Review of The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet

Adventure, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Stand-outs, Starred Review 0

The Cabinet of Earths

by Anne Nesbet

Harper, 2012. 260 pages.
Starred Review
2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out:
#2 Children’s Fiction: Fantasy and Science Fiction

It’s hard not to like a children’s fantasy tale set in Paris. (Okay, it’s hard for me not to like any book set in Paris.) Now, Maya, the main character, is not happy to be in Paris, and I like the way they explain it, not in a feel-sorry-for-herself way:

Her mother had a saying for bad days: Life is full of lessons, and the grades aren’t fair. By which she might as well have said, Sometimes your mother gets sick — really sick, like having to go through chemo and losing all her hair and most of her get-up-and-go — and you have to be a very good sport. Not just for a day or a summer, but for years. And here are the lessons Maya had learned about trying to be always, always a good sport:
1. it’s exhausting; and
2. nobody notices; and
3. it doesn’t really work very well, anyway.

After Maya’s mother is recovering from chemo, she encourages Maya’s dad to accept a fellowship he’s been offered to move the whole family to Paris for one year. Maya’s mom has a cousin in Paris. Maya’s little brother is annoyingly happy with the whole thing, and makes French-speaking friends at his new school almost instantly.

But there are some strange things happening in Paris. The Society of Philosophical Chemistry that gave her dad the fellowship has some mysteries. Its director is a distant relation. He’s young and handsome, and he seems awfully eager to meet Maya and her brother James. For years, children have gone missing from that section of Paris. Then there’s Cousin Louise, who is strangely invisible and unmemorable. She has to ask Maya to get even a waiter’s attention.

She was strangely hard to see. No color to her, somehow, just an oddly muted effect, as if there were a curtain of frosted glass between Maya’s eyes and her. Or a kind of haze in the air, almost. Just an ordinary sort of woman, but too vague to be properly ordinary, because ordinary ordinary people become more vivid when you pay attention to them, and this woman — well, you couldn’t quite focus on her, somehow.

All the mysteries seem to be focused around an amazing and beautiful old cabinet filled with bottles of earth that is in the possession of another distant relation of theirs — an eccentric old man who never leaves his home.

The mysteries and the adventure and the danger are woven together skillfully. Maya has to figure out her part in all these secrets, and then try to avert disaster.

I had one teeny-tiny complaint: I didn’t think that James talked like a five-year-old. But that’s minor, and I was able to adjust my image of him when the author mentioned his age. Perhaps his annoying charisma that makes everyone love him also made him a precocious conversationalist.

And like I said, that complaint was extremely minor. Overall, this book is a highly unusual magical adventure tale. We’ve got a modern child up against sinister forces in an unfamiliar environment and a mystery to solve before it’s too late. And it’s all set in Paris! Win-win!

annenesbet.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

Buy from Amazon.com

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

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

Review of The False Prince, by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Adventure, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The False Prince

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Scholastic Press, New York, 2012. 342 pages.
Starred Review
2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out #1 Fantasy and Science Fiction for Children

So, funny thing. I read this book earlier in the year, as an Advance Reader Copy, and although I enjoyed it, I decided there were too many flaws, and I didn’t want to review it. I read it afresh at the end of 2012, as part of my reading for the Cybils, and this time I loved it.

What was the difference? I believe that both times I read it in one sitting, into the small hours of the morning, so I certainly found it a page turner both times.

I think the first time, it reminded me so much of The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, I couldn’t help but be disappointed. That’s an unfair comparison for almost any book, so when I figured out the big reveal fairly easily, I held it against the author and thought she should have done the revealing differently. The second time I read it, I knew what I knew (and some other reviewers thought she intended us to figure it out), so I didn’t worry about that. I firmly did not compare it to The Thief, and this time I loved it.

The book opens with an orphan named Sage stealing a roast for the orphanage and then being captured and bought by a nobleman. Conner, the nobleman, gets three other orphan boys and tells them one of them is going to replace the prince who’s been missing for four years. The rest of the royal family is dead, and the country will find out in two weeks’ time. If one of the boys can get everything right in two weeks, he will be the new king and live in luxury the rest of his life. Of course, it’s pretty clear that whichever boys are not chosen will need to be killed to keep the secret.

Sage isn’t one to capitulate to Conner’s power, and he clearly has plans of his own. How it all gets worked out is wonderful tale. If the big twists and turns don’t take you by surprise, there are still some little details that will slip through. The book is hard to put down, and the action keeps going. I do have to say that, like Megan Whalen Turner’s books, you do spot more details when you reread the book that you won’t have realized were significant the first time around.

The best thing about this book? It’s “Book One of the Ascendance Trilogy.” The book does stand alone beautifully, and tells a complete story. But I’m definitely looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Buy from Amazon.com

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

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

2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs: Science Fiction and Fantasy Children’s Fiction

Children's Fiction Review, Stand-outs 0

I’m doing blog posts about my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, and I’m finally getting to the category for which I was a Cybils judge, Science Fiction and Fantasy for Middle Grade Readers. The Cybils list was created by our panel of 7 people, and they were a fabulously insightful group to work with. The list here simply represents my own personal favorites. The Cybils list has a little more variety (and, yes, I’m very happy with it and proud of it), but this list has a whole lot of love.

I haven’t posted all the reviews for these books yet. Soon! Soon! Do stay tuned! I’ll try to start with posting two tonight and catch up the rest within the next week or two.

I should add that judging for this category was a treat. I do love fantasy books, and this year I got to indulge more than ever. All of these books are recommended reading.

That said, here are the Fantasy and Science Fiction Children’s Books I most enjoyed reading in 2012:

1. The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood
2. The Spy Princess, by Sherwood Smith
3. The False Prince, by Jennifer L. Nielsen
4. Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
5. Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin
6. Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung
7. The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet
8. Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis
9. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente
10. The Prairie Thief, by Melissa Wiley
11. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy

Watch for the remaining reviews!

And how about you? What were your favorite fantasy and science fiction books for children you read in 2012? (Links to other lists are welcome.)

Happy Reading!

Review of This Is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

This Is Not My Hat

by Jon Klassen

Candlewick Press, 2012. 36 pages.
Starred Review
2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #4 Picture Books

What is it with Jon Klassen and stealing hats? This Is Not My Hat is remarkably similar to his last year’s book, I Want My Hat Back (which was also my #4 Picture Books Stand-out), while having completely different characters, a completely different setting, and even a very different hat! But as in the earlier book, justice is dramatic, swift and sure while at the same time off stage and mysterious, but highly satisfying. (Alas! Perhaps I’m more bloodthirsty than I realized.) And in both the occasion of said justice — stealing a hat — is a wonderful child-sized problem perfect for discussion.

Here are some ways the two books are similar:

1. A hat is stolen.
2. The victim of the hat theft is outraged and angry (as evidenced by their wide eyes).
3. The thief is much smaller than the one they stole from.
4. The thief is doing some lying, whether to others or merely to himself.
4. The illustrations are fabulous, with deadpan expressions and highly expressive eyes.
5. Both leave a delightful amount of room for children to draw their own conclusions, but I can let you in on a spoiler: The thief gets eaten. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.)

In this one, the book begins with the thief fleeing the scene of the crime. He admits he stole the hat, but the big fish he stole it from was asleep and probably won’t wake up for a long time or even notice that it’s gone. As he says this, we see pictures of the big fish waking up and then noticing the hat is gone. The little fish has a plan — to go where the plants grow big and tall and close together where nobody will ever find him. Well, he does get there, with the big fish right behind. You definitely can’t see what happens inside those plants — but let’s just say it doesn’t look good for the little fish.

I love the page with the thief’s rationalization (What a way to discuss Rationalization with children!):

I know it’s wrong to steal a hat.
I know it does not belong to me.
But I am going to keep it.
It was too small for him anyway.
It fits me just right.

And you know what? He’s right! The hat does fit him just right, and is way too small with the big fish. But I still think this would make a great pairing with The Book of Bad Ideas! And what a fabulous way to discuss Right and Wrong with kids. Or, just to read a tremendously fun story, where drama and art and plot are all beautifully balanced with a delightful result. I guess there’s a little kid who enjoys justice inside all of us. Or at least a person who enjoys a good story.

candlewick.com

Buy from Amazon.com

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

2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs: Picture Books

Picture Book Review, Stand-outs 0

Now let’s look at the 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs in the category of Picture Books.

This is my biggest category this year. This was one area where taking part in Capitol Choices benefited me. Many, many brilliant picture books were nominated, so I read far more picture books than what I reviewed.

Out of all those books I read this year, here are my favorites:

1. Penny and Her Song, by Kevin Henkes
2. The Duckling Gets a Cookie?! by Mo Willems
3. Z Is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
4. This Is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen
5. Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum
6. Bink and Gollie: Two for One, by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile
7. Bear Has a Story to Tell, by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin Stead
8. The Boy Who Cried Ninja, by Alex Latimer
9. Oh No! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohman
10. The Art of Miss Chew, by Patricia Polacco
11. Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
12. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, by James Dean and Eric Litwin

Looking at trends in the list, it’s heavy on books that make me laugh out loud and books that are charming. And reading aloud well is a huge plus. After a year of reading stellar picture books, these all have a special place in my heart.

To be honest, the reason Penny and Her Song firmly has been my favorite picture book of the year since I read it in January had to do with my “theme verse” of the year that I chose for 2012. Part of it goes, “There she will sing as in the days of her youth.” So I’d already been remembering back to when I was a little girl, dancing around the house singing. Then I read Penny and Her Song and found a kindred spirit in Penny. And it’s a fabulous book for beginning readers. And it’s a marvelous story. And I simply love it.

