Children's Book Reviews: Week of 2/12/2007
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 2/12/2007
Picture Books
SomedayAlison McGhee, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds. S&S/Atheneum, $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-2811-9
One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one," opens McGhee's (A Very Brave Witch) understated yet emotion-charged expression of a mother's love and hopes for her child. Reynolds's (The Dot) spare, wispy pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations depict the narrator and her daughter sharing everyday moments that mark milestones in the girl's maturation: the mother watches snowflakes "melt on your baby skin" and crosses the street as her little one grasps her hand. A transitional spread first reveals the youngster on a tricycle, aided by her mother, and then riding solo on a bicycle ("Then, you were my baby,/ and now you are my child"). Quietly the emotion builds, as the mother thinks of the future in store for her daughter, its joys and sorrows: "Someday I will stand on this porch and watch your arms waving to me until I no longer see you." Here Reynolds depicts the woman, older than she was at the book's start, on the left, gazing forlornly across the white expanse of the spread. The narrative comes full circle, as the parent looks ahead to a day, "a long time from now," when her daughter's own hair will "glow silver in the sun." Handlettering by Reynolds augments the story's deeply personal quality, which will resonate with both new and seasoned mothers. All ages. (Mar.)
If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle EditionJames Warhola. Scholastic/Orchard, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-439-72766-2
While their oblivious mother reads a book on a nearby bench, two children bring a jungle-themed playground to life by singing the well-known title song. At the sound of, "If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet," an elephant slide suddenly transforms into a real pachyderm who stands on its hind legs and clomps. When the song urges everyone to "give a roar," a lion seesaw springs to its feet and does just that, each animal joining the fray. The fantasy reaches a fever pitch with games of leapfrog and belly-crawling and then seems to draw to an end when Mom rises from the bench, gives a stretch and declares it's time to go home. But Warhola (Uncle Andy's: A Faabbbulous Visit with Andy Warhol) slyly hedges his bets—maybe the playground really has turned into a jungle. Although the human characters feel a tad wooden and schematic, Warhola's animal cast possesses all the genial high spirits that readers know from his previous books. The elephant, by virtue of his sheer size, especially steals the scenes—he's a literal party animal. Ages 3-5. (Mar.)
FoxKate Banks, illus. by Georg Hallensleben. FSG/Foster, $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-374-39967-2
Frequent collaborators Banks and Hallensleben compose an appealing, idealized story of a young fox eager for independence. As the seasons shift, the kit's watchful parents teach him how to survive in the wild. Although this is a forest tale, anthropomorphism creeps in. The fox is an only offspring, not one of a litter, and his parents instruct him according to traditional gender roles: "The little fox is hungry./ His mama shows him how to find blackberries./ His father shows him how to catch rodents and birds." (The spread shows a blackberry bush; readers never see the foxes killing or eating animals.) Each time the kit learns something new, he asks, "Am I ready?" and his parents reply, "Not yet" or "Soon." These questions lend suspense, yet the narrative avoids threats. When the fox hears baying hounds, his knowing father calls him "deeper into the forest,/ far from danger," and readers sense that the woods may be more hazardous than the book demonstrates. This tidy wilderness portrait is nonetheless seductive: Hallensleben handles outdoor scenes with finesse, and his signature scuffled layers of brushwork mesh with Banks's evocative prose. The foxes' flame-orange coats, described as "the color of burnished leaves," complement mossy greens and sky blues. In beautiful pictures and prose, Banks and Hallensleben provide a safe story, maintaining the illusion that the "little fox" can be cuddly and self-sufficient. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)
I Don't Like Gloria!Kaye Umansky, illus. by Margaret Chamberlain. Candlewick, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3202-1
Calvin is not a happy pup. His young owner has adopted a Persian cat named Gloria, and the fluffy feline has usurped all the attention. As the girl fusses over Gloria, Calvin grumbles, "Nobody remembered my walk today. They were too busy with Gloria." In keeping with Umansky's deadpan prose, Chamberlain (The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate) pares down the details to focus on character dynamics. The pudgy, neglected hero's big, round eyes flash with indignation and hurt. Author and illustrator smartly forego an ending with hugs and kisses all around: instead, the final pages find Gloria and Calvin achieving détente when yet another new pet, this time a brown bunny, arrives on the scene. "I still don't like Gloria, and Gloria doesn't like me," says Calvin. "But at least we agree on one thing. We really don't like Jeffrey!" Youngsters will enjoy the directness of words and pictures, and nascent readers may well be able to tackle the text—especially with the humorous scenes as clues. Ages 3-6. (Feb.)
