Books on screen

The Boxcar Children

 I probably read this book a dozen times as a kid. It appeals to many for it's portrayal of kids who take care of themselves, much like My Side of the Mountain in that respect actually. I was both pleased and apprehensive when I discovered that it had been made into a movie. Plot wise, it's relatively true to the novel. A few things have been modernized (no references to things like dishes being girls' work, physical labor for boys) and the characters mostly remain together where Henry often does things separately and describes it to the others in the book. My bigger complaint about this movie is the visual quality. The animation is rough, blocky. The voices don't really sync to the mouth movements. It;s basically the definition of low budget. I found that distracting. So, a decent story but don't expect much visually. Worth a view if you have Netflix Streaming.

Book review - Song of Summer

Title: Song of Summer
Author: Laura Lee Anderson
Genre: romance
Similar books: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
                     I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
 Rating:

better than I expected

Summary: Robin has always thought that her perfect man would have good taste in music. She's a folk musician and can't stand the thought of her boyfriend listening to pop music. Then Carter walks into the diner where she works. He's attractive, rich, kind, and a good tipper. He's also, she comes to realize, profoundly deaf. Carter never expected to have a hearing girlfriend. It's quite difficult for them to communicate. A hearing girl doesn't understand Deaf culture. Yet, when they meet, Robin and Carter forget all of their previous objections and expectations.

My Opinion: At it's heart, this isn't that unusual a scenario for a romance novel. Two different worlds come together. Can such different people find common ground...and love? I've seen several variations on this over the years, even in the vein of not being able to appreciate your loved one's passions. A few things make this book stand out. 1. Anderson gives us detailed description both of how it feels to create music and life as a deaf person. 2. The difference between deaf and Deaf. Often in a book or a movie a deaf person gets some miracle cure and is "fixed" or finds some way to appreciate the hearing world. Carter is very much a part of Deaf culture. He doesn't want to hear. Because of these two vastly different approaches to life we see Carter and Robin trying and ultimately struggling to fit in and understand one another's worlds. 3. (NOTE: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS) The ending. As expected, their differing views of the world lead to a vast misunderstanding and break-up. While both Carter and Robin have experiences that open their eyes both to how they've misunderstood one another and to some part of the world that is meaningful to them, they don't exactly reconcile. There is the idea that they might sometime in the future, but no promises. The ending is a little abrupt, but that mostly works in this context. 

More information: Song of Summer is available only as an e-book.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Three clay figures

Here are three little figures I've made from polymer clay in the past. All figures are no bigger than two inches tall. I think all of these figures were inspired by some image I'd seen elsewhere, probably a drawing or a photo. The alien in the middle was inspired by a little alien made from grapes and peas and such. The alien uses some translucent clay. The little hot dog fairy uses some glow clay on the wings and the wand.

Book review - The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate

Title: The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
                     Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
Rating:

a great read

Summary: A whole world opened up to Callie when her grandfather taught her to explore nature scientifically. She desperately wants to continue her education in the sciences. The problem? Her mother has decided that at 13 Callie is ready to begin preparing for her coming out. Time to put aside exploring the outdoors for needlework, cooking, and fine manners. Things become more complicated when a storm devastates Galveston and a teen cousin comes to stay, occupying Callie's bed. Meanwhile, her younger brother Travis is secretly disobeying a parental ban on bringing home strays.

My opinion: I found the first book in this series at turns funny, educational, and poignant. I was captivated. I was, therefore, a little hesitant going into this one. While sequels can be wonderful, if done wrong they can shake the love you have built for the first volume. That certainly isn't the case here. This book maintains the tone of the first book. It takes the major plot focus (discovering science and gender inequality) and builds upon it with new stories (cousin Aggie and Travis's animals). Also, I learned a lot about natural science from these novels. If they inspire me to read more about science, how must they inspire children? Well worth the read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic Novel Spotlight: Adventures in Cartooning

Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost

Kids enjoy this book for it's humorous story of a knight and horse on a mission to fight a dragon. As they read, they're also getting a solid introduction to comic book terminology and storytelling structure. From the role of panels and dialogue to plot structure, all of these basics of comic design are explained as a part of the story. The art style is very simple, making it easy to replicate as kids are wont to do. This also encourages those who aren't confident in their drawing ability to try anyway. there are actually 4 Adventures in Cartooning books (How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics, Activity Book, Christmas Special, and Characters in Action) as well as a recently released picture book.

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
For the past year Tess has spent all of her time covering up her grandfather's increasing lapses of memory. All it takes is one phone call from her guidance counselor to her older sister Ivy for the whole thing to come crashing down. Now her grandfather is in a care facility and Tess has to move in with her sister and start a new school in DC, far from the only home she's ever known in Montana. As Tess gains a reputation for fixing problems at school, she has no way of knowing she's following in Ivy's footsteps. Their two worlds are on a collision course.

I really enjoyed Barnes's Naturals series and what little I've read of this one so far leads me to believe I'll feel the same about this one. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

What did you recently finish reading?
Song of Summer by Laura Lee Anderson
Robin has always thought that her perfect man would have good taste in music. She's a folk musician and can't stand the thought of her boyfriend listening to pop music. Then Carter walks into the diner where she works. He's attractive, rich, kind, and a good tipper. He's also, she comes to realize, profoundly deaf. Carter never expected to have a hearing girlfriend. It's quite difficult for them to communicate. A hearing girl doesn't understand Deaf culture. Yet, when they meet, Robin and Carter forget all of their previous objections and expectations.


While the concept of this novel might be a little ridiculous, the execution is fantastic. Carter and Robin are both fully realized characters. The way their relationship plays out is unexpected. 

What do you think you'll read next?
Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr
A lot of the books I've been reading lately have been more in the teen romance vein. This dystopian action novel should be a nice change of pace.

Book review - Jesse's Girl

Title: Jesse's Girl
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Genre: romance
Similar books: Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone
                     Paper or Plastic by  Vivi Barnes
 Rating: 

Nice enough, if predictable

Summary: When Maya said she wanted to be a rock star when asked what she'd like to do for her school's Shadow Day, she figured she'd be sent to work at the radio station. She never expected to spend the day with country music superstar Jesse Scott. Jesse isn't at all what she expected, withdrawn and solitary rather than the party boy he's portrayed as in the media. Maya and Jesse don't think much of each other at first, but it's strange the difference a day can make.

My opinion: Like most romances, this book is rather predictable. Maya and Jesse hate each other initially, though this is mostly to mask their attraction. They, of course, give one another a chance, discover what they have in common, learn from each other, fall in love, push away, and eventually decide that being together is worth any cost. Love conquers all (cue mild eye roll). There is a level of reassurance to a plot like that, especially in the case of this novel. Maya is not rescued. If anything, it is Maya who does the rescuing. Overall, though, I found the plot somewhat tired. The music and fame are not unique enough to allow this novel to stand out from the crowd. It's a solid teen romance but not particularly memorable.

Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley