Sonderling Sunday – Der Knappenkonferenz

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. Strictly speaking, I probably shouldn’t do Sonderling Sunday this week. I’m moving in less than a week, and I need to get packed. But who’s being strict? Sonderling Sunday is fun, doggone it, and I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to do it again after I move, since I haven’t worked out my internet service provider yet. What’s more, instead of alternating with other books, tonight I’m going back to good ol’ Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, because I know I’ll find some delightful phrases I always wanted to hear translated into German, but just didn’t know it.

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge is the German version of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-fish, which is full of Odd-fish indeed, making it so much fun to explore in German.

Last time, we left off on page 161, Seite 204. You do not have to have read The Order of Odd-Fish to enjoy this series, though I keep hoping that the interesting phrases we find will intrigue people into picking up this book. I’m not even halfway, so I guess it’s too early to start being sad about the day when I finish the book. Tonight, I’m trying to limit my fun, so let’s dip right in and see what we can find:

“immediately knew” = wusste augenblicklich (“knew eyeblinkly”)

“below the floor” = unter den Bodenbrettern (“under the floorboards”)

This sounds better in German:
“Squires’ meeting” = Knappenkonferenz

“sheets” = Laken

“a tiny germ” = eine winzige Bakterie

“rotting wood” = verfaultem Holz

“mothballs” = Mottenkugeln

“bric-a-brac” = Nippes

“mildewed garbage” = schimmeligem Müll

“cobwebs” = Staubflocken (“dust flakes”)

“pile of pillows” = Kissenhaufen (“cushion heaps”)

“gavel” = Richterhammer

“gulp” = Schluck

“cough it up” = auszuspucken

“obvious” = offenkundig (“open knowledge”)

“behind Jo’s eyes” = hinter Jos Augäpfel (“behind Jo’s eye-apples”)

“A horrible tingle crawled up Jo’s body.” = Ein schreckliches Prickeln überlief Jos Körper.

“overgrown” = überdimensionierten (“over-dimensioned”)

“pile of pillows” (version two) = Kissenberge (“cushion mountains”)

“Advance copy” = Vorausexemplar

This makes me laugh because of how it sounds to English ears:
“jolted awake” = plötzlich hellwach (“suddenly bright-awake”)

“conspiracy theories” = Verschwörungstheorien

“the next episode” = der darauffolgenden Episode

That’s it for tonight! I don’t know when my darauffolgenden Episode will happen, but until then, may you avoid schimmeligem Müll and schreckliches Prickeln!

Review of Necromancing the Stone, by Lish McBride

Paranormal, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Necromancing the Stone

by Lish McBride

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2012. 344 pages.
Starred Review

I liked Necromancing the Stone even better than its predecessor, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. In the first book, Sam has to confront true Evil, and as much levity as the author combined it with, that’s not exactly pleasant. In this book, Sam deals with the aftermath, and the threat of more Evil, with true compassion and maturity, but the fact that it didn’t start with awful violence meant the humor and inspired silliness could shine through.

Let me start at the beginning. In the last book (Yes, you should read them in order.), Sam learned that he is a necromancer and has strange powers over the dead and abilities to speak with the dead. This happened when he defeated an evil necromancer, Douglas, who had tried to sacrifice Sam and take his power. Sam doesn’t like killing, but he had to kill Douglas. And as a result, he inherited Douglas’s position on the Council and his possessions. And, while he was locked in a cage, he got a werewolf girlfriend.

In this book, Sam’s trying to figure out his new powers and his new life. Early on, someone close to him is killed. His sister is threatened. What’s more, the reader knows who did these things, and that this could mean big huge trouble for Sam. But Sam doesn’t know who did it and he isn’t able to speak to the person who was killed, instead encountering a strange goddess in a place with flowers.

It all would be a trifle ludicrous if Lish McBride didn’t write it so well. Sam approaches his life with self-deprecating humor, and the reader can see that he wants to navigate it all and do the right thing. The books don’t just deal with Sam and his girlfriend, but with a wide range of characters — his best friend, Ramon, who was transformed by Douglas into a werebear; James, the pukis servant of the household, his witch mother and younger sister; a Big Foot who lives in the forest with a glamour to look human and work as a forest ranger; his dead friend who now helps organize his life; his girlfriend’s werewolf family; and even the garden gnomes who live in the house he’s inherited and don’t seem to like him much. You end up caring about all these assorted individuals as much as Sam does.

