annie bobannie books

The Tin Forest

2010-04-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

A Review

Title: The Tin Forest
Author: Helen Ward
Illustrator: Wayne Anderson
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Date: 2001
Highly recommended for ages: 4 and up

This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I have seen in years. The story is about an old man who lives amidst a wasteland of garbage. He is lonely and miserable until one day he decides to try to create a tropical forest out of the garbage. He succeeds, and eventually attracts real animals and plants into the tin forest, transforming his once bleak world into a paradise.

I read this book to my third and fourth grade class, and they loved it. So did the parents. The message is positive and the illustrations are stunning.

Gentlemen: A Review

2010-02-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

Title: Gentlemen
Author: Michael Northrop
Pages: 256
Recommended: With reservations
Age/Gender: 8th Grade and Up, Boys or Girls

I consumed Gentlemen, by Michael Northrop, in two big bites. The protagonist, Micheal (sic.), is a wounded, tough-talking teenager who hangs with a tough group of guys. One of the group goes missing, and the boys soon come to suspect their English teacher, who starts acting strangely while teaching the book Crime and Punishment in the boys' English class.

The only reservations I have about recommending this book stem from the fact that the protagonist never really steps up and becomes the hero of the story. Instead, he stands by while his friends behave badly, and only by chance does he avoid any great wrongdoing. Perhaps the author is writing his own version of a modern existentialist novel; I just hope young readers are sophisticated enough to understand that the hero's lack of action to stop wrongdoing makes him just as culpable as his fellows.

Princess Academy: A Review

2010-01-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Recommended for: Girls, grade 4-8
Pages: 314

Princess Academy is not breaking any new ground, but it's a solid read, especially for its sweet spot of young girls ages 8-12. Author Shannon Hale tells a story of a young girl, Miri, living in a pre-industrial society. Everyone in her village works in a quarry mining a precious marble-like stone, but Miri's father keeps her home because he fears she is too small and slight to handle the rigors of quarry life.

The quiet village is turned on its ear when dignitaries from the low-lands come to inform the people of the village that their prince will choose a princess from the village in spring, and all the young girls must attend a mandatory training season at the Princess Academy. Miri becomes a leader of the girls against a stern taskmistress at the academy.

I won't give away any more of the plot, but there is nothing too threatening or surprising about this book. You can give it to your young girls with certainty that they will not encounter anything you wouldn't approve of, and they will probably enjoy reading it too.

Barefoot Gen

2010-01-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

Book Review: Barefoot Gen Volumes 1-4

Author: Keiji Nakazawa

Recommended for: Middle school and up (Younger with parental guidance)

Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel/Comic Book

Barefoot Gen is a 4 volume graphic novel (or comic book) about the effect of the Atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima and its inhabitants. The translations can sometimes feel a bit stiff, but the illustration is lively and vital. Out of the ashes of the atomic bomb, plucky protagonist Gen finds a way to carry on, even in the face of horror. This book shows that often children, more readily than adults, can push forward in the face of tragedy.

This 4-volume series is based on the real life experiences of author Keiji Nakazawa, who, like Gen, lost his father, brother, and sister on the day of the atomic bomb, and later lost his baby sister to radiation sickness. I found this series very revealing about how the Japanese people perceived the war and how they survived the horrors brought about by the atomic bomb.

I suggest this book with a few reservations. First of all, there are a lot of scenes in which grown-ups strike children across the face. It seems silly to trifle with that when the whole point of the book is to show how 150,000 people perished from the bomb, yet those scenes of parents and teachers smacking their children were in some ways more disturbing to me. Still, if you think your child can handle it, or if you think you can talk him/her through it, the benefits of reading the book make it quite worthwhile.

The Last Book in the Universe

2010-01-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Book Review: The Last Book in the Universe

Author: Rodman Philbrick

Highly recommended for: Boys and girls, middle school and up.

