Children's Book Reviews: Week of 2/5/2007

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 2/5/2007

Picture Books

Green as a Bean
Karla Kuskin, illus. by Melissa Iwai. HarperCollins/Geringer, $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-075332-0

Kuskin's 1960 text, Square as a House, gets a new title and, thanks to Iwai's (B Is for Bulldozer) velvety, fanciful pictures, a new lease on life. With a bespectacled, wide-eyed boy serving as a pretend tour guide, the book unfolds in a series of rhyming "What if" musings. Instead of riffing on the usual sort of role-playing, Kuskin asks readers to think in more abstract, thought-provoking arenas—such as colors and textures, sounds and sizes—and consider the array of possibilities this opens up to them. "If you could be green/ would you be a lawn/ or a lean green bean/ and the stalk it's on?/ ... / Tell me, lean green one,/ what would you be?" A few pages later she wonders, "If you could be loud/ would you be the sound/ of thunder at night/ or the howl of a hound/ as he bays at the moon/ or the pound of the sea?/ Tell me, proud loud one,/ what would you be?" Iwai smoothes out the lines between reality and fantasy in her lushly colored vignettes, depicting a full moon smiling at the boy's pooch as he sets sail over a swirling sea. Kuskin's internal rhymes and highly visual examples set the stage for Iwai's solid, simple shapes. The recurring refrain ("Tell me...") subtly conveys to readers that while imagination is a powerful tool, they are fully in control of it. Ages 3-8. (Feb.)

The Scallywags
David Melling. Barron's, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7641-5991-6

Meet the Scallywags, a family of nine wolves that's driving the other forest animals crazy ("I sat next to one of them at supper last week," complains a pig. "He was so smelly, I couldn't finish eating!"). But when it dawns on the wolves that they're actually being shunned, they decide it's time to learn the ways of polite society, and they surreptitiously study their neighbors. ("Before long most of the wolves knew what to do with... a handkerchief, a toothbrush, and a comb. And some of them could dress nicely and say please and thank you.") The Scallywags become so well groomed and polite that their neighbors do not recognize them and invite them to dine. The free-for-all denouement won't come as much of a surprise, but getting there is more than half the fun. Melling's (Good Knight, Sleep Tight) exuberant pictures bring to mind the expertly orchestrated goofiness and vivid characters of vintage cartoons—it's easy to imagine this book as an animated short. His repertoire of comic expressions is particularly impressive given the size of his animal cast. Every one of the characters, even those in tiny supporting roles, is good for a giggle. Ages 4-7. (Feb.)

Rainstorm
Barbara Lehman. Houghton, $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0618-75639-1

Like her previous titles (Museum Trip; The Red Book), Lehman's new book follows a lone child on a magical wordless journey. But this one celebrates a slightly more plausible trip, and offers its hero friendship. As the book opens, a boy dressed neatly in short pants and a tie listlessly kicks his ball around a stately gray manor house on a rainy day. He finds an old key under a chair, and, after a couple of false starts, locates the trunk it opens. Within the trunk, a ladder leads down into a tunnel, a long passageway and then a winding staircase up again. He emerges atop a sunny island lighthouse, where he's greeted by three children. In Lehman's watercolors, the landscape emerges in sturdy forms and cheerful solid hues, an ideal setting for the magnificent day the boy spends with his new friends, flying kites and playing catch. The boy's contentment shows in his bare feet and open shirt. Better still, unlike most magical journeys, this one can be repeated. The next day is another wet one, and the boy, hurrying through the tunnel, meets the lighthouse children coming the other way toward him. Lehman's creation recalls old-fashioned English adventure stories that use charmed means to bring coddled children outdoors for healthy fun. Now even nonreaders can have a magic adventure story of their very own; they'll treasure it. Ages 3-5. (Apr.)

