Review: The Passover Lamb by Linda Elovitz Marshall

| Tasha

passover lamb

The Passover Lamb by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss

Miriam has been selected to sing the Four Questions at the seder, the special Passover meal, at her grandparent’s house.  She has been practicing over and over again.  When she discovers that Snowball, one of their ewes, is going to have a baby, the family wonders if it will disrupt their Passover plans.  Snowball has her lambs in time, but her third lamb is ignored and she refuses to nurse him.  Miriam is very worried for the little lamb, but also wants to head to the seder and sing her part.  So she comes up with a clever plan to care for the newborn lamb and be able to be with her extended family.  This Passover story is a gentle reminder about compassion and a beautiful introduction to Passover.

Marshall writes with a gentleness that weaves throughout the entire story.  She allows Miriam to really be the center of the story, her family members are important but Miriam is certainly the lead.  She is the one who discovers that the ewe is going to have a baby, bottle feeds the newborn lamb and figures out the solution, all on her own.  This is child-led compassion that comes from a deep and natural place.

Mai-Wyss’ art is done in watercolors. The results are rich and colorful, nicely capturing a small family farm.  Just as with the text, Miriam is often front and center in the illustrations.

A superb book about caring and compassion, this is a strong addition to any public library.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Books for Young Readers.

Review: Snow School by Sandra Markle

| Tasha

snow school

Snow School by Sandra Markle, illustrated by Alan Marks

High in the mountains of Pakistan, two week-old snow leopard cubs snooze in a den waiting for their mother to return.  It’s May and the pair are only a week old.  When the male cub goes outside, he is attacked by a golden eagle and only saved by his mother rescuing him.  As the cubs grow, the practice pouncing one another and then start to eat directly from the game their mother kills.  Their mother teaches them skills they must have to survive in the harsh climate.  They learn to mark their territory, to silently hunt, to be quick, to guard their food, to find shelter when snow comes, and when to retreat.  It is a story of how small cubs grow into strong hunters and how these great and beautiful cats manage to survive in their mountainous and cold habitat.

Markle is the author of over 200 books for children.  In this one she takes on one of the most elusive creatures on earth and shows the strong family bonds and the huge amount of learning these young cats must accomplish to live.  She writes her nonfiction in verse, making it more easily read.  Nicely, as the mother is teaching her cubs, Markle makes sure readers understand the lesson by repeating it neatly at the end of the stanza. 

Marks’ illustrations capture the snow leopards and their beauty and grace.  There are moments of such daring leaps and heart pounding danger that Marks captures with flawless accuracy.  His use of soft watercolors adds to the mystique of these cats and also captures the speed and motion as they hunt. 

Beautiful illustrations and strong text result in a book that will teach children much about the snow leopards and their lives.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Charlesbridge.

Review: The Price of Freedom by Dennis Brindell Fradin

| Tasha

price of freedom

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

In 1856, John Price and two other slaves escaped to Ohio and freedom.  But the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was in effect and even free states were required to allow slave owners to capture escaped slaves anywhere in the United States.  John and his friend Frank spent the winter in Oberlin, Ohio, a hub of Underground Railroad activity.  They decided to stay and not travel to the safety of Canada.  So when a group of slave catchers came to Oberlin specifically hunting for John and Frank, the residents of the city had no legal grounds to help the two men.  When John was captured though, the city rose up against the slave catchers, forcing a showdown that would be one of the defining moments in fueling the Civil War.

Filled with informational facts, this book reads more like a fictional story thanks to its inherent drama.  It begins with John Price’s escape across the ice on stolen horses, continues through the Underground Railroad but the most amazing part is the final showdown, where your heart almost stops with the bravery and daring the Rescuers demonstrate. Fradin offers just the right mix of information and heroism.

Velasquez’s illustrations add to the dramatic feel of the narrative with their deep rich colors, drawn guns and historical details.  There are so many gorgeous night images filled with danger but also with hope.

