Picture Book Special
I'm trying to finish off my reviews from 2016, since I don't want anything of this garbage fire of a year carrying over. So! Picture book special today, tomorrow graphic novels!
Luz Sees the Light, Claudia Davila
This is kind of on the edge between picture books and graphic novels, but I'm including it today because I reshelved it and therefore I thought about it. Luz Sees the Light is a rather didactic graphic novel aimed at kids eight to twelve that talks about environmentalism and the need to save and conserve energy and gas.
Luz lives in a city where gas prices soar and power outages are common, so probably somewhere in California. After some complaining, as any semi-oblivious twelve-year-old would do, Luz thinks about what she can do, and decides to start a community garden in a vacant lot near her house. Her friends think she's crazy and her community dismisses her, but Luz perseveres and eventually makes a real difference in the world.
This is not a subtle book, guys. But then again, no one ever said it had to be subtle. I'd go young on this one, though; it's too preachy for the older crowd. Still, it's a cute book and well illustrated, and good for an introduction to environmentalism.
King Baby, Kate Beaton
New Kate Beaton book! Hurray!
Kate Beaton, she of Step Aside, Pops and The Princess and the Pony, has published another children's book! King Baby is based on her nephew Malcolm, but it's more or less a tale of the way babies take over a household and is hilarious as per usual. Highly recommended.
Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson
Every time I read a book by Jacqueline Woodson, I fall more and more in love with her style. This month's offering: Each Kindness, a picture book about a girl named Chloe. She has a pretty good life, friends at school, happy at home, but she won't play with the new girl, Maya, who's different and strange. Eventually, Maya disappears, and then Chloe's teacher gives a lesson on small acts of kindness that changes her life.
I really liked this one because it didn't have an easy resolution. Chloe doesn't get to make it up to Maya. She doesn't get to fix her mistakes. It's a bittersweet, poignant book, and I think it makes the lovely point that sometimes you don't get a second chance, so you better make the first one count.
14 Cows for America, Carmen Agra Deedy
This book made me tear up? It's about a young Maasai man who comes to America to study medicine, and ends up being in New York for 9/11. He goes back to his tribe and tells them about the tragedy, and asks if there's anything they can do. They decide to give America fourteen cows.
I think this hit me so hard because I remember 9/11, but I also remember the tremendous outpouring of love and support we got from the rest of the world. I remember reading about the fourteen cows the Maasai gave us, and just breaking down crying, because cows are so tremendously important in their culture; they were giving us their lifeblood. It meant so much then, it still means a lot now. This book is well-written and gorgeously illustrated and I'm still gonna cry.
Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, Diane Muldrow
Eh. This is more of a stunt book than anything else, IMO. Muldrow has pulled together a lot of illustrations from the Little Golden Books-- which were my childhood, and probably are the childhood of a lot of other kids now-- and appends sometimes-contradictory pieces of advice to them. In all honesty, I think it would be better if it were shorter, but as it is, it goes on too long and the novelty palls.
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
*ahem*
BASS REEVES IS SUPER DUPER AWESOME.
*ahem*
This short picture book is a quick and dirty biography of Bass Reeves, one of the longest-serving deputy marshals in United States history. And have I mentioned he's super duper awesome? He's a black man, born in slavery, who made his reputation as one of the best, most honest, and relentless sharpshooters in the marshal ranks. Even Belle Starr turned herself in rather than try to run away from Bass Reeves. Belle Starr. When he retired from the marshal service and joined the police (because complete retirement is for wusses) there was not a single crime in his patrol district the entire time he was there. Do not fuck with Bass Reeves. And do learn all about him because SUPER DUPER AWESOME.
The book itself is pretty rad too, but mostly BASS REEVES.
Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books, Karen Leggett Abouraya
This is the true story of a spontaneous moment during Egypt's 2011 revolution to protect the Library of Alexandria. Those of you who are up on your history may know that the Library of Alexandria burned at least three times during the ancient world; the author, who was part of the protests, records how she was afraid that the library would burn again. However, after a heartfelt plea from the library's director, the protestors formed a human chain around the library, protecting it from damage and destruction. It's a good story, with some pretty neat illustrations, but I was way more attached to the writing and the meaning. Love of books and literature can bring us all together when everything else has failed. Love and support your libraries too.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/409389.html. Please comment over there if possible.
