May 2015 Reviews

I've not finished a lot of books this past month, other than picture books, and even that has slowed down recently. I'm currently reading an ARC of  The Bones of You by Debbie Howell, a mystery thriller. I finally finished listening to Burton Raffel's translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and I have never been so glad to finish any audiobook.  I'm trying to figure out what I want to listen to next. There are some great ARCs coming out this summer, so I hope to be able to read more of them. I'm a little bit behind in book reviews, but I am slowly catching up again. 

I rate books from 1-5 stars, 1 being the lowest. I will include illustrations from the children's books that I enjoyed. 

Children

Naked! written by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

I first learned about this book at a library training session on children's books, so I had some of it before reading it to my son, and thought it reminded me a lot of him.  It is an adorable book and the nakedness is done tastefully, i.e. you know the boy is naked but they don't show parts. The little boy in the book is really excited about being naked and doing things naked, and the book is pretty fun to read aloud. Gradually after running around for awhile, he gets cold and puts on cape and later some pajamas and goes to sleep. Recommended for ages 2-5, 3-1/2 stars. 

Smick! written by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Juana Medina
A very cute and simple book, but it totally works. My son enjoys this book and it reminds me of our dog. Smick is a dog that likes to chase sticks. One day he meets a Chick and they become fast friends and enjoy chasing the stick together, although slower than before. Recommended for ages 2-5, 3 stars. 

Ah Ha! written and illustrated by Jeff Mack
I've used this a couple of times for Toddler storytime, mostly just because it  is cute and literally only uses two letters the entire time to form words. A frog just want to relax in the pond, but a young boy and his dog, a bird, an alligator and a turtle all want to capture him. But he manages to escape them all. Recommended for ages 2-5, 3 stars. 

Small Elephant's Bathtime written and illustrated by Tatyana Feeney

I love Tatyanna Feeney's illustrations, so that's why I picked up this book. The story was super simple and would be great for a bathtime or bedtime Toddler Storytime. Small Elephant does not want to take a bath, and only ends up taking one through some pretty creative imagination on part of his mom. For all the parents who have ever struggled with a toddler or preschooler's bathtime, this book is really cute. Recommended for ages 2-5, 3 stars. 

I love Mommy! written and illustrated by Lizi Boyd
I read this for my Toddler Frog Storytime, and thought it was a cute sweet book. It is all about a mommy frog who hangs out and plays with her small frog child. They draw, dance, build forts, snuggle to read a story, and make dinner. Recommended for ages 2-5, 3 stars. 

Mustache Baby Meets His Match (Mustache Baby #2) written by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Joy Ang

Baby Javier (aka Beard Baby) comes over for a playdate with Baby Billy (aka Mustache Baby), and Billy thinks he must show Javier how things are done around here and whose in charge. That plan backfires as Beard Baby proves he is tougher, and the two are at odds with each other. Mom steps in to referee, and explains that it is normal for kids to have competition, but it is always good to be the first one to apologize when things get out of hand. So instead of Javier being his sidekick, he is his partner. This was so much fun to read aloud to my son, and I will have to admit that I want a copy for myself because it made us laugh so much! My favorite part was when Billy tries to best Javier at art, with Billy as Dali and Javier as Van Gogh. Recommended for ages, 3-6, 5 stars. 

Viva Frida! written by Yuyi Morales and photographed by Tim O'Meara 

I've been wanting to read this forever because I love books about Frida Kahlo and Yuyi Morales is particularly talented. I just didn't like this book at all though. The puppets Morales made were incredibly detailed and gorgeous (and the reason this book got two instead of 1 star) and it does give a very basic look at Frida and her art, but the bilingual single or couple of words per page just made it too choppy for me. It is a very unique look at the artist though, so that's probably why it won a 2015 Caldecott Honor and a 2015 Pura Belpre Illustrator award. It is obvious through the book and the author's note that Morales really admires Frida's work. Recommended for ages 3-7, 2 stars. 