When I Grow UpTina Louise, illus. by Oliver Corwin. Abrams, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8109-3948-6
Making her children's book debut, Gilligan's Island alum and longtime literacy volunteer Louise suggests that readers find inspiration for future careers in the animal kingdom. The left side of each spread pays tribute to the non-human role model, while the left side presents a grownup professional in a similar situation: "If a bird can fly high in the sky," she writes, "I can be a pilot!" Unfortunately, most of the book's "If... then" examples result in more challenging leaps of logic: the idea that "If an elephant can shake hands with its trunk, I can be president of the United States" may leave even the most imaginative youngster scratching his or her head. Still, the 13 jobs highlighted here show a nice range of vocational possibilities (among them: nurse, archaeologist, fashion designer, police officer, Olympic athlete). Corwin's neon-bright, ebullient drawings emit a shiny, digital feel, and should strike the fancy of preschoolers who enjoy imaginative play. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)
Little Rooster's Diamond ButtonMargaret Read MacDonald, illus. by Will Terry. Albert Whitman, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8075-4644-4
When Little Rooster finds a bit of bling ("a diamond button!"), he wants to give it to his poor, goodhearted mistress. A greedy king, however, steals the button and tries to kill the feathered hero. But the monarch is repeatedly outfoxed, so to speak, by the rooster's "magic stomach." When the king orders the rooster thrown into a beehive, for example, the rooster tells his stomach to simply eat up all the bees; when the king then tries to squash the rooster by sitting on him, the rooster regurgitates the insects ("Spit out all the bees... and let them sting that King!" the fowl commands). The triumphant Little Rooster ultimately bestows upon his owner not only the button, but also the entire contents of the royal treasury. MacDonald (Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur!) retells this folktale with her usual verve and astute ear for what pleases a read-aloud audience. Terry's (Armadilly Chili) acrylic paintings make a good match with their appealingly woozy feel. His googly-eyed characters look at home amid silly hysteria, while his swooping lines, radiantly brassy colors, and off-kilter perspectives capture a world where anything is possible. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)
Scoop!: An Exclusive by Monty MolenskiJohn Kelly and Cathy Tincknell. Candlewick, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3059-1
This comical caper by the husband-and-wife team behind The Mystery of Eatum Hall introduces a young mole who's an "ace reporter" wannabe. Monty Molenski's editor at The Daily Roar berates the bespectacled, camera-toting fellow for "wasting [his] time looking for aliens and monsters that don't exist." He wants Monty to bring him a "proper story." The mole thinks he might be onto something when he spies on his colleagues, who are headed for a place they call the F.P. Club. Suspecting it is a secret society, Monty tries to follow them after they disappear into a hotel, but the doorman refuses him entry. As the bumbling reporter makes several funny, futile attempts to enter the building, his camera inadvertently goes off repeatedly, capturing the outrageous goings-on around him. Readers will delight in spotting the colorful spectrum of characters (aliens and monsters among them) that oblivious Monty misses entirely. But his film, when developed, reveals plenty, clinching headline after headline for the reporter, who finally gets inducted into the F.P. (aka Front Page) Club. As in the artists' previous title, the predominantly dark palette of their computer-generated art serves their theme well; the otherworldly creatures seem quite comfortable among the shadows. Ages 5-8. (Feb.)
