Review of The Mating Season, by P. G. Wodehouse

Audiobooks, Fiction Review, Humorous, Starred Review 0

mating_season_largeThe Mating Season

by P. G. Wodehouse
narrated by Jonathan Cecil

Sound Library (AudioGO), 1992. 6 hrs 51 min on 6 CDs.
Starred Review

I keep exclaiming on how much fun Jeeves & Wooster CDs are to listen to in the car. This one had delightfully absurd situations.

Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia has asked him to visit Deverill Hall, and he dare not disobey. He is to participate in a concert in the village, which is being organized by the vicar’s niece, Bertie’s good friend Corkie, who is also a Hollywood star. Meanwhile, Gussie Fink-Nottle has been told to visit Deverill Hall by his fiancé, Madeleine Basset. Living at the hall is Esmond Haddock and his five aunts.

As if that situation alone weren’t enough, Bertie ends up going to Deverill Hall pretending to be Gussie, and Gussie comes later, pretending to be Bertie. Once at the hall, romances are all tangled up. Corkie loves Esmond, but he is too cowed by his aunts. Gussie falls for Corkie, which puts Bertie in peril of being engaged to Madeleine Basset. And Corkie’s brother, Catsmeat, is in love with Gertrude Wentworth, a daughter of one of Esmond’s aunts. But Catsmeat fears that Gertrude is falling for Esmond, who is trying to make Corkie jealous.

As usual, there’s a grand comical mess, and only Jeeves can possibly hope to straighten it all out. Along the way, we get to hear Bertie’s hilarious understatements and apt similes all told in Jonathan Cecil’s wonderfully versatile British accent. He’s consistent in using different voices for each of the many characters, so you can tell who is speaking by just listening to his voice. A marvelously entertaining audiobook.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/mating_season.html

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Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of An Eye for Art, Presented by the National Gallery of Art

Art, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

eye_for_art_largeAn Eye for Art

Focusing on Great Artists and Their Work

presented by the National Gallery of Art

Chicago Review Press, 2013. 177 pages.
Starred Review

Here is a fabulous overview of great artists and their work. I ended up reading it by looking at one artist per day. There are seven sections: Studying Nature, Exploring Places, Examining Portraits, Telling Stories, Observing Everyday Life, Questioning Traditions, and Playing with Space. Each section features several individual artists, with more than 50 featured in the book.

Each artist gets four pages. First, a title page, filled with the detail of the featured piece of art. When you turn the page, you get an oversized double-page spread that includes a picture of the entire work of art, usually a picture of the artist, and information about the artist and what they did that was notable in the work of art. Sometimes more than one work of art is included.

The final page on each author has either “explore more,” “try this,” or “another view.” “Explore more” looks at more of the artist’s work and suggests a way kids can explore that idea. Some examples are “Keep a cloud journal of your own” or “Make a self-portrait.” “Try this” also springboards from the work of art to project ideas. Examples here include “Create a colorful collage” or “Leaf rubbing.” “Another view” takes a look at another artist who did something similar to the featured artist. The text compares with the original artist and gives the reader a broader view of that trend in art.

This book is fascinating, beautiful, and informative. The cover explains that it includes 40 activities, so it is also inspiring. This is a wonderful book for a school library or a home collection or anyone who’s interested in art.

nga.gov
chicagoreviewpress.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/eye_for_art.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.