This is a nonfiction picture book that is sure to inform children about an aspect of slavery that they will not have heard of as well as a tale of what a group of brave citizens can do.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts this week that you might find interesting:

AUTHORS

50 unseen Rudyard Kipling poems discovered | Books http://buff.ly/WmEtxB

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

19 books about bugs

How to find picture books for older children | Books http://buff.ly/13K3VA6

Random House plans a Sandy Hook book for children from two award-winning authors – http://buff.ly/Ws2Hq1

Sharon Gosling’s top 10 children’s steampunk books | Children’s books http://buff.ly/XIyW4K

Shirley Hughes: a child in time – her top 5 picture books – Telegraphhttp://buff.ly/XzFIwL

EBOOKS

Nook Is Toast – Business Insider http://buff.ly/XwQvaW

LIBRARIES

Somerville Public Library Becomes 1st Public Library to Make “Awesome Box” Available | LJ INFOdocket http://buff.ly/XzGWrV

These are awesome. They scream library maker program. RT@mashable: 7 Working Devices Made From Cardboardhttp://on.mash.to/XYABlQ via @PSFK

PRODUCTIVITY

7 Qualities of Uber-Productive People | http://bit.ly/WZQEDC

PUBLISHING

Here’s How You Buy Your Way Onto The New York Times Bestsellers List – Forbes http://j.mp/120lUa8

TEEN READS

John Green: ‘I’m tired of adults telling teenagers that they aren’t smart’ | Children’s books http://buff.ly/YJ6ToZ

Book Patrol: Books Make a Difference

Review: Polar Bear Morning by Lauren Thompson

| Tasha

polar bear morning

Polar Bear Morning by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Stephen Savage

Following the picture book Polar Bear Night, this second book continues the story of the little polar bear cub.  The cub wakes up and peeks out at the day and snow outside her warm den.  As she starts to explore, she discovers another little cub out playing too, sliding down a little snow hill.  The two of them immediately start playing together, running towards the sea and eventually jumping into the icy water side by side.  The two little friends end up together on an ice berg surrounded by family, seals and whales.

Perfect for toddlers, this book speaks to the speed at which small children can find playmates and make friends.  As the two polar cubs run together, they pass different arctic animals like seals, walrus, seagulls and whales.  The text is brief and clearly sets the story in the arctic, the cold, the ice and the warmth of friendship.

Savage once again has amazing illustrations that are filled with chunky shapes, deep textures and shading that makes it stand out.  My favorite page in the book has the two small cubs nose to nose, one with a plop of snow on his head. 

A nice morning read aloud, this book be a good fit with bear story times or wintry tales.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic Press.

Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

| Tasha

if you find me

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Released March 26, 2013.

Carey’s mother has been gone for over a month, leaving Carey alone with her little sister, Jenessa.  They live in a large woods and sleep in an old camper with no heat.  Her mother had left them before, but usually not this long, just long enough to get more meth.  But this time, their mother was not the one who came to their camp, a man and woman arrive, claiming that the man is Carey’s father.  They take the girls back with them.  Carey and Jenessa have never had a hamburger, never watched TV and never really been cared for.  Carey was the only reason that Nessa had survived at all, often serving as the only love she had.  But now the girls were expected to live with Carey’s father, his wife and their stepsister in their home.  It’s a new life filled with challenges that Carey will only be able to accept if she can see the truth of why her mother took her away and also the truth of what she had been forced to do in the woods.

Murdoch has written a book that has a very compelling premise and happily, she is able to make the book about far more than that first bit ripped from the headlines.  She writes about the power of music to heal, the ability of family and love to make things right again, but also the agony of betrayal, the ferocious power of abuse, and the building danger of lies.  Carey is a heroine who has undergone real tragedy in her life, but here is she far from being a victim.  She is instead immensely resourceful, caring and desperate to do what is right for her little sister.

Murdoch also weaves into so much of the book Carey’s connection with nature.  It is the place she turns when in distress, moving even to the outdoor courtyard at the high school in order to find solace outdoors.  Her love of music in also part of it, having played her music under the open sky for so long.  When Murdoch writes of nature, she is part poet, creating a depth in this novel that lifts it to another level.

This story is one of a tough heroine who has to be strong for both herself and her little sister.  It is a tale of survival but also one of recovery and honesty.  I’d think this one would booktalk extremely well thanks to its strong premise that will nicely tantalize teen readers.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Macmillan and Netgalley.

