families

Book Review: Monday Is One Day by Arthur A. Levine

| Tasha

monday is one day

Monday Is One Day by Arthur A. Levine, illustrated by Julian Hector

As families wake up to the new week, the hardest part is being away from each other.  Follow the days of the week here for a celebration of how working families can connect and spend time together throughout the week.  The days continue to move forward from Monday to Tuesday, filled cuddles and puddles.  Then come Wednesday and Thursday with raspberry kisses and dinosaur growls.  Friday’s the last day of the workweek, so help pick out a tie.  Then comes the fun of Saturday and Sunday for families to spend together. 

Levine has written such a simple book that even the youngest of children will be able to relate to it.  The rhymes are easy and feel natural when read aloud.  This book is just what working families need to celebrate their own connections and family relationships. 

The illustrations add diversity and a modern feel to the book.   It is packed full of different types of families, all enjoying connections with their children.  There are families of different colors, gay parents, and grandparents caring for grandchildren.  Happily, nothing is pointed out about the families that are different than the stereotypical norm.  Instead this book just celebrates everyone with ease and style.

The illustrations are done in bright, merry colors with plenty of white space.  They have a gentle, vintage tone to them that works well for this subject matter.  It makes it even more special to have such diverse families depicted in a timeless way.

A positive and welcoming book that will have families rejoicing.  Appropriate for ages 3-5. 

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic Press.

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Book Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

| Tasha

wonderstruck

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Released September 13, 2011.

This second book, following his award-winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is just as magnificent and haunting.  Here there are two stories, set 50 years apart.  In 1977, Ben has grown up along the shores of Gunflint Lake, Minnesota.  His dreams are filled with wolves chasing him, but he doesn’t know why.  His mother recently died and when he goes back to their home, a freak accident causes him to lose his hearing.  But just before the accident, he uncovers what may be a clue to his father’s identity.  The picture section of the book is the story of Rose in 1927.  She is deaf and refuses to be cooped up in her house and protected.  She has built a city of paper around her room and manages to sneak away to New York City.  As both children are drawn to New York, their stories come closer together and eventually become one.

Selznick has once again created a story that only he could tell.  His illustrations, done in line drawings, read cinematically, visually telling part of the story.  Here they perfectly capture deafness, offering readers a way of “reading” a book in pure silence without words.  It is a beautiful experience that is tangible and breathtaking.

Selznick takes readers on a journey here, because of the intertwining nature of the book, they must place themselves in his hands and simply trust.  Their trust will be rewarded as the stories come together with a click as the pieces meet.

The story also brings together divergent subjects into a whole.  The combination of the history of museums, silent film changing to sound, Deaf culture, and families would seem to be too many themes for any book to contain.  In Selznick’s hands, they are all ingredients in a satisfying recipe, each one adding flavor and depth that is uniquely theirs but none of them overwhelming the others.  It is a dance of balance that Selznick achieves effortlessly.

Highly recommended, this is a book that all fans of Hugo Cabret will want to get their hands on.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

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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: Blackout by John Rocco

| Tasha

blackout

Blackout by John Rocco

It was a normal summer night in the city.  That meant it was hot and noisy.  In their apartment, the family was busy.  Her older sister was on the phone.  Her dad was cooking.  Her mother was using the computer.  Everyone was much too busy to play a board game with her.  So she started playing a video game on her own.  Until the lights went out all over the city.  At first, the family huddled in the dark near their candles.  But then as it got hotter and hotter inside, they headed to the roof where they found a party going on.  They headed out to the street where there were more people enjoying the blackout.  The family wasn’t busy anymore.  But what would happen when the lights came back on?

Rocco tells this story in a nearly wordless format, allowing the illustrations to carry the story itself.  The illustrations are framed like a graphic novel, giving the entire book a hip feel.  Rocco’s illustrations have a wonderful play of light and dark, celebrating the stars, candlelight, the cool glow of a screen, and the warm yellow of flashlight beams.

This is a book about slowing down, enjoying the time together, and yet the book never becomes didactic or preachy.

Share this with a group of children, but prepare to have some time with the lights off to allow them to have their own adventures in the dark.  Just a few candles around the room, and it’s magical.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Book Review: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

| Tasha

penderwickspointmouette

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: The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine

| Tasha

absolutevaluemike

The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine

Released June 9, 2011.

