NFTW 11/98 (reviews)
Wendy E. Betts
Board Books:
Count On Me written and illustrated by Alice Provensen
A You're Adorable words and music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney
Lippman. Illustrated by Martha Alexander
Picture Books:
Happy Birthday Maisy and Maisy at the Farm written and illustrated by
Lucy Cousins
Busy Toes by C.W. Bowie. Illustrated by Fred Willingham
Where Do I Live?
* I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers in Art selected by Lucy Micklethwait
Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes written and illustrated by Stephen R.
Swinburne
* Yo! Yes? written and illustrated by Chris Raschka
Preston's Goal! written and illustrated by Colin McNaughton
What do You See When You Shut Your Eyes? by Cynthia Zarin.
Illustrated by Sarah Durham
Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner. Photographs by Thomas Lindley
Middle Grade Fiction:
Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill
The New You by Kathleen Leverich
The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp
The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
Middle Grade Nonfiction:
* Awesome Alphabets written and illustrated by Mike Artell
Young Adult Fiction:
The Revelations of Saint Bruce by Tres Seymour
Broken Chords by Barbara Snow Gilbert
Truly Grim Tales by Priscilla Galloway
Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL ISSN 1078-8697
An electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1998 Wendy E. Betts.
Reproduction for personal and non-commercial use is permitted only if
this copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited
without permission. Mail w...@armory.com with comments or questions.
All reviews by Wendy Betts unless otherwise noted. For info and archives,
see http://www.armory.com/~web/notes.html
Vol. 6, No. 9 Novemeber 1998
_Count On Me_ written and illustrated by Alice Provensen. Harcourt
Brace, 1998 (0-15-201510-8) $14.95
This attractively packaged, novelty set of counting books includes ten
small board books in a box, one for each number from one to ten. Each
book also has a different theme: book one invites readers to count
animal babies, book two looks at traffic and book ten counts different
kinds of berries. Neither the lightly rhyming text nor the small
watercolor pictures are particularly striking, but just playing with
the books in their boxes will help reinforce the numbers and their
order. (1-4)
_A You're Adorable_ words and music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney
Lippman. Illustrated by Martha Alexander. Candlewick, 1994
(1-56402-237-4) $9.95
This illustrated version of the popular standard "A You're Adorable"
may not be the most sensible way to teach the alphabet, but it has to
be one of the most fun, offering a delightful musical memory aid
that's also a perfect way to let children know you think they're
special. Each letter has its own playful little drawing that lovingly
illustrates the accompanying verse; Alexander's delicately beautiful
children and animals make her the ideal illustrator for the song.
Although I'm thrilled to have a quote from my hardcover review on the
back of this board book edition, I have to say I prefer the original
format; new pastel backgrounds are attractive, but shrinking the
pictures inevitably dims some of their liveliness and expression, and
very young children need sharper lines and contrasts than are found in
these soft-focused pictures in any case. But the board book would be
a good choice for an older child who still tends to be hard on books.
(2-5)
_Happy Birthday Maisy_ and _Maisy at the Farm_ written and illustrated by
Lucy Cousins. Candlewick, 1998 (0-7636-0577-8; 0-7636-0576-X) $12.99
each
There's something about the Maisy characters, with their thick black
outlines and bright blocks of color, that just makes you wish you
could pick them up and play with them--the main reason that the Maisy
game is so sucessful. These pull-tab books are almost as good,
letting reasonably nimble readers help Maisy ride her horse and open
her birthday cards. The pictures are as cheerful and active as
always, and the pull-tabs are particularly well-designed, showing
Maisy energetically blowing out her candles, tooting a horn, and
feeding a baby lamb a bottle. (2-5)
_Busy Toes_ by C.W. Bowie. Illustrated by Fred Willingham. Whispering
Coyote, 1998 (1-879085-72-0) $15.95
Every baby knows about tasting toes, but as we see in this playful
book, toes can be endlessly helpful and interesting. There are tippy
toes and dancing toes, hidden toes and squishing toes, doggy tummy
rubbing toes, and for the truly weird, wearing teeny clothes on toes.
