Nonfiction Monday: Celebrate Hanukkah

Celebrate Hanukkah by Deborah Heiligman. National Geographic, 2008 (1-4263-0293-0) $6.95 pb

Aside from a short mention of how astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman spun the dreidel in zero gravity -- "it spins forever!" -- the most notable feature of this nonfiction book is the color photographs, which show Jewish children and Hanukkah celebrations all over the world. How fascinating to see Jews celebrating in India, Uganda and Rome. The text is simple and a little dull; surprisingly, the most interesting sections are in the collected information at the end, which includes a map of where the photos were taken, a glossary of terms, insights into the holiday from a Rabbi, a bibliography for further reading and a photo of Hoffman with his space traveling dreidel. A good basic introduction. (3-6)


(© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if books are purchased from Powells Boks via this site.

Review: I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb. Razorbill, (9781595143549) $8.99 pb

This is a hard book to critique, since I’m not the intended audience. It’s very creative, original and funny, which adults can appreciate, but also often gross and offensive, which not so much. Perhaps we're better off giving this to the kids and sticking to Evil Overmom. I did appreciate its cleverness, however.

Our narrator is Oliver, the school fat boy, whom everyone thinks is mentally slow. Little do they know that he’s really an evil genius putting on an amazing front, is fabulously wealthy and unbelievably powerful, and runs everything at their school. Anyone who tries to mess with him is rewarded with flatulence caused by a drug he invented, and he goes about his day enjoying the secret root beer/chocolate milk water fountain he had installed, and the toilet kept stocked with malted milk balls.

Although he admits to being fond of his "shapeless, witless mass of mousy hair, belly fat and boobs" mother ("Do I love her? Am I capable of love? A question even I can't answer) -- Oliver utterly despises his father. But the subtext tells a different story, of a boy desperate for his dad’s approval. When he decides to show up his father by winning the election for class president, he puts forth all his brilliance and tremendous power. But Oliver, being pure evil, doesn't realize how much "humans and their idiotic emotions" could foul up his plans. Emotions are the "only things in this world I can't control." Including, inevitably, his own.

The fantasy world -- or is it? -- is skillfully maintained, and anyone who’s ever been picked on in school will find it hard to resist the fantastical ways in which Oliver expresses his resentments and gets his revenge. I was very curious about how the story would resolve: would we ever find out if this is truth? Would Oliver ever admit to telling a story? I won't say how it ends, except that it was both consistent with the book's internal logic, and satisfying.

Photographs illustrate the story, but I didn’t feel they added much, and you won’t miss anything if you listen to the audio version (which is very well done, albeit tiresome at times. So much venom spewing can be painful to listen to.) I listened to audio for the first part of the book, then switched to an ebook. (Which I don't recommend, because there are numerous comic footnotes and those are a pain in eformat.) (Suggested age range: 13 & up)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Both review copies provided by the public library. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: The Yankee at the Seder

The Yankee at the Seder by Elka Weber. Illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Tricycle, 2009 (978-1-58246-431-2) $16.99

It’s the day before Passover, 1865, and ten-year-old Jacob is disappointed at the end of “the War of Northern Aggression”: “I was never going to be a Rebel general. I’d never capture a whole unit of Yankees single-handed.” He’s also scared at what the future holds: “No one knew whether the Union would treat us well, now that they’d beaten us.” So when he sees a real live Yankee soldier come walking down the street, his first reaction is not friendly. Then, much to Jacob’s amazement, he realizes the Yankee is a fellow Jew.

When he runs in to tell his mother, she invites “that Yankee” to their seder, telling Jacob: “Jacob, every year we being the seder the same way. We say, ‘All who are hungry, let them come and eat; all who are in need, let them join us for the Passover meal.’ A hungry man needing a seder has come to our home. Would you send him away for wearing a blue coat?”

“Maybe,” thinks Jacob.

The seder progresses as usual, with one little hiccup. Jacob’s father pointedly speaks up in favor of rebellion. The Yankee responds, “Sir, it is one thing to rebel against an unjust government. But Passover isn’t about people rebelling against a government, sir. It’s about how no man wants to be a slave and about how wonderful it is to be free.”

Although it seems to have a specific readership, this book has a surprisingly broad and pertinent message, at a time when so many people in the United States are very divided against one another. Corporal Levy doesn’t exactly convert Jacob to his way of thinking, but he does show him the value of finding common ground.