Perfectly Arugula written and illustrated by Sarah Dillard

Arugula the hedgehog (I love her name!) wants to have a tea party, but everything must be perfect. The food, the tea, the table, the guests, and of course the hostess. All of her friends come but they are so afraid of upsetting Arugula that no one is having any fun. Then an unexpected guest arrives and shakes things up a bit and Arugula sees that it is okay to not be perfect. Recommended for ages 3-7, 3 stars. 

Spike, the Mixed-Up Monster written by Susan Hood, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Spike the salamander believes he is a monster and practices at being one. The only problem is that he is small, only the size of a lily pad. So everyone just thinks he is cute. One day a real monster, a Gila Monster, comes to the pond and all the other animals are scared and run away. Spike holds his ground and tries to scare the new monster, but only succeeds at making him laugh. The monster asks Spike for directions to his family's party as he has gotten lost, and Spike tells him the way. When the other creatures return, they are amazed that Spike has survived. Spike is actually an axolotl from Mexico and so the story is peppered with Spanish and you can't help but adopt a bit of an accent while reading it. The back of the book features nonfiction information on the axolotl, cinnamon teal duck, armadillo and vole featured in the story. My son and I really enjoyed this book. Recommended for ages 4-8, 4 stars. 

The Mighty Lalouche written by Matthew Olshan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

I will admit that I picked this one up for me because I was amused by the pictures. I'm not sure my son understood everything that was going on in the book, but he liked it too. Lalouche is a French postman in the 1890s who is fired from his job after his walking route is replaced by an electric car. He is devastated, and is about to give up when he sees a flyer for a kickboxing sparring partner and decides that this will be the perfect way to support himself and his pet finch Genevieve. Will the Mighty Lalouche be able to beat anyone in order to survive as a boxer? To find out, read this delightful tale of surprising victory for our hero and delightful illustrations for everyone. Recommended for ages 4-8, 4 stars. 

The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight

I picked this up for my son after he just loved another graphic novel, Rutabaga: Adventure Chef. This is a good introduction to graphic novel/comics for young kids because it has the same format but larger pictures and text bubbles, plus it's all about the power of imagination. The Brave Boy Knight and his Bigfoot/Wookie friend Butterscotch roam the countryside helping the shape-changing Animal Princess save her world from a monster and find secret buried treasure. Recommended for ages 5-7, 3 stars. 

William the Curious: Knight of the Water Lilies written and illustrated by Charles Santore

I picked this one up because I liked the look of the cover. I didn't think my son could make it through this book because it was so long, but he was rapt the entire time. William the Curious is a frog who lives in the moat of a Queen's castle. One day, the queen decides that anything that is not perfect within the castle must be thrown out the window. Soon the moat is full of discarded items and the fish, frogs and other wildlife are afraid. All of the plants have been killed except for one water lily. William picks up the costume of a toy knight and dresses himself up and brings the flower to the queen, determined to ask her one question about perfection. It is cool because it's not only a fairytle of a sort but also about protecting the environment. My son really enjoyed the book and wants me to read it to him again. The illustrations were rich and detailed and I loved them.Recommended for ages 5-9, 4 stars. 

Hidden written by Loic Dauvillier, illustrated by Marc Lizano, Color by Greg Salsedo and translated by Alexis Siegel
This was an interesting graphic novel in that it is one that can introduce the subject of the Holocaust to much younger children than it is usually introduced to, which is usually in the fourth or fifth grade. The story is told from the viewpoint of a grandmother named Dounia who was a little girl during the time of WWII and the Nazi invasion of France, and is telling her story to her granddaughter Elsa. Her parents were sent to a concentration camp and Dounia had to live with French Resistance workers in the countryside. Eventually only her mother returned and she was completely unrecognizable to her daughter. Recommended for 7-11 yr olds, 3 stars. 