Mike takes care of his father, who is a rather absent-minded mathematical genius.  But Mike is definitely not mathematical, despite his father’s hopes.  When Mike’s father decides to send him to spend the summer with distant relatives in rural Pennsylvania to work on an engineering project, Mike sees it as a way to finally prove himself to his father.  Mike discovers far more than an engineering project when he arrives.  In fact, there is no engineering project at all.  There is his wild-driving nearly-blind aunt, his uncle who is so deep in mourning over the death of his adult son that he can’t move, a homeless man who has good business sense and is willing to give the shirt off his back, literally, and a tattooed and pierced girl who needs a family.  He finds a town that is working on a project to adopt a boy from Romania, a boy that Mike realizes is very connected to him in a personal way.  Mike has a lot to learn this summer, just not about engineering.

Erskine is a chameleon of an author, changing her tone, her writing style to match this lighter novel that has a strong, meaningful core.  The humor here ranges from subtle to laugh-out-loud funny observations and asides.  At its heart, this is a book about a boy who doesn’t know his own strengths or his own worth, because it can’t be measured mathematically.  It’s a book that is steeped in math down to its chapter titles, but at the same time speaks to the knowledge that humans and their abilities sometimes don’t add up logically.

This is also a book about loss and grief.  It’s a book about handling what the world has given you either by giving up altogether or by continuing on.  It’s a book about connections, building them, creating them.  And about how the hardest connections to create can be the closest ones.

This is a funny, light book that reads quickly and will stun readers by being far deeper and more meaningful than they would have ever expected.  Appropriate for ages 11-14.

Reviewed from ARC received from the author.

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Book Review: What’s Special about Me, Mama? by Kristina Evans

| Tasha

whatsspecialaboutmemama

What’s Special about Me, Mama? by Kristina Evans, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe

A child asks his mother what makes him unique.  She responds, “So many things, Love.”  He asks for examples.  She tells him that his eyes are unique, because they tell stories without words.  He dismisses that answer because he has always been told he has her eyes, so that’s not unique.  His mother goes on to talk about his skin color, which is just like his father’s.  Then his freckles, which are like Auntie Jade’s.  His hair is like his grandmother.  She starts to talk about the things he does, his special behaviors.  He continues to ask for more, until she explains that there is nothing little about love and that he is loved more than anyone in the world. 

The beautiful words by Evans have a rhythmic quality to them, a to and fro that works especially well here.  The conversation has its own ebb and flow, and then the mother speaks in a poetic and joyous way about her son.  It is a book that really speaks to the worth and special qualities of all children, but also of this specific one. 

Steptoe’s illustrations are done in collage and feature many different shades of skin the the same family.  The illustrations have bold colors and strong lines.  Done in crinkled paper, they have a texture and heft to them that is gorgeous.  I should also mention that the illustrations do not make it clear if the child is a boy or girl, making the book even more adaptable and interesting.

A joyous look at what makes someone special and unique, this book will have you smiling with its bright colors and embracing message.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Book Review: All the Way to America by Dan Yaccarino

| Tasha

allthewaytoamerica

All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel by Dan Yaccarino

Yaccarino tells the story of several generations of his Italian family in this picture book.  The book starts with his great-grandfather who grew up in a farm in Sorrento, Italy.  He headed for America in search of new opportunities, leaving his parents behind.  His father gave him a little shovel, reminding him to work hard, but remember to enjoy life.  His mother told him to never forget his family.  As time goes on, Michael and his descendants used the small shovel in a variety of ways.  Michael used it at his first job in America to scoop flour and sugar.  When he opened his own pushcart, he used it to measure dried fruits and nuts.  His son Dan used the little shovel in his market.  His son Mike used it to pour salt on the icy sidewalks in front of his barbershop.  And now Dan, the author of the book, worked hard himself and uses the shovel to on their terrace to grow fruits and vegetables.

I love the use of the symbol of the shovel to tie the different generations together.  Additionally, the ways that the shovel is used by different people add an interesting piece to everyone’s story.  Yaccarino has created a vibrant picture book from his heritage that is warm, friendly and intriguing.  His writing contains just enough detail to be interesting and to evoke a specific time, but not too much for the young audience.

Yaccarino’s illustrations have a wonderful graphic nature to them that is fresh, modern yet evokes the past clearly.  Watching the features of the family change from one generation to the next is a treat.  The illustrations are filled with color to the edges of the page, making for a bright, complete world.

A great pick to use with youngsters learning about their family tree, this book would also make a good place to start off family conversations.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

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

Also reviewed by Jen Robinson’s Book Page.

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