This book is a lot of fun. It’s a light-hearted, humorous book about someone who finds himself suddenly dealing with death on a regular basis. Sam’s not quite as much of a screw-up in this book, though he still is no wizard. And you can’t help loving him.

I hope there will be many more books about Sam and the supernatural creatures of the Pacific Northwest!

lishmcbride.com
macteenbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/necromancing_the_stone.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 an Advance Reader’s Edition I got at an ALA conference.

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 The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle, by Christopher Healy

Adventure, Children's Fiction Review, Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle

by Christopher Healy
with drawings by Todd Harris

Walden Pond Press, April 30, 2013. 479 pages.
Starred Review

I’m so happy to get my hands on the sequel to The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. Here’s more of the same: Silly, adventurous fun.

Yes, you should read these books in order. The first book tells you all about the Princes Charming, who aren’t named in their respective fairy tales. The author makes it very clear this is a second book right on the first page:

Now, you may be asking yourself, Who is this Prince Duncan, and what makes him such an expert on heroes? To which I will respond by saying that perhaps you may have skipped a book on your way to this one. You should probably check on that.

In this book, the selfish, cruel, and calculating Briar Rose blackmails her Prince Charming, Liam, into finally marrying her and getting the league of heroes to recover his family’s sword from the castle of the Bandit King. Hence the name, as the main action involves storming the castle to get that sword.

The plot, as before, is convoluted and full of setbacks, adventure, and silliness. The characters are colorful and cartoon-like. Although adults of marrying age (except the Bandit King), they are quite childlike in their motivation.

But it’s all in good fun. Here’s a random chapter beginning to give you the flavor:

The four princes, along with Ella and Briar, sat at the round table in Avondell’s War Room, waiting for a report from Smimf. Only one day had passed since the League of Princes sent the young messenger to Rauberia armed with a fake advertisement that would serve as his excuse for getting inside the castle gate (“SPECIAL DEAL FOR NEW MONARCHS! HALF-PRICE CROWNS! FREE ESTIMATES ON RESIZING!”), and already he had returned. He stood at attention before the group, loosened his scarf, and hiked up his shorts.

“What did you find out?” Liam asked.

“Well, I found out that the king is not interested in purchasing a new crown unless he can get at least seventy-five percent off,” said Smimf.

“What did you learn about the castle?” Liam more specifically inquired.

As with the first book, the story went on a bit long for my personal taste, but again I don’t think that will be an obstacle for kids who are once hooked. It reminds me of a Disney cartoon, with simplistic emotions, a convoluted plot and lots of gags. But in a good way! The illustrations perfectly fit that feel. I think that, like the first book, this one would make a good classroom read-aloud. It’s light-hearted and fun, even if as an adult reader, I get a little tired of the juvenile humor after awhile.

And there’s a larger plotline slowly building. We do have the sense that most of the princes weren’t necessarily paired with the right princess in their respective fairy tales. And the ending gives an ominous note of danger ahead. We know our bumbling heroes will be required to save the day.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a Summer Reading Program selection for our library system. I’m looking forward to booktalking it in the schools at the end of the year, and especially telling the kids that if they like the first book, there’s more fun in store for them.

Yes, it’s silly. Yes, the characters are somewhat cartoon-like. Yes, it goes on a bit long for me. But the fact is, these books are well-written. The plot is coherent, the characters are truly charming, and they’re up against high stakes, which they plausibly overcome, even with all their shortcomings. You can’t help but root for these guys. And I can’t help but want to find out what happens next.

christopherhealy.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/storming_the_castle.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 an Advance Review Copy sent to me by the publisher.

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!

Halfway on the Prime Factorization Blanket!

Mathematical, Prime Factorization 0

I’m halfway finished with my new niece’s Prime Factorization Blanket!

