Book Reviews

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

| Tasha

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

Escape from all of the teen vampire novels and into the arms of this stunning zombie novel.  Mary lives in a village surrounded by fences that are the only thing that keep the Unconsecrated out.  Every day they swarm the fences, trying to get in and feast on the living.  Anyone bitten by them turns into a zombie.  Recently, Mary’s father disappeared into the surrounding forest and never returned.  Her mother goes to the fences to see if she can see him in the throng of zombies.  One day her mother goes to the fence alone and is bitten.  Mary has to choose whether she should be killed outright or turned outside the fences to join the zombies there.  She decides to allow her mother to exit the village, a decision her brother refuses to forgive her for.  Mary has two choices as a teen girl in her village.  She can marry and continue the human race or join the Sisterhood, a church group that rules the village.  But she is satisfied with neither choice.  Could there be a third?

I found this book absolutely gripping while reading.  The tension of the village existing by itself surrounded by forest and zombies, the absolute power of the Sisterhood, the strain of families constantly losing people to the Unconsecrated, and the tension of Mary trying to fit in but not be overcome by the society she lives in.  Ryan’s writing is thrilling, bloody and unflinching.  She has created a zombie book that embraces the zombie traditions of blood-thirst and refusal to quit.  It is a joy to see a book so fresh based on such long-standing traditions.

After finishing the book, I was a little less happy.  I found a real lack of answers about this world we found ourselves in.  I didn’t mind the abrupt ending, but I did think that the world itself needed to be fleshed out more and that without some insight into the world it seemed very incomplete.  I will be eager to read subsequent books to see if answers appear, but at this point I am concerned that the thrilling action has overtaken the world building.

I also was confused by Mary’s utter desire for one boy and then her turning away from him when they were finally together only to turn back when faced with losing him.  It made me question this character’s strength and judgment.  I wouldn’t have minded if there was some reason given for the inconsistency, but there was nothing. 

Despite my quibbles, teens will adore this book.  Who could ask for more than zombies, gore and true love?  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother

| Tasha

I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother by Selina Alko

A boy wonders what his new sibling will look like when he/she is born.  With his parents the colors of semisweet dark chocolate and strawberry cream milk, there are many colors that his new sibling could be.  And what about hair, lips, nose and eyes?  So many combinations are possible!

This book is written with such love and attention to detail that it sings.  Not only a lovely book for mixed-race families, but a book for all families who all have differences and similarities that should be embraced.  Alko writes about colors in a way that brings them to life, we know just what a “jelly-bean smile” is like, what “ginger cookie brown” is and one of my favorites: “cinnamon sand castle.”  This speaks to the myriad of colors, shades, and hues humans come in.  It is a thrilling world of acceptance and love.

One of my favorite memories as a children’s librarian was traveling to ALA with the daughter of an African-American co-worker.  She and I bonded on the trip and she spent an evening looking at my skin, talking about how we were the same and different.  My freckles and moles set me firmly apart!  But some of them were almost her skin color.  This book brought that sweet moment out of my memory bank.  For that alone, it was a treat to read.

Share this with all the families at your library.  It is one to be shared with new older siblings but also one that can lead to great discussions and even greater acceptance in our children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Chicken Little

| Tasha

Chicken Little by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley.

We all know the story of Chicken Little. Bonked on the head with an acorn, loses his grip and heads out to tell everyone of the horror that the sky is falling.  He gathers a group of feathery friends who believe him and then meets up with the fox who knows just how to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him.  The only question with any new edition of the story is whether Chicken Little lives on in the end.  Let me reassure you that here he does, so it is fine to use even with sensitive toddlers and preschoolers.

What makes this book a great version of the story is that the words are kept to a minimum and even with those few words there is a lot of humor.  Each bird has his or her own little sound that they  make, from Chicken Little’s EEP! to Loosey Goosey’s ONK!  And take a look at that cover, Emberley’s art is zany, colorful and almost kaleidoscopic at times.  It perfectly matches the tone of the text. 

A winning version of this classic tale, this may just be the best read aloud version I have seen.  The art will project well to a large crowd too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Jumped

| Tasha

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

Inspired by the dramatic increase of girl-on-girl violence, Williams-Garcia has given us a day in high school leading up to a violent incident.  Dominique is already angry that her grades are keeping her off the basketball court, but when Trina pushes past her that is the last straw.  She knows that she can’t just take the disrespect, she has to react.  Trina is oblivious to the what happened with Dominique since she is rushing to hang her artwork in the gallery.  Trina is self-absorbed and very confident knowing that everyone in the school likes her. Leticia witnesses the event and knows that Dominique is angry and has threatened revenge.  But what if she didn’t see what she thought she did?  Is it worth getting involved?

In rotating chapters, the reader gets to see the school day from each girl’s point of view.  Each girl has her own unique voice, way of speaking and way of approaching the world of school.  Williams-Garcia excels at making internal dialogue gripping and at the same time revealing.  She has also created characters that will get readers thinking.  All of the girls are complicated and so the fight is complicated as well.  This is not a stark world where there is good and evil, but a real place where all of us are a mix of the two.  It is a treat to read a book where the author is not afraid of making the victim vain and the instigator a sympathetic character.

This book is ripe for discussion.  Recommended for both school and public libraries.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree

| Tasha

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree by Anne Shelby and Cor Hazelaar.

