Children's Book Reviews: Week of 3/12/2007

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 3/12/2007

Picture Books

Clancy the Courageous Cow
Lachie Hume. HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-117249-6

Australian newcomer Hume's wry naïve illustrations buoy this somewhat clunky story about a misfit cow, in which the explicit message about the importance of diversity overshadows the comedy. Clancy the cow is a "great disappointment for his parents. You see, they belonged to a herd of Belted Galloways, but Clancy had no belt. He was beltless." (Belted Galloways are black with a white band around the middle.) Clancy grows strong by slipping through the fence at night into the Herefords' lush field to graze (without a stripe, "he was invisible in the dark!"), and a Romeo and Juliet subplot emerges in which Clancy falls in love with a "totally brown" Hereford named Helga ("Like Clancy, Helga had always been picked on because she was different"). In the pasture war between the herds, the Herefords have the upper hoof until Clancy wins the wrestling match and proclaims, "I say we pull down the fence and be cows together." Hume's illustrations of the cartoon cows are often amusing. As an outcast, Clancy tries various silly remedies: he paints on a white stripe, sprinkles on white sugar and even rolls in the snow. When Clancy is being trained to fight by some experienced wrestlers, the spread features different cow-appropriate wrestling holds (the Cud Cruncher, the Helicowpter, the Ruminator, etc.). These comic touches leaven the rather heavy-handed message. All ages. (Mar.)

Every Friday
Dan Yaccarino. Holt, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-7724-7

Young children who share a dependable ritual with someone special can recognize themselves in this account of a father and son's weekly breakfast out. The elementary school-age son describes their routine, which begins before school or work (implied by the boy's book and the father's briefcase). Yaccarino's (The Birthday Fish) gouaches present an orderly city of brownstones and highrises, in all kinds of weather. On the sidewalk, the boy and his dad tip their hats to a street sweeper and a uniformed doorman. The father coaxes the boy not to linger at a toy store window, and the boy returns the favor when his dad gapes at a sports shop. They arrive at a bustling diner, where a friendly waitress predicts their order and later calls, "See you next Friday!" Yaccarino favors late-1950s visuals. Nary a wheeled sneaker, video game or headphone detracts from parent-child closeness. The dad's gray fedora and checked blue tweed suit, and the boy's prim zip-up jacket and dress shoes, imply the era of Leave It to Beaver, while urging 21st-century readers to carve out space for togetherness. "Everyone is rushing, but we're taking our time," the narrator says as a full bus rolls past. In an author's note, Yaccarino explains that he and his young son set aside time each Friday, "our favorite day of the week," and prompts readers to "start a little tradition like ours." This amiable chronicle shows a cozy plan tailored to urban life, yet suggests the rewards are transferable anywhere. Ages 3-7. (May)

Me and My Dad!
Alison Ritchie, illus. by Alison Edgson. Good Books, $16.95 (28p) ISBN 978-1-56148-565-9

Ritchie (What Bear Likes Best!) introduces one lucky cub: his daddy bear is a bit goofy (he likes to play in the rain), confidently protective (his thick coat makes a good hiding place during a thunderstorm), always ready for adventure (whether it's swimming in the river or exploring the forests) and a great storyteller. "My dad is the best/ daddy bear there could be," reads the text, as the young ursine narrator and his father cuddle under a blanket. "We're together forever-/my dad and me." Edgson (The Emperor's New Clothes) lifts this familiar tribute book above the ordinary with her impressionistic settings and backgrounds. The artist portrays the rain-drenched forest, for example, through gradations of gauzy lavenders, blues and yellows, while only hinting at the trees. At the same time, her bears possess a strong sense of physicality and strength. Their coats may be golden and velvety, but their surprisingly lanky bodies exude an easygoing boisterousness that feels distinctly, authentically and joyfully male. Ages 3-7. (May)

The Giant of Seville: A "Tall" Tale Based on a True Story
Dan Andreasen. Abrams, $15.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8109-0988-5

