Picture books for everyone

Wonder Mole's Scent Costume Party by Pato Mena

The plot of this book is very simple but that kind of makes it more wonderful. It centers around the idea that the moles can't see the weasel, that all of their identifiers are scent-based. So the final turn is a pretty simple guess for an adult or even an older child who will enjoy the anticipation of what is coming. The younger listeners will likely find it a delightful twist. The simple but exaggerated features of the characters hold appeal for all ages.

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Non-fiction book review - The Girl Who Rode a Shark

The Girl Who Rode a Shark and Other Stories of Daring Women by Alisa Ross

My fascination with amazing women is no secret. I'm constantly on the lookout for more inspiring figurees, making books like this one thrilling to explore. Ross introduces the reader to more than 50 women, organized by the kind of contribution they made to their society or to the world at large. Each woman gets a couple of pages of information, mostly focused on their achievement. Most will be unfamiliar to readers, so hopefully young readers will be inspired to do more research. At the end of each profile, we are given the names of a couple of women who made similar achievements. So the reader walks away from this book with the names of more than 100 amazing women!
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Book review - The Long Ride

Title: The Long Ride
Author: Marina Budhos
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd
                      Loving Vs Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell
Rating:

a complex look at an oft ignored part of history

Summary (provided by publisher): Jamila Clarke. Josie Rivera. Francesca George. Three mixed-race girls, close friends whose immigrant parents worked hard to settle their families in a neighborhood with the best schools. The three girls are outsiders there, but they have each other.
Now, at the start seventh grade, they are told they will be part of an experiment, taking a long bus ride to a brand-new school built to "mix up the black and white kids." Their parents don't want them to be experiments. Francesca's send her to a private school, leaving Jamila and Josie to take the bus ride without her.
While Francesca is testing her limits, Josie and Jamila find themselves outsiders again at the new school. As the year goes on, the Spanish girls welcome Josie, while Jamila develops a tender friendship with a boy--but it's a relationship that can exist only at school.

My opinion: Our history classes have an unfortunate tendency to paint the Civil Rights Movement as a simple solution that "fixed" racism. They ignore the misguided attempts to equalize things that followed, efforts that lead to red-lining, disastrous busing, and increases in subtle racism and classism. And that's what Budhos is bringing into the light here. By centering her plot on a trio of upper middle class mixed race girls, we get an insight into racism, classism, and sexism, all of which are a regular part of the society they live in. These girls have no where to belong at the point in their lives where belonging feels most important. She takes us through the obvious clashes of race and class, leading us to more subtle messages about perception. The ultimate message of this book is how our self-perception affects how others see us. There's a lot of take away on a single read and the reader is likely to glean even more on a repeat.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Non fiction book review - How to Draw and Write in Fountain Pen

How to Draw and Write in Fountain Pen by Ayano Usamura

Fountain pens seem like an anachronism but a little study proves that they are often used in art, especially comics and graphic design. So if you have any interest in those fields, knowledge of fountain pen use is useful. This book serves as a solid, basic introduction. Usamura provides a quick introduction to basic pen strokes followed by a generous number of simple examples of their use, both in drawing and lettering. These are quick little practice drawings to build up your skills for your own artistic endeavors in ink.

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Book review - The Secret of Shadow Lake

Title: The Secret of Shadow Lake
Author: Joe McGee
Genre: early chapter book
Similar books: The Spell Thief by Tom Percival
                      The Ghastly McNastys by Lyn Gardner
Rating:

simple entertainment, lacking that special something

Summary (provided by publisher): Norm is worried about fitting in at camp. Literally. He’s not just tall for a kid. He’s tall even for a bigfoot. Oliver, the only human at camp, has the opposite problem: he’s small enough that a strong wind might knock him over. With the help of their new friends, Hazel (a hyperactive jackalope) and Wisp (a boy fairy who has trouble flying), they’ll have to work together to earn their canoeing certification without disturbing the resident lake monster—or Barnaby Snoop, who will stop at nothing to capture Norm for his personal rare creature collection.

My opinion: I'm pretty accepting of oddities in a story. I consider myself pretty generous with my willing suspension of disbelief. This book tested that willingness. Even within the internal logic of the story there were things that didn't make sense to me, plot elements that seemed to only happen to conveniently move the plot along. I could be more forgiving of that if the villain storyline made more sense. His motivation is clear but his defeat is more the result of happenstance than real effort. Reminiscent of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Norm and his friends don't even realize they are under threat. So while this is cute and might entertain a young reader I doubt it will hold up to repeat readings.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Comic pages

Last weekend they had a fall fest in one of the small towns nearby. In addition to my table in the craft fair, I had a piece in the art show. I decided to display the first two pages from my planned graphic novel.

 

Book review - AstroNuts: The Plant Planet

Title: The Plant Planet
Author: Jon Scieszka
Genre: sci-fi/humor
Similar books: Willy Makit in Space by Greg Trine
                      Space Penguins Galaxy Race by Lucy Courtenay
Rating:

kinda cute

Summary (provided by publisher): It’s happening—the end of the world is upon us. It’s time to look elsewhere to find a new home.
Enter the AstroNuts! Narrated by Planet Earth, this book is about four hybrid animals—LaserShark, AstroWolf, SmartHawk, and StinkBug—created by NNASA (Not-NASA) to explore other planets. The criteria:
1. Must be unoccupied.
2. Must support human life.
When the Nuts reach their first destination, The Plant Planet, it looks perfect. It’s lush with plant life, full of natural food, and seemingly uninhabited. But what if that plant life can think for itself? And what if it thinks it doesn’t like our Nuts?

My opinion: Scieszka was probably my introduction to absurdist humor early in my reading career so I've made it a point to read his books ever since. This one certainly has a solid base. We have these crazy animal astronauts, each with a central personality trait and a central flaw. The plot construction is simple and fairly predictable. This simplicity is not outweighed by the humor. I also found the message fairly heavy handed. Don't get me wrong - climate change is a serious probably. I didn't love being scolded by the planet in the narrative, though. Not only is it preachy, it takes the form of an intrusive narrator, detracting from the plot.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley