground, listening to the wind and watching the clouds.  When Susannah joins their class, she is the smallest bunny.  The children won’t play with her at recess either because she is too low for jump rope, too small for hopscotch, and too light for the seesaw.  So Susannah tries to join Amelia at the fence, but Amelia rebuffs her.  Susannah though does not give up, and so Amelia slowly transforms into a big-hearted friend for a small bunny.  She also learns that it’s not that bad standing out from the crowd.

Amelia is a bunny that I can completely relate to.  I was always one of the tallest children in my class, too heavy for the seesaw.  And I too had to learn, just as all children do, that it’s OK to be different.  In fact, it’s downright essential!  Almost every child is different from the crowd in some way, Amelia’s difference is size, but she will be easily related to no matter what difference the reader may have.

Russo’s writing reads aloud wonderfully with its natural cadence.  The pacing is wonderful, especially when the friendship between the two girls is developing.  I really appreciated that it was slow and steady, making their friendship more real.  Russo’s gouache illustrations are filled with bright colors and capture with confidence and ease the differences of the bunnies without making it comical or extreme. 

Embrace your inner big bunny and stand out with this book!  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Here Comes the Garbage Barge!

| Tasha

Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio

This is the true story of what happened in 1987 when the town of Islip had 3,168 tons of garbage that they had no room for.  So it was placed on a barge to be taken to North Carolina.  Captain Duffy St. Pierre used his small tugboat to pull the barge down to North Carolina, but it wasn’t that simple.  North Carolina refused to take the garbage!  Captain Duffy was then sent to New Orleans.  Nope, they didn’t want it either.  Mexico?  No.  Belize?  No.  Texas?  No.  Florida? No.  The garbage was getting older, smellier and more horrid by the day.  Finally Brooklyn agreed to take the garbage and incinerate it.  It was 162 days after the barge first set out. 

This book could have been a dry look at recycling, garbage and waste, but it definitely is not.  Instead Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a book filled with humor and character that tells the garbage story with more style than the facts could have offered.  Winter’s writing is ideal for reading aloud.  There are plenty of accents, lots of exclamations that fill the book with energy and fun.  Red Nose Studio’s art is three-dimensional, witty and filled with found objects.  His art is humorous, detailed and a delight to look at.  It is a testament to Winters’ writing that it is a great match to this art. 

A perfect book for Earth Day or any eco-friendly event, this book will get children thinking about how many pounds of garbage they create and exactly what happens to it.  Even if it’s not headed for a garbage barge.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Check out the video below of the making of the art for the book:

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose

| Tasha

A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, illustrated by Linzie Hunter

Amelia wants a dog, specifically a small brown dog with a wet pink nose.  But her parents don’t think they are ready for a dog.  At first, Amelia tries begging every day.  When that doesn’t work, she begins to ask different questions.  What could the dog’s name be?  Where would he live?  If he got lost would they look for him? Could Amelia walk and feed him herself?  A few days later, Amelia imagines that she has a dog like the one she dreams of.  She makes sure he can’t escape out the door, plays with him every day, and is warmed by him at night.  That is until the morning she wakes up and he is missing.  Now her parents had assured her that if they did have a dog, they would search for him if he got lost.  So off they go.  Will they find him?

Amelia’s actions in the book could be seen as manipulative, except she shows real emotion when she is imagining her dog and when he is lost.  I read it as a strong wish turned into a pretend dog that becomes real to her.  Stuve-Bodeen’s writing is simple and offers repetitive elements that will work well for sharing aloud.  Hunter’s art is filled with details that make this a book best shared one-on-one or with a small group.  Done digitally, it exudes a warmth and friendliness throughout. 

A crash course in advertising and PR, and imagination, this book is sure to be a hit with children who think they need a dog in their house too. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading and What’s Carol Reading?

Finally

| Tasha

Finally by Wendy Mass

Mass returns to Willow Falls, the setting of 11 Birthdays.  This time it is Rory’s turn to have a birthday and she is finally turning twelve.  Her entire life her parents have told her that she could do things when she turned twelve.  She can have a pet, shave her legs, go to a girl/boy party, have a cell phone, get her ears pierced, and much more. But hours before her birthday, she finds herself stuck in a drainpipe and rescued by a little old lady who has surprising strength.  That women tells her, “You won’t get what you want, Rory Swenson, until you see what you need.”  Rory though is sure that her list of promises from her parents are exactly what she both wants and needs.  As Rory works her way through the list, her efforts meet with disaster.  It is especially bad when they start filming a movie at her school and all of her disasters could force her to give up her new job as an extra.  It just may take a gold allergy, an evil murderous bunny, and loss of skin on both legs for Rory to see what she needs.

Written with a strong voice in the first person, Rory’s take on life is wry, funny and always upbeat.  She is a great character whose disasters make for laugh-out-loud moments that are perfect for the tween age group.  Her personal wants may not match those of readers, but they will easily see themselves in her.  She is utterly understandable, completely accident prone, and simply delightful to spend time with.