Andreasen (With a Little Help from Daddy) takes a true larger-than-life character and imagines the possibilities of attempting to fit into normal society. Captain Martin Van Buren Bates, a giant of a fellow who one day arrives in the sleepy town of Seville, Ohio, sports "a stovepipe hat the size of a pickle barrel!" Since he and his equally oversize wife have retired from the circus, Bates is searching for the perfect place for them to settle down. He rents a room in Mrs. Crawley's boardinghouse, and the people of Seville, deeming his arrival "the most exciting thing ever to happen" in their town, want to make the fellow feel at home. But though kind Mrs. Crawley gives him a room with a king-size bed, Bates must open the window and stick his feet outside in order to fully stretch out. After the overlarge fellow accidentally does some damage and feels perhaps he's too big for the town, the residents pitch in to build a giant-size house so the newcomer and his wife will stay. A concluding note describes the real Bates, born in 1845, who reached a height of almost eight feet and a weight of 525 pounds. Andreasen's pastel-hued, crosshatch illustrations take on an old-time feel and ably capture the good natures of both giant and townsfolk. A standout image shows the captain carrying Mrs. Bates across the threshold into their new home-the doorframe filling the entire full-page illustration. A folksy, big-hearted tale. Ages 3-8. (Mar.)

Mahalia Mouse Goes to College
John Lithgow, illus. by Igor Oleynikov. S&S, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-2715-0

As he did in Micawber, about an art-loving squirrel, Lithgow presents another tale of an anthropomorphized critter craving culture. This time, it's the lure of higher education that captures the fancy of a brave, starving mouse who, following the scent of cheese, inadvertently becomes a stowaway in a college student's backpack. (Lithgow wrote the text as part of his keynote address to his alma mater's-Harvard College-graduating class of 2005; a CD recording of it is included.) After finding herself in a lecture hall, Mahalia becomes "professor's pet" when the instructor discovers her class notes, which clearly indicate genius tendencies. Much like the other selections in Lithgow's children's book repertoire, the adventure unfolds in musical-sounding verse, but here, because of the dire circumstances of Mahalia's family, the singsong tone seems inappropriate (e.g., "Tormented by fears of a grim holocaust,/ She pictured her home and her family lost!"). Readers willing to buy into the fantasy of a mouse-sized laptop, bookbag and graduation cap and gown may enjoy exploring Oleynikov's striking mixed-media illustrations from a mouse's viewpoint (and set on a slightly impressionistic campus recognizable to those who have visited Cambridge, Mass.). But Mahalia's determination to earn a degree works better as a quirky segment of Lithgow's commencement speech than as a picture book text, and may leave some young readers puzzled. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

You Can Do Anything, Daddy!
Michael Rex. Putnam, $14.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-24298-4

It's bedtime, which means it's a perfect time for a boy to ask his father one of the most important questions of all: "Daddy, if I got taken by pirates, would you save me?" "Of course, Son," the man assures him, which only encourages the boy to spin out increasingly more elaborate perils. They culminate in the child's abduction by "robot gorilla pirates from Mars," who have a nefarious plan to shoot him into space. However, Daddy, who may look mild-mannered, nonetheless possesses the guts and ingenuity worthy of Indiana Jones, and can take whatever his offspring's imagination dishes out. Rex (Truck Duck) depicts each of the vignettes with bold, vivacious cartooning, and youngsters should get a kick out of watching the pirates mutate from skuzzy buccaneers into something resembling lizard-like androids. And after father and son's mutual whimsies conjure up a decisive defeat of the villains-thus proving the irrefutable truth of the title-it's time for the boy to prove he's a chip off the old block by offering some impressive assurances of his own (hint: they involve proffering bandages and kissing boo-boos). Good, goofy fun, and an ultimately heartwarming homage to the father-son bond. Ages 4-up. (Mar.)

