Picture Books
Happy Birthday Maisy and Maisy at the Farm written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins
Busy Toes by C.W. Bowie. Illustrated by Fred Willingham
Where Do I Live?
* I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers in Art selected by Lucy Micklethwait
Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes written and illustrated by Stephen R. Swinburne
* Yo! Yes? written and illustrated by Chris Raschka
Preston's Goal! written and illustrated by Colin McNaughton
What do You See When You Shut Your Eyes? by Cynthia Zarin. Illustrated by Sarah Durham
Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner. Photographs by Thomas Lindley
Middle Grade Fiction
Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill
The New You by Kathleen Leverich
The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp
The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
Middle Grade Nonfiction:
* Awesome Alphabets written and illustrated by Mike Artell
Young Adult Fiction
The Revelations of Saint Bruce by Tres Seymour
Broken Chords by Barbara Snow Gilbert
Truly Grim Tales by Priscilla Galloway
Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL
ISSN 1078-8697
An electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1998 Wendy E. Betts. Reproduction for personal and non-commercial use is permitted only if this copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission. Mail web@armory.com with comments or questions. All reviews by Wendy Betts unless otherwise noted. For info and archives, see http://www.armory.com/~web/notes.html
Vol. 6, No. 8
November 1998
Board Books
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Count On Me written and illustrated by Alice Provensen. Harcourt
Brace, 1998 (0-15-201510-8) $14.95
This attractively packaged, novelty set of counting books includes ten small board books in a box, one for each number from one to ten. Each book also has a different theme: book one invites readers to count animal babies, book two looks at traffic and book ten counts different kinds of berries. Neither the lightly rhyming text nor the small watercolor pictures are particularly striking, but just playing with the books in their boxes will help reinforce the numbers and their order. (1-4)
A You're Adorable words and music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman. Illustrated by Martha Alexander. Candlewick, 1994 (1-56402-237-4) $9.95
This illustrated version of the popular standard "A You're Adorable" may not be the most sensible way to teach the alphabet, but it has to be one of the most fun, offering a delightful musical memory aid that's also a perfect way to let children know you think they're special. Each letter has its own playful little drawing that lovingly illustrates the accompanying verse; Alexander's delicately beautiful children and animals make her the ideal illustrator for the song.
Although I'm thrilled to have a quote from my hardcover review on the back of this board book edition, I have to say I prefer the original format; new pastel backgrounds are attractive, but shrinking the pictures inevitably dims some of their liveliness and expression, and very young children need sharper lines and contrasts than are found in these soft-focused pictures in any case. But the board book would be a good choice for an older child who still tends to be hard on books. (2-5)
Picture Books
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Happy Birthday Maisy and Maisy at the Farm written and illustrated by
Lucy Cousins. Candlewick, 1998 (0-7636-0577-8; 0-7636-0576-X) $12.99
each
There's something about the Maisy characters, with their thick black outlines and bright blocks of color, that just makes you wish you could pick them up and play with them--the main reason that the Maisy game is so successful. These pull-tab books are almost as good, letting reasonably nimble readers help Maisy ride her horse and open her birthday cards. The pictures are as cheerful and active as always, and the pull-tabs are particularly well-designed, showing Maisy energetically blowing out her candles, tooting a horn, and feeding a baby lamb a bottle. (2-5)
Busy Toes by C.W. Bowie. Illustrated by Fred Willingham. Whispering Coyote, 1998 (1-879085-72-0) $15.95
Every baby knows about tasting toes, but as we see in this playful book, toes can be endlessly helpful and interesting. There are tippy toes and dancing toes, hidden toes and squishing toes, doggy tummy rubbing toes, and for the truly weird, wearing teeny clothes on toes. Vibrant, almost photo-realistic paintings of a multicultural group of children demonstrate the inherent fun of the toe with carefree warmth and grace. (2-6)
Where Do I Live? Cedco, 1998 (0-7683-2044-5) $12.95
Brilliantly colored photographs and a bold, enticing design will have readers eagerly turning over this book's flaps to discover that a bullfrog lives in a pond, an egret lives in a marsh, and an Angelfish lives in a coral reef. Each large flap shows an animal, while underneath the flap an expanded photograph depicts it in its habitat. A simple text gives facts about each animal that are clues to its environment, inviting discussion about why they live where they do. (2-6)
I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers in Art selected by Lucy
Micklethwait.
