REVIEW: Devil's Kiss

Chadda, S.  (2009).  Devils' Kiss.  New York:  Hyperion Books.

327 pages.


Appetizer:  Billi is in training and is being tested to join the Knights Templar.  Her father, who is the leader of the secret religious society, has been training her since she was little to be the first female knight.  Billi never really got a choice in the matter.

At school, Billi is friendless, dateless and has trouble completing all of her assignments due to her training. She regularly has to try to explain away her many bruises and cuts, results from training and battles with werewolves, vampires, ghouls and devils.

But all of that is about to change since her old best friend, Kay, has returned from his own special training as an Oracle in Jerusalem.  They can't pick up their friendship left off though.  Kay seems different and Billi is jealous of the fact that he got to escape for a while.  To make matters worse, Billi's father, Arthur, is willing to praise Kay and not her.

Now that a fallen angel is threatening to enact the tenth plague and kill all the first born children in London, Billi is going to have to decide what is truly important to her.

I enjoyed Devil's Kiss.  The fight scenes had a bit of a Buffy-butt-kicking feel to them.  I liked Billi as a character, enough that I will probably pick up the sequel, Dark Goddess, pretty soon.  But I have to say, I wasn't *in love* with the book.  While it's quickly established that Billi is very angsty when it comes to both her dad and Kay, it took me a long time to understand why she felt the way she did.  I felt like in the case of her friendship with Kay, I didn't really get what was going on between them until about page 250-ish.  And by then, I couldn't really be bothered to care for him any more.

As for Billi and her father...well, she has some serious Daddy issues.  Ever since his wife's death, Arthur has been cold and distant with his daughter.  No praise.  No "I love you's" and he makes it clear, if it comes down to saving others or saving her, he'd choose to save others.  As with Kay, I had trouble knowing who Billi's father was.  Eventually, his motives were revealed, and that was satisfying.

The one thing I could seem to get a sense of was the way Devil's Kiss played with religious lore.  I liked the survival of the Knights Templar into the present-day.  I liked the threat of the plague that paralleled the Biblical plague in Egypt.  I thought this was a refreshing twist to presenting creatures like vampires  and werewolves within a larger tradition.


Dinner Conversation:

"Killing him should be easy; he's only six.
Then why the bilious, twisting feeling deep in her guts?
Why the cold, clammy dampness down her back?
He's only six.
Billi waded through the spiny grass toward the back of the park.  The autumnal night wind whispered to her, down here in The Pit.
What a name for a playground." (p. 3)

"The Order had been formed to defend the Holy Land, but that battle had been lost long ago.  Their war wasn't for Jerusalem, not anymore, but for mankind's soul.  Their war was against the supernatural evil that preyed on humanity.  A war they called The Dark Conflict.
The Bataille Tenebreuse.
Their endless, unwinnable war.
Billi watched the party head back up to Fleet Street and their waiting bus, all safe in their cocoons of ignorance, unaware of the shadow war being fought around them."  (pp. 30-31)

"She'd been excited at first, being part of something big, mystical, the stuff of legend.  Being part of the Knights Templar and their secret war against the enemies of mankind.  The unholy.
The beast within:  mortals with the heart of the wild.
The hungry dead:  corpse-eaters and blood-drinkers.
The ghosts:  spirits of pain.
The devils:  tempters of humanity.
And the Grigori:  dark angels.  (pp. 32-33)


Tasty Rating:  !!!

REVIEW: Eight Days of Luke

Jones, D.W.  (1975).  Eight Days of Luke.  New York:  Greenwillow Books.

226 pages.


Appetizer:  David Allard is on break from school and instead of being sent of on an educational tour, his relatives have forgotten he was supposed to come home and so he is stuck with them and their criticisms of him.

At first it seems like it will be a complete torture, but after chanting a random mix of words, a strange boy named Luke appears.  Luke claims that David released him from his prison and is indebted to him.  David just thinks Luke is one of the kids from the neighborhood, but when it becomes clear that Luke has a magical talent with fire and strangers appear looking for Luke, another each day.  David makes a deal with one of the strange men to try to keep Luke out of his prison for good, if only David can prevent the strangers from finding Luke for one week.

Although the actual story is subtle and readers who aren't already familiar with Norse mythology may not even notice that all of the strangers who visit David trying to find Luke are gods from Norse myth (and Luke himself is also one of the gods).  It becomes a little more obvious by the end, but I feel like this is one of those books where a teacher has to explain some of the details to get the broader significance.  Otherwise it's just this boy who helps this other boy.  And there are weird adults.  Unhappy relatives.  Unexplained magic.  People unsurprised by unexplained magic.  And lots of talk about cricket.

I've met dozens of readers who are in love with Diana Wynne Jones's books.  Literally.  They want to marry her despite the age difference.  But I have to say, when I had read some of her young adult books in the past, I had trouble getting into them.  Her characters just don't draw me in.  I had less trouble with this as I read Eight Days of Luke.  I think I had an easier time because this is more of a middle grade book and because, after Luke was introduced, it was a pretty fast-paced read.

I still felt the book lacked tension though.  It's one of those older fantasy novels in which a character only has a limited time to, say, save the world, perhaps.  And instead of immediately running off to save said world, the protagonist has tea.  Or runs off to play cricket.  And I'm left wondering if this is proper day-saving behavior.

Because if I were ever tasked with saving the world, I'd make sure that that bit of work would be my number one priority.  I'd be on top of it.  Probably, I'd even make a check list on a sticky note to make sure I didn't forget any of the world-saving steps.  You hear that, fates/hero-audition-panel?  I would devote all my efforts to saving the world.  No tea or cricket for me.  Just full-time world saving effort.  Now, I wouldn't say the world is actually at stake in Eight Days of Luke, but David also delayed his efforts to save Luke because he feared he'd be inconveniencing his aunt who would have to give him a ride.  Or something.

*Yawn*  How un-tense is that situation?  It's like getting a myth-y brain massage that, at the end of the massage session, you can't help but wonder of you were cheated because you fell asleep and couldn't properly keep track of the time the massage took.  But on the plus side, you're tension free.