Warm paintings illustrate this unusual and thoughtful tale, based on a true story which is described in end notes. * (5 & up)



© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: Bugs By the Numbers

Bugs By the Numbers written and illustrated by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. Green Apple, 2011 (978-60905-061-0) $19.99

You might guess from the cover image that this book is visually arresting and you'd be right. A follow-up to the award-winning Alphabeasties, it features bugs impressively created from numerals; the already large book has an even bigger impact with many cut pages that fold out. It's not actually a counting book, but each page gives numeric facts about a bug: "scorpions have 8 legs. They're arachnids, relatives of spiders. Scorpions are very adaptable. Many species are able to live for 1 year on 1 meal." For each of these factual snippets, the graphic designers had a field day; simpler uses of color and plenty of white space keep the pages from seeming impossibly busy. (5 & up)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: Moon Over the Mountain

Moon Over the Mountain/Luna Sobre La Montana by Keith Polette. Illustrated by Michael Kress-Russick. Raven Tree, 2009 (978-1-932748-85-7) $16.95


A traditional Asian folk tale about a man who seeks greater and greater power is dressed up here with a southwestern setting, embedded Spanish, and some very eye-catching illustrations.

Agipito is a poor stonecutter who must work very hard cutting piedras. One day Agipito wishes he could be a rich merchant; the Spirit of the Desert grants his wish and he wakes up as a comerciante rico. Agipito is contento... until he notices how much stronger the sun is.

I appreciate multilingual books with embedded language and this one is well done, with the words always following an introduction of the English, for clarity. "Day after day, he cut out stones for large houses and churches. Many casas grandes and iglesias were built with these piedras. (The Spanish words are printed in red.) The book would be enjoyable just for the text, but it's the illustrations that really make it -- rich, bold, expressive depictions of Agipito as el sol, el viento and la gran montana.

I was bothered by the book's ending, which disrupts the obvious circular nature of the story for a puzzling happy ending that rings false. It's still a good choice for readers looking for this type of book.

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah

The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah by Leslie Kimmelman. Illustrated by Paul Meisel. Holiday House, 2010 (978-0-8234-1952-4) $16.95

Learning about Passover can be entertaining -- who knew? I smiled all the way through this story, in which the Little Red Hen, who sounds quite a bit like my Jewish grandmother, learns that she has to make all her matzoh preparations herself -- to say nothing of cleaning the house of bread and preparing the Seder dinner. Despite her friends' uncooperative -- even rude! -- attitude when she asks for help, at the end the Little Red Hen remembers the words of the Haggadah, "Let all who are hungry come and eat." Deciding that a good mensch forgives, she lets them join in the Seder -- but justice is satisfied, since she gives them a good scold first and makes them wash the dishes.

This reads aloud delightfully, and all the yiddishism give it even more of a lilt, as well as make it funnier. "Friends, schmends," the Little Red Hen mutters, and, "So I should starve?" The pen & ink and water color illustrations nicely capture the bustling hen's cozy home and the hangdog expressions of her friends when she scolds them. Plus, if you've ever wanted to see a horse wearing a yarmulke, here's your chance. * (3 & up)



© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy from the public library. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Retro Review: Well Wished by Franny Billingsley

I see in the blogs that Franny Billingsley has an interesting new book out, and The Folk Keeper is being reprinted. So I dug out this review of a book I remembered enjoying a lot. (Have also requested Chime from the library, and am rather hoping it will arrive just in time for this year's 48 hour book challenge.)




Well Wished by Franny Billingsley. Atheneum, 1997 (0-689-81210-8) $16.00; 2000 (978-0689832550) $9.95 pb

The village of Bishop Mayne isn’t quite like other places; it is blessed, or cursed, with a Wishing Well which actually does grant wishes. But the Well works by very specific rules, which are intoned by its Guardian: “One wish each lifetime. One cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. And for that cycle of the moon your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish.” And as Nuria’s grandfather, The Avy, often tells her, wishing is dangerous: “The Well will make a wish go wrong if it can.”

Nuria has often promised to stay away from the well, but when she makes friends with Catty Winter, who can’t walk, she is tempted to help her. And when her new friendship begins to stir her insecure fears and jealousies, Nuria makes an impulsive wish that could change her life forever—unless she can find a way to take it back.

