Review of Simon at the Art Museum, by Christina Soontornvat, art by Christine Davenier

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Simon at the Art Museum

by Christina Soontornvat
art by Christine Davenier

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020. 36 pages.
Review written July 2, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

I was happily disposed to Simon at the Art Museum as soon as I opened the cover and saw the Musée d’Orsay in Paris filling the end papers. (I’ve spent some happy hours there.) It isn’t named, and there’s an “Art Show” sign in English, but it’s enough for me. As the book begins, Simon and his parents enter the museum, and Simon shouts his greetings.

“Shhh,” whispered Simon’s mom.
“Sweetie, remember what we agreed about inside voices?”

Simon is still enjoying the big building with its slippery floors. This part had me won over:

Simon and his parents looked at the art together.
They looked at more art.
And then more.

So. Much. Art.

What IS it with this place? thought Simon,
before remembering that it was, in fact, an art museum.

“Is that a swimming pool?” asked Simon.

“It’s a reflecting pool,” whispered his dad.
“It’s a work of art too, just like the paintings.”

Simon casually suggested they could make the art even better if they chased the pigeons along its edge.

After that, his parents decided they wanted to hold his hands.

Of course, the pictures accompanying those words make them all the more delightful. Simon’s noticing things – maybe not the same things as his parents.

In another gallery, Simon sits while his parents look at the art, and I love the things he sees as he watches the people looking at the art.

Just when I wondered why they made the choice to portray Simon and his parents as white when the author (who won TWO Newbery Honor awards last year) is a person of color, I came across the probable reason why – when they found a child in a painting very like Simon. (I assume it’s a real painting and wish they had a note. Though I suppose even if it’s a generic Impressionist painting, it makes more sense having a white child in the picture.)

If I had small children and I was planning to visit a museum, I’d read this book together first. It’s a great jumping-off point for talking about what museums are like – but it also reminds parents to see things from their children’s eyes. And for older folks like me who don’t have young kids – this picture book simply makes me smile.

soontornvat.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/simon_at_the_art_museum.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.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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.

What did you think of this book?

Celebrating 20 Years of Sonderbooks: Favorites from 2009

Celebration 0

I’ve been writing Sonderbooks for 20 years this month!

To celebrate, I’m revisiting old favorites from each year I wrote reviews.

Today, let’s look at some Sonderbooks Stand-outs from 2009.

In 2009, I was working full-time as a youth services manager at Herndon Fortnightly Library. I was still married but separated, and having some very prickly negotiations with my husband about child support and visitation and trying to come up with an agreement. But at last, the nonfiction books aren’t all about saving relationships or moving on from relationships, though there’s a little bit of that. Anyway, here are some wonderful books I first read in 2009:

Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust and Led by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide, by Immaculée Ilibagiza

These amazing books tell about how the author survived the Rwandan genocide hiding in a bathroom with seven other women — and how she learned to rise above that experience to heal and forgive. Beautiful and inspiring.

The Trance of Scarcity: Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life, by Victoria Castle

This is a book about telling yourself stories of abundance and joy. Note to self: I need to reread this book!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A delightful novel-in-letters set on the island of Guernsey shortly after World War II, when the island was occupied by the Nazis.

His Majesty’s Dragon, by Naomi Novik

This book started me off on the Temeraire series about fighting the Napoleonic Wars with dragons instead of ships.

Still Life, by Joy Fielding

A gripping thriller! Our heroine’s in a coma, but she can hear every word around her and finds out exactly who plans to kill her….

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, by Farahad Zama

Here’s a feel-good story about a retired gentleman in India who opens a marriage bureau.

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

A wonderful Newbery winner, mixing a mystery with historical with science fiction with adventure, following a kid in New York City.

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

Another Newbery winner, this one from the previous year, about a boy raised by the denizens of a graveyard. The audiobook read by Neil Gaiman himself is especially wonderful.

Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate

This is a powerfully told immigrant story of a boy who moves from Sudan to Minnesota and tries to make sense of his new world.