Greenwillow, 1993 (0-688-12640-5) $19.00; Mulberry, 1998
(0-688-16158-) $9.95 pb
(reprinted in part from The WEB: Celebrating Children's Literature)
An ordinary counting game becomes much more with this ingenious book, which reproduces works of art (from varied periods and styles) that have countable objects in them. Not only are the pictures attractive--and beautifully reproduced--but they are carefully and cleverly chosen, both to have interesting counting objects, and to draw the eye to parts of the artwork that might not otherwise be noticed. The first picture, accompanying the text "I spy one fly," points out an incongruous fly on the elaborate headdress of a fifteenth century woman. The sixteenth picture shows apples in a tree over a Madonna and child--and only after actually counting them did I realize that the sixteenth rosy apple is clutched in the baby's rosy hand. Noticing these details creates an increased feeling of intimacy with the artwork; by making the reader think about why the artists chose to include certain objects in a scene, it teaches art appreciation without ever saying a word about it. * (3 & up)
Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes written and illustrated by Stephen R. Swinburne. Boyds Mill, 1998 (1-56397-707-9) $15.95
There's a surprising amount that can be learned from patterns in nature: geometric shapes, principles of symmetry, life-cycles. But this gentle little primer doesn't push a lot of facts; instead the straightforward text and eye-catching photographs merely encourage readers to observe different patterns, inevitably sparking curiosity and appreciation. It's a book that cries out for interaction between a reader and a child, because there are so many questions to discuss: Why are spider webs spiral? What shape are the blocks on a giraffe? Why do tree stumps have rings? The questions arise naturally from the mysterious loveliness of the patterns, and even readers who learn nothing else will be easily convinced that "patterns make our world a beautiful place." (3-8)
Yo! Yes? written and illustrated by Chris Raschka. Orchard, 1993; 1998 (0-531-07108-1) $6.95 pb
A story that could take chapters to tell is summed up in pictures plus 34 words in this engaging Caldecott honor book. "Yo!" says a black kid wearing unlaced high-tops and a cooler-than-cool expression. A primly dressed white kid nervously replies, "Yes?". That's the start of a conversation which never gets beyond one or two word sentences, but which effortlessly reveals the two boys to each other and to us: as the second one confides his loneliness, the first drops his affectations, until they are equally joyous friends together. Offbeat watercolor and charcoal illustrations forsake background to concentrate on the facial expressions and posture of the boys, showing the myriad emotions--uncertainty, shame, sympathy, wondering--the boys go through on their journey to friendship. The undercurrents of race and culture clash are especially well done, as we see each boy afraid he won't be accepted by the other. Seldom have race relations been explored with such easy panache. * (4-8/4-8)
Preston's Goal! written and illustrated by Colin McNaughton. Harcourt Brace, 1998 (0-15-201816-6) $15.00
In a follow-up to Suddenly!, Boo! (reviewed volume 4, number 8g), and Oops! (reviewed volume 6, number 3) Preston Pig once again escapes the hungry designs of Mr. Wolf through sheer obliviousness. As Preston runs an errand for his mother, he imagine himself as a great soccer player, never noticing that his shoots are causing chaos and destruction all around him; it's poor Mr. Wolf, as always, who takes the blame. The pictures of Preston's unconcerned athletic gyrations are full of lively, zany humor; I especially liked the endpapers, which show Preston practicing over and over on the front and the wolf being continually slammed by Preston's ball on the back. (4-8)
What do You See When You Shut Your Eyes? by Cynthia Zarin. Illustrated by Sarah Durham. Houghton Mifflin, 1998 (0-395-76507-2) $15.00
"What do you see when you go to sleep? Ariel saw her birthday, Tobias saw sheep, Mollie saw a monster, Sophie saw her pillow, the baby saw her eyelids, Gabriel saw the curtains billow. What do you see when you go to sleep?"
A sparkling portrayal of imagination and individuality, this deceptively simple little book shows that everyone approaches the world in a slightly different way, and invites readers to explore their own thoughts. A catchy rhythm and casual rhymes make the text as striking, in its mellow way, as the childlike, almost stick-figure illustrations. Lots of fun to read and think about. (4-8)
Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner. Photographs by Thomas Lindley. Little, Brown, 1998 (0-316-81255-2) $12.95
Text is basically irrelevant in this collection of fantastic visuals, which give Martin Handford's "Waldo" a run for his money. Using ordinary household objects, Steiner has created complex, enchanting scenes: a carnival in which a boy rides on a roller coaster made from a suitcase and baton, a general store that sells Hoover vacuum made from razors, and a sweet shop with real pretzels on the pretzel-backed chairs. Readers who like search puzzles will find rules, extra challenges, and a full list of the "look-alikes" at the back of the book, but you don't have to count every egg slicer and safety pin to enjoy this fascinating book. (4-12)
Middle Grade Fiction
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Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill.
1916; Books of Wonder, 1998 (0-688-14720-8) $22.00
Only incidentally an Oz book, this well-plotted magical adventure is a bit more formal and low-key than most of the Oz stories, but none the worse for that. The hero is Prince Inga, whose family and people are conquered and taken into slavery by ferocious warriors from a neighboring island. With the help of the greatest royal treasure, three magical pearls, and the more dubious assistance of perpetually jovial King Rinkitink and his grumpy talking goat Bilbil, Inga sets outs to free his people and succeeds so well, that only the needs of the publishing business required a deus ex machina rescue by the Oz gang. Enlivened with Baum's wry humor and peopled by well-defined, exciting characters, this atypical story is still worthy of the canon.
Like many of the Books of Wonder editions, this one has been slightly edited to remove a potentially offensive illustration; to their credit, they do now acknowledge the censorship, "in recognition of current sensibilities," on the copyright page. As always, the edition is gorgeous, with illustrated end papers, full color plates and all the rest of the original illustrations. (8 & up)
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill. 1917; Books of Wonder 1998 (0-688-14975-8) $24.00
An element of mystery enters the Oz series, when Princess Ozma disappears, along all of the magic tools of Glinda the Good and the Wizard. With no magic to aid them, except for Dorothy's mysterious magic belt, Ozma's subjects must be courageous and resourceful as they search for their ruler.
As in Rinkitink in Oz, the Oz characters here spend a fair amount of time making wry observations about human--or animal, or manufactured-- beings, and their foibles; there's a shade of the negativity that clouds Baum's final Oz books, but for the most part, humor and good-nature still prevail. A good use of foreshadowing keeps the mystery interesting, and the strange and colorful characters that are inevitably introduced are particularly memorable, including the pompous Frogman and the loveable King of stuffed bears, who keeps his subjects in line by warning "If any of you is naughty, I'll send him to some girl or boy in America to play with."
This edition just replaced my old Del Rey paperback of The Lost Princess of Oz, and comparing the two, I realize I didn't even know what I was missing all those years. Some of Neill's oddest and funniest pictures, like the Cowardly Lion riding on the back of the tiny Woozy, are once again available in large, crisp reproductions. The softly tinted color plates are also very attractive. (8 & up)
The New You by Kathleen Leverich. Greenwillow, 1998 (0-688-16076-X)
$15.00
"Once she realized she had lost her identity, Abigail Hunter had two
choices. She could admit what had happened and ask for help. She
could pretend nothing was wrong and solve the problem herself."
