Book Reviews

In the Belly of an Ox

| Tasha

In the Belly of an Ox: the Unexpected Photographic Adventures of Richard and Cherry Kearton by Rebecca Bond

Two brothers, Richard and Cherry Kearton, grew up in the hills of Yorkshire and spent much of their time outside exploring.  When they both moved to London, they missed the countryside, so they visited it whenever they could.  One visit, Cherry brought his new camera and took a picture of a bird’s nest.  An idea was born!  The brothers decided to take pictures of birds nests using a variety of blinds, disguises and props, including a large bull to hide inside.  It took them three years and 30,000 miles of travel across Britain to make their book.  British Birds’ Nests was published in 1895.  It was the first nature book to be illustrated entirely with photographs. 

This is really the story of two brothers who were willing to work hard, invent their own solutions, and follow their personal dreams.  It is a story of being yourself and finding your own way in life and not listening to what “should” be done.  Make sure to look at the end of the book where you can see some of their photographs.  One is a heart-stopping photo of both brothers high in a tree with a ladder. 

Bond’s text here sets just the right mood.  She and the readers revel in the inventiveness of the brothers and their enthusiasm and hers shine.  Her illustrations have a wonderful vintage feel.  The watercolor landscapes evoke the region nicely and the brothers come through as vibrant characters.

A great piece of picture-book nonfiction, this title is one that should be shared.  It’s a great piece to start conversations about what children are really dreaming of, what their special gifts are, and what they may become someday.  And it just might get indoor children moving outside to take their own pictures and climb their own trees.  What could be better?!  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Duck and the Kangaroo

| Tasha

The Duck and the Kangaroo by Edward Lear, illustrated by Jane Wattenberg

Combine Lear’s classic poem with funky, modern collages and you get a winner of a picture book!  Duck is bored living in his pond.  He wishes that he could travel the world the way Kangaroo does so he asks Kangaroo to carry him on his back.  But Kangaroo has one major concern about the plan, Duck’s wet, cold feet would be awfully uncomfortable.  Duck has already solved this problem by getting knitted socks and a cape to keep himself warm.  So off they hop, the two friends around the world three times.

Lear’s poem would make a great pairing with his other more famous The Owl and the Pussycat.  This poem is silly, wild and rather surreal, which matches well with Wattenberg’s illustrations.  Her collages incorporate Lear’s own art and that of others, creating a cohesive and fascinating blend of old and new, all in vibrant color.  Duck’s wide-eyed view of the world enhances the humor of the poem, as do other small touches like the rainbow of knitted socks perfect for webbed feet.

A wild and funny book that will find a niche of eager readers looking for something joyous and surreal.  Just hop along with the story and you will find a real treasure of a friendship by the end.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Faith

| Tasha

Faith by Maya Ajmera, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon

Through photographs, this book tells the story of many faiths, allowing glimpses into each of them.  The book celebrates the many faiths, tying them together through similarities but also revealing their differences too.  Cultures and religions are highlighted here in a book that children will see themselves in and also learn about others too. 

The photographs here are clear, vivid and capture moments of prayer and devotion with grace.  Each photograph is accompanied by at least the name of the religion and the country the photo was taken in.  Other photographs have a brief sentence that explain the image a bit further.  This brevity makes the book read simply and easily.  Larger text on each page carries the flow of the book, giving each set of pages a theme where we can see our commonalities and differences and celebrate both side by side.

Highly recommended, this is a book about religion that children will innately understand.  It is ideal to start discussions or quietly examine on your own.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Google Books offers a preview of the entire book, so you can see the photographs yourself!

Magic Under Glass

| Tasha

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Release date February 1, 2010.

Nimira dances for a pittance as a trouser girl until she is hired by Hollin Parry.  Parry, a sorcerer, hires her to sing with his newly acquired automaton which plays the piano when wound by a key in its back.  Nimira is the last in a line of girls that have been hired to be the singer, but the others fled because they thought the automaton was haunted.  Left alone with the automaton, Nimira discovers that it is trying to communicate with her though it cannot speak and cannot move unless wound.  Through the use of an alphabet chart on the keyboard, Nimira realizes that the automaton contains the trapped spirit of an elven prince.  Though Parry is courting her, Nimira and the fairy prince become closer and fall in love.  But more danger is swirling around them, as political intrigue, personal danger, and horrors of the past come together.

This slim volume holds an enticing story of love, betrayal and magic set in an alternate historical world.  Nimira is a wonderful character who hails from another land and offers great perspective on the setting.  She is feisty, intelligent and caring, just what any heroine of a love story should be.  The love triangle of Parry, Nimira and the elven prince is delightfully drawn against the setting of danger and sorcery.  To its credit, this book is wonderfully light despite its dark content.  It reads quickly and will have readers looking for the next book in the series to find out what happens.

A light fantasy of magic and love that explores dark desires and sinister motives at the same time.  Appropriate for ages 13-16. 

Reviewed from ARC received from publisher.

The Everything Machine

| Tasha

The Everything Machine by Matt Novak

On planet Quirk, they have an Everything Machine that does all of the work.  The machine cooks, cleans, gardens, paints, and even colors in the children’s coloring books and scratches people’s backs.  But one day, the machine stopped working.  There was no noise from its gears and whirring.  The people tried to fix it, but nothing worked.  Then they found a label that told them to call a repairman from Planet Bing Bong.  He immediately arrived and took the machine apart.  But now what were they to do!  They tried to help themselves but it was very hard to suddenly have to care for yourself.  Eventually it got easier and then it became fun to cook, garden, and color.  After months and months, the machine was finally fixed.  The problem was then that the people liked doing things themselves, so what could they do with the Everything Machine?

