Book review - Fleabrain Loves Franny

Title: Fleabrain Loves Franny
Author: Joanne Rocklin
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Similar books: The Miniature World of Marvin & James by Elise Broach
                     The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone
Rating:

Cozy, like chatting with a friend, while also expanding your mind

Summary: Franny is recovery from polio and is incredibly lonely. All of her friends are avoiding her for fear of catching the dreaded disease. When she becomes enthralled by the recently published Charlotte's Web, Franny starts looking for a Charlotte of her own. She finds her inspiration in Fleabrain, a super-strong flea that lives on her dog's tail. Together they explore the wonders of the world and of the people around us.
My Opinion: What a lovely book. Rocklin captures Franny's loneliness as well as the magic of new friendship, magic that blinds us to flaws. As Franny discovers the wonders of the world around her, avoiding the difficulty of her new reality, we the readers are also pulled into reexamining our own realities. The author's note at the end was fascinating and taught me far more about polio than school ever did and the discussion questions were fantastic. I could imagine discussing such concepts even with a group of adults. I also really appreciated the lesson Fleabrain learned about books.
More information: Fleabrain Loves Franny releases August 12.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Picture books for everyone

This new feature comes from a conversation I had the other day with my sister. While her kids are now high school and junior high aged we were discussing picture books that they might still enjoy.  Apart from the simple fun factor, some of these books are visually beautiful, ask kids to interpret a great deal visually, or even address some intellectually high concepts. So, I thought I would occasionally share one of these books here. 

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

Really, most of Mo Willems's books will appeal to kids of all ages with their quirky humor. I've decided to highlight this particular book because every time I've read this to my preschool storytime, it's gotten more laughs from the parents than the kids. Between the visual elements and the subtle jokes it should go over well with older kids exploring it on their own or families reading it together who might point out these elements to younger kids. My personal favorite parts are anything to do with the dinosaur who happens to visiting from Norway.

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
Fleabrain Loves Franny by Joanne Rocklin
Franny is recovery from polio and is incredibly lonely. All of her friends are avoiding her for fear of catching the dreaded disease. When she becomes enthralled by the recently published Charlotte's Web, Franny starts looking for a Charlotte of her own. She finds her inspiration in Fleabrain, a super-strong flea that lives on her dog's tail. Together they explore the wonders of the world and of the people around us.
I have a few chapters left in this one and I can honestly say it may well be one of my favorite books this year. Franny and Fleabrain are very strong characters and Rocklin's writing style is engrossing.

also

Manga Classics: Les Miserables originally by Victor Hugo adapted by Crystal Chen, Stacy King, and TszMei Lee
Personally, I haven't read the original so I can't speak to how faithful this representation is, but I have seen the most recent movie. At the halfway point it seems to be holding fairly true to the movie version, just adding in some side plots and connections that were absent in the movie.
 
What did you recently finish reading?
Frank Einstein and the Anti-Matter Motor by Jon Scieszka
Frank is a kid genius and inventor who loves tinkering with gadgets in his grandfather's fix-it shop. When an electrical storm animates a robot he designed, Frank knows he has a chance to win the town science prize and pay his grandfather's bills. Trouble comes in the form of his rival, Edison, who is determined to win the prize himself. He has much bigger plans, plans that could affect the whole world.
With a great cast of characters (the two robots, Klink and Klank, are especially awesome) and a solid plot this book is already pretty cool. Add in nicely integrated science facts (of which there are dozens) and even an introduction to sign language and this book pretty much sells itself to both kids and parents.
 
What do you think you will read next?
Zita the Spacegirl Legends of Zita the Spacegirl and The Return of Zita the Spacegirl
The first two are a reread for me but we just got book 3 in yesterday and I've been looking forward to reading it for months. I'm celebrating by reading all three in a row. 
 

Pictures that make me look like a hoarder. And maybe a little kid

Confession time: I'm working at reorganizing my blog a little bit. I was meant to post a book review today but I haven't quite gotten my act together yet. So, as a consolation prize, I'm posting some pictures of my book shelves. 

This is the shelf in its entirety

Yes, my top shelf mostly has toys. In my defense, the bear was my all-time favorite when I was little. He went with me to college. I certainly couldn't leave him behind when I moved. He's somewhat fragile which is why he now lives up high and holds that Goa'uld Death Glider.

Mostly fiction

Fiction, a little nonfiction, and Garfield books. Plus two signed books!

Graphic novels. That's it. Just Graphic novels.

More nonfiction and reference materials. Also comics and Tintin books

This secondary shelf (aka two fruit crates) holds my craft books and drawing books.

Books that I'll be using in the next few weeks live on the floor near my bed. (No night stand)

And this is the book shelf I use the most. You can tell by the beat-up cover.

That's right, my Kindle.

All told, this doesn't seem like that many books. That's because I got rid of books stacked up in crazy piles on my floor, on tops of shelves, etc. All of those extra books are now kept in plastic totes and a fabric shopping bag in my porch and two boxes in my attic.

Custom shirts

This week, randomly, the crafts I have to share with you are both shirts. The first is one I modified for myself. As part of our summer reading program we're having some special dress-up days. Last week we had "sports/college" day. After we selected it for one of our events I realized that I personally don't have any shirts from college in good enough condition to wear to work. Being kind of a nerd I certainly don't have any regular sports shirts. So I found a shirt to customize. This particular shirt had been long sleeved so I cut it off at the elbows and added a somewhat sports themed illustration with permanent marker.

The only sport I would ever consider playing.

The other shirt is for Zippety. Our Wednesday performer this week is Mr. Harley who is known for his special blue shirt. So of course Zippety needed his own version of it.

Dogs, Cats, and assorted poultry

This week's Wednesday performer was Martin Molecule from Mad Science of Maine. Martin put on an awesome show with explosions, reactions, observations, and potato slaughter.

Our other major program this week was the annual pet show. Our judges are kids and most of the participants are kids. While we do name a best in show, everyone wins some kind of prize. It keeps the whole thing relaxed and ensures that everyone has fun. 

Book review - The Girl from the Well

Title: The Girl from the Well
Author: Rin Chupeco
Genre: Horror
Similar books: The Poisoned House by Michael Ford
                     White Space by Ilsa Bick
Rating: 

Surprisingly beautiful, somewhat eerie

Summary: Okiku has been a ghost, a vengeful spirit, for so long that she barely remembers what she once was. She exists only to get vengeance for other victims and prevent them from becoming like her. It is simple. Simple until she meets Tark, the tattooed boy with an evil presence clinging to him. For some reason, Okiku can't seem to leave Tark behind. For some reason, she finds that she wants to save him.
My Opinion: There is so much to talk about with this book. Firstly, it's a bold move to make the vengeful ghost your narrator, especially since Okiku is largely detached emotionally at the beginning. this, of course, makes it a little slow to start but that resolves as Okiku gets caught up in Tark's situation. Plot-wise this has a lot of standard horror movie elements but with very good reason. As the book tells us, many of those elements originated with the Okiku ghost story. What really makes this book stand out is the atmosphere. There is an elegant beauty to Chupeco's storytelling. Even when Okiku becomes overwhelmed by her rage and starts repeating words like hate and consume it has a sort of poetry in the repetition. Personally, I wasn't frightened through most of the book but I was engrossed and could easily picture the various scenes. They are well described without becoming weighted down with physical description, leaving just enough for the reader to imagine himself. 
More information: The Girl from the Well releases August 5th.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.