I'm the Best review

I'm the Best

by Lucy Cousins

Candlewick Press

May 2010

In this upbeat offering from Cousins, uber-competitive Dog is more than happy to inform his friends Ladybug, Mole, Goose and Donkey just who exactly is top dog. Dog can run faster than Mole, dig holes better than Goose, far outclasses Ladybug in terms of physical size, and can swim better than Donkey. Depressed at being outshone, Dog's friends all sit down to sulk until they realize that much like the game of rock-paper-scissors, they each have their own strengths: Mole can dig better than Dog, Goose can swim better, Donkey is the biggest of all of them, and Ladybug can fly, something that Dog can't do at all. Devastated, a weeping Dog realizes that he isn't the best after all and he tearily admits, "I'm mean to my friends." They reassure him that he has beautiful fluffy ears, which leaves Dog feeling like he's back on top again.

Clean backgrounds with plenty of white space makes the bold pencil-lined, bright watercolor illustrations really pop. Seeing the characters moods dip between glee, pride, dejection, disappointment and back again, with just a few simple lines is a testament to Cousin's skill as an illustrator. There's a child-like charm to the simple flowers, trees and sun that show up on a few of the pages. The inferred lesson of the book, about the perils of boasting, is delivered with a lot of humor and charm and never hits a didactic note. This funny story will suit children ages 2-5.


I borrowed this book from the library.

Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2011: Picture Book Edition

A Pet for Petunia

by Paul Schmid

January 2011

Harper Collins

I loved the clean lines of the illustrations for this book. I don't know if I'm sold on the kind of pet that Petunia pines for: namely, a stinky skunk!  This is sure to be a silly read.

Rabbit, Ribbit
by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery
Walker Books for Young Readers
February 2011

I can't put into words how excited I am to see veteran blogger Candace Ryan's newest book.  Ryan has a marvelously inventive sense of wordplay and fun.  Mike Lowry's cute and cheerful illustrations, with a hint of sass should pair perfectly with this text.

A Call for a New Alphabet
by Jef Czekaj
Charlesbridge Publishing
February 2011


When looking over any alphabet book, I always flip towards the back, to see how the author has dealt with tricky letter "X"  Xylophone or X-ray's are standard, but books that include rare but wonderful and unusual words such as "Xerxes" or "xenophobe" are a little less common.  Very lame are those books that resort to using words with "x's" in the middle or at the end of the word to sit in for a proper "X" word, such as "eXtra."  This offering, which imagines what would happen if "X" rebelled and created a New World Order looks very entertaining to me.

Where's Walrus?
by Stephen Savage
Scholastic
February 2011


Plenty to grab my attention here.  I'm not certain if this is wordless, or nearly wordless, but it features a Walrus on the run, various disguises and hats and oversize graphic design inspired illustrations.

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party
by Melanie Watt
Kids Can Press
February 2011


I'm a huge fan of the Scaredy Squirrel series.  Can't wait for this next installment to see what our favorite neurotic squirrel is up to next!

Cinnamon Baby
by Nicola Winstanley, illustrated by Janice Nadeau
Kids Can Press
February 2011


I love the delicate illustrations for this.  It sounds like a sweetly charming tale of a baker's family who uses the scent of cinnamon to soothe a crying child.

Dear Tabby
by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by David Roberts
HarperCollins
February 2011


A cat with an advice column needs to sort out her own personal problems.  I like the play on words, "Dear Abby" being synonymous with advice columns everywhere.

Mini Racer
by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Bridget Strevens-Marzo
Bloomsbury
February 2011


I have to admit, the thing that first drew me to this book was the picture of the cover, which reminded me a little of the "dog party" in the tree towards the end of Go, Dog, Go by Dr. Seuss.  I'm also reminded, a little, of Richard Scarry's wonderfully silly vehicles.  Just from the cover alone, we can see an ape in a banana-car, a bunny in a carrot-car, a mouse in a cheese-car and a dalmatian in a spotted-car.  I might end up recommending this to transportation-crazed kids who enjoyed The Trucker by Barbara Samuels.

Argus
by Michelle Knudson, illustrated by Andrea Wesson
Candlewick
February 2011


A dragon makes a surprise appearance in this story about a girl responsible for taking care of an egg.