El Deafo written and illustrated by Cece Bell

I've been wanting to read this one for awhile, especially after it won one of the two 2015 Newbery Honors. This book is the memoir of the author/illustrator CeCe Bell, who lost her hearing after getting meningitis at age four very suddenly. She has to adjust to not hearing and using a giant hearing aid called the Phonic Ear that straps to her chest, under her clothes. She is able to hear everything her teacher says with it and everywhere she goes with it and Cece believes she may have a superpower, and so makes up her alter ego superhero, El Deafo. Really the book is all about acceptance, which is so hard with young kids, especially girls and especially if someone is different. Will Cece be accepted and find a true friend? To find out, read this fascinating biography. Recommended for ages 8+, 4 stars. 

Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Book 1 written and illustrated by Eric Colossal

I loved this graphic novel and surprisingly, so did my nearly 4 year old son! He kept asking me again and again to read him the "dragon story". Rutabaga, a chef, is going on an adventure to see different exotic foods, and make new dishes that no one has ever seen. On the way to find a rare ingredient which only grows on relics, he meets up with a group of three kids who are searching for the Dragon Killer sword. They need it to defeat the dragon, who has recently terrorized their village. He joins up with them, only things don't exactly go as planned and the dragon gets away. He has many more adventures after that, including a cook-off and defeating a monster with a group of Vikings. It was an adorable little book and great for ages 8+. I wish I could be an adventure chef. 5 stars. 

Young Adult

Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Joyride by Anna Banks

Templar written by Jordan Mechner, illustrated by LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland 
Wow this was a hefty graphic novel. Definitely the first time I've read a over 400 page one, but it was a good read. "Templar" is about Martin de Troyes, a French Knight Templar who has recently come back from the Crusades. King Phillipe of France wants to destroy the Templar Order so that he can claim their treasure to fuel his war in the north, so he brings the whole Order up on false charges and imprisons them. Martin and few of his comrades manage to escape and they decide to steal the Templar treasure, based off a map they intercepted from the Grand Master of the Order, before the King can get his hands on the money. Will they be able to pull of their rescue attempt? To find out, read this fascinating journey into 14th century France! Recommended for ages 16+, 4 stars. 


I have always been fascinated by the Templars, so I jumped to find a copy of this book when I saw it on a great graphic novels list. I will admit that even though I kind of knew it was coming, the Templar mass burning was a little hard to read. It's sad that the Pope essentially sold out the Templars (an order the Vatican started) to placate the King of France. The story is a bit like a religious Indiana Jones mixed with a bit of "Ocean's 11", in the sense that is an impossible job that miraculously works out. The author definitely knows the period and it is well-researched, and it even includes a extensive bibliography in the back of the book. The artwork is awesome. Martin is an interesting complex character and I really enjoyed his love Isabelle as well (for her feistiness). 

Adult

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon
Claire Randall was a WWII English nurse and afterwards got back together with her husband Frank, a history professor. They have taken a second honeymoon to Inverness, Scotland to rediscover each other, after being apart for 5 years during the war. Once there, she discovers some ancient standing stones on the hill at Craig na Dunand when she touches the largest one, she is transported back in time to 1743 Scotland. She meets a ruthless English captain named Jonathan Randall, aka Black Jack, an ancestor of her husband Frank. She is rescued from Captain Randall by a Scottish man and soon after introduced to Dougal MacKenzie and his band. She bandages the shoulder of one of his injured men, who turns out to be Dougal's nephew, Jamie (who is also a fugitive from British law and who has had dealings with Captain Randall). She is taken to the MacKenzie castle Leoch to figure out what to do with her. She ends up as the castle's herbalist, before being taken to collect the land rents with Dougal and his party of men. She runs into Captain Randall while on their journey, and he wants very much to question her about her association with the MacKenzies and anything else she might know. To prevent this, Dougal marries her to Jamie which Claire is vehemently against because she is already married to Frank but sees that she has no choice. Jamie and Claire must get to know and trust each other very quickly. Will she be able to make it back to Frank? Does she want to? To find out, read the exciting start of this series. 5 stars. 

