Chronicles of a Book Evangelist

Review: Whispering To Witches by Anna Dale

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books

Publication Date: September 6th 2004

Goodreads Description:

Joe is on a train to visit his mother for Christmas when he gets off at the wrong stop-and his life takes a very unexpected turn. With the help of a bewitched broomstick, he is whisked to the home of the Dead-nettle Coven of witches, where he befriends Twiggy, a young witch-in-training. Joe is quickly caught up in a dramatic plan to find a famous missing page from the greatest magic book in history. The witches of England are convinced that the page has fallen into the wrong hands and that if they don't find it soon, a terrible and destructive spell may be cast over the world. With a dash of adventure, a dollop of fun, and a pinch of magic, this book is a timeless charmer.

 

Review:

I hate it when my opinion of one book is so entirely dependent on my opinion of another book by another author -- it feels like cheating in some way.  However, it would be completely dishonest if I didn't admit that Harry Potter both makes and breaks Whispering to Witches.

There is nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking here.  Dale relies heavily on Dahl, Rowlings, and Disney for her world building and even some of her situational plot advancement.  Meeting on special trains.  A hidden residence snugged between two everyone can see.  An unreliable broom.  A battle for pink and blue.  A wild ride with an enchanted vehicle.  

However, despite all the borrowing, it never feels like stealing.  Whispering to Witches is a sweet, fun little story asking "what if?"  What if a muggle stumbled into the middle of a mess made by witches and wizards, and knew just enough to recognize it?  I think this difference is what makes this book.  Joe is just an average Joe (forgive the...is it a pun?)  Joe's story takes the wildly exciting and completely unobtainable fantasy of a Harry Potter type world and makes the adventure accessible to even us muggles.  I have no doubt that young HP fans would thoroughly enjoy Whispering to Witches. 

Rating:

3 of 5 Stars

Previously:

48 Hour Book Challenge: Update 5 

Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy at my local used book store.

Review for 2012 Debut Author Challenge: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Publisher: Random House

Expected Publication Date: July 10, 2012

Book Description:

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. 

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life. 

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

Review:

Rachel Hartman's Seraphina is nothing short of exquisite.  It is beautiful - breathtakingly so - and I find myself wanting to reread it again and again.  This is how it starts:

I remember being born.  

In fact, I remember a time before that. There was no light, but there was music: joints creaking, blood rushing, the heart's staccato lullaby, a rich symphony of indigestion.  Sound enfolded me, and I was safe.  

Then my world split open, and I was thrust into a cold and silent brightness.  I tried to fill the emptiness with my screams, but the space was too vast.  I raged, but there was no going back.

I simply could not help myself; I fell in love with Seraphina's voice right there.  

When I think about the idea of 'world-building' I often actually visualize little houses in my head - spaces that have been constructed piece by piece.   There are houses that are done quickly, with little care, and they look sloppy at first glance.  There are houses that look pretty good when taken as a whole, but upon closer inspection you see the slightly misaligned window trim, the irregular gaps between the wood-flooring, or the spots of cabinet paint on the edge of the wall.  Then you have houses like what Rachel Hartman has built: they look nice up front.  Then, you get a little closer and you start to see details.  That isn't just a nice wooden mantel - it's hand-carved with intricate details.  The walls aren't expertly painted with paint bought off the shelf - every color in the house has been custom tinted to compliment each other.  You get the idea.  Goredd doesn't feel 'built' at all - Hartman has made it so effortlessly stunning that it is impossible not to believe in it.  All the little details of culture and tradition have received the same level of attention as her big ideas - everything from blasphemous interjections stemming from a complex and lush religious tradition to the details of variations in regional style and dialect.  The characters, whether dragon, saar, quigutl, or human, were equally complex and vital. 