Who else could use a massage right now?

ALSO, also, whenever I read the title of this book in my head, I inevitably wound up with the song Eight Days a Week by the Beatles stuck in my head.  That woke me up a little.  Then I had to sing the song out-loud as I wandered around my place.  My cats did not appreciate the noise.  My neighbors probably didn't either.

Who can't carry a tune?  This girl.

Eeeeeeight DAAAAys a WeeeeEEEEEEK!  I LoooOOOOOOoooOOOOoooove You!


Dinner Conversation:

"Unlike most boys, David dreaded the holidays.  His parents were dead and he lived with his Great-Aunt Dot, Great-Uncle Bernard, their son Cousin Ronald and Cousin Ronald's wife Astrid; and all these four people insisted that he should be grateful for the way they looked after him.
David tried to be grateful.  They sent him to a boarding school which, as schools go, was not bad.  Most holidays they arranged for him to go on an Educational Tour or to a Holiday Camp, and these were usually interesting enough to make up for David's not knowing any of the other boys who went to them. He did feel grateful when Cousin Ronald pointed out that he had opportunities which few other boys were given.  But when he was at home in Ashbury and not on a Tour or at Camp, he found it much harder to be grateful.  And the older he grew, the harder he found it." (p. 1)

"At last he found the best combination of all.  He could really almost believe it was words, fierce, terrible words.  They asked to be said.  And they asked to be said, too, in an important, impressive way, loudly, from somewhere high up.  David climbed to the top of the compost heap, crushing baby marrows underfoot, and, leaning on the handle of the spade, he stretched the other hand skyward and recited his words.  Afterward, he never remembered what they were.  He knew they were magnificent, but he forgot them as soon as he said them.  And when he had spoken them, for good measure, he picked up a handful of compost and bowled it at the wall.
As soon as he did that, the wall started to fall down." (pp. 28-29).

"I'm truly grateful to you.  You let me out of a really horrible prison."  He smiled happily and pointed with one slightly blistered finger to the ground under the wall.
This was too much for David, who, after all, had been there to see that nothing but flames and snakes had come from the ground.  "Pull the other leg," he said.
Luke looked at him with one eyebrow up and a mischievous, calculating look on his filthy face.  He seemed to be deciding just how much nonsense David could be brought to swallow.  Then he laughed.  "Have it your own way," he said.  "But I am grateful, and I'll do anything I can in return."  (p. 37).

"...You have to say that if I can keep Luke safe till the end of the holidays, then you'll stop looking for him and won't punish him or hurt him if you find him after that."
"Agreed," said Mr. Wedding.  "But let's not make it so long.  Let's say that if you can keep Luke safe until next Sunday, then he's safe for good.  All right?"
This shook David a little.  Mr. Wedding must be very sure of winning to set such a short limit.  But he felt he had agreed to too much already to refuse a detail like that.  "All right," he said." (pp. 114-115)


Tasty Rating:  !!!

REVIEW: Guardian of the Dead by @kehealey This is my kind of Paranormal (sorta) Romance! (Meaning Ellie kicks bum-bum!) P.S. Ellie is the narrator, just in case you were wondering, "Who's Ellie?"

Healey, K.  (2010).  Guardian of the Dead.  New York:  Little, Brown and Company.

333 pages.


Appetizer:  Seventeen-year-old Ellie Spencer is the new girl at the Mansfield College boarding school in Christchruch on the South Island of New Zealand.  She's only managed to make one friend so far, and that's Kevin, who has just recruited her to help out with some university students' production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, choreographing the fights.  Ellie is a little wary to go outside after dark to make the practices though, since the Eyeslasher killer is murdering people and stealing their eyes and since the cute loner boy, Mark Nolan, cautioned her against it.  Although, Ellie can't quite remember what he said to her....

She's been having several strange encounters lately.  There was that moment when she saw the new actress from the play outside in the fog and it looked like she didn't have any pupils or irises in her eyes at all.  And she seems to have set her eye-less sights on Kevin.  Ellie is going to have to unravel the mystery of who this woman is and what Ellie herself is.

Guardian of the Dead is on the shortlist for the ALA Morris Award (which specifically goes to debut authors).  I can totally see why it is a finalist.  Healey does an excellent job at writing slightly-humorous and pithy language.  Ellie is not only a believable character, but she's also wonderfully strong and empowered, especially when compared to some of the other leading ladies in a lot of the paranormal romances.  (Twilight and Hush, Hush, I am looking in your directions!  It was actually very interesting reading this so soon after finishing Hush, Hush because in both books a male love interest screws with the minds, in Nora's case from Hush, Hush, causing her to see things that then disappear and in Ellie's case to forget her encounters with magic.  But where Nora just starts to seem vaguely crazy and never really calls out her stalker/fella on his disturbing mental powers except to ask which events were real or power induced hallucinations, Ellie kicks Mark's bum-bum for his behavior while interrogating him.  Literally.  Well almost literally, her hits actually land on his head (which is where she was aiming, because she is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do).  YAY!  EMPOWERED ASS-KICKING WOMAN!!!!!!!!!  I loooove yoooouu and I'm not afraid to admit it publicly.  Obviously.

And then! when Ellie later realizes that Mark isn't just a boy she has a crush on, she narrates:

"He looked at me, calm and beautiful in his borrowed clothes, and I saw again the bravery that had first made me love him.

The thought hit me like a hammer between the eyes.  I could not love Mark.  The idea was impossible, even if there wasn't a hidden ware and a horrible disaster fast approaching.  A harmless crush on a handsome loner classmate was one thing; hopeless yearning after someone who'd enchanted and lied to me [was] something entirely different, and much more dangerous."  (p. 209)

So, there is still a wee-bit of stalking and angsty imbalance of power within the couple initially, but at least Ellie is critical of herself, of Mark and of a potential relationship with him.  I feel like Guardian of the Dead is really speaking back to some of the paranormal romances out there.  And that, of course, made me very happy.