Genre: Sci-fi/cyberpunk/futuristic dystopia

If you liked: The Giver, Riddley Walker, The City of Ember, Fahrenheit 451, Feed

What's not to like about this story? It has all my favorite elements going for it: the setting is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the protagonist is a disabled yet plucky misfit who must go on a quest to save the only person who has ever shown him any love (his adoptive sister), and one of the central tensions of the story is whether or not the last book in the universe will be destroyed.

Spaz, our boy hero, lives in a nightmarish future after the so-called "shake," a planetwide natural disaster that turns the world into a post apocalyptic wasteland. He encounters the idiosyncratic Ryter, an old dude who just so happens to be the last person in existence who knows how to write books. Ryter wants to complete his life story (in book form) before he dies. As the story progresses, the two must embark on a mutual quest that takes them to Eden, an enclave of priveleged supergenetically engineered humans.

This book is fun to read, and I believe it will be enjoyed equally by boys or girls.

Check out the more detailed summary on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Book_in_the_Universe

Push by Sapphire

2010-01-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

Review: Push by Sapphire
Suggested Age: High school and up with parental guidance
Cultural/Social references: Harlem, Louis Farakhan, rape, incest, Down's Syndrome, HIV, homosexuality
Recommended: Highly, with guidance/maturity

I was afraid to see the movie Precious, afraid I would be too upset by it. So I decided to read the book Push, on which the movie is based, instead. And yes, it was upsetting. However, the book was also impossible to put down. I read it cover to cover in one night.

The main character, Precious, has been sexually abused by both her father and mother since the age of three. She has borne two children to her own father. Her earliest memory of her mother is being forced to perform oral sex on her. Disturbing stuff.

Still, Precious has a will to live, and she finally encounters a teacher who gives her the tools to learn to read and write. A path emerges through the darkness.

This book uses very explicit language and describes incestuous sex in quite graphic detail. However, I do not feel the writing ventures into exploitational or gratuitous sexuality--instead, the writing quite beautifully illustrates the heroine's inner life.

The White Darkness

2010-01-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

Review: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Age suggestion: High School and adult
Cultural references: Antarctica, Symmes's Hole, Deafness/Disability
Recomended: Highly

The White Darkness is one of the most original books I have read in a long time. The narrator is a 15 year old girl who is willingly abducted by her eccentric uncle to go along on an expedition to the South Pole. The book is quite masterful in its characterization of the narrator in that only slowly does the reader realize that the narrator herself is both unreliable and eccentric, if not quite as crazy as her uncle. The book is suspenseful and fun to read. I suggest it for high school and above because I think most middle schoolers will miss some of the subtle ways the author introduces the foibles and self-delusions of the narrator.

Book of a Thousand Days

2009-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Review: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

306 pages

Age suggestion: middle school and up

Cultural references: Ancient Mongolia, Grimm's Fairy Tales

Recomended: Highly

Okay, I could not put this one down. Very compelling young heroine, Dashti, is a "mucker maid"--a peasant who has sworn to serve her "lady"--a member of the elite gentry in this pre-medieval story set in an imagined version of the Mongolian Steppes. Dashti and her lady are bricked up in a tower for seven years when the young lady refuses to marry the cruel lord her father has promised her to. Dashti must find a way to keep them alive in the face of starvation and poor treatment by gaurds. Eventually, the girls must find a way to escape the tower and make their way to the land of the lady's true love. Of course, our heroine finds love of her own along the way.

What is cool about this book is that while it is a kind of "princess in the tower" story, the "princesses" and "princes" do not fall into any preconceived stereotypes. I found the characterization and plotting fairly original, and the voice of the narrator, Dashti, is powerful and likeable.

Undoubtedly, girls will like this more than boys, but it is not an overly feminine book.

Highly recommended!

No more Amazon Store & I Can't Said the Ant

2009-09-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

I've decided to shut down my Amazon store and bring all of my children's books to the Alliance Charter Academy, where I'll be teaching. That way, I can just check the books out to any kids who want to read them. Meanwhile, I'm going to try to rededicate myself to posting recommendations for kids books on here.