My favorite thing about Seraphina, though, is the way Hartman interweaves science, logic, art and music.  So often people who are scientific or logical are thought of or portrayed as being cold and passionless.  In contrast, artists and musicians are thought to be moody and mercurial.  But that isn't really the case at all.  Anyone who has ever watched Feynman talk about, well, anything, can see his passion for science; and the methodical precision required to master the most passionate of musical masterpieces requires determined discipline.  And Math.  Math is at the core of everything.  There is no music without math.  There is no logic without math.  The scientific method is defined by its ability to produce measurable results, and there is no measurement without math.  They are all interconnected.  The very idea of separate areas of study is just our human brain trying to analyze and compartmentalize  reality.  The real world, and the way our human mind approaches it, is much more complex than than that; and I think Hartman would agree.  The book itself is a testament to this idea - it is lyrical even at its most analytical.  At moments of highest emotion for Seraphina, she invokes mathematics and logic.  For example:

I couldn't fill that space with Linn.  That name meant nothing to me; it was a placeholder, like zero.  

 Hartman allows her characters to be passionately logical and coolly romantic, and that impresses me to no end.

I will admit that I found the romance a little lacking in spark or chemistry at times.  However, I am not sure if that is because it was actually lacking, or because I was uncomfortable with it happening.  ( I was thinking of  Selda.)  That is really the only complaint I can find, and (considering the romance is really low on the hierarchy of importance in the story) it isn't even a very big one.  I can't imagine not  rereading Seraphina  time and again.  I can't wait to give it to my daughter for the first time with a, "this is what complex, vital, talented, vibrant, brave, strong, intelligent heroines can be like!"  And I will be recommending it to everyone who will listen to me (and probably those who won't as well.)

Some Quotes I loved:

Orma called me "it" as if I were a dog; I was drawn to his aloofness, the way cats gravitate toward people who'd rather avoid them.

Metaphor is awkward, but emotion, by its nature, leaves you no more scalable approach.  I have not adequately mastered the art, but his comparisons always move me with their precision.

Sometimes the truth has difficulty breaching the city walls of our beliefs.  A lie, dressed in the correct livery, passes through more easily.

 Other Opinions:

Phoebe love it as well.

Jo wasn't as impressed. 

Review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: Precious Bones by Mika Ashley-Hollinger

Publilsher: Random House Children's Books

Publication Date: May 8, 2012

Goodreads Description:

Meet ten-year-old Bones, whose playground is the Florida swamps, brimming with mystical witches, black bears, alligators and bobcats. Bones' father, Nolay, a Miccosukee Indian, is smart and mischievous. Her Mama, practical as corn bread, can see straight into Bones' soul.

It's summer, and Bones is busy hunting and fishing with her best friend, Little Man. But then two Yankee real estate agents trespass on her family's land, and Nolay scares them off with his gun. When a storm blows in and Bones and Little Man uncover something horrible at the edge of the Loo-chee swamp, the evidence of foul play points to Nolay. The only person that can help Nolay is Sheriff LeRoy, who's as slow as pond water. Bones is determined to take matters into her own hands. If it takes a miracle, then a miracle is what she will deliver.

Review:

One of my favorite uncles growing up was my Uncle Joe.  He was big, larger than life even.  He could sing like Hank Williams.  He was a gifted storyteller who usually focused more on the quality of the story than the truth.  He had that quintessential southern accent -- smooth and warm, it would roll through you like good whiskey.  He could make a mean boiling pot -- with Uncle Joe, food went beyond nourishment and became an event.  He was an amazing and skilled hunter and fisherman.  And (as odd as it may sound coming from this nearly life-long vegetarian) it was partly his love of nature and animals that helped inspire my own.  He was a drifter by nature, unlike Nolay (see! I didn't forget the book!), because his roots were not a place but people.  Like a boomerang he always circled back to us.  Of all the stopping places he found, the one that lasted the longest in my memory was Alabama.  He fell equally in love with the swamp and the Gulf; and, for a man who seldom did such things, he could wax poetically about both.  Uncle Joe was also a lot like Nolay in that he always seemed to have something to prove -- to himself and everyone else.  He was fiercely protective of us, his family, both as people and ideas.  Somehow, after he died, we became a little less a unit and more a collection of people.  He had a temper, and he didn't always make the best choices.   But, like Bones, I didn't see that when I was a child.  All I saw was this amazingly smart man who could do anything except wrong.

These similarities, of course, made my immersion into Precious Bones both quick and thorough.  Despite my personal parallels that made this book particularly compelling, I think many readers will find it equally compelling without them.  Ashley-Hollinger writes with such evocative, eloquent beauty that it just sucks you in and won't let go.  The mystery is fabulous, but the biggest reveals aren't necessarily related to the mystery.  Precious Bones is also a luscious coming of age story, a story about seeing people as they really are and still accepting them.  

