Review: Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers

| Tasha

once upon an alphabet

Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers

This unusual and equally marvelous alphabet book surprises and delights with its 26 short stories, one for each letter of the alphabet.  From the very beginning at “A” readers will know they have entered a rather quirky and surreal world.  A is for Astronaut, but Edmund is an astronaut whose afraid of heights.  Even climbing the ladder to the rocket is a bit much for him.  B comes right in afterwards with a tale of a burning bridge where Bob and Bernard cannot get along and so burn the bridge between their houses, but oops, one of them is on the wrong side when he does it.  The book continues, one letter after another and one story after another each with funny, intriguing characters and situations that are snapshots of the oddities of this amazing world. 

Jeffers has created some of my favorite picture books for children and this new alphabet book completely revolutionizes the sing-song of other alphabet books for children.  It’s not exclusively for preschoolers, since elementary-aged children will adore these strange little stories and the quick journeys they take you on.  Rather like potato chips, you can’t read just one but find yourself going on and on.  Jeffers also ties in previous stories to later ones.  You have to be watching, because he does it with subtlety, but it’s a lovely touch.  I admit to cheering aloud when the Lumberjack for the Letter L appeared again.

Jeffers’ art has a loose feel that works well here.  He also has a quirk to his art that matches the tone of the story very nicely.  The line drawings combine with touches of color and watercolor.  He also plays at times with the page itself, showing characters turning the page or popping out from behind. 

A delight of an alphabet book, Jeffers has revolutionized the genre with his impressive, surprising and funny work. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel.

Review: Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell

| Tasha

cartwheeling in thunderstorms

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell

Having loved Rundell’s Rooftoppers, I looked forward to reading this book.  I wasn’t expecting such a different read from her first novel.  Will has grown up on her father’s farm in Zimbabwe.  She plays with the boys on the farm, spending her days on horseback, hanging out with her best friend, and exploring the land.  Her days are pure bliss, filled with golden sunshine, fresh air, and freedom.  But that is not to last.  When her father dies and their farm is sold, Will is reluctantly sent to England to boarding school by her grandfather in a plot devised by her new grandmother.  But Will does not fit in with the girls in the school who torment Will because she is different, refuses to comb her hair, and can’t do the schoolwork.  There is only one choice for Will and that is to run away and try to survive on her own in the wilds of London. 

This book moved me over and over again.  First the beauty and the freedom of Will’s life in Zimbabwe is so beautiful and written with a tension.  It’s almost as if it is a bubble that must inevitably break, and it does.  The father’s death scene is one of the most poignant deaths I have experienced in books for children.  Will’s emotions are so strong on the page, that you literally ache for her and for the further changes to come that readers will see much earlier than Will does.  Going from such beauty to such loss is wrenching and masterful.

Rundell grew up in Zimbabwe and London, so Will’s time in England is equally well drawn.  From the bullying students to the kind teacher to the people she meets on the street, Will encounters all sorts of people.  As her situation grows more dire and one thinks she can’t go on, Will draws from the years of golden sun and freedom and continues on.  Through it all, that golden light continues to shine, hope glows even in the darkest of times. 

Will is a strong, wild heroine, a girl that you want to ride bareback with across Africa and one that all readers will fall madly head over heels for.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

14 Children’s Books with Multiracial Families http://buff.ly/1tM49c3 #kidlit

The best children’s books on Iran | The Guardian http://buff.ly/101XX2b #kidlit

Q & A with Chris Van Allsburg http://buff.ly/1nBpMcT #kidlit

We Need Diverse Books | Indiegogo http://buff.ly/1rzLrxv #weneeddiversebooks

What We Can All Learn From ‘Percy Jackson’ — and Reading Kid Lit As a Whole | Bustle http://buff.ly/1tM3bMF #kidlit

TEEN READS

10 Favorite LGBT Characters in MG and YA Literature | Stories With Ms. Jenna http://buff.ly/1wvB2Iz #lgbt #yalit

Q & A with Robin LaFevers http://buff.ly/1tLXK0i #yalit

Top 10 songs in teen novels: the ultimate young adult playlist | The Guardian http://buff.ly/1zJ5DqN #yalit