With its town-with-a-secret setting made even more disorienting through the use of unfamiliar names and ambiguous clues about time and place, Well Wished has an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere that adds an enjoyably mysterious tension to the story. The magical universe is wickedly twisted, in a way reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones’ books—as is the way magic happenings are entwined with strong, believable emotions. But Billingsley gives Well Wished its own style, a fresh, crisp, wintry beauty of thought and phrase that never seems overdone. The emotions, particularly Nuria’s jealous love for the Avy, are subtly but surely drawn, making the combination of magic and realism touching and effective. (8 & up)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Review: Better Together

Better Together by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro. Illustrated by Dusan Petricic. Annick Press, 2011 (978-1-55451-278-2) $8.95 pb

This picture book about combining and mixing is aptly named. Most of the short verses aren't that interesting on their own, but add in the thoughtful or mischievous children in the pen & ink illustrations and they get some much needed verve. I particularly liked "Mud":

Sprayed out a rainbow,
water caused a flood.
Mixed with the dirt,
made slippery mud.

Slid in the puddle,
fell on my bum!
Got a little dirty --
don't tell mum!

The accompanying picture shows a completely mud-covered girl shushing us as she slips past her unsuspecting mother's back.

On a sweeter note, the illustration for "Team" shows three children, with their worst sports weaknesses depicted on the backs of their jerseys; when they come together as a team, we see the fronts display their greatest strengths.

Parents will most likely appreciate this book for the innovative concept and multicultural cast. (And for those who seek out depictions of biracial families or little kids using the toilet, put this on your list.) Kids may like it for the emphasis on the messy and the silly, and the heartfelt emotions we see in the pictures. (4-8)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Review: Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea. Illustrated by Tom Slaughter. Blue Apple Books, 2011 (978-1-60905-062-7)

What a fresh, fun idea for a picture book. We know that a duckling will grow to become a duck, but can a car grow to become... a truck? How about a stool and a chair? After several suggestions, the rhyming text gives us the answers: "YES to ducks, bears and owls, NO to trucks, chairs and towels. YES to cats. YES to goats. NO to hats. NO to coats." The change in rhythm keeps the rhyme scheme from getting dull, and paper flaps to lift add anticipation to the silly suggestions.

There's all sorts of easy learning in here, about the names of baby and adult animals, and about the concept of the difference between things that grow and things that are made. Matte paintings in mainly primary colors, white and black, are an age-appropriate, non-distracting backdrop to the text. (2-5)


© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Starred review: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. Illustrated by James Dean. HarperCollins, 2010 (978-0-06-190622-0) $16.99

Pete the cat loves his new white shoes so much, he even sings about them: "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes..." Then Pete steps into a large pile of strawberries, turning his white shoes--red! But the insouciant Pete just thinks, "everything is cool" and changes his song: "I love my red shoes, I love my red shoes..." The story ends after several colorful adventures, with the comment: "The moral of Pete's story is: no matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song... because it's all good."

A repetitive question/answer format is almost sure to grab little kids, but there's variety and humor here for older readers too. The pictures of mellow Pete have an offbeat zaniness; sometimes he's got sneakers on all four feet, sometimes he's playing guitar, sometimes he's just hanging out with a cup of coffee. Size and perspective constantly change, which adds to the visual impact--there's something very funny somehow about enormous sneakers, or sneakers on varied numbers of feet.

Although this is a book with a strong general appeal, it could also have been designed to steal its way into the hearts of parents of kids with autism. That cheerful flexibility... ah, it's like finding a golden ticket, for us.

The book includes a link to an mp3 of performer Litwin and kids reading and singing the story. This could be a boon to anyone feeling a little uncertain of their storytelling skills, since it demonstrates where to put emphasis and provides a tune for Pete's song. But it's not quite the same without Pete's little off-the cuff thoughts after each adventure: "everything is cool," "awesome," "groovy," and "rock and roll!" * (3 & up)

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Other blog reviews:

The Reading Tub
Brimful Curiosities -- includes a video and craft idea.

review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

Beastly by Alex Flinn. HarerTeen, 2007 (978-0-06-087416-2) $16.99; 2008 (978-0-06-087418-6) $6.99 trade pb

Kyle Kingsbury is the boy who (apparently) has everything. Looks, money, a famous (albeit distant and demanding) father. He's the prince of his high school and he sees no need at all to be nice to the littler guys--quite the opposite in fact. But when Kyle spews some mean boy malice in the wrong direction, he discovers he's made a huge mistake. As punishment for being ugly within, he's magically transformed into his "truer self," a hideous beast. Kyle has two years to break the curse, if he can find someone to fall in love with his grotesque self--and love her back. As the witch he cursed him bitingly points out, "that will be the hardest part for you."

This retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" has two novelty points: it's set in the modern world and it's from the Beast's point of view. Flinn uses both departures from the norm to create a unique story. A Beast in the computer age has special opportunities: he joins a chat room for victims of "Unexpected Changes" where he gets support from "SilentMaid," "Froggie" and "Grizzlyguy," and (in my favorite scene), he uses his magic mirror to discover who actually lives behind the cute nicknames at MySpace, where he had hoped to find true love online. "The next profiles I looked at turned out to be: A 40-something housewife who asked for naked pictures. An old guy. A 10-year-old girl. A police officer. All said they were my age and female. I hoped the cop was there trying to catch the other pervs. I typed a warning to the ten-year-old girl, and she messaged back, yelling that I wasn't her mother."

Since the story is narrated by the Beast, it also becomes focused on the transformative powers of being a lonely outsider, as well as that of love. This Beast is not tamed by love as much as by his need for it; he has already become a very different person from the spoiled boy he starts out as by the time "Beauty" enters his life. He's even changed his name, from Kyle, which means "handsome" to Adrian, "dark one."

I liked the more original elements of this retelling more than the attempts to squeeze all the traditional elements into it, which sometimes felt a bit strained. I also thought the story relied a little too heavily on the Disney movie version--though that may just be because I'm most familiar with that one myself. The chat room scenes with other fairy tale characters throughout the book are funny and a bit sad, but wind up feeling out of place because Adrian's regular narration never mentions them, except for one short section about noticing a website. Are they a real part of his life or not?

Those quibbles aside, this was a very satisfying story. It's a shame that the cover just screams "GIRL BOOK" because it has a general appeal. I hope that YA librarians are managing to get it in to the right hands. (14 & up)



© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the public library. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Other blog reviews:

Reading for Refuge
Reading Addict
Live. Laugh. Read.
Little Miss Reader

review: Happy Easter, Mouse by Laura Numeroff

Happy Easter, Mouse by Laura Numeroff. Illustrated by Felicia Bond. HarperCollins, 2010 (978-0-694-0142204) $6.99 board

After being happy to see the exuberant mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie again, it was a little disappointing to realize that this is not one of the sophisticated circular tales of that series, but a simple concept book about colors. But closer inspection showed plenty to appreciate on that simpler scale.

Mouse has been decorating eggs for Easter. He wakes up in the morning to find a yellow egg under his covers. And who put those red eggs on the counter? And balanced the purple eggs in the table? Careful watchers will spot clues sneaking around some of the pages.

The illustrations are the highlight of this book. Aimed at younger children, they're less elaborate than those of the rest of the series, with lots of white space. But the expressiveness and detail remain. Mouse's bedcover is a beautifully detailed bandana, over which he looks thrilled by the egg he finds. He dashes excitedly around the house, finding eggs in charming little vignettes. There are quite a few visual references to Mouse's first book here, so older fans could enjoying sharing this with younger children. (1-3)

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

Other Blog Reviews:

What Adrienne Thinks About That

FTC disclaimer: Reviewed from a copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: Piece=Part=Portion

Piece=Part=Portion by Scott Gifford. Photographs by Shmuel Thaler. Tricycle, 2003 (1-58246-102-3); 2008 (9781582462615) $7.95 trade pb

I was first attracted by the clean look and simplicity of this math book, but on further examination found it's also amusingly clever. The idea given in a short introduction is that "in the language of mathematics, fractions, decimals, and percents are three different, but connected, ways of describing the same thing." Fifteen examples of (unrelated) numbers are each expressed as a fraction, decimal and percentage and illustrated by a photograph. The photos are all of quite ordinary things, but find fractions where you might never have thought to see them: 1/5 is one stick of gum left in a package, 1/3 of a traffic light is lit up, 1/10 is two socked feet with one big toe peeping out.