Now, I was extra pleased that the Cybils Beginning Readers panel put both Penny and Her Song and Penny and Her Doll on their list, but I hadn’t thought to be so generous, even though I also love Penny and Her Doll.

As for the other books on the list: Well, let’s just say that 2012 was a magnificent year for picture books. I will post another review tonight and finish posting reviews of the Stand-outs in the next week or two.

These ones don’t take more than a few minutes to read. If you worked with me this year, I probably have already pushed at least one or two at you and urged you to read it. So consider this post me doing that to you virtually.

Happy reading!

Review of Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, by Deborah Hopkinson

Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Stand-outs, Starred Review, True Stories 0

Titanic

Voices from the Disaster

by Deborah Hopkinson

Scholastic Press, New York, 2012. 289 pages.
Starred Review
2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #3 Children’s Nonfiction

Normally, I never ever read disaster stories. It’s too easy to imagine it happening. I didn’t even ever go see the Titanic movie. I mean, come on, I know how it ends! The only reason I read this book was because it is under consideration by Capitol Choices.

That said, the book tells a compelling story. Though the author does stress the horrible loss of life, some of the impact of the disaster is softened because she focuses on the stories of survivors. Throughout the book, she uses quotations from the survivors, earning the book its subtitle Voices from the Disaster.

The book is also filled with photographs and written in an episodic way that makes you want to keep on reading and browsing. You’ll find out you don’t actually know what happened next, and you want to find out. In the back matter, Deborah Hopkinson even points to websites and still unresolved questions for those who want to explore further. This book is also an excellent look at how historians think.

In her Foreword, Deborah Hopkinson says it well:

Maybe the Titanic makes us all historians. We can’t help being curious: What happened? Why? Who said what and when? What did it mean? And, of course, what if?

deborahhopkinson.com
scholastic.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/titanic.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 We’ve Got a Job, by Cynthia Levinson

Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Stand-outs, Starred Review 0

We’ve Got a Job

The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March

by Cynthia Levinson

Peachtree Publishers, 2012. 176 pages.
Starred Review
2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #5 Children’s Nonfiction

I read this book because it was nominated for Capitol Choices for consideration as one of the 100 best children’s books of the year, and I was so glad I did read it. I thought I knew quite a bit about the Civil Rights Movement, but this book looked at a part I’d never heard about before, when children got involved.

The author makes the information interesting and accessible to young readers by highlighting the stories of four individual children from different walks of life who all participated in the movement. She tells how each child got involved, whether from noble motives or not-so-noble, what each one experienced, and interviews them today. I like the way she takes a big topic and breaks it down to show us how children actually got to participate and make a difference. The book has plenty of black-and-white photographs and weaves together the four storylines in a natural way that make the overall complex topic more clear.

The author tells at the end why she chose this story to tell:

Like Wash, James, and Arnetta…, I was a teenager in 1963, living in Ohio. Although I read newspaper articles about the marches, hoses, and dogs, it wasn’t until I was an adult, writing about music in the civil rights period for Cobblestone magazine, that I learned the heart of the story: all of the protesters assaulted and jailed that May were children.

How could I not have known? I had even taught American history to junior-high and high school students! My ignorance embarrassed me.

Many people, I realized, needed to know how a Children’s March changed American history. So, I set out to learn what happened.

The book she has written is a wonderful way to find out more.

cynthialevinson.com
peachtree-online.com

Buy from Amazon.com

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

2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs – Children’s Nonfiction

Children's Nonfiction Review, Stand-outs 0

Announcing the 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

Today, in honor of Nonfiction Monday (hosted by Hope Is the Word), I’m highlighting my Children’s Nonfiction choices.

These are chosen not by literary merit or what I think kids will like. These are simply ranked in the approximate order in which I enjoyed them, as much as I can tell when looking back over the year.

So, because MY enjoyment is the standard, it’s no surprise that once again a book related to Math takes number one!

I don’t have all the reviews posted yet. I plan to get at least two more posted tonight, and will shoot for posting the rest within the next week or two. They cover a wide variety of topics, and range from picture books for young kids to narrative nonfiction for older kids that explores the topic in depth. I’ve learned much from these books, and enjoyed myself while doing so.

Here’s my list of my favorite Children’s Nonfiction I read in 2012:

1. How Many Jelly Beans? by Andrea Menotti and Yancey Labat
2. The Mighty Mars Rovers, by Elizabeth Rusch
3. Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, by Deborah Hopkinson
4. Balloons Over Broadway, by Melissa Sweet
5. We’ve Got a Job, by Cynthia Levinson
6. Just a Second, by Steve Jenkins
7. Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar, by Mitsumasa Anno
8. Temple Grandin, by Sy Montgomery
9. Moonbird, by Phillip Hoose

If you haven’t had a chance to read these yet, I highly recommend them!