Stick
Steve Breen. Dial, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3124-0

Editorial cartoonist Breen makes his children's book debut with this lighthearted tale about a determined young frog who must experience everything for himself. The opening series of panels depicts a parent offering suggestions that clearly fall on deaf ears: "Stick liked to do things on his own... all by himself," reads the text as the young hero lands on a turtle's back ("Oops"). When Stick suddenly finds that his tongue has become stuck to a dragonfly, which carries him aloft, he fails to realize the precariousness of his situation. Breen's panel illustrations transport readers along with the green fellow, through the swamp, to a bustling New Orleans and beyond. It's Breen's detailed artwork that supplies the heft to this tale with few words. Observant readers will pick up Breen's ode to the Deep South, peppered with a witty tone, as in the "Ragin' Cajun" tattoo on a motorcyclist or the "wiggly piggly" roadside billboard. He also captures the beauty of the scenery, especially in the spreads of wetlands with live oaks, which serve as Stick's habitat. At story's end, youngsters will be pleased that the precocious fledgling adventurer has made it back home, while parents may appreciate the message that young ones sometimes need to leave the pond in order to gain a sense of the big picture. Ages 4-up. (Mar.)

Different Like Coco
Elizabeth Matthews. Candlewick, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-2548-1

Matthews makes her children's book debut with panache with this portrait of the famously avant-garde Coco Chanel. "At a time when France was the center of all that was wealthy, grandiose, and fashionable, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was born poor and skinny. Coco was always different," the text begins. Colorful snippets about her 19th-century girlhood will be the most likely to captivate youngsters: Coco preferred to play alone, pretending to act like the grand ladies in stylish shops. Sent at the age of 12 to live in an orphanage after her mother died, she learned to sew and made lovely rag dolls. She could not afford to dress like "the corseted ladies of high society," so instead blazed her own unique fashion trail. She designed practical, simple (uncorseted!) clothes while working in a tailor shop, and later sold her dresses from a Paris boutique, financed by her wealthy British suitor. Matthews reveals how Chanel's designs took off through their sheer practicality at the onset of WWI, and how the designer's rebelliousness reached beyond her fashions. The woman demanded to be treated as an equal by her wealthy clients, challenging the established social order: "Coco offered women not only freedom from corsets, but freedom from social constraints as well." Thus, Matthews offers a snapshot of European history through one extraordinary woman's life. (The author saves some of the juiciest tidbits-of special interest to fashion buffs-for a concluding timeline.) Airy, at times wry pen-and-ink and watercolor wash drawings capture the spunk-and sans doute the style-of this independent-minded, influential fashion maven. Ages 5-9. (Mar.)

Fiction

The House of Power
Patrick Carman. Little, Brown, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-316-16670-6

In this launch title of the Atherton series, as with his The Dark Hills Divide, Carman creates an isolated world whose very existence relies upon the hero venturing out of bounds. A trio of waterfalls connect the three-tiered world of Atherton, which is comprised of the upper-level Highlands, where the wealthy and powerful reside, the agrarian Tabletop beneath it, and the poverty-stricken Flatlands "at the distant bottom." Eleven-year-old Edgar lives in Tabletop, harvesting figs and scaling the cliff walls. A faint memory directs him to search for something hidden ("It will come for you," says the voice in his memory)-and he discovers it on the way to the forbidden Highlands. Edgar's discovery is a book, and he must enlist the help of a Highlands servant boy to read it to him (the residents of Tabletop are illiterate); thus the author points out the importance of cooperation. The book, it turns out, was written for Edward and offers up a cautionary tale: Atherton was built as a home for escapees of an Earth-like "Dark Planet," now poisoned and dying. With subtlety, Carman delivers a strong message; he constructs a world in which water is precious above all, and tampering with nature always ends badly. The author occasionally breaks out of the narrative to address readers directly, and these intrusions mar the flow of what is otherwise a fluid and compelling fantasy and mystery. Ages 8-12. (May)

The Strongest Girl in the World; The Invisible Boy
Sally Gardner. Dial, $15.99 (204p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3158-5

