loneliness

Charlotte the Scientist Is Squished by Camille Andros

| Tasha

Charlotte the Scientist Is Squished by Camille Andros

Charlotte the Scientist Is Squished by Camille Andros, illustrated by Brianne Farley (9780544785830, Amazon)

Charlotte is a serious scientist with science instruments and protective goggles. She had one big problem, her family left her squished for room all the time. There was no space for her experiments where her siblings weren’t messing around with her equipment. So Charlotte started an experiment by asking a question, stating her hypothesis and then testing the hypothesis. Her hypothesis was that if her siblings disappeared, she’d have room to be a real scientist. Charlotte tried several ways to make her brothers and sisters disappear until she finally decided that she had to leave instead. She crafted a rocket and flew to the moon. She loved space, but as she drew her conclusions she realized that she was getting lonely. How would she find the perfect balance of space and family?

Andros has combined the scientific process with a picture book very successfully. It functions as a very strong structure for the story, using the book to both demonstrate the process but also to tell a good story about a girl scientist. The busy and crowded household will resonate with children reading the book and they will recognize their own wish for space at times, and maybe even outer space!

Farley’s illustrations are dynamic and busy. The crowded family and their interruptions to Charlotte’s experiments are clearly depicted. Charlotte’s carrot-shaped rocket is also lovely both on the moon and on earth. The images of Charlotte’s loneliness are suddenly filled with wide space despite the robot bunnies wrapped in toilet paper nearby.

An intelligent picture book with a strong scientific heroine just right for STEM units. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

| Tasha

Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly (9780062414151, Amazon)

Four middle schoolers start their summer vacation and steadily their lives begin to come together. There is Virgil, a quiet boy who lives in a family of loud, boisterous people. Except for his grandmother who understands him and tells him stories from her village in the Philippines. Valencia is a girl who is deaf and wears hearing aids to help her lip read. She used to have close friends but enjoys spending her days outside in the local woods where she takes care of a stray dog. Kaori believes that she has psychic powers and is helping Virgil gain the courage to speak with a girl he wants to be friends with. Finally, there is Chet who bullies Virgil and Valencia. He starts problems one day in the woods and Virgil finds himself in real danger. But can Kaori and Valencia figure out what has happened before it’s too late?

Kelly’s novel is rich and riveting. She writes about children who are lonely and interesting. The book speaks to children who don’t fit in, who are bullied, and who are unique in some way. It’s about staying true to yourself and not trying to be someone else. Important subjects weave throughout as well, including deafness and diversity. These enrich the novel even further, making it a book that grapples with important topics and yet stays entirely accessible and filled with plenty of action.

The characters are what make this book sing. Each of them is more than what could have been a stereotype. From the mystical Kaori to shy Virgil to Valencia and her hearing aids, each child has a full personality and plenty to offer the reader. Each is grappling with loneliness and unable to move forward though they know they need to. There is a beautiful theme of folktales and myth throughout the novel with the grandmother’s stories forming a basis for the coincidences and fate that brings our young heroes together.

An intelligent adventure of a book that is about friendships that seem impossible but happen anyway. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins Publishers.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

| Tasha

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (InfoSoup)

A ship carrying crates of robots capsizes in the ocean. Some of the crates float, only to be dashed on the rocks of a small island. One crate though survives and is left safely on the island. Some curious otters explore the crate and accidentally turn on the robot inside. That robot is Roz, designed to ensure her survival and help people. Soon Roz is exploring the island, climbing high on the rocks to see her surroundings. As she explores, the animals of the island declare her a monster and avoid her. Roz begins to acclimate to the island, figuring out how to camouflage herself. It is by sitting still and hidden that she starts to learn the language of the animals around her. As time passes, Roz is no longer gleaming and clean and she can speak with the animals. It isn’t until a deadly accident happens though that Roz shows the island residents who she really is.

This book is entirely magnificent. It is a book about nature, its beauty and grandeur and danger. It is a meditation on the outside, the power of it to change even a robot’s life. It is a look at the importance of listening and learning and finding one’s own way forward in unexpected circumstances. But most of all, it is a book about love and life and the way that finding someone to love transforms each of us.