Duncan and I have been enjoying an old book called I Can't Said the Ant full of fun kitchen rhymes. The story is about a tea pot that falls to the floor and cracks and a group of spiders and ants who rescue her and put her back together.

Moving House

2009-01-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

I am currently packing up my house to move, so I decided to shut down my Amazon store for the time being. I will still be posting on the blog, however. Just not selling any books.

Evil Genius

2008-12-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

Review: Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

496 pages

Age suggestion: Middle school and up

Gender suggestion: Boys will like this more than girls

Recommendation: Mixed

I read this book back in October, but I haven't been sure what to say about it. It's definitely popular right now, and it is a good read. But here's my problem with it: there is not a single redeeming adult character in the whole book. Instead, the adults are corrupt, morally bankrupt, or absent. Sure, there are plenty of books out there in which adults are largely absent or ineffectual--that's okay--children feel that way about adults, no doubt. But books in which adults are actively evil and with no good counterpoint leave a bad taste in my mouth.

So, I will not fully endorse this book. However, I will admit it is well written and kids will probably enjoy reading it.

Bryan Collier

2008-10-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you stumble across an artist who is doing what you want to be doing, but doing it so well, it makes your teeth hurt. That's how I felt on the third floor of the Multnomah Public Library's Central Branch on Tuesday, when I found myself in the middle of an exhibition of works by Bryan Collier.The exhibit featured originals of his children's book illustrations: large, mixed-media collages featuring water color, pen and ink drawing, and an amazing sense of color.

Collier has illustrated children's books about John Lennon, Langston Hughes, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King. I loved seeing the collages up close, being able to distinguish between each section of torn and assembled paper. If you get a chance to see this exhibit, do it!

Here's a link to a website for the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature: www.nccil.org. Here you can find more information about Bryan Collier and see more images from the exhibit.

Peak

2008-09-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Review: Peak by Roland Smith
Age suggestion: Upper elementary and middle school
Gender suggestion: Both boys and girls will like this book
Recommended: Yes

Wow, it's been forever since I posted on this blog! Shame on me. Anyway, I just read a fun book, clearly geared toward boys, called Peak by Roland Smith. It's about a 14 year old boy who gets a chance to climb Mount Everest. I'm kind of a Mount Everest freak--I read John Krakauer's book Into Thin Air at least 3 times, and I've read several other books about that same disastrous climbing season. I've also seen all the movies and documentaries about it. This book, Peak, uses some very accurate climbing detail in the context of an engaging story with interesting characters, a likable protagonist, good writing. Suggested age group--middle school.

What a Feeling!

2008-03-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

How can I describe the way I felt when I laid eyes on these two books in the Uufda used bookstore in John Day, Oregon?

It was like I'd been living in house for 30 years and suddenly opened a door I'd forgotten even existed.

That's what I love about illustration and image--they can take you back instantly! To somewhere you'd forgotten you'd ever been. And suddenly a whole world opens up. Which brings us to Meg. I forgot this series even existed, but when I saw these two books, I remembered that I'd read them both and had been an avid reader of the Meg--wait for it--Duncan series of mysteries. Yes, my son is named Duncan. Coincidence? Anyway, I bought both books to reread myself. You can't have them. At least not yet.

Q: When is a Gas Station Not a Gas Station?

2008-03-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

A: When it is a bookstore.

This nondescript little gas station in remote John Day, Oregon, site of my latest research expedition, happened to house a treasure trove of old children's books. I was in heaven. I walked out of there with over $50 in used stuff. I'll write about some of it here.

Back from San Jose

2008-03-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a lovely illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith, one of the images I used to talk about the golden age of illustration during my presentation in San Jose. Tiffany's class enjoyed the talk, and so did I.