Of course, there's a lot more to this book than it's kind-of romance.  New Zealand is also in danger because some mythic creatures have a massive scheme to restore their immortality.  The fact that it could cost millions of humans their lives doesn't bother them.  So, it falls to Mark and Ellie to try to stop them.

Ellie was also great because she honestly presents the way she sees her body in comparison to other girls around her.  When she initially describes herself, she says she is tall and due to the "stodgy vegetarian option," she's "gone up two sizes to something that...approached outright fat, without even the consolation of finally developing a decent rack (p. 5)."  She compares her appearance to the girls around her, feeling like they outshine her, but somehow manages to be very...un-annoying about it.  Just realistic.  Plus, when guys do show romantic interest in her, she doesn't doubt their intentions.  She seems to see both the good and bad aspects of being the size that she is.

Despite the fact that my knowledge of New Zealand is limited to sheep, Peter Jackson movies and (more specifically) Lord of the Rings nerdiness, Healey did a great job of welcoming me in as an international reader to the world she was creating (although once or twice I did feel the compulsion to look up a plant name or two to try to picture them).  I especially liked that when she included aspects of the Maori culture and faith that she assumed the reader would know nothing (I know I knew almost nothing...except for some brief images of poi dancing from a TV show or two.  Ooh, and there's the one dance before the final game in the movie Invictus.  Was that an actual dance?  I am naive of these things. If somebody would like to write more books or pay for my trip to New Zealand than I would be happy to learn much more.  I would want a knowledgeable tour guide who can bring history to life with just his or her words.  Takers?)

Focus, brain.  Focus!

Guardian of the Dead proved to be a great, sinister, supernatural mystery that had a lot of great mythological elements.  And I'm not going to lie, I officially fell in love with the book when I hit page 87, when religious beliefs were explored and book officially made it into a section of my dissertation, by presenting Ellie's uncertainty over her own beliefs, which I thought was a more realistic approach to exploring myth and religion than any of the other books I've read for my dissertation have presented.


Dinner Conversation:

"I opened my eyes.
My legs were bound and my head ached.  There was one dark moment of disorientation before the bad-dream fog abruptly lifted and I woke up all the way and rolled to smack the shrilling alarm.  I was exactly where I was supposed to be:  in my tiny room, lumpy pillow over my head and thick maroon comforter wrapped around my legs.  I disentangled myself and kicked the comforter away.  The muffled tinkling as it slithered off the foot of the bed reminded me that Kevin and I had stored the empty beer cans there.
Well, that explained the headache" (pp. 1-2).

"Hey, did you hear there's been another Eyeslasher murder?"
I grimaced.  "Samia said in Geo.  A phone psychic in Tauranga.  God, I hope they catch the bastard soon."
"Me too.  Murder's bad enough, but taking their eyes is sick."
"I think the murder probably matters more."
"Sure, but eyes are tapu, Ellie."
I blinked at him.  Kevin's parents, on the two occasions I'd met them for uncomfortable dinners, had been as stiffly Anglo-Saxon as posh New Zealanders came, but Kevin's light brown skin wasn't the result of a good tan.  I knew that his great-grandmother had been Ngai Tahu, and that he was one of the leading lights of Mansfield's kapu haka performance group, but I hadn't realized his desire to learn more about his roots had meant this much investment in Maori beliefs about the sacred" (pp. 12-13).

"Mark had done something to me, and I couldn't come up with a logical explanation.  So I went with the illogical one.
Magic.
Magic was real." (p. 91).

"In less than a day, I had been harassed, enchanted, shouted at, cried on, and clawed.  I'd been cold, scared, dirty, exhausted, hungry and miserable.  And up until now, I'd been mildly impressed with my ability to cope" (p. 178).


Tasty Rating:  !!!!!

REVIEW: My Invisible Boyfriend

Day, S.  (2009).  My Invisible Boyfriend.  New York:  Scholastic Press.

275 pages.

Okay, so this is another book that got my attention before it was even published and then post-publishing it kept slipping to the far side of the mountain of books in my To Read As Soon As Possible Pile.

But look, here I am, getting to it!


Appetizer: Fifteen-year-old Heidi is in love with Mycroft Christie, the protagonist of her favorite cancelled TV series.  So with the start of a the new school year, she's excited for another year of watching her favorite show and hanging out with her four best friends.  However, when the new year begins, Heidi is in for a shock when all of her friends seem a little more...boy fixated than they were last year.

A small misunderstanding leads to her friends thinking Heidi has a boyfriend too.  A deception she goes with that only leads to more and more misunderstandings and problems comparable to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (which by the way, also happens to be the play Heidi and her friends are working on for the end of the term).

I initially had a little trouble getting into My Invisible Boyfriend.  I found Heidi's voice a little off-putting.  I had to reread a sentence or phrase here and there to make sense of them.  But as the plot started to pick up and Heidi was developing the story behind her imaginary boyfriend, I started to get used to the voice and eased into it.

I did really like a lot of the tensions of the books.  What was Heidi to do?  All of her friends suddenly had boyfriends.  Heidi wasn't ready to be kissed by any random guy.  So, why not re-imagine her favorite TV character has her boyfriend?  She just wanted to belong.

I hadn't anticipated that Day would be using the fan-girl angle to inspire Heidi's characterization for her imaginary boyfriend.  I thought that was a nice touch, especially as a person who is prone to having literary crushes of my own.  (My imaginary boyfriend would also be British...and we'd meet by him apperating right beside me.  Sure it'd be awkward at first, what with him having to explain to me that magic existed, but then we'd have an awesome snarky conversation over a latte (me) and tea (him).  (Sigh.*)

Ahem, Refocusing...Plus, since Heidi contemplates aspects of her favorite show and has imaginary conversations with one of the characters, the story forms a meta-narrative, encouraging the reader to think about the qualities of a book or show in the same way.

It's also worth noting, that despite Heidi's imagined conversations with Mycroft.  She never feels like a character who has lost touch with reality.  She's just adapting to the situations at school using what she knows best.