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech

A Newbery-winning intergenerational road trip book that contains a story within a story.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor

Another amazing Newbery winner, the first I read from the Logan family saga, with the family struggling against racism and hatred and trying to keep their land.

Jeremy Draws a Monster, by Peter McCarty

When the monster Jeremy draws comes to life, he has to figure out how to deal with it.

Orangutan Tongs, by Jon Agee

Tongue twisters! I can never resist them.

Pigs Make Me Sneeze! by Mo Willems

Elephant and Piggie present the perfect way to get across this great truth: Correlation does not imply causation. It’s the way to this former statistics teacher’s heart.

The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney

This Caldecott-winning wordless picture book tells the story of the fable with gorgeous paintings, full of emotion.

Rampant, by Diana Peterfreund

Killer unicorns! Here’s a wonderful book about a girl who learns she’s from a legacy of unicorn hunters, and that unicorns are evil and dangerous. Definitely not sparkles and rainbows.

Graceling and Fire, by Kristin Cashore

These books are set in a unique fantasy world. The first book tells about Katsa, who has the grace of killing and has been used by her ruthless uncle the king. Fire lives in a different kingdom, where there are monsters — colorful animals and humans who are beautiful to look at but hunger for human flesh. Both young women must grapple with who they are and who they love and if they can seize their own destiny.

Blackbringer and Silksinger, by Laini Taylor

These books introduced me to Laini Taylor’s amazing world-building abilities. Her stories of magic always have details that surprise you. In these books, we have fairies — but fairies quite different from those you’ll read about anywhere else.

Once a Princess, by Sherwood Smith

A swashbuckling tale about a girl who lives in Los Angeles, but learns she was born a princess in a fantasy kingdom — and now they need her back. The first of a duology. Twice a Prince is equally good.

A Curse as Dark as Gold, by Elizabeth C. Bunce

This was the author’s debut novel and was the very first winner of the Morris Award for a debut YA novel. I always love fairy tale retellings, and this one takes the Rumpelstiltskin story in an unexpected direction.

Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork

A teen with Asperger’s has to work in his father’s law firm for the summer and learn more about how the world works. A lovely novel that will win your heart.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt

Another powerful historical Newbery-Honor-winning novel from Gary Schmidt. Warning: This one’s sad! But it earns your sorrow and you won’t be sorry you’ve read it.

Note: This year’s Gary Schmidt novel, Just Like That, had elements from both the Gary Schmidt books I read in 2009. You don’t have to read them first, but I like the way it’s from the same fictional universe as those books.

Be sure to look at the Wonderful Rereads I mentioned on the 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs page!

Celebrating 20 Years of Sonderbooks: Favorites from 2008

Celebration 0

I’ve been writing Sonderbooks for 20 years!

This month I’m celebrating by revisiting old favorites from each year I wrote reviews. Today, let’s look at 2008. That was the year I began working full-time as a librarian, the first I’d worked full time since 1990. It cut into my reading time! But at least working at a library, I was still around books.

Highlighting some favorites:

Chalice, by Robin McKinley

A new Robin McKinley book is always a treat! (And this is reminding me, it’s time for a rereading of this one.)

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan

This graphic novel helps you understand what it would feel like to be a stranger in a strange land. By using strange symbols for the language on signs and strange creatures for pets, everything seems alien.

The Prophecy, by Hilari Bell

A delightful fantasy story about a misfit prince who takes on a quest.

The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt

Here’s when I became a fan of Gary Schmidt. The Newbery-Honor-winning story of Holling Hoodhood and his adventures with Shakespeare.

Mozart’s Ghost, by Julia Cameron

A light-hearted story about a romance being interfered with by the ghost of Mozart.

Italian Lessons, by Peter Pezzelli

A warm and wonderful novel about going to Italy.

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

An original fairy tale by Neil Gaiman! Need I say more?

Timothy and the Strong Pajamas, by Viviane Schwarz

This picture book still delights my heart. Timothy’s mended pajamas make him super strong!

Millie Waits for the Mail, by Alexander Steffensmeier

Looks like 2008 was a stellar year for picture books! This one, too, is one of my all-time favorites — about a cow who loves to hide and ambush the letter carrier. It’s from Germany, too!

A Visitor for Bear, by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton

This is one of the best read-alouds ever, working well for audiences from a broad age range. Bear does not allow visitors — but he reckoned without small, grey, and bright-eyed Mouse.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

This is one of my favorites for Baby Storytimes, made by two of my favorite picture book creators. Delighting in sweet babies in an almost musical text.

Are You Ready to Play Outside?, by Mo Willems

This is one of my favorite Elephant & Piggie books — it’s a brilliant sermon on contentment in a picture book. Be sure to read my blog post about what really brought it home for me.

Stay Connected to Your Teenager: How to Keep Them Talking to You and How to Hear What They’re Really Saying, by Michael Riera

I’m glad I read this book toward the beginning of the time when it was just my teen and me in our home. The book helped remind me that what I want is connection, and reminded me we’re on the same side.

This Is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water when Life Keeps Dragging You Down, by Deborah Collins Stephens, Jackie Speier, Michealene Cristini Risley, and Jan Yanehiro

This is another book about coping when life doesn’t go as you expect and coming through with joy.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadir Nelson

This came as I was beginning to be familiar with Kadir Nelson’s work and his amazing paintings. A beautiful and informative book.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories About Growing Up Scieszka, by Jon Scieszka

Jon Scieszka’s hilarious memoir for kids. He tells about life as a mischievous boy growing up with five brothers.

Greater Estimations, by Bruce Goldstone

I always like the math books! This photo-illustrated book gives tips and techniques for making good estimations of large groups of objects.

Celebrating 20 Years of Sonderbooks: Favorites from 2007

Celebration 0

This month, I’m celebrating 20 years of writing Sonderbooks by revisiting favorites from each year. Today, I’m looking at Sonderbooks Stand-outs 2007, the year I was working half-time and attending library school online — and too busy to write very many reviews. But here are some that I read and loved:

Sacred Choices: Thinking Outside the Tribe to Heal Your Spirit, by Christel Nani

Christel Nani teaches about tribal beliefs and how we let them harm us — but also how to let go of them and heal.

The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life, by Dr. Robin Stern

At this point, I was still married but had been separated for two years. It was not a pleasant or nice divorce. And I was working through things that happened in the marriage. Any time someone has an affair, a whole lot of lies get told. This book helped me work through what had been lies and what had been truth and what patterns of covering things up had already been present in my marriage. Best of all, it got me to stop arguing with him about what I thought or what I felt or what I had done. I learned the powerful words, “I disagree.” And then I was able to move beyond arguing. A powerfully insightful and eye-opening book.

Enchantment, by Orson Scott Card

Here’s a fabulous fairy tale for adults. What if Sleeping Beauty woke up today? Orson Scott Card weaves this into a love story that’s far more complex than the fairy tale, but every bit as beautiful.

Austenland, by Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale’s first book for adults — and perfect for this Austen fan. Our heroine goes to a Jane Austen theme park — and finds love, with some pride and prejudice involved.

Grandpa for Sale, by Vicki Sansum and Dotti Enderle, illustrated by T. Kyle Gentry

Another dear friend and writing buddy got published! This picture book tells what happens when Grandpa gets offered for sale among the antiques.

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale

One of my favorite books by a favorite author, this one tells about a mucker girl locked up in a tower with her lady for a thousand days — and what happens after. Beautiful portrayal of healing after great danger.

Saving the Griffin, by Kristin Wolden Nitz

Another book by a writing buddy, this book features American kids in Italy who discover a baby griffin. They need to keep him hidden while trying to figure out how to get him back home.

Two Trains Leave Paris, by Taylor Marie Frey and Mike Wesolowski

Mathematical, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Two Trains Leave Paris

Number Problems for Word People

by Taylor Marie Frey
and Mike Wesolowski
illustrations by Patrick Torres

Abrams Image, 2019. 176 pages.
Review written August 5, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

I think this book is hilarious and utterly delightful.

What we have here is a review of high school and early college mathematics – with stories told about the elusive characters who show up in the word problems.