Today and Today
Kobayashi Issa, illus. by G. Brian Karas. Scholastic, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-439-59078-5

Issa's elegant haiku and Karas's poignant illustrations guide readers through the seasons, symbolized by the changing branches of a cherry blossom tree. The translations of 18 works from several of the 18th-century Japanese poet's volumes come together in this collection like delicate beads, tiny moments common to us all. Meanwhile the illustrations follow the lives of a specific fictional family. Although death is never mentioned in the text, the beginning of the book shows an elderly man sitting peacefully on a chair as a father helps his son untangle a kite from the tree ("Just being alive!/ —miraculous to be in/ cherry blossom shadows!"). By winter, that chair is empty and, a few pages later, the family assembles in the cemetery ("Here/ I'm here—/ the snow falling"). In a hopeful spread, a child sits in the once-empty chair beneath flowering branches ("As simple as that—/ spring has finally arrived/ with a pale blue sky"). Small human figures appear against richly textured landscapes, as if underscoring the powerful cycle of nature. The view inside a house through a screened window, golden leaves streaming across the lawn like moonlight, and stars ringed in a midnight blue sky à la Van Gogh—"whispering to each other"—all act as touching backdrops for universal events. Combining various paper textures with both paint and pencil drawings, Karas creates a memorable feast of images that portray both the joy and sorrow of existence. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

Out of the Ballpark
Alex Rodriguez, illus. by Frank Morrison. HarperCollins, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-115194-1; ¡Jonron! Spanish ed. ISBN 978-0-06-115197-2

New York Yankees third baseman Rodriguez dips into his childhood to field this buoyant tale of a ballplayer with an obvious passion for the game. Though young Alex desperately hopes to play well during the playoff game and make his family proud, the boy repeatedly botches plays ("I think I'm setting a record for errors and strikeouts in the same game"). Yet his team wins and progresses to the championships. The next morning, Alex wakes at dawn to practice (in an extraneous, odd scene, he and a teammate run past their teacher, who is holding her nose, and Alex says to his pal, "If we stink now, wait till after practice this afternoon"). Rodriguez sets up an expected but still satisfying climax: in the bottom of the last inning of the championship game, Alex bats with the bases loaded and, with two strikes, hits a grand slam to win the team's first championship. Morrison's (Jazzy Miz Mozetta) stylized paintings capture the story's energy and his playfully skewed perspectives keep things light. In a concluding note, Rodriguez shares his "recipe for success," which entails working hard on and off the field, staying away from drugs and showing respect for others. Baseball-loving kids will appreciate the message that even future MVPs can have an off day, and young Yankee fans will especially appreciate the photos of Rodriguez's boyhood plus a Topps baseball card with a photo of the young ballplayer (attached to the back endpapers). Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

Don't Touch My Hat!
James Rumford. Knopf, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-375-83782-1

Convinced he owes his prowess and acts of bravery to his cowboy hat, Sheriff John has an attachment to the ten-gallon talisman that borders on obsession. Page after page of watercolor illustrations show the sheriff in various settings—at the barber shop, in the bathtub—all the while consumed with his hat's whereabouts. Rumford tempers this seriousness with a text steeped in Western twang ("Takin' his Saturday bath:/ 'Sugar,/ don't touch/ my hat!'/ Afore he turned out the light:/ 'Now, Darlin',/ don't touch/ my hat!' "). But on a night the likes of which gave the "Ol' West" its "wild" reputation, the Sheriff unknowingly grabs his wife's utterly feminine hat and learns a lesson: "It's your heart, not your hat" that counts. Rumford's depictions of the Wild West setting and attire are stronger than his portraits (filled with profiles and squinty-eyed faces), but this romp of a read suggests that a hero need not don a superhero's cape; he need only be himself. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

Animal Poems
Valerie Worth, illus. by Steve Jenkins. FSG, $17 (48p) ISBN 978-0-374-38057-1

