Review: When I Wore My Sailor Suit

When I Wore My Sailor Suit by Uri Shulevitz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I know I should probably like this better than 3 stars, but I didn't, actually. The problem is that the book started out as though it was going to be a grand adventure and then it seemingly, rather abruptly switched into an explanation of a childhood fear and how it was eventually overcome. It makes sense and the idea is good, but felt like two different books to me. The adventure part seemed like something fun, that was horribly interrupted by the childhood fear part - which is probably the intention of the author. As an adult thing, it works, but, from a child's perspective, I am not sure it would. I get the sense that kids would feel that part of the story was missing - the enjoyment of the adventure. But, perhaps, I underestimate young children. It would be interesting to me to hear what children think about the story.



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New Yorker Cartoons of the Year: Over 250 Cartoons From 2011 by Editors And Various Contributors of The New Yorker Magazine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have a large collection of cartoons and welcome this one as a worthy addition to the collection. Some really good ones here.
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Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book. Some of the things I especially liked, in addition to the Castle itself, were the relationships among the children. It was enjoyable to see how much they supported each other, drew on each others' strengths and worked around each others' weaknesses.
I think this would make a good middle grades read-aloud.
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Paul Vier und die Schröders by Andreas Steinhöfel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the cover of the various editions of this book and from the descriptions of it on Amazon and Goodreads, I was expecting a light, humorous young teen story - the kind where these comical people move into a neighborhood, causing all sort of problems, but eventually everything is worked out and everyone becomes friends. This is exactly NOT what actually happens. The story is much more serious than I expected and has much more depth.

I listened to this story in German and, although my German isn't perfect, I think I understood most of it. I may have missed some of the more humorous turns of phrases, but the book isn't actually funny. The themes - prejudice, acceptance of violence toward those we don't like/understand, and hypocrisy - are both universal and specific.

Very worthwhile. I may actually listen to it again, so that I get a bit more of the language nuances.
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The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
OK, I'll admit it: I cheated a little on this one. I skimmed pretty much the last half of the book. But I had just finished A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. The problem is, the writing in this book is just average, and the themes are similar and, well, A Monster Calls is simply better.
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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As I finished this, I kept thinking: this really isn't a book for kids. It is too powerful and too sad. I know that kids have to go through experiences like this, but it is hard to envision giving them this book, before they need to know this kind of pain. And yet... To know these experiences is to know what humans are.

I still don't know if I would give this book to most kids. I do know, however, that I will not willingly read it aloud. I can't get through Where the Red Fern Grows, either.
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