Thirteen-year-old Abby saw her move to a new city and a new school as
a chance to try out a new identity, but something went horribly wrong.
The new Abby--Abigail--is nothing like she planned, and there seems no
way to change her, not when she's so afraid of making a mistake.
School is torture, especially the philosophical discussion group
called "The Laboratory of Ideas": "It was like sitting at a friend's
house and saying whatever popped into your head... You didn't have to
put on an act. You could be yourself. That's why it filled Abby with
dread." But it's the dreaded discussion group, with its strange "what
ifs" that gives Abby an idea: what if she could find some kind of
store that would give her a new identity?
From the first words, there is something a little mysterious about
this book, preparing readers for the fact that this isn't just another
story about a girl having a hard time fitting in. Or is it?
Everything here is a little off-balance, and readers expecting a
fantasy may be in for a surprise--and vice versa.
This is an intriguingly plotted story with a unique feel to it. The
combination of fairly simple language and deliberate pacing is odd and
may irritate more sophisticated readers. But the surprises are fun,
and those who stick with it will probably be glad they did. (8-12)
The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp. Candlewick, 1998
(0-7636-0408-9) $16.99
This book starts off promisingly, introducing characters and
situations just right for a comfortable mix of family story and
fantasy. Hannah, Zachary and Sarah Emily are going to stay in their
great-great-aunt Mehitabel's house on Lonely Island. Before they
leave, a mysterious message and key arrive for them, guaranteeing
adventures ahead.
But the adventure, when it comes is a little tame. The three children
discover Fafnyr, a three-headed dragon who is a bit prim and grumpy,
in the classic Nesbit manner of magical beings. Each of Fafnyr's
heads has a story to tell, and each story is a lesson for one of the
three children, teaching them responsibility, genorousity and
self-reliance. It's not as dull as it sounds, because the stories are
nicely told, enjoyable adventures in themselves, but I was still left,
at the end of the book, with the feeling that nothing much had really
happened.
Rupp's writing is so smooth and inviting that I'm sure this book will
find readers, and perhaps only those expecting a rather more exciting
or meaningful adventure will be disappointed. (8-12)
The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli. Scholastic, 1997; Apple, 1998
(0-590-38633-6) $3.99 pb
In "April Mendez," the last story in this collection, April tries to
give a present to a hostile stranger named Nanette: the only thing
she has on her, her old library card. Nanette refuses, until a kindly
bookmobile driver urges, "Take it, Nanette. It's her best thing."
This story, in which the library card is never actually even used at
a library, really sums up the point of The Library Card. A library
card is more than a piece of cardboard. It's a gift. It has power.
It's your best thing.
The library cards in these stories offer life-changing gifts to four
troubled children: gifts of information and wonder, of
self-knowledge, of memory, and of friendship. The cards and
librarians here are obviously slightly supernatural and the situations
are sometimes blatantly over the top, but the underlying truth is
evident: library cards are magic. And they are there for the people
who need them most.
These sometimes ridiculous, often sad stories offer hope for a
redemption that's open to anyone. This is a book readers will
understand. They'll find it at the library. (9 & up)
Middle Grade Nonfiction
I hope that computers haven't made this book already obsolete, because
it's such a great idea. Dozens of pages show the unlimited
potential of specialized alphabets: letters drawn to look like tools,
like bones, even like clothes--a pair of pants and two socks make a
wild capital K. Along with complete renderings of each alphabet,
there are suggestions for creating new letters and other ideas about
how words can be spiced up with imaginative drawing. Artell
encourages readers to go beyond what he's done and design alphabets
that fit their particular needs; kids who want to make their own books
or design signs will find plenty of inspiration. And as the author
points out, a handwritten font has what computer fonts completely
lack: uniqueness. This is a terrific book to browse and a wonderful
resource. * (7-12)
Young Adult Fiction
This exploration of morality and betrayal is less successful as a
novel than as an unusually ambitious character study. The hero--or at
least the narrator--is Bruce Wells, a boy with a deeply felt sense of
self that too often clashes with the expectations of society. Bruce's
pride in his individuality is hardly humble, but his moral conviction
are no act and his seemingly perfect, straight arrow character has
earned him the nickname "Saint Bruce"--actually an expression of
admiration amongst his circle of much less upright friends.
The trouble begins when Bruce trusts a teacher a little too much, and
spills the beans about a drinking party at school. When his four
closest friends are suspended, he becomes an outcast: truly, nobody
likes a snitch. As Bruce discovers the consequences of what he did,
for himself and for his friends, he begins to wonder whether the
ongoing fight to be himself is worth it.
Although it's certainly thought-provoking, I was left feeling slightly
short-changed by this book. So many interesting ideas are brought up,
such as Bruce's discovery that his friends thought a "saint" such as
him would never betray them. The different possible definitions of
just what a saint is could have been a powerful theme in this story,
but the surface is only scratched. Even what should be the defining
moment of the book--Bruce's "trial" by his friends--falls flat. And
the religious references that run throughout the book, in quotes and
chapter titles, are mainly window dressing.
What impressed me strongly about The Revelations of Saint Bruce is
that it's one of the few young adult books I've read in which the main
character really seems like someone I might have known in high school.
Rather ironically, Bruce is something of a non-conformist type,
especially when he pontificates about how stupid pep rallys and
convertibles are, as if he's the only teenager to ever think so.
Seymour's portrait is sincere but often unsparing: Bruce is utterly
chagrined when he discovers that others before him have answered his
teacher's numbered roll call by saying "I am not a number. I am a free
man." (A quote from "The Prisoner"--another familiar and plausible
touch.) Even from an adult perspective, I enjoyed seeing this kind of
person as a central protagonist, and I suspect other "non-conformists"
will be intrigued by this rare opportunity to see themselves in
literature.
Broken Chords by Barbara Snow Gilbert. Front Street, 1998
(1-886910-23-5) $15.95
The process of finding out what we truly love is one of the most
important parts of discovering who we truly are--but sometimes finding
out what we don't love is just as important. This thoughtful novel
offers a sincere, accessible look at what it means to be an artist and
what it means to be yourself.
They never use the word "prodigy" in her house, but the fact is that
Clara (named for pianist Clara Schumann) has been studying piano since
she first climbed on the piano bench at the age of three, and started
playing Mozart's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme." Now, at
seventeen, she is just weeks away from the final of the Nicklaus
competition; winning will mean a scholarship to Juilliard, a debut
concert, and almost certainly a career as a concert pianist. But even
amid her preoccupation with the competition, Clara doesn't want to
give up everything else in her life, sneaking out against her parents'
orders to play a tiny part in a school production of "The Nutcracker."
Then a slip during dance rehearsal makes Clara fall on her wrist, an
injury that will stop her playing piano until just two weeks before
the final.
With a big space in her schedule where lessons and three hours of
practice a day used to be, Clara suddenly has time for new things:
movies, her first football game--and Marshall, an attractive fellow
competitor whose struggle to afford piano study has him living in his
practice cubicle. As she sees the passion that drives Marshall to
play, against all obstacles, Clara begins to wonder if something is
lacking in herself. And for the first time, a terrifying, almost
blasphemous thought drifts into her head: "Was this what ordinary
life would be like? If she didn't play?"
Concentrating on the important relationships in Clara's life, with her
demanding mother, her resentful little brother, the admiring Marshall
and her loving but enigmatic piano teacher Tashi, Gilbert skillfully
weaves many small threads into a solid thematic whole, showing how
Clara begins to understand the important decision she has to make.
Although the air of the story is often a touch ornate and romantic,
with a mystic Russian folktale as an underlying motif, it is grounded
in reality; the bittersweet ending is strong and satisfying, leaving
us sure not only that Clara made the right decision, but that she made
it for the right reasons.