This pairing of the late Worth's exquisite poems with Jenkins's (What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?) extraordinary, cut-paper illustrations make this a volume to treasure. Characteristic of the best of Worth's work, each poem in this handsome volume is a gem—full of crisp language, vivid images and thoughtful ideas. A keen observer, Worth captures not only the look of each animal she describes, but grounds her remarks with wise perceptions about the world both animals and humans inhabit. Camels "stand/ About munching and belching/ Like smug old maids/ Remembering their ancient/ Sway, when bearded/ Traders sailed them over/ The starry sand-waves." Jenkins's illustration portrays the subject as sloe-eyed and stately. His artwork, as textured as oil paintings, contains astonishing shadow and depth. Serrated paper edges resemble a squirrel's warming fur as "late autumn rains/ Fall colder than snow." The transparent tentacles of a jellyfish appear to undulate, "their hollow/ Veils and/ Trailed clappers/ Peal eternal/ Knells, for/ Valleys drowned/ And flooded hills." Jenkins features each animal silhouetted against a solid background (often cream or undersea blue), so that poem and illustration do not compete for attention but, rather, they work together to startle readers with their exactitude. Describing a spider's web, Worth comments, "The spider weaves it,/ .../ But at dawn, when/ It hangs spangled/ With silver water, frail/ .../ it is not/ Her web, but ours." This stunning collection will encourage readers to become careful observers, and to make the world of nature their own. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)

The Bremen Town Musicians
The Brothers Grimm, illus. by Lisbeth Zwerger, trans. by Anthea Bell. Penguin/minedition, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-698-40042-9

The inimitable Zwerger ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) and experienced translator Bell transform what in other hands has come off as a silly story into a captivating tale about the unwitting triumph of four aged animals who join together to create a band, foil a gang of robbers, and end up finding themselves a home. Zwerger's illustrations convey both poignancy and sly humor. A full-page, skillful portrait introduces each animal character, while at the top, spot art depicts their plights. The weariness of each elderly creature is plaintive, and Zwerger makes clear visually how the robbers might mistake the animals sitting atop each other for a monster. However, at the most dramatic moment of the story, when one of the robbers returns to the house to confront the sleepy animals inside, Zwerger leaves the details to readers' imaginations, using only shadowy gray figures to portray the literal action that occurs. Unlike Ilse Plume's sunny interpretation, this new version of the Grimm story focuses on how the four old creatures, despite their Quixote-like quest to become musicians, end up finding contentment anyway. Bell's translation adheres closely and gracefully to the original, and the theme of what might happen to those who outlive their usefulness ends on an enchanting, happy note. Ages 4-up. (Mar.)

Mendel's Accordion
Heidi Smith Hyde, illus. by Johanna van der Sterre. Kar-Ben, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-58013-212-1; $7.95 paper 978-1-58013-214-5

With a steady rhythm and a tone that fittingly hits joyous and sad notes, Hyde traces how klezmer music arrived in America, via the hearts and souls of Jewish immigrants largely from Eastern Europe. Mendel enjoyed a simple life in the tiny village of Melnitze, playing his accordion with his band, the klezmorim, at weddings and other functions. But when hardship struck Melnitze and surrounding regions, Mendel set sail for America with his accordion in tow. On board the ship he met other musicians and formed a new band and, simultaneously, a group of friends to settle with on New York's Lower East Side. Years later, Mendel's great-grandson finds the dusty accordion in an attic and carries on the family tradition. Van der Sterre's crisply composed watercolors offer some cozy Old World details and set the stage in a New York City of an earlier century. Her friendly faced characters help bring an entertaining piece of history alive for young readers. Endnotes about klezmer music and the accordion are included. Ages 5-9. (Mar.)

