Children's Book Reviews: Week of 5/25/2009

Developers from the Plas-Tic Trees Factory plan to level a forest, and the seven oddball animals who live there must figure out how to keep their home. The giant dinosaur costume they rig up intimidates the developers, but collapses spectacularly just as news crews arrive (and right after Rojo the fox says, “Nothing can go wrong now”). When the animals inside the dinosaur rig are revealed, the humans realize they're all endangered species. Knot, a woodpecker with a persistent cough, is a “Bronchial Woodpecker,” while Milton, a “Drop-Tail Adder,” had already been declared extinct. The forest must now be saved to preserve their habitat. McClements's (Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident) crisp, cut-paper collages and zippy text make the action easy to follow, and tiny asides provide additional laughs (“Watch those feet!” shouts Milton from off-page, as Jimbo the deer apologizes). Kids familiar with environmental issues will appreciate this deft parody, and the message about cooperation will be welcome, too. The very personable cast will make for fine, and funny, read-aloud. Instructions for a dinosaur craft project are included. Ages 3–7. (June)

A demure bunny discovers that friendship, no matter how warm, cannot lure her away from the life she loves. Little Rabbit adores the city (“She had her own place to stay, her favorite cafe, and so many things to see and do”), but wonders if there is someone out there “just like her.” Then she meets Brown Rabbit. Brown Rabbit lives in the park and plays the guitar; for a time, they are happy together (“They made each other laugh, and Little Rabbit was happy to have found a new friend”). But Little Rabbit begins to miss the city, and nothing Brown Rabbit offers (“He even stood on his head”) can change that. The resolution is constructive: Little Rabbit returns to the city, and Brown Rabbit soon arrives for a visit. Russell's full-bleed prints, in milky aquas, olives and pinks, mix childlike and sophisticated elements. Little Rabbit and Brown Rabbit are drawn as simple outlines, Pat-the-Bunny style, while buildings are more carefully drafted, with shadowy customers glimpsed through windows. Children (and adults) will appreciate this gentle take on the often-perplexing conflict between satisfied independence and the joys of companionship. Ages 3–up. (May)

In Fitzpatrick's (I Am I) allegorical tale, a young traveler with tousled hair questions what it means to grow up. Carrying a large satchel, the eager girl strides down a sidewalk as she asks, “When will I get There?” Her innocent questions take her over hills, through daisy fields and up into rainy skies. The full-page, softly rendered landscapes dwarf the inquisitive narrator, who wants to know, “Will I wear sensible shoes and say sensible things? Will I never say anything silly again?... Will I know all the secrets?” In a clever spread, she wonders about finding her way through a “jungle,” as the facing illustration shows her amid shadowy apartment buildings where wild animals lurk and a stocking on a clothesline is really a snake. Older readers will take heart in her hopefulness and determination to “still build snowmen and sandcastles. Definitely.” In the end, she decides she won't go There today because “I've got lots to do.” Readers of all ages will appreciate this layered tale and feel the poignancy of her decision to cease her questioning and live in the moment. Ages 4–7. (May)

A boy celebrates his favorite day of the year—the titular one when his parents indulge his every desire—in this exuberant picture book from the creators of The OK Book. On Yes Day, the boy receives affirmative responses to his requests for eating pizza for breakfast, filling the cart with sugary cereal at the supermarket and staying up really late, among other things. Though the boy leads the charge, his parents, sister and even the dog eagerly join in, turning his “holiday” into amusement for the whole family (including a food fight in the yard and an invented game that involves pitching a bucket of Ping-Pong balls down the basement stairs). Via her fantasy to-do list that many kids will relate to, Rosenthal taps into children's glee at bucking rules and routines in favor of irreverent (but not too crazy) fun. Rather than plastering a “Yes!” on each page in answer to the boy's questions, Lichtenheld reveals the answer in large wordless pictures. His comic-style art, which features a shaggy-haired protagonist with a winning grin, matches the energetic vibe of the text. Ages 4–8. (May)

Barner revisits the weighty subjects of his popular Dinosaur Bones, looking at how butterflies coexisted with dinosaurs: “By spreading pollen from bloom to bloom, butterflies helped flowering plants flourish. Flowering plants made more air for dinosaurs to breathe and huge amounts of food for them to eat.” Each double spread's format is the same: one sentence in colorful, blocky typeface sits amid the artist's bold cut-paper designs, the entire layout backed with a single, vivid hue. Additional facts in smaller type extend the narrative. The inviting, flashy interplay of the many colors, patterns and textures (e.g., painted butterfly wings are thinly edged in flower motifs) establishes an upbeat tone—except for the nearly monochromatic spread on dinosaur extinction. “But butterflies lived!” the next page reads, as two enormous specimens perch on flowers. An easy-to-read time line contextualizes the chronology of the first dinosaurs, flowers and butterflies (and even cats, dogs and humans) as a smattering of facts about seeds, insects or dinosaurs rounds out this aesthetic extension of a popular topic. Ages 4–8. (May)