Oddly enough, my biggest complaints about Precious Bones are also some of the things I loved most.  I love that Ashley-Hollinger includes regional dialect.  I also love the sweeping descriptions of her surroundings.  There is such a sense of place in Precious Bones.  However, upon closer examination, her descriptions don't make sense in the context of Bone's first person narration.  Bones has neither the education and experience for the similes and metaphors used, nor the vocabulary to have described many things as she did.  As an adult I found the descriptions poignant and apt, but many would have flown right over my son's head without further clarification and definition.  Also, despite the fact that I agree with all of Ashley-Hollinger's "messages" within the book, they were not exactly subtle.  I would hate for that to be what turned kids away from an otherwise beautiful and interesting book.

And, for your listening and viewing pleasure, the song that played through my head for most of my reading -- Hank Williams Jambalaya:

Rating:

3.5 of 5 Stars

This review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Weekly Forecast: May 14, 2012 - May 17, 2012

I've been having some TypePad related issues with my "Publish On" option: basically, it isn't always auto-publishing when it is supposed to do it.  I think I've figured out what was going on, but I am sorry about last week's reviews coming a little late, and will watch this week much more closely.  

Last night I finally broke down and read all the blog posts that had built up in my Bloglines since Tuesday morning, and looked at all the tweets I'd been ignoring.  Basically, I spent a few hours reading, a few more sobbing while my husband did his best, "there, there," and stayed up way later than I should have reading children's books. I didn't really want to write a whole new post  (I think I've said everything I can for the moment), but I do want to share a few great tributes, lists, and thoughts about Maurice Sendak.  I think it speaks to how amazing a person he really was that most of the tributes focus not just on what a gifted illustrator or author he was (and boy was he), but also on how -- even though they never met him -- Sendak became an important part of each of their lives.

• The New York Times wrote the best all-around obituary/tribute, if you're just going to read one.

• Stephen Colbert released some outtakes from his excellent interview in January that are a more touching, less grumpy.

• Sergio Ruzzier wrote a wonderful piece about being chosen for the Sendak Fellowship:

He is a very warm, sweet and witty person, but also very honest.  He told me what he liked in my books and what he didn't like. His main concern was that some of my choices were too safe and tame.  “You need to be brave,” he said to me... talking with him, while walking in the woods with his dog Herman, made me remember why I draw and tell stories. 

• Neil Gaiman talks about reading Sendak to his sister and daughter, and gets the New Yorker to unlock a comic of a discussion between Art Spiegelman and Maurice Sendak.  From the comic:

In reality, childhood is deep and rich. It's vital, mysterious and profound. I remember my own childhood vividly... I knew terrible things... but I knew I mustn't let the adults know I knew... it would scare them.

• The Diamond in the Window has a beautiful piece about finally getting that quiet night with a colicky baby thanks to Where the Wild Things Are.
  

• Laurel Snyder writing for The Jewish Daily Forward, has a lovely tribute to Sendak's unfailing honesty.  She said everything that I wanted to say, only better:

Sendak’s legacy is one of gifts and challenges: The challenge to be honest with ourselves always, to see our children as people and to trust them to survive, but also the challenge to find magic in the world, or to make it for ourselves.

• And, finally, Flavorwire compiled a list of some of his best illustrations and quotes. 

I have nothing now but praise for my life. I’m not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me and I love them more. … What I dread is the isolation. … There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.

Maybe I should have just created a whole new post after all?  Next week Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Precious Bones by Mika Ashley-Hollinger, and Dead Time by Anne Cassidy will all be up for review.  There may be a few more, it just depends on how these last few weeks of school go!

My list of books to read for review is MONTHS behind at the moment, so I have basically stopped requesting anything new, and haven't went to the library in weeks.  However, I did get one beautiful, wonderful, shiny, fabulous book in the mail that I have already DEVOURED.  Yes, I am talking about my awesomely physical advanced review copy of Kate Milford's The Broken Lands.  I know I am basically starting to sound like a broken record here, but I really love Kate Milford's writing, so if you have not yet looked into her Kickstarter project, please do.