I have had this on my to-read list for awhile but never picked it up until now. I saw the Starz series of the same name and fell in love with the story and desperately wanted to know what happened next as they ended it rather abruptly (at 40% through the first book I found out later). The book is even better than the series, though I will admit that they stayed pretty true to the story. I loved all the medical info and what it was like to be a doctor in the 18th century (pretty crazy and with some really weird practices). Claire is a great character and I loved getting to know her and of course Jamie. Oh Jamie, how can I not love your Scottish accent, red hair and kilt! Thank you Sam Heughan for your Starz portrayal of Jamie, you are who I think of when I read about Jamie now - in a very good way. I can't even begin to describe how much I love Jamie as a character. Le sigh. I am hoping they have more info about Geillis Duncan as her role in the story was pretty fascinating, especially when they revealed that she is also a time traveller. 

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon
The book starts in 1968, with Claire and her grown daughter Brianna. It becomes apparent that she actually did come back to Craig na Dun and travel back to 1946, and she came back pregnant. She has never told her daughter the truth about her real father, and so brings her to Scotland to tell her the truth, after the death of her twentieth century husband, Frank. At the end of "Outlander", Jamie and Claire Fraser had to flee to France. They thought this would be the best way of getting into the good graces of Charles Stuart, the exiled Prince of Scotland (aka Bonnie Prince Charlie), so they could prevent the Battle of Culloden from happening in 1745 and all the subsequent MacKenzie and Fraser deaths. The best opportunity for Jamie to do this was to take over his cousin Jared's wine business while he was in Germany, and then become a friend and confidant to the Prince. He does but oh the court intrigue and politics, which eventually force the two of them to flee back to Scotland, after his outlaw charges are removed by the English. They end up having to join Prince Charles's army. Will they be able to actually avoid the slaughter at Culloden? To find out, read this second book in the Outlander series. 4 stars. 

Oh my goodness! I wanted to strangle Diana Gabaldon after reading this book (figuratively, not literally). First because the book was so damn long, and then because of the ending. I understand why she did it, essentially anyways as it had to cover over a year of time and a whole lot of political and social manuevering. But the book is still 947 pages! She definitely has researched her subject matter very well, and it shows in the writing. I only knew a bit about the Battle of Culloden because of a project I did at St. Andrews, so it was cool to get a more accurate representation about what was going on with the Stuarts and their attempts to re-establish the exiled monarchy, even if it was from a historical fiction viewpoint. As others have said, she did a great job of character development and letting us get to know Claire and Jamie even better. I loved Master Raymond's character, even if I couldn't completely understand who or what he was. My guess is magician/time traveller. Fergus was also an interesting addition to the Fraser family, as well as getting to know Jenny (Jamie's sister) a bit more. 

April 2015 Book Reviews

I've been trying to read more poetry this month as it is National Poetry Month. My attempts at doing poetry for Kids Cafe have kind of fallen flat, but I did write a couple of new things for it, so I'm happy about that. I'm taking a bit of a break from Advanced Reader's Copies, but should be starting up on them in a week or so. I am currently reading How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-To-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman. I am also listening to a more modern version of Geoffrey Chauncer's The Canterbury Tales. Both are slow going but for different reasons, one being nonfiction (and reading a lot of short books while I'm reading it) and the other just being an insanely long epic poem. The crazy thing is with Chauncer is that the poem is unfinished, and it is still over 600 pages already. I have recently finished watching the new Outlander tv series, Season 1 and completely fell in love with it. So I will definitely be buying the book as I do not have cable and probably won't be able to see the next series for about a year and I'm dying to know what happens next (as they left the series on a total cliffhanger ending!). Hopefully the rest of the series will be easy to find at my local library. 

I rate books from 1-5 stars, 1 being the lowest. I will include illustrations from the children's books that I enjoyed. 

