Book Buds Kidlit Reviews

Step right up! Right before your very eyes! Tricks of every kind!

The Painted Circus: P.T. Vermin Presents a Mesmerizing Menagerie of Trickery and Illusion Guaranteed to Beguile and Bamboozle the Beholder
by Wallace Edwards

Kids Can Press

I got new glasses just in time for these 32 pages of "visual trickery and optical illusions," which set my head spinning nonetheless. 

You've seen some of these tricks before: the grimacing old face that smiles when turned upside down, or the concentric circles that seem to spin if you move the page. And no doubt you've seen old circus posters, with their pageantry and pizazz and over-the-bigtop weirdness.

But I bet you haven't seen them presented quite like this. The idea of displaying brain teasers as a visual freak show  is one of those head-slapping original ideas, and even if you aren't a wide-eyed kindergartener, it's mind-boggling and crazy-making in the best possible way. 

A mouse in a ringmaster's costume narrates, and the hyperbole soars higher than acrobatic elephants -- if you can manage to count them all.

Each page is a masterpiece of sleight of hand and artistic tomfoolery, done as its own circus poster and posing a different problem. In one, a red jelly bean must feed two hungry alligators in jester costumes. You're given a hint and if you're really stuck, answers are in the back. *Spoiler zone:* bring the jelly bean page to your nose so you see double.

There's plenty going on in the background too, creating a whirl of activity for repeated reads, and you still feel like you must be missing things. But this is no workbook -- it's a high-end picture book that -- presto -- vanishes any barrier between writer and reader for a unique experience each time.

This is one of my favorite concept books of the year, maybe of all time, capturing the excitement and wonder of a circus with the satisfaction of a good think. Plus, it's one very weird book. Did I mention that?

Update: It's been shortlisted by the Canada Council for the Arts for their 2007 Governor General's Literary Awards. Winners will be announced Nov. 27.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

ROBERT'S SNOW Oy, such a flake! Why you should buy "Jerusalem, City of Peace"

Psssst ... wanna buy a snowflake? Seriously, it's for a good cause. You bid on it, see, and then if you get it, you, umm. I dunno. You hang it on your, uh, Hanukkah bush?

You can see my problem. I want to join the fight against cancer, especially after losing my mother in August. But I usually associate snowflake decorations with -- oh my, let's give the War on Christmas a rest, 'kay? Not gonna go there.

So thank goodness for Ann Koffsky, a fellow member of the tribe who took a tiny canvass and  gave it an interfaith spin, while staying true to the seasonal theme. No mention of what a snowflake reminds me of, though. Just staying in the spirit, is all.

Click to enlarge these lovelies:

Did I pick it, or what? I mean, is this not the most stunning, inspirational -- and really, really small -- tribute to a beautiful place sacred to three great faiths?

And it can be yours.

First, let me introduce Ann Koffsky, who works wonders with an X-Acto knife:

(Just so you don't think I'm serious about the WoC, don't these round ball thingees look scrumptious? Ornaments! Yes, that's the word ...)

She's illustrated 20 books for children, many -- but not all -- with Jewish subjects, plus toys, calendars and Hallmark greeting cards. How cool is that? 

So, how does she work these minute miracles? From her "About Me":

First, I cut complex designs from one or more sheets of solid papers. I then shift them around, to create interesting shadows, or matting effects. I then create the painted layer. This part is the most fun, because it usually involves splattering, spritzing, and overall mess-making with vivid colors. To create the final look, I layer the cut out papers over the painted paper. The contrast of loose textures against the clean cut-lines create a visual dynamic that I really enjoy.

Ann graciously agreed to answer a few questions about her snowflake, and I tried really hard this time not to sound like a dork.

Happy Blogiversary, Book Buds!

Many times over the past three years I've looked at my stats and cringed. Poor Book Buds, stuck in single digits for months after its birth. Then the slow creep upwards. Twelve page views a day. Thirty-five. Then a hundred. Yes!

And then ... nothing. A baby. A cross-country move. A death in the family. One hiatus after another after still another. I'd claw and scratch my way back from oblivion, just to see it nosedive as real life butted in. My hard work would evaporate in lost subscribers and inattentive fans. Tomorrow will mark this blog's third year, and the third time I've had to ask hard questions about what I wanted from it and why.

While Book Buds would languish during those intermissions, I'd watch other kids crash this party and steal the cute readers I'd been chatting up feverishly. But most never knew I existed. The green-eyed monster set up residence under my keyboard.