(And yes, that beautifully multicolored silk is the curtains in my living room, and I had to do some serious decoratorial negotiating with my husband to get them!)

To find out what other bloggers are reading, check out Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post or Stacking the Shelves from Tynga's Reviews.  What are you reading this week?

Maurice Sendak, 1928 – 2012

 

"And in and out of weeks"from Terrible Yellow Eyes (via Bookshelves of Doom)

Finding out Maurice Sendak had died on Tuesday morning was crushing for us as a family.  I still don't really have the emotional wherewithal to do him any sort of justice.  I have also been avoiding the internet all week because I wasn't really ready to read what everyone else had to say.  You see, he is not just one of the favorite authors in our house, he is one of the favorite authors in our house.  Of course, we all love Where the Wild Things Are.  (We even dig the movie.)  But it isn't our favorite -- we all have different favorites for very different reasons I would suspect.  My favorite is Brundibar.  I will explain why, but first a little background.  

I freaked out when I became a parent.  I went nuts researching every little thing during my pregnancy and the subsequent baby years -- and are there ever books for those years -- but it hit me when my son was about 18 months old that pretty soon I would be on my own.  The multitude of parenting books that would dicker over a few months difference in age for starting solid foods would soon give way to a vast array of...nothing.  I mean, yeah, there are a few books on parenting for older children, but they are primarily for children with a special need: gifted, troubled, ADHD, etc., etc., etc.  I felt lost in a sea of nothing.  I wanted to protect my son from the dark and scary things of the world, but I also wanted him to have empathy and compassion for people less fortunate.  I wanted to shield him from violence, but I wanted him to understand why, how and when things are worth fighting for.  How could this possibly be done?  Then I found one of my favorite quotes of all time:

"I said anything I wanted because I don't believe in children, I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh, you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true, you tell them." -Maurice Sendak

If it is true, you tell them.  Tell them if it is true.  If he is old enough to ask the question, he is old enough to hear a true answer.  As a child I loved adults like Sendak because they respected the possibility of a child's intelligence.  That is not to say he thought all children were brilliant (listen to some interviews, obviously not.)  That is to say that he afforded all people, no matter what qualifiers might be tacked on, the same level of respect.  He didn't condescend.  If I wanted to be the sort of adult I respected as a child, I had to show my children that same respect.  Maurice Sendak helped my husband and I shape ideas that would become part of the core of our parenting practices -- how we operate as a family.

When my son was a little older I went back to school.  Toward the end I took a class that I both loved and hated, and that would eventually change me forever.  It was German-Jewish Writers with Dr. Hoyer, and there were nights where I would come home emotionally shredded.  Roo (my son) would come to me, wanting to know why I was so sad, and I wanted to tell him something...but also something true.  But how do you explain the Holocaust to a child, a young child?  You read Brundibar.  Then you talk about the history, the story, the sadness, but also the hope and how they are all interconnected.  We didn't go into every tiny detail, or even a lot of the big ones.  (Being truthful, after all, doesn't mean telling everything you know.)  But I was able to share a little of why I was so sad with Roo, a little truth, just enough for him to empathize.  As he has gotten older, we have discussed more of those little details Sendak has nested in the book -- the yellow Star of David sewn to their clothes or the Hitler-esque nature of Brundibar.

Since that initial reading my son has experienced a lot of personal loss -- he understands much more deeply now what it means to be gone forever.  As a family we like to talk about how sharing stories from and about people who are gone helps keep them alive and present in our memories and lives.  On Tuesday we scrapped our Language Arts lessons and instead we read different Sendak books in honor of his passing: some just illustrated by him, many both written and illustrated by him.  Lady A wanted Little Bear.  And my Seven Little Monsters/Where the Wild Things Are boy?  He chose Brundibar; maybe because he knows how much I love it, and knew that I was sad.  While reading Brundibar, Roo made a wonderful connection: "Brundibar isn't just keeping that musician and those kids alive anymore, mom, but also Maurice Sendak."  Stories within stories making up our lives.  I am sad that there will be no new stories, but I am grateful for the ones we have.  I know that in this household Maurice Sendak will be greatly missed, but he will also always be present.

