The Artist Who Loved Cats by Susan Bernardo
I'm pretty sure I've seen images of some of these posters before, but it's not often presented to young readers. They're quite charming. And we don't usually see advertisements presented as art to children. That alone makes this an intriguing read for youngsters. It just might encourage them to look at ads from a new perspective. This would be a fun book to use in an art class, to put unexpected objects or animals into existing images.
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Title: Briar and Rose and Jack
Author: Katherine Coville
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
The Secrets of the Pied Piper by Matthew Cody
Rating:
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| a truly inventive story |
Summary (provided by publisher): Lady Briar is scorned for her appearance. Princess Rose is adored for her looks. Unbeknownst to them, one or both may bear a curse that only true love can break. But the girls have little time for curses anyway—along with their friend Jack, they are busy plotting the downfall of the evil giant who plagues their kingdom. But how can children succeed when the adults are afraid to even try? And what if the curse manifests? Whose love could be true enough to save the day?
My opinion: It's always interesting to see how an author will re-imagine a familiar story. The more common the tale, the more inventive she has to be to make her book stand out. So Coville sets the bar high here, taking on both Sleeping Beauty and Jack And The Beanstalk. She manages it well, starting out with Sleeping Beauty as not one but two girls. And by combining the two stories, she closes long standing plot holes in both that might trouble a modern audience. All told, Coville's version of the stories makes a lot more sense. The ending is perhaps overly tidy but that's a minor flaw.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
I've been enjoying exploring drawing techniques with note cards. Here are a few cards I took to my last craft fair.
The Race to Space by Clive Gifford
With the anniversary of the moon landing this year, there is no shortage of new space program books for young readers. This particular effort is more than worth the time it takes to read. We start with the Cold War and it's influence on what would become the Space Race. We are presented with each achievement and failure, in chronological order, by both the American and Russian space missions. The reader can then see how each attempt by one team influenced future efforts by the other team. There is not much detail about each mission, of course. This is only a brief overview, but its still a compelling read and a great starting point for young readers with an interest in science and/or history. I can't wait to put this one in the hands of a couple of young readers I know.
I'm not usually one who wears leopard print, but it's hard to turn down dress shoes when they cost a dollar.
The solution? Paint them. A little multi-surface acrylic paint does wonders. I added little pterosaurs for personality.
Tamamo the Fox Maiden and other Asian Stories by Kel McDonald et al
We get explorations of European folk tales far more often than we do of eastern cultures. Probably because the religions and culture differ so much from what is familiar to an American audience. Demons, gods, and yokai, as presented in these stories are far different from the beings as we know them. There's less good and evil , more complexity and negative traits. Bad behavior rather than bad characters. These stories represent a wide variety of characters and styles, so there's something for everyone.
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Title: Wild and Crooked
Author: Lean Thomas
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Nick and June Were Here by Shalanda Stanley
More Than Good Enough by Crissa-Jean Chappell
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| As good as I'd hoped |
Summary (provided by publisher): In Samsboro, Kentucky, Kalyn Spence's name is inseparable from the brutal murder her father committed when he was a teenager. Forced to return to town, Kalyn must attend school under a pseudonym . . . or face the lingering anger of Samsboro's citizens, who refuse to forget the crime.
Gus Peake has never had the luxury of redefining himself. A Samsboro native, he's either known as the "disabled kid" because of his cerebral palsy, or as the kid whose dad was murdered. Gus just wants to be known as himself.
When Gus meets Kalyn, her frankness is refreshing, and they form a deep friendship. Until their families' pasts emerge. And when the accepted version of the truth is questioned, Kalyn and Gus are caught in the center of a national uproar. Can they break free from a legacy of inherited lies and chart their own paths forward?
My opinion: There's a lot going on in this book. We have the obvious exploration of the roles we play in life - roles we find for ourselves and those others place upon us. Thomas has three different approaches in her characters. Kalyn despises the role thrust upon her and is determined to be her own person regardless of expectations. Gus is frustrated by his societal role but can't see a way out of it. His friend has fully embraced his role to the point that he's loathe to depart from it's guidelines. He see this role as a way to guide his behavior. Each character either finds ways his roles don't fit or failings in what society has laid out for them At the same time, they also come to realize the ways they have put others into boxes that perhaps don't fit them as neatly as originally supposed. Now the idea that people are more than one thing is certainly not new. And the central plot has some logical failings, some elements that are thin. But the characters are compelling and their interplay charming.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