How about you? Read any great Children’s Nonfiction lately?

Sonderling Sunday – Hektischer Betriebsamkeit

Sonderling Sunday 3

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! When I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. I’m not quite sure why I get so viel Genugtuung from this weekly game, but I do.

Tonight we’re back to Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the German translation of The Order of Odd-Fish. Last time, we left off in the middle of Chapter 12, when Jo had met with Olvershaw, in preparation for officially becoming a squire. There’s a fun phrase right away:

“gave a sigh of relief” = erleichtert aufseufzen

Here’s a good one:
“a panic of efficiency” = hektischer Betriebsamkeit

“rushed hither and thither” = hin und her huschten

This one’s oddly alliterative:
“ragged tents” = zerfetzten Zelten (That’s what English needs. More words starting with Z.)

I still like the way Germans combine three words into one:
“patched cloth roof” = Segeltuchdecke

And here’s one from four English words:
“stacks of loose papers” = Papierstapeln (Really, that’s just “Paper-piles,” but it works.)

Interesting. “forms” = Formulare (I never connected “forms” and “formulas” before.)

“stamping machine” = Prägemaschine

“office-stalls” = Büroverschläge

“had chewed her out” = sie so heruntergeputzt hatte

I don’t think this is as elaborate:
“as if calling upon a rapidly dwindling patience”
= als wollte er verhindern, dass ihm der Geduldsfaden riss
(“as if he wanted to hinder, that from him the patience ripped”)

I still say the insults are fun.
“Pushy little creature” = aufdringliche kleine Kreatur

“rookies, greenhorns” = Neulinge, Frischlinge

“got it?” = kapiert?

“watching old movies” = alte Filme anzugucken

“shaggy black hair” = zotteligem schwarzem Haar

I was prepared not to like this without the alliteration, but it won me over anyway:
“A squat-snouted nangnang” = Ein flachschnäuziges Nangnang

“mussed dark hair” = zerzausten schwarzen Haar

“barfed out of a fish” = barfu? aus einem Fisch gestiegen (“barefoot out of a fish rose”)

“bait” = Köder

“grapefruits” = Pampelmusen

“gutless mollycoddles” = saftlose Weichlinge (“juiceless soft-lings”)

Now here’s a nice long word:
“confused babble” = durcheinanderplapperten (“through one another prattled”)

“riding on top of that building” = oben auf diesem Gebäude gesurft ist (After all, isn’t riding on top of the building surfing on top of it?)

“wreckage” = Trümmern

“dust and cobwebs” = Staub und Spinnweben

“rattling around in me” = in mir herumklappert

“scattered” = verdattert

And that’s it for Chapter 12. Jo and Ian got a quest! (Aufgabe)

Summing up, we had a new 23-letter word that’s quite useful for a crowd of people all talking at once and durcheinanderplapperten.

There were some useful phrases this week. I can’t think of a reason to talk about zerfetzten Zelten, but now I can tell my son that he has zerzausten Haar.

I may start referring to my cubicle as a Büroverschlag, and I know all about hektischer Betriebsamkeit. And tackling Staub und Spinnweben is far more interesting than merely vacuuming.

All in all, I enjoy having these random phrases in mir herumklappert. How about you?

Review of Help Thanks Wow, by Anne Lamott

Christian, Musings, Nonfiction Review, Stand-outs, Starred Review 0

Help
Thanks
Wow

The Three Essential Prayers

by Anne Lamott

Riverhead Books (Penguin), 2012. 102 pages.
Starred Review
2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #1 Other Nonfiction

I’ve always loved Anne Lamott’s down-to-earth spirit, and this book’s title says it all. If you think about it, isn’t it true: Help. Thanks. Wow. Those are indeed the three essential prayers.

She has a chapter for each prayer, with funny and insightful observations. Then there’s a chapter at the end titled “Amen.” Her observations move me, inspire me, make me laugh, and encourage me to pray.

I’ll include some bits from her “Prelude” chapter:

Some of us have cavernous vibrations inside us when we communicate with God. Others are more rational and less messy in our spiritual sense of reality, in our petitions and gratitude and expressions of pain or anger or desolation or praise. Prayer means that, in some unique way, we believe we’re invited into a relationship with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.

Prayer is talking to something or anything with which we seek union, even if we are bitter or insane or broken. (In fact, these are probably the best possible conditions under which to pray.) Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up. The opposite may be true. We may not be able to get it together until after we show up in such miserable shape.

I’ll post more from this book on Sonderquotes, because it’s full of nuggets that uplift and inspire me.

Why am I saying so much? Put simply, my reaction when I finish a book by Anne Lamott is: Wow.

riverheadbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

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