Gardner takes a completely different path from her I, Coriander with these two tales in the Magical Kids series, which comically turn logic on its head. Eight-year-old Josie, "small for her age, and skinny to boot," one day discovers she has become extraordinarily strong. When the strongest man in Britain sees her pick up a bus on TV, he suggests a contest (she wins). A sleazy man then takes the girl and her family to New York, where she pulls off feats for his financial gain. Josie tires of this three-ring-circus and laments that her stunts do not serve any useful purpose. But all of that changes when the lass comes to the rescue of some endangered New Yorkers. A flip of the book introduces a broader humor and Sam, forced to stay with diabolical neighbor Hilda when his parents win a trip to the moon. After their shuttle is "lost in space," the lad takes solace in the company of Splodge, an alien whose spaceship crashes in the garden ("I come in peas. Take me to your chef," says the visitor, explaining his search for "sauce of the tomato fifty-seven"-aka ketchup). Splodge renders Sam invisible (the boy exacts humorous revenge on horrible Hilda) and helps bring Sam's parents safely home. What ties these tales together (aside from a cameo by a shared classmate and some exploitative adults) is the children's relief to be normal once more. Gardner's playful hyperbole and spry pen-and-inks are certain kid-pleasers. Ages 7-up. (Mar.)

The Big One-Oh
Dean Pitchford. Putnam, $15.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-399-24547-3

In this debut novel from song- and screenwriter Pitchford, a boy relates the sometimes funny, sometimes moving story of how he planned his 10th birthday party. The thought of having a party had not occurred to narrator Charley until he gets a card from his father (who left home three years earlier) asking, "What are you going to do on your big day?" Fearful that he has too much in common with his loner neighbor Garry (the boy refers to them as "two friendless freaks"), Charley vows "to throw the best party-in the history-of the world!" He organizes his plans into a Birthday Notebook, and entry #1 reads, "Make friends." Ironically, the lad does befriend Garry, who used to create special effects for movies and now spends his days making body parts out of latex in his garage. Charley, a devoted fan of Monsters & Maniacs magazine, decides to throw a horror-themed party, an idea his so-called friends at school think is cool. Just when it looks like Charley's big day is doomed, Garry comes to the rescue, in a riotous scene that calls upon the man's expertise. Pitchford develops likable, believable lead characters (Charley's beleaguered mother and caustic older sister play strong supporting roles), but some of Charley's peers act and speak in voices that seem older than those of 10-year-olds (e.g., at the start of the party, the class bully announces, "I've been to bar mitzvahs that were scarier"). Overall, however, this is entertaining fare. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)

Hitler's Canary
Sandi Toksvig. Roaring Brook/Brodie, $16.95 (192p) ISBN 1-59643-247-0

In this insightful novel, Toksvig offers a unique glimpse of WWII, writing from the perspective of a 10-year-old Danish boy forced to grow up quickly. Bamse, the son of a famous stage actress and a talented set designer, has "lived in a make-believe world" until the spring of 1940 when Germany invades his country. In Copenhagen, Nazi soldiers now rule the streets, and native Danes begin to fear for their safety. Some, like Bamse's mother and father, try to keep a low profile in order to keep their loved ones safe. Others, like the boy's 16-year-old brother, refuse to act like "Hitler's Canary," and wish to take a stand against the invaders. When rumors spread that Jews are being taken from their homes, Bamse's entire family takes part in a resistance movement, hiding Jewish friends and later helping them escape. Based on true stories handed down to the author by her father, Toksvis's tale of courage in the face of tyranny sheds light on the difficult choices facing the Danish people and pays tribute to resisters (including some compassionate Germans), who make enormous sacrifices in order to save others' lives. Through the boy's narrative, readers witness his loss of innocence ("I knew my Danish history from school: for the first time in nine hundred years my homeland... was not free and independent"). The author thus brings to life the tensions in Denmark at a time when "it wasn't always easy to tell the difference" between the "good" and "bad" people. Ages 11-up. (Mar.) Agent: Nancy Gallt Literary Agency.