Trip to San Jose

2008-02-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

Illustration for The Tyger by William Blake

Tiffany graciously invited me to speak to her class about the art of children's book illustration. I'll be giving a three part talk covering: illustration styles since 1900, the relationship between the illustrator, author, and reader, and current trends in illustration. Once I've finished the talk, I'll post it here on the blog.

Who Is Aliki?

2007-12-09T21:50:00.001-08:00

I have a bunch of new listings on my Amazon Storefront, including At Mary Blooms by Aliki and This is the House Where Jack Lives with illustrations by Aliki. As I typed in the listings, I got to wondering--Who is Aliki? That name has come up enough in my travels that I finally took notice of it and decided to do some research. Here's what I found at http://www.lookingglassreview.com/.

Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg was born in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey on September 3, 1929. Growing up and attending school in Philadelphia and suburban Yeadon, Pennsylvania, she drew constantly and attended art classes on Saturdays. In 1951 she graduated from Philadelphia Museum College of Art. She worked in the display department at J. C. Penney Co. in New York for a year and then as a free-lance artist and art teacher in Philadelphia. In 1956 she spent several months traveling, painting, and sketching in Europe. In Greece, her parents' native land, she discovered her heritage. In 1957 she married Franz Brandenberg, also a writer, and they settled in Switzerland where she worked as a free-lance artist. Her first book, The Story of William Tell (1960), was inspired by a visit to the area in Switzerland where Tell had lived. In 1960 the Brandenbergs moved to New York City. Aliki continued to write and illustrate children's books, both fiction and nonfiction. She says the fiction is "true and a part of her," and she takes her stories from her own children and neighbors. An example of this kind of book is At Mary Bloom's (1976), which was inspired by her daughter's visit to a neighbor. Her nonfiction books are a result of her fascination with a particular subject or person and require a great deal of research. The Story of Johnny Appleseed (1963), George and the Cherry Tree (1964), and The Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin (1977) are among the biographies she has written. She also writes informative books about scientific or historical topics, such as orn Is Maize: The Gift of the Indians (1976) and Digging Up Dinosaurs (1981). Three Gold Pieces: A Greek Folk Tale (1967) and Diogenes: The Story of the Greek Philosopher (1969) are books inspired by her Greek heritage. Aliki also has illustrated over fifty books for other writers including several for her husband. Her artistic style differs with the type of book she is illustrating; some books need a modern design of simple shapes and bright colors while others need an old-fashioned approach. Aliki and her family moved to England in 1977 where she continues to write and illustrate. She received the New Jersey Institute of Technology Award for The Listening Walk in 1961 and for Bees and Beelines in 1964, the Boys Club of America Junior Book Award for Three Gold Pieces: A Greek Folk Tale in 1968, and the Children's Book Showcase for At Mary Bloom's in 1977. She also won the New York Academy of Sciences (younger) Award for Corn Is Maize: The Gift of the Indians in 1977 and the Garden State Children's Book Award (younger nonfiction) for Mummies Made In Egypt in 1982.

A Wrinkle in Time: Rejected 27 Times!

2007-11-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

I heard today on the Writer's Almanac that Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was rejected by the first 27 editors she submitted it to. This statistic makes me feel a teensy weensy bit better about getting rejections. But just a teensy weensy bit.
This is the image on the cover of the edition I read as a child. By the way, if you haven't read this book. . . get on it. Possibly the most seminal work of fiction responsible for shaping my young mind. (Runner up: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

Essential Reading List

2007-10-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

My friend Tiffany's going to be teaching a class on Children's Lit at San Jose State University. We've been chatting back and forth about essential books in this genre, and I came up with my list. I thought I'd share it here on the blog.

Picture Books (0-8 ish)--Mercer Mayer (One Monster After Another or Liza Lou and the Yellerbelly Swamp), Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are), Margaret Wise Brown (Good Night, Moon), Shel Silverstein (The Giving Tree), Dr. Seuss (Any).

Early Reader (5-9 ish)--Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad books), AA Milne (Winnie the Pooh books), Jean de Brunhoff (Babar books), Antoine de Saint-Exupery (the Little Prince), Judy Blume (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing), Louise Fitzhugh (Harriet the Spy), EL Konigsburg (From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler).

