Children's Book Reviews: Week of 5/4/2009

Sixty crisp, skillfully composed photographs follow children from all corners of the globe through a day, revealing activities that are strikingly similar yet widely divergent in the details. The juxtaposition of images is often remarkable. A photo of a girl waving from the back window of a Pennsylvania school bus appears beside a picture of a child in China's Yunnan Province, whose commute entails crossing a river in a seat suspended from a zip line. Many of the photographers (the images come from numerous sources) use light to dramatic effect: a soft glow illuminates the faces of eight girls in Gujarat, India; sunlight streams through windows as four boys stand at prayer in an Indo-nesian mosque. Supplementing Kerley's (A Cool Drink of Water) minimal, pithy text (“Recess rocks! And so does lunch”) are substantive concluding notes that specify the locations, provide cultural context for the photos and—most intriguing—offer occasional photographers' perspectives: the photo of the Indian girls was taken in a refugee camp (“They were wonderful and full of laughter despite the terrible conditions”). An arresting, eye-opening compilation. All ages. (May)

This simple but melodic bedtime tale gains heft from an intriguing setting—the Beaufort seacoast of Alaska—and from transcendent illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Diaz (Smoky Night). On each spread, an expectant mother and a small child say goodnight to an ocean animal they spot while canoeing along the coast: “Furry babies curl into a big bear ball/ On the ice as it drifts through the dark./ To Ocean's children we say good night./ Good night, little polar bears, good night.” Each rhyme offers a tidbit of the creature's life: puffins “nest in the cliff” and a beluga whale “naps on Mother's back.” Diaz's art enlarges this tale with a stylized, almost mythic quality. Stars are as ornate as snowflakes and waves are elegant curlicues in a saturated ocean of blue, green and purple. Animals are bathed in a golden glow and are even translucent at times. The narrator concludes with a tender good-night to her sleeping unborn baby and older child who are “child[ren] of Ocean as well,/ Forever a part of me.” Every page exudes a soothing sense of magic. Ages 2–5. (May)

With cheery acrylics, straightforward text and smart use of die-cuts, Gore follows a boy's musings about what he might be when he grows up. Looking outside gives him some inspirations from nature. A small raindrop suggests, “You could be like me,” and at the turn of the die-cut page, the raindrop cutout becomes part of “the fastest river/ running through the hills.” A fuzzy caterpillar metamorphoses into “the most colorful butterfly in the meadow,” and a green sprout becomes “the tallest tree/ the world has ever seen.” Eventually, the book winds down to a quiet bedtime cadence, as a shadow becomes “the gentlest night, full of dreams.” Although the book breaks no new ground, the die-cuts are used to clever effect (the die-cut of the boy's shadow takes the shape of three birds sleeping in a nest on the following page). On the final page, as the father lifts his son high in the air, the boy reveals, somewhat unsurprisingly, what his goal will be: “When I grow up... I will be just like you!” Ages 3–5. (May)

Parton's name appears in large sparkly letters on the jacket, a telling hint that little subtlety lies within. Playing on the premise that like the natural world, “each boy and girl/ Is made of colors too,” cartoon kids express their feelings as colors. Their singsong rhymes are largely forced: “When I'm tickled PINK,/ It means I'm feeling dandy./ Everything is great and/ As sweet as cotton candy.” The book sticks to traditional interpretations—an angry child sees red and a jealous one feels green. After concluding with a message about acting “through love” no matter how one is feeling, Parton offers a parting missive, noting that as a child she discovered how to see an uplifting rainbow every day: “all I had to do was reach up and pull that rainbow right out of the sky and place it in my heart.” Her metaphorical advice to “let that rainbow out of your heart and watch it jump back into the sky!” is both saccharine and puzzling. Sheffield's gaudy, digitally created graphics only amplify the performer's bouncy tenor, which approaches a grating pitch. Ages 3–5. (May)

In this satisfying companion to Williams's Caldecott Honor book, A Chair for My Mother, bighearted Rosa welcomes Benji, the son of her Aunt Ida, into the family—and into its beloved armchair splashed with roses. While a midwife delivers the baby upstairs, restless Rosa curls up in the chair (“Our chair is a lucky chair”) and contentedly imagines sharing her life with a young cousin. And when Rosa's mother and grandmother consider reupholstering or replacing the chair, she determinedly tells her mother that the chair must remain as is and that it will accompany her wherever she goes (Williams humorously illustrates her vow with an image of Rosa lugging the overstuffed piece of furniture on a mountain hike). Soft, brightly colored gouache art, hemmed in by borders that feature a cheery array of images and patterns, affectingly captures the close bond among family members as they celebrate a new arrival and an old friend: Rosa's treasured chair. The bustling scenes of family life that stuff the pages of this warm intergenerational story should prove irresistible. Ages 3–8. (May)