Penny Dreadful review

Penny Dreadful
by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Abigail Halpin
Random House
September 2010


Penelope Grey leads a pretty regulated life at her family's mansion in the city, with a private tutor, maid and chef to take care of her every need. Bored, she decides to make a wish in an old well, for an everything change - a total life transformation. Shortly thereafter, her father quits his steady job in order to become a writer, something that leads to the financial ruin of the family, and an eventual move to an old great-aunt's house in the country which they've inherited in the small town of Thrush Junction.

Snyder really has a way of getting inside a kid's head, and understanding how they think, revealed in little details. For example, when Penny meets one of her new neighbors, a boy next door, she notes that he is wearing a striped shirt. She follows that observation by wondering why it is, exactly, that boys seem to wear stripes so often. Great question! This book reminded me of The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron; Penny even ends up trapped in a hole, briefly, relying on her friends to get her out of the jam, much the way Lucky does, except Penny Dreadful is much lighter and funnier in tone. No scrotums or dead parents in this novel. Penny's parents do seem pretty whimsical, almost to the point of absurdity, but the story has a certain quirky internal logic that never wavers.

Penny often falls prey to magical thinking, and the reader never really knows for sure... was the well she makes a wish on magical or not? Her reasoning is that her father quitting his job may have been her fault. So, she makes a second wish to "fix everything" deciding that if it works, the well is magical, and she's done her best, if it doesn't work, then the first wish coming true was only a coincidence and therefore not her fault. Like most readers, I'm betting on the well not being magical, but I love the fact that it's so open-ended.

Penny, an avid reader herself, is always hoping for an adventure, much like the things she reads about. I was tickled to see an homage to so many children's books in Penny Dreadful. Penny's mention of a book of "unfortunate events" that she's reading, where "a baby was about to bite someone," made me laugh out loud. She also mentions children's lit favorites such as The Penderwicks, The Secret Garden, Ramona, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and Ballet Shoes. Heartwarmingly, Penny wonders if another of her new neighbors, a girl about her age, Luella, will be the Betsy to her Tacy. This collection of classics is fine company to keep, and the sweetness of the story makes this book suitable for third through fifth grade readers.


I borrowed this book from the library.

ALA Youth Media Awards 2011

Color me surprised! What an interesting selection of winners.

The winner of the 2011 Printz award was Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.  I was glad to see a science-fiction title win.  It sounds quite steampunkish. I haven't read it yet, but am glad to see that I am number one in line for it at the library. Even though it's a grim, dystopian tale, I'm hoping that it isn't as cheerless as Philip Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles.

I was so happy that the Theodore Seuss Geisel award went to Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee. What a rare gem this book is. So well deserved.

For the Caldecott award, I was surprised to see Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein pick up an Honor.  I'd heard lots of buzz about A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead and Erin Stead. If I'm totally honest, I hadn't been rooting for it, especially.  I was disappointed that Flora's Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall and Matt Phelan didn't at least pick up an Honor.

For the Newbery award, talk about a dark horse! I'm amazed. I haven't even heard of this book, Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.  I was so ready for One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia to sweep the awards and pick up everything.  Still, One Crazy Summer did get the Scott O'Dell historical fiction award, the Coretta Scott King award, plus a Newbery Honor.  That's not too shabby!


Waiting to hear the awards felt so very odd to me this year.  When I'm not at the ALA conference in person, I'm used to being on the West Coast, and getting up at ridiculous hours of the early morning in order to hear who's won.  This year, I'm on the East Coast, and the awards were announced on the West Coast... meaning I had to wait all morning and into the afternoon to find out who the winners were.


My kudos to the award committee members, who give so much of their year to make these awards happen. I'm already looking forward to another year of reading, speculating and betting on next year's winners.

Thirteenth Princess review

The Thirteenth Princess
by Diane Zahler
Harper
February 2010

Zahler treats us to a retelling of the classic fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, by adding an intrepid and plucky younger sister for them. In a tiny kingdom, a jealous and suspicious king has outright banned magic, hoping to avoid the sorts of curses that other royal families are frequently subjected to.  I could barely keep the girls straight in my head - they have no real personality. Aurelia, Alanna, Ariadne, Althea, Adena, Asenka, Amina, Alima, Akila, Allegra, Asmita, Anisa. They are all pale blonde slips of girls.  The king craves sons, and basically kills his wife by continually putting her in labor. Angry, he sends his 13th daughter, Zita to live in the kitchens.  