Also, the way she creates her boyfriend's personality online is very interesting.  It reinforces the small ways that personality is shared and includes the subtle message about online stranger danger.

One of the minor characters was nicknamed "Peroxide Eric" for his dyed hair.  I couldn't help but think of the name Eric and how it seems to attract some type of adjective, description, marker-thing.  For example, I have a friend who has a boyfriend named Eric.  He is regularly called "Eric the Swede" by everyone.  In my head, this guy's name is Eric the Swede.  Although I think I have yet to say that to his face.  Mainly because I don't get to see him that often.  Then there's Eric in the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris.  Viking Eric.  Eric the Vampire.

I'm just wondering.  Is it because the name is so short?



Dinner Conversation:

"You know your life is not exactly normal when you're sitting on the steps on the first day of school, sugar-high giddy from knowing they're about to unlock the doors.
But then no one at Finch is normal.  They only send you here when you've been kicked out of every other boarding school on the planet--if your parents can afford it" (p. 2).

"Mycroft Christie, in case you live under some kind of rock, is the most brilliant person in the universe, and totally my boyfriend.  Sort of.  Technically, he's not real.  Technically, he's the debonair twenty-third-century time-traveling hero of the best!  TV show!  ever!  Mycroft Christie Investigates is not actually going to turn up on my doorstep anytime soon to whisk me away to fangirl heaven" (p. 3).

"I realize I'm not dealing with zombie robot doppelgangers.  It's the love potion episode.  Every TV show has it sooner or later.  Magic spell, monster bite, something in the water:  romantic Kryptonite that makes people lick faces with people they shouldn't.  Mycroft Christie ended up snogging a vampire, an evil old lady who trained exploding hamsters to break into banks, and Jori Song (twice) while under the influence of bad mojo.  Hilarious consequences generally ensue.
It's not so entertaining when you're in the middle of it" (p. 15).

"It's like being undercover.  I could be exposed at any moment but only if I miss up and say too much.  It's a total thrill" (p. 46).




Tasty Rating:  !!!!

REVIEW: Nasreen's Secret School

Winter, J.  (2009).  Nasreen's Secret School:  A true story from Afghanistan.  New York:  Beach Lane Books.

9781416994374


Appetizer:  Told in the voice of Nasreen's grandmother, this picturebook is based on the true experience of one of the many young girls who disobeyed the Taliban by attending a secret school while they were in power in Afghanistan.

I thought it was a very unusual and interesting choice to narrate the story from the point of view of Nasreen's grandmother.  Since Nasreen is still very much the focus of the plot, I kids will still be willing to read or listen to the book.  But at the same time, part of the point of the story is for Nasreen to find her voice and "speak again" and because she's not the actual narrator, she's kinda-sorta denied a voice in her own story.

Am I being too picky?

Let me play devil's advocate then.  The start of the story also reveals how Nasreen's father was taken away by the Taliban and how her mother broke the law by going in search of him.  I suppose an argument could be made that Nasreen's character was in too dark of a place to narrate her story.  Yes?  Maybe?  Am I reaching?

I really liked the colorful illustrations.  Each one was contained in a frame and almost all of the pictures included patterns of dots or other shapes.

My one critique is that the story just kind of ends....

Sure, Nasreen seems to have gotten through the worst of her mourning and has begun to speak again.  But as readers, we never find out what happens to Nasreen's parents.  (Although, one illustration could be used to imply that her parents are in heaven looking down on her.)  We also never find out if Nasreen would be able to continue her education.  Young readers may want to imagine what would happen to Nasreen after the story ends.  A teacher could let them act out some of the possibilities.

The book is published by and includes information about The Global Fund for Children.  There is also a facebook fan page for the book, but the majority of the content is links to other reviews.


Dinner Conversation:

"My granddaughter, Nasreen, lives with me in Herat, an ancient city in Afghanistan.
Art and music and learning once flourished here.
Then the soldiers came and changed everything."

"Poor Nasreen sat at home all day,
because girls are forbidden to attend school.
The taliban soldiers don't want girls to learn about the world"

"I heard whispers about a school--
a secret school for girls--
behind a green gate in a nearby lane.
I wanted Nasreen to attend this secret school.
I wanted her to learn about the world, as I had.
I wanted her to speak again."

"Nasreen no longer feels alone.
The knowledge she holds inside
will always be with her,
like a good friend."


To Go with the Meal:

While this picturebook is an excellent window into a girl's experience under the Taliban rule, it can also serve as a mirror for children who feel like they have lost a loved one.  As Nasreen continues to attend school, she slowly makes a friend, shares about losing her parents and begins to smile again.

In terms of assignments to go with the book, students could write or talk reflectively about how it would feel to be denied an education (a teacher should also be ready to debate with those two or three children who will undoubtably think never being allowed to go to school is the coolest thing ever).

A teacher could also focus on how important education is.  In the story, knowledge is described as being a friend and clearly Nasreen's imagination blooms as she learns.


Tasty Rating:  !!!

REVIEW: Horse Song

Lewin, T., & Lewin, B.  (2008).  Horse Song:  The Naadam of Mongolia.  New York:  Lee & Low Books.

9781584302773


Appetizer:  Following their own trip to Mongolia as tourists the Lewins share about the preparation and events of a Naadam festival.  They begin by

As can be expected from previous Caldecott honor winners (Betsy for Click, Clack Moo:  Cows That Type) the illustrations in Horse Song are A-MA-ziiiiiiiing!  They use a lot of wonderful color and manage (I'm guessing here, since I have yet to find the funding to travel to Mongolia) to capture a bit of the landscape and culture of the places they visited.  The illustrations of the horses running (and there were several) were the most striking.

Intermixed among the more stunning illustrated pages, are other pages that include multiple simpler sketches.

