love

Review: Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

| Tasha

plant a kiss

Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Perfect for spring and Valentine’s Day, this book celebrates the way that love can grow.  A little girl plants a kiss in the ground using a shovel and watering can.  Then she gives it sun, water and attention.  For awhile she doubts if it is going to grow into anything, but then there is a sprout of glittery yellow and pink emerging from the ground.  Others gather around and she decides to share it, she hands out glowing yellow and pink wisps to everyone, even though others try to warn her that it is too rare and precious to share.  When she runs out, she heads back to her plant where she discovers that there is even more to give away!

When glitter is added to a book, it does a lot to create immediate appeal.  Unfortunately, many glitter-filled books don’t live up to that shimmery hype.  This one though is one that is designed to share, just like the kiss itself.  Rosenthal’s writing is light, airy and offers just a few words per page.  While her message of sharing love is clear, there is nothing preachy about the book, thanks to the cheery writing.

Reynolds’ art has that same light feel, including the wafting glittery clouds of kiss.  His young protagonist has a great quirky quality to her.  The glitter is incorporated into the story very successfully, adding to the book rather than distracting from it. 

The perfect snuggling book for the little one that you plant kisses on.  Appropriate for ages 3-5 and could be used as a gift for adults as well.

Reviewed from copy received from HarperCollins.

Review: One Love by Cedella Marley

| Tasha

one love

One Love by Cedella Marley, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Marley has adapted her father Bob Marley’s famous song into this picture book.  The book follows the same arc as the song, but is simplified considerably.  Fans of the song will definitely try to sing along with the words since they are so iconic.  Children who don’t know the song will discover a vibrant picture book where the words give the emotion, but the pictures tell the story.  It’s the story of a community coming together to turn a vacant lot into a park, One Love Park.

This simple picture book owes much to the original song.  It’s where the book gets its heart.  The words are pulled directly from the song and in picture book form read aloud well.  Just like the song, the emphasis is on community, love, and creating a new world together.

Brantley-Newton’s illustrations add so much joy to this book.  They are full of color and movement, the multicultural cast of characters are vibrant and glowing.  Readers can also keep an eye out for visual references to Bob Marley.

Simple, lovely and powerful, this book is definitely worth celebrating.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Here’s the book trailer:

And I Love You

| Tasha

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And I Love You by Ruth Krauss & Steven Kellogg

A celebration of parental love, this book has verse that pairs large and small together in relationships.  The big forests love little trees.  Big seas love little shells.  And my favorite: Big stories love little words to fly around in.  Each large element is shown and then the page turns to reveal the other smaller element that matches it.  Krauss’ poem is lovely, gently showing the devotion of a parent in ways that are tangible and in relationships that children will understand.  The book will work equally well for any adult with a child, whether it is a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or guardian. 

Krauss’ poem is very brief, just a few words per page.  Her verse captures love in so few words that it is amazing, making it very accessible for young readers. 

Kellogg’s art has his signature style, but also an added dimension that is very interesting.  His usual characters with their bright eyes are featured.  On some of the pages, where appropriate, a texture has been added to the illustrations, sometimes organic like grass clippings and other times thicker paint that is built up for the background.  His friendly characters are shown on these textured pages as well, creating a wonderful mixed media picture book.

The perfect book for a new baby gift or for adoptive parents, this book would also make a great board book too thanks to its few words and gentle spirit.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

| Tasha

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Released April 2010.

Will Grayson is gay, depressed and only has one friend, Maura.  She’s more a friend of convenience with their snarkiness holding their friendship together.  Will heads out to Chicago to meet a boy he’s fallen for online, only to find out that Maura has been pretending to be that boy online.  This puts him on a path to meet another boy.  The other Will Grayson is straight.  He has lived most of his life in the large shadow of his gay best friend, Tiny.  Now he has started to like a girl, Jane, that goes to school with them.  Meanwhile Tiny is working on his very fabulous and very gay musical that is all about his life and prominently features Will as a main character.  Though both boys are different, there are similarities.  They both want to avoid feeling things too deeply, but their lives change after meeting one another.

These two great authors have created an incredible novel that is the best work of their of their careers.  Each author writes alternating chapters in the voice of their Will Grayson.  Green writes the straight Will Grayson with his trademark intelligence and humor.  Levithan writes the gay Will Grayson with equal humor that has a snap and darkness to it.  The two combined really make for a novel that readers will never want to end.  Add to this the genius that is the character of Tiny, a huge boy with an even bigger heart who lives life to the fullest.  He forms the hub of the novel, the voice of the musical, and the applause for both Will Graysons in all their differences and similarities. 

I love finding books that are savvy, smart, silly, funny, intelligent, irreverent, and honest.  This is one of those books.  Put it in the hands of teens, let them see themselves in it because we are all of us there in this book.  Gay and straight, we are there, and we can hear the truth and love being spoken in this novel.

Highly recommended, this is the best novel of the year so far.  Brilliantly written, gorgeously complex characters, and humor.  What more could you want? 

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy from publisher.

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Henry in Love

| Tasha

 

Henry in Love by Peter McCarty

How do you create a great romantic picture book?  Well, first it must include fresh-baked blueberry muffins.

Henry woke up to the smell of muffins baking and was given one to take to school for snack.  Henry thought Chloe was the loveliest girl in his class.  Whenever he looked at her the wind started to blow and he saw poppies, flowers and grass.  At recess, Henry decided to go up to Chloe even though his friends thought it was a bad idea to talk to a girl.  After Henry demonstrated his best somersault, Chloe showed him her perfect cartwheel.  Then a game of tag started and Henry chased after Chloe.  Back in class, the teacher rearranged their desks and guess who Henry got to sit right next to?  Just in time to share his blueberry muffin.  Now that’s true romance!

A large part of the reason this book is so successful is the art.  As you can see from the cover it is done in inks with touches of watercolor.  Color is used subtly here to great effect. Even the slightest color is magnified by the bare backgrounds.  The result is a book that is modern and charming.  McCarty includes small moments in the book that really make it a treat.  It made the book difficult to summarize because it is the collection of the small moments of Henry’s day that make this book such a delight.  Just as with color, words are used sparingly and offer just the right amount of story to carry the book forward.

A very sweet, honesty picture book, this story captures childhood crushes with dignity and appeal.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.