A colorful, uncluttered design potentially makes this book accessible to younger children who enjoy numbers, and it may help children who are learning the concepts reinforce the information. Also, it's just fun to look at. (3-8)

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclaimer: Reviewed from a copy from the public library. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: Demon Princess: Reign or Shine

Demon Princess: Reign or Shine by Michelle Rowan. Walker, 2009 (978-8027-9534-2) $9.99 mmpb

Depite being the New Kid, things are going great for just-turned-16 Nikki. She's best friends with the Queen of the popular kids and the cutest boy in school just asked her to the Winter Formal. What more could she possibly want? Definitely not to learn, from a strange yet strangely attractive boy named Michael, that the father that abandoned her mother before she was born is a Demon King--and she is his only heir.

Everything about the look of this book proclaims it's a fun, frothy, conventional read... and it is. I found Reign or Shine thoroughly predictable, yet still engaging. Even expecting (and receiving) virtually no surprises, I was eager to read on. The competent first-person never dips much below the surface but I nonetheless liked the characters, especially when Nikki discovers and uses her demon strength; her romantic interests are no physical match for her at all, which is one nice twist (and in the case of a near date-rape, a very good thing.) There's an enjoyable forbidden love theme and some hints of intriguing future plotlines that make me curious to continue the series.

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts


FTC disclaimer: Reviewed from a copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Other Blog Reviews:

The Hiding Spot
Cornuopia of Reviews
So Many Books, So Little Time
My Favorite Books
Reader Girls
My Pile of Books

review: Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr. HarperCollins, 2009; 2010 (9780061214738) $8.99 mmpb

Spoiler Warning: Fragile Eternity doesn't work well as stand-alone, so I haven't tried to avoid spoilers for Wicked Lovely (my review.) . It's less necessary to read Ink Exchange first (my review), but I would recommend it.

There have been two constants in every review of Wicked Lovely I've read, including my own:
1) that it was really good
2) that Seth was a little too perfect.

I was excited when I heard that Fragile Eternity concentrated more on Seth's point of view, offering what I hoped would be a chance to see a more human side of someone who, ironically, has become the only primary human character left in the series.

Wicked Lovely ended with Aislinn in a triumphant place: she had accepted being the Summer Queen, but insisted that it be as the Keenan the Summer King's friend and partner, rather than lover, refusing to give up her relationship with the mortal Seth. In Ink Exchange, we saw the triad from a somewhat puzzled outsider's view and it seemed to be working successfully, with Aislinn continuing to live her regular high school life.

But as Fragile Eternity opens, the time of greatest power for the Summer Court is growing closer and the situation is becoming more untenable for everyone in it. Aislinn loves Seth, Keenan loves the Winter Queen, Donia, but both of those relationships have serious drawbacks because of conflicting strengths and powers (or lack thereof.) Summer burns; Winter freezes: no matter how careful they are, Aislinn inevitably hurts Seth, and Keenan and Donia hurt each other. And the powerful pull of Summer is making Aislinn and Keenan all but irresistible to each other, something he embraces, but that she continues to fight. For Seth, there seems to be one solution: to join the world of Faery, to give up his mortal fragility for an eternity with Aislinn. But that is not a choice that can be made with sacrifice and consequences.

It's sad to write this, but I found Fragile Eternity overall quite disappointing. I'd hoped to see a more real Seth, but his personality is almost entirely one note here: his all-encompassing love for Aislinn. As with Ink Exchange, I found there was a lot of build-up ending in a big quick rush--and without spoilers, we're talking about some massive life, heart and soul changes here, that needed more time to properly develop. But perhaps most of all, I missed what had been so strong in the two previous books, what I called "a striking note of female empowerment and choice." Aislinn just waffles through this entire story; I felt for her predicament but got tired of it, and of all the circular conversations about it. And the ultimate conflict... again, it's hard to critique without spoilers, but it's about as far from female empowerment and choice as you can get.

The complicated faery world is still intriguing and there are some powerful moments of tenderness and heartbreak, so I'm certainly not giving up on the series. But what I most went in hoping for was that reading Fragile Eternity wouldn't ruin Wicked Lovely for me... and I'm not sure that I got that.


© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclaimer: Reviewed from library copy. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.


Other blog reviews:

In Bed With Books
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Angieville

Review: When Mindy Saved Hanukkah

For more Hanukkah book recommendations (or not, as the case may be) see our bibliography.)