Truly Grim Tales by Priscilla Galloway. Delacorte, 1995
(0-385-32200-3) $10.95 trade pb; Laurel-Leaf, 1998 (0-440-22728-3)
$4.99 pb
Almost anything can become comfortable over time; by adulthood, most
of us are so familiar with the classic fairy tales that we no longer
see their dark and bewildering aspects. Like Angela Carter's The
Bloody Chamber, Truly Grim Tales strips us of that complacent
familiarity; unlike Carter, though, Galloway does not so much expand
on the psychological meaning already implicit in the tales as find new
meanings in newly strange and macabre elements. Using an oddly
effective mix of traditional and contemporary language, settings and
themes, each rewritten version of a well-worn story takes an unusual
perspective, most often that of the villain, which give bizarre but
recognizably human motivations to the characters. The giant in "Jack
and the Beanstalk" suffers from a rare disease curable only by human
bonemeal; the prince in Cinderella has a confused sexual identity
which has led to a foot fetish.
Perhaps the most powerful story is a futuristic interpretation of
"Little Red Riding Hood" which uncovers one of those fascinating
truths that seem so obvious once they are revealed: that beasts which
can reason, speak and feel, are essentially human.
The title, Truly Grim Tales, doesn't really convey the right
atmosphere for this collection: readers seeking quick chills or
postmodern humor may be disappointed, although the stories certainly
contain both. Essentially this is a serious work for mature readers;
it could just as well have been published as an adult book. But
though like many modern rewrites of traditional tales it sometimes
stretches a parallel to the breaking point (as in the terminal that
dispenses gold coins from the government in the "Jack in the
Beanstalk" rewrite), the main pleasure of reading it is in the little
shocks of surprise that come from seeing stories we thought etched in
stone turned on their sides or their heads.
Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas. Simon & Schuster, 1996 (0-689-80207-2)
$17.00; Aladdin, 1998 (0-689-80777-5) $4.99 pb
Introducing a promising new voice in young adult fiction, Rats Saw God
is a hip, funny , yet intensely-felt portrait at a bright, smartass,
very unhappy teenager who discovers that for most of his life he's
been a rebel without a clue.
In almost no time and for no apparent reason, Steve York has gone from
being a 4.0 student with near perfect attendance to an almost
dropped-out pothead. When DeMouy, the school counselor, asks, "Do you
mind telling me how someone who makes a 760 verbal on his SAT fails
English?" Steve replies, "I couldn't make it all the way through The
Outsiders again." But Steve does care enough about school to want to
graduate, and he needs that English credit. And so he agrees to make
it up by writing a hundred page paper and decides, for once, to take
the classic advice and write about what he knows. "I hoped DeMouy
would appreciate what I was about to do. In order to bypass summer
school, I was set to open wounds that had never really healed."
Alternating between descriptions of his current life and his first two
years at Grace High School, Steve tells the story of his antagonistic
relationship with his famous father (always dismissively referred to
as "the astronaut"), his creative involvement in GOD (Grace Order of
Dadaists), and how his heart was run through frappe, puree, and
liquify in a love blender by fellow Dadaist Wanda, aka Dub. In the
process, he begins to understand things about himself, his father and
Dub that he hadn't realized before. And he finds those opened wounds
beginning to heal.
Narrated with about equal amounts of wit and teenaged angst, Rats Saw
God is a very believable look at a particular kind of high school
experience. The long description of the progress of Steve's
relationship with Dub drags a little and his transformation at the end
seems overdone for dramatic effect, but the story as a whole is
insightful and compelling.
* indicates a book the reviewer feels is outstanding in its genre
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Awesome Alphabets written and illustrated by Mike Artell. Good Year,
1999 (0-673-58647-2) $9.95 pb
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The Revelations of Saint Bruce by Tres Seymour. Orchard, 1998
(0-531-30109-5) $16.95