That’s the good news. The bad news is that it doesn’t look like I’m going to finish before Arianna arrives. But the good thing about a blanket is that it doesn’t have a size, right?

I actually finished up to 49 a week ago. I did not take a picture and report my progress. And then — when I started on the next row and began knitting 50 — I discovered I had used the wrong color when I knitted 40! I had used the color for 3 in place of the color for 5! *shudder*

(Those who need to be brought up to speed, I explain the blanket in previous Prime Factorization posts.) 40 should be 2 x 2 x 2 x 5, so the square was divided into four sections, with three of them the color for 2 (blue), and one the color for 5 (green). But, horror of horrors, I had used the color for 3 (yellow)! And I didn’t even discover it until I after I had knitted 50 = 2 x 5 x 5, also using yellow when I should have been using green! Yikes! But then I was getting ready to start on 51 = 3 x 17, and then it dawned on me that the color for 3 is yellow, so it is NOT the color for 5, and I’d been doing it wrong!

Fortunately, it was on the end of the row, and relatively easy to fix. I took out the knitting I’d done on 50, undid the last white square in the row, and then undid just the yellow section I’d put on the top of 40. I replaced it with green, knitted the white square back, and then started up on 50.

But I’ve decided that taking a picture after each row and *checking* the numbers carefully is a good idea!

I did discover a mistake when I finished knitting my prime factorization sweater. I think it was in the rectangle for 48. But 48 has five factors, and in that piece of knitting the factor for three only was about four stitches. So I was able to pick them out and put in the correct color with a crochet hook! It would not be so easy to do on this blanket, so I am going to have to be more vigilant!

My posts on Mathematical Knitting and related topics are now gathered at Sonderknitting.

Review of One Two That’s My Shoe! by Alison Murray

Contemporary, Good for the Very Young, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Readalouds 0

One Two That’s My Shoe!

by Alison Murray

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2012. First published in Great Britain in 2011. 28 pages.

Simplicity. This book has it, in a beautiful form.

I recently had the joy of being promoted to Youth Services Manager at my library branch, so I get to do children’s programs again! Tomorrow, I’m doing a Mother Goose Time for babies from birth to eighteen months. In Mother Goose Time, we mainly do rhymes and songs in the parent’s lap. But I like to work in three books that are short and simple and that the parents can read along with me.

One Two That’s My Shoe! is perfect. The text is reminiscent of the old rhyme “One Two Buckle My Shoe,” going from one to ten with a rhyme after every second number. However, this book puts a story to the rhymes. With One Two, a dog has taken a little girl’s shoe, and is running away with it.

With each number, the pictures show that many objects that the dog is running past — toys, butterflies, flowers, trees, chicks and hens. The ten hens add a little inside joke. You’d expect Nine, Ten to rhyme with “Big Fat Hen” as in “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” but instead the girl shoos them away, recovers her shoe, and hugs the dog with the words “Friends again!”

This book is simple. The illustrations are done with printmaking, and look old-fashioned and classic. With at most three words on a page, you can read it quickly for the little one with a short attention span, but there’s plenty to talk about. Will the dog get away with the shoe? What will stop him?

As a counting book, it’s also excellent. All the objects passed are easily counted, with none tricky to find, but covering a wide scope of objects, and variety within the objects. The objects are not identical, but it’s easy to see that they belong together. Each number is both written out in the text and represented by a numeral in a corner. Next to the numeral, there are silhouettes of the object counted in the picture, so it’s nice and clear.

This is simply a lovely first counting book, and one that parents and children won’t get tired of any time soon. I’m happy to show it off at Mother Goose Time tomorrow.

disneyhyperionbooks.com
12thatsmyshoe.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/12_thats_my_shoe.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 the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I write the posts for my website and blogs entirely 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.

Review of A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy

Chick Lit, Fiction Review, General, Literary, Starred Review 0

A Week in Winter

by Maeve Binchy

Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2013. 326 pages.
Starred Review

Maeve Binchy died in July 2012, shortly after finishing this book. I’m so glad to read it, but so sorry to know it’s the last. Like all her books, A Week in Winter is a warm and cozy read that looks right into people’s hearts and lets us see intertwined lives touching one another.