Vibrant, almost photo-realistic paintings of a multicultural group of
children demonstrate the inherent fun of the toe with carefree warmth
and grace. (2-6)
_Where Do I Live?_ Cedco, 1998 (0-7683-2044-5) $12.95
Brillliantly colored photographs and a bold, enticing design will have
readers eagerly turning over this book's flaps to discover that a
bullfrog lives in a pond, an egret lives in a marsh, and an Angelfish
lives in a coral reef. Each large flap shows an animal, while
underneath the flap an expanded photograph depicts it in its habitat.
A simple text gives facts about each animal that are clues to its
environment, inviting discussion about why they live where they do.
(2-6)
_I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers in Art_ selected by Lucy Micklethwait.
Greenwillow, 1993 (0-688-12640-5) $19.00; Mulberry, 1998
(0-688-16158-) $9.95 pb
(reprinted in part from The WEB: Celebrating Children's Literature)
An ordinary counting game becomes much more with this ingenious book,
which reproduces works of art (from varied periods and styles) that
have countable objects in them. Not only are the pictures
attractive--and beautifully reproduced--but they are carefully and
cleverly chosen, both to have interesting counting objects, and to
draw the eye to parts of the artwork that might not otherwise be
noticed. The first picture, accompanying the text "I spy one fly,"
points out an incongruous fly on the elaborate headdress of a
fifteenth century woman. The sixteenth picture shows apples in a tree
over a Madonna and child--and only after actually counting them did I
realize that the sixteenth rosy apple is clutched in the baby's rosy
hand. Noticing these details creates an increased feeling of intimacy
with the artwork; by making the reader think about why the artists
chose to include certain objects in a scene, it teaches art
appreciation without ever saying a word about it. * (3 & up)
_Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes_ written and illustrated by Stephen R.
Swinburne. Boyds Mill, 1998 (1-56397-707-9) $15.95
There's a surprising amount that can be learned from patterns in
nature: geometric shapes, principles of symmetry, life-cycles. But
this gentle little primer doesn't push a lot of facts; instead the
straightforward text and eye-catching photographs merely encourage
readers to observe different patterns, inevitably sparking curiousity
and appreciation. It's a book that cries out for interaction between
a reader and a child, because there are so many questions to discuss:
Why are spider webs spiral? What shape are the blocks on a giraffe?
Why do tree stumps have rings? The questions arise naturally from the
mysterious loveliness of the patterns, and even readers who learn
nothing else will be easily convinced that "patterns make our world a
beautiful place." (3-8)
_Yo! Yes?_ written and illustrated by Chris Raschka. Orchard, 1993;
1998 (0-531-07108-1) $6.95 pb
A story that could take chapters to tell is summed up in pictures plus
34 words in this engaging Caldecott honor book. "Yo!" says a black
kid wearing unlaced high-tops and a cooler-than-cool expression. A
primly dressed white kid nervously replies, "Yes?". That's the start
of a conversation which never gets beyond one or two word sentences,
but which effortlessly reveals the two boys to each other and to us:
as the second one confides his loneliness, the first drops his
affectations, until they are equally joyous friends together. Offbeat
watercolor and charcoal illustrations forsake background to
concentrate on the facial expressions and posture of the boys, showing
the myriad emotions--uncertainty, shame, sympathy, wondering--the boys
go through on their journey to friendship. The undercurrents of race
and culture clash are especially well done, as we see each boy afraid
he won't be accepted by the other. Seldom have race relations been
explored with such easy panache. * (4-8/4-8)
_Preston's Goal!_ written and illustrated by Colin McNaughton. Harcourt
Brace, 1998 (0-15-201816-6) $15.00
In a follow-up to _Suddenly!_, _Boo!_ (reviewed volume 4, number 8g), and
_Oops!_ (reviewed volume 6, number 3) Preston Pig once again escapes the
hungry designs of Mr. Wolf through sheer obliviousness. As Preston
runs an errand for his mother, he imagine himself as a great soccer
player, never noticing that his shoots are causing chaos and
destruction all around him; it's poor Mr. Wolf, as always, who takes
the blame. The pictures of Preston's unconcerned athletic gyrations
are full of lively, zany humor; I especially liked the endpapers,
which show Preston practicing over and over on the front and the wolf
being continually slammed by Preston's ball on the back. (4-8)
_What do You See When You Shut Your Eyes?_ by Cynthia Zarin.