A Mighty Girl: For Your Mighty Reader

Do you know a bright young girl?  A daughter, sister, cousin, niece, neighbor, student, friend?  Does she like to read?  (Or do you want her too?)  Have you heard about A Mighty Girl: The world's largest collection of books and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls?  They are relatively new (launched in March of this year!) but already have a varied and interesting collection of books and movies.  Here's what they have to say about themselves:

After years of seeking out empowering and inspirational books for our four young nieces, we decided to create A Mighty Girl as a resource site to help others equally interested in supporting and celebrating girls. Our labor of love has now come to fruition as the world’s largest collection of books and movies for parents, teachers, and others dedicated to raising smart, confident, and courageous girls.

The site was founded on the belief that all children should have the opportunity to read books and watch movies that offer positive messages about girls and honor their diverse capabilities. We believe that girls do not have to be relegated to the role of sidekick or damsel in distress; they can be the leaders, the heroes, the champions that save the day, find the cure, and go on the adventure. It is our hope that these high-quality children’s products will help a new generation of girls to grow and pursue whatever dreams they choose -- to truly be Mighty Girls!

 I already see a substantial amount of our birthday and winter holidays budgets being spent here!  Just a few products that have caught my eye:

My Lady A is nuts about birds.  She can spend hours watching them out the window, or looking through bird watcher books at all the lifelike pictures.  It took buying bird-bedecked sheets and blankets to get her to make the move to her very own big girl bed.  So, naturally we feel in love with Sara Pennypacker's Sparrow Girl; the story of a girl so entranced by the sparrow that she goes against her family, her community, even her country to save them.  And the illustrations by Yoko Tanaka are just stunning.

From the Website:

Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds. It was a terrible thought. Her country's leader had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers--they were eating too much grain, he said. He announced a great "Sparrow War" to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay. The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to death! Ming-Li knew she had to do something--even if she couldn't stop the noise. Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one...

"Opposite the grave historical account, though, is an uplifting image: on a field of white, a small nest with seven eggs promises the hope that springs from the simple actions of one empathetic heart." -- Booklist

 

And, although we own most of the movies in her age range, we did find the Miss Mallard movies.  (How have I never heard of these before?)  I am really excited to give them a try.

From the Website:

Here are stories that stimulate children with simple problem-solving puzzles that increase learning skills. More than that, the stories encourage 5 to 12 year olds to analyze events and scrutinize characters that they can apply to their daily lives. That's why children can't get enough of mysteries and why they love the adventures of Miss Mallard and her nephew, Willard Widgeon of the Swiss Police. The world-famous ducktective and her nephew travel around the world encountering all kinds of fowl play. No detail is overlooked by Miss Mallard. There's never been a case she couldn't "quack." -- Author's Site

This set includes the episodes:Taxi to Intrigue, Cable Car to Catastrophe, Express Train to Trouble, Whistle Stop to Fear, Footbridge to Jitters, Snowmobile to Panic. Miss Mallard's adventures continue in Miss Mallard Meets the Masters of Mischief.

I am really excited to see what A Mighty Girl picks up next!

Just a note: I am in no way being compensated for this!  I just really like the website and wanted to bring it to the attention of other people looking for positive books and movies for girls!

 

Review: Laugh with the Moon by Shana Burg - A Review on World Malaria Day

Expected Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Goodreads Description:

After the sudden death of her mother, Clare Silver remains in denial until her father, a doctor, whisks her away to a remote African village—the one place he believes can heal both of their hearts. 

A budding fashion designer, Clare feels stuck in the jungle, living under primitive conditions without cell phone reception or any contact with the outside world and expected to attend school with the locals and learn their language. 

When a teacher quits, Clare reluctantly agrees to teach the youngest students. Clare can't help being impressed with the kids who are so eager to learn, despite having to work in small, crowded spaces and share their schoolbooks. As Clare develops a friendship with an orphan named Memory, this girl who has lost so much dares Clare to open her heart again, remember her mother, and laugh with the moon.

