Book Reviews

The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow

| Tasha

The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton

This beginning reader features ten very short stories that are silly, raucous and great fun.  The book starts with a story where it is raining big fat cows, then tells the stories of Noel the Mole, Klaus the Mouse, and Willy the Worm.  The fun continues with human protagonists who ride bikes with spikes and wear lots of hats all at once.  All of the stories are told with only a few words, allowing the illustrations to carry a lot of the humor.  An ideal read for children who are reluctant to start reading, thanks to the humor that will keep the pages turning.

Griffiths has a great feel for comedy, offering surprising twists and turns in only a few words.  His writing has a similar feel to Dr. Seuss’ Ten Apples Up on Top in its brevity and rhyming.  Denton’s illustrations have a great frenzied feel.  They are filled with motion and wild characters.  I for one cannot resist a book where cows explode and udders go flying across the page.  Must be a Wisconsin thing. 

This is sure to find an eager audience among beginning readers who are looking for modern humor and silliness.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Becky at Young Readers.

I Am a Backhoe

| Tasha

I Am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

A perfect book for toddlers who love trucks, this book invitingly combines imaginative play and real trucks.  The little boy plays pretending to be a backhoe, a bulldozer, a roller, a flatbed truck, and more.  As he plays, he describes what he is doing and then the reader gets to guess what kind of truck he is pretending to be.  Printed on thick paper with bright, clear illustrations, this book is a welcome addition to even the most crowded of truck shelves.

Written in simple rhymes that have a gentle rhythm, children will enjoy guessing what truck the boy is pretending to be.  The digital art is simple and welcoming as well, especially for the youngest children who will quickly be able to “read” this book to themselves.  Done in rich and deep colors, the illustrations will work well with a group, thanks to the clarity of the illustrations. 

Ideal for toddler story time or for sharing one-on-one, this book is sure to find an audience in your library.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

| Tasha

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Released April 2010.

Will Grayson is gay, depressed and only has one friend, Maura.  She’s more a friend of convenience with their snarkiness holding their friendship together.  Will heads out to Chicago to meet a boy he’s fallen for online, only to find out that Maura has been pretending to be that boy online.  This puts him on a path to meet another boy.  The other Will Grayson is straight.  He has lived most of his life in the large shadow of his gay best friend, Tiny.  Now he has started to like a girl, Jane, that goes to school with them.  Meanwhile Tiny is working on his very fabulous and very gay musical that is all about his life and prominently features Will as a main character.  Though both boys are different, there are similarities.  They both want to avoid feeling things too deeply, but their lives change after meeting one another.

These two great authors have created an incredible novel that is the best work of their of their careers.  Each author writes alternating chapters in the voice of their Will Grayson.  Green writes the straight Will Grayson with his trademark intelligence and humor.  Levithan writes the gay Will Grayson with equal humor that has a snap and darkness to it.  The two combined really make for a novel that readers will never want to end.  Add to this the genius that is the character of Tiny, a huge boy with an even bigger heart who lives life to the fullest.  He forms the hub of the novel, the voice of the musical, and the applause for both Will Graysons in all their differences and similarities. 

I love finding books that are savvy, smart, silly, funny, intelligent, irreverent, and honest.  This is one of those books.  Put it in the hands of teens, let them see themselves in it because we are all of us there in this book.  Gay and straight, we are there, and we can hear the truth and love being spoken in this novel.

Highly recommended, this is the best novel of the year so far.  Brilliantly written, gorgeously complex characters, and humor.  What more could you want? 

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy from publisher.

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Older Than the Stars

| Tasha

Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox, illustrated by Nancy Davis

Celebrate the age of your atoms with this dynamic nonfiction picture book.  Starting with the lines:

You are older than the dinosaurs.

Older than the earth.

Older than the sun and all the planets.

You are older than the stars.

You are as old as the universe itself.

Through a traditional folktale format of cumulative rhyming lines, this book can be read in several ways.  The rhymes serve as a structure for the book, but the real pleasure is in the scientific facts that are presented with flair and an eagerness that make them fun to read.  Young readers will learn about the Big Bang, how stars were created, and how our planet and humans came about.  The book ends with a colorful timeline and a glossary of terms.

Fox’s rhyming is catchy and sound.  Her scientific information is interesting and a pleasure to read.  Featuring strong colors, deep contrasts and vivid design, Davis’ illustrations are dynamic.  They have a timeless feel that is very appropriate for the subject, yet they are definitely modern in feel as well. 

A great nonfiction picture book on a subject that will intrigue young readers, this picture book will not sit still on shelves for long.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

| Tasha

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

Released March 2010.

Stork returns with his second teen novel after Marcelo in the Real World.  D.Q. and Pancho could not be more different except for their focus on life and death.  D.Q. is dying of cancer and trying to understand how to hold onto life.  Pancho is healthy but everyone in his family has died, and he is now planning to murder someone.  When Pancho meets D.Q., he wants nothing to do with him.  But he gets paid to help D.Q. and when D.Q. is sent for treatment to Albuquerque, Pancho is eager to go along because the man he is hunting for lives there.  As he spends time with D.Q. and Marisol, a girl at the recovery facility, Pancho finds himself changing but will it be enough to prevent him from taking a life?