Middle Grade (middle schoolers)--Ellen Raskin (The Westing Game and The Tattooed Potato), Lois Lowry (The Giver), Madeliene L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time), Jeanne DuPrau (City of Ember), Ursula K. LeGuinn (The Earthsea Trilogy and The Beginning Place), CS Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia).

Young Adult (high schoolers)--JD Salinger (Catcher in the Rye), Ellen Hopkins (Crank), MT Anderson (Feed)

Then, you also have the classics in children's lit, which don't fall so neatly into the categories: Charlotte's Web, Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer, Little Women, Heidi, The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, The Wizard of Oz, anything by Roald Dahl, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, and of course, JK Rowling and Lemony Snicket. Some might also say Hawthorne and Cooper and Tolkein might be considered in this category.

Books I haven't read, but are classics: Bud, Not Buddy; The Phantom Toll Booth, Walk Two Moons, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Uncle Tom's Cabin, To Kill a Mockingbird, I Know Where the Red Fern Grows. Some new classics I haven't read: Luis Sachar (Holes), the Alex Rider series.

Jozef Wilkon

2007-07-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I mentioned the illustrator Jozef Wilkon--he illustrated the book about the kindly wolf. I decided to do a little research on him because I found his pastels so endearing. I discovered an artist of tremendous range and vision.

This information comes courtesy of http://www.childscapes.com/, (another site worth visiting if you are interested in learning more about children's book illustrators.

"Wilkon was born in 1930 close to Cracow, where he was later studying painting at Academy of Art, and history of art at Jagiellonian University (1955). At the end of his studies he spent a year in Paris. He established himself very quickly in French and German art world. Asked about his illustrations, he answers: "First you have to know what you are going to paint: a man or a fish or a bird or a leaf or an animal, and what it looks like. Then you must know how it moves, runs, creeps, swims or flies. For many that would be the end of their art effort, but some go ahead and paint sadness and happiness, fear and courage. Only a few reach the point at which they can paint a smell and a taste of fruits or even, silence in the dream. If you can do all these things then you must know the way to bring a story and a picture together. Everything must be done at the right place and on the right time, so the tensions in the book rises as in the theatre."

Wilkon cooperates with number of publishers in Poland and abroad. He has illustrated over 100 books for children and for adults in Poland."

Okay, back to my thoughts again: One of the things I have been struggling with as I learn to illustrate is what medium I will work in. I've been struggling over the froggy painting now for so long because I really don't have the mastery of the medium (acrylic paints). My drawing is probably more practiced and natural. But what I see in Wilkon that makes him so interesting to me is his ability to illustrate beautifully in so many different media. As an artist, I think this must be the most creatively fulfilling way to work. As a business person, I see how this could make it difficult to develop a recognized style--or brand--that makes it possible for publishers to market your work. Clearly, Wilkon is an artist, not a brand.

Affinities and Special Finds

2007-06-28T13:18:00.002-07:00

Affinities

Sometimes when I go out bookhunting, I luck into some interesting affinities, such as these two titles I found yesterday, Friday Night Is Papa Night and Potato Pancakes All Around.

As you can see, both rely on a limited color palatte that very clearly marks them as 70s-era books. Papa Night (above) is written by Ruth A. Sonneborn and illustrated by Emily A. McCully. The story follows a loving but poor family whose papa has to work two jobs. As a result, he only spends one night a week, Friday night, with his family. Sad, but expectedly somber for the 70s. (published by Viking in 1970)

Potato Pancakes, written and illustrated by Marilyn Hirsh, is a Hannukkah tale published by the Jewish Publication Society of America in 1978. I love how these two books, about two drastically different cultural experiences (one Latino, the other Jewish, one urban and modern, the other folkloric), are linked together by their two-toned illustration, which clearly identifies the books as being of the same era.