Review:

Shana Burg's Laugh with the Moon is such a complex yet simple book that packs a hefty emotional punch.  (I cried while reading the last fourth of the book; and, a month later, I still get emotional just thinking about writing this review.)  Before I write what may sound like criticisms (but are not!) I want to put what I will say into context.  Have you ever had someone tell you a story about a "friend?"  A story about something so bad or sad or hard that the insulation of the "friend" was required, even though you both knew the story was really about them?  Laugh with the Moon is a little like that story.  You see, it isn't really fiction at all.  Burg tackles some very harsh realities about Malawi.  She spent years learning about these realities, and then even more crafting a story in which she could communicate them.  Burg has some very specific issues that she wants to discuss, and it leaves her characters feeling less like actual people and more like symbolic representations of groups of people.  She manipulates them to tell her story, but they never feel like puppets; she uses them to speak with her voice, but they never become her megaphone.  They have nuance even while feeling a little flat.  The insulation was needed to tell this story in a middle grade novel.  (I am a 28 year old woman and I needed it!)  

Laugh with the Moon deals with death, dying, illness, and grief, but it is always full of life.  Burg not only shows how different cultures celebrate life and death, but also how people within those cultures deal with it differently.  It is a frank look at loss, but it remains ever hopeful.  (I didn't read the Author's Note until I finished, which just elevated my already very high opinion of her.  Three different people who were her friends and helped make this book possible died before it was published; also before they were 40 years old.  Shana Burg is an amazingly hopeful and optimistic woman.)

Burg also very subtly but effectively takes on the idea of privilege.  Laugh with the Moon begins with Clare donning her mantle of privilege as carelessly and obliviously as one slips into flip-flops on the beach: Throwing an anti-Malaria pill away because it has fell to the floor, regularly chugging bottled water in front of people who have only had it once or twice in their lives, or causally using - then giving away - pens in front of students who have never had formal school supplies.   As the story progresses, though, she becomes more aware of her privilege, and how unjust that privilege really is.  Each one of her friends is instrumental in different ways to her achievement of this awareness.  I particularly like how Burg uses Memory and Agnes as foils - the extremes of how Malawians might react to an American such as Clare.  Memory loves and accepts Clare as she is, overlooking Clare's thoughtless acts because she knows they are unintentional.  Agnes, however, calls her out at every turn - forces her to face it.  It would be easy - and is often done - to make Agnes the 'mean' or 'bad' character, but she isn't.  Agnes, too, becomes a friend, once Clare sees why Agnes treats her the way she does.  Innocent shows her the value of the pills she so casually took; a child who dies for lack of a medicine that costs .28 USD per pediatric dose* or a mosquito net that costs $3.00 USD.** Saidi shows her the value of the education she took for granted; he cannot move into high school for lack of the <$1.00 USD*** a year it would cost, and leaves primary school early because he cannot afford a suitable uniform.

These two issues, then, are the soul of why Shana Burg wrote Laugh with the Moon: access to adequate medical attention and access to an adequate education.  It is hard to pull these issues out of the book because they are so deeply woven into the fabric of every single scene.  The reality of what Malawians face is right there under the surface of the story; the fabric on which it is constructed. And, much like her characters Memory and Agnes, Burg by turns coaxes the reader and forces the reader to confront our privilege.  The stark contrast between the private schools that children of white missionaries and doctors attend from that of the local village children is heartbreaking.  The unutterable decadence of the fully equipped hospital Clare receives treatment in compared to the hot cave of a room that Innocent dies in is tragic.  It is impossible to read Laugh with the Moon and remain unmoved.  But it is a movement into action; a feeling of hope rather than despair.  We can, and should, do something to change this.  

________________________________________________________________

*http://www.malariajournal.com/content/4/1/36

** http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/malawi_2430.html

*** From Laugh with the Moon

Some Facts About Malaria

• Malaria is preventable and treatable

• 91% of malaria deaths occur in Africa

• Every minute, a child dies of malaria

• 85 percent of those who die from malaria are children under 5 years of age

• Malaria accounts for approximately 22% of all childhood deaths in Africa

• In 2010, malaria caused an estimated 655 000 deaths

 

What You Can Do to Help

• World Altering Medicine was cofounded by Dr. Kevin Bergman, a friend of Shana Burg.

• Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease and recent progress shows that malaria's days are numbered — but we need your help. Together, we can make malaria no more.
  

