Book Buds Kidlit Reviews

Hiatus again. Drat.

2008-06-16T18:30:12-05:00

Okay, nothing says "go away and don't come back" more than announcing a blog vacation. But I get so many folks emailing (2-3 a day, at least) that I feel I owe both newcomers and longtime readers an explanation for my absence.

It's time for Book Buds' annual, totally involuntary, curse-my-blogging-luck hiatus. My first summer (2005), I gave birth, and, being the lazy sort, decided that if I managed to scrounge a half hour of peace here and there, I should spend it sleeping. Selfish, I know.

Back then, I was getting 12 hits a day, so it was no big deal. I'll probably go down to that again before the summer's out, but I'm afraid to look at my stats counter.

The next year (2006) I moved cross-country from L.A. to Chicago. Who emptied out the house, schlepped back and forth to Goodwill, packed and re-packed and futzed and fretted? Why, me. Who blogged? Not me.

And then last summer, my mother died of cancer. No blogging then, for all the obvious reasons, plus I had to pack up a sizable part of her house too.

That brings us to this summer. We're moving to Arizona. It's a dream come true--I still can't believe I talked Brett into this. No, I didn't need to convince him that lifestyle, family and health issues are no less important than career fulfillment, and it was time to achieve a better balance. He'd been saying that for years. What I did was finally lay out the roadmap for getting us there and then drop from shock when he listened.

See, ladies? They do sometimes ask for directions.

Now, I have to hold up my end. That means more boxes.

And less blogging.

I'll be back in mid-summer (I hope I hope). And of course this in no way affects The Cybils.

Happy summer, everyone.

Mmmm ... berry tasty

2008-06-11T06:45:00-05:00

Blackberry Banquet
by Terry Pierce; illustrated by Lisa Downey
Sylvan Dell

This snappy rhyming text has all the woodland animals zeroing in on a blackberry bush with its yummy, just-ripe treats. That is, until growly Bear turns up, sending them all scurrying in a farcical cascade of mishaps. But who will get the last berry--and the last laugh?

Pierce keeps the text light, with lots of appropriate onomatopoeia for all the animal noises when they're happily munching. Downey's lifelike art captures just a hint of whimsy in their gleeful gobbling. And, of course, there's more info on blackberries and their place in the "food web" and a yummy recipe for blackberry smoothie.

This is one of Sylvan Dell's better outings this season, with a more imaginative and sprightly treatment of a nature topic, but one that doesn't stray far from its factual basis.

Rating: *\*\*\

Blackberry blog tour

2008-06-09T06:52:00-05:00

No, not that Blackberry, silly. Author Terry Pierce will be answering questions about her delightful new nature book from Sylvan Dell, Blackberry Banquet. I plan to run a review on Wednesday, so check back here.

I would've participated too, but I've got boxes piled shoulder high in anticipation of our imminent move to Arizona. More on that another time, though.

Meantime, Pierce is slated to appear twice this week:

Tuesday she'll be at illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba's blog.

Thursday she'll answer questions from the always-terrific, kidlitosphere goddess Anastasia Suen.

And don't forget to drop by on Wednesday for my review.

Thanks to the folks at Sylvan Dell for their hard work setting this up.

Topping the towers

2008-05-21T06:57:00-05:00

McFig & McFly: A Tale of Jealousy, Revenge, and Death {With a Happy Ending}
by Henrik Drescher
Candlewick Press

Y'know how that whole keeping-up-with-the-Joneses thing goes. It can start simple, with, say, a not unreasonable desire to be spared humiliation on the playground as the only kid without Pokemon cards. Before you know it, though, you're on track for a sub-prime mortgage and a Hummer.

Drescher warns kids away from worshiping the Prada-clad bitch goddess in this tale of two widower Dads whose friendship falls victim to DIY one-upmanship gone mad. McFig lives in a sweet little cottage with his daughter, Rosie, until McFly buys the lot next door with his son, Anton.

The two are best buds, and when McFly admires McFig's cottage, they build an identical one together. Then McFly gets all fancy and adds on a tower. McFig retaliates with a rooftop playroom. And on it goes, until the two houses rise like vertical villages, in a riot of colors and inky lines that spill into a jumble of rickety planks and pieces.

Meanwhile, of course, Anton and Rosie grow up and fall in love, not that their Dads notice. Is this a critique of those busy-beaver Baby Boomers by their laid-back Millennial offspring? Or a sad tale of two testosterone-crazed fathers mired in mid-life crisis?

At least they're not pitting their kids against each other, as my mother did with her best friend. That leaves scars. This only leaves two heaping piles of junk, and a funny tale for kids to shake their heads at.

Rating: *\*\

Help needed over at Cybils

2008-05-19T08:48:10-05:00

Hey all: If you're a Graphics Novel fan, you might know how to help us over at Cybils. We have five missing authors and illustrators who need their prizes.

Check out the post at Cybils for more info.

What Gods Do After They Fall

2008-05-19T06:21:00-05:00

Runemarks
By Joanne Harris
Random House

Reviewed by Brett Levy

In a refreshing change of scenery, author Joanne Harris avoids the rutted road of Anglo fantasy and instead builds her characters around fallen Norse Gods trying to get by 500 years after their fall from grace.