In this chipper story, “almost six”-year-old Jack chronicles all the things he can do (almost) since he's “almost grown up.” Torrey's (the Beans Baker series) pencil-and-watercolor illustrations have an up-close perspective that makes readers privy to the warmly humorous truth behind Jack's assertions. Smoke pours from the toaster and Jack sloshes milk across the kitchen table (“I can almost make my own breakfast”); his attempt to build a robot is shown to be a jury-rigged vacuum cleaner with the addition of a spatula, football helmet and baseball glove; and his “almost” winning home run is more of a duck-and-cover maneuver as the umpire announces “Strike three!” Children impatient to step into the shoes of their older siblings or friends will find a kindred spirit in Jack and take comfort in his literal ups and downs. Touching and true to life. Ages 4–8. (May)

Featuring wispy b&w line art with splashes of scarlet, this slight French import introduces a cranky girl who dismisses all her birthday gifts as “too big, too small [or] too medium.” Then one package catches Rita's attention when it takes off, bouncing across the room. “Get back here, present, or you'll regret it!” she yells. Finding a dog inside the box, she snarls a second warning: “if you're another stuffed animal, you're going in the trash!” The canine initially ignores his new mistress, whose attempts to name him elicit droll images. The dog's head pokes out of a sock drying on a clothesline as Rita considers calling him Kneesock, and the name Floormop pops into her head as she pushes a mop over the floor (and over the snoozing pup). Rita's scowl melts into a smile as Whatsit wins her over by revealing he can talk. Against white backdrops, Tallec's pencil drawings lend the characters' plenty of emotion and charm, though the text is mostly unremarkable (and Rita's transformation from bratty to bubbly is quite abrupt). Also available: Rita and Whatsit at the Beach. Ages 4–8. (May)

Declaring that “All animals deserve the care and protection we give our pets,” newcomer Roth takes the vegetarian/vegan cause to young readers. Highly stylized illustrations against white backdrops depict angular caricatures of farm animals with oversize nostrils, as a single-sided narrative compares the existence of several feathered and furred livestock with their counterparts in nature (“A factory-farmed pig may spend her whole life alone, fattened in a pen so tiny that she won't even be able to turn around.... Pigs need the sight, sound, and touch of one another.... Love is part of their nature.” Later spreads present barren landscapes in dark hues as the author touches on commercial overfishing and rain forest exploitation. Children may find the heart-tugging descriptions and images (such as the all-gray scene of jungle animals stranded in a charred wasteland or sad chickens “crammed into cages on factory farms”) a little overwhelming. Concluding with a list of tips for action around vegetarian/vegan ideals, this book—despite its lack of counterpoint or source material—is sure to raise awareness and questions. Ages 6–10. (May)

Launching the Max Disaster series, Moss (the Amelia's Notebook series) again narrates through a journal, but this time with a decidedly male POV. Max, who plans to be a scientist like his parents, starts a notebook to record his inventions and sketch cartoons, including the exploits of an alien pencil-top eraser. Max's mishmash includes stories about his schooldays, cartoons, minicomics, asides and experiments (readers will learn how to make “Godzilla puffs” by microwaving marshmallows). But weaving together this funny, kid-savvy montage is the story of Max's parents' separation. Raw emotion is leavened by humor: Max worries, “If you take apart a family, can you put it back together in a way that makes sense?” and at one point he sketches a trio of “Happy-Marriages-R-Us Robots,” one of which features a “last-resort tranquilizer dart, strong enough to put ten elephants to sleep (or one raging parent).” Moss is a master at verbalizing kids' anxieties and channeling their astute observations of family life—both as it breaks apart and begins to mend. Also out: Max Disaster #2: Alien Eraser Unravels the Mystery of the Pyramids. Ages 8–12. (May)

Growing up in New Jersey during the Vietnam War, 13-year-old Lyza has some battles of her own (“Whoever said 'the baby of the family/ gets all the sympathy'/ was clearly not/ the baby”). When her mother walked out, “our family began to unravel/ like a tightly wound ball of string.” Then Lyza's grandfather dies, leaving her a box filled with cryptic maps and clues, which she learns relate to the pirate treasure of Capt. William Kidd. Lyza and her best friends Carolann and Malcolm get to work locating—and then hiding—the treasure. Lyza's thoughtful narration in verse gives Bryant's (Ringside 1925) novel a strong sense of setting and reflects the teenager's conflicting emotions about adulthood: “I had to decide/ to stay safe in the harbor, like my father,/ or to push out to sea, like Gramps.” Her observations also betray an engaging sense of humor (Denise, her older sister, “has no interest in anything/ she can't smoke, wear, or sing”). Sincere and well-paced, with the backdrop of a tumultuous period in history, the story is not easily forgotten. Ages 9–13. (May)

