Picture books for everyone

Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger

If you've never experienced this book do yourself a favor: go out and find a copy right now. Abiyoyo was one of my favorite episodes of Reading Rainbow. Magical, musical, and just the right amount of scary for young readers. If you can, get this with the audio. While any one can read Abiyoyo, no one reads it like Pete Seeger.

Book review - The Haunting of Falcon House

Title: The Haunting of Falcon House
Author: Eugene Yelchin
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett
                     The Swallow by Charis Cotter
Rating:

Nicely written but a tough sell

Summary(provided by publisher): A long undisturbed bedroom. A startling likeness. A mysterious friend.
When twelve-year-old Prince Lev Lvov goes to live with his aunt at Falcon House, he takes his rightful place as heir to the Lvov family estate. Prince Lev dreams of becoming a hero of Russia like his great ancestors. But he'll discover that dark secrets haunt this house. Prince Lev is the only one who can set them free-will he be the hero his family needs?

My opinion: It can be hard to sell kids on historical fiction, especially books like this one. Not only is the setting historical, it is foreign. Tsarist Russia can be difficult for adult readers to understand, much less middle graders. While the setting is well described, we don't get much in the way of explanation for the class system in Russia, the naming format, anything.  There are supernatural elements but they aren't spooky enough to make this a truly compelling read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by publisher.

Birthday cards

A few weeks ago, I posted about a card I had made for my nephew. Today I bring you two more Martha original birthday cards, one for my dad and one for my other nephew.

The inside of this one reads "Please wait while he wraps your cake and lights the candles on your present"

Book review - Gifted

Title: Gifted
Author: H. A. Swain
Genre: dystopia
Similar books: MARTians by Blythe Woolston
                     Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos
Rating:

Great concept, decent execution

Summary(provided by publisher): In Orpheus Chanson's world, geniuses and prodigies are no longer born or honed through hard work. Instead, procedures to induce Acquired Savant Abilities (ASAs) are now purchased by the privileged. And Orpheus's father holds the copyright to the ASA procedure.
Zimri Robinson, a natural musical prodigy, is a "plebe"--a worker at the enormous warehouse that supplies an on-line marketplace that has supplanted all commerce. Her grueling schedule and her grandmother's illness can't keep her from making music--even if it is illegal.
Orpheus and Zimri are not supposed to meet. He is meant for greatness; she is not. But sometimes, rules are meant to be broken. Here is a thriller, love story, and social experiment that readers will find gripping--and terrifying.

My opinion: Firstly, this is a great variation on the standard dystopian setting. Other novels have a world where art and music are tightly controlled or outlawed outright. In Swain's novel it is privatized, own by corporations from the moment it is created. That's new and entirely believable. So I was completely on board with the concept. The execution, though, had some believability issues. I could accept Orpheus vanishing into plebe society. He had kept out of the public eye and everyone he knew only used him as part of some agenda. It was the characters themselves I struggled with. Orpheus is just a little too good, too enamored with hard work and "real" life. He doesn't really wish for the comforts of his old life or even struggle to adjust to plebe life. With the exception of Orpheus, all of the privileged characters are shallow, concerned only with their own position in society, and have no real care for others. While we are given explanations for their behavior, it can feel like a judgement of all people who come from a privileged background.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Books on screen

Arthur and the Minimoys/Arthur and the Invisibles

This movie is actually based on two books: Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City. Plot-wise, the movie follows the books relatively well. There are changes of course. It is inevitable in a movie for timelines to be shortened, locations to change, that sort of thing. Casting is sort of a mixed bag. Freddy Highmore was a great choice for Arthur, Mia Farrow as Granny not so much. My biggest issue with this movie is actually the pacing. While the books tend to drag a little, the movie races ahead, jumping from scene to scene without pause or reflection. Even the dialogue progresses too quickly. It doesn't reflect the natural flow of a conversation at all. I felt like the movie focused entirely too much on special effects and quips instead of the complex plot and world-building of the novels.

Book review - Genius

Title: Genius - The Game
Author: Leopoldo Gout
Genre: thriller
Similar books: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
                     The Silence of Six by E.C. Myers
Rating:

exciting but over-simplified

Summary(provided by publisher):Trust no one. Every camera is an eye. Every microphone an ear. Find me and we can stop him together.
The Game: Get ready for Zero Hour as 200 geniuses from around the world go head to head in a competition hand-devised by India's youngest CEO and visionary.
The Players:
Rex- One of the best programmers/hackers in the world, this 16-year-old Mexican-American is determined to find his missing brother.
Tunde-This14-year-old self-taught engineering genius has drawn the attention of a ruthless military warlord by single-handedly bringing electricity and internet to his small Nigerian village.
Painted Wolf-One of China's most respected activist bloggers, this mysterious 16-year-old is being pulled into the spotlight by her father's new deal with a corrupt Chinese official.
The Stakes: Are higher than you can imagine. Like life and death. Welcome to the revolution. And get ready to run.

My opinion: A surface understanding of computers, networking, engineering, and/or coding is helpful but not necessary when reading this book. The narrative presumes we understand these things and thus provides no explanation. While the sciences play a major role in the plot there isn't a lot of detail. For instance, we're told that Tunde builds a laser from parts scavenged from the auditorium. While there are design drawing, understanding how it works or even exactly what it does are not crucial to following the plot. Similarly, while politics and power plays are involved in the plot, they are linear, black and white. There is a clear villain, the implication that those in power are either corrupt or inept, not a lot of room for grey areas. Entertaining, decent pacing. I'd have liked to have seen the characters given a little more depth, more genuine personal conflict with others apart from that which is inherent in competition. A decent thrilling read. Just not anything you'll spend much time contemplating later.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

It's always winter...

When I first moved into my new place, I was immediately enamored with the builtin storage in one bedroom. With nearly a dozen drawers and a large wardrobe, its a great space-saver. Even better, its a wardrobe. I had visions of painting the back of it to look like the entrance into Narnia. In the end, I decided to paint a panel to insert into the wardrobe rather than the wall itself. I got a large piece of cardboard, a reference picture from the Lionsgate movie of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and plenty of acrylic paint. After an afternoon of concentrated effort, this is what I ended up with.