Illustrated by Sarah Durham. Houghton Mifflin, 1998 (0-395-76507-2)
$15.00
"What do you see when you go to sleep? Ariel saw her birthday, Tobias
saw sheep, Mollie saw a monster, Sophie saw her pillow, the baby saw
her eyelids, Garbiel saw the curtains billow. What do you see when
you go to sleep?"
A sparkling portrayal of imagination and individuality, this
deceptively simple little book shows that everyone approaches the
world in a slightly different way, and invites readers to explore
their own thoughts. A catchy rhythm and casual rhymes make the text
as striking, in its mellow way, as the childlike, almost stick-figure
illustrations. Lots of fun to read and think about. (4-8)
_Look-Alikes_ by Joan Steiner. Photographs by Thomas Lindley. Little,
Brown, 1998 (0-316-81255-2) $12.95
Text is basically irrelevent in this collection of fantastic visuals,
which give Martin Handford's "Waldo" a run for his money. Using
ordinary household objects, Steiner has created complex, enchanting
scenes: a carnival in which a boy rides on a roller coaster made from
a suitcase and baton, a general store that sells Hoover vacuum made
from razers, and a sweet shop with real pretzels on the pretzel-backed
chairs. Readers who like search puzzles will find rules, extra
challenges, and a full list of the "look-alikes" at the back of the
book, but you don't have to count every egg slicer and safety pin to
enjoy this fascinating book. (4-12)
_Rinkitink in Oz_ by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R. Neill.
1916; Books of Wonder, 1998 (0-688-14720-8) $22.00
Only incidentally an Oz book, this well-plotted magical adventure is a
bit more formal and low-key than most of the Oz stories, but none the
worse for that. The hero is Prince Inga, whose family and people are
conquered and taken into slavery by ferocious warriors from a
neighboring island. With the help of the greatest royal treasure,
three magical pearls, and the more dubious assistance of perpetually
jovial King Rinkitink and his grumpy talking goat Bilbil, Inga sets
outs to free his people and succeeds so well, that only the needs of
the publishing business required a deus ex machina rescue by the Oz
gang. Enlivened with Baum's wry humor and peopled by well-defined,
exciting characters, this atypical story is still worthy of the canon.
Like many of the Books of Wonder editions, this one has been slightly
edited to remove a potentially offensive illustration; to their
credit, they do now acknowledge the censorship, "in recognition of
current sensibilities," on the copyright page. As always, the edition
is gorgeous, with illustrated end papers, full color plates and all
the rest of the original illustrations. (8 & up)
_The Lost Princess of Oz_ by L. Frank Baum. Illustrated by John R.
Neill. 1917; Books of Wonder 1998 (0-688-14975-8) $24.00
An element of mystery enters the Oz series, when Princess Ozma
disapears, along all of the magic tools of Glinda the Good and the
Wizard. With no magic to aid them, except for Dorothy's mysterious
magic belt, Ozma's subjects must be courageous and resourceful as they
search for their ruler.
As in _Rinkitink in Oz_, the Oz characters here spend a fair amount of
time making wry observations about human--or animal, or manufactured--
beings, and their foibles; there's a shade of the negativity that
clouds Baum's final Oz books, but for the most part, humor and
good-nature still prevail. A good use of foreshadowing keeps the
mystery interesting, and the strange and colorful characters that are
inevitably introduced are particularly memorable, including the
pompous Frogman and the loveable King of stuffed bears, who keeps his
subjects in line by warning "If any of you is naughty, I'll send him
to some girl or boy in America to play with."
This edition just replaced my old Del Rey paperback of _The Lost
Princess of Oz_, and comparing the two, I realize I didn't even know
what I was missing all those years. Some of Neill's oddest and
funniest pictures, like the Cowardly Lion riding on the back of the
tiny Woozy, are once again available in large, crisp reproductions.
The softly tinted color plates are also very attractive. (8 & up)
_The New You_ by Kathleen Leverich. Greenwillow, 1998 (0-688-16076-X)
$15.00
"Once she realized she had lost her identity, Abigail Hunter had two
choices. She could admit what had happened and ask for help. She
could pretend nothing was wrong and solve the problem herself."
Thirteen-year-old Abby saw her move to a new city and a new school as
a chance to try out a new identity, but something went horribly wrong.
The new Abby--Abigail--is nothing like she planned, and there seems no
way to change her, not when she's so afraid of making a mistake.
School is torture, especially the philosophical discussion group
called "The Laboratory of Ideas": "It was like sitting at a friend's
house and saying whatever popped into your head... You didn't have to
put on an act. You could be yourself. That's why it filled Abby with
dread." But it's the dreaded discussion group, with its strange "what
ifs" that gives Abby an idea: what if she could find some kind of
store that would give her a new identity?
From the first words, there is something a little mysterious about
this book, preparing readers for the fact that this isn't just another
story about a girl having a hard time fitting in. Or is it?
Everything here is a little off-balance, and readers expecting a
fantasy may be in for a surprise--and vice versa.
This is an intriguingly plotted story with a unique feel to it. The
combination of fairly simple language and deliberate pacing is odd and
may irritate more sophisticated readers. But the surprises are fun,
and those who stick with it will probably be glad they did. (8-12)
_The Dragon of Lonely Island_ by Rebecca Rupp. Candlewick, 1998
(0-7636-0408-9) $16.99
This book starts off promisingly, introducing characters and
situations just right for a comfortable mix of family story and
fantasy. Hannah, Zachary and Sarah Emily are going to stay in their
great-great-aunt Mehitabel's house on Lonely Island. Before they
leave, a mysterious message and key arrive for them, guaranteeing
adventures ahead.
But the adventure, when it comes is a little tame. The three children
discover Fafnyr, a three-headed dragon who is a bit prim and grumpy,
in the classic Nesbit manner of magical beings. Each of Fafnyr's
heads has a story to tell, and each story is a lesson for one of the
three children, teaching them responsibility, genorousity and
self-reliance. It's not as dull as it sounds, because the stories are
nicely told, enjoyable adventures in themselves, but I was still left,
at the end of the book, with the feeling that nothing much had really
happened.
Rupp's writing is so smooth and inviting that I'm sure this book will
find readers, and perhaps only those expecting a rather more exciting
or meaningful adventure will be disappointed. (8-12)
_The Library Card_ by Jerry Spinelli. Scholastic, 1997; Apple, 1998
(0-590-38633-6) $3.99 pb
In "April Mendez," the last story in this collection, April tries to
give a present to a hostile stranger named Nanette: the only thing
she has on her, her old library card. Nanette refuses, until a kindly
bookmobile driver urges, "Take it, Nanette. It's her best thing."
This story, in which the library card is never actually even _used_ at
a library, really sums up the point of _The Library Card_. A library
card is more than a piece of cardboard. It's a gift. It has power.
It's your best thing.
The library cards in these stories offer life-changing gifts to four
troubled children: gifts of information and wonder, of
self-knowledge, of memory, and of friendship. The cards and
librarians here are obviously slightly supernatural and the situations
are sometimes blatently over the top, but the underlying truth is
evident: library cards are magic. And they are there for the people
who need them most.
These sometimes ridiculous, often sad stories offer hope for a
redemption that's open to anyone. This is a book readers will
understand. They'll find it at the library. (9 & up)
_Awesome Alphabets_ written and illustrated by Mike Artell. Good Year,
1999 (0-673-58647-2) $9.95 pb
I hope that computers haven't made this book already obsolete, because
it's _such_ a great idea. Dozens of pages show the unlimited
potential of specialized alphabets: letters drawn to look like tools,
like bones, even like clothes--a pair of pants and two socks make a
wild capital K. Along with complete renderings of each alphabet,
there are suggestions for creating new letters and other ideas about
how words can be spiced up with imaginative drawing. Artell
encourages readers to go beyond what he's done and design alphabets
that fit their particular needs; kids who want to make their own books
or design signs will find plenty of inspiration. And as the author
points out, a handwritten font has what computer fonts completely
lack: uniqueness. This is a terrifc book to browse and a wonderful
resource. * (7-12)
_The Revelations of Saint Bruce_ by Tres Seymour. Orchard, 1998
(0-531-30109-5) $16.95
This exploration of morality and betrayal is less successful as a
novel than as an unusually ambitious character study. The hero--or at
least the narrator--is Bruce Wells, a boy with a deeply felt sense of
self that too often clashes with the expectations of society. Bruce's
pride in his individuality is hardly humble, but his moral conviction
are no act and his seemingly perfect, straight arrow character has
earned him the nickname "Saint Bruce"--actually an expression of
admiration amongst his circle of much less upright friends.
The trouble begins when Bruce trusts a teacher a little too much, and
spills the beans about a drinking party at school. When his four
closest friends are suspended, he becomes an outcast: truly, nobody
likes a snitch. As Bruce discovers the consequences of what he did,
for himself and for his friends, he begins to wonder whether the
ongoing fight to be himself is worth it.
Although it's certainly thought-provoking, I was left feeling slightly
short-changed by this book. So many interesting ideas are brought up,
such as Bruce's discovery that his friends thought a "saint" such as
him would never betray them. The different possible definitions of
just _what_ a saint is could have been a powerful theme in this story,
but the surface is only scratched. Even what should be the defining
moment of the book--Bruce's "trial" by his friends--falls flat. And
the religious references that run throughout the book, in quotes and
chapter titles, are mainly window dressing.
What impressed me strongly about _The Revelations of Saint Bruce_ is
that it's one of the few young adult books I've read in which the main
character really seems like someone I might have known in high school.
Rather ironically, Bruce is something of a non-conformist _type_,
especially when he pontificates about how stupid pep rallys and
convertibles are, as if he's the only teenager to ever think so.
Seymour's portrait is sincere but often unsparing: Bruce is utterly
chagrined when he discovers that others before him have answered his
teacher's numbered roll call by saying "I am not a number. I am a free
man." (A quote from "The Prisoner"--another familiar and plausible
touch.) Even from an adult perspective, I enjoyed seeing this kind of
person as a central protagonist, and I suspect other "non-conformists"
will be intrigued by this rare opportunity to see themselves in
literature.
_Broken Chords_ by Barbara Snow Gilbert. Front Street, 1998
(1-886910-23-5) $15.95
The process of finding out what we truly love is one of the most
important parts of discovering who we truly are--but sometimes finding
out what we _don't_ love is just as important. This thoughtful novel
offers a sincere, accessible look at what it means to be an artist and
what it means to be yourself.
They never use the word "prodigy" in her house, but the fact is that
Clara (named for pianist Clara Schumann) has been studying piano since
she first climbed on the piano bench at the age of three, and started
playing Mozart's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme." Now, at
seventeen, she is just weeks away from the final of the Nicklaus
competition; winning will mean a scholarship to Juilliard, a debut
concert, and almost certainly a career as a concert pianist. But even
amid her preoccupation with the competition, Clara doesn't want to
give up everything else in her life, sneaking out against her parents'
orders to play a tiny part in a school production of "The Nutcracker."
Then a slip during dance rehersal makes Clara fall on her wrist, an
injury that will stop her playing piano until just two weeks before
the final.
With a big space in her schedule where lessons and three hours of
practice a day used to be, Clara suddenly has time for new things:
movies, her first football game--and Marshall, an attractive fellow
competitor whose struggle to afford piano study has him living in his
practice cubicle. As she sees the passion that drives Marshall to
play, against all obstacles, Clara begins to wonder if something is
lacking in herself. And for the first time, a terrifying, almost
blasphemous thought drifts into her head: "Was this what ordinary
life would be like? If she didn't play?"
Concentrating on the important relationships in Clara's life, with her
demanding mother, her resentful little brother, the admiring Marshall
and her loving but enigmatic piano teacher Tashi, Gilbert skillfully
weaves many small threads into a solid thematic whole, showing how
Clara begins to understand the important decision she has to make.