More than just along for the ride is Maddy, who was born with an odd Rune on her hand. Shunned by her parents and small village, Maddy eventually discovers the meaning and power behind her birthmark with the help of a less-than-friendly man named One Eye and Loki, the Trickster.

While Maddy might be a symbol for hope to the Ancient Gods, the mysterious Order and its powerful “Word” is something else entirely. Our heroes must discover the intentions behind who or what is running the Order, which has banned dreaming and magic.

Equally refreshing: Maddy’s adventures reveal a strong female protagonist who has a smart head on her shoulders to boot. No silly Lara Croft stereotypes here.

My only beefs: it can be challenging at times to keep the Norse figures and Runes straight, and it is somewhat disconcerting how Maddy’s importance seems to diminish during the final moments of conflict.

Regardless, Runemarks restores some originality to magical worlds by transforming old stories into new.

Travel to Europe for Poetry Friday

2008-05-16T06:21:00-05:00

Someday When My Cat Can Talk
by Caroline Lazo; illustrated by Kyrsten Booker
Schwartz and Wade

reviewed by Kelly Herold

Cats have fascinated humans for thousands of years. Their enigmatic smiles, their tendency to snub their humans for any minor slight, their expressions of deep knowledge and understanding. What is he thinking? is something a cat owner often considers.

The little girl hero of Caroline Lazo's Someday When My Cat Can Talk has some ideas about her cat's inner intellectual life. Her cat, she thinks, has a tale to tell about a trip abroad: "He'll tell me how he hopped a ship/and where he stowed away./He'll cheer the wind that blew his fur/as he sailed beyond the bay."

The little girl's cat travels all about Europe--from England to France to Spain and Italy. And Lazo's rhyming text conveys a sense of fun and humor throughout the tale. Take this stanza, for example:

He'll speak fondly of the snail he met
while camping out near Cannes.
And he'll whisper why she's hiding
from the chef at Cafe Sands.

The cat comes home to the little girl, who imagines he'll tell her stories about his European travels. But the cat, alas, is a cat in the end and the little girl and the reader is left to guess about his adventures: My cat will tell me all these things/when he talks to me someday./Until then, when the sun goes down,/he always sneaks away.

Kyrsten Brooker's paintings--in a warm palette of dark greens, reds, blues, and browns--merge an impressionist style (a la Cezanne, in this case) with touches of collage. Their quirky, but approachable, style works beautifully with Lazo's rhyming text.

Pack your bags! Let's follow that cat this Poetry Friday.

A ratty little sister

2008-05-14T05:40:00-05:00

Rosie and Buttercup
by Chieri Uegaki; illustrated by Stephane Jorisch
Kids Can Press

Everybody who'd be perfectly happy swapping their siblings for a bag of chips, raise your hand. I have both mine in the air. Can I swap them even if they're full-grown? Please? I promise to eat the chips slowly.

Yeah, okay, I'm over the sibling rivalry thing. Mostly.

But if it weren't for that ages-old tussle over birth order, there'd be so much less fodder for adorable picture books, this one included. Rosie's a rat with pet crickets and a taste for dried dandelion puffs. She looks mighty cute in a tu-tu too, as depicted with European flair in Jorisch's watercolors.

Buttercup ruins a perfectly good solo act, and a fed-up Rosie offers her free to a good home. Fortunately, it's the babysitter down the street, who takes Buttercup off Rosie's hands long enough for her to cycle through her immediate bliss, then gradual remorse and finally, sheer panic.

If you've seen this before in other forms, it's fine to recycle the idea, as it rarely gets old. Rosie gives it a girly girl spin, though I'd have liked to see more of Buttercup's personality to better underscore their conflict.

Rating: *\*\

Planting a seed of kindness

2008-05-13T06:12:00-05:00

The Apple-Pip Princess
by Jane Ray
Candlewick Press

You know how the fairytale goes. There are three sons or three daughters and the aging father or wizard or king will leave all he has to the wisest one, as determined by some task or other they must complete that will prove which one deserves to rule.

The oldest is usually ambitious, the second is vain and competitive, the third has a good heart. They each set about scheming or building or vying for the king's attention, but the third prevails through some simple act of kindness or previously unsuspected wisdom.

Think King Lear but without all those messy deaths.

Ray offers her colorful take of the old tale in a naive style, which emphasizes its folkloric origins. She uses a warm palette, perhaps drawing from a Mediterranean or North African palette (judging by the dark-skinned family, though of course that's beside the point). A handful of mixed media collages are skillfully placed for maximum comic effect when the bad siblings wreak their havoc.

Three princesses each possess something of their late mother's--two choose material things, the third picks a simple box, which she fills with such charming keepsakes as a burst of nightingale song or a splash of sunlight. And, of course, an apple pip.

When the old king's challenge comes, Ray sets the stakes high: the land's been barren since the queen's death and devoid of birdsong or laughter. Each daughter has only a week to impress their still-grieving father. You're rooting for the youngest, Serenity, especially as the wicked older sisters only find ways to make folks more miserable.

Serenity doesn't fail in her mission, or in her ability to please readers too. She's a delight to watch in action, thoughtful and kind, and her smallest, simplest act of selflessness sprouts into something much larger than expected, as all good deeds in all good folk tales do. All her enchanted items get used in the process, but each has its payoff too. At no point does Ray belabor the message, and even the mean older sisters get a pleasant reprieve.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

I got a new camera for Mother's Day

2008-05-12T12:23:15-05:00