The Lostlet, the Strangelet and the Oddlet are three furry sui generis critters who wander a desolate beach, pondering the Big Questions: “What am I?”; “Where am I?”; “Who am I?” When a little boy—“stranger, odder, and more lost than they”—stumbles into their melancholy reveries, their initial clinical reactions (“What's that noise you are making?” asks Oddlet as the boy weeps) give way to offering comfort, which in turn reveals their higher purpose: to love and be loved in return. (In response to the boy's hug, the Oddlet proclaims, “So that's what I've been wishing for... I'm a Huglet!”) Despite its simple vocabulary and reliance on repetition, Dunbar's (The Monster Who Ate Darkness) parable-like text feels forced and arcane (it brings to mind the weaker alien-human encounters of the original Star Trek). But there's an inviting sense of scale to Benson's (Owl Babies) ink and watercolor drawings, and his weird, pointy-snouted protagonists possess a cuddly vulnerability—even if it appears that Strangelet has a broccoli floret growing out of its head. Ages 3–up. (May)

A marvel of suspense and silliness, this convoluted story begins with a misunderstanding and ends with a satisfying sneeze. Minimal text and animated artwork seamlessly set up the animals' mistake through a series of closeups as cow, sheep and goose spread the word—“ 'Psssst!' Cow told Sheep. 'Psssst!' Sheep told Pig.” By the time goose tells all the chickens, chaos ensues as they squawk, “Mrs. Farmer has taken out the big pot!” and “She's making chicken soup!” Van Leeuwen (the Oliver and Amanda books) builds anxiety as sniffly Little Chickie and the chickens run around the farm trying to avoid the “clomp clomp clomp” of Mr. Farmer's boots. Slapstick humor abounds as Little Chickie spoils the chickens' hiding spots with a series of sneezes, and the dialogue adds tension. But just when things look their worst—“I've been looking everywhere for you,” says Mr. Farmer, catching Little Chickie in the flower bed—the Farmers offer him a hot bowl of (vegetable) soup to make him feel better. A kid-pleasing read-aloud. Ages 4–8. (May)

In this near-wordless, comic book–style picture book, Briant offers an action-filled story about two brothers whose pranks and play take a turn toward the fantastic. Initially, each boy tries to steal something (a toy sailboat, a tricycle) from his brother by convincing his sibling that there is something terrifying behind him—a giant serpent (actually a garden hose), a dragon (a small bird). The repeated refrain, “Don't look now but there's a...,” takes on new meaning, however, when the earth splits beneath the boys, dropping them into a strange world of blue trees and actual (though none-too-scary) monsters. Briant's cartoony characters, human and monster alike, convey plenty of emotion, though there's little difference in personality between the boys—neither is more angry, scared or resourceful than the other. The picaresque plot—including a multiple-monster chase scene—keeps the pages turning until the boys return home safely, just in time for bed (Briant thematically grounds the fantasy by picturing their room filled with toys and books that have obviously inspired their imaginative trip). The boys' adventures may be outlandish, but their fraternal interactions are true to life. Ages 4–8. (May)

What happens to a girl who spends two weeks at Wolf Camp? More than her genteel parents bargained for, suggests McKy (Pumpkin Town!). Maddie returns with leaves in her hair and a propensity to crawl on all fours. When food appears, she puts the family collie in its place: “She growled, which sounded like gravel grinding in her belly.” Maggie goes on to chase squirrels and howl alongside the collie, and her diet changes, too—“Maddie quit eating candy. Instead, she ate only meat” (in one creepy scene she eats a grasshopper). Maddie's mother is left wide-eyed, while her father retreats behind his newspaper. Leick (Impetuous R., Secret Agent) draws Maddie with the face of a child, but the wasp waist and long legs of a teen. Curiously, the story allies itself more closely with the parents' point of view—when he hears she'll be going to Bear Camp next summer, Maddie's father has the last laugh: “Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll hibernate.” Kids usually enjoy disruptions to the staid world of grownups, but civilization ends up looking pretty good here. Ages 4–8. (May)