Children
Tall by Jez Alborough

     I was looking for books for my Toddler Jungle Storytime. I thought this one was too simplistic, but it was cute. Bobo the little monkey just wants to be tall, so he keeps climbing on the shoulders of his friends so that he can be taller. That is, until he gets up to high and his momma has to rescue him. Then he is glad to be small. Recommended for ages 2-4, 2 stars. 

How to Cheer Up Dad written and illustrated by Fred Koehler 

     This book was super adorable, not only the content but the illustrations too. You can tell the author/illustrator is the parent of small children as this plays out pretty much like a real-life situation. Dad is taking care of his young elephant son Little Jumbo, who is misbehaving and he is, of course, getting super frustrated. Of course, his son has no idea why his dad is so upset, as children never do. Little Jumbo wants to cheer him up so starts doing things to make him feel better, like getting ice cream and hanging out together. Great book for Father’s Day, single dads and maybe just for moms wanting their sons to connect more with their dads. My son and I both enjoyed this book. Recommended for ages 3-5, 5 stars. 

        Mustache Baby written by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Joy Ang 

     This book has been on to-read list for a while, so finally got a copy. So glad I did, this book was hilarious. Baby Billy was born with a mustache and his parents are obviously worried. But it turns out his mustache is a good one, as exemplified when he pretends to be a cop or a cowboy. But soon enough his good mustache turns into a villainous one with curled up ends, and he starts a life of crime, which is cut short by his parents. The ending of the book hinted at a new book in the series, called Mustache Baby Meets His Match, which I’ve already put on hold. Recommended for ages 3-6, 5 stars. 

Huff & Puff written and illustrated by Claudia Rueda

     My son loved this book, just like I thought he would, as it is interactive. It is a very simply done version of “The Three Little Pigs” story with a twist ending. The interactive part is the kids getting to help the wolf huff and puff through a die-cut hole in the center of the page. Instead of eating the pigs or trying to at least, the wolf blows out his birthday candles on the cake the pigs baked him. Everyone is happy after eating the cake. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars. 

     Have You Ever Seen a Sneep? Written by Tasha Pym, and illustrated by Joel Stewart
     A young boy is just trying to enjoy his summer day by having a picnic, reading some books, swinging across a swimming hole, and other adventures, and he keeps getting interrupted by the Sneep and his mischievous friends. He is amazed that none of these creatures live where the reader is, and so is determined to move there to get away from them, but the Sneep and his friends want to move with him! Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars. 

      Chameleon’s Colors by Chisato Tashiro
     I originally picked up this book as a possibility for a Jungle Toddler Storytime, but quickly realized it was too long. My son liked all the crazy color combinations the little chameleon came up with in the story. Chameleon hates blending in to everything, so when Hippo tells him how jealous he is of his changing colors, Chameleon agrees to help him change. Soon all the animals in the jungle want to change colors, which is fine until they realize that this affects how they eat and hunt! So they demand Chameleon change them back, but he is thankfully saved by a rainstorm, which washes all their colors away. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars. 

      My Teacher is a Monster! (No I Am Not.) written and illustrated by Peter Brown 

     Bobby has a problem. He thinks his teacher is a monster, until the day he runs into her in the park outside of school. He helps rescue her hat and they end up running around and playing together. Their perception of each other naturally changes after this. My son didn’t pick up on all the nuances of the book, but enough to appreciate it. My son loves "reading along" with me while I read him this book, even the author's comment in the back. Recommended for ages 3-6, 4 stars. 

             Bats (Scholastic Science Readers: Level 1) by Lily Wood

    I'm using this book, and other beginner's books like it, as an incentive for my son. We're trying to finish potty-training him and I figure giving him these books is two-fold. Besides being a surprise incentive, they are also a cool nonfiction book that is easy to read, so when he does start reading (which will hopefully be soon), he can start with this book. We both like bats, so I figured this would be a fun topic. It is a very basic book about bats and tells the reader a little bit about them and features a lot of great huge pictures. Recommended for ages 3-6, 3 stars.