Special Finds

When I'm bookhunting, I'm looking for books I recognize or for books whose illustrations are so beautiful and unique that they belong in my collection--my special finds. Yesterday, I came across two new illustrators in the special finds category: Jozef Wilkon and Robert Andrew Parker.

The Story of the Kind Wolf (above), written by Peter Nickl and Illustrated by Jozef Wilkon, features heart-renderingly sweet chalk pastel drawings of a wolf who plays against type. (North-South Books; 1982).

The second find, The Trees Stand Shining, features the poetry of the North American Indians selected by Hettie Jones, and the Paintings of Robert Andrew Parker. I particularly love this little cricket.

I think one of my great pleasures in bookhunting is digging through piles of generic, uninspired illustrations and finding these gems for people to re-discover and re-enjoy, often 30 years after they first debuted. I hope the books that I feature on this page feel fresh and timeless, no matter when they were published. That, I think, is the mark of good writing and illustration.

My Idol, Ellen Raskin

2007-05-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

Ellen Raskin, Author and Illustrator

One of the fun things about pursuing an interest is that you begin to see affinities that you weren't previously aware of. Case in point: My favorite book growing up was The Westing Game (okay, sometimes I might say it was the Beginning Place, but it depended on the day) by Ellen Raskin. For those of you who have never read it, get it. Get it now. It holds up on every level, for kids and adults. This book is what the industry would probably call a "young reader or young adult" novel meaning it is for middle-school age kids or thereabouts. I have read it at least 5 times in my life, twice or more as an adult. I also went on to read her other novels, including The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel), and Figgs and Phantoms.

Now, rewind to 1974, when one of my earliest memories occurs: my parents reading me Moose, Goose and Little Nobody (illustration above), a Parents' Magazine Press book. The illustrations remained imprinted on my brain until my thirties, when I began re-collecting all the old books from my childhood in anticipation of sharing them with my own child. One of the first books I tried to find and buy was Moose, Goose and Little Nobody. When it finally arrived through the mail, I opened the envelope to discover it was written and illustrated by, you guessed it, Ellen Raskin. To that point, I had had no inkling that the novelist I'd admired was also one of the illustrators I had most loved as a child. Since then, I've been trying to acquire all of her other works as well. (Cover art for Who, Said Sue, Said Whoo?, another children's picture book, below.)

One of the things I like about her illustrations is the bold use of color. She doesn't settle for boring old primary colors, either. She doesn't worry about realistic shading, either. Plus, I like her flat perspective and pen and ink outlines. (Hmm, am I sounding like a broken record here?)

Raskin is so funny and quirky, I feel like I want her to be my best friend. Sadly, she died in the 80s. Here is an excellent website about Ellen Raskin. She said her inspirations were: Blake, Conrad, Hawthorne, James, Nabokov, Piero della Francesca, Calude Lorrain, Gaugin, Matisse, Fantasia, Oriental art, baseball, hockey, zoos, medicine, and Spain. What a hoot--she is my hero.

Minimalist illustration from the 60s and 70s

2007-04-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

One of the things I look for when I'm hunting for books is a distinctive illustrative style. Many of the Parents Magazine Press books feature a bold, mimimal style that uses a lot of line drawings. Here, I want to show off some illustrations from books I just listed. First, Attic of the Wind by Doris Herold Lund and illustrated by Ati Forberg, is a stunning combination of cloudy background with brilliant foreground.

Next, The Stonecutter, though not a book I read as a child, seemed to fit perfectly among my collection, because of its bold, block-style prints.

Finally, I found this very obscure book, The Bed that Went Whoosh to Moyle, neglected on the back shelves of a used book store. I knew I had to expose its quirky graphics to the world.

Upstairs, the penguin, was sad.

One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer

2007-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

I bought a new copy of this book for Duncan before he was born. We read it today for the first time. I loved it just as much as I remembered, especially when the Wild Windy Typhoonigator sucks up the entire sea. If you have never read this book, time to try it with your own child!