And What Comes After a Thousand?Anette Bley. Kane/Miller, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-933605-27-2
Young Lisa and elderly Otto spend their days rambling around his farm. Otto always seem to have an "emergency" cookie in his pocket, knows how to make a slingshot and loves to count the stars (hence the title). Most important, he never dismisses anything the towheaded girl says; when Lisa wonders where numbers come from, Otto muses a bit and replies, "I think they're just inside of us." After Otto falls ill and dies, Lisa is angry and bereft. But with the help of Olga, who took care of Otto, Lisa comes to understand that "Otto is like numbers. He's inside of us, and that will never end." German author-artist Bley's velvety, emotionally acute pictures exude a visual poetry. She conjures a world where minds can meet across the generations without impediments. The scenes of Otto's swift decline are unsparing, but also intensely human, softened by images of poppies and the things Lisa brings to Otto (leaves, cocoons); every detail seems authentic and heartfelt. Bley plunges readers into the story without explaining whether Otto, Lisa and Olga are related, offering few details about Lisa beyond the experiences she shares with Otto. Instead, the essentials come through in landscapes of the farm and close-ups of Otto and Lisa swapping stories while gazing at the sky. Children will find much to savor in the book's radiant pictures and lyrical elusiveness. Ages 6-10. (Mar.)
Fiction
That Stinking FeelingPeter Hannan. HarperCollins, $15.99 (160p) ISBN 978-0-06-085212-2; HarperTrophy, $4.99 paper ISBN 978-0-06-085211-5
The creator of Nickelodeon's CatDog sets his Super Goofballs series into super silly, sophomoric motion, starring characters with names that tell readers all they need to know. Amazing Techno Dude, whose TV helmet gives him "certain mysterious audio-visual-techno super powers," and Granny the Bodacious Backwards Woman, who speaks and moves backwards, must outwit Queen Smellina the Shrieking Stinkbug of Stench. Soon after this flying super villain lands in jail, calamity strikes the unlikely superheroes' house. To help finance the repairs, the backwards Granny says, "Roommate a get will we." They end up with not one but eight would-be superhero roommates, including a pair of underpants named Mighty Tighty Whitey, a caped block of granite called Wonder Boulder and the disaster-prone Blunder Mutt. When Queen Smellina's sidekick, Fabian the Fabulous Flatulent Fiend ("one fart smellow"), swipes the main course from an all-you-can-eat bean restaurant and threatens to "bomb the area with a series of gigantic you-know-whats coming from his you-know-where"—and Queen Smellina reappears—the roomies step in to help save the day. Hannan's copious cartoons chronicle these zany antics, which will appeal most to kids with a fondness for potty humor and broad puns. This wacky cast returns in Goofballs in Paradise ($15.99 ISBN 978-0-06-085214-6; $4.99 paper 978-0-06-085213-9), due out the same month. Ages 7-11. (Feb.)