I do like that the Lewins frame this book as their own personal trip to experience another culture instead of trying to use some annoying omniscient voice to share about Naadam in an authoritative voice..."All Mongolian people...blah, blah, blah."  *Cringes at the thought*

Rather, this is two people sharing their personal experiences, allowing space for others to see the events differently.  (On that note, a teacher could make use of this book as an example of how to write a travel log for middle grade students).  It is clear that the Lewins did some research and made an effort to include some words of the Khalkha Mongolian language, but they in no way claim to be experts.  Which I appreciate.  Greatly.

Also, here's a video of the Lewins talking about their love of travel.  They mainly talk about their time in India here, but it's still wonderful to hear the author/illustrators speak and see where they work.



In other news, when I start a google search for "Mongolia..." the first suggestion that always comes up is Mongolian BBQ.  Just thought I'd share that.


Dinner Conversation:

"Every summer Naadam festivals are held all around Mongolia to celebrate the country's most popular sports:  wrestling, archery, and horse racing.  The Naadam brings isolated nomads together to take part in the events, see friends and relatives, feast and celebrate life.  It's a time for Mongolians to remember centuries of tradition and keep their cultural heritage alive."

"Are you Betsy and Ted?" asks a young woman as she steps from the crowd at the Ulaanbaatar airport.  "I'm your guide.  My name is Batsuren."

"It is early morning on the steppe.  We are awakened by mooing cows and bleating goats. As we crawl out of our little tent by the river, Amraa is fetching water and Batsuren is cooking breakfast.  Suddenly we are surrounded by a large herd of horses that has come to the river to drink."

"Like boys and girls everywhere in Mongolia, Tamir dreams of bringing honor, glory, and prizes to his family by winning the big race, now only one week away."

"The race has begun.  Pandemonium!"


To Go with the Meal:

While probably best for middle grade students, this book could also be used with children who are still transitioning to chapter books since the picture book is text-heavy and sectioned off into different sections as the Lewins experienced different parts of their journey.

After reading this story, students could write their own accounts of their own travels or could research Mongolia in more depth.

This is a wonderful book that can really spark the imagination for some young readers.  A teacher should be ready to encourage students to participate in make-believe horse races.  To incorporate other cultures, a teacher could also show excerpts from the movie, Hidalgo or share books about distance races within the historical American West as well.


Tasty Rating:  !!!

REVIEW: Little Black Sambo

Bannerman, H.  (1921).  Little Black Sambo.  Bedford, MA:  Applewood Books.

9781557094148

Once upon the time (AKA as recently as the 1970s), Little Black Sambo was considered a wonderful example of international literature and was a recommended read.  Within the last few decades there's been backlash to that perspective and Little Black Sambo has become the go-to example of stereotypical and offensive depictions of black characters in children's literature.

PLOT SUMMARY:  Sambo is a young boy whose mother and father have bought/made him a nice new outfit.  When he wears it for the first time, several tigers bully Sambo into giving them all of his clothes.  Afraid to go home in only his loin cloth (I kid you not) and face his parents, Sambo faces the tigers to regain his outfit.

 The fact that Sambo's supposed blackness is a part of his official name--Little Black Sambo--makes me more than a little uncomfortable.  This is magnified by the official definitions of the term "Sambo."  My dear friend, the OED, provides two meanings:

1.  "Applied in America and Asia to persons of various degrees of mixed Negro and Indian or European blood; also, a name for a kind of yellow monkey."

2.  "A nickname for a Negro.  Now used only as a term of abuse.  Also with reference to the appearance or subservient mentality held to be typical of the black American slave."

Ugh.  And if that's not enough, the illustrations make me much more uncomfortable about the idea of sharing this with wee little children:

 

Some far from fair representations here...

REASONS CENSORED:

Stereotypical and negative depictions of black people.  This book is ranked as 90 on the top 100 list of the most challenged books of the 1990s.

POTENTIAL COUNTER-ARGUMENTS:

Part of the conflict surrounding this book is the uncertainty of the setting.  Some educators believe the book was originally intended to be set in India (where Bannerman had been traveling when she came up with the idea for the book).  If that's the case, then the depiction of of Sambo and his family as black is out of place, giving readers motive to say, "What the heck is going on here?"

Others believe Little Black Sambo is intended to be perceived as a fantasy story, set in an imagined land.  While this does explain the talking tigers (you mean, some people don't accept that tigers talk in this land?  I know the tigers at my local zoo speak to me), it still doesn't explain the far from fear depictions of Sambo and his family:

So, is it possible to say the illustrations are the source of classifying this book as presenting a VERY negative depiction of black people?  I'd say yes.  But what are your thoughts?

I know a handful of older adults who are in love with this book.  For them, it brings back fond childhood memories.  But then, they're also white.

I'm not saying ban this book.  This book is a part of our cultural past.  Ignoring that causes its own problems.  But I do think, if shared, a teacher needs to provide a lot of context and scaffolding when sharing Little Black Sambo.

USES IN CLASSROOM:

Personally, I wouldn't use this in a classroom unless said classroom was filled with undergraduates.  In which case, I'd be addressing issues of book challenges and stereotypes as I'm doing now.  The book also lends itself to discussing how ideology is always woven into a text and operates as understood assumptions and are often only noticed when ideology has shifted to a new idea or understanding of the subject.

I suppose, I would consider pairing Little Black Sambo with Julius Lester's version of the story:  Sam and the Tigers.  In which case, I'd present the books as an example of changing a story and would present students with the opportunity to change a work of fiction or a story from their own lives that they would have liked to be presented differently.

If a teacher HAD to use this book, it could be used to help identify articles of clothing.


QUOTES OF NOTE:

"Once upon a time there was a little black boy, and his name was Little Black Sambo."

"Oh!  Please, Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Red Coat."

REVIEW: The Demon's Lexicon

Rees Brennan, S. (2009). The Demon's Lexicon. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

9781416963790

Teenage brothers Alan and Nick were dealing with a leaky pipe when an unkindness of ravens flew through the window to attack. The birds were possessed by a demon and controlled by a magician. The brothers have often had troubles like these since their mother was driven crazy and since their father's murder. But what's complicating this particular situation, is the fact that a brother and sister, named Jamie and Mae, from school happened to witness the attack and have their own magical problem that they need the brothers help with.

