Sunday, August 31, 2014

Review: Absolutely Almost


Absolutely Almost
Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a good-hearted book with an unlikely hero, unlikely in the sense that it is very uncommon to find a book about a pretty ordinary boy. He is not a very good student and not especially good at things that kids value. But his nanny helps him discover things that he IS good at and to keep working toward finding things that he enjoys doing.

A personal caveat: I think one of the problems I had with this book is that I couldn't personally identify with the fundamental difficulties that Albie had with school. I understand them - I am a teacher - but his difficulties weren't really ever my own, so it was just a tad harder to feel them. In a way, I am grateful for the book showing me how it feels for average kids to not understand or identify with books about really smart kids.

*****
I have been pondering something that bothered me a bit about this book. Albie was asked to leave a private school that he was attending, because he was having difficulty meeting the standards of their curriculum. Later, when he was asked if he really wanted to stay at that school, he is almost fed the line about how the people there weren't really that nice. This bothers me, because it was probably a more academically demanding school. Albie really wasn't a very good student. He struggled with math and he enjoyed books that were actually a bit below his grade level. There is NOTHING wrong with that. But there is also nothing wrong with an academically focused school with more difficult curriculum. The problem is the match between the school and the student. It isn't necessary to put down the school and the people attending and teaching in the school. It just wasn't a good place for Albie.



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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Review: The Fire Within


The Fire Within
The Fire Within by Chris d'Lacey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Yes, there are dragons in this book. And the developing story about the dragons promises to be interesting. But, this first book in the series is really about squirrels. The rather unexpected pairing makes for an odd story. It works, sort of, but it feels a bit strained / strange.

I am trying to decide now, if I will try more of the series. The dragons are intriguing, but I have read some of the reviews of the subsequent books and I am not sure if they will turn out to be too dark for me. I am a bit squeamish.

I read this book in one day of subbing. The students were taking MAPS tests all day and I had two planning periods. With little to do, I managed to finish the whole book. The teacher had the rest of the series, too, so maybe they do appeal to kids.



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Review: Absolutely Almost


Absolutely Almost
Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a good-hearted book with an unlikely hero, unlikely in the sense that it is very uncommon to find a book about a pretty ordinary boy. He is not a very good student and not especially good at things that kids value. But his nanny helps him discover things that he IS good at and to keep working toward finding things that he enjoys doing.

A personal caveat: I think one of the problems I had with this book is that I couldn't personally identify with the fundamental difficulties that Albie had with school. I understand them - I am a teacher - but his difficulties weren't really ever my own, so it was just a tad harder to feel them. In a way, I am grateful for the book showing me how it feels for average kids to not understand or identify with books about really smart kids.



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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Review: Hey Darwin! at the Zu Daily Strips Volume 1: Darwin & Co and Stoopid Zu Cartoons


Hey Darwin! at the Zu Daily Strips Volume 1: Darwin & Co and Stoopid Zu Cartoons
Hey Darwin! at the Zu Daily Strips Volume 1: Darwin & Co and Stoopid Zu Cartoons by Ron Ruelle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



As a collector of comics and cartoons, I enjoy finding ones that are unfamiliar to me and I have enjoyed this one. I like the cast of characters and their foibles. And the art work is good. So why has it taken me a while to read this one? I have been pondering that and I finally realized that the problem for me is that, in this book, the cartoons are reprinted too small. I think it was Doonesbury that decried the continual shrinking down of the cartoons in newspapers and this cartoon proves that point. I generally read in bed or in a reclining chair and I need reading glasses to read. But, even with my glasses on, the print is pretty small and I have to strain to read all of the words. In a cartoon that depends on words for a lot of its humor, it is vital that the words be easily read. Ah, age.





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Thursday, August 14, 2014

Review: Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?


Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



My mother is 99. I have lived and am living a story similar to this, so I am still mulling my reaction to the book. I want to like it, because it validates some of my life for the past 15 years, but I want to hate it, because it exposes some of my life for the past 15 years, including inadequacies.

Yes, it talks about some things that I don't really want to think about. And, it talks about things that I have gone through. I admire Roz Chast's ability to be honest about the whole process, especially her own ambivalence about her mother. The end of life time is painful and discouraging.

My own circumstances are a bit different. At least her parents had enough money to tide themselves over. My mother did not. Ms. Chast is wealthy enough that the extras that were needed were only worrisome - and not painful. I am not. I could get some money from my husband, and I did, but since my mother treated him unacceptably many years ago, I have excused him from all further contact with her and I hate to use his hard earned money to support her.

But other than money, the stories are similar. The decline in mental functioning (her father), the exaggeration of negative personal characteristics (her mother) are very familiar. And the inevitable fading of physical vitality is discouraging. My mother, too, has to be cared for as does a baby. And the last time I managed to talk to her on the phone, she babbled like one - no words, just unintelligible burbling.

This is not a feel good book, though. The carefully drawn images of her mother toward the end lend it a bit of resolution, but not enough to give me a feeling of peace. Perhaps, someday. My mother is still living at 99.



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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Review: Sebastian Lives in a Hat


Sebastian Lives in a Hat
Sebastian Lives in a Hat by Thelma Catterwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a very sweet book about a baby wombat, who is raised by humans after his mother is killed by a car. While not as humorous as Diary of a Wombat[b:Diary of a Wombat|389623|Diary of a Wombat|Jackie French|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347522824s/389623.jpg|1810825], it does include some good information about baby wombats.



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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Review: What the Moon Said


What the Moon Said
What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Well, I finished it and I am still trying to figure out why I found the book a bit more problematic than I expected. One of my Goodreads friends described it as being like Anne of Green Gables, only about the Depression era. I guess one of the things that troubles me about this - and perhaps my respect for Anne of Green Gables colored my perception of this book - was that Anne was continually striving to be honest and good. She had trouble measuring up, but she was usually completely honest about her failures.

In this book, I got the feeling that various characters were excusing their failures. Esther goes against her mother's explicit instructions to not be a friend to Bethany - and makes excuses for her failure to obey her mother. Her mother, in turn, only changes her mind about Bethany, because she saved Esther's life. She didn't really change her mind about the superstitions.

The final realization about love and family is wonderful, but it felt a bit hollow to me. I expected the revelation about Tatiana, but it came so late in the book that, while it provided explanation, it didn't provide redemption for some of the things the mother had done.

Finally, I am not sure what to think about the men preventing the auction of the neighbor's farm by blocking the road. On the one hand, it showed solidarity in the community. On the other hand, it was not completely honest. I think it was necessary, but I also think it might have merited some discussion with the children about why, in some cases, there were reasons to not be completely straightforward.



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