Pages: 416
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover
Click on the title link and read many people’s reviews, including mine, on Goodreads! The book is worth promoting in libraries, classrooms, and homes!
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 48
Publisher: Clarion
Edition: Hardcover
I am absolutely delighted and pleased by the collection of Sijo poetry (a traditional Korean form of short poems) paired with playful and often surprising illustrations. It will be fun to see children and grownups trying their hands on creating this kind of poems!
Filed under Book Notes
I found an entry on my pre-blog reading notes, on the day of finishing reading The Golden Compass for the first time, eleven years ago. The date was 9/11/96…
I wrote,
“I was Devastated.
How could the book end such way? I was all hoping for a completion, a happy reunion, a resolutioin.. and was thrown the cliff-hanger for BOOK II — which is NOT available yet. Oh.. what agony.
/complaint mode off!
What a treat. What a complicated and yet simple, deep and yet playful, violent and yet gentle, and moving and yet chilling book!
One thing that is so charming and yet so unsettling about Lyra is that, even though she has a truth-reader, and she is a truth-teller — she also masters the art of lying. She knows the truth about the people (or creatures) that she confronts, and then uses that knowledge to manipulate them and gain upperhand. Even though, since she is pure at heart and means only well, she does not apply that skill to harm people (just to kill the bad ones!) She is indeed the same as her mother, who is also a master in the art of deceit.
Pullman’s portrayal of a parrallel world to 19th century earth (Oxford, London, The Arctic, etc.) is almost hypnotic. The fascinating description of Daemons (substantial representations of humans’ souls that live and die with their humans and share all pain and joy with them) and the strong BOND between them and the humans is what draws me to the book in the first place and still is what works for me all the way til the end.
This is the 1996 Andersen award winner and rightly so.”
I couldn’t find an even earlier note about how by that time, I was losing heart at the state of Fantasy fiction for children and how I seemed to have lost my appreciation of this genre but The Golden Compass saved me and rekindled my love and faith in this genre.
Then… 11 years and 1 month and 20 days later — I sat in a friend’s apartment, at a small gathering of children’s lit. lovers, eating pizza and sharing stories and toasting the upcoming movies, the online community of child_lit listserv, and the friendship we forged through discussing children’s books — with Philip Pullman! I told him in person how I felt when the first book ended. He asked my opinions over which Harry Potter to read (The Third, of course) and also whether I liked Jonathan Stroud’s work and Megan Whalen Turner’s books and genuinely valued what I had to say about them. We talked about the bench and he related the tender story of discovering a wooden heart left on THE BENCH, with the carving dedicating it to Lyra and Will.
I still couldn’t quite believe that this night had happened, but I do have this to prove to myself:
Filed under Book Notes, Child_lit Archive, Field Reports, Views
Pages: 352
Publisher: Henry Holt
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
It’s impressive how Jonell manages to inform the readers of all characters’ personalities, feelings, and actions without ever straying away from Emmy’s perspective: readers only know what she sees, hears, and thinks. The outlandish circumstances with all the super(magical?)-powers of the rodents are accompanied by a gentle tale of friendship, longing for parental love, and the essence of stable families. I mentally applauded the several jabs at the absurdity of the over-scheduling of our children.
The illustration with the flip-book margin of Rat falling and Emmy catching him ceases being a gimmick when it visually sums up the spirit of the story: “Don’t worry. We’re friends. I will catch you if you fall.”
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 191
Publisher: Roaring Brook (originally Randomhouse, UK, 2005)
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
What a feat… a tender, courageous, and often wryly humorous tale about the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Denmark. (Even if it’s just a small corner of the world the Nazi’s had a hold on.) Because of the courage and ingenuity and the strong belief in human equality of the Danish people, most of the 8000+ Jews were sheltered, transported to safety, and survived. This story from pre-and-early-teen Basme’s (Teddy Bear) view point should be introduced to as many young readers as we can! It does not have extremely gruesome depictions that will upset young readers who have yet to know this part of our history, but it has plenty of nerve-wrecking moments and conflicts to hold one’s attention and interest. There is great sacrifice and a few upsetting events (at least two quite irrevocable sufferings) toward the end of the tale, justifiably depicted. I cried, laughed, and gasped with terror, during the great theatrical scene that Mama staged to save their neighbors. Knowing that the story is inspired by family histories and relatives of the author I bought the story even more.