Mae and Jamie's demon problem becomes the brothers' as well and actually draws out the original reason Nick and Alan have been running across Great Britain for as long as they can remember. Twists abound as strong and angry Nick hunts a way to defeat those who hunt him even if his plans oppose his more sympathetic brother's methods.

On the cover of the book, there is a quote by YA author Scott Westerfeld which states "The Demon's Lexicon is full of shimmery marvels and bountiful thunder." Ummm. Bountiful thunder? Really? Now, I loves me some books my Scott Westerfeld. He's an excellent author. But, ah, I don't really know what he's saying here. I read The Demon's Lexicon...I'm paging through it again now. I don't see anything that I would call a "shimmery marvel" or a "bountiful thunder." I think I need some more information, Scott. Maybe with some language that isn't quite so pretty, but that actually means something. That's all I'm saying.

The Demon's Lexicon includes a lot of great humorous lines and excellent witty banter. The only think the book has more of than those is suspense. Oh the fantastic dramas! They never stop. As I began reading The Demon's Lexicon, I was strongly reminded of the TV show Supernatural: Two brothers, fighting the forces of evil, helping others at great personal risk, etc.

And as with several episodes of Supernatural, the Nick and Alan could be mistaken for a couple.

Activities:

A teacher or literature circle leader could guide discussion about the rules Rees Brennan creates to construct the supernatural world, the occult, the mix of old and new culture and architecture in older cities, the experience of having to move often or having a deceased or insane parent, the consequences a parent's choices may have on their child's life, etc. Students could also discuss the ethical implications of making family members pay to be present with a loved one as their health declines.

A teacher could also pull out quotes from this book to demonstrate how to write snappy dialogue.

Quotes of Note:

"The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink" (p. 1).

"He hoped that their uninvited guests would be gone by the time he reached home. It shouldn't take long for Alan to tell them that there were magicians in the world who could call up demons and set them on people. That there were quite a lot of other things happening side by side with the normal world those idiots pretended they didn't fit into. They had probably just heard the warnings Alan had spread and convinced themselves they needed "occult help."

Chances were, after all, that whatever problem the pair had was imaginary. He turned the engine on. It roared to life, and he pulled away fast from the side of the river where the body was sinking.

Imaginary problems. Must be nice" (pp. 16-17).

"Do you remember Mrs. Gilman, our neighbor from three houses ago?" Alan asked. "She used to watch you practicing the sword with binoculars. I never told you. I'm sorry."

Nick laid his sword down on the draining board with a metallic clink.

"Why did you do it?"

"Well, Nicholas, she was over sixty. I thought you'd be a little disturbed" (p. 39).

"People die all over the world, and I doubt you lose sleep over them. What's so special about you? Why should I want to help you?" (p. 44).

REVIEW: The Knight Who Took All Day

Mayhew, J.  (2005).  The Knight Who Took All Day.  New York:  The Chicken House.

0439748291

A knight wishes to impress the princess.  When he hears that there's a dragon nearby the castle, he takes puts on his armor, sending his paige all over the castle to bring him the best cape, and other accessories to help improve his appearance.

Little does he know, there's a princess taking his cast off bits of armor, also preparing to face the dragon. 

With this picturebook, visual literacy is just as important as the words, since the princess preparation is not actually addressed in the text for most of the story.  

This is also a good book to use as a read aloud to a small group of children, since it incorporates some good vocabulary words and actually emphasizes some of the larger words with different fonts.  I also like that, although it is a story of a knight, there is no violence.

I have to admit though, I was not too impressed by the illustrations.  While they incorporate many colors and some humor, I wasn't a big fan of the crayon-like outlining of the buildings and dragon.  Of course, this could inspire children to draw in response to the book.

Activities:

While this is a fun book to share, a teacher could also use this as a teaching moment to share all of the components of a Knight's suit of armor.  

For a math lesson, a teacher could emphasize the number 101, which is emphasized throughout the story, to show different ways to add and subtract to reach 101 as a result.  Another option would be to time children to see how long it takes to count to 101...or go up or down 101 steps...see how many M&M each student must eat for the entire class to consume 101 of the treats, etc.

Of course, there are also the morals of "the early bird catches the worm" and of the idea that appearances don't matter so much when your soon to be face to face with a dragon, no matter who is watching.

Quotes of Note:

"There once was a knight who thought he was brave and fearless and handsome.  He longed to show everyone how daring he could be.  He especially wished to impress the princess, who sat in her tower combing her long golden hair."

"Then one day, without warning, a Dragon appeared on the horizon.  And he was a pretty big one, too, with smoke pouring from his terrible mouth. 

The knight was delighted, and ordered the squire to ready his armor."

"Not that armor, you fool!" he bellowed.  "I need my shining armor, with the curly flourishes!  And fetch me a helmet with a visor!"

The squire ran down the hundred and one steps and found the knight's shining armor and helmet.  With a visor."

REVIEW: The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Jinks, C.  (2009).  The Reformed Vampire Support Group.  New York:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

 

9780152066093

 

To put a twist on the opening of this book:  I am not stuck.  I know just what to write next.  And that is...

 

I heart The Reformed Vampire Support Group.  I want to join it.  Nevermind the fact that it'll involve a fair amount of work since I am neither a vampire nor a reformed vampire.  (Unless of course, I'm lying right now.  You'll never know)

 

Nina, the author of the Youngblood series, enjoys writing her character Zadia as a powerful and beautiful vampire, but knows the reality of vampire life is far from being as cool.  Infected when she was fifteen, Nina is a woman in her fifties doomed to look and behave like a teenager.  She can't drive.  She doesn't have superpowers.  She must battle the urge to take blood from people for fear of revealing her secret.  And she must work to prevent her body from decomposing.  To help with all these problems, Nina attends a reformed vampire support group each Tuesday.  The various vampires deal with different aspects of the dead lifestyles and occupy different spaces on the Kubler-Ross grief cycle.  All this gets more complicated when the vampire, Casimer, who is responsible for 'infecting' all of the vampires in Australia, is found staked in his apartment.  Nina and the other members of her support group go on the defensive, fearing Casimer's deranged slayer will target them next.

