My second graders loved this winking Goldilocks tale with a twist. There are no bears here, just three innocent dinosaurs who go for a walk (they are definitely not hiding in the woods nearby), leaving their door open and their chocolate pudding out, with absolutely no thought that a hapless little girl might wander in and provide them with a chocolate filled snack when they return.
Willems has a lot of fun here with the original story: hot, cold or just right, Goldilocks eats all of the pudding (it is chocolate pudding, after all.) And the chairs? The first and second ones are too tall. The third one...still too tall.
Will Goldilocks get out before the dinosaurs return from their...er...walk? Or will she be a chocolate pudding-filled bonbon for the hungry dinosaurs when they return?
As a bonus, the endpapers are covered with (presumably) rejected ideas for Goldilocks stories. Goldilocks and the Three Plumbers? Goldilocks and the Three Wall Street Types? If anyone could make it work, it would be Willems.
Showing posts with label book notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book notes. Show all posts
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Blood Oranges by Kathleen Tierney
Urban fantasy and paranormal romance (whether for adults or teens) have taken on a lot of baggage post-Twilight: attractive monsters, love triangles, power hierarchies, destined mates, curiously irresistible protagonists and wildly improbable happily-ever-afters. A generation ago, a romance with the monster would have been teased, but now, dear reader, she has married him.
Blood Oranges has taken that baggage and run. The other way. When Siobhan Quinn accidentally falls into the role of monster hunter, she finds herself part of an old grudge match between two powerful players. Her mentor, Mean Mr. B, disappears suddenly and leaves Quinn to walk the thin line between hunter and monster, dual roles she is unlikely to survive.
In the world of Siobhan Quinn, monsters are grotesque (though not always unattractive) and becoming a vampire/werewolf doesn't make you a special snowflake; it makes you a killer. All of the players are amoral, at best, and no one is out to save anyone else.
I enjoyed Quinn's voice in this book, her unreliability and constant need to question everything. The plot, such as it was, was less interesting than the world-building and Tierney's constant interrogation of genre tropes.
Funnily, the notion of getting back to the basics of horror tropes (our vampires are scary, not sparkly!) is a well-established trope in itself. The retreat to a darker plot and tone is a well-worn device; when it comes to monsters, attractive and otherwise, the pendulum swings back and forth. I would love to see more explorations of these tropes, in both their fantasy and horror aspects.
Blood Oranges has taken that baggage and run. The other way. When Siobhan Quinn accidentally falls into the role of monster hunter, she finds herself part of an old grudge match between two powerful players. Her mentor, Mean Mr. B, disappears suddenly and leaves Quinn to walk the thin line between hunter and monster, dual roles she is unlikely to survive.
In the world of Siobhan Quinn, monsters are grotesque (though not always unattractive) and becoming a vampire/werewolf doesn't make you a special snowflake; it makes you a killer. All of the players are amoral, at best, and no one is out to save anyone else.
I enjoyed Quinn's voice in this book, her unreliability and constant need to question everything. The plot, such as it was, was less interesting than the world-building and Tierney's constant interrogation of genre tropes.
Funnily, the notion of getting back to the basics of horror tropes (our vampires are scary, not sparkly!) is a well-established trope in itself. The retreat to a darker plot and tone is a well-worn device; when it comes to monsters, attractive and otherwise, the pendulum swings back and forth. I would love to see more explorations of these tropes, in both their fantasy and horror aspects.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Kid's choice: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown
by Cressida Cowell
Emily Brown and her stuffed rabbit Stanley are in the midst of a series of adventures when she receives some unexpected visitors: first the Queen's footman, then the army, then the navy. And they all have one (courteously worded) demand: that Emily Brown hand over that Bunnywunny, which the Queen has decided is the finest toy she has ever seen. Emily Brown politely declines. Then not so politely declines. Despite offers of a gold bear, talking dolls, rocking chairs, and more, Emily Brown refuses to hand over her stuffed friend (his name is not Bunnywunny!), even if the Queen is the poshest person in the kingdom.
