Elementary School

Book Review: Tink by Bodil Bredsdorff

| Tasha

tink

Tink by Bodil Bredsdorff

This is the third book in The Children of Crow Cove series.  This book focuses mostly on Tink, who is growing into a young man now.  The people of Crow Cove are facing difficult times as food dwindles at the end of the winter.  They are down to just eating potatoes.  Tink, blaming himself for their hunger, decides to leave Crow Cove, but on his way discovers a man lying at the side of the road.  It turns out to be Burd, the abusive man whom Foula and Eidi ran away from.  Tink returns to the cove with him, bringing into their family both danger and hope.

There is something so special about this series.  Each book is short and yet has depth in it.  There are detailed looks at how the people live.  In this book, there are many details about the wildlife at Crow Cove and how fishing works and storing the catch happens.  These small details create a living, breathing world in the book.

The characters here are ones that readers of the series will recognize.  Villains from previous books return again, displaying complex reactions and roles.  No character here is written simply, rather they are complicated and require compassion from the reader and others in the story. 

This third book is a great addition to the series, displaying the same strengths as the other books.  I am hoping for more books as change comes again to Crow Cove at the end of this book, and I just have to know what happens to my beloved characters.  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar Straus & Giroux.

Book Review: Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor

| Tasha

sparrowroad

Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor

Raine’s mother suddenly drags her from their home in Milwaukee to a strange place called Sparrow Road far away.  Her mother has a job as a cook at Sparrow Road, making meals for the artists who call the place home for the summer.  Not only is Raine away from home and her beloved grandfather for the first time, but Sparrow Road has rules.  No one is allowed to speak all day long, until after dinner, she is not to bother the artists, and her mother won’t let her leave the grounds.  As the days pass, Raine discovers some of the secrets of Sparrow Road but answers will be harder to find.  The biggest secret of all is why Raine and her mother came to Sparrow Road in the first place.

A delight of a novel, this book is about family, connections, and friendships.  Readers may believe at first that it is going to be about Raine discovering how to be on her own and silent in the beauty of Sparrow Road’s natural setting, but that is not the case.  Instead it is about creating new friendships, finding unexpected connections, and discovering anew those closest. 

O’Connor’s writing creates a world within Sparrow Road.  She writes with great sensory detail of both the natural setting and the strangeness of the big house where orphans used to live.  She blends the past and the future with great results, allowing Raine to wonder about the past both her own and that of Sparrow Road.  It is a beautifully written book that has a strong sense of place.

Highly recommended, this book would make a great read aloud for a classroom as it explores families, forgiveness and friendship between generations.  It is also a great summer read for older elementary children who can head for their own green space to think and wonder.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin Group.

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Book Review: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

| Tasha

insideoutbackagain

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Debut author Lai has created a verse novel of fleeing Saigon for the United States.  The narrator is ten-year-old Ha, who speaks of the beauty of Vietnam, its culture and their lives there.  Her father was captured years ago in the war, so she lives with her mother and three older brothers.  Her mother has a good job, but when the prices begin to rise because of the war, the family can barely survive.  They are given a chance to flee Saigon by ship though when they do, they almost starve because their rescue by the Americans is delayed.  Ha describes her culture shock when they do arrive in Alabama as a sponsored family.   All is different from the taste of the food to the quiet of the neighborhood to the language.   Many of her classmates are cruel to her, but she does meet nice Americans who help her learn the language and who are willing to learn about Vietnamese culture as well.

Lai’s verse is precision, written tightly and beautifully, it changes mood from one poem to the next.  Some are sliver thin and crack like a whip.  Others are sinewy and strong, ropes that bind and connect.  Still others are emotions that unite us all, tying us closely to the story.  Lai herself also immigrated from Vietnam at the end of the war to Alabama.  Her book speaks to the personal journey that she had in its depth of feeling.

Ha is a character whom readers will immediately connect with and understand.  She is written in a universal way, even as she describes her homeland and evokes scenes that many readers will not have seen or experienced.  In the descriptions of Ha’s family, Lai creates characters who are vivid and profound.  One of my favorite passages is early in the novel where the family is deciding to leave Saigon.  Ha’s mother is described on page 54:

Who can go against

a mother

who has become gaunt like bark

from raising four children alone.