The first problem in the book, after a review of Algebra, tells about two trains leaving Paris, heading in different directions, and where the two trains are at their first stop. Then we’re asked:

How much distance is between Natalya and Andy when they simultaneously look back toward the city of love, thinking, Every end is a new beginning, and breaking up was for the best. No turning back now, this train only goes one way.?

This gives you an idea of the tone of this wonderfully silly book. Some problems are solved on the following page (like that first one), while the rest have answers in the back.

Here’s the second problem:

When asked his age, your math teacher, Mr. Newman, responds, “If you multiply my age by 4, then subtract 2, the answer is 110.”

A) How old is he?
B) Why does Mr. Newman talk this way?

So this book brings you snappy and funny summaries of math concepts, and then opportunities to try out what you’ve learned, while finding out about the adventures of a cast of characters you’ll come to recognize and maybe even sympathize with. The final chapter, after a review of calculus and probability and statistics, brings you to a wedding where all the characters gather.

Here’s part of the explanation at the start of the Trigonometry chapter:

You see, dear friend, Trig offers you a powerful gift: the chance to gain information about things without directly engaging with them. The people who determine which ads you see on social media know lots of Trigonometry.

And okay, if you don’t think this all sounds hilarious, this may not be the right book for you. As someone who once taught college math, I adored this book. The authors are far more interesting teachers than I ever was.

abramsbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/2_trains_leave_paris.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.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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.

What did you think of this book?

Celebrating 20 Years of Sonderbooks: Favorites from 2006

Celebration 0

I began writing Sonderbooks in 2001, so I’m celebrating 20 years this month!

I’m looking through all my Sonderbooks Stand-outs posts and highlighting some extra-special books I read and reviewed each year. Today we’ll look at 2006, which was the year my husband separated from me, we left Germany after ten years, and I moved to Virginia.

But let me get straight to the books!

Once again, I’ll start with relationship books.

You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore: Turn Your Resentful, Angry, or Emotionally Abusive Relationship into a Compassionate, Loving One, by Steven Stosny (Later retitled to Love Without Hurt)

This is an amazing book if you’re in a verbally abusive situation, to help you stop the cycle and change your own attitude. It helps you turn your resentment and hurt into compassion, thus feeling much better about yourself. This was my introduction to Steven Stosny’s writings, and all his insights are tremendously helpful.

Forgive for Good: A PROVEN Prescription for Health and Happiness, by Dr. Fred Luskin

When trying to deal with my husband leaving me, I read many books on forgiveness. This one was by far the most helpful. He reminds the reader that forgiveness is good for you. Why should you let someone continue to harm you?

How We Choose to be Happy: The Nine Choices of Extremely Happy People–Their Secrets, Their Stories, by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks

This was another book that helped me adjust to all my major life changes. I got to choose to be happy while I faced it all, and this book helped remind me that’s what I wanted.

Waking the World: Classic Tales of Women and the Heroic Feminine, by A. B. Chinen

Another book of fairy tales from Allen Chinen, this time an international collection of tales featuring strong women changing the world.

NOT “Just Friends,”: Protect Your Relationship from Infidelity and Heal the Trauma of Betrayal, by Shirley P. Glass, Ph.D.

By this time, I’d learned that my husband had an affair. This book is outstanding for helping me work through that revelation and get on with healing.

I’m Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers, by Tim Madigan

This is a beautiful and inspiring story about a man going through hard times and the help he got from Mr. Rogers being who he is.

Diary of a Medical Intuitive: One Woman’s Eye-Opening Journey from No-Nonsense E.R. Nurse to Open-Hearted Healer and Visionary, by Christel Nani

I was surprised how much this book moved me and helped me. A very personal story with lots of insight into life and health.

Busting Vegas: The MIT Whiz Kid Who Brought the Casinos to Their Knees, by Ben Mezrich

This is a second book by Ben Mezrich about brilliant kids using math to beat the casinos — and getting in danger because of it.

Now for Fiction:

The Canterbury Papers, by Judith Healey

Amazing historical fiction with suspense, romance, intrigue, and a smart, capable heroine.