          An Island Grows by Lola M. Schaefer
      I picked this book for my Volcano Preschool DiscoveryTime because it was a was a cool way to describe the way an island forms from an underwater volcano. The magma comes out of the volcano into the water, where the lava cools and hardens building up layer by layer until it comes out of the water and becomes land. Then plants, animals and people come to the island and soon it is thriving. It’s almost a nonfiction picture book except that it is describing islands in general and not one in particular. Recommended for ages 3-6, 4 stars. 

Snoozefest written and illustrated by Samantha Berger  

     
     Oh my goodness I loved this book! I mean how can you not love a book about sloths, sleeping as an event and the cutest name ever for a book character, Snuggleford Cuddlebuns. Plus the illustrations were great. Snuggleford is the best sleeper in town, and can do it for months at a time. Her favorite event of the year, Snoozefest is coming up, and she's so excited. She gets on the bus, goes to the festival, settles into her hammock, buys the swag and gets ready for a great snooze. They have performers guaranteed to put you to sleep (on purpose), they sell hot milk and honey, and there is a designer fashion show, with pun-y names like Diane von Firstinbed. Recommended for ages 3-7, 5 stars.

      The Circus Ship written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

I will say that I picked this one up for my Toddler Circus Storytime, quickly realized that it was way too long, but thought it would be a fun read for my son. He enjoyed it too. It is a rhyming book, based off a true story, about a ship full of circus animals that crashes off the coast of Maine. The animals make it to a small island in the state and are adopted by the locals after the tiger saves a young girl. When the angry circus owner comes to claim them, the locals hide the animals and they end up staying there forever. This was a very fun book to do accents with, especially the angry British one for the circus owner. Recommended for ages 3-7, 4 stars. 

       If Not For the Cat written by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Ted Rand
     I usually don't like Jack Prelutsky stuff all that much, with a few exceptions. This is one of them. I love these haikus and the watercolor and ink illustrations are amazing. They are all about animals, so would be a great way to introduce haikus to kids. My favorites are the one about the hummingbird, the jellyfish, and the sea otter. Recommended for ages 5-10, 4 stars. 

Young Adult
Rivals in the City (The Agency #4) by Y.S. Lee

     Mary Quinn and James Easton are engaged to be married, but Mary has to sort out a few things first. She loves him, but is enjoying her independence. The Agency has asked her to find Mrs. Thorold, who has tried to kill James before. On top of all that, she believes she may be related to a Chinese fighter that has recently come into town. Will she be able to bring Mrs. Thorold to justice, save James, and find out about her family? To find, read the exciting conclusion to this amazing mystery series. Recommended for ages 14+, 4 stars.

     

     I have been waiting forever for this book to come out, only to realize that my library only had the first book in the series and had no plan to get the fourth. So I had to get an inter-library loan, but it was worth the wait. I really love Mary’s need to be independent, and was glad she wasn’t pining over James the whole book (like a lot of other YA books). I missed the banter between James and Mary though, it was there but they were separated for the majority of the book so there wasn’t as much of it. I enjoyed the twist ending, and Mrs. Thorold really did think her plans through. I’m sad to see this series end, as it is hard to find a well-written strong multicultural female character these days. I hope the author’s next books are just as awesome. 