Named after the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, fifth-grader Harper Lee Morgan defines herself as a poet: “That name has soaked itself into my bones,” she writes. After her father runs off (“The whiskey got in and made angry puddles in his brain”), Harper, her mother and her younger brother, Hemingway (Hem), are evicted, and they move into a motel. With her mom physically exhausted from working day and night (and emotionally fragile as a result of Harper's stillborn baby sister, Flannery), Harper is forced to stay at the motel with Hem all day and risks missing her favorite part of the school year: the poetry contest. At the motel, she meets myriad characters, who give her plenty of material for her poems. First-time novelist Leal creates complex characters from various walks of life, though the delivery of the message “that people aren't always what they seem from the outside” occasionally feels heavy-handed. The cards are stacked against Harper and her family, but it is inspiring to watch her find success with a pen, paper and a little hope. Ages 10–up. (May)

Twelve-year-old Alfonso Perplexon has a gift, or is it a curse? He possesses “the powers of active sleeping,” which allow him to accomplish tasks and fight with superior skill while asleep (he awakens atop a giant pine tree as the book opens). When his self-proclaimed uncle, Hill, appears and tries to persuade Alfonso to travel through the mountains to save the people of Dormia, the boy leaves his family to embark on the journey. Their goal: to deliver the “Dormian bloom” unharmed; if they fail to plant it, the citizens will starve and the Dragoonya, led by evil Nartam (a fallen Dormian), will take over. Their trip is filled with doubt, stemming from Alfonso's encounters with white-eyed Kiril, who causes him to question his companions' motivations. Ultimately, Alfonso's faith and attitude that “sometimes you just have hunches about people” serve him even more than the innate powers of a Great Sleeper. The plot is standard fantasy adventure fare, though nonfiction writer Halpern and debut author Kujawinski offer some compelling battle scenes. Alfonso's quest believably demonstrates that the path home can be the most trying. Ages 10–up. (May)

Though Marisa struggles with an anxiety disorder and depression, she starts the school year wanting “everyone at school to know I am not a freak anymore.” Her life becomes more exciting when Derek, the popular boy she has a crush on, asks her out. But when Marisa begins suspecting Derek's relationship with his ex, her obsessive negative thinking returns. Colasanti (Take Me There) expertly handles the plot, keeping it ambiguous whether Derek is cheating on Marisa, or if he is being honest when he tells her, “You're accusing me of something I didn't do.” The author also nicely contrasts Marisa's exciting but shallow relationship with Derek with her much deeper connection to nerdy Nash, to whom she opens up about her problems. There is no doubt who Marisa will eventually be with (and readers will easily ID the mysterious Dirty Dirk, a DJ who provides advice and hope to students via podcasts). Colasanti presents an authentic picture of how complicated it is to be a teenager, especially one in love. Ages 12–up. (May)

Williams strikes just the right balance between informative and cautionary in this gripping tale about a 13-year-old girl trapped in a polygamist cult. At first, Kyra's struggles center around her situation—a lack of privacy, too many mothers and the urge to experiment with various sins (reading books besides scripture, exploring outside the compound, kissing a boy). But when she's “chosen” to be the seventh wife of her brutish, 60-something uncle, Kyra's desperation to be somewhere (or someone) else escalates (“God has given you to me, Kyra Leigh,” her uncle tells her. “You will do what He says. What the Prophet says. What I say”). Is she brave enough to run away from the community that has sheltered her since birth? Although the ending verges on the sensational, Williams (Pretty Like Us) takes such care in crafting Kyra's internal struggles—and her hellacious story—that the ensuing drama rings true. Williams's highlighting all aspects of cult membership (fear of leaving, desire to belong, guilt about sinning), rather than relying on one-sided generalizations (cults are bad), makes this a prudent and powerful read. Ages 12–up. (May)

In the latest engrossing crime novel from Abrahams (Nerve Damage), Colorado football star Cody Laredo's junior year has gotten off to a dreadful start. After his girlfriend, Clea, is sent to a boarding school across the country (triggering a fight and a breakup), he tears his ACL during a football game and quickly spirals into a depression that leads to him dropping out of school. When he learns that Clea has gone missing, he decides to travel across the country to investigate. When he gets to Vermont, Cody meets Clea's new boyfriend, encounters a friendly cop and has run-ins with locals from the town and rich kids from the boarding school. Although clues often come too easily and coincidentally to Cody—Abrahams pushes hard to explain away the flaws surrounding the pivotal piece of evidence—and the “whodunit” is hardly surprising, Abrahams tells an exciting, fast-paced story. Cody and most of the teens he encounters—both out west and in Vermont—are complex characters with believable motivations and faults, plot issues aside. Ages 12–up. (May)