 

While there is quite a bit of a danger and suspense in the narrative, there's also a lot of talking as the vampire support group decide what they're going to do to solve their problems.  While this is a nice change from a lot of narrative that go ACTIONdododoNOWnowNOWnowDON'TthinkACTfastpaceEND!!!!!!  At times, I found myself thinking, "Crud, are these weakling vampies, still chatting?  Hellz, I'll take care of the bad guys.  They may be fictional characters, but I'll find a way to eliminate them faster than these characters can come to a decision.  

Plus, this is, to a small degree, a meta-narrative about Nina's own writing process.  Which is pretty much the easiest way to gain my love at first chapter.

 

P.S.  I'll see all-ya-alls vamp buddies Tuesday night at 9:30 PM in St. Agatha's!

 

 

Activities to Do with the Book:

 

Since Nina strugles with writing a story, it'd be only natural to have readers share in her experience by writing their own creative stories.  A teacher could emphasize issues of characterization and the idea that most characters have flaws and can't always be happy-perfect idealized versions of the author. 

 

Since this book is clearly a counter-narrative to SOME other perceptions of vampires in the media, the text lends itself to comparison with the Twilight series, The Blue Bloods series, The Vampire Diaries and all the other books out there that romanticize vampirism.  The Reformed Vampire Support Group works to deconstruct many of the romanticized stereotypes in similar fashion to Charlaine Harris's (very adult) Southern Vampire Series.

 

An interesting discussion to proke would be a consideration of vampires as "victims" (p. 12).  This could lend itself to a safe and metaphorical discussion of not having control in a situation and overcoming that feeling. 

 

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Nina was stuck.  She didn't know what to write next.

So far, her teenage love interest had been dragged into a refrigerated meat locker by two thugs armed with a gun and a boning knife" (p. 1)

 

"You know what?  This isn't going to work.  I can't write aboutmyself the way I write about Zadia [my character].  It's too weird.  It's confusing.  Next thing I'll get mixed up and start making me do things that I can't actually do.  Like turn into a bat, for instance.  Zadia can do that, but I can't.  No one can.

The plain fact is, I can't do anything much.  That's part of the problem.  Vampires are meant to be so glamorous and powerful, but I'm here to inform you that being a vampire is nothing like that.  Not one bit.  On the contrary, it's like being stuck indoors with the flu watching daytime televistion, forever and ever" (pp. 4-5).

 

"I still look fifteen, you see.  I still am fifteen, when all's said and done, since I stopped aging back in 1973, when I was infected.  So I'd attract far too much attention behind a steering wheel" (p. 5). 

 

"I didn't want to complain too much, because that's what vampires do.  They complain too much" (p. 7).

REVIEW: Angels Inc.

McBay, B.  (2008).  Angles Inc.  Vancouver:  Tradewink Books.

9781896580302

After feeling truly happy one day in her neighborhood, Wendy decides she wants everyone to be as happy as she is.  Enlisting the help of her reluctant friend Zach, she decides to regularly help people in different ways whether they want her help or not.  While the number of angry neighbors begins to add up, Wendy and Zach become more dedicated to their cause, forming Angels Inc. and planning to help someone each week.  Little do Wendy and Zach know, they're close to discovering a greater good that they can do for their neighbors.

Angels Inc. touches on a sense of community and helpfullness that may seem foreign in many areas, but is nonetheless a sense that is inherently childlike and optimistic, although a little didactic in moments.  

This would be a good book to offer to a child who is ready to read early chapter books on their own.  An adult should probably remain close by though, since there are some difficult words (spluttered, squashed, wobbled, etc.) for readers still gaining their literacy confidence.  But there are illustrations every few pages to help provide students with breaks.

Activities to Do with the Book:

 

 Since there is so much description of setting incorporated into this short chapterbook, a teacher could take advantage of this and use it as an example in a lesson on setting.  Students could then write about their own home, playground or city in response to McBay's example.

Also, at various points, Wendy misinterprets people's reactions to her good deeds, while these are meant to be humorous points in the story, they could also be used to trigger a discussion on how people generally express their emotions.

 

Students could also brainstorm their own ideas of how to help others, perhaps with a teacher emphasizing the fact that it would be good to check with people to make sure they want help.  The could also brainstorm other club ideas.

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

“It was Saturday.  The last Saturday in April.  No school.  A perfect spring day in Vancouver.  The houses on Twenty-First Avenue were quickly drying off from the morning rain.  Wendy Appleton walked along thinking of the people living there:  Mr. and Mrs. Beale, Mrs. Creech and Mrs. Haddock.  She thought it was funny the way houses start to look like their owners" (p. 7).

"Wendy wanted everyone in the world to be as happy as she was right now" (p. 9).

 

 "What's the good of doing something for someone if it's not going to be appreciated?"

"An Angel shouldn't expect thanks.  It should be..." Wendy searched for the right words.

"A pure act, selfless, without any reward?" suggested Zach.

"That's it.  Pure act.  I like that" (pp. 48-49).

REVIEW: The BIG Sleep Book

Van Genechten, G. (2008). The BIG Sleep Book. New York: Clavis Publishing Inc.

9781605370125

Originally published abroad in Dutch in 2005, The BIG Sleep Book was first published in English in 2008.

This board book is just what the title would imply—a book all about sleep. It begins with it being time for bed for young Josh and goes on to share the locations and ways various animals sleep. The illustrations are pleasant and humorous, showing the animals sleeping with smiles on their faces in some funny positions.

The story includes one sentence of dialogue, so a parent or teacher could encourage a young child to repeat or “read” the spoken portions of the text after they’ve heard the story many times.