Jane Austen in Scarsdale or Love, Death, and the SATs, by Paula Marantz Cohen

A retelling of Persuasion about a modern-day high school guidance counselor.

The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

Oh, how I love Megan Whalen Turner’s books! I read the first two before I started writing Sonderbooks. Every single one is a treat.

River Secrets, by Shannon Hale

The third in the Books of Bayern series. Another series I love.

Ptolemy’s Gate, by Jonathan Stroud

And yes, another third book, this time the culmination of the Bartimaeus trilogy, where I enjoyed each book even more than the one before.

Hit the Road, by Caroline B. Cooney

A wild intergenerational road trip novel about a 16-year-old inexperienced driver behind the wheel as her grandma makes plans for a reunion with her friends, complete with a kidnapping caper.

Happy Reading!

Celebrating 20 Years of Sonderbooks: Favorites from 2005

Celebration 0

This month, I’m celebrating 20 years of writing Sonderbooks! I’m looking back at all my Sonderbooks Stand-outs posts of each year and highlighting the books I still remember with great love.

So far, I’ve been skipping the books I reread each year, since there are too many! But do take a look at my Stand-outs posts if you want to see even more — I reread books that are wonderful, knowing they’re wonderful.

2005 was the year my life fell apart. I learned my then-husband was seeing another woman behind my back, but believed him that it was not an affair. (It was.) I learned that he was very unhappy with me and all about every way I’d disappointed him over the years, but thought that, now I knew, I could make it up to him and win him back. (I was not able to do that. I sure did try.) So — I read relationship books and feel-good stories that year.

Here are some of the highlights from my 2005 Sonderbooks Stand-outs:

The Divorce Remedy, by Michele Weiner-Davis

No, this book did not save my marriage. But it may have saved my sanity. Among many things to try for less far-gone cases than mine, she presents a Last-Resort Technique: Stop pursuing. Get a life. Wait and watch. She convinced me that trying with all my might to keep my husband was more likely to push him away. The step of “Get a life” involves remembering who you are and enjoying life again — whether or not your spouse comes back. You’ll be more attractive that way, but you’ll also be much happier. Though it may have taken a while to sink in, eventually that advice helped me in so many ways.

The Script: The 100% Absolutely Predictable Things Men Do When They Cheat, by Elizabeth Landers and Vicky Mainzer

This book told what was happening to me even better than I realized at the time. When I picked it up, I recognized at least nine lines from “The Script” verbatim from things my husband had said to me. Things about how he would take care of me. Things about how he needed to be alone. But especially things about how it was all my fault. It was this book that opened my eyes to the fact that these were lies. And I needed that validation badly. I was used to believing my husband, and being lied to was crazy-making. Of course, I thought the book was wrong that the husband who goes through the Script so far is always having an affair. But no, that’s what was happening — the book was right. I still highly recommend this book to any woman whose husband has been cheating. Because it’s good to hear that, contrary to what he says, it is not all her fault. I can’t ever emphasize enough how helpful this book was to me.

A Generous Orthodoxy, by Brian D. McLaren

The subtitle of this book is: Why I am a missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative + fundamentalist/Calvinist + anabaptist/anglican + Methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished CHRISTIAN. This book was my introduction to Brian McLaren’s writings, and I love his more expansive, much less rigid approach to the Christian faith. Refreshing and inspirational!

What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell?, by Randy Klassen

Now I was finding more and more authors defending universalism and explaining why these teachings are in line with the Bible. And I was delighted.

My Descent into Death: A Second Chance at Life, by Howard Storm

This book stuck with me. It’s a book about a near-death experience — but the author was an atheist and was attacked by demons until he cried out to Jesus for help. Then he was overwhelmed by God’s love in heaven, and after he came back to earth, his life completely changed. The whole thing is a powerful story of life-transforming love.

Once Upon a Midlife, by Allen B. Chinen

This truly marvelous book uses Jungian psychology and fairy tales from around the world to take a look at midlife. So helpful as I faced my husband’s midlife crisis, which started a crisis of my own.