Although the air of the story is often a touch ornate and romantic,
with a mystic Russian folktale as an underlying motif, it is grounded
in reality; the bittersweet ending is strong and satisfying, leaving
us sure not only that Clara made the right decision, but that she made
it for the right reasons.
_Truly Grim Tales_ by Priscilla Galloway. Delacorte, 1995
(0-385-32200-3) $10.95 trade pb; Laurel-Leaf, 1998 (0-440-22728-3)
$4.99 pb
Almost anything can become comfortable over time; by adulthood, most
of us are so familiar with the classic fairy tales that we no longer
see their dark and bewildering aspects. Like Angela Carter's _The
Bloody Chamber_, _Truly Grim Tales_ strips us of that complacent
familiarity; unlike Carter, though, Galloway does not so much expand
on the psychological meaning already implicit in the tales as find new
meanings in newly strange and macabre elements. Using an oddly
effective mix of traditional and contemporary language, settings and
themes, each rewritten version of a well-worn story takes an unusual
perspective, most often that of the villain, which give bizarre but
recognizably human motivations to the characters. The giant in "Jack
and the Beanstalk" suffers from a rare disease curable only by human
bonemeal; the prince in Cinderella has a confused sexual identity
which has led to a foot fetish.
Perhaps the most powerful story is a futuristic interpretation of
"Little Red Riding Hood" which uncovers one of those fascinating
truths that seem so obvious once they are revealed: that beasts which
can reason, speak and feel, are essentially human.
The title, _Truly Grim Tales_, doesn't really convey the right
atmosphere for this collection: readers seeking quick chills or
postmodern humor may be disappointed, although the stories certainly
contain both. Essentially this is a serious work for mature readers;
it could just as well have been published as an adult book. But
though like many modern rewrites of traditional tales it sometimes
stretches a parallel to the breaking point (as in the terminal that
dispenses gold coins from the government in the "Jack in the
Beanstalk" rewrite), the main pleasure of reading it is in the little
shocks of surprise that come from seeing stories we thought etched in
stone turned on their sides or their heads.
_Rats Saw God_ by Rob Thomas. Simon & Schuster, 1996 (0-689-80207-2)
$17.00; Aladdin, 1998 (0-689-80777-5) $4.99 pb
Introducing a promising new voice in young adult fiction, _Rats Saw God_
is a hip, funny , yet intensely-felt portrait at a bright, smartass,
very unhappy teenager who discovers that for most of his life he's
been a rebel without a clue.
In almost no time and for no apparent reason, Steve York has gone from
being a 4.0 student with near perfect attendance to an almost
dropped-out pothead. When DeMouy, the school counselor, asks, "Do you
mind telling me how someone who makes a 760 verbal on his SAT fails
English?" Steve replies, "I couldn't make it all the way through The
Outsiders again." But Steve does care enough about school to want to
graduate, and he needs that English credit. And so he agrees to make
it up by writing a hundred page paper and decides, for once, to take
the classic advice and write about what he knows. "I hoped DeMouy
would appreciate what I was about to do. In order to bypass summer
school, I was set to open wounds that had never really healed."
Alternating between descriptions of his current life and his first two
years at Grace High School, Steve tells the story of his antagonistic
relationship with his famous father (always dismissively referred to
as "the astronaut"), his creative involvement in GOD (Grace Order of
Dadaists), and how his heart was run through frappe, puree, and
liquify in a love blender by fellow Dadaist Wanda, aka Dub. In the
process, he begins to understand things about himself, his father and
Dub that he hadn't realized before. And he finds those opened wounds
beginning to heal.
Narrated with about equal amounts of wit and teenaged angst, _Rats Saw
God_ is a very believable look at a particular kind of high school
experience. The long description of the progress of Steve's
relationship with Dub drags a little and his transformation at the end
seems overdone for dramatic effect, but the story as a whole is
insightful and compelling.
* indicates a book the reviewer feels is outstanding in its genre
--
Wendy E. Betts, Editor, "Notes from the Windowsill." web at armory.com
"among them was a particularly hideous little monster, a so-called
book grump...these little spirits normally spend their lives grumping
about books. Research has not yet determined why such creatures exist."