Fiction

Ferno the Fire Dragon
Adam Blade, illus. by Ezra Tucker. Scholastic/Little Apple, $4.99 paper (80p) ISBN 978-0-439-90651-7

This boy-vs.-dragon tale, the first in the BeastQuest series, makes for an ideal pre-Hobbit read and sword-and-sorcery introduction. Tom lives in the village of Errinel with his blacksmith uncle; his mother died when he was a baby, and his father left not long after for a quest from which he never returned. When the crops in Tom's village start to burn and the horses turn up dead, villagers begin to suspect a curse. Tom (for whom "the closest he came to thrilling quests was when he ran errands for his uncle") volunteers to travel to see King Hugo and enlist his help. The author packs a great deal of action into this brief tale. When Tom arrives at the palace, he learns that problems extend well outside of his village—others report tidal waves and blizzards, all thought to be the work of "the Beasts." The king reveals that the Dark Wizard Malvel is to blame, and recognizes Tom as the son of Taladon, entrusting the boy with a silver key that can unlock the charmed collar on Ferno the Fire Dragon and release the beast from Malvel's control. This debut tale in an episodic chain of one-beast-per-volume battles (Tom successfully completes this inaugural quest, of course), makes for a promising start to a fantasy franchise with a likable young hero and a refreshingly wide-eyed, old-fashioned approach to the genre. Ages 7-10. (Mar.)

Porkopolis: Game 1
Phil Bildner and
Loren Long, illus. by Long. S&S, $9.99 paper (144p) ISBN 978-1-4169-1863-9

The authors nimbly step up to the plate in this debut volume of Barnstormers: Tales of the Travelin' Nine series, but the action plays out rather disappointingly. In 1899, likable siblings Griffith, Ruby and Graham Payne are on the road with a barnstorming baseball team. Their father, once the Travelin' Nine's catcher, perished at war and their mother, disguised as a man, has taken his place behind home plate. The children cherish the baseball that their father carried throughout the war. At the start of the team's game against the Cincinnati Swine (aka Porkopolis, "the pork-packin' capital of the world"), the worn ball mysteriously seems to "tremble" in Ruby's hand. As the Nine loses the lead in the game, a "looming darkness" descends on the field. A train switching signal grows out of the ground, tracks and a locomotive appear—seen only by the siblings and their teammates, who lose badly. At game's end, Griffith shares with Ruby their uncle's warning, confided at their father's funeral, that "great danger lies ahead." Like this season's Hey Batta, Batta Swing (reviewed Jan. 8), this brief novel throws out appealing old-time baseball vernacular (defined in the margins) and intriguing period particulars, captured in Loren's enticing backdrops; youngsters will also enjoy the emotional portraits of the Payne family. But the danger remains a mystery as the tale comes to a close, with too much left dangling. Ages 7-10. (Feb.)

Skulduggery Pleasant
Derek Landy. HarperCollins, $17.99 (400p) ISBN 0-06-123115-0

Stephanie Edgley's uncle, a bestselling novelist, dies and leaves her his fortune. But the money doesn't interest her nearly as much as the odd, overdressed figure who appears at the funeral. He turns out to be the eponymous hero, the skeleton of a man, back from the dead to avenge his family's murder at the "red right hand" of Nefarian Serpine. Turns out, Stephanie has also inherited the family gene for sorcery, and she teams with Skulduggery to defeat the villain. Violent clashes with various cretins ensue. Some supporting characters, such as the magic world's "Elders," blend together, and Serpine's motivation is of the vague "I will rule the world!" variety. But plucky Stephanie and her dapper, urbane mentor make up for this slight lack of definition and clarity. Skulduggery is as caustic and witty as Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus, but a man (er, skeleton) of fewer words. First novelist Landy, a Dublin playwright, excels at dialogue; the repartee between the two leads recalls Hepburn and Tracy in its ongoing, affectionate contest of verbal one-upmanship. (When Stephanie complains about Skulduggery's high-falutin' vocabulary, he retorts, "You should read more," to which she replies, "I read enough. I should get out more.") Landy sets the tale on the Irish coast and reaches into Celtic lore for a cameo from the son of Finn McCool, but there's nothing old-fashioned about the way this story unspools. The book may be hefty but it moves at warp speed. An utterly charming debut, perfect for the Potter crowd. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Lauren Tarshis. Dial, $16.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3164-6