Leaving the Saints, by Martha Beck

Another powerfully told memoir, this time about her family, embroiled in the Mormon church, and how she left.

Here Speeching American, by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras

Hilariously bad translations into English to give you a laugh and a dose of humility in case you’re thinking about trying to speak in another language. How much I enjoy this book may have something to do with my decision to start writing Sonderling Sunday later.

The Confessions of Super Mom, by Melanie Lynne Hauser

I loved this one so much! A single mom gets super powers — Super Cleaning, Super Hearing, Super Mom Sense, and a Merciless Gaze. Perfect!

Q & A, by Vikas Swarup

This is the book they based the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” on — the story of a kid from the slums who wins a million dollars in a quiz show — and the fascinating coincidences in his life story that enabled him to know the answers. I think the book is better than the movie, because I love the way his story is told in the order of the questions, instead of chronological order.

Zorro, by Isabel Allende

The magnificent, swashbuckling story.

Knitting, by Anne Bartlett

A beautiful novel about widowhood and friendship — and knitting.

In the Coils of the Snake, by Clare B. Dunkle

The third book in the amazing Hollow Kingdom trilogy and goblins who need human wives.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling

Book Six! The last of these we got to read as a family.

The Golem’s Eye, by Jonathan Stroud

This is Book Two of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, and I enjoyed each book more than the last. Amazing world-building about alternate-reality England where magic is done by commanding demons.

By These Ten Bones, by Clare B. Dunkle

A werewolf novel by Clare Dunkle! Also one of the first books I got to read as an advanced reader copy.

Unlikely Pairs: Fun with Famous Works of Art, by Bob Raczka

I still love this book — and it still makes me laugh every time I read it. The author simply puts famous works of art next to each other, and they interact in hilarious ways.

The Adventures of Cow: The Amazing Exploits of a Huggable Holstein, by Cow, as told to Lori Korcheck, photographed by Marshall Taylor

Another one that still makes me laugh. To add to the fun, we had a toy identical to the squishy cow featured in the very silly picture book.

The Story of Honk-Honk-Ashoo and Swella-Bow-Wow, by Ralph Cosentino

I can’t even explain why this one strikes me so funny. Read it yourself!

Review of Flight of the Puffin, by Ann Braden

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Flight of the Puffin

by Ann Braden

Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House), 2021. 229 pages.
Review written July 8, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

Flight of the Puffin follows four different kids, each of them a bit of a misfit. We’re only given the locations of two of the four, and they’re on opposite sides of the country, so we’re interested in finding out how the stories will connect.

I love the beginning. Libby is painting the best sunrise ever. And as she works on it, making it colorful and beautiful, the principal steps around the corner, and we discover she’s painting on a wall of the school.

Then there’s Jack, who goes to a small two-room school in Vermont. He’s good with the younger kids, and misses his brother, who was six when he died. Next we meet T. T has a shorter chapter, sleeping on a sidewalk with their dog. The fourth person we meet is Vincent, who’s decided he wants to be like a puffin. Instead of the t-shirts his mother buys for him, he finds an old button-down white shirt with a small puffin, and that represents him. But it doesn’t make him fit in at school.

The kids are all seventh graders. They’re on opposite ends of the country. Libby’s up against her parents not appreciating her need to make art and spread joy with it. Jack is up against the school board that wants to close their school. Vincent is up against bullies. And T is up against survival.

And Flora’s art – and puffins – end up connecting them. It’s a lovely book with some threads about trans kids without that taking up the whole book. Mostly, these four kids are deeply nuanced characters it’s a delight to spend time with.

annbradenbooks.com
penguin.com/kids

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/flight_of_the_puffin.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.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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.

What did you think of this book?

Review of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue, by Vesper Stamper

Historical, Teen Fiction Review 0

A Cloud of Outrageous Blue

by Vesper Stamper

Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. 307 pages.
Review written October 12, 2020, from a library book

Vesper Stamper’s illustrated young adult novels are amazingly evocative. Let me say that again: They’re illustrated young adult novels. The illustrations add a dreamlike quality to the book, as they did in What the Night Sings.