The story also lends itself to having an early reader name the various animals showed (they are never actually named by the text) or in one case to count the sheep present in the illustration:

Personally, I feel like it may be a slight problem to imply “everybody” sleeps at night as the first sentence of the book does. While it provides an argument for having troublesome toddlers go to sleep “because the book says so,” it also shows a bat sleeping at night, which kids will later learn is not the case. Another flaw of this is that as a child, I can remember fighting with my parents in the summer months over not wanting to go to bed because it wasn’t dark outside yet. If only I’d had this book to show my parents and say, “See…I don’t have to go to bed until it’s night and dark out.” Of course, any parent could point at the clock on the wall in the illustration and argue 7 PM, no matter the time of year, is bedtime. But in my head, this argumentative toddler version of myself would not have been able to read a clock yet and so would have found this counter-argument suspect.

Activities to Do with the Book:

A great book for bedtime. It’s less ideal for naptime, since it reinforces the idea of sleeping when it’s dark. It presents the idea that it’s okay to sleep in different places or positions depending on what is comfortable for the individual.

This can be an excellent book to share with young children who are anxious about going to sleep since the book shows each of the animals smiling as they snooze.

Favorite Quotes:

“Everybody goes to sleep at night.”

“Some sleep on their tummies in the mud.”

“Others sleep on their backs in the grass.”

REVIEW: Fish Notes and Star Songs

Hofmeyr, D.  (2005).  Fish Notes and Star Songs.  London:  Simon and Schuster.

 

0689872925

 

In South Africa, the daughter of an anthropologist, Fish is imaginative and loves to paint.  When she meets three strange children she is led on a magical quest to deal with her past and to help her new potential friends deal with theirs.  Characters explore who they are as individuals, develop friendships and encounter some unexpected twists.

 

With some references to some African history and wildlife, Fish Notes and Star Songs explores themes of loss, empowerment, spirituality and of language and names, their significance and power.

While some people would argue that this story is a fantasy, others will see it as realistic with dimensions of spirituality.

It is worth noting, multiple characters are dealing with overcoming loss and abuse.  The characters deal with their pain in multiple ways, one of which is considering the way language is used.

 

In terms of its themes and even plot, Fish Notes and Star Songs could easily be paired with Printz winner, Kit's Wilderness by David Almond.  In literature circles, groups of students could read one or the other and discuss or an entire class could read the books one after another and compare how the books consider time, language, their setting and bullies.

 

Activities to do with the book:

 

Explore more about Sara Baartman’s story as research papers or in lecture.  A talk could extend out into a general discussion of the treatment of those who are viewed as exotic or the historic exploitation of parts of Africa and other locations.

 

This book could also lead to some exploration of perspective-taking and a lesson on African wildlife.

 

For older, young adult students, this book could also be paired with Laurie Halse Anderson’s, Speak because both include issues involving trauma, giving voice to those experiences and natural figures that are featured as metaphors.

 

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Her delicate skeleton was lifted from the stand on which it had hung for longer than anyone could remember.  The leg and arm bones made hollow, musical sounds as they knocked against each other gently.  Like bamboo wind chimes in the breeze.  For a moment she seemed to be dancing.  Her legs moving, her arms lifting and her body swaying to some strange music only she could hear.

She was dancing again after being still for so long.  At least, that’s how I imagined it had happened, even though the photograph showed nothing of this” (p. 1).

 

“In the cave things happened—mysterious, marvellous things—which will disappear from the earth, if no one tells of them.  And, once gone, they will be lost for ever.

So I’ve written it all down in a book, from the very beginning.  And across the cover I’ve written:  Fish Notes” (p. 4).

 

“I don’t speak not because I can’t speak, but because I don’t want to. 

All the words I want to say will not help.

So I don’t say them.

If words can’t help you what’s the use of saying them>  I don’t need words any more.

All the words I’ve ever known have flown away.  Up, up up into the trees.  Like birds.  They’ve disappeared into the silent leaves” (p. 49).

REVIEW: The Little Prince

De Saint-Exupery, A.  (2007).  The Little Prince.  New Delhi:  Heritage Publishers.

 

8170262259

 

After he has to make an unscheduled stop to repair his airplane in the Sahara Desert, an unnamed narrator encounters a lonely Little Prince who is visiting the planet.  Over the time that it takes the narrator, who is both child-like and has similar experiences to the author, to fix his plane he and the Little Prince talk and the narrator eventually learns of the prince’s journeys.

 

Throughout much of the text there is a sense of “us vs. them” between children and adults.  This is an aspect that many children will latch onto as being humorous.  I, myself, (perhaps as an adult *gasp*) grew tired of critique after critique of various adult jobs.   But this part of the text (roughly chapters 10 to 15) could be a way to jump into having students write their own (hopefully more positive) descriptions of their family members’ jobs.

 

This book includes a lot of quotable language and has illustrations that are recognizable to this book.  It explores issues of perspective, innocence, friendship, individuality, loneliness, etc.

 

 

Activities to do with the book:

 

Students could create their own drawings of asteroids, planets and animals (or even hats) in response to the text.  And a teacher could give a lesson on astronomy and the Earth's rotation.

 

Also, since the narrator was discouraged by grown-ups responses to his art when he was six-years-old, a teacher could have a tentative discussion about hopes for the future and never giving up, despite what others say.  (A teacher could even bring in Langston Hughes’s “Dreams” poem.

 

Since The Little Prince feels lonely and friendless throughout much of the story, a teacher could also begin a discussion on how to handle feelings of loneliness or how to make new friends.

 

For older middle-grade students, a teacher could also consider the way that the different adults living on the various asteroids the Little Prince visits are portrayed and why.  It is worth noting, one of the adults featured is an alcoholic, so a teacher could discuss substance abuse as an illness to help create a sense of sympathy and understanding instead of immediate judgements.

 

Also, students could listen to an audio track of a portion of the book in French to trigger young readers to take an interest in learning a second language.

 

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them” (p. 3).

 

“But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps.  You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like…” (p. 24).

 

“Is the warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important?  Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman’s sums?  And if I know—I, myself—one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing—Oh!  You think that is not important!” (pp. 28-29).

 

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