YA Yeah Yeah: Top 20 MG Books of Last 10 Years http://buff.ly/1wCMa6m #kidlit

Young Adult Fiction Doesn’t Need to Be a ‘Gateway’ to the Classics – The Atlantic http://buff.ly/1wFCpFz #yalit

Review: In Real Life by Cory Doctorow

| Tasha

in real life

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow, illustrated by Jen Wang

After a woman gamer comes to present information on gaming and computer science to her class, Anda starts to play Coarsegold.  She starts to spend most of her time away from school playing the online multiplayer game.  Online she meets another player who encourages her to start killing gold farmers for real life money.  So Anda refocuses her battles online specifically on gold farmers, killing them even though they don’t fight back.  But something feels wrong about what she is doing and then Anda gets to know one of the gold farmers who has started to learn English.  He is a poor Chinese kid who is just trying to survive and loves playing Coarsegold even though he does it for hours as a gold farmer.  Anda soon finds herself questioning the morals of killing gold farmers and what is wrong and right in real life and in the game world. 

As a gamer girl myself, I applaud Doctorow for choosing to have a female lead in his book about online gaming.  It adds another dimension to a book that wrestles with tough questions about gaming and gold farming.  Gold farmers are people, usually from poorer countries, who are paid to play the online game, gather materials, and then sell them for real money, something that is against the rules of the games.  So the book gets to the heart of people from wealthy countries using those from poorer countries, it looks at working conditions in gold farming companies, and questions the real ethics of the situation, beyond the superficial ones. 

Wang’s illustrations are dynamite.  She shows Anda as a girl who is built like a real person.  She is rounded, comfortable in her clothes, and wonderfully not on a diet!  Wang creates an online character for Anda who is powerful but not busty and half naked.  It’s a great choice artistically. 

Gaming books that actually get the game worlds right are few and far between.  Gamers of any MMO will recognize the economy, the style and the play here while non-gamers will find themselves understanding gaming and game economies too.  Appropriate for ages 12-16.

Reviewed from copy received from First Second.

Review: A Possum’s Tail by Gabby Dawnay

| Tasha

possums tail

A Possum’s Tail by Gabby Dawnay, illustrated by Alex Barrow

Little Samuel Drew walks along the streets of London pulling his toy dog behind him, headed in one particular direction.  He passes all sorts of people, markets, even Buckingham Palace on his way to London Zoo.  He sees many different animals in the zoo, but it’s the possum family in particular that he’s come to visit.  But when he gets there, they are all hanging upside down by their tails, fast asleep.  So Samuel heads back home again, not noticing that the possum family has woken up and have grabbed hold of the dog’s tail and are all five following along behind.  Once home after creating chaos on the London streets, Samuel serves tea to the possums.  But wait!  How will they get back to the zoo?  Another kind of tail to the rescue.

Dawnay has written this book in rhyming couplets that skip along merrily.  The pacing is brisk and the humor is whimsical and deliciously drawn out as Samuel fails to see the possums until he reaches home.  There is a delightful moment as Samuel returns homeward and passes the same people going the other way.  The text repeats itself again in a lively way, echoing the journey that Samuel made to the zoo.  

Barrow’s illustrations add to the joy of the journeys to and fro.  He first shows the bustling London streets in a straight forward way, then on the return trip the possums cause quite an uproar, though Samuel doesn’t notice at all.  Children will love looking at both sets of pictures and seeing the differences even though the words remain the same.  The illustrations have a vintage feel with Samuel in a sailor suit and the dog on a string that hearkens to books like Madeleine.

A clever cheerful read that explores London with humor and whimsy.   Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Tate.

Review: Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper

| Tasha

lowriders in space

Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Raul the Third

Three friends, Lupe, El Chavo and Elirio, work together in a garage where they fix cars.  They dream of one day having their own garage.  Lupe loves working on engines and the mechanics.  El Chavo washes them until they shine with his octopus arms.  Elirio uses his mosquito size and his long nose to detail the cars.  Their favorite kind of car are the low and slow lowriders.  So when a contest with a large prize comes along, they know they have to enter.  Now they just have to turn a junker into the best car in the universe, so they head into space to see what they can do.  This is one unique read that combines space, cars and great friendship.

Camper incorporates Spanish into her story, firmly placing this book into the Hispanic culture.  Her characters are clever done.  The female in the group is the one who loves engines and mechanical things, yet is incredible feminine too.  The book seems to be firmly housed on earth until one big moment launches it into outer space.  The incorporation of astronomy into the design and art of the car makes for a book that is wild and great fun to read.

