Book Reviews

Plant Secrets

| Tasha

Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman, illustrated by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes

Shh.  Every plant has a secret or really a series of secrets.  Seeds hold the secret of a new plant inside them.  Plants have the secret of being able to create flowers.  Flowers in turn are able to turn into fruits.  And inside the fruits are the hidden seeds.  Cleverly done with lots of scientific information, many good examples offering variety, and the theme of secrecy and surprises, this book will be well received by children.

Goodman does a great job of being scientifically accurate but also speaking at a child-appropriate level about plants.  Tildes has created illustrations that do the same.  Her gouache illustrations are detailed but very approachable.  They also represent plants that children will recognize from their own lives. 

An accessible and interesting book about the life-cycle of plants, this will be welcomed in preschool and early elementary classrooms as well as libraries.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Orangutan Tongs

| Tasha

Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue by Jon Agee.

A great mix of tongue twisters and poems, this book is such fun to read!  Agee creates silly poems that will have your tongue either dancing in delight or knotted in despair.  That is if you can even get through the lines without giggling.  There are classic twisting combinations like Unique New York but others look so very innocent until you attempt them. 

Agee is a master at word play and that is clear in this book of poems.  If you have a group of kids who claim not to enjoy poetry, this is a great glimpse into one part of the wide-ranging world of the poem that they are guaranteed to enjoy.  Agee’s simple illustrations add a nice dimension to the poems, but the words are the star here.

This book will be enjoyed by any child who can read on their own because everyone wants to give the poems a chance to dance on their own tongues.  Delightful fun for the whole family.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Rhymes Round the World

| Tasha

Rhymes Round the World by Kay Chorao

Take a trip around the world through children’s poetry in this new book from Chorao.  The short poems and rhymes are just the right length to read to very small children.  Chorao’s signature illustrations are gentle, filled with smiles and bright colored.  The children shown are all colors themselves, celebrating the world through both the words and pictures.  Poems range from Mother Goose to Italy to Israel to Russia to Japan.  Each poem is nicely identified by author and country.  Here is a nice one for spring from the book:

Slip on Your Raincoat

Slip on your raincoat,

Pull on your galoshes;

Wading in puddles

Makes splishes and sploshes.

-Anonymous

Because of the gentle feel, short length of the poems and the bright colors, this is a perfect book to share with toddlers and preschoolers who are loving Mother Goose.  This is serve to nicely broaden their rhymes in a multicultural way.  A lovely book that would also make a wonderful baby gift. 

Appropriate for ages 2-6.

Ballyhoo Bay

| Tasha

Ballyhoo Bay by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Derek Anderson

Every Saturday, Mira Bella taught art classes on Ballyhoo Beach.  She taught grandmothers, babies, squids, seagulls, crabs, otters, and seals.  The Ballyhoo Art Fair was about to be held, until one dreadful day where a billboard announced that instead of a beach there would soon be penthouse apartments and a casino.  But Mira Bella refused to stop, she gathered everyone together to create a Plan B and save the beach!  They headed to the city hall with banners and signs.  When all of them raised their voices together something wonderful happened at Ballyhoo Bay.

Put art and activism together in a picture book and you have one that I will cheer for.  Add the clever rhymes and silliness of Judy Sierra coupled with the bright and funny illustrations by Anderson and you have something worthy of a demonstration of your own.  This is a great testament to the power of art, the freedom of speech and the necessity of standing up for what is important to you. 

Share this one with art teachers in your schools.  Children will also love it because of its humor and style.  It is a breeze to read aloud because Sierra writes to be shared.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

If I Stay

| Tasha

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

It starts with a day off of school where a light snow in the Portland area brings everything to a halt.  The snow melts by mid-morning and Mia heads off for a day with her family in their car.  They argue about what to listen to on the radio, tease her mother about her cooking, and all is near bliss.  Until the accident.  Now Mia has to decide.  She is the one in control though she doesn’t want to be.  She has to choose life…or death.

This slim volume contains such heartache, such wonder and such tenderness that it should take twice the amount of words it does!  Somehow in under 200 pages, Forman has created a character who becomes not only real, but open and vulnerable and achingly available to the reader.  Through flashbacks, we get to learn about her love of the cello, the gift for music, her early relationship with her boyfriend, and her amazing parents.  Things are beautiful but honest: life with a boyfriend is not perfect and her parents are different from most.  This is real life with all of the troubles but all of the joy too.  Forman’s writing is gripping,honest and at times so gentle that it’s a caress.  Her writing is what makes this book work.  It never tumbles down the slope of melodrama, instead keeping true and unflinching.