But the Queen must have that rabbit...and so Emily Brown must take matters into her own hands.
This ode to the power of toys and imagination is a pleasure to read to children, but the illustrations are probably the real star here. Emily's and Stanley's color-saturated adventures captivate young readers, and the second to last spread actually drew gasps of wonder from one group of first graders when I read it to them.
Children will reach for their own toys when Emily takes pity on the silly Queen and tells her how to have a stuffed friend as nice as Stanley.
But the Queen must have that rabbit...and so Emily Brown must take matters into her own hands.
This ode to the power of toys and imagination is a pleasure to read to children, but the illustrations are probably the real star here. Emily's and Stanley's color-saturated adventures captivate young readers, and the second to last spread actually drew gasps of wonder from one group of first graders when I read it to them.
Children will reach for their own toys when Emily takes pity on the silly Queen and tells her how to have a stuffed friend as nice as Stanley.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Book note
Briarpatch
by Tim Pratt
2011
Briarpatch is my favorite kind of urban fantasy: an original stand-alone novel where the characters are not overwhelmed by greater powers and do battle with wits instead of physical skill or luck. The main characters are two sad souls wandering through the world, often feeling like the deck is stacked against them -- which, in fact, it is.
Darren and Orville, the main characters, are troubled young men who discover, in the aftermath of tragic events, a world that exists alongside our own. The Briarpatch, as others have labeled it, exists in a state of improbability, and few can see it, much less navigate it.
Briarpatch is an enjoyable read filled with genuine wonders and horrors. I liked Orville a bit more than Darren, for whatever reason, so I would have liked more from his perspective. But I would love to read more urban fantasy like this.
by Tim Pratt
2011
Briarpatch is my favorite kind of urban fantasy: an original stand-alone novel where the characters are not overwhelmed by greater powers and do battle with wits instead of physical skill or luck. The main characters are two sad souls wandering through the world, often feeling like the deck is stacked against them -- which, in fact, it is.
Darren and Orville, the main characters, are troubled young men who discover, in the aftermath of tragic events, a world that exists alongside our own. The Briarpatch, as others have labeled it, exists in a state of improbability, and few can see it, much less navigate it.
Briarpatch is an enjoyable read filled with genuine wonders and horrors. I liked Orville a bit more than Darren, for whatever reason, so I would have liked more from his perspective. But I would love to read more urban fantasy like this.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Book note
From Doon with Death
by Ruth Rendell
1964
This is the first Inspector Wexford novel, and while it isn't as fully formed as some of her later books, it's still a good one. A dull housewife is found in the woods, violently murdered in an apparent crime of passion. Though at first few claim to remember her, the investigation turns up a series of strange relationships with the victim.
Even once you've figured out the trick, (which you will; it may have been missable in 1964, but it's a pretty easy one now) Rendell has one decent red herring left. You'll still figure it out by the end, but Rendell always makes for a good story along the way.
The second Wexford novel, Sins of the Fathers, strikes me as a degree of magnitude better; it has a fairly unconventional ending for a mystery novel, and some squirmy philosophical questions in the mix. Rendell, who started off writing good, solid stories, was apparently a quick study in the art of mystery novels.
by Ruth Rendell
1964
This is the first Inspector Wexford novel, and while it isn't as fully formed as some of her later books, it's still a good one. A dull housewife is found in the woods, violently murdered in an apparent crime of passion. Though at first few claim to remember her, the investigation turns up a series of strange relationships with the victim.
Even once you've figured out the trick, (which you will; it may have been missable in 1964, but it's a pretty easy one now) Rendell has one decent red herring left. You'll still figure it out by the end, but Rendell always makes for a good story along the way.