There is something achingly beautiful about this book. Yes, there is more than enough action and humor to keep the book moving and of interest to children. Yes, the characters are brilliantly created and their relationships are drawn with skill and attention. Yes, its pacing is exceptional. It that ache though, that makes this book exceptional. The way that it is allowed to just be there, loneliness and acceptance, loss and love.

Truly an exceptional read created by a picture book author in his first foray into middle-grade books. Wow. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

 

Rose and the Wish Thing by

| Tasha

Rose and the WIsh Thing by Caroline Magerl

Rose and the Wish Thing: A Journey of Friendship by Caroline Magerl (InfoSoup)

This gentle picture book tells the story of a girl who has moved to a new home. When she looked out her window one night, she made wish. But the wish thing did not come. Rose could not be comforted when the wish thing did not respond. Nothing worked to calm her. Her entire family searched for the wish until they came to the sea. That is when they saw the box floating on the water. In that box, was the wish thing: a thing of tiny stitches and a red glass heart. And that is what let Rose head outside of her new house and make friends.

This Australian import has a gorgeous softness to it in both images and text. The story is warm and nurturing with a large family trying to comfort Rose, a rambling house with a garden, and a big furry dog. It is also a lovely strange tale that is not straight forward, but meanders a bit, travels a lot, and finds something special along the way. Magerl’s language is noteworthy too:

The evening tide came with gentle fingers to roll over the crabs and rock the stones.

The illustrations are soft and detailed. The fine ink lines are colored with watercolors which makes them both detailed and gorgeously nuanced in color. Pages of Rose and her family are alternated with illustrations of the wish thing’s journey to Rose. There is plenty of drama along the way.

A warm and gentle look at loneliness and how it can be transformed. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Penguin Random House and Edelweiss.

Big Friends by Linda Sarah

| Tasha

Big Friends by Linda Sarah

Big Friends by Linda Sarah, illustrated by Benji Davies (InfoSoup)

Birt and Etho are best friends. They love to spend time together up on Sudden HIll with their big cardboard boxes playing pretend. They imagine that they kings or pirates. They run and leap, sail and fly. They can be loud or quiet together. But then one cold day, Shu brings his box up the hill and asks to join them. Etho agrees to let Shu play, but the more he joins them the more left out Birt feels. Then one night, Birt smashes his box and stops going up Sudden Hill anymore. Is there any way to fix their friendship? Maybe with some boxes and a lot of imagination!

Sarah captures the feeling of a friendship hitting a snag with great precision and care. She crafts the story so that readers will feel Birt’s sudden isolation, the way that the easy play of two children falls apart when joined by a third. Sarah uses symbolism too, particularly when Shu appears. It is a “cramping cold” day that day, foreshadowing the emotions that Birt will feel. As they play as a threesome that first day, they watch “one kestrel and two lost clouds.” This lovely writing is striking and conveys emotions so clearly.

The illustrations by Davies create an entire world for the children. There is the beauty of Sudden Hill filled with flowers and grass combined with the joy of big boxes for play. Then as the story changes, the illustrations convey Birt’s emotions. The sky turns dark and sullen. There are lonely moments back at home where he is isolated and shut in. And finally, the exultant joy at finding a way to be together again.

A lovely book about the perils and possibilities of friendship. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Dog That Nino Didn’t Have by Edward van de Vendel

| Tasha

The Dog That Nino Didn't Have by Edward Van de Vendel

The Dog That Nino Didn’t Have by Edward van de Vendel, illustrated by Anton Van Hertbruggen (InfoSoup)

Nino has a dog, but it’s a dog he never had. It’s invisible to everyone else, but Nino can see it clearly. It’s a dog that climbs trees like a squirrel, loves deep water, and likes salty tears. But one day, that dog disappeared and a new dog took his place. It was a dog that everyone could see, one that had it’s own personality that is completely different from Nino’s other dog. Soon though, Nino is enjoying the new dog. But that doesn’t stop him from thinking up lots more animals that he’s also never had.