Review: Starring Jules (As Herself) by Beth Ain

| Tasha

starring jules

Starring Jules (As Herself) by Beth Ain

When Jules is singing her new jingle for a fizzy ice-cream cone to her little brother and making lots of bubbles in their milk glasses, she is discovered and invited to audition for a mouthwash commercial.  But even for a girl with lots of “pizzazz” there are difficulties to overcome.  First, Jules finds out that the mouthwash is orange flavored, a flavor that makes her want to puke.  Second, the only one she can see who can help her is her old best-friend Charlotte Stinkerton Pinkerton.  Third, there’s a new girl in Jules’ class who may just be the perfect best friend ever, but Jules has to get to her first, before she joins the new clique that Charlotte has formed.  It’s a complicated situation for Jules and the question is whether it will be just too much for this girl who is fizzy and filled with pizzazz.

Ain has created a character that reads like an older Clementine.  Jules is wonderfully and innately quirky, obviously happy in her own skin.  All of the small details and Jules’ unique view of the world serve to make her a beautifully human character.  Happily, the same is true for the secondary characters as well.  They are all richly drawn and complex.  Friendship is shown in all of its miscommunication and mistakes.

Written with a light hand and a jaunty pace, this book will appeal to readers who have grown up with Clementine and are looking for a new heroine with plenty of individuality.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Review: Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier

| Tasha

open this little book

Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier, illustrated by Suzy Lee

Open the full-sized picture book and inside you find a series of nesting books, each smaller than the one before.  The stories in the books also nest with one another.  First the reader opens the Little Red Book and discovers ladybug who is opening the Little Green Book where frog is the character.  On and on it goes, until the story reaches a little twist in the little books.  Then the stories unwind as the books are closed one by one.  It’s impossible to not be charmed by the design and concept.

Debut author, Klausmeier has created a seamless partnership with illustrator Lee.  The book is so much a marriage of their work that one might think it was done entirely by one artist.  The story is simple yet fully engaging.  The problem you may have with little listeners is having them slow down opening the next book in time to read the words on the page.  Lee’s illustrations add to the charm, hearkening back to vintage picture books but still carrying a modern vibe.  The scale of the books is perfection, like opening a Russian nesting doll.

Engaging, interactive and oh so much fun, this book looks at colors, sequence and a love of reading.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Odette’s Secrets by Maryann Macdonald

| Tasha

odettes secrets

Odette’s Secrets by Maryann Macdonald

This true story of a young Jewish girl growing up in Nazi-occupied Paris is told in verse.  Odette’s father is sent to a Nazi work camp and her mother works hard to protect Odette.  As the Jews in Paris are steadily more badly treated, Odette has to wear a yellow star on her clothing and is unwelcome in many places in the city.  Even at school, Odette is bullied for being Jewish.  When their apartment is raided in the middle of the night, Odette and her mother hide in their landlady’s cupboard.  After that, Odette is sent to the country to live.  There she learns to pretend to be Christian so that she isn’t discovered.  When her mother is forced to flee Paris, the two of them move together to live in the French countryside as peasants, but Nazis and bigotry are never far behind.  Odette learns that sometimes secrets are vital to survival and just as hard to stop keeping as they are to keep.

Macdonald writes in her author’s note about the inspiration for creating a children’s book that tells the story of the real Odette.  It is interesting to learn about the transition from straight nonfiction to a verse novel.  I’m so pleased that the end result was this novel in free verse, because Macdonald writes verse with a wonderful eye to both the story she is telling and the poetry itself.  She truly creates the scenes of Paris and the French countryside in her poems, making each place special and amazing. 

Perhaps most amazing is Odette herself, a protagonist living in a brutal and complicated time, forced to lie to stay alive.  Odette has to learn to deal with the fear she lives in every day, something that no one should have to get used to.  There was the fear of slipping and telling the secrets she held but also the fear that someone could figure out they were Jewish without any slip from Odette.  Macdonald creates quite a dramatic series of events that point out that Odette was terrified for very good reason.

Beautiful verse combined with a true story of a young girl World War II France makes this a very successful book that cuts right to the heart and lays all its secrets bare.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Bloomsbury.