When Mindy Saved Hanukkah by Eric A. Kimmel. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Scholastic, 1998 (0-439-7690-6) $5.99 pb

Tired of Hanukkah stories featuring old-fashioned Jewish families? For once, I wasn't. This particular family lives behind the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, where they use thimbles as vases and play with dreidels half their size. But they have a problem: they need a Hanukkah candle (to melt into lots of tiny candles) and the synagogue has acquired "a fierce Antiochus of a cat!" who almost ate Papa! So brave little Mindy, who can "climb better and run faster than anyone!" sets out to make sure the family has candles for Hanukkah.

Using a paper clip as a grappling hook and a leftover palm branch from Sukkot, Mindy climbs to the shelf where her father had seen a lost candle. Then suddenly the cat appears! Thankfully, Zayde has followed, dressed like a Macabee of old, and he "drives" this new Antiochus from the temple with some pickled herring, while Mindy quickly rolls the candle home. Just in time.

Hanukkah themes and bits of Jewish culture are mixed seamlessly into this entertaining story. (There are a few jokes too: the Kleins share Hanukkah with several other families, including the Littles, the Katans and the Pequenos.) The ink and watercolor illustrations range from majestic scenes of the temple to cozy domesticity behind the walls; the kid in me most loved the postage stamp artwork, bottle cap serving dishes, and pocket watch kitchen clock, though some of it is more decorative than logical. (I read a claim online that McClintock's illustrations were actually used as models to restore the historic Eldridge Street Synagogue but unfortunately can't find any verification. It's one of those stories that you wish were true, though.)

Overall, this one of the best Hanukkah books for kids I've seen, especially for those who love tiny worlds. * (5-10)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclaimer: Reviewed from a copy that was given to my son. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Other blog reviews: Becca Reads

Reading with Ben - Poetry Saturday

My son tends to find his own books, and very selectively too, so it was a little thrill to see him reading something I'd put on his shelves, Making Friends with Frankenstein. Tonight his dad was out of town, so rather than the usual installment of Harry Potter with voices, I picked up MFwF and read him some of it. What a fascinating experience it is to read comic poetry with a highly intelligent autistic child. He wanted me to explain many of the jokes, especially the puns, but then he found them just hilarious.

He's reading to himself now and I can hear almost constant laughter.

It doesn't seem to be in print at the moment, but used copies abound. My original review:



Making Friends With Frankenstein written and illustrated by Colin McNaughton. Candlewick, 1994 (1-56402-308-7) $19.95; 2001 (0-7636-1552-8) $4.99 pb

The gross, grisly, subversive and wickedly amusing atmosphere of children's playground verses is perfectly captured in this original collection of "monstrous poems and pictures." By turns gruesome, malevolent and cynical--but always gleeful--Making Friends With Frankenstein is delightfully shocking and hysterically funny. The cartoony pictures are an excellent match for the verses: neither are for the weak of stomach. American readers may be baffled by occasional references to English expressions and culture, but that's no big deal--they'll still devour this book and scream for more.

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

review: Violet

Violet by Tania Duprey Stehlik. Illustrated by Vanja Buleta Javanovic. Second Story Press, 2009 (978-1897187-60-9) $14.95

I couldn't get a cover illustration for Violet, but here's a book trailer that gives a sense of the illustrations. It's a very eye-catching book, with a spiky haired, elongated heroine and some seriously surreal backgrounds; the overall effect is sometimes childlike, sometimes pretty, and occasionally even a bit creepy in a rather Coraline-esque way. It sorts of makes sense when you realize that Violet is set in an alternate world, one in which people are red and blue and yellow--and in Violet's case, violet.

A simple story, Violet is about Violet's first day at a new school. She's pretty nervous about fitting in, but everything goes fine. Then when her dad comes to pick her up, a girl from her class is puzzled: "Your dad is BLUE??!" Violet's never thought about it before, but now she wonders. "Mom was red. Dad was blue. So, why wasn't she red or blue? Come to think of it, all her red friends had red parents. Her yellow friends had yellow parents. Her blue friends had blue parents. So why was she purple?"