Caldecott Medalist Yolen (Owl Moon) turns her attention to the poet Emily Dickinson and her young nephew, Thomas Gilbert (“Gib”), expanding on some real-life interactions between them to explore the role of poetry in human life. Gib feels obliged to defend his reclusive aunt's honor when a classmate makes fun of her, then can't bring himself to tell his family about the fight. Uncle Emily (their private nickname for her) can tell he's holding back and gives him a poem that explains how he can preserve his integrity—once he understands her poetic language. “ 'Tell all the Truth,' it began, 'but tell it slant—/ Success in Circuit lies.' ” Carpenter's crisp tableaus evoke the period with restraint: adults poised with teacups, girls in lace collars, boys in short pants. In one striking image, Gib kneels by his bed, studying a dead bee and a poem his aunt has written about it, “as if she wants me to see the world/ one small bee/ and one small poem/ at a time”—a description that might also apply to Yolen. Ages 6–8. (May)

As might be expected from her name alone, Dessert, the spunky narrator of this refreshing debut, takes to heart her third-grade teacher's advice to march to one's own drummer. First on Dessert's agenda: getting to eat dessert before dinner (“Mummy and Daddy, in a perfect world, dessert comes before supper. My body is calling for dessert first”). Durand displays a knack for comedic timing in a sequence in which Dessert discovers a box of Double-Decker Chocolate Bars and, despite her mother's warnings (“Stay away from the Double-Ds”), she samples (and finishes) the treats over several visits to the fridge. Her voice rings as true in somber moments. After a climactic scene in which the empty box is discovered (with much howling by both mother and daughter), a remorseful Dessert asks her teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, how she can make amends. When the teacher responds, “Try to think like you usually do,” Dessert laments, “That's how I got into trouble.” Davenier's (the Iris and Walter series) humorous b&w pictures ably convey this endearing heroine's mercurial moods. Readers will be left craving a second helping. Ages 7–10. (May)

This breezy lark by veteran collaborators (the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids) opens the Keyholders series. Best friends Luke and Penny witness curious goings-on when caring for Mr. Leery's cat, Mo, while the elderly neighbor is away (for starters, Mo reveals he can talk). On his return, Mr. Leery tells them a magical world exists beyond the thick bushes that edge his yard. He recruits the two as apprentice Keyholders, protectors of the border between the enchanted realm and the real world, which boggarts are threatening to invade. The kids sign on when they meet their “links”—“beings from beyond the border that form a special connection to the Keyholders”—Luke's is a bumbling dragon, Penny's a caustic unicorn. One drawback: the third Keyholder is their nemesis, Natalie. A stage-setter for the series, the story is short on enchantment, yet kids will be drawn to the likable, believable protagonists and the promise of more enticing magic and action to follow. Book two, The Other Side of Magic, is due the same month. Ages 7–10. (May)

With a lot of exclamation points and online shorthand (glossary included for newbies), Wells begins her saga of Mackenzie (Zee) Blue Carmichael, whose main goal is surviving junior high. Her BFF has moved “ALL THE WAY to PARIS,” her dad drops her off every morning in a smog-friendly SUV (the horror!), a rich and popular student is determined to make Zee's life miserable, and Zee's diary gets stolen and quoted on the whiteboard in music class. Wells throws in a lot of typical teen insecurity (“Zee felt like the newest inductee into the Geek Hall of Fame”), friendship troubles, fashion turmoil and some not-so-subtle soapboxing on “going green.” Young female tweens will enjoy the IM chats and earnest lists that Zee writes, e.g., “Ways My Life Could Get Worse.” Still, Wells is perhaps trying a bit too hard, with gratuitous pop culture references and frequent use of text-message lingo. As might be expected, things end well for Zee and her gang, but the characters are unlikely to linger with readers. Ages 8–12. (May)

In her English-language debut, Boie takes the classic story of an average teen girl who discovers she's actually royalty and throws in some nasty political scheming and crazy plot twists, resulting in a fun, attention-keeping read. Fourteen-year-old Jenna lives with her overbearing, etiquette-crazed mother who refuses to divulge information about Jenna's father. Jenna is mysteriously cast to play the role of a princess in a film and is quickly swooped off to Scandia, a mythical European country whose real princess, Malena (who looks just like Jenna), is MIA. Boie propels the story forward by keeping the reader guessing about how the characters—Malena's power-hungry uncle, angry rebels intent on overthrowing him, Jenna's missing father and Jenna herself—fit together. Though some of the political undercurrents might be lost on younger readers, it's easy enough to decipher the good guys from the bad and enjoy the many action-packed scenes. For readers who have dreamed of being a royal or singlehandedly saving an entire country from ruin, Boie's story will hit the spot. Ages 9–up. (May)