Stuff: The Life of a Cool Demented Dude
Jeremy Strong, illus. by Matthew S. Armstrong. HarperTempest, $15.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-084105-8

British author Strong's humorous YA novel (his first published in the U.S.), enhanced by Armstrong's manga-influenced illustrations, introduces 14-year-old Simon, or "Stuff" as his friends call him, because of the array of obscure trivia that fills his head. The British teen dreams of being an artist when he grows up. His art teacher helps him get a head start on his goal when she suggests he draw an anonymous weekly cartoon in the school publication, Art Works. Stuff's strained family and social lives offer ample fodder. In his comic, his antagonistic stepmother, Tracey, becomes an evil galactic queen, his new crush at school, Sky, morphs into the heroic Skysurfer, and his family members, teachers and classmates figure into the strip as well. Alas, not everyone is thrilled with their portrayals. Stuff feels that with his stepmother, stepsister (also 14) and their "radical feminist" rabbit (she attacks only men) so completely entrenched in his life, he has no option but to run away. Stuff's personable, scattershot narration brims with both British slang and his own invented vocabulary ("Naff off, Darcy, you dingoid, or I'll make your brains into kebabs"), and a concluding glossary is written in his infectious voice. Readers should enjoy keeping pace with Stuff's verbal barrages and his tumultuous family and love lives, which are punctuated with dredged-up memories, flashbacks and Armstrong's hilarious drawings. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)

One Whole and Perfect Day
Judith Clarke. Front Street (Boyds Mills, dist.), $16.95 ISBN 978-1-932425-95-6

Writing with the same warmth and humor that characterized her earliest novels (the Al Capsella series), Clarke introduces a new cast of endearingly eccentric characters who are drawn together to enjoy "one whole and perfect day." Seventeen-year-old Lily, the youngest, most "sensible" member of the Samson clan, has well-founded misgivings about the upcoming 80th birthday party for Pop, her grandfather. She is sure something will go wrong (as it always does) when her unpredictable relatives unite, still she hopes for the "perfect day" of the book's title. Pop himself is having a feud with Lily's shiftless brother Lonnie, and has even threatened him with an ax, causing Lonnie to leave home and move into an apartment. Pop's wife, Nan, who is as soft as Pop is gruff, might be considered normal were it not for her invisible best friend, Sef. Then there's Lily's psychologist mother, who works in an adult day-care center and is always bringing home "old people whose care-giver children were quite desperate for a little break." While the novel mainly focuses on Lily's exasperation with her family's peculiarities, the third-person narrative shifts among other characters' points of view, which reveal old resentments as well as their mutual affections, affections that prove to be more deep-rooted than grudges. Filled with surprising turns of events and serendipitous encounters with strangers (who ultimately take on significance in the story), this book celebrates rekindled friendship and blossoming romance. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)

Lemonade Mouth
Mark Peter Hughes. Delacorte, $15.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-385-73392-2

A rock-n-roll The Breakfast Club for the literary set, Hughes's (I Am the Wallpaper) novel combines teen romance, high school politics and family issues in an enjoyable romp that touches on wide-ranging themes, from music-making to corporate muckraking. What begins as a somewhat outlandish tale of how five outsiders almost accidentally form a freshman band-Lemonade Mouth-grows into a believable and heartwarming story about a Rhode Island community that rallies around a group of misfit friends. Through a series of first-person narratives, readers get to know the five classmates who wind up in detention together: Mo Banerjee (overachiever), Charlie (frizzy-haired chubster), Olivia ("introverted Virgo of the worst kind"), Wen (who has a crush on his father's 26-year-old girlfriend, aka "Sex Nanny Sent By Satan") and Stella (vegetarian and outspoken activist who morphs into the band's "Sista Slash"). When they find themselves creating music on a whim, they realize that their strange synergy can't be coincidence. Then, after their music teacher encourages them to play at the Halloween Bash and the school talent show, everything starts to gel (including some budding feelings of romance). A series of unforeseen surprises (and a few setbacks) follows, including a clash with authority over a corporate deal gone bad, and Lemonade Mouth's rise to popularity even beyond the school walls. Readers will delight in watching these well-developed characters stand up for what they believe in and, in the end, learn who they are. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)