Remembering Mrs. Rossi Amy Hest, illus. by Heather Maione. Candlewick, $14.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2163-6
When eight-year-old Annie's mother, a sixth-grade teacher, contracts pneumonia, "nobody, absolutely nobody" expected her to die. But she does. Hest's (The Purple Coat) moving novel balances humor with poignant moments, such as Annie's feeling that her mother will be home waiting for her ("She's reading on the couch in her fuzzy blue robe as usual, eating coffee ice cream on the couch as usual"), only to be struck anew with the realization she is gone. The girl shares her regrets, recalling mean things she said to her mother and wishing, as the snow falls, that she could make a snowman with her ("Just one more time"). Her kind father can't completely fill the space; he neglects to remind his daughter to wear warm socks on a cold night and goes to work on her snow day from school instead of playing in the park with her ("He doesn't know the rules"). In one heartrending scene, Annie confides to her father that she fears she forgot to tell her mother she loved her and that she worries, "What if I stop remembering Mommy?" But the compendium of reminiscences (which gives this book its title) put together by Mrs. Rossi's class helps Annie and her father remember (it's reproduced at novel's end). Annie reads the entries over and over, "Page after page, like so many secret little visits with her mother." Readers of this fine novel will find the spirited, resilient Annie another character—just like her mother—well worth remembering. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)
Magpie Gabbard and the Quest for the Buried Moon Sally M. Keehn. Philomel, $16.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-399-24340-2
Set on a Kentucky mountaintop, Keehn's (Gnat Stokes and the Foggy Bottom Swamp Queen) novel is as memorable for the voice of its spunky heroine as for its imaginative plot ingredients. The novel opens as Magpie takes the foot that once belonged to her brother Milo and heads "off-mountain" to search for him. On the day she was born, Magpie's grandfather passed on to her a legacy, "a cussedness to carry on the fight" with her family's archrivals, the "downright despicable" Sizemores (who live "down-mountain"). At the same time, the moon visited her father, inspiring a name for his new daughter (for the white streaks in her black hair that resemble the bird) and also a prophecy: if the girl "can rise above her grandpa's fighting legacy and put her cussedness to good use, one day she could save us all." Milo left his foot behind in order to escape the chains their mother devised to keep him at home. Though Magpie's initial attempt to reunite her sibling with his foot fails, she takes on the larger mission of the title—to restore the moon to the sky. An unlikely cast aids her in her quest: an enchanted teakettle, Wild Bill, the boar that transports her, and a flask of "miracle" Green Water—even the Sizemores, who are not so despicable after all. At once humorous and poignant, this is an enchanting tall tale from a talented raconteur. Ages 10-up. (Mar.)
The Theft and the MiracleRebecca Wade. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-077493-6
Wade's first novel—part mystery, part fantasy—centers on 12-year-old Hannah Price, who "noticed things other people didn't and... knew how to draw them." One afternoon, she gives her raincoat to a fellow classmate just as a sudden thunderstorm erupts. Hannah seeks shelter in a cathedral famous for its 14th-century wooden carving of the Virgin and Child. As she begins to sketch the sculpture, Hannah's fingers tingle and her pencil "traveled with complete assurance." When she leaves the church, Hannah begins to sense an unexplained presence watching over her. Soon thereafter the infant is stolen out of the arms of the Virgin. Hannah learns that a witches' coven plans to burn the sculpture on Dec. 24th, the statue's anniversary, and she falls for a trap set by the thief. The story moves quickly and Hannah's personal challenges (she's overweight and suffers from acne) make her an accessible heroine, but the reason for Hannah being chosen as the statue's protector remains unclear. This is a more sophisticated mystery due to its references to witchcraft and strong historical and religious overtones (the Black Death, the angel Gabriel). Readers with a keen key for clues will discover them throughout the story. Ages 9-up. (Jan.)
Anything But OrdinaryValerie Hobbs. FSG, $16 (176p) ISBN 0-374-30374-6
Die-hard romantics will delight in Hobbs's (Carolina Crow Girl) newest offering about two New Jersey teens. Bernie Federman and Winifred Owens feel like social outcasts throughout middle and high school. What draws Bernie to Winifred is her individuality ("She was as popular at Pittstown Middle as the cafeteria meat loaf"). As Bernie and Winifred navigate their way into high school, the two fall in love. Both gifted students, they make plans to attend the same college where Winifred will study nanoscience and Bernie will become a writer. Their plans take an unexpected turn after Bernie's mother dies from cancer and he loses all motivation to do anything. Hobbs's novel contains all the elements of a light romance, but she introduces something of a cautionary tale. After Winifred heads off to college in Santa Barbara, Bernie decides to drive his old truck cross-country to be with her. However, he is unprepared for the new Wini, who has changed her major to communications and looks just like everyone else on campus. Hobbs covers the years with smooth pacing, always keeping her protagonists front and center. The third-person narrative switches between the teens' perspectives, building suspense about whether they can work things out. Teens will sympathize with Winifred as she tries to discover who she really is without losing the one thing she comes to realize is irreplaceable. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)