Life at the turn of the century is not easy for a girl who loves books and science. Kelly's first novel presents spirited heroine Calpurnia (Callie) Virginia Tate, a middle child with six brothers, growing up in the isolation of Fentress, Tex., in 1899. To her family's dismay, Callie is stubborn, independent and not interested in darning socks or perfecting her baking skills like a lady. “I would live my life in a tower of books,” she thinks to herself. She spends most of her time with Harry, “the one brother who could deny me nothing,” slowly befriending her Granddaddy, a mysterious naturalist who studies everything from pecan distillation to microscopic river bugs. Together they dream up experiments and seek answers to backyard phenomena, discovering something new about the invisible world each day. Callie follows her passion for knowledge, coming to realize her family “had their own lives. And now I have mine.” Callie's transformation into an adult and her unexpected bravery make for an exciting and enjoyable read. Kelly's rich images and setting, believable relationships and a touch of magic take this story far. Ages 10–up. (May)

Kantor (The Breakup Bible) writes a funny and intimate story of summer romance and family conflict featuring 16-year-old Kate, who wishes she could be more like the independent heroine of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Lady Brett Ashley (“without a doubt the coolest woman in the world”). But Kate's plans to spend a peaceful summer writing, reading and playing tennis go awry when her mother, wanting a temporary separation from Kate's father, whisks Kate away to stay with old friends at their summer house in Cape Cod. Besides resenting being uprooted, Kate feels uncomfortable around the friends' daughter, Sarah, who is less than pleased to have Kate tagging along. Amusingly neurotic as a narrator, Kate gradually gains confidence as she cultivates friendships with other teenagers, especially cute Adam (“Was it my imagination, or did he say big serious relationship as if it were a repugnant political party”). The changes in Kate are both gradual and realistic, as she learns painful lessons about love, her parents' failing marriage and her own needs. Her emotional journey and acute self-consciousness are likely to strike a chord. Ages 12–up. (May)

Readers will be unable to put down Cooney's latest thriller. Jack, 15, lives with his two-year-old brother, Tris, and his aunt, while sisters Smithy and Madison are living elsewhere. Taking place on a single day, the novel switches between the viewpoints of the older family members and a teenage neighbor. Early hints point to Tris being a controversial figure, and it is gradually revealed that he is believed to be the cause of his parents' deaths (their mother delayed chemo to give birth to him). But as the day wears on and the siblings reunite, whether or not Tris inadvertently caused their father's death (the parking brake on his Jeep was released and it rolled over him) comes into question. Additionally, a religious undertone has several characters rethinking their relationship with God. Adding to the family's misery, their aunt has arranged for their lives to become a TV “docudrama,” hosted by a man so sleazy he asks Smithy, “What was it like to realize your mother would rather die than bring you up?” Cooney masterfully ratchets up the tension in each scene and delivers fully in the exhilarating conclusion. Ages 12–up. (May)

After his stepsister's father dies, good guy Leigh moves from New York to Washington, D.C., to support her and finish his senior year. There, he falls in love with “train wreck” Maia, a recovering anorexic, self-injurer and germaphobe, whom he tries desperately to protect. When a group of boys do “something unspeakable” to Maia, Leigh commits an act of violence that threatens his future and their relationship. Readers will appreciate how real this story feels, in its telling details and careful conversations, as well as in the murky motivations behind Leigh's actions and his whole relationship with Maia, which haunts him years later. As she did in My Heartbeat and Stay with Me, the author creates a wonderful, complicated but loving family for her protagonist. Readers may have difficulty tracking all the characters, but they will understand that each family member is there to support Leigh, from his emotionally challenged father to his romance novelist mother who constantly warns Leigh “that he didn't take enough time for what might please him—for what he wanted.” This is an expertly crafted story about a complicated first love. Ages 14–up. (May)