A Week in Winter doesn’t have the punch of some of Maeve Binchy’s books, but it’s a warm and friendly way to say farewell. The book starts with Chicky who grew up in Stoneybridge, on the Irish coast, and ran off to America with a boy who came for the summer.

Chicky’s family thinks she’s a wicked fool to run away with him. So Chicky doesn’t tell them what’s really happening:

She wrote home week after week and believed in the fairy tale more and more. She started to fill a spiral notebook with details of the life she was meant to be living. She didn’t want to slip up on anything.

To console herself, she wrote to them about the wedding. She and Walter had been married in a quiet civil ceremony, she explained. They had a blessing from a Franciscan priest. It had been a wonderful occasion for them, and they knew that both families were delighted that they had made this commitment. Chicky said that Walter’s parents had been abroad at the time and not able to attend the ceremony but that everyone was happy about it.

In many ways, she managed to believe this was true. It was easier than believing that Walter was becoming restless and was going to move on.

Chicky does quite well, even after Walter leaves her. When her nieces talk about coming to visit, the kind husband of her letters suffers a tragic accident. And then, after some time, she goes back to Stoneybridge and purchases the Stone House on the water, using a “legacy” that is really her own hard-earned savings. She works with the last remaining Miss Sheedy (of the three sisters who had owned the house) to make it into a hotel.

Next, we take a look at Rigger, the son of one of Chicky’s friends. He gets into trouble, and needs to leave Dublin for awhile. He comes to work for Chicky, and meets a girl and starts settling down.

Then there’s Orla, Chicky’s niece, wanting some change after her best friend in Dublin gets married. She comes to work for Chicky, only for a year.

And then we start looking at the guests who come for opening week at Stone House. Winnie thinks she’ll book a vacation with the man she loves — and ends up taking it with the mother who has him under her thumb. There are people from all over the world — a Hollywood movie star, a Swede who’s meant to take over his father’s business but is interested in music, a husband and wife who are both doctors, and more. With each person who comes to visit, we get to look at their life leading up to this momentous week, as well as at how the week changes them.

The story is gentle and cozy. No big earth-shaking moments, but lots of rejuvenating ones and life-changing ones for the guests involved. One guest does manage to shake off the charm of the place, but most will leave the better for their vacation.

And the reader is the better for the vacation, too.

I’m so sad this is Maeve Binchy’s last book. She knew how to show her readers what’s really important.

maevebinchy.com
aaknopf.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/week_in_winter.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 the 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 Stolen Magic, by Stephanie Burgis

Alternate History, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Historical, Starred Review 0

Stolen Magic

by Stephanie Burgis

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 2013. 383 pages.
Starred Review

Hooray! A third book about the Kat, Incorrigible! These books are a delightful combination of Regency England, with its proper manners and society dos and don’ts, combined with Magic! I recommended it just this week to someone whose daughter loved Sorcery and Cecilia, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The main difference is that Kat is younger, though her siblings get into romantic adventures in each book, so there is still a touch of romance, but Kat keeps it light-hearted.

Kat is the youngest of four siblings. Her mother died when she was ten days old, but left a legacy of two kinds of magic, in conflict. It turns out that her mother was one of the ever-so-proper Guardians of England, with strong magic for protecting the country. But her mother was kicked out of the Guardians for practicing witchcraft. Kat has inherited her abilities in both, but needs to keep from practicing witchcraft if she wants to be initiated into the Guardians.

In this third book, Kat is getting ready for her initiation. But the whole family is also getting ready for her sister Angeline’s wedding. They are staying at Angeline’s husband-to-be’s home, and his family is not at all welcoming. They are high in society and very wealthy and don’t approve of Angeline, and even less of Kat. And if Angeline lets slip that she is a witch? Well, that could very well be the last straw.

Meanwhile, it seems that someone is stalking Kat and trying to hurt the people she loves. And all the “extra” portals have been stolen, so Kat may not be able to join the Guardians after all.

All this takes place in a proper setting seen through the eyes of Kat — who isn’t exactly known for following conventions.

Here’s how the book begins:

Despite what either of my sisters may say, I actually possess a great deal of common sense. That was why I waited until nearly midnight on the last night of our journey into Devon before I climbed out of my bedroom window.