This a book that is so beautifully written.  It captures the journey both physically and emotionally of refugees to our country.  It is breathtaking and strong.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Book Review: Kat Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

| Tasha

katincorrigible

Kat Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

Mix a Regency setting with plenty of magic and one smart, sassy heroine and you have this winning novel for children.  Kat never knew her mother, since she died when Kat was born.  She does have a stepmother who is far more interested in the wealth her stepdaughters will bring with strategic marriages than with their future happiness.  Kat is the youngest of the three sisters and she discovers early in the novel that she has inherited her mother’s magical talents.  One of her older sisters, Angeline, has also gotten magical talents of a different sort.  As the eldest sister, Elissa, is about to be betrothed to a grim fiancé, the younger two get deeper into trouble as they explore their magical gifts.  All too soon, Kat will be called upon to use her magic to save those she loves, while trying to act graceful and polite in society.

I’m a huge fan of mixing historical settings with fantasy, and this novel does it very well.  Readers never lose the fact that they are reading a Regency novel, thanks to the elements of society that are woven successfully throughout the novel.  At the same time, the fantasy elements are tantalizingly and beautifully done as well.

The characterization is superb, especially Kat, who is a Regency girl that modern children will relate to happily.  She is intelligent, irreverent and irresistible.  From the first glimpse readers get of Kat with her short-cut hair and her desire to save her family, Kat is an intriguing character.  Happily, Burgis has incorporated plenty of humor into the novel as well.  There are scenes that are filled with genteel sarcasm and bites but sometimes the story merrily heads closer to farce with delightful results.

Highly recommended, this is a book that children will adore with just the right mix of humor, fantasy and style.  Sounds like ideal summer reading to me!  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Check out the book trailer:

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum Books.

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Book Review: Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines

| Tasha

peacefulpieces

Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Celebrate peace with this book pairing beautiful quilts with poems.  Short poems explore the nature of peace and the myriad of forms it takes.  There is the peace of quiet, of home, of nature.  Then there is the peace that is the opposite of weapons, anger and war.  There is the peace of acceptance, of moments, of prayer.  Then for readers, there is the peace of reading this book.

Each poem itself is a moment of peace, inviting the reader to linger, consider.  The author has created distinct poems that work both as individual poems and as a whole work together.  The flow from poem to poem is very successful, making it difficult to read just one or two poems from this book.

The quilts themselves are done in jewel tones.  They range from strong-lined images filled with words to natural scenes of quiet grace.  Turning the page from one to the next is a journey of color, expression and beauty.

Highly recommended, this book beautifully marries poetry and quilting, resulting in a book that is warm, cozy and lovely.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Co.

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Check out the book trailer to see some of the quilts and hear some of the poetry:

Book Review: Meadowlands by Thomas Yezerski

| Tasha

meadowlands

Meadowlands by Thomas F. Yezerski

This nonfiction picture book tells the story of the history of the wetlands that are now known as the Meadowlands in New Jersey.  From hundreds of years ago, when the wetlands had 20,000 acres of marshes through to the 1800s when the land was drained and filled in with dirt to the 20th century when the industries came to surround the Meadowlands with their factories.  The wetlands were used as a garbage dump, filled with waste and filth.  It became a problem area in New Jersey until the state decided that it needed to be cleaned up.  By 1985 with the clean up and then the developers, there was less than 7000 acres of wetlands left.  But the wetlands began to recover, with time the lack of pollution and the rivers and tides cleaned the water and allowed plants, birds, fish and animals to return.  This is a celebration of wetland recovery and the strength of the ecosystem as well as a stirring call to action.

Yezerski offers just the right amount of information here for an elementary-aged audience.  From the brief history of when the wetlands were unchanged, readers see how steadily the impact of humans deteriorated the size and quality of them.  The garbage portion of the story is startling, stark and brief, indicating the small amount of time it took to do such extensive damage.  When the book turns to the recovery of the Meadowlands, the tone lifts and the text turns to celebrating the nature returning to the area.

The pages of the book are bordered with objects pulled from that illustration.  So the two-page spread of the 1800s is bordered with a knife, musket, scythe, trap, kettle, muskrat and more.  This adds to the feeling of time changing and the area changing along with it.  The watercolor illustrations are often looking at the wetlands from above, showing the devastation and changes.  Beautifully, as the wetlands recover, the illustrations become more close and intimate with the wetlands and the animals.

Get this one on your elementary nature and ecology shelves.  It is a readable and very successful look at wetland renewal for children.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 

Book Review: Underground by Shane W. Evans

| Tasha

underground

Underground by Shane W. Evans

Using only the shortest of sentences, the smallest of words, Evans has created a picture book that captures the fear and hope of escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad.   The well-chosen words add to the tension, keeping it taut with danger.  It reads as if the author too is trying to be quiet, near silent and to escape notice. 