Wynne-Jones (Rex Zero, King of Nothing) creates a tale of twisted family ties that begins with a college coed running from an affair turned sour. Wanting to get as far away as possible from NYU—and the professor who is stalking her—Mimi heads to Canada to stay at her artist father's long-abandoned country cottage. When she arrives, she is startled to find the house occupied by a stranger, Jackson (Jay) Page, a half-brother she didn't know existed. After the siblings agree to temporarily share living quarters, more surprises are in store as personal items go missing and Mimi has the eerie sensation of being watched. In chapters focusing on a local and his mother, readers get hints about the big picture, but suspense remains high as the book races to its climax. The characters have strong voices and personalities—their realness, coupled with the idyllic setting, contrasts starkly (and thrillingly) with the story's dark side. If the number of letches and unbalanced individuals that Mimi attracts appears extreme, readers will probably be too caught up in the action to care. Ages 14–up. (May)

Several publishers are issuing children's books this season in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Here are some that shine.

Floca's rendition of Apollo 11's journey to the moon is as poetic as it is historically resonant. The first page offers a quiet meditation: “High above/ there is the Moon,/ cold and quiet,/ no air, no life,/ but glowing in the sky,” followed by the astronauts preparing for the voyage and then a dramatic liftoff (“The rocket is released!”). Once in space, the lunar module, Eagle—“a stranger ship, more bug than bird,/ a black and gold and folded spider”—locks onto the Columbia. The subdued illustrations hold an undercurrent of emotion (as a family hears the report that the Eagle has landed safely, the father wipes his eyes with awe and relief). A stirring depiction of a momentous event. Ages 4–7. (Apr.)

Originally published in the U.K. in 1996, this spare, emotive story recreates Haddon's (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) experience of watching the Apollo 11 landing. Birmingham's (The Snow Queen) soft-focus, light-infused pictures reveal Haddon's preoccupation with outer space as a boy (he compiles a scrapbook of photos and newspaper clippings, imagines exploring the moon and poses in the snow beside a red, white and blue shirt hanging from a pole—a pretend flag). After staying up to watch the space landing on TV, the boy “went to bed at dawn.... and in his dreams he walked with them.” Together, words and art offer a tribute that is at once personal and universal. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Astronaut Aldrin and Minor (Reaching for the Moon) offer a second collaboration, tracing the history of flight from the Wright brothers through numerous NASA missions to envisioning a future in space. Paintings evoke the 1950s–1960s era, while Aldrin's text offers a compelling firsthand POV (“I had the privilege of being on board the final Gemini mission”). Additionally, quotations from Isaac Newton to President George W. Bush run across each page. A wealth of information as well as hints of whimsy—as a boy peers through the porthole of a spaceship, the text says: “One day your family may have some amazing vacation choices. Where will you go?”—will satisfy those captivated by space. Ages 6–8. (Apr.)

Packed with interactive components, this tribute to the Apollo 11 mission is a mock scrapbook penned by a 12-year-old space enthusiast. Moon memorabilia include images from vintage sci-fi magazines, postcards, newspaper clippings and numerous photos and diagrams. Throughout, the boy's notes serve as image captions: “The astronauts set up an American flag on the moon. This was not an attempt to claim the Moon, but was a tribute to the people whose efforts had led to the landing,” he explains in the photo of Buzz Aldrin. Fans of the Ologies series and other interactive titles who have an affinity for all things space-related will appreciate the featured relics. Ages 6–10. (Apr.)

Sporting a highly visual encyclopedic format, this informative book features 200 photographs documenting early research into mankind's history with the moon, early space exploration and the space race, and the Apollo missions. Detailed cross-sections of modules, space suits and other equipment offer a sound technological overview, while information on the phases, structure and surface of the moon provides added insight (“The Moon's strong gravity stabilizes our planet's spinning axis. Without the Moon, Earth would wobble wildly over millions of years”). A DVD and poster are included. Ages 8–12. (May)

Enlivened by numerous b&w and color photographs, this thorough book takes readers back to the early 1960s to tell the story of 13 women who underwent a battery of physical endurance tests (including hours spent in a deprivation tank) and psychological analysis to determine their readiness to travel in space. A gripping narrative surfaces in Stone's text, as the women are repeatedly thwarted by NASA, discriminated against and patronized by society (“Gene Nora Stumbough's boss said she couldn't have time off. So she quit. Sarah Gorelick had the same problem.... So she quit”). Readers with an interest in history and in women's struggle for equality will undoubtedly be moved. Ages 10–up. (Feb.)