      

       Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

    I thought this was a very fascinating re-working and combination of two fairytales, i.e. "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Six Swans".  The book starts out with the death of Princess Aurora's mother, the Sleeping Beauty, who transfers her fairy magic to her daughter. Only it doesn't work like it did for mother. Aurora (known as Ror) is never allowed to have romantic love, only platonic. Ror and her brother Jor are raised by the fairies, but constantly being hunted by the evil troll queen Ekeeta. One day, her brother is captured and Ror must dress as a boy to find an army that will help free him. On the way, she meets Prince Niklaas who is desperately looking for Princess Aurora so that he can break his curse. If he does not marry before dawn on his eighteenth birthday, he will meet the same fate as his ten older brothers. Ror blackmails him into helping her find an army to free her "sister" from the Troll Queen. Will Niklaas be able to be free of his curse? Will Aurora be able to rescue her brother in time? Will she ever tell Niklaas the truth about herself? To find out, read this fabulous book. Recommended for ages 14+, 5 stars

     

     I had originally wanted to read it when it was just an Advanced Reader's Copy, but I didn't have the time. This review has taken me forever to write because I kept forgetting about it. I love fairy tale re-tellings and this one was really good. It had some great quotes in it, like this one on page 54, where Ror is talking about herself: "Sometimes it seems a small price to pay for my fairy gifts. Sometimes it makes my body ache with a loneliness so profound I fear my soul will forever be bruised. I am a prisoner in a cell of my mother's good intentions and I will never, ever escape." Or this one on page 122, where Ror and Niklaas are talking about women and Ror wonders why any woman should have to learn the truth about the world and he responds "Because they are strong enough to know the truth, and proving that to themselves will make them stronger. And perhaps, if men were brought up to be gentler people, women wouldn't have need of protectors." And then there's this profound quote about love, which Niklaas tells to Ror on pages 252-53: "...that's what searching for love is like. You keep pushing on, breaking and being broken, until you find the person you want to hold safe, the only one who knows how to keep you in one piece." Le sigh. And when Ror and Niklaas finally did kiss, it was magical and then sad. Hard to explain without giving away storyline, but believe me when I say this book is definitely worth a read.

    

    Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kouno

      I had been looking for a book on the atomic bomb from the Japanese perspective for a while, and this was one of the books I had come up with in my search. It tells the story of the Hirano family told over the span of about sixty years, from 1945-2004. The first part, Town of Evening Calm, is about a young girl named Minami who works in a dress shop in Hiroshima ten years after the bomb dropped, but it keeps flashing back to ten years before and how the Hirano family faired on that day. Minami has survivor’s remorse because her father and sister passed away either on the day or shortly afterwards, but she and her mother survived. The book does go into some details about what it was like when the bomb dropped, and that part was hard to read. One of the most powerful parts of the book is when Minami says “All I know is that somebody wanted us dead. They wanted us to die, but we survived. Nobody talks about it. I don’t really understand what happened even to this day.” Minami is soon courted by a young man who works at the shop named Uchikoshi. She suddenly gets really sick from delayed radiation sickness, and dies.

     

     The next section, broken into two parts, is Country of Cherry Blossoms. The first part starts in 1987 with a seemingly unconnected family who have just moved to a new city. The daughter Nanami is about ten years old and is obsessed with baseball, and joins the local team. Nanami and her friend Toko sneak away to the hospital to visit Nanami’s brother Nagio, who has asthma. The second part is set seventeen years later, and Nanami is convinced that her father is senile as he keeps disappearing for days and racking up the phone bills. So one day she follows him and runs into Toko at the train station. While she is following her father, the story flashes back to his youth and how he met Nanami’s mother. Eventually we find out that he was visiting Hiroshima because he is Asahi, the brother of Minami, the girl from the first story. The book includes explanations of the text (which really explain a lot because I was rather confused as to the identity of all the characters and how they were connected), as well as a map of Hiroshima, and an afterword by the author/illustrator. Recommended for ages 14+, 4 stars. 

