The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack GantosMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
This is just not my type of story. It may be excellent, but not for me. For reference: I listened to the first half of the first audiobook CD.
View all my reviews
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack GantosMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
This is just not my type of story. It may be excellent, but not for me. For reference: I listened to the first half of the first audiobook CD.
View all my reviews
Monday, August 15, 2011
Me . . . Jane by Patrick McDonnell
Me . . . Jane by Patrick McDonnellMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I think this book is well-written and very attractive, but I must admit I was also disappointed. It stopped, without telling anything about what Jane did as an adult. Yes, perhaps kids will be interested enough to try to find out more - or the person who reads the book to the kids will explain more. But I would loved to have a few more pages with pictures of her living and working with the chimps in Africa. Maybe there is an explanation somewhere that tells why the book stopped so soon. Sigh.
View all my reviews
One World, One Day by Barbara Kerley
One World, One Day by Barbara KerleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gorgeous pictures; interesting concept; good potential for further projects for kids; but the most interesting part for me was the section at the end that annotates the pictures.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax
Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences by Leonard SaxMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is one of those books that, when I am finished reading, I wish I had read more carefully. While I agree in part with the author's premise - that boys and girls brains and physiology are in fact different and it would behoove us to take note of the consequences of those differences, rather than deny or subvert them - there is a lingering uneasiness that perhaps the author is a bit too biased in his analysis. Separate was not equal in terms of racial differences; I am worried that separate will not be equal in terms of gender differences (or religious differences, or socio-economic differences, or gender orientation differences, or ...)
Another thing that worries me is the chapter on teen sex. I am really alarmed that there isn't more support for girls to just say no to the degrading practice of "hooking up" and other aspects of teen sex that are exploitative of girls' natures. What are girls getting out of "hooking up" and how do we empower them to fight back against this?
There are several things I would like to see explored in more detail: what exactly are the differences in teaching boys and girls? The brief examples he gives are simply not definitive enough for me. In one of the ending chapters, he very briefly mentions that girls used to be concerned with their character, but nowadays their self-esteem (in coed schools) is largely based on how they look. Coed schools are so prevalent in the US, and I am convinced that this will not change soon, given the current economic problems and the impending drastic cuts in education, how can we deal with education and socio-emotional issues?
I have ordered his next two books from the library. Maybe I will find out more from them.
View all my reviews
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
OK, I may be the only one in the universe for whom this book didn't do much. I don't dislike it and I think it was well done, it just won't be a book I treasure forever, unlike some of the other people I have read discussing it.
The story: although much of the story is told through the pictures, the basic plot is that Hugo, a teenager, is living in an underground railway station, where he tends the clocks for his Uncle, who took him in when his father was killed in a fire. Hugo rescues an automaton from the fire where his father died. The automaton was something his father was working on and now Hugo wants to try to fix it himself. But he needs parts. Since his uncle has abandoned him, he resorts to stealing - both food and toys - food to sustain himself and toys for the parts he needs to fix the automaton. But he gets caught stealing. The plot is actually a bit more complicated that this, but I don't want to give away more.
I almost feel like I SHOULD like the book, and I am glad others do, but it didn't touch me like it obviously did them.
The story: although much of the story is told through the pictures, the basic plot is that Hugo, a teenager, is living in an underground railway station, where he tends the clocks for his Uncle, who took him in when his father was killed in a fire. Hugo rescues an automaton from the fire where his father died. The automaton was something his father was working on and now Hugo wants to try to fix it himself. But he needs parts. Since his uncle has abandoned him, he resorts to stealing - both food and toys - food to sustain himself and toys for the parts he needs to fix the automaton. But he gets caught stealing. The plot is actually a bit more complicated that this, but I don't want to give away more.
I almost feel like I SHOULD like the book, and I am glad others do, but it didn't touch me like it obviously did them.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Johnny Kellock Died Today by Hadley Dyer
This book also won the Canadian Library Association book of the year award - this one won in the Children's Division and was an honor book in the Young Adult Division.
I have more mixed feelings about this book. I think it has to do with the fact that the plot was rather convoluted. Ostensibly, the book is about a young girl, Rosalie, who is the baby of a very large family. She likes to draw and unthinkingly leaves her colored pencils on the steps where her mother trips on them and breaks her ankle. But there are many subplots having to do with the Catholic boy in the neighborhood who comes to help out while the mother is laid up; the next older sister, whose wanderings around the neighborhood draw Rosalie's attention; the relationships among the older married siblings and their parents, etc., etc.
And, of course, there is the quesiton about why the book is called Johnny Kellock Died Today. Johnny is mentioned, but seems to be no more important than any of the other members of the extended family. Until the end, when you find out what happened.
!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And now, I am going to include some information about the ending. In the end, we find out that Johnny hasn't really died, he has run away from his abusive father. His mother escapes, too, and comes to live with her sister, Rosalie's mother.
Now, this is a relatively gentle way to deal with child and marital abuse, but since it is only apparent at the very end that we are not dealing with death, but rather abuse, it forces the reader to consider parallels between the two. That is a pretty heavy and confusing message to give to kids. And it is doubly confusing, because we never really know what is happening until the very end.
I liked the book; I like the characters and their interactions. But there were so many of them, I sort of felt that we didn't really get to know them very well. We see snippets of people here and there - and it eventually adds up. But, for me, it was a bit spare - I could have used more explanation, more feel for the characters and their personalities.