Luz Sees the Light, Claudia Davila
This is kind of on the edge between picture books and graphic novels, but I'm including it today because I reshelved it and therefore I thought about it. Luz Sees the Light is a rather didactic graphic novel aimed at kids eight to twelve that talks about environmentalism and the need to save and conserve energy and gas.
Luz lives in a city where gas prices soar and power outages are common, so probably somewhere in California. After some complaining, as any semi-oblivious twelve-year-old would do, Luz thinks about what she can do, and decides to start a community garden in a vacant lot near her house. Her friends think she's crazy and her community dismisses her, but Luz perseveres and eventually makes a real difference in the world.
This is not a subtle book, guys. But then again, no one ever said it had to be subtle. I'd go young on this one, though; it's too preachy for the older crowd. Still, it's a cute book and well illustrated, and good for an introduction to environmentalism.
King Baby, Kate Beaton
New Kate Beaton book! Hurray!
Kate Beaton, she of Step Aside, Pops and The Princess and the Pony, has published another children's book! King Baby is based on her nephew Malcolm, but it's more or less a tale of the way babies take over a household and is hilarious as per usual. Highly recommended.
Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson
Every time I read a book by Jacqueline Woodson, I fall more and more in love with her style. This month's offering: Each Kindness, a picture book about a girl named Chloe. She has a pretty good life, friends at school, happy at home, but she won't play with the new girl, Maya, who's different and strange. Eventually, Maya disappears, and then Chloe's teacher gives a lesson on small acts of kindness that changes her life.
I really liked this one because it didn't have an easy resolution. Chloe doesn't get to make it up to Maya. She doesn't get to fix her mistakes. It's a bittersweet, poignant book, and I think it makes the lovely point that sometimes you don't get a second chance, so you better make the first one count.
14 Cows for America, Carmen Agra Deedy
This book made me tear up? It's about a young Maasai man who comes to America to study medicine, and ends up being in New York for 9/11. He goes back to his tribe and tells them about the tragedy, and asks if there's anything they can do. They decide to give America fourteen cows.
I think this hit me so hard because I remember 9/11, but I also remember the tremendous outpouring of love and support we got from the rest of the world. I remember reading about the fourteen cows the Maasai gave us, and just breaking down crying, because cows are so tremendously important in their culture; they were giving us their lifeblood. It meant so much then, it still means a lot now. This book is well-written and gorgeously illustrated and I'm still gonna cry.
Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, Diane Muldrow
Eh. This is more of a stunt book than anything else, IMO. Muldrow has pulled together a lot of illustrations from the Little Golden Books-- which were my childhood, and probably are the childhood of a lot of other kids now-- and appends sometimes-contradictory pieces of advice to them. In all honesty, I think it would be better if it were shorter, but as it is, it goes on too long and the novelty palls.
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
*ahem*
BASS REEVES IS SUPER DUPER AWESOME.
*ahem*
This short picture book is a quick and dirty biography of Bass Reeves, one of the longest-serving deputy marshals in United States history. And have I mentioned he's super duper awesome? He's a black man, born in slavery, who made his reputation as one of the best, most honest, and relentless sharpshooters in the marshal ranks. Even Belle Starr turned herself in rather than try to run away from Bass Reeves. Belle Starr. When he retired from the marshal service and joined the police (because complete retirement is for wusses) there was not a single crime in his patrol district the entire time he was there. Do not fuck with Bass Reeves. And do learn all about him because SUPER DUPER AWESOME.
The book itself is pretty rad too, but mostly BASS REEVES.
Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books, Karen Leggett Abouraya
This is the true story of a spontaneous moment during Egypt's 2011 revolution to protect the Library of Alexandria. Those of you who are up on your history may know that the Library of Alexandria burned at least three times during the ancient world; the author, who was part of the protests, records how she was afraid that the library would burn again. However, after a heartfelt plea from the library's director, the protestors formed a human chain around the library, protecting it from damage and destruction. It's a good story, with some pretty neat illustrations, but I was way more attached to the writing and the meaning. Love of books and literature can bring us all together when everything else has failed. Love and support your libraries too.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/409389.html. Please comment over there if possible.