When she gets home, Violet's mom shows her how mixing blue and red makes "a lovely purply-violet" and tells her that "people come in a whole rainbow of beautiful colors." (Only the colorful hands of the adults are shown, another piece of the overall offbeat look of the book.) And the next day, when a boy is puzzled by her red mom, she says proudly, "My mom is red, my dad is blue, and I... am Violet!"

I'm torn between thinking that Violet looks awesome, and that it's great to see a messagey sort of book with such unusual and interesting illustrations, and thinking that it's kind of an odd fit with the text, which is so matter of fact. In a way, of the two of them the book trailer is more interesting than the actual book. Which is not to say that a straightforward book on this subject isn't welcome, especially one that is not heavily didactic; I just wonder if the kind of kids who appreciate a straightforward story might also prefer more straightforward illustrations. Like Violet, I feel a little mixed.. but overall, I like the book enough to hope it finds its audience. (4-10)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

Big, Bigger, Biggest written and illustrated by Nancy Coffelt. Henry Holt, 2009 (978-0-8050-8089-6) $16.95

From its small format and laughing hippo cover, you'd expect this to be a pretty standard simple toddler book, and for the most part it is. But language lovers will find treats far beyond the usual fare, with unexpected words like "rapacious," "viscous" and "somnolent." Adults reading aloud could also dig up words to introduce like "superlatives," "synonyms," and "antonyms," if they like.

Each page features a different animal, who tells us a little about itself: "I'm slow," says the turtle. "I'm plodding. I'm languid. I'm ponderous." But the sloth is slower: "I'm poky. I'm laggard, I'm slothful." And the slug tops them all as the slowest: "I'm sluggish. I'm lethargic. I'm lackadaisical!" The topics are big/small, fast/slow, hungry, slimy and sleepy, so it's not completely symmetrical.

Illustrations are basic but animated, showing little scenes of the boldly outlined animals against colored backgrounds; the simplicity is an effective counterpoint to the complicated words. An excellent book for introducing concepts as well as stretching verbal horizons. (2-4)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

48 Hrs - Review: David Inside Out

(I read half of this book earlier in the day, but am putting all the minutes together now.)




David Inside Out by Lee Bantle. Henry Holt, 2009 (978-0-8050-8122-0) $16.99

Trying to figure out how to put the moves on a girl for the first time can be hard. "Was I supposed to touch her knee now?... Should I just drop my hand on her? Were you supposed to squeeze?" wonders David. But David has an extra problem... Kick, the girl who pretty clearly wants to be his girlfriend, isn't nearly as attractive to him as someone else -- his track teammate, Sean.

David is determined not to give in to his feelings. "This wasn't me. It couldn't be. Not gay. Anything but that." He makes a list of ways to be more straight, correcting himself with a snap of a rubber band on his wrist whenever he has a wrong feeling. Then Sean invites him to fool around, throwing all his best straight intentions out the window. David is scared of being out to his friends, but ready to be in love--but Sean refuses to admit he likes anything but getting off. "I don't kiss or write love poems... I don't put it in my mouth." Sean, David will find, is far more determined not to be gay than he could ever be.

Fast-paced and plot-focused, this sympathetic coming out story will probably have the most appeal to readers who are also struggling with their sexual identities. I found myself most interested in the secondary characters, whose actions and motivations are something of a puzzle to David, complicating his life. Sean has the private sex rules designed to prove that he's not really gay. Kick betrays his confession to her and then deliberately seduces him, perhaps in a misguided attempt to "cure" him, only to wind up hurt. Only his oldest friend Eddie, who recently came out himself, is really straightforward about who he is and what he wants... an excellent role model for the newly self-aware David.

The story has a small amount of graphic language and quite a few brief, non-explicit but not coy sex scenes. I was bothered that condoms are only mentioned in a heterosexual context, though it would have been quite narratively easy to have the person David talks to at a gay hotline drop a word about safe sex -- considering Sean's secretive, denial-filled approach to sex, he strikes me as a highly risky person to have unprotected encounters with. Recommended for mature readers. (15 & up)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts


R: 1 hour, 46 minutes
B: 43 minutes
RB: 4 minutes

Other Blog Reviews:

The Goddess of YA Literature
The 3 Rs of Summer
Queer YA
Stop, Drop and Read -- interesting, albeit somewhat insensitive review by someone who felt "weirded out" by gay people and now has a better sense of the discrimination they face. The book may have more general appeal than I had thought.