Luckily, my family was staying on the first floor of the inn, so the rope I’d brought along in case of emergencies was more than long enough. Luckier yet, I knew a useful secret: it’s much easier to sneak out in the middle of the night when you can make yourself invisible.

Though you could enjoy this book on its own, I really think you’ll appreciate it more if you read Kat, Incorrigible and Renegade Magic first. And I was very happy to see that this book ends with hints of trouble to come: England is at war with Napoleon, and French magic-users are proving to be very powerful. The story comes to a satisfying conclusion, but I was happy that there is clearly more to come, and I will be waiting eagerly.

This series just makes me smile! Think light-hearted Jane Austen for kids — with magic!

stephanieburgis.com
KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/stolen_magic.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 copy sent to me by the publisher.

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 Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick

Paranormal, Starred Review, Teaser Tuesdays 0

Midwinterblood

by Marcus Sedgwick

Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2013. 262 pages.
Starred Review

Wow. This is one of those books that after reading, I just sit there in amazement at the level of craft that went into it (well, actually lie there — I read in bed). It’s one you want to read over again to fully appreciate all the details. Though next time, just for the fun of it, I might read it backwards.

How to describe it without giving too much away? The book is a series of interconnected stories. The first story takes place in 2073. The next section takes place in 2011. And the sections go progressively further back in time, all the way to prehistoric times, with a section going back to 2073 at the very end, tying everything together. So well done.

I won’t give away exactly what the connection is. You’ll get the idea quickly. Certain common elements occur in all the stories, and finally at the end, you understand why.

All of the book is set on an island in the far north, an island called Blessed. The island is home to a rare “Dragon” orchid. And strange things happen there.

Every story is creepy, disturbing in some way or other, atmospheric. But I don’t usually like creepy stories, and I loved this. He manages never to cross the line into awful. There’s a lot of variety in the stories, including a vampire story and a ghost story, but even though I usually don’t like vampire stories or ghost stories, every one of these stories was exceptionally good. There’s a lot of untimely death in the stories, but they never sink into despair.

Another thing that perplexed me was that recently, I made some comments in School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books regarding Jepp, Who Defied the Stars as to how strongly prejudiced I am against books that are written in present tense. But this book was written in present tense (all the different time periods), and it didn’t bother me in the slightest. So I am going to have to modify my analysis. Clearly present tense isn’t the problem. It must be something about the way it is often used. Maybe it bothers me when there’s too much telling in present tense and not enough showing? I’m not sure how he did it, but Marcus Sedgwick made the present tense storytelling seem absolutely right. Maybe it just takes a truly outstanding writer. Now I’m going to look harder at which present tense books I hate, which I can tolerate, and which blow me away with their craft. (So far, this is the only one I can think of in that category.)

Anyway, since I don’t want to give away what’s going on in this book, I’ll finish my review with the beginning of the book, set in June 2073, and so full of promise:

The sun does not go down.

This is the first thing that Eric Seven notices about Blessed Island. There will be many other strange things that he will notice, before the forgetting takes hold of him, but that will come later.

For now, he checks his watch as he stands at the top of the island’s solitary hill, gazing to where the sun should set. It is midnight, but the sun still shines, barely dipping its heavy rim into the sea on the far horizon.

The island is so far north.

He shakes his head.

He’s thinking about Merle. How something seems to wait in her eyes. How he felt calm, just standing next to her.

“Well, so it is,” he says, smiling with wonder.

There! Just writing that out, I noticed the significance of one little detail that I hadn’t noticed before. I must read this book again to appreciate the craft even further!

This book is amazing. It’s got sinister undertones, but the even those who don’t like creepy books (like me) may be won over by the sheer brilliance, as the author uses the unsettling elements in a way that adds to the story’s power. This is one that will stick with you.

macteenbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/midwinterblood.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 the 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 Helen’s Big World, by Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Helen’s Big World

The Life of Helen Keller

written by Doreen Rappaport
illustrated by Matt Tavares

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2012. 44 pages.
Starred Review

I expected to skim through this book and then turn it back in to the library. I already reviewed an excellent children’s biography of Helen Keller back when I was first starting Sonderbooks. But as soon as I opened the book, I knew this was something special.