Through a compelling third-person narrative, first novelist Tarshis completely inhabits the character of an eccentric seventh-grader who will quickly win over readers. Emma-Jean Lazarus misses her father, who died two years ago and from whom she inherited an analytical mind. She does not always understand her "often irrational" peers and finds their lives "messy." She "thus made it her habit to keep herself separate, to observe from afar." One day, however, she discovers kind, sensitive Colleen in the girls' bathroom and decides to come to her aid. (The narrative occasionally shifts to Colleen's perspective, offering insight into how the heroine comes across to her classmates.) Emma-Jean takes her cue from the philosophy of Jules Henri Poincaré (a French mathematician whom her late father revered), who believed that "even the most complex problems could be solved through a process of creative thinking." Her well-intentioned efforts with Colleen and with others don't always hit their mark, but this slightly socially awkward, big-hearted outsider learns from her experiences. Other fully realized characters who show compassion and understanding to Emma-Jean include her mother, a wise and kind custodian, her teacher and especially Vikram, a doctoral student and the Lazaruses' boarder, who takes on a special significance to both mother and daughter. Readers will cheer on Emma-Jean as she begins to see more clearly and enter more fully the world around her, messiness and all. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)

Rex Zero and the End of the World
Tim Wynne-Jones. FSG, $16 (192p) ISBN 0-374-33467-6

Wynne-Jones (A Thief in the House of Memory) draws on his own childhood to describe events leading up to the Cold War. In the summer of 1962, narrator Rex Harrison and his family move to Ottawa from Vancouver. The tension between the U.S. and Russia permeates everything this summer. A homeless man announces the end of the world on a placard, while others build bomb shelters. It seems only Rex's parents aren't taking the threats seriously. One evening, while walking his dog in the park, Rex's dog pulls him toward something hiding in the bushes. A brief glance is enough to convince him that it's dangerous ("It tilts back its head and roars"). His older sister thinks it's a mutant: the fallout from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. However, Rex's new friends believe it's a panther that escaped from a zoo a few years ago. Throughout the summer, the kids work on a plan to capture the beast. The author subtly draws a parallel between the intangible Cold War fear and fear of the elusive creature. Despite the weighty themes, Wynne-Jones writes with a light, often humorous touch and maintains a perspective true to an 11-year-old's perspective. As Rex muses on the idea of the world ending, he understands that "one world seems to come crashing to a halt and you invent another." This winning hero paints a universe both hopeful and realistic, one that readers may well want to visit. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Now You See Her
Jacquelyn Mitchard. HarperCollins, $15.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-06-111683-4

Mitchard's (The Deep End of the Ocean) unsettling thriller features a borderline psychotic heroine—a trait that readers will suspect, but not confirm until the final chapters. Bernadette Romano, who now goes by Hope Shay, is destined to be a star—or so she thinks. Through Hope's first-person narrative, readers learn that she was accepted to Starwood Academy for the Performing Arts in Michigan at the age of 15—much to the delight of her success-obsessed parents. Cast as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, opposite the 17-year-old hunky and semi-famous actor, Logan Rose, Hope falls in love with him. The two come up with what she calls "The Plan" (to move to L.A. or New York together, get married and become professional actors) and "The Idea" (to stage an elaborate heist wherein Hope is supposedly kidnapped, then later found by Logan, who is paid handsomely by her parents as a reward). But The Idea backfires and Hope winds up in a mental institution for staging her own disappearance. The catch is, she really is sick. Everything—The Plan, The Idea, Logan's love for her, her starring role in the play—was a figment of the now 17-year-old Hope's imagination. Although Hope/Bernadette plays the part of the unreliable narrator with unnerving precision, her disillusionment carries on too long, and readers may well feel they've been unwittingly duped. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)