Zita is a hearty, ruddy redhead, like her father. Unlike the belligerent king, she has a cheerful and pragmatic nature.  I was surprised that Zita never displayed any bitterness about her shabby treatment.  Having grown up in the kitchens and raised by the cook, Zita is used to hard work and has no idea of her history.  At age twelve, she's excited to learn that she's a princess too, and though worn out from her kitchen work, still manages to sneak visits to her sisters.  She looks up to her dad, even though he's been a jerk to her whole life.

The story pleasantly reminded me of George MacDonald's A Light Princess or Frances Hodges Burnett's The Secret Garden, with it's classic, timeless feel.  One minor quibble: I felt like the cover is misleading.  The gorgeous princess on the cover is mostly a scullery maid the whole book through.


When the sisters become ill, Zita is the only one who sees something sinister going on and makes an effort to discover who or what is responsible for their condition.  Of course, they are under an enchantment which forces them to dance nightly in a magical ballroom of the sub-basements of the castle.  Part of the enchantment is an inability to speak of it to anyone.

I was a little disappointed that Zita's solution was to go find a prince to rescue her sisters, rather than resourcefully coming up with something completely on her own.  I liked the disguising spell that friendly witch Babette (always ready with a pot of tea and fresh-baked goodies) teaches her.  It allows Zita to blend in to her surroundings, passing as a tree or shrub, a lamppost, even as a different servant; much better than an invisibility cloak!  Zita has a slight blossoming of romance with stableboy Breckin, but it is a very young, very innocent thing.  They hold hands, and culminate with a kiss by the end of the book.  There is a twist at the end that I didn't expect, with a villain who's been hidden in plain sight.  Charming and fun, this is a wonderful middle-grade read for ages 8-12.




I borrowed this book from the library.

Itsy Bitsy Spider video

I am enchanted with this expansion on the traditional Itsy Bitsy Spider song.  These hands are so expressive!

Replacement review

The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff
Razorbill
September 2010

Mackie Doyle's family loyally covers for the fact that he isn't human. He's a changeling - the "replacement" for the real Mackie Doyle, who died years ago. He's allergic to most metal (especially iron), cannot enter hallowed ground and has always had a fragile constitution. Not being able to enter churchyards poses a special problem, as his father is the local minister, but he covers for his son by building an outbuilding for children's programs just off the edge of the consecrated property. I loved the sense of the open secret which is at the heart of this book. Everyone in town knows. Nobody talks about it. Mackie's mother knows for certain the fae are real - she herself had been stolen by them once, but managed to escape, something which she does not ever care to discuss. She feels Mackie's being sent to her is a "punishment" for removing herself from the faery world. Mackie's best ally is his sister, Emma, who frequently goes to extreme lengths to protect her brother.

It turns out that the town of Gentry has long ago struck a bargain with the underworld - increased wealth and prosperity, and an unusual amount of good luck for the occassional human sacrifice. The Fae -- duplicitous, grotesque, weird and scary, seem to do very, very little to hold up their end of the bargain. They most certainly collect on their blood debt - kidnapping a human child every few years, and replacing it with an ailing castoff child of their own. But the town of Gentry has been financially hurting for years, and is now dominated by a crumbling ironworks factory. The Fae occassionally put on rock concerts, which leave the human audience members enthralled and enraptured, and for the moment they consider this payment enough.

Mackie is drawn in to some intrigue when a girl that he has a crush on tells him she believes that her dead baby sister is in fact, a changeling, and her true sister may still be living as one of the pets of the underground Fae.

I was reminded just a little, of the grim hopelessness of M.T. Anderson's Thirsty, about a inhuman boy whose loyalty is firmly with the human family that has raised him. Fans of horror with gory scenes such as The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong will probably enjoy this book. I loved the cover of the hardcover, with it's terrifying mix of sharp implements and baby carriage and shiny silver background, but teens will probably find the paperback cover, featuring a hunky but moody Mackie, even more appealing.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.