The Speaker for the Dead written by Orson Scott Card, script written by Aaron Johnston, art by Pop Mhan and Veronic Gandini

I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot more than the regular book version of  Ender's Game. It is a lot easier to explain complicated sci-fi ideas in graphic form versus in print, at least in my opinion. The graphic novel is set about twenty-two years after the first book, and Ender is now a Speaker for the Dead, one that tells the truth about a dead person's life. While Ender's only aged an additional 22 years, because of light-speed travel, it is now 3500 years in the future. He is called to the remote planet Lusitania to find out the truth about the death of two Xenobiology researchers who studied the native inhabitants of the planet, the Pequeninos. They have been accused of murdering the two scientists, so it is up to Ender to figure out if that is true or not. The Pequeninos seem to know Ender's true identity and want him to leave the Hive Queen Egg (of the insect race, the Formics, which he killed off at the end of Ender's Game). What really happened to the xenobiologists? How are the Pequeninos connected? Recommended for ages 14+, 4 stars. 

This was a very fascinating book. It was interesting that all the names were Portuguese sounding and that the Catholic Church was so prevalent there, and they were essentially the ruling class with the help of the Congress. The Descolada disease element was also intriguing, and that is even more true with the Pequininos (or "Piggies" as they are more coloquially known), their religion and birthing system. I hope there are more graphic novel versions of his books, if so, I would be very interested in reading them. 

Adult
I Could Pee on This And Other Poems By Cats written by Francesco Marciuliano
I had originally picked this up to use with Kids Cafe, but decided it was a bit too adult for that program. It was a cute take on what cats would write about, were they actually able to write poetry. Chapters are broken down into Family, Work, Play and Existence. I think my favorites are "Something's Wrong" about moving to a new place, "Unbridled Love" about the ways cats show affection, "Tripped" about kitty assassins, and "Most Amusing" about what makes cats laugh. This would be a good gift for cat lovers. 3 stars. 


Shojin Ryori: The Art of Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine by Danny Chu

     I've read this sort of cookbook before, so I pretty much knew what to expect. This type of vegetarian (actually vegan since it doesn't include meat, dairy or eggs) cuisine originally came from Buddhist temples, and depends entirely on seasonal fruits and veggies. The chef and author divided the food up into seasons, and like most Japanese food, the plates are very small, but there are a lot of them. I kind of wished that they would put all the basic recipes in the front, not just stocks and sauces, and not repeat them with every section. The food is simple and beautiful, and there were a few recipes that I would like to try at home like the asparagus with white miso and walnut sauce. Most of the recipes are ones that I would rather try at a restaurant. 3 stars.

Kids Cafe and The Kraken

We have a program that the library is co-sponsoring with a local food bank and the USDA called Kids Cafe. Basically we give a wholesome snack to children 0-18 with an enrichment program. I doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be vaguely educational. I like to make an effort with my programs and have been using them as an opportunity to expose kids to art. My undergraduate degree was in Art History and I love to be able to use it when I can, plus I like to teach people about art. In addition, I know a lot of schools have cut art programs because of all the budget cuts, so I figure that they will be predominantly learning something new. Overall, I have really enjoyed the mini-lectures I have given, despite the time constraints, as I am limited to basically 10-15 minutes, and then we do a craft. I've gotten to research cool artist like Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Chihuly, Matisse, and even cool historical periods/cultures like the Ancient Egyptians. 

Dale Chihuly's The Sun and Black Nijima Floats

This month I'm am attempting to do some programs around poetry as it is National Poetry Month. Last year, I blogged every day with a different poem. I don't have as much time this year. Today's programs was on "Haikus and Origami". Needless to say the origami was more popular, even though I was super excited about the haikus as they are one of my favorite poetical forms. Anyways, I have decided to post this poem today because I recently found it while reading a children's nonfiction book with my son on the Kraken entitled Here There Be Monsters: The Kraken and the Giant Squid by H.P. Newquist. I highly recommend the book. 

The Kraken

by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Below the thunders of the upper deep, 

Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, 

His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep

The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee

About his shadowy sides; above him swell

Huge sponges of millenial growth and height; 

And far away from the sickly light, 

From many a wonderous grot and secret cell

Unnumbered and enormous polypi

Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.

There hath he lain for ages, and will lie

Battening upon huge sea worms in his sleep, 

Until the latter fire shall heat the deep; 

Then once by man and angels be seen, 

In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.