•  UNICEF is doing a lot to make sure that preventative measures become more affordable in Malawi.

• World Malaria Day - A Year round resource to count malaria out.

• WHO has the Roll Back Malaria Partnership.

• International Medical Corps  is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs.

• Global Refuge has the Malaria Initiative.

This review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Happy Earth Day!

It's easy being green if you've got the right books!  (Okay, so that was absurdly corny--but really, I couldn't help myself.)  Here are a few of my favorites as well as some new books to kick this Earth Day off the right way!

Children's Books:

The Green Mother Goose: Saving the World One Rhyme at a Time by David Davis, Jan Peck, and Carin Berger is a wonderfully quirky, eco-friendly re-look at many of the classic mother goose rhymes we all know and love.  The pictures are as much fun as the new rhymes--my children and I love looking for new environmentally friendly behaviors in them.  It is also fun for slightly older readers to compare and contrast the old rhymes with the new.

 

Though David McPhail's Water Boy has some fairly fantastically unreal suggestions for rehabilitating polluted water, it does an equally fantastic job of showing kids just how important water really is to our survival.  The story is lovely and the illustrations are beyond beautiful--my son can literally look at them for hours.

 

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals is a wonderfully fun A to Z book all about various compost friendly things.  My kids have taken to it so well that, I am ashamed to say, they are sometimes quicker than I to recognize when something I would deem 'trash' is actually compostable.  Or garden has been a much happier place since we got this book.

 

Books for Middle Grade Readers:

Perhaps it is my children's love of birdwatching, but most of our favorite middle grade books come back to our avian friends.  Wild Wings by Gill Lewis is wonderful in that, while bringing attention to the plight of the endangered Osprey, it is more a story of friendship, and the ties that bind us all.

 

Who better than Jean Craighead George to instill in children a love of nature?  In her perennially entertaining mystery Who Really Killed Cock Robin? by Jean Craighead George she invites children to think critically about non-point source pollution, and have fun while doing so!

 

Though Hoot is my favorite Carl Hiaasen’s Florida Wildlife books, they are all fun, adventurous, and quirky.  In Hoot, a young boy named Roy, with a little help from his friends, learns to love his new home enough to fight to protect it.  Hiaasen's writing is wonderfully engaging and exciting--my son was never satisfied with just one chapter!  

 

 

 

 

Young Adult Books:

For teen fiction, it seems that cautionary tales--in the form of eco-thrillers--are the best way to go.  Saci Lloyd's The Carbon Diaries 2015, the first in her Carbon Diaries series, is the story of Laura, a sixteen-year-old girl just trying to make it in an increasingly scary world.  Lloyd's projections of the consequences of unchecked global warming are as plausible as they are frightening.

 

Trash by Andy Mulligan manages to tread the fine line between maintaining a thrilling mystery while simultaneously examining poverty in developing countries--the first places to feel the effects of our environmentally unfriendly excesses.

 

 

 

 

Non-Fiction for the Whole Family:

Rachel Carson by Ellen Levine is probably the most assessable biography of one of my favorite nature writers that I have ever read.  While Silent Spring or The Sea Around Us might be okay for some teens, In Rachel Carson Levine does an excellent job of hitting on why, precisely, these books were so important in a way that even middle grade readers could appreciate.  It also does a wonderful job of highlighting attitudes toward women's roles, and how Carson was able to break free of these expectations to become one of the most influential voices in environmentalism.

 

What better way to get kids to take care of the environment than to get them to love being outdoors?  I Love Dirt!: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature by Jennifer Ward is a wonderful guide to helping kids learn to get involved with the world around them. Many of the activities may seem a little obvious to parents of scientifically minded kids (or kids who already really love the outdoors), but it is wonderfully resourceful for parents of those kids reluctant to get their feet wet, get their hands in the dirt, or to leave their tv behind.

 

 

I don't think I have ever encountered a book put out by National Geographic that I didn't love.  That said, Human Footprint: Everything You Will Eat, Use, Wear, Buy, and Throw Out in Your Lifetime by Ellen Kirk is exceptional among Nat Geo books.  Even though it is geared for kids, I found myself reading it front to back multiple times with great interest before passing it on to my son.  Some of the statistics are truly staggering--it is a compelling argument for the need to reduce, reuse, recycle.