This one was set in medieval England about an orphaned girl who recently lost everything and was sent to a priory – just in time for the plague.

This book had lots of death and dying, so despite the dreamlike quality, it wasn’t exactly pleasant reading. I also have a prejudice against fanatically evil religious characters, and this book had a couple of those. So by the end, I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as I thought I would at the beginning. I didn’t quite follow all the plot choices either.

But as a book talking about how a large group of women lived together in the middle ages, with information about illuminating manuscripts, the book was lovely. Especially before they started dying.

Our orphaned main character was a synesthete who saw colors when she heard sounds. That sort of thing was thought to be demonic visions at the time, so she’d learned to keep silent about it. But it also gave her extra love for art and illuminated manuscripts.

vesperillustration.com
GetUnderlined.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/cloud_of_outrageous_blue.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.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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.

What did you think of this book?

Review of Boardwalk Babies, by Marissa Moss and April Chu

Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Starred Review 0

Boardwalk Babies

written by Marissa Moss
illustrated by April Chu

Creston Books, 2021. 36 pages.
Review written July 20, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

Boardwalk Babies surprised me so much, I started telling all my coworkers about it as soon as I finished reading it. I am planning to booktalk this book in the schools if we get the chance to do this again after the pandemic.

Did you know that when incubators for preemies were developed, they weren’t used in hospitals – but in a side show? This book tells that story.

The cover of the book is perhaps a little misleading, since the tiny babies didn’t pose with strongmen, but were in incubators. They were, however, part of a sideshow. The endpapers show exhibits from circus freak shows of long ago, and the book begins with people going past other carnival entertainment to see tiny babies in incubators mounted on walls, watched over by nurses. Then the book begins telling the background:

Boardwalk babies? Incubator side shows? What was Dr. Couney thinking?

He was thinking of saving lives.

In the late 19th century, hospitals considered premature babies doomed to die. They had no idea how to care for them, so they didn’t. Then Dr. Budin in Paris noticed the heat lamp that kept chicks warm. That gave him the idea to develop an incubator. It was a radical idea, one hospitals didn’t trust. Dr. Budin needed a way to sell the medical world on caring for these tiny babies instead of giving up on them.

The Berlin Exposition of 1896 could be his chance. The show organizers were calling for exhibitors, especially those in science and mechanics. Dr. Budin sent a young doctor who was studying with him to set up an exhibit of incubators, a demonstration of how the warming boxes could save these babies. That young doctor was Martin Couney.

They set up the incubators with diagrams explaining how they could save lives, but they didn’t get much attention. Dr. Couney decided what they needed was actual tiny babies. That would get attention!

He went to Berlin’s Charity Hospital and asked for premature babies to show how well the incubators worked. Empress Augusta Victoria was in charge of the hospital, and she gave him permission to take as many tiny babies as he wished, because they were going to die in the hospital anyway.

After that, the exhibit took off. One problem was that although they’d asked to be placed in the scientific section, their exhibit was in the amusement area. So he turned the babies into an attraction! He dressed them in bigger clothes to make them look even smaller and played up their tiny size. All the babies survived.

Dr. Couney took the incubators to more exhibits in the U.S. Then in 1903, the Baby Incubators became a permanent part of Coney Island. He made sure the babies got the best care, hiring nurses to feed them and watch over them around the clock. Since they charged admission to view the babies, they were able to accept any premature infant free of charge, and took on babies of all ethnicities, religions, and skin colors. One day, Dr. Couney’s own baby girl was born prematurely, and the incubators saved her life.

The point of the exhibition was to convince hospitals to use this life-saving technology, but it took nearly forty years for that to happen. The Baby Incubator exhibit on Coney Island didn’t close until 1943, when incubators were now regularly found in hospitals and preemie survival chances had improved across the country.

This book blew me away that such a life-saving medical innovation started out in a sideshow. It’s also rather astonishing that newborn babies were entrusted to that sideshow – because hospitals had given up.

I’ve given the highlights, but you and your kids will want to read this amazing picture book for yourselves.

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