But I had only myself to blame. After all, I'd walked away from Inland Empress, which had a high of 500 hits a day when many future Mommy bloggers weren't Mommies yet, let alone bloggers. Where would that blog be today, if I'd kept at it? I don't let myself go there.

Focus, I tell myself, even now. I wanted a blog that fed my career, not my ego. Reviews only. No Q&As, no news, no personal meanderings. I sometimes stray from that path (this essay is proof) but my footing is still solid.

Each time I came back, it was with renewed purpose and vigor. That's easier when you can be single-minded and not scattershot, lemme tell ya.

Peas on earth

Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas
by Gail Piernas-Davenport; illustrated by Marion Eldridge

Albert Whitman & Co.

Black-eyed peas, dontcha know, are an African-American tradition on New Year's Day. But Shante's grandma -- who's been cooking up a storm -- forgot all about them. Shante scurries about the neighborhood, but her neighbors have their own traditions and foods.

By the time Shante returns with those legumes, we've learned a bit about Chinese, Hindu, Scottish and Mexican celebrations. When everyone turns up with their own dishes, you can almost smell the varied spices. How come I don't get invited to potlucks like that?

Suspense builds quickly and we move at a brisk pace, thanks to Piernas-Davenport's taut rhyming couplets. It was almost over too quickly, but end notes describe some other customs around the world.

Eldridge's acrylics are cheery and upbeat, in pleasing pastel shades, adding all the right ingredients for some lighthearted fare.

Rating: *\*\*\

GROSS-OUT WEEK Eensy-weensie arachnids

Spiders
Seymour Simon

Smithsonian/HarperCollins

"You may be surprised to learn just how fascinating [spiders] are."

Hey, Seymour, I'll take your word for it, okay? I mean, I've lived 44 years on this planet -- quite happily too -- without knowing a spider's body parts or that it's related to ticks, mites and scorpions. It's not like I go through my day thinking, "Wow, I wonder what it's like to have poison sacs on either side of my jaw!"

Okay, sometimes I do think that, but mostly in traffic.

This being strictly a science book, and from the Smithsonian at that, there's some uncomfortably close-up photos of our arachnid friends as they go about their bug-eating, web-weaving day. Some are pretty. Most would be much prettier if they masticated with their mouths closed.

Simon has a whole series of these nature books out, and they're staples of the young and science-report afflicted. They're the printed equivalent of broccoli, really.

Rating: *\*\

A crafty treat for autumn

The Apple Doll
By Elisa Kleven

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

 

Reviewed by Ilene Goldman

Lizzy is a lucky little girl—she has an apple tree to climb and the imagination to see the tree as a skeleton in fall and an iced gingerbread cake in winter. When it's time to start school, Lizzy's afraid she won’t make any friends. So she picks a lovely apple, makes a twig body for it, and names it Susanna. Lizzy takes Susanna to school with her, but, of course, the teacher doesn’t want toys in the classroom and the children make fun of Susanna.

Lizzy is brave, creative, and thoughtful. She doesn't have a tantrum when she realizes Susanna's better off at home. Instead, she fixes Susanna’s hair, makes her some friends, and hopes Susanna won’t be lonely. Lizzie’s parents and sisters brainstorm about creative ways of keeping Susanna as the apple ages, finally helping Lizzy make her into a dried-apple doll that her classmates then want to make too. It's refreshing to read about a family doing creative things together and about a child who loves a homemade (not store bought) toy.

Kleven’s illustrations add to the joy of the book. There is something a little old-fashioned about the people. Especially endearing is the picture of Lizzy sitting alone on the school stairs, primly crossing her ankles while she contemplates her sandwich while the other kids play around her. The words on the page say “But Lizzy was lonely,” stating what the image so clearly conveys. In contrast, in the last two-page spread all the children are playing in the apple tree on a snowy day, and joy is evident in their dancing and animals’ frolicking.

I kept thinking, “I want to make an apple doll with Charlotte one day.” Klevens knew I’d think that and she’s included craft project instructions at the end.

Rating: *\*\*\*\

GROSS-OUT WEEK This book is really crap

Poop: A History of the Unmentionable
by Nicola Davies; illustrated by Neal Layton

Candlewick Press

Oh yeah, a POOP book. Kids won't like that, will they? I mean, it's only a wee-sized book about POOP, not anything designed to appeal to kids, whom we all know prefer to read about nice, clean subjects, like manners and respecting grown-ups and how not to insist in a whiny voice that you must read them a book about POOP right now, pleeeeez.