Just opening this book, you know you are in for a strange and beautiful treat. Originally published in Belgium, the book carries that elusive European flavor about it. The concept of an invisible friend or pet is not a new one, but as it is done here it takes on extra weight and meaning. Here, the pretend dog is a companion for a lonely boy, a comfort when he needs one, and someone who understands that he misses his father desperately. His real dog can’t quite do all of that at first, but he steadily does take over those duties just in a different way. This is a book about change, resilience and the imagination.

The art here is part of weaving that odd world. It is done in 70s angles and styles with the A-frame houses and long, low station wagons as vehicles. Even the colors hearken back to that time. The book is filled with night skies and bright hot days. Some pages are busy with details while others are open and wide white. Beautiful, strange and wondrous.

This is a strikingly unique book that will speak to anyone who is missing a parent and needs a dog of their own to help. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Review: The Only Child by Guojing

| Tasha

The Only Child by Guojing

The Only Child by Guojing (InfoSoup)

Based on the author’s childhood growing up in China, this is the haunting story of a child left alone at home who decides to take the bus to her grandmother’s house. But when she gets off the bus, she discovers that she is alone in a woods. She sees a stag in the woods and follows him until they reach a body of water. When the little girl slips into the deep water, the stag offers one of his antlers to rescue her and the two travel on together. Out further in the water, there is a light in the clouds and the clouds form stairs for them to climb. They enter a cloud world, filled with other creatures. Although the little girl is having fun, she does miss her family who are frantically searching for her back on earth. But how is she going to ever get back to them from high above in the clouds?

The author’s note that begins this book is crucial to understanding the story. A generation of single children in China led to them living profoundly lonely lives, sometimes left alone at home for the day. That loneliness seeps through every page here, even the joyous ones ache with it. This mash up of a wordless picture book and a graphic novel is exceedingly successful, offering a glimpse into a magical world of animals and clouds that show this small child the love and attention she is seeking at home. This story is hauntingly told with a magnificent heart that shines on each page.

The artwork here is soft and subtle, exuding a warmth even in the falling snow. The pencil drawings are detailed and lush. Guojing plays with light and dark, hope and loneliness throughout the book. The child is central in the book, shining on the page alongside her animal companions. The world of clouds is beautifully textural and playful, hugging the child and supporting her. This art is exceptional and communicates far more than words could.

A ravishingly gorgeous book, this graphic novel will be adored by a wide range of ages. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Schwartz & Wade.

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.

Review: The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

| Tasha

storm whale

The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

Noi lives with his father in a house by the sea with six cats.  Every day, his father goes out fishing, leaving Noi alone all day long.  One day, after a big storm, Noi sees something out on the beach.  It’s a baby whale.  Noi knows it will not live long without water, so he takes the whale home and puts it in the bathtub.  He spends time with the whale, telling it stories.  But he also worries that his father will be angry when he finds a whale in the house.  So Noi tries to keep the whale a secret from his father, but it doesn’t last for long.  A whale is a big secret to keep in a small family.  Together, the two of them return the whale to the sea, but not before they each learn something about one another and how to move forward as a stronger family.

Davies manages to tell a profound story using minimal words.  The text in the book mainly explains the action that is happening.  It does not offer insight into the emotions of the characters.  That is a large part of the power of this book.  So much goes unsaid but is clear to the reader.  Noi’s loneliness is shown rather than told.  Him lingering by the window as his father leaves, the fact that he brings the whale home across a stretch of beach rather than pushing him back into the nearby water.  Even the father’s reaction is shown this way, allowing the emotions to be realized rather than explained.

The illustrations tell much of the story here, but again in a quiet and frank manner.  The emotions are not broadcast from the character’s faces but from their situations and their body language.  It’s a brave way to tell a story about a father and son reconnecting with one another.

Adeptly conceived and powerful, this picture book speaks to loneliness and family, and would be great as a discussion book for young children about emotions.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Co.