This book reads quickly as readers move from one of her wishes to the next with Rory, each resulting in if not surprising, then very funny events.  Rory’s family members are just as vividly written.  Her parents are busy but involved and caring if a little overprotective.  Her toddler brother offers just the right amount of distraction and silliness too. 

Take humor, a zing of some sort of magic, and an accident prone tween, and you have this winning book.  The cover is bright, friendly and will invite children to pick it up and read it quickly.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Kate Messner on her blog.

Higgledy-Piggledy Chicks

| Tasha

Higgledy-Piggledy Chicks by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Rick Chrustowski

Banty Hen lays seven beautiful brown eggs that hatch into seven chicks.  Only a few days later, the chicks leave the safety of the nest to explore, but they don’t have any idea what is dangerous and what is safe.  So Mama and the Auntie hens must keep a close eye on them.  They encounter a cat, a snake, and a raccoon.  Luckily, they have the shelter of Mama’s wings and the bravery of the Aunties to protect them throughout the day and into the night.

Joosse’s text is great fun to read aloud.  While it doesn’t rhyme, it has a great cadence.  The book is sprinkled with sounds too, so get ready to make plenty of chicken noises to warn the chicks.  It would be great fun to have children at a storytime help Mama call to warn the chicks when they spot danger.  Chrustowski’s collage art is perfect for using with a group.  He uses bright colors and clear images.  The various animals all have distinct personalities, including the winning chicks. 

Recommended for your next chicken story time, this book will fit right in with the flock.  It will also be a welcome addition to springtime units, no yolk.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Nothing

| Tasha

Nothing by Janne Teller

Before you open this book, make sure your schedule for the next few hours in clear.  Seriously.

Pierre Anthon left school abruptly after announcing, “Nothing matters.” Instead of going to school, he climbed into a plum tree and called to the other teens in his class, mocking them for still trying to conform to a world where nothing actually matters.  After awhile, the others in his class decided that they must prove him wrong and demonstrate that there are things in life that matter.  So they built a heap of meaning, filled with items that meant a lot to them.  At first they volunteered to put items onto the pile, but when that stopped working, it was decided that the last person to put something on the  pile would decide what the next person must add.  As this progresses, the tension mounts as one student must decide for the next just how far this will go and just how much meaning their effort will have.

Written in stark, haunting prose, this novel starts with a slow buildup and then becomes impossible to put down as one character after the other makes horrific decisions.  It is a story about what matters in life, but also about the meaningless that becomes imbued with too much meaning as well.  The book is heartbreaking, strange and completely riveting. 

Translated from Danish, this book is markedly not set in America and keeps its Danish place names and other touches.  The translation is done with great skill, allowing readers to realize that it is set elsewhere but also keeping the all-important connection with the characters alive. 

The novel is told from the point of view of Agnes, a girl who only has to give her new sandals to the pile.  This perspective is perfectly rendered as Agnes is witness to the horror, completely involved, but remains apart and an observer because it does not affect her as deeply as some of the other students.  Teller creates characters that we all recognize, but they surprise us with their reactions, their strength, and their fragility.  She puts the characters in a mix of peer pressure, violence and existential crisis, revealing much about each of them.

Highly recommended, this is one of the deepest, cruelest, most remarkable books I have read recently.  It is filled with beauty, tragedy and horror but offers meaning and plenty of fodder for discussion.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

The Boys

| Tasha

The Boys by Jeff Newman

I only opened this book to get a feel for the sort of book it was.  I was immediately captivated by the art, the wordless story.  I set it down with misty eyes and a wide smile.  What a book! 

My problem is that I want you to discover it and I don’t want to mess any of its wonder of wordlessness up for you.  I’ve tried to put words to it, but it seems to minimize the story, as if pinning it down removes the life from it.  So I will briefly tell you the premise and proceed to gush about it in more general terms. 

A young boy moves to a new town.  He heads to the park with his bat, ball and glove.  He watches from behind a tree but is too shy to approach the playing children on the baseball diamond.  So he plunks himself down on a bench near some older gentlemen.  The story continues from there.  It is fresh, winning, and sweetly surprising.  There is a universal quality to it, a subtle humor, and a lovely simplicity.

Newman has created a book that is an instant classic.  His use of a vintage style works well with the subject, giving the book a timeless feel.  The only words in the book are the days of the week as time passes, otherwise all of the story is told in the illustrations.  Newman tells this story in the slump of shoulders, bowed head, glaring eyes, and a determined set of a jaw.  There is never any doubt what the young boy is feeling because it is shown so clearly and yet with subtle skill.

Get this book, read it, read it again (because you must) and then decide what lucky person you will hand it to next.  It is a book to read with someone on your lap, to savor and to simply enjoy.  Let me know what you think.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Fuse #8.