Ach. I'm disowning both of them.

Did you know that poop gets its nauseating hue from all the colors of our food blending in our intestines? See? An art lesson. And blue whales have pink poop. You can tell all about animals from their poop. F'rinstance, cute bunny wabbits EAT THEIR OWN POOP. Right out of their butts.

Oh yeah, kids will just hate this. And those scribbly, colorful drawings just like a kid would make? They'll hate that too.

In fact, between this and the parasite book, I predict Davies and Layton will have no sales whatsoever and be forced to take up a useful, productive hobby, like re-teaching my kids manners now that they ask for POOP at the dinner table. Gah.

Rating: *\*\*\

A Q&A with Jane Yolen

I'm taking a break from my policy of never doing Q&As, since I never know what to say and feel like a complete dork. I totally outdorked even my low standards this time, as you'll soon see, but it was for a worthy cause.

The Winterthur Museum in Delaware (the old du Pont estate) features American decorative arts, something about which I actually know a tiny bit. They're hosting a "K is for Kids" literacy exhibit and hosting a contest to see who can write their own ABC book:

The contest is intended to inspire a future generation of authors by encouraging them to write a book following the tradition first set forth by the New England Primer. First published in 1690, the Primer was the earliest instructional text in America to pair alphabet letters with pictures and rhymes.

They've asked Jane Yolen to judge, and she's serving as their honorary ambassador until the gala awards night in April. The entries must be postmarked between Jan. 15 and Feb. 1, 2008, so there's plenty of time for your future literary prodigies to polish their manuscripts.

In case you're not familiar with Yolen, she's the author of 250 books and counting, from the serious Devil's Arithmetic to the delightful How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? It's not just that she's prolific, but her writing consistently hits its mark no matter the age group.

So, if you have kids who want to enter this contest, listen up. Here's Ms. Yolen's advice, courtesy of a press release:

WRITING AN ABC BOOK: JANE YOLEN'S 7 RULES

1. First you must know the alphabet yourself. If you are a little forgetful, sing the alphabet song ‘till you remember it all.

2. Write the alphabet down the side of a piece of paper, one letter per line.

3. Think of a theme for your book. For example: an alphabet of fairies, an alphabet of dogs, an alphabet of kitchen appliances (this one is likely to be difficult), an alphabet of countries, an alphabet of pirates, an alphabet of sports. Any theme can make an interesting alphabet book.

4. Next to each letter, put an item from your theme. For example, in the dog alphabet: A = Airedale; B = Boxer; C = Chihuahua. Better yet, start with the most difficult letters: J, Q, X. If you can’t find a word for these, get a different theme. Though, of course, in a pirate alphabet at least two of the three difficult letters are really easy: X marks the spot, and J stands for jewels.

5. Decide if you want to try rhymes or just use the single word, filling everything else in with the pictures. Hints: Don’t try to rhyme if you’re not good at it, and don’t count on the illustrations if you hate doing art.

6. Find a good dictionary and a great encyclopedia and keep them close by.

7. Start. Have fun. Don’'t get discouraged. Ask for help if you need it. Enjoy.

Lucky for me, Ms. Yolen also agreed to answer a few questions, some related to the contest and others off the top of my addled head:

Jane Yolen tomorrow! Jane Yolen right here!

We interrupt Gross-Out Week for an important announcement.

This here blog space will have a Q&A with Jane Yolen, children's author extraordinaire, on Tuesday. That's tomorrow.

And a contest ... did I mention a contest? Not some measly, peasly bloggy giveaway, either, but one sponsored by a museum with a gala dinner thrown in. You'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to find out, though.

Oooh, I can't wait.

Hurry back!

GROSS-OUT WEEK Don't bug me

What's Eating You? Parasites -- The Inside Story
by Nicola Davies; illustrated by Neal Layton

Candlewick Press

Ew! Ew! Ew! Need I say more? Ew!

I'm not showing this one to my kids. Nightmare time! At least for Mom.

In 60 stomach-churning pages, we learn all about the critters who make their home in fur, hair, tummies and, oh, gawd, I can't go on. Want to know the grossest? Me neither.

There are lots of, uh, fun facts on parasites of every size and disposition, from how they find their hosts to where they set up camp. I got a serious case of the ickies, and you will too, but there's some useful info on how to avoid them.

It's more of a novelty book, so it's compact and easily lost. Hooray. There's not much else to say. Just shudder, shut it, and tuck it under the rug for the fleas to find.

Rating: *\*\*\