The palette is one of darkness with bright whites of eyes shining, the colors capturing the oppression of slavery.  As freedom nears, the colors change, almost glowing with the light and brightness of freedom.  The art here is what makes the book so special.  The images are collage mixed with the texture of brushstrokes, all evoking a rustic, roughness.  Yet in the faces there is a nobility, a grace, a hope that shines through.

A beautiful, evocative book that is haunting and ever so strong.  It will work beautifully for elementary aged children learning about the Civil War and slavery.   Appropriate for ages 7-10. 

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Book Review: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

| Tasha

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The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

In this third Penderwicks novel, the family is separating for the first time.  For two weeks in the summer, their father will be heading off and so will Rosalind.  The remaining Penderwicks are off to vacation in Maine.  This leaves Skye as the OAP (oldest available Penderwick) to take care of the others, along with Aunt Claire.  Skye is overwhelmed with the responsibility, particularly for Batty and even more so when a soggy note warns her vaguely about the potential that Batty could “blow up.”  Jane continues to write books, but this summer she has decided to write about romance and doesn’t know much about it, so she develops a Love Survey.  Batty and Hound continue to easily make friends, and this summer Batty discovers a hidden talent all her own.  Jeffrey escapes the binds of his mother and stepfather to join the others in Maine and he too makes a discovery with the help of Jane and Skye. 

So many series become rather drab and dull in their third book, but the Penderwicks seem to be growing ever better and stronger.  The characters here are funny, bright, and complete individuals.  Birdsall writes each character as if they were her favorite, making it nearly impossible for readers to figure out which sister they enjoy most.  It was a pleasure to have a book where Skye shines so much as she struggles with new responsibilities and not wanting to let anyone down. 

In such a character-driven work, it can be easy to not notice the skill with which Birdsall interweaves the setting of Maine into the story.  But it is there, filling in the spaces in the novel where the characters have a quiet moment.  As if it is waiting for them to stop being busy and to notice the beauty around them.  From the seals on the islands, the moose on the golf course, and the cold of the water, Maine is a spectacular setting for this third book.

A cozy, wonderful story that is filled with humor, these books have the feel of a classic but remain modern.  If you are looking for a series to start reading aloud with your children, this is a great one.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

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Book Review: Junonia by Kevin Henkes

| Tasha

junonia

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Alice always celebrates her birthday on Sanibel Island in a beach cottage named Scallop.  This annual vacation from winter in Wisconsin is filled with the familiar.  Her parents accompany her, her aunt stays with them, and their neighbors in Sanibel are people she considers her extended family.  But this year, when Alice is turning 10, nothing is familiar.  First, some of her beloved neighbors do not come to Florida this year.  Then her Aunt Kate joins them along with her new boyfriend and his daughter, Mallory.  The entire vacation is thrown into chaos in Alice’s eyes, as she struggles to accept the changes and the new situation that is so different from her planned perfection of a trip.

This short novel looks deep into Alice as she searches for perfection embodied by the junonia shell that she has not yet found.  This deep look is not always flattering for Alice, as she can be jealous, petty, and prickly at times.  Yet the book speaks to acceptance of the reality of life and not constantly seeking the perfect birthday, the perfect day, the perfect circumstances.  It would never have worked as a novel to have Alice be an ideal protagonist.  Instead, seeing her with her flaws allows readers to see themselves in her.  It is a beautiful, quiet point Henkes is making.

Henkes writes of emotions with great detail, capturing Alice’s many moods.  He manages to put a name on the feeling and then create imagery that builds beyond that label.  In other words, he is carefully creating a book that children can read and understand, but that will lead them on into something deeper as well.

Henkes also captures Sanibel and its beaches and wildlife with beautiful imagery.  The images are ones that children will relate to.  Here is one of my favorites from Page 49:

“From their table on the deck at the restaurant, Alice could see the ocean perfectly.  And the sunset.  The sky and the sea were full of colors – yellow, peach, pink, blue, green, purple.  The water was like liquid color, like melted glass swirling around.”

This book is about big things understood through small.  It is about emotions, acceptance, forgiveness, disappointment and delight.  It is about life.  Appropriate for ages 8-11.

Reviewed on digital galley format from HarperCollins via NetGalley.