Helen’s Big World is for a younger audience than Helen Keller: A Determined Life. It’s a picture book biography, and the pictures are oversize and magnificent.

The format is large and almost square, and each double-page spread features a painting. There is text on each page, but not a daunting amount, and with reasonably large print. Each page features a quotation from Helen Keller herself, talking about her life.

The story is familiar to adults. How Helen was struck blind at a young age, and Annie Sullivan came into her life and taught her and brought metaphorical light into her world. It goes on to show Helen, with Annie, learning about many different things.

I like the page with Annie at the bow of a boat with a wave breaking over it. The text on that page reads:

Annie took Helen
walking in the forest,
jumping in the salty ocean,
tobogganing down snowy hills,
bicycling in tandem,
and sailing in a boat.
And she spelled out each new experience.

The book goes on to tell about Helen’s work as an adult, writing and speaking across the country. The text stays simple, and the pictures show some of the different settings where she spoke and traveled. The book also includes a Manual Language Chart on the back cover.

A lovely first biography.

doreenrappaport.com
matttavares.com
disneyhyperionbooks.com

I’m posting this review today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at A Wrung Sponge. Thanks, Andromeda!

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/helens_big_world.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 the 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.

Sonderling Sunday – Through the Door

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 3

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. This week, we’re back to the book where we’re guaranteed to find some delightfully bizarre word choices, no matter where we look, James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-fish, otherwise known as Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. (Happy Belated Birthday, James!)

Last time, we left off on page 156, Seite 196 auf Deutsch. Jo is about to see a picture of her birth in the Tapestry. Without giving away spoilers, I’m sure we can find some fun phrases to translate.

I mean, how does he make these up? Of course I discover that I’ve always wanted to know how to translate “a blizzard of demolishing gray fire.” Turns out, that’s ein Sturm aus verheerendem grauem Feuer.

And there’s more!
“swirling ashes” = wirbelnden Aschesäulen (According to Google, that’s “swirling ash-columns.”)

Here’s a phrase a little easier to use:
“she couldn’t help it” = sie konnte nichts dagegen tun (“She could do nothing against it.”)

“gaunt” = hagerer

“a mass of tangled hair” = einer wilden, zerzausten Haarmähne (“a wild, disheveled hair-mane”) (Haven’t we had other characters described similarly in this book? I seem to remember zerzausten.)

“her face twisted in agony” = mit qualvoll verzerrtem Gesicht (“with excruciating distorted face”)

“scab-covered slug” = Schorf bedeckte Schnecke

“murderous fire” = mörderischen Feuers

Ooh! Here’s a good one:
“cold jelly” = kalter Glibber

“brick wall” = Ziegelwand

“groaned” = ächzte

“veils” = Schleiern

“guilty silence” = schuldbewusstem Schweigen

“doorknob” = Türknauf

“weird angles of the beams” = die merkwürdigen Winkel der Dachbalken

“to get through” = hindurchzuzwängen

“shakily” = zittrig

“a last spasm of curiosity” = ein letztes Aufflackern der Neugier

“a great hairy pudding” = ein gro?er, bebender Pudding (“a big trembling pudding”)

“limbs” = Gliedma?en

Here’s a good long word:
“cleaning” = Säuberungsaktionen

“evil yellow grin” = boshafte, zähnefletschende Grinsen (“evil, teeth-baring grin”)

And finally:
“The Belgian Prankster may have something terrible planned.”
= Der Belgische Scherzkeks hat möglicherweise etwas Schreckliches geplant.

So, as I said, there are interesting bits to translate in every possible section of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. Now I can go through my week knowing how to describe ein gro?er, bebender Pudding and kalter Glibber.

In only two weeks, I’ll be moving into the first home I’ve ever purchased. This will require lots of Säuberungsaktionen, so I’m not sure if I’ll get to take a Pause and indulge ein letztes Aufflackern der Neugier for more Sonderling Sundays for awhile. Until then, stay away from Schorf bedeckten Schnecken!