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Pages: 224
Publisher: Random House
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
A great survival story, a thrilling adventure, an intriguing mystery, and a tall tale. It reminds me of Paulsen’s survival stories but seems to have even more layers and with incredibly enjoyable wry humor: “It was a face deciding what to say and how to say it, and the truth didn’t look as if it was a factor in the decision making.”
“The bottom of the trash bag was full of boiled crawdad dead. Those remaining in the pool wandered about, confused by the sudden spaciousness.”
“Jeffrey was dragged out by his shoulders and then propped up with his back against the couch. The bag was still blood-glued to the back of his head and stood out around it like a white plastic halo.”
Yup, a few gruesome scenes: for example: dealing with and collecting useful things from a dead body. I loved those scenes.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 330
Publisher: Little, Brown
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
This grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go the entire time! Instantly, I was intrigued by the Frankeinstein quote and the strange conversation between the two disembodied voices. Edgar’s tale then unfolds with lots of fast paced action and suspenseful plot twists, a cast of well-delineated major and minor characters, and wonderful illustrations (I’d like just a few more… um… maybe a dozen more, of Squire Broel’s pencil drawings, actually!) I know that there is quite a bit of environmental message attached and all the science might not be accurately scientific and border on magical elements, but I bought it all: the world, the characters, the events, and wasn’t even that distraught to find no ending to this particular portion of the tale.
I was reluctant to start reading the book, since there is a half-wrap dust jacket and a Bonus CD-ROM — gimmicks that made me skeptical: the book must not be that great if they need to include special cover design and extra materials to draw readers! Glad that I did read it, really glad!
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Pages:
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
I got the book shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, July 21…, at “The Harry Potter Place” party hosted by Scholastic. Spent 2 hours reading it (1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.) — thought, “Now, this is quite good. I’m not annoyed by redundant adjectives or adverbs or repetitive verbs… And I’m really sucked back into this world again. How wonderful this feels!” Then, most of the day and evening of July 21 was spent reading/dozing off/reading/dozing off on the comfy chair in the living room. Dozing off, not because the story wasn’t exciting but simply due to exhaustion. So, these early chapter and adventure took on a dreamy quality — I wonder if it’s the text or just because I was dreaming … and Harry was doing a lot of dreaming and seeing through another’s eye. His was nightmares, mine was a reader’s trance. Being a slow reader, I couldn’t finish it on Saturday. And I dared not get online to visit any book places, in fear of knowing what comes next. Not that it would have spoiled my experience… but, in a book full of deliberately hidden clues and mysteries, it was more fun to not know anything and slowly discover the “truth.” Sunday saw me busy entertaining house guests and stealing moments to dip back into the tale. By bedtime, I was so deep into the world and so engrossed with the plot threads that I knew today (Monday) couldn’t be spent in any other way but finishing it.
And finishing it I did, with much shedding of tears, much satisfaction with certain of my “predictions” came true, delighted in the reappearance of certain characters and elements from previous books, and inevitably slightly annoyed by a couple of threads and characters left underdeveloped. But, over all… it was a truly satisfying conclusion to a long journey. The many many pages in this case are not wasteful or draggy, but fitting for the exhausting and arduous journey that Harry and the Gang undertook. I’m just, really, pleased.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 192
Publisher: Firebird (Penguin Putnam)
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
I find this short fantasy highly entertaining and extremely delightful. Diana Wynne Jones has such a strong sense of language to convey humor, mystery, the fantastic world and its richly drawn characters. For example, when Haley first met Tollie, and was taunted by him, her thoughts were, to “pull pieces off him — ears, nose, fingers… so long as they came away with lots of blood–” (p. 4, p.5) This extreme thought both illustrates Haley’s feisty personality and also establishes the tone of the story early on. That it is going to be full of strong emotions and funny bits. And throughout the book, this tone is consistent.
There are vivid scenes that have stayed with me for months: the raw pork chop stuck in the drain, Flute and Fiddle standing by the street corners walking through walls, performing magic, Aunt Aster being carried in Orion’s arms racing down the street, the various beautiful and dangerous strands and encounters in the Mythosphere. I am impressed by the author’s ability to weave a very rich story within a slim volume.
Many other light observations that are both humorous and acute such as this, “Nodding and smiling turned out to be a habit with Marthya. She used it instead of understanding English. She used it particularly when Grandma told her to clean the silver or sweep the stairs.” (p. 31)
I also really enjoyed how the readers are as puzzled, confused, and baffled as Haley at the beginning of the story, and, how, there are clues that the readers start to piece together to get the whole picture, while Haley still is unaware of the situation… but eventually, there is enough of a surprise toward the end that it won’t bore the readers who have somewhat figured out these characters. Jones’ ability to weave tales together ambiguously and then slowly revealing the inter-dependent details is once again so masterfully done. Each character is drawn so vividly and every danger is breath taking. What a treat!
Filed under Book Notes
Author: Jackie Urbanovic (also the illustrator)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
This is an absolute WINNER! The text is sparing and just right to convey the situations from page to page — I enjoyed the individual thoughts from the animals mixed in with the straightforward text.
Each animal in the house is distinctly designed and incredibly adorable/attractive/expressive. Their body language speaks volumes!
The surprising second-to-last spread made me *GASP* with horrified delight.
This whole package just WORKS!
Filed under Book Notes
Author: Janice Harrington
Publisher: FSG
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
I would have to say that this is one of the most joyful picture books I’ve read this year. I adore everything about it. It’s incredibly fun to read the text out loud and to hear it read. It is colorful and energetic, full of poetic inventions:
“wash away the dreaming and brush my teeth whiter than a biscuit”
“fast as a mosquito buzzing and quick as a fleabite”
and listen to the cadence and joy of these glorious lines:
“I think of all kinds of chicken thoughts so they won’t know I’m up to something.
Corn, I think, bright, shiny knuckles of yellow corn.
Eggs! Eggs! Eggs! Goldy-brown eggs all warm, warm warm.
Corn bread, corn bread! Crumb and crumble bread.
Worms, Slurms, swishy, swishy-mishy, ickly-tickly worms”
Oh… I’m having so much fun just looking at these words and lines.
And then, of course, there are these glorious illustrations — where the energy, the colorfulness, and sunshiny fun is captured and further expanded. The mixed media with real object collage illustrations convey the carefree high spirit of our heroine. The most effective compositions are the ones that explode outward:
The page with Pah-Quawkkkkk! and Quawkkkkkk exploding in the center of the spread.
And there are pages more subdued but no less pleasing. There is a great pacing of action verses internal thoughtfulness both in the text, and especially in the illustrations. This is just GLORIOUS! I said it a third time now :)
Filed under Book Notes
Publisher: Random House Audio
Edition: Text: 1977; Audio Book, read by Paul Giamatti, 2006
Loved the enigmatic plot line and shared the despair of the main characters in such bleak circumstances. Giamatti’s more than competent rendition of the text added to the appeal. I usually only listen to audio books when washing dishes or doing chores, but this one I had to listen on my iPod in bed and on the bus… couldn’t stop, especially during the latter half of the story. There are also many moments of absurdity that are both laughable and pitifully so. Really glad that I got to know this story — and now am wondering, “How on EARTH could they make this fairly introspective novel into a movie?” But, then, Blade Runner (based on Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) was made and successfully so, although it is true that the book and the movie are quite different, both powerful in their own ways.
It was nice to finally understand the meaning of the title, too!
Filed under Book Notes
Publisher: Philomel
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
It is definitely Quirky, with that capital Q! The tall-tale tone and the magical and outlandish plotline are consistent and coherent in their own way. Very strong opening scene and concluding passages.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages:
Publisher: Dial
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The tone, matter-of-fact, aloof, observatory, self-aware, emotionally detailed — is very interesting — at least at the beginning. It becomes a little boring after a while. The chapters from Colleen’s viewpoint are told pretty much in this same tone, which does not quite fit her timid personality. Even though the story is seen through Emma-Jean’s eyes and thus are all exaggerated (slightly or largely,) certain events (such as the Queen Been losing her hold on the 7th-grade populace) still need the real-life logic to convince this reader.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages:
Publisher: Roaring Brooks
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
I really appreciate the layered perspectives from all parties and the courage Tom Pow exibits as an author to not put forth a more popular view point in condamning the captors. The setting is brought to life vividly and each character and their back story convincingly portrayed.
The switch from Part I to Part II is a little too fast and it took some adjusting to change gear and expectations. To have the second part as an unpolished manuscript that Martin scribbled in one night seems a bit far-fetched, though.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 442
Publisher: Greenwillow
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
Hallucinating. Mesmerizing. Tantallizing. Extraordinary.
(Charming, seductive and completely enthralling – as described by Eoin Colfer, which is apt, as well.)
I especially adore the fact that, instead of leaving the identity of The New Policeman subtly hinted and hidden for readers to puzzle over (although it got more and more obvious as the book goes — perfectly executed, those little hints throughout), there is a resounding confirmation. It makes this a most satisfyig children’s book: the readers are not left with a malencholy that hangs over our head — which it can EASILY go.
The short chapters match so well with the missing Time. As an Irish music fan, I can’t help but humming all the tunes after each chapter. How cleverly done those are — and Thompson even composed a couple herself.
This is a deserving award winner (of both the 2005 Guardian and Whitbread Awards) and should be relentlessly promoted to all worthy young readers!
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 533
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
The superb and impeccable design gives me such pleasure that I feel like hugging this big fact block of a book every time I see it! Selznick’s cinamatic illustrations that take up most of the 533 pages, blend seamlessly with the crisp text and enigmatic storyline.
I like how Hugo’s plans do not always pan out the same ways he imagined — often they go wrong, but in a very realistic way. The adults intervene just the right amount so the situation never becomes hopeless without reducing the excitement generated by Hugo’s desparation and urgency. Of course, there are a lot of coincidences, following the Dickensian storytelling tradition.
A most wonderful offer!
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 217
Publisher: Delacorte
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
I agree with almost every notion Namioka presents in this book: that no singular experience (no matter one’s race or heritage) is truly shared by all and that one has to discover and rediscover one’s heritage and relationship with that heritage over and over again: a life long endeavor.
However, these “messages” are so heavy that I felt as if being sat on by a giant troll and had the air squeezed out of my lungs the entire time while reading this book. This is not an organic story, growing out of the young couple’s (Japanese and Chinese American teens) love for each other, but a plastic plant with the author’s hands manipulating the shapes of the branches and the color of the flowers and all the folds of the leaves. It seems such a shame that a potentially profound story can become so superficial and the “solutions” of the cultural and racial conflicts are unconvincingly simplistic. I cannot bring myself to believe that the grandmother (who is about my own mother’s age, with similar experience as a Chinese young girl in Japanese occupied China) would have accepted the Japanese family within a week of her discovery of this dating business. How can someone’s life-long bias against an entire orther race be altered overnight? Anyone who does not have this specific “Asian” experience should still know that racial biases do not get resolved like this. This story’s all happy endings render all the messages too lightweighted to matter at all.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 260
Publisher: Atheneum (S&S)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
Kadohata’s strength lies in her quiet tone and close-up examination of the main characters’ thoughts and feelings. Weedflower is a perfect example. The readers are intimately familiar with every strand of emotion in Sumiko’s life but the full picture of the time in history is a bit foggy. The fate and experiences of Sumiko’s uncle and grandfather (in the prison camp) is also sketchy at the best. This is in keeping with Sumiko’s young girl perspective. There is no telling if Kadohata had opted to force other pieces of the historical puzzle into the telling, the result would have been a more diluted or intensified tale.
My personal issue with this book is my indifference to Sumiko. I don’t find her particularly inspiring or even likable. Her status as a social outcast seems more self-imposed than forced upon by others and her small triumphs did not stir much admiration in me. I felt impatience and displeasure, rather than empathy, for her. Maybe because she seems way too self-absorbed – which, once again, shows the author’s skill at portraying a realistic person without false glorification. But, I need that glorification. I need to see that she opens her eyes and understands more about what is affecting her people, and not just how miserable her own life is or what’s going in within her immediate environment.
Report from the field: Several people (of Japanese and general Asian descent are troubled by the cover. Their first reaction has been consistent: “No one at a Japanese-American Internment Camp would have worn a kimono! That is entirely inaccurate!” And besides, Sumiko never once wore a kimono throughout the entire story.
Filed under Book Notes
fairrosa: So, how would you describe this book?
Lily: I would describe this book as funny, sarcastic, and cute.
fairrosa: Anything else you’d like to share?
Lily: Yep. I liked it because it was full of ideas that were cool.
Filed under Book Notes