The illustrations by Raul Gonzalez have a cool hipness to them that is honest and without any slickness at all.  Done in a limited palette of red, blue and black, the art has a vintage feel that is enhanced by the treatment of the pages with stains and aging. 

This graphic novel is cool, star filled, rich with science, and has friendship at its heart.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Red House Children’s Book Award Finalists

| Tasha

The shortlist for the Red House Children’s Book Award have been announced.  The Red House Children’s Book Award is the only national UK book prize that is voted on entirely by children.  It is divided into three age-specific categories.  Here is the shortlist:

 

YOUNGER CHILDREN

The Day the Crayons Quit Dragon Loves Penguin

The Day the Crayons Quit by Oliver Jeffers and Drew Daywalt

Dragon Loves Penguin by Debi Gliori (Published as Dragon’s Extraordinary Egg in the US)

Go to Sleep or I Let Loose the Leopard That Is Not a Good Idea!

Go to Sleep or I Let Loose the Leopard by Steve Cole and Bruce Ingman

That Is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems

 

YOUNGER READERS

Baby Aliens Got My Teacher! The Bomber Dog Demon Dentist

Baby Aliens Got My Teacher by Pamela Butchart

The Bomber Dog by Mega Rix

Demon Dentist by David Walliams

 

OLDER READERS

Noble Conflict Prince of the Icemark (The Icemark Chronicles, #0.5) Split Second

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman

Prince of the Icemark by Stuart Hill

Split Second by Sophie McKenzie

Review: Born in the Wild by Lita Judge

| Tasha

born in the wild

Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents by Lita Judge

Explore different baby mammals from around the world in this nonfiction picture book.  Learn about how different animals function when they are born, polar bear babies are tiny and are kept safe for months before going outside while giraffes are born ready to run right away.  Baby animals eat in different ways too.  Baby bears nurse, baby wolves learn to eat meat quickly, and other animals eat grass and drink their mother’s milk.  Other subjects like protection and shelter are examined as well as grooming, moving from place to place, and what their families look like.  This book is a celebration of the diversity of mammals on the earth and all of the ways in which they are loved and cared for as they grow. 

Judge offers just enough information on each animal to make the book readable.  She gives intriguing glimpses of each animal before moving on to the next.  It’s a fast paced book that merrily jumps from one animal to the next.  More in-depth information on each of the featured mammals can be found at the end of the book. 

Judge’s art is exceptional.  Her animals are filled with personality.  The baby mammals look straight out at the reader at times, their parents’ eyes are filled with love, and there is a tangible joy to each of the images.  The cuteness factor could have been unbearable, but instead it’s perfect, just the right amount of cute and wild mixed together.

A great choice for smaller children who love animals, this book is gorgeous as well as informative.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

Review: Over There by Steve Pilcher

| Tasha

over there

Over There by Steve Pilcher

Shredder lives all by himself in the big forest.  He has a cozy bed in a matchbox under a maple tree, he has plenty to eat which means worms since he’s a shrew, and he has a pet acorn.  But acorns can’t talk and Shredder felt that something was missing.  So he sets off to see if there is something more out there.  Seeing a twinking in the distance, he heads out to see what it is.  After a long journey all night, it turns out to be a tiny silver boat and Shredder climbs aboard.  But the boat doesn’t float for long.  Happily, just as Shredder disappears under the water, a hand reaches out to save him.  It’s a mole, named Nosey.  As the two of them spend time together, Shredder starts to realize that he has found “something more” after all.

Pilcher’s story is straight forward and speaks directly to loneliness and the journey to find a new friend.  He incorporates clever elements that create wonderful quiet moments in the book.  The time that Shredder spends with his silent acorn pet, the question of what the shining thing in the distance is, the floating moments on the water, the warmth of new friendship. 

What is most special about the book though is the art.  Done by Disney Press as part of their Pixar Animation Studios Artist Showcase, it will come as no surprise that the entire book reads like an animated movie.  The backgrounds on the page have a cinematic depth to them.  Shredder himself is immensely likeable as a character, a tiny shrew often dwarfed by the world around him. 

A fine picture book, this book is very appealing thanks to its friendly art and the jolly adventure at its heart.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.