An Appalachian folk tale is turned into a charming picture book with this title.  Harlan Burch was a man who lived in a hollow sycamore tree.  He was a carpenter and knew immediately when he saw the grand hollow tree that he wanted to make it his home.  He lived there for years and years, planting trees.  Then something magical happened and he began to get younger.  He courted and wed and had a brood of children who all lived in the family tree.  And there he lived and lived and lived for a good long time.

The folklore is woven in the very cloth of this tale.  Repetition and rhythm tie it even more firmly to oral storytelling.  Shelby has done a wonderful job of telling a tale simply but with style.  Hazelaar’s illustrations are acrylic on linen which make them feel quilted, adding to the resonance of the book.  Additionally, she included small quilting squares in each of the illustrations that help tell the story.

A friendly and warm folk tale that reads well aloud, this book is ideal for an Arbor Day story time or for any green or Earth Day unit.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Hello, My Name is Bob

| Tasha

Hello, My Name Is Bob by Linas Alsenas

Bob is a very quiet bear.  His favorite things are counting toothpicks, humming and mostly sitting.  His best friend Jack is the opposite.  Jack likes roller coasters, dancing and adventure.  But the two of them can still be best friends and very different. 

The differences between the two bears are vivid and make for a funny and interesting juxtaposition.  We all have a bit of Bob and some Jack in us.  There are small touches that make the book very clever and funny, including the end papers each painted by one of the bears.  Bob’s boring activities are livened up by Jack and then when Jack is exhausted they are moving at just Bob’s speed. 

Clever illustrations and a friendly message make this book a winner.  Children will enjoy the dramatic differences between the two friends.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Slob

| Tasha

Slob by Ellen Potter

Owen is the butt of everyone’s jokes.  Other kids make farting noises when he passes and he’s not sure if a suggestion to get a fat exemption from gym class was meant nicely or cruelly.  Now someone is stealing Owen’s one pleasure in life: the three Oreo cookies he is allowed each day.  Owen is also working on Nemesis, a television that will show the past.  And he has one specific day in mind that he has to see.  But things are getting out of hand.  Owen is being bullied by his gym teacher, his best friend might just be turning on him, and his little sister belongs to a group that has her dressing in boys clothes and insisting on being known as Jeremy.   Owen has tried sitting still and not reacting to things, perhaps it’s time to take a different approach.

Potter has written a pitch-perfect novel of the miseries of middle-school.  Filled with sarcasm and lots of humor, the story is filled with intriguing characters, believable and unique.  Each character including the adults has a small memorable feature that is part of the story.   The mystery of the missing cookies may take center stage in my synopsis, but the book is far more about relationships, anger, revenge and heroism.  All of which make this funny book deeper than most.

The characterization here is so strong that readers will have no trouble with the rather large cast of characters.  Owen is a traumatized boy whose life slowly is revealed to the reader.  Jeremy is a savvy take on a girl who wants to be in control but can’t figure out how.  Nima, the Buddhist who lives in Owen’s building, adds a vehicle for Owen to begin to question his way of life.  It all comes together into a wonderful mix of great people all seen through Owen’s wry lens.

Appropriate for ages 11-13, this book has a winning cover and its humor will have readers sharing it with friends.  A must-have for middle school libraries everywhere.

Red Sings from Treetops

| Tasha

Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Move through the seasons with the colors built into verses dedicated to a color and the season.  Delight in the fact that spring is more than just green as Sidman weaves all of the colors into spring some in quite surprising and insightful ways.  The whimsical paintings of Zagarenski also offer a complexity and uniqueness to the title.  This is much more than spring being green and filled with flowers.  Here spring is red with cardinals, white with lightning, blue sky, yellow goldfinches, and pink with baby birds.  Summer, autumn and winter follow each with all of the colors found and celebrated in different ways. 

Sidman’s poetry will pull the reader into the book, offering lovely moments such as the yellow of summer:

Yellow melts

everything it touches…

smells like butter,

tastes like salt.

Isn’t that summer captured in a color?  And that is just one color in one season.  The senses are involved in this color book, as is rhythm and a sense of the actual season itself.  It is a picture book that allows you to think of the colors you associate with a season, the unexpected, the small touches.  I can see this being used in an art class to inspire students to paint more than the usual colors for seasonal pieces as well as a very successful poetry picture book for use in general classes.

Appropriate for ages 5-8, this book will work best with time afterwards for discussion because it will have everyone buzzing with new ideas.

Urso Brunov and the White Emperor

| Tasha

Urso Brunov and the White Emperor by Brian Jacques, illustrated by Alexi Natchev.

This second Urso Brunov book continues the adventures of the Little Father of All Bears.  Urso Brunov is awoken by a call for help carried on the wind.  It is two young polar bears, a Prince and Princess who are lost and unable to return home after being carried away on an iceberg.  Urso Brunov is willing to help and uses his connections with other animals, all called by his bugle, to return the polar bears to their royal parents. 

The joy here is the skill of the writing by Jacques.  It has a folk tale quality and is written with such skill that it reads aloud with ease, flowing together into a seamless story that is equally effortless to listen to.  Natchev’s illustrations capture the animals and snowy landscape well.  They will project nicely to even a large group of listeners.

A great readaloud for slightly older audiences, this book is appropriate for 5-8 year olds.