Notes on a Near-Life Experience
Olivia Birdsall. Knopf, $15.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0385-73370-0

Mia, 15, is the second of three children whose parents suddenly decide to divorce. In her upper–middle class California neighborhood, she senses she'll be stigmatized by this, but is "tired of avoiding feeling sad by feeling numb" (the "near-life experience" of the title). She processes her fears and questions in episodic vignettes detailing the changes her parents' split has wrought on herself and her siblings. Newcomer Birdsall is a smooth writer and punctuates her heroine's self-absorbed navel-gazing with gimlet-eyed observations and wry humor. "It's hard to take the government seriously," Mia notes, "when the Terminator runs your state." The build-up to the prom, which ends disastrously, is, however, all there is in terms of plot. The author introduces interesting threads about growing up in Yorba Linda, the birthplace of Richard Nixon, and a romance with Mia's brother's best friend but does not fully develop them. The heroine's epiphany—that in order to work through her problems she's going to have to admit to her patient psychotherapist that she has some—may not be climactic, but there's succor here for kids in similar straits. Even teens whose parents' marriage is intact will likely enjoy Mia's world-weary view. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)

The Invisible
Mats Wahl, trans. from the Swedish by Katerina E. Tucker. FSG, $17 (192p) ISBN 978-0-374-33609-7

The intriguing premise of this suspenseful novel will pull readers right into contemporary Sweden, where Hilmer Eriksson, a rural high school student, discovers one day that he is completely invisible to those around him—to his classmates, teachers, parents and girlfriend. Hilmer quickly learns that he "disappeared" Saturday evening while riding his bike to a neighboring village. The teen latches onto the detective investigating his disappearance to find out why no one can see him. Detective Fors's queries uncover a group of alienated skinheads whom he suspects may be responsible for Hilmer's disappearance. Wahl shifts the third-person narrative between the perspectives of Hilmer and Fors to strong effect, palpably building the tension. As Fors gathers evidence and interviews Hilmer's family and friends, Hilmer's memory fades. Short sentences, forthright dialogue and turns of phrase reveal a great deal about the characters. As far away as this rural Swedish community may be, readers may be chilled by the commonalities of the dark side, wherever humans dwell. A major motion picture based on the novel is soon to be released. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)

The Baptism
Shelia P. Moses. S&S/McElderry, $15.99 (144) ISBN 978-1-4169-0671-1

Moses (The Legend of Buddy Bush) crafts a poignant and memorable voice in that of 12-year-old narrator Leon Curry, through his humorous observations about family, race and paternity in the tiny North Carolina community of Occoneechee Neck in Jackson. During the week leading up to his baptism, Leon feels ambivalent about whether he can or really wants to surrender lying and sinning for salvation—especially as his twin brother, Luke, is "Mr. Goody Two-Shoes most of the time," and, a year past being "saved," his big brother, whom the twins call Joe Nasty, remains "just as mean as a rattlesnake." Plus, Leon says, "I am going to miss sinning some kind of bad. Sinning is the main reason I get out of bed in the morning." But he tries for his Mama's sake, despite missing his dad ("a good man with bad luck," killed by "white trash" Mr. Pollard, who owed Leon's father 15 dollars). and resenting his lazy, dishonest stepfather ("Ma is so smart about everything but Filthy Frank," he says). He defines the immutable rule of the town as "you can't mess with these fine white folks and get away with it," and their white landlord won't acknowledge that he and Leon's mother share the same father. Readers will utterly believe Leon's precociousness and likely savor his gentle gaffes, such as describing his gossipy cousin as "nothing but an ease dropper." Ultimately, during this combustible week, various tensions bubbling below the surface of the Southern niceties erupt and, although Leon's family almost loses everything, the power of love and family ties proves truly transformational. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)