I have more mixed feelings about this book. I think it has to do with the fact that the plot was rather convoluted. Ostensibly, the book is about a young girl, Rosalie, who is the baby of a very large family. She likes to draw and unthinkingly leaves her colored pencils on the steps where her mother trips on them and breaks her ankle. But there are many subplots having to do with the Catholic boy in the neighborhood who comes to help out while the mother is laid up; the next older sister, whose wanderings around the neighborhood draw Rosalie's attention; the relationships among the older married siblings and their parents, etc., etc.
And, of course, there is the quesiton about why the book is called Johnny Kellock Died Today. Johnny is mentioned, but seems to be no more important than any of the other members of the extended family. Until the end, when you find out what happened.
!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And now, I am going to include some information about the ending. In the end, we find out that Johnny hasn't really died, he has run away from his abusive father. His mother escapes, too, and comes to live with her sister, Rosalie's mother.
Now, this is a relatively gentle way to deal with child and marital abuse, but since it is only apparent at the very end that we are not dealing with death, but rather abuse, it forces the reader to consider parallels between the two. That is a pretty heavy and confusing message to give to kids. And it is doubly confusing, because we never really know what is happening until the very end.
I liked the book; I like the characters and their interactions. But there were so many of them, I sort of felt that we didn't really get to know them very well. We see snippets of people here and there - and it eventually adds up. But, for me, it was a bit spare - I could have used more explanation, more feel for the characters and their personalities.
The Blue Helmet by William Bell
I don't understand book marketing. Why is this book available in Canada and only available through resellers in the United States? It isn't as though Amazon hasn't figured out international shipping. And, anyway, shipping to Alaska from Canada can't be THAT much different from shipping to Alaska from wherever Amazon books come from in the United States. And, another anyway, I doubt that marketing has anything to do with shipping. So, again, why isn't this book regularly stocked by Amazon US?
The story: Lee has been floundering since his mother died of cancer when he was 7. His father works two jobs to try to make ends meet and Lee has essentially raised himself. Raising himself gets him into trouble when he discovers that kids won't pick on you if you beat them up enough. Lee is determined to join the best gang in his area and is doing the last initiation rite - breaking in to a warehouse store - when he is caught by the police and taken in. The cop knows his dad, though, and, when his dad agrees to send him to live with the dad's sister, Lee's aunt, the cop tells him that he will forget about the charges for the time being, as long as Lee keeps out of town and out of trouble. But, if there is any trouble, he will throw the book at him for all of the assaults and the breaking and entering charge that are waiting for him.
Lee has to work at his aunt's house. His aunt owns and operates a coffee house style restaurant and Lee soon gets involved in making deliveries, both for the restaurant and for a local pharmacy. In the course of delivering food and medicines, Lee gets to know several of the customers, including one paranoid and rather reclusive man in his thirties, who is hovering on the edge of sanity.
I like this book. At first, some of the writing sounded a bit awkward to me - too many things described with oily, greasy, fatty words, but soon the characters took over and I couldn't help being interested in what made them tick. It is a book with a good heart and a powerful message - or set of messages. I am not going to describe how Lee figures out what caused his paranoid friend to go over the edge, because figuring that out is part of the book's intrigue. But it is satisfying to see Lee gradually feel better about himself and to discover that he can be a decent person.
And I like the way the adults in the story deal with Lee. They don't hesitate to give him advice, but they also let him know that it is only advice - it is his decision about how he will use it. All in all, a satisfying story.
Oh, yeah, and other people agree with me. This book just won the Canadian Library Association's book of the year award for young adult literature. Too bad it hasn't gotten wider circulation in the United States.
The story: Lee has been floundering since his mother died of cancer when he was 7. His father works two jobs to try to make ends meet and Lee has essentially raised himself. Raising himself gets him into trouble when he discovers that kids won't pick on you if you beat them up enough. Lee is determined to join the best gang in his area and is doing the last initiation rite - breaking in to a warehouse store - when he is caught by the police and taken in. The cop knows his dad, though, and, when his dad agrees to send him to live with the dad's sister, Lee's aunt, the cop tells him that he will forget about the charges for the time being, as long as Lee keeps out of town and out of trouble. But, if there is any trouble, he will throw the book at him for all of the assaults and the breaking and entering charge that are waiting for him.
Lee has to work at his aunt's house. His aunt owns and operates a coffee house style restaurant and Lee soon gets involved in making deliveries, both for the restaurant and for a local pharmacy. In the course of delivering food and medicines, Lee gets to know several of the customers, including one paranoid and rather reclusive man in his thirties, who is hovering on the edge of sanity.
I like this book. At first, some of the writing sounded a bit awkward to me - too many things described with oily, greasy, fatty words, but soon the characters took over and I couldn't help being interested in what made them tick. It is a book with a good heart and a powerful message - or set of messages. I am not going to describe how Lee figures out what caused his paranoid friend to go over the edge, because figuring that out is part of the book's intrigue. But it is satisfying to see Lee gradually feel better about himself and to discover that he can be a decent person.
And I like the way the adults in the story deal with Lee. They don't hesitate to give him advice, but they also let him know that it is only advice - it is his decision about how he will use it. All in all, a satisfying story.
Oh, yeah, and other people agree with me. This book just won the Canadian Library Association's book of the year award for young adult literature. Too bad it hasn't gotten wider circulation in the United States.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)