 

 

And, on that note, I leave you with one of the best environmentalist songs ever written:

Review: Two Crafty Criminals! and How They Were Captured by the Daring Detectives of the New Cut Gang by Philip Pullman

Expected Publication Date: May 08, 2012

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Goodreads Description:

Benny Kaminsky and Thunderbolt Dobney lead a rag-tag gang of neighborhood rowdies. Their territory is the New Cut on London's South Bank—a place bristling with swindlers, bookies, pickpockets, and the occasional policeman. And their aim is to solve crimes.

When counterfeit coins start showing up in their neighborhood, Thunderbolt fears his own father may be behind the crime. But his friends devise a way to trap the real culprit. Then the gang takes on the case of some stolen silver. They have just two clues—a blob of wax, and an unusually long match. But even this slippery thief is unmasked by the determined kids of the New Cut. 

Filled with silly sleuthing, improbable disguises, crazy ruses, and merry mayhem, these stories are action-packed romps from one of the best storytellers ever—Philip Pullman.

Review:

 Two Crafty Criminals! and How They Were Captured by the Daring Detectives of the New Cut Gang is actually a really long, unwieldy new title for two previously released UK novellas: Thunderbolt's Waxwork and The Gas-Fitters' Ball.  These two hilarious stories tell the adventures of a 'gang' of  enchanting, lively, quirky, kids in Victorian England.

Once again, Pullman has crafted characters that dwell in the reader's mind rather than the page.  These kids are real kids: by turns smart, clueless, brave, cowardly, resourceful, compassionate, condescending, or just plain weird.  Pullman takes turns following the different children, boy and girl alike, with each holding their own.  I think that Two Crafty Criminals would be an exuberantly lively and amusing read to boys and girls alike--no matter which character takes the lead.

Pullman also does and excellent job of establishing time and place.  He drops little hints here and there that make the story feel authentically Victorian, while never allowing the setting to overrun the story.  And the slang is just fun; it was an absolute delight to read this aloud to my son!  

The mysteries, and the antics the kids get up to while solving them, are often over-the-top--making them feel like the stories kids tell each other about their weekends or school vacations while bragging at recess.  They are easily solved, but in a way that leaves young readers feeling triumphant at having figured things out.  Plus, there are whimsically amusing pictures scattered throughout.

I think that Two Crafty Criminals joins the ranks of other Pullman works that are a pleasure to read aloud at bedtime.  It would also do well to encourage a newly independent chapter book reader.  My only caveat: the stories lend themselves best to younger middle grade readers, but the ability needed to understand the slang from context clues, and the occasionally difficult vocabulary words, make them better for older middle grade readers. 

This review also appears at Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Link Trove #7

I have been zipping through the TBR list, and am finally feeling like I may have achieved a sort of balance.  So, on to the links...so many interesting things this week!

• Five Hundred New Fairytales, which were gathered by historian Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, were discovered locked away in an archive in Regensburg, Germany, after over 150 years.  This is SO COOL! (via bookshelvesofdoom)

• This article from Tor on Mark Twain's unfinished novel, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among The Indians, was a lot fun (Twain was parodying James Fenimore Cooper, which I can completely get behind) as well as informative.

• Markus Zusak's The Book Thief will be made into a movie...I just, I...okay.  I have reservations here.  On the one hand, Downton Abbey's Brian Percival will be involved.  On the other?  So will Twilight's Karen Rosenfelt.  And really?  I just don't know that The Book Thief  will be as powerful on film as it is in print.  Serious Reservations!!!!

• Another article making me even more anti-Amazon.

• Word on the Water is a London bookbarge that "stops for two weeks at each mooring to sell books donated by the public and by charity bookshops."  

 

 

• It seems like everyone is talking about The Lorax and the marketing choices that the film makers have made.  (I am sure my previous posts make it pretty clear where I stand, but just in case there is any question: I'm not a fan of the The Lorax promoting consumerism in any way.)

• Since I've been a little down on books-turned-movie, here are some mostly positive comments authors have made about their novels being turned into books.

•  Twenty-year-old Alex Rawlings, fluent in 11 languages, completely blows me away with this video displaying his talent: