Bloggy break...

I'm taking the weekend off, though it's probably not the best of timing being as behind on reviews as I am. I really need to focus on some quality Cybils reading time and some housework time, so blogging and writing reviews is getting put on the back burner. I'll be back Monday!!

School of Fear (MG review)

Jacket description:
"Everyone's afraid of something...Madeleine Masterson is deathly afraid of bugs, especially spiders. Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying. Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces. Garrison Feldman is terrified of deep water.


Which is why this may be the scariest summer of their lives. Worse than detention or summer school. Even worse than the orthodontist. The foursome must face their phobias at the exlusive and elusive School of Fear. The school is unusual, to say the least. But 'terrifying' would be a more accurate description.


The curriculum is simple: Conquer your fears in six weeks or find our just how frightening failing can be."

Reminiscent of Mr. Lemony Snicket and his Series of Unfortunate Events, School of Fear is hilarious, if not a bit dark and satirical. Author Gitty Daneshvari has created characters, each having a phobia that is very real for many people out there and if you have a child who shimmies away from bugs and spiders or has a fear of heights, they may get a kick out of these characters and just how funny the fictional treatment process is at the school. 

I loved the beginning of each chapter, when the author shared a real phobia that people suffer from, many that I had never heard of. Did you know that didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school? Or that mnemophobia is the fear of memories? Lots of cool little trivia facts in here!

There was definitely a good 50 page stretch in the middle that could have probably been eliminated without any plot problems. Toooooo long! Though it is certainly a light read and fun, there was just a bunch of unnecessary plot straying to make this one a quick read.

Illustrator Carrie Gifford did a great job at capturing the funny/creepy side of the story, with her black line drawings. The drawings are definitely funny, but they have that creep factor that a book titled School of Fear definitely should have.

Overall, a pretty good read. Hand this to fans of Lemony Snicket or even of The Mysterious Benedict Society. Amazon says 9-12 year olds would be the best age range for this one and I agree. Kids will enjoy it and parents will chuckle through it.

School of Fear
Gitty Daneshvari
352 pages
Middle Grade Fiction
Little, Brown Young Readers
9780316033268
September 2009
Review copy received from publisher


To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission for your purchase.

Alice in Wonderland, two illustrator's perspectives

I love looking at different versions of the same story, each interpreted by a different author and/or illustrator and ultimately deciding which parts of each story I like best. It's fun to compare and contrast, especially when the book is something truly popular, as Alice in Wonderland certainly is.

I recently looked at two very different versions of this much-loved tale, each based on Lewis Carroll's original story, but with different illustrators, allowing the books to come across as two very different stories.

The first, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is illustrated by Oleg Lipchenko, a member of the Ukrainian Union of Artists, now based in Toronto. This particular Alice edition is large, the size of a picture book, but 112 pages long and is illustrated very darkly. The Disney version of Alice definitely took away some of the darkness that the story does indeed posses and Lipchenko brings that back through his dark gray and brown drawings.

There is something very surreal about the illustrations in this one, which fits the story awesomely. If you have an older Alice fan, this would be a great gift book for them. Being that the color-tone is so dark and muted, younger children probably won't enjoy it quite as much, but older kids and adults will definitely appreciate the intricate drawings and beautiful faces the illustrator creates. 

The cover is just beautiful, especially once the dust cover is removed. It would look so pretty on a shelf, but it's wonderful once opened too!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
Illustrated by Oleg Lipchenko
112 pages
Juvenile Fiction
Tundra Books
9780887769320
November 2009
Review copy received from publisher


Alice in Wonderland, illustrated by Rodney Matthews, an English illustrator that has done work on record sleeves, computer games, and lots of books, among other things. It's still Lewis Carroll's famous story, but with a hugely different artistic interpretation. It all starts with the cover/box/sleeve the book actually comes in, which is designed in a very cool and unique manner, giving light to the fun you are going to find inside.

Bright colors all around and a strangely sci-fi take on the illustrations. Alice almosts looks alien-like on some of the pages, though not scary or creepy. Just weird. Different, in a good way. The scene of falling down the rabbit hole almost appears as if she's falling through space.

I really loved the brightness and boldness of the color choices and the double-page spreads done every once in awhile are just magnificent. They'll definitely hold your attention and allow for lots of looking around, discovering new parts of the story through the illustrations. Magical!

Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
Illustrated by Rodney Matthews
95 pages
Juvenile Fiction
Templar Books
9780763645687
September 2009
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission from your purchase. 

Mare's War (YA review)

Jacket description:
"Sisters Octavia and Tali dread the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn't your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto heels, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she's too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there's more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the Deep South and lied about her age to join the 6888th African American battalion of the Women's Army Corps during World War II.


Told in alternating chapters, half of them following Mare through her experiences as a WAC and half following Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, Mare's War introduces us to a larger-than-life character who will stay with readers long after they have finished reading."

I LOVED this book. Loved it. The characterization was absolutely amazing, leaving me completely entranced in Mare's story, while also totally believing in Octavia and Tali's personalities, the way they react to some of the stories their grandmother tells, and their overall attitudes. Tanita S. Davis managed to create this amazing menagerie of women in this book, all of which leave lasting impressions.

I really enjoyed the alternating chapters, between then and now, and feel that was probably the best way to tell Mare's story. At times it got intense, so the "Now" chapters gave the reader a break from the seriousness of WWII and allowed some present day teenage whining to take its place.

The amount of knowledge I had on African American women in WWII was basically zilch before starting this YA novel and now, I'm itching to learn more. Mare's War is not just a fictional story, it's an educational journey filled with sadness, poverty, war, death, and hope. We aren't taught about this part of history in school, which is a complete disappointment, but the truth. Davis gives us a history lesson within a fabulous drama.

Beautifully written, I would hand this to any teen girl, enjoying a good piece of historical fiction. I can see those fans of Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith, which I loved earlier this year, really liking Mare's War as well. I hope you'll check this out and then hand it to some teens...it's definitely worth your time. 

Thoughts on the cover:
It needs a bit of work. Not the most exciting thing to look at, that's for sure, leaving me wondering if it would be a first pick off a library shelf. The colors are very muted and pastel, and though the artwork is interesting and nicely done, it's not very attention-grabbing.

I read this one for the Cybil Awards.

Mare's War
Tanita S. Davis
352 pages
Young Adult
Knopf
9780375857140
June 2009
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission for your purchase.

Comfort (YA review)

Awesome, awesome book. That being said, on with the review.

Ann Fay is finally home from the hospital, where she sat for months, fighting to stay alive as polio ravaged her body. She's about to return to school, behind all of her friends, and is upset, not quite understanding why this has happened to her. She's not only behind in school, but she has to walk with loud, clunky braces, definitely making her stand out, rather than blend in with her classmates. At the same time, her precious father is also fighting some inner demons, having returned from the war an emotionally damaged man, mixing up Ann Fay's own emotions something fierce.

When Ann Fay is given the chance to go to the Georgie Warm Springs Foundation, started by Franklin D. Roosevelt, to continue her therapy and hopefully relearn to walk without assistance, she goes, but not without huge reservations. She doesn't want to leave her family, feeling they need her more than she needs to walk. Once Ann arrives, she makes friends, starts to truly heal, and really makes progress in her walking. Unfortunately, when a friend from home shows up with bad news from her family, Ann knows she has to make a huge decision, to leave her beloved Warm Springs or to stay.

So... Comfort is the continuation of Blue, which I've never read, so I'm not able to tell you how much I liked this novel in comparison to the other. Going in, I was a little apprehensive of reading a book that most definitely had a prequel, however I really felt it completely stands along, with whatever backstory is necessary given throughout the plot, without leaving the reader with the feeling that something is missing.

Author Joyce Moyer Hostetter's story is written in a manner that flows so well and really is comforting (like the title pun??) to return to. I spent a couple of days reading this one, not feeling the need to race through it to know what happens, but continually picked up when wanting something lovely and warm-feeling to read. One of my favorites of the year!

Safe to hand to middle graders or young adults.

Notes on the cover:
Yuck. Not a fan at all. My husband's words, when asked what he thought of it was "it looks like a school book on a dusty shelf in the school library." In other words, boring. Not interesting. Not intriguing to pick up at all. Honestly, probably wouldn't have grabbed it at the library unless it was a Cybils read. A classic case of "don't judge a book by its cover."

Hostetter also wrote Healing Water, which I loooooved last year.


Comfort
Joyce Moyer Hostetter
306 pages
Young Adult Fiction
Calkins Creek Books
9781590786062
March 2009
Book borrowed from the local library


To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission from your purchase.

Picture Book Saturday

Got quite the menagerie for you all today. Enjoy!
My favorite title read this week, definitely goes to Jane Yolen's reissue of The Seeing Stick. She illustrator Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini have created a magical reading experience, just begging to be placed in the hands of children. This is definitely on my Christmas giving list this year!

We have a beautiful blind princess yearning to see and an elderly man that promises her father, the Emperor, he can give her the gift of sight. No one believes the old man, but with the help of his Seeing Stick, young Hwei Min is able to see the world as she could never see it before.

The truly magical part about this enchanting book is the illustrations. Beginning dark and gray, they become brilliant with color and texture, itching to be touched. I tried finding some info on how Terrazzini created the amazing pages to go along with Yolen's beautiful fairy tale, but didn't have any luck.

Definitely check this one out! Buy it for young girls for Christmas or add it to your library shelves. It was originally published in 1977, but has just been reissued. I have not had a chance to see the original book, but this one is absolutely beautiful.


The Seeing Stick
Jane Yolen
34 pages
Picture Book
Running Press Kids
9780762420483
September 2009 (reissue from 1977 edition)
Review copy received from publisher

Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated) by Florence Parry Heide is  yes, another princess book, but this time on the funnier side. The Seeing Stick was much more serious...this one will have your kiddos laughing!

Told in a very humorous tone, this story follows Princess Hyacinth as she learns how to deal with being the odd kid out. If not weighted down, the Princess will float off, making it very hard to play with any other children, especially the young boy who wants to be her friend. When she decides she is just going to float anyways, no matter the danger, the Princess and the boy end up hatching a plan so they can play together and Princess Hyacinth is safe.

A very silly story, best read aloud. The illustrations, done by Lane Smith, definitely add to the humor, as the expressions on the characters faces are hilarious! A very cute read aloud.

Princess Hyacinth
Florence Parry Heide
32 pages
Picture Book
Schwartz & Wade
9780375845017
September 2009
Review copy received from publisher

The Jungle Grapevine, written and illustrated by  Alex Beard is one of those "lesson" books that doesn't quite feel like a lesson book. Which means your kids won't resent you for trying to sneak teaching into a story :)

When bird thinks he hears turtle say something, he tells another animal, who then tells another animal in the jungle. Panic begins to erupt amongst the animals, as the story becomes bigger and bigger until one of the animals discovers it isn't true. But then...it starts all over again!

Remind you of playing telephone? This is just how rumors get started and though the age group for this picture book is a bit young to be learning about the trouble of rumors, it's still a very cute book, a fun read aloud, and a nice one to discuss once you're finished. I liked the simple story line and the simple illustrations, making this a nice choice for even the youngest of listeners.

The Jungle Grapevine
Alex Beard
48 pages
Picture Book
Abrams Books for Young Readers
9780810980013
September 2009
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more about any of these titles, or to purchase, click on the book covers above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission from your purchase.

Walking Backward review

Jacket description (from ARC):

"After his mother dies in a car crash, twelve-year-old Josh is left with a father who is building a time machine in the basement and a little brother who talks to a toy Power Ranger as if it is his dead mother. With no faith to guide him, Josh makes death his summer research project. He collects facts, interviews, suspects, compares religious rituals and feels guilty when he enjoys playing soccer or winning computer games. Isolated by grief in a home where every day is pajama day, Josh waits for life to feel normal, for death to make sense, and for his father to start acting like a father."

I think the hardest book to write is probably one about death for middle graders or younger. Seriously, you have to explain it well, not too tough, not too easy. It must be a very difficult task to accomplish for an author. Catherine Austen has created a book and a character in Josh, that takes apart the innocence of a young boy, applies the factor of death of a parent, and puts that innocence back together very artfully.

Though the plot is a bit rough around the edges, the concept of the religion search and how Josh wants to examine different death rituals, is really cool. I thought his ideas of just how his mother died and why it would have happened that way are heartfelt and convincing. His character is written extremely well and realistically. In fact, all the characters, Josh, his dad, and younger brother Sam, are all well done and true to life. I think they each experienced the loss in real ways, as real people would, and slowly grew and healed.

Again, some parts of the plot are a little iffy and needed some fine tuning. I can't exactly explain which parts, but I came away from the book feeling as if it were a bit unfinished. A very nice choice to hand a pre-teen though or a reluctant reader. Easy to read, short, and dealing with a subject not easily dealt with.

Walking Backward
Catherine Austen
167 pages
Middle Grade Fiction
Orca Book Publishers
9781554691470
October 2009
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a commission for your purchase.