This novel set at a summer camp offers much of what one might expect: crushes on older counselors, cabin-mate rivalries, late-night sneak-outs and lots of bonding between campers. Counselor-in-training Sam is at a disadvantage when she first arrives at Whispering Pines in the Catskills. Unlike the other CITs, she is unfamiliar with her surroundings, having never attended a camp. Despite her rookie status, she proves to be a natural leader, but her pride in doing her job well is undermined by catty remarks from fellow CIT Ashley. Fortunately, Sam is able to form friendships with other girls, who soothe her sagging spirit and help her sort out her feelings for two boys, Hunter (“Mr. Ab-solutely perfect”) and easy-to-be-with Cole. While Calonita (the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series) is well versed in camp routines and dynamics, some of the escapades—like a gigantic food fight Sam has with her rival—come off as a little cheesy, and some minor characters—especially Ashley and Hunter—appear manufactured. Nonetheless, Sam emerges as a likable, realistically flawed heroine, who proves that good girls can come out on top. Ages 12–up. (May)

This first installment of the Charmed Life series introduces high school socialite, Bella Kirkwood. A New Yorker, she begrudgingly lands in the Midwest after her mother “got traded in for a newer model” and remarries a man who earns his living manufacturing feminine products in rural Oklahoma. Used to high society parties and shopping sprees, Bella feels like “a fish out of water... a Jimmy Choo in a sea of Payless BOGOs” in her new home, living in a house where “1970 came for a visit, threw up, and never left.” Still, her days are anything but dull. Once she joins the school newspaper and gets wind of a story involving a football scandal, she puts herself in danger trying to scoop her condescending (but cute) editor. The blend of comedy, adventure and mystery isn't always smooth (a scene in which Bella cracks jokes while being held at gunpoint is hard to swallow), but Bella's witty narration provides some laugh-aloud moments. Ages 12–up. (May)

At 14, pot-smoking, DVD player-stealing Jamie is no angel (though his androgynous good looks get him plenty of attention). He is sent to military school, but soon goes AWOL, spending some rough months in Portland, Ore. (mugging joggers, trying meth), before heading to Memphis by Greyhound bus to visit his gay older brother, Peter, who is dying of cancer. Rapp (Under the Wolf, Under the Dog) tells the story through Jamie's unsent letters, with additional letters from relatives and friends giving more background and context. Jamie, who has ADD, details every step (being taken advantage of sexually, getting jumped, befriending a female-to-male transsexual, losing his virginity) in expletive-filled, stream-of-consciousness narration with insights into seedy roadside America (“I think that as a general rule lonely people give other lonely people money a lot”) and his own situation. Whether Jamie will survive his bad luck and make it to Memphis in time gives the story tension, but while Jamie leaves much behind each day on the road, little is found. The teenager's singular voice and observations make for an immersive reading experience. Ages 14–up. (May)

High school student James Hoff is a passionate writer who rants about everything from sheeplike “Consumer Americans” to the destruction of the environment. He also writes about his ex-girlfriend Sadie, who he feels is a lightweight when it comes to saving the world. While Sadie is involved in positive initiatives like community food drives, James prefers a more radical approach (“The automobile is the foundation upon which our unsustainable lifestyle is based. They must be DESTROYED. All of them. Even the cute ones”). His pugnacious determination is admirable, but even he admits uninspired (“The problem is I don't believe in anything”). James comes to realize that his nihilism, both personal and political, is ultimately alienating him from others and preventing him from reaching his potential. James's journal entries and the combative essays that he writes (and rewrites) for his English teacher make up the brunt of the narrative and demonstrate his eventual growth. Nelson (Paranoid Park) offers an elegant and bittersweet story of a teenager who is finding his voice and trying to make meaning in a world he often finds hopeless. Ages 15–up. (May)

In this raw and powerful memoir, veteran Smithson recounts his time as an army engineer in Iraq. As a student in suburban Albany, he joins the army after 9/11. While in Iraq, he's shot at and faces mortar attack, but he spends more time on responsibilities like methodical cleanups of roadside bomb craters—work that's as vital, if not as sexy, as actual combat. Smithson's interactions with Iraqi children and families, as much as with his fellow soldiers, drive the story. Military biography clichés—from the indoctrination of boot camp (“they break us down, build us up, break us down again, and then build us back up”) to resentment of officers among the enlisted—abound because they're no doubt true. But the real meat of the book is in Smithson's dealings with American noncombatants, from the little boy who sends care packages to the pilot who insists on upgrading him to first class and his wife and parents. Smithson avoids writing either prowar propaganda or an antimilitary polemic, providing instead a fascinating, often humorous—and occasionally devastating—account of the motivations and life of a contemporary soldier. Ages 14–up. (May)