A brilliant statement on modern life and technology, this book is filled with humor both in its text and illustrations which keeps it from becoming heavy handed.  Novak’s illustrations feature cartoon-like aliens which are very human except for their single antenna topped with a red ball.  Novak excels at framed illustrations that show the people struggling to do things for themselves.  Nearly wordless, that two-page spread is pure vaudeville humor that every child will love. 

Highly recommended, this book has Everything and humor too.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Maze Runner

| Tasha

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The only thing Thomas remembers when he wakes up on the lift is his name.  When the doors open, he is in the Glade where he is greeted by many other teen boys who also don’t remember anything beyond their names and the Glade.  The Glade is a community based on order and structure. Every morning the doors open to the maze, every evening they close.  Though some boys have been there for years, they have never solved the maze and found an exit.  There are monsters in the maze, creations of flesh and metal that roam the maze and attack any boy they find there.  Thomas finds himself wanting to be a Runner, one of the boys who tries to solve the enormous maze, even though commonsense tells him not to do it.  The day after Thomas arrives, everything changes when an unconscious girl arrives on the lift, and deep inside Thomas recognizes her though he can’t remember anything else.  Could she be the key to the maze?  Could he?

Grippingly written, this book grabs the reader from the moment the lift doors open and never lets go.  Dashner has created a wonderfully conceived compact world that really works well.  The reader knows no more than Thomas, making it a book with constant questions and tensions.  One of the only issues I had with the book was Thomas himself.  I would have enjoyed a more regular protagonist rather than a boy who is braver, stronger, and more clever than any of the others.  The book has great pacing which is headlong and wild, fitting the subject perfectly.  And though Thomas may be a bit to super, his character has a strong inner voice that works well.  The setting is written with such clarity that readers will feel they know the space well by the end of the novel. 

Highly recommended, the next book in the series will be eagerly awaited by those who read it.  Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games series, this book is appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from library copy.

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A Friend Like You

| Tasha

A Friend Like You by Tanja Askani

Through photographs taken at her animal shelter and rehab center in Germany, Askani explores friendships.  The photographs are unusual pairings of animals from pigs and dogs to owls and squirrels.   The book has one line of text per photo making it very child-friendly though the textual content never matches the quality of the photos.  It is the photos and the afterward that is filled with details about the relationships of the animals that really make this book special.  Children will page through it again and again, and even adults will want to share the image of the bunny sticking his tongue out at a hedgehog.  OK, I want one for my office wall.

Don’t let it’s cutesy cover and text fool you, this is a charming book with lots to offer.  The book features wild animals as well as domesticated, making for some of the most intriguing photographs.  Readers will ignore the text provided, and instead have conversations about the animals and friendships of their own.  No one will miss the message that no matter how different we seem, we can be friends. 

Recommended for libraries where the photographs will easily get this into the hands of animal-loving children.  This won’t work well for a story time, because the pleasure is in the end pages and the personal discussions, but children will love having a chance to pore over the pages and share their favorite images.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by 4IQREAD.

Tell Me a Dragon

| Tasha

Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris

Explore the world of wondrous dragons that come in all sizes and colors.  There are huge white dragons that fly through night skies, dragons that breathe flower petals not flame, and enormous dragons with tails as long as rivers that share cupcakes.  There are also tiny dragons, dragons made of fire, dragons that whisper stories and songs in your ear, and dragons that curl around you in your bed.  So the question is, with so many dragons what does yours look like?

Morris has created a book that is a lyrical song in honor of individuality and imagination.  Her dragons are all very different but all have curling talons and gleaming eyes in their combination of feline and lizard.  Dragons here are not to be feared but adored as the illustrations show.  The range of dragons from ice to water to fire and beyond is a delight to page through. 

This book is a great conversation starter or would serve as a wonderful basis for dragon art where children could draw their own dragon.  My 8-year-old is often unwilling to indulge in the questions of picture books anymore, but this one really spoke to him.  By the end, he had his own large dragon firmly in mind, a combination of all of the elements with all sorts of fire and ice breath and a deep blue-black color.  He was also eager to look at the end pages of the book and select which of the eggs his dragon would emerge from. 

A book that is beautiful in its own right and one that also demands that children participate, dream and wish on their own as well.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Featured on 7-Imp.

Odd and the Frost Giants

| Tasha

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Brett Helquist.

Odd’s father died on a Viking ship, leaving Odd and his mother behind.  A few weeks later, Odd tried to chop down a tree with his father’s axe and ended up shattering his leg.  Now he still walks with a limp and is teased and mocked at home.  Tempers are rising in the village because spring should have come but winter continues its hold on the land.  Odd heads off to his father’s hunting lodge to escape the increasing teasing.  There he meets three animals: an enormous bear, a fox and an eagle.  The three turn out to be Norse gods who are trapped in animal form and banished from Asgard which has been invaded by Frost Giants.  Can one limping boy and three animals get back into the land of Asgard, bring peace and return spring to the land?

Neil Gaiman has written a small jewel of a book about an unexpected hero.  It is a focused story told in a voice that is meant to be shared aloud.  Odd is a pleasing character.  A smart boy with a sad past who is braver and stronger than anyone knew.   Gaiman’s language here is plain and simple, the story short and fast-moving.  Yet at the same time this is not a shallow piece.  It has heart and plenty of depth.  The occasional illustrations by Brett Helquist add to its friendliness for young readers and offer tantalizing glimpses of Odd’s world.

Any teacher doing a unit on mythology should add this book to your list.  It will also be useful with reluctant readers who will enjoy the direct story and the fast pacing.  Appropriate for ages 8-11, younger for reading aloud.  This is a perfect book for cold winter nights.

Reviewed from library copy.

Reviewed by Tor, Charlotte’s Library, Eva’s Book Addiction, and Chasing Ray.