As with his first book, Stork excels at character development and the creation of people who are damaged, fascinating and vividly human.   Pancho is a boy filled with anger and denial who has so much going for him, but is unable to see it.  D.Q. is reaching the end of his battle to live but seizes every day with a fierceness and vigor.  This book is an exploration of two boys and their unique friendship that ends up changing them both.  It is a celebration of life, an honoring of death, and a tribute to faith in the broadest sense.

Fans of his first book will adore this second book.  This is another novel to linger in, dwell with and savor.  Appropriate for ages 13 and up.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from publisher.

 

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Milo Armadillo

| Tasha

Milo Armadillo by Jan Fearnley

Tallulah wants a pink fluffy rabbit for her birthday.  But it wasn’t easy to find a pink fluffy rabbit.  They could find other pink stuffed animals, but not a rabbit.  They could find rabbits, but not a pink one.  Then her grandmother had a great idea!  She would knit Tallulah one.  She started with pink fluffy yarn, when she ran out she added other colors, and in the end she had created something very different from a pink fluffy rabbit.  She had created Milo Armadillo.  Tallulah was disappointed, but got to know Milo.  When she got together with her friends, they all had pink fluffy rabbits along and Tallulah longed out loud for one too.  Milo heard her and tried to be more bunny-like but it didn’t work, so he left.  Will Tallulah realize the value of Milo before it’s too late and he’s gone forever?

Fearnley has created a book that is a delight to read.  Her illustrations and text work seamlessly together, both working to tell the complete story.  She tells a real story without being too wordy.  The pacing is nicely done with just enough humor to keep it moving in a sprightly way.  The pages where Grandma creates Milo are very funny and will have anyone who knits or has failed at knitting laughing aloud.  Fearnley’s illustrations are a brilliant combination of mixed media featuring cut paper, paint and fabrics that really support the story and offer a vibrant and creative look.

A book about individuality, creativity and favorite toys, this is a book that will speak to a lot of children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Planet Esme and Young Readers.

Race You to Bed

| Tasha

Race You to Bed by Bob Shea

Shea returns with another silly, zany picture book.  Readers race to bed with a white, fluffy bunny as he runs uphill, drops downhill, makes lots of noise, and escapes a wide variety of traps and troubles.  Young readers will be laughing aloud at the manic rhymes, fast pace, and pure silliness of this book.  Perfect for children who don’t want to go to bed and would much rather be running around.  The ending is charming and provides the perfect button to the book. 

Shea excels here at writing verse that is strong, fast and funny.  It is also beautifully short which adds to the fast pace and will keep young listeners very happy.  Make sure that you keep control of the pace as you read, because the illustrations offer a lot of the humor and are worth slowing down for.  The illustrations are done in Shea’s trademark simplicity that has a great graphic quality to it.

Perfection for bedtime or pajama story times, this book is pure fun.  Race you to see who can read it next!  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Smile

| Tasha

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Based on personal experiences, this graphic novel will speak to those of us who are teenagers and those who have survived that age.  Raina just wants to be a normal kid.  But one evening, she falls when running, tripping and damaging her front teeth.  This sets her on a journey of braces, dental surgery, and headgear.  On top of her dental issues, Raina also deals with the normal teen issues of friends, bullies, and crushes on boys.  Readers get to watch Raina grow up from a sixth grader to a high school student as she learns about acceptance, self-esteem, and the importance of good dentists.

Written with lots of humor, this book has a feel for what makes being a teenager both funny and painful.  Telgemeier’s writing is refreshing and fast paced.  Her art is friendly and silly.  With her art and writing combined, she has created a book with a fresh feel that has universal appeal.  While speaking of her own issues with teeth, she speaks to all of our strange teen situations and what each of us dealt with or is dealing with. 

A fresh, funny look at being a teen, this book will easily find a readership and be eagerly passed from person to person.  Appropriate for ages 11-14.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) where most of the illustrations were not yet in color.

Bleeding Violet

| Tasha

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Hanna has never really fit in.  She is distractingly beautiful, uses sex as a weapon, has been diagnosed as manic depressive, and hears her dead father in her head.  After bashing her aunt in the head and leaving her for dead, she heads to the home of her mother whom she has never even met.  But Rosalee is cold and aloof, nothing like the mother that Hanna pictured.  Rosalee gives her two weeks to see if she can fit in with the other people in town, or she will have to leave.  Hanna heads to school and immediately finds herself surrounded by bloodthirsty monsters, glass statues that used to be people, and other teens who dismiss her as a transient.  But Hanna is determined to find a place for herself in this odd town that just might be even more strange than she is.

Hanna is a character who is easy to dislike immediately, but throughout the book readers get to see beyond her outer shell and to the girl who is desperate for a mother who cares for her and for a place where she belongs.  Reeves writes with a flair for horror.  This book glories in gore, is filled with eye-widening moments, and will have readers turning the pages breathlessly.  This horror is right in your face and almost tangible.  The pacing is also done very well, with moments of stillness nicely contrasted by frenetic action scenes.  The world Reeves has created will remind readers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Hanna as heroine takes the novel in a different direction.

I must also mention after so many questions about YA covers and protagonist’s skin tones, that Hanna is bi-racial.  The is half Finnish and half African-American.  On the cover, her skin is a caramel which is just right. 

Get this into the hands of Buffy and Twilight fans and they will be delighted with a new heroine who isn’t afraid to get her hands bloody.  Appropriate for teens aged 14-18.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller, Pure Imagination, Frenetic Reader,

Plus you can see an interview with Dia Reeves at WriterJenn or you can visit Dia Reeves’ blog.