The second Wexford novel, Sins of the Fathers, strikes me as a degree of magnitude better; it has a fairly unconventional ending for a mystery novel, and some squirmy philosophical questions in the mix. Rendell, who started off writing good, solid stories, was apparently a quick study in the art of mystery novels.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Book note
The City and the City
by China Mieville
2009
The City and the City is an absorbing mystery, both on the mystery-mystery level and the what-the-hell-are-these-cities mystery level. Like stories of its type, it solves the superficial mystery, gives you a good sense of the background, but you know all the while that there is much Borlu doesn't tell you -- or possibly doesn't realize himself. And you know this is coming, because it's that kind of book.
Like Avice, Borlu has truck-sized blind spots. Like Avice, he gets some better, though of course it comes with a price.
by China Mieville
2009
The City and the City is an absorbing mystery, both on the mystery-mystery level and the what-the-hell-are-these-cities mystery level. Like stories of its type, it solves the superficial mystery, gives you a good sense of the background, but you know all the while that there is much Borlu doesn't tell you -- or possibly doesn't realize himself. And you know this is coming, because it's that kind of book.
Like Avice, Borlu has truck-sized blind spots. Like Avice, he gets some better, though of course it comes with a price.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Book note
Palimpsest
by Catherynne M. Valente
2009
I am not a particular fan of overwrought prose. I often find that writing that is praised to the moon for its lyrical beauty (oh dear lord, how I hate that word: lyrical) is needlessly baroque while adding nothing to the story. On at least one occasion, I've had the unpleasant feeling that an author is simply shouting, "LOOK AT THE WORDS I KNOW! LOOK WHAT PRETTY SENTENCES I CAN MAKE WITH THEM!" (I'm looking at you, The Witches of Eastwick.)
But I loved this book. I found the writing so beautiful that I would pause over phrases to enjoy the precise structure and vocabulary before moving on. But the prose doesn't try to carry the story on its own (one of the downfalls of bad literary fiction, in my experience.) The prose is the story, completely integrated. The way she uses words builds the imagery, which builds the city. If it is all delightfully strange (and it is) it is also consistent, and controlled. Palimpsest has exactly the moment-to-moment enjoyment I look for in a keeper.
by Catherynne M. Valente
2009
I am not a particular fan of overwrought prose. I often find that writing that is praised to the moon for its lyrical beauty (oh dear lord, how I hate that word: lyrical) is needlessly baroque while adding nothing to the story. On at least one occasion, I've had the unpleasant feeling that an author is simply shouting, "LOOK AT THE WORDS I KNOW! LOOK WHAT PRETTY SENTENCES I CAN MAKE WITH THEM!" (I'm looking at you, The Witches of Eastwick.)
But I loved this book. I found the writing so beautiful that I would pause over phrases to enjoy the precise structure and vocabulary before moving on. But the prose doesn't try to carry the story on its own (one of the downfalls of bad literary fiction, in my experience.) The prose is the story, completely integrated. The way she uses words builds the imagery, which builds the city. If it is all delightfully strange (and it is) it is also consistent, and controlled. Palimpsest has exactly the moment-to-moment enjoyment I look for in a keeper.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Story notes
A couple of kindle freebie stories:
"Of Swine and Roses"
by Ilona Andrews
A cute story about a girl, a pig, and a literal pig.
(I had no idea Ilona Andrews was a husband and wife team.)
"Martian Invaders Meet Mom"
by Rebecca and Alan Lickiss
Another husband and wife team, this one clearly labeled, with a silly story about aliens and raising children, and how alike these things are.
"Of Swine and Roses"
by Ilona Andrews
A cute story about a girl, a pig, and a literal pig.
(I had no idea Ilona Andrews was a husband and wife team.)
"Martian Invaders Meet Mom"
by Rebecca and Alan Lickiss
Another husband and wife team, this one clearly labeled, with a silly story about aliens and raising children, and how alike these things are.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Book note
Boom!
by Mark Haddon (who also wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
Children's book.
After Jim's big sister tells him he's being sent to the "special" school because of his poor school habits, he and his friend Charlie put a walkie-talkie in the teacher's lounge to see if it's true. (Although Charlie seems to have his own motivations.)
At first, they are bored, but suddenly they hear two of their teachers speaking a different language that they can't identify. When they investigate further, strange things begin to happen. Could their teachers possibly be aliens?
This is a fun tale -- outrageous and often silly, with kids who act like kids.
Note: There is an alien who calls itself Britney; I wonder if this is a nod to J.Lo in Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, or if great minds just think alike?
by Mark Haddon (who also wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
Children's book.
After Jim's big sister tells him he's being sent to the "special" school because of his poor school habits, he and his friend Charlie put a walkie-talkie in the teacher's lounge to see if it's true. (Although Charlie seems to have his own motivations.)
At first, they are bored, but suddenly they hear two of their teachers speaking a different language that they can't identify. When they investigate further, strange things begin to happen. Could their teachers possibly be aliens?
This is a fun tale -- outrageous and often silly, with kids who act like kids.
Note: There is an alien who calls itself Britney; I wonder if this is a nod to J.Lo in Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, or if great minds just think alike?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Sad
Author William Sleator (1945-2011) has died.
Sleator's House of Stairs was one of my defining reads in middle-school, and no doubt had a lot to do with my interest in sff later. The grim story is about a group of teenage orphans who are kidnapped and dumped in the "house of stairs,"(an Escherian disaster meant to throw the kids off-balance) in a rather brutal attempt at brainwashing.
I reread this one not all that long ago, and found it as compelling as when I was 12. The characters were -- and still are, a bit -- unusual for young-adult literature: the narrator, Pete, is mildly autistic (I think) and Lola is quite aggressive, and not in the cutesy, punky way so many are now.
With the resurgence of dystopian YA, House of Stairs should still be a huge success, but maybe it isn't a pretty enough dystopia.
Another of Sleator's books that I remember fondly is Into the Dream, which I read when I was younger. Classmates Paul and Francine find that they are having the same nightmare, a vision filled with dread that leaves them exhausted and terrified. They follow clues from the dreams to find a damaged little boy and a mysterious event that ties the three of them together. It's a fine example of old-fashioned suspense.
Rest in peace.
Sleator's House of Stairs was one of my defining reads in middle-school, and no doubt had a lot to do with my interest in sff later. The grim story is about a group of teenage orphans who are kidnapped and dumped in the "house of stairs,"(an Escherian disaster meant to throw the kids off-balance) in a rather brutal attempt at brainwashing.
I reread this one not all that long ago, and found it as compelling as when I was 12. The characters were -- and still are, a bit -- unusual for young-adult literature: the narrator, Pete, is mildly autistic (I think) and Lola is quite aggressive, and not in the cutesy, punky way so many are now.
With the resurgence of dystopian YA, House of Stairs should still be a huge success, but maybe it isn't a pretty enough dystopia.
Another of Sleator's books that I remember fondly is Into the Dream, which I read when I was younger. Classmates Paul and Francine find that they are having the same nightmare, a vision filled with dread that leaves them exhausted and terrified. They follow clues from the dreams to find a damaged little boy and a mysterious event that ties the three of them together. It's a fine example of old-fashioned suspense.
Rest in peace.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Book note
Embassytown
by China Mieville
2011
A chewy and enjoyable alien/human communication story (not first contact, though sometimes it feels like it.) Avice has returned to her home of Embassytown on an alien planet. She becomes entangled, first, in the dilemmas of an alien species reaching out for a human quality it doesn't understand, then in the fallout of a dangerous human contaminant that could well destroy the aliens (and the Embassytown humans with them.)
The plot is grand and sweeping, with change threatening on a planetary scale. It feels like old-fashioned science fiction: an attempt to create an entirely new alien contact problem that needs to be solved with human ingenuity. All the while playing with the net up. Nice to see.
Quibbles: false flags on Avice's reliability as a narrator distracted me; there is something in Avice's personality or history that seems a little off -- I still can't tell if that's a feature or a bug. And I would have really liked to see Scile's transformation, instead of hearing third-hand snippets about it.
by China Mieville
2011
A chewy and enjoyable alien/human communication story (not first contact, though sometimes it feels like it.) Avice has returned to her home of Embassytown on an alien planet. She becomes entangled, first, in the dilemmas of an alien species reaching out for a human quality it doesn't understand, then in the fallout of a dangerous human contaminant that could well destroy the aliens (and the Embassytown humans with them.)
The plot is grand and sweeping, with change threatening on a planetary scale. It feels like old-fashioned science fiction: an attempt to create an entirely new alien contact problem that needs to be solved with human ingenuity. All the while playing with the net up. Nice to see.
Quibbles: false flags on Avice's reliability as a narrator distracted me; there is something in Avice's personality or history that seems a little off -- I still can't tell if that's a feature or a bug. And I would have really liked to see Scile's transformation, instead of hearing third-hand snippets about it.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Book Note
The Quantum Thief
by Hannu Rajaniemi
2011
Despite an irritating beginning and the lack, really, of a satisfying ending, The Quantum Thief is a lot of fun. As in most post-human books, it isn't about post-human life, it's about throwbacks who still approximate humans. That's what we find on the moving Martian city, Oubliette, where legendaryish thief Jean le Flambeur must go to track down his missing memories. There are hints, of course, that he may be/have been something much greater, hints that point to Sequels Yet to Come.
by Hannu Rajaniemi
2011
Despite an irritating beginning and the lack, really, of a satisfying ending, The Quantum Thief is a lot of fun. As in most post-human books, it isn't about post-human life, it's about throwbacks who still approximate humans. That's what we find on the moving Martian city, Oubliette, where legendaryish thief Jean le Flambeur must go to track down his missing memories. There are hints, of course, that he may be/have been something much greater, hints that point to Sequels Yet to Come.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Book note
When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition
by Jack Zipes
1999
A concise history of fairy tales, concentrating on major fairy tale movements in various countries and a few singular personalities (Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Baum.) Connects places and times where fairy tales flourished with historical and personal contexts. A no-nonsense history, smoothly presented; also includes a helpful bibliography including numerous primary and secondary sources.
by Jack Zipes
1999
A concise history of fairy tales, concentrating on major fairy tale movements in various countries and a few singular personalities (Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Baum.) Connects places and times where fairy tales flourished with historical and personal contexts. A no-nonsense history, smoothly presented; also includes a helpful bibliography including numerous primary and secondary sources.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Book note
What I Saw and How I Lied
by Judy Blundell
2008
What I Saw and How I Lied is a languid thriller set in 1947, haunted by the war and its aftereffects. Evie Spooner is an innocent 15-year-old happy to travel with her movie-star-gorgeous mother and successful stepfather on their vacation to Florida. But the past is following them, and Evie must make an abrupt transition from innocent child to wise adult if she is to survive.
Nicely written, with a sense of dread that builds throughout the story, this is a quality young adult choice that adults can enjoy, too. It has an old-fashioned sensibility about it, not just of the time period, but from the compact, careful telling of the story.
by Judy Blundell
2008
What I Saw and How I Lied is a languid thriller set in 1947, haunted by the war and its aftereffects. Evie Spooner is an innocent 15-year-old happy to travel with her movie-star-gorgeous mother and successful stepfather on their vacation to Florida. But the past is following them, and Evie must make an abrupt transition from innocent child to wise adult if she is to survive.
Nicely written, with a sense of dread that builds throughout the story, this is a quality young adult choice that adults can enjoy, too. It has an old-fashioned sensibility about it, not just of the time period, but from the compact, careful telling of the story.
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