The Nature of JadeDeb Caletti. S&S, $16.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-4169-1005-3
When 17-year-old Jade sees a curly-haired boy on a zoo Web camera—a boy with a baby on his back—she gets that "little feeling of knowing, this fuzzy, gnawing sense that someone will become a major something in your life." After she volunteers to work with the elephants, she meets and falls in love with Sebastian, and is quickly drawn into his complicated life—including his dangerous secret. Jade's life has its own complexities, such as a "missing in action" father, and a mother who is overly involved in Jade's high school. Caletti's (Wild Roses) multilayered novel interweaves many plot points; the fascinating anecdotes about animal behavior that begin each chapter ground the story, as does the guidance of Jade's gentle counselor. Some characters do not fully come alive, such as the brokenhearted elephant keeper Damian, who mourns the pachyderm he left behind in India. (Readers will likely take to Damian regardless, and appreciate his part in teaching Jade that she is like her name, "One of the strongest materials. Stronger than steel.") The author offers a rather unflinching look at realistically complicated lives; readers will root for Jade as she begins to learn that she can't "put things into separate compartments: right, wrong, good, bad"—especially when it comes to the people she loves. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)
Un Lun Dun China Miéville. Ballantine, $17.95 (448p) ISBN 978-0-345-49516-7
Miéville (King Rat) presents a remarkable bit of world-building. London teenager Zanna (short for Susanna) starts to experience odd occurrences: clouds that resemble her, strangers who call her the "Shwazzy," and graffiti that reads "Zanna For Ever!" Zanna, it turns out, is the Shwazzy (choisi or "chosen one") of the people of UnLondon (the Un Lun Dun of the title), a surreal mirror-image of London ("Abcities have existed at least as long as the cities," a book of prophecy tells her, "Each dreams the other"). Together, Zanna and her friend Deeba wind up in UnLondon, a Gaiman-esque wonderland of ghosts, zombies, walking garbage cans and sentient umbrellas. (Its people have a sense of humor, describing how they disposed of pre-euro currency, and other parallel "abcities" such as "Parisn't" and "No York"). The Smog, a beast borne of London's "smoke from chemicals and poisons" haunts UnLondon, and it seems that Zanna is the one designated to defeat the Smog. But a twist of fate unleashes unforeseen events and the UnLondoners wind up pinning their hopes on Deeba. Miéville employs a few tricks from the experimental novelist's bag (five-words-long chapters, others that end mid-sentence, puns and wordplay galore) but by and large relies on his formidable storytelling skill for this lengthy yet swift-moving tale that, with a wink and a nod, cuts through archetypal notions of fate and prophecy. Highly recommended for Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker fans especially. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)
The Four DorothysPaul Ruditis. Simon Pulse, $8.99 paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-4169-3991-5
Ruditis begins his first original series, Drama!, with a bang: "It was a drag queen's worst nightmare. There were four of them onstage... high school girls, that is, not drag queens." Bryan, the "Drama Geek" who narrates, considers himself a "background player" in his own life. But after strange accidents happen to the multiple Dorothys cast in his Malibu high school's production of The Wizard of Oz, he takes on a bigger role to protect his best friend, Sam (short for Samantha), who is playing one of the leads. When one Dorothy (Suze) has an allergic reaction to her lunch, Bryan thinks it may be an accident; but when nude pictures of another Dorothy get posted on the school's Web site, he realizes that someone did it on purpose. He suspects Heather, yet another Dorothy. The book has a wisp of a set-up (under parental pressure, "the headmaster... decreed that every student who tried out would get 'a role of substance,' " hence four girls share the lead role), which stands in sharp contrast to the dark pranks (to stop the allergic reaction from killing Suze, Bryan has to inject her with epinephrine). Despite these tonal shifts and a rather meandering plot, the hero's narrative brims with fun touches, such as the stuffed dog emporium he visits to collect four identical Totos. Readers will find Bryan an authentic character, and feel for the closeted gay boy within who is "slowly moving up in the cast list of my life." Ages 12-up. (Feb.)