Make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy for this one.  It’s nearly impossible to put down and equally difficult to get out of your head.  Readers of Lurlene McDaniel will love this, and find a book with writing to match the emotions.  Appropriate for ages 13-17. 

There Was an Old Man Who Painted the Sky

| Tasha

There Was an Old Man Who Painted the Sky by Teri Sloat, illustrated by Stefano Vitale.

This picture book captures the beauty of cave paintings that were discovered at the Altamira Cave in 1879.  A young girl found the paintings when she was eight years old and exploring with her father, an amateur archaeologist.  This book captures the spirit of the paintings and marries their glory with a catchy tune, introducing the wonder of these images to a new generation.  They have already survived 11,000-19,000 years, so it’s only appropriate to share them with generations.

The refrain in this book is "But I don’t know how he painted the sky – It’s up so high."  Even with the playful melody, one can’t keep awe out of one’s voice saying these words and viewing the majestic paintings in the book.  Many of the illustrations are closely tied to the cave paintings.  Others a have a deeper colored and more majestic feel.  But they all pay homage to the source of inspiration.  Beautifully done, this picture book is much more about capturing the spirit of the cave than replicating the illustrations themselves.  For that very reason, it is successful.

Recommended as a great alternative version of the song, this book has depth and majesty as well.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Big George

| Tasha

Big George by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Matt Phelan

George Washington was a tall, shy boy who loved to spend time on his own in the woods.  He learned from his half brother to be a Virginia gentleman, and loved to read books about ancient Roman heroes like Cincinnatus.  George grew into a man who worked on mapping the colony, loved the outdoors and excelled at sports, but he didn’t like to talk.  He could never find the right words unless he was angry.  Throughout this fascinating picture book, readers discover Washington’s path to greatness and history.  It is an unlikely and intriguing story of the first President.

Rockwell’s Phelan’s illustrations offer glimpses into moments in history.  Washington’s shock of red hair lends a different feeling to the history, as does seeing him as a boy who does more than chop down a cherry tree.  This is a much more human and therefore more interesting person.  Rockwell does well capturing history fully even though she is brief and concise.

Great for classroom use for President’s Day, this book will also find an audience amongst children who prefer nonfiction.  Appropriate for ages 6-7, younger for reading aloud.

Because I Am Furniture

| Tasha

Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Anke lives in fear of her father and his wrath. He abuses her brother and sister in a variety of ways, but Anke is invisible to him. He pays her no attention at all. She begins to wonder what is worse, abuse or being completely ignored as if she is nothing. Then Anke joins the volleyball team at school and finds her voice. Her growing strength of body and spirit means that she can no longer be the silent witness at home. Told in poems, this novel explores the damage of abuse in a family and what happens when one person changes her role.

Chaltas’ poems capture small scenes in Anke’s life, adding up together into a full picture of a teen girl and the strange world she survives in. There are poems that hurt to read, changing the way breath moves out of your body. The poems are built to ebb and flow, not all have that crippling pain in them, allowing readers to breathe once more. But all carry the knowledge of a tortuous existence. Beautifully written, wonderfully paced and vividly done.

Recommended for readers of A Child Called It, this book uses poetry to bring emotions and pain directly to the reader. Not for the faint of heart, this book is powerful and bleak, but will leave readers with hope in the end. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Freeze Frame

| Tasha

Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe

Kyle can’t remember what happened in the moments before his best friend Jason died.  He tries to write the scene many different ways in the styles of his favorite film directors, but nothing fills in that blank in his memory.  Did he mean to kill his friend?  What happened in those few seconds?  And why can’t he remember?

Ayarbe’s first novel is a dark nest of tension, doubt and fear.  Her ingenious use of film and novels as a language to psychology will make the book very accessible to teens who enjoy movies.  Kyle is a fascinating protagonist who feels such guilt for what happened, no matter his own personal role in it.  His family’s reaction as well as the reaction of Jason’s family is so well done and gut wrenching that it could be a novel of its own.  Beautifully, taut writing with great characters.  No one could wish for more.

I just have to mention the inclusion of a vivid school librarian who is a large part of Kyle’s recovery.   What a joy to have the librarian be not only a character but an intriguing and strong one.

Highly recommended for teens who enjoy a good psychological mystery.  Even better if they enjoy films too.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.