Bonnie Ferrante's Blog, page 99
April 27, 2014
Nova, Delphina – Turtle’s Dream Illustrated by Curtis Yanito – Book Review
Turtles Dream is a traditional First Nations story written by Delphina Nova, who is a member of Ontario’s Eastern Woodlands tribe and illustrated by Curtis Yanito, who is a member of the Navaho Nation. It is written in the style of oral storytelling.
Turtle calls a meeting of the forest animals to discuss what can be done about the wars between peoples. Humanity has lost its childlike innocence, its ability to laugh, substituting violent competition for harmony. Turtle wants the forest animals to revive their previous communication with humans. They must bring the message of peace and harmony to the people. They must revive humanity’ childlike joy.
I loved the idea that childlike enthusiasm would make the biggest difference in the lives of people. Children have much to teach us. Adult cynicism, greed, and ambition have crushed our natural inclinations to practice kindness and encourage friendship.
The drawings by Curtis Yenito are a combination of pencil crayon and watercolor. The animals are a clever commendation of realism and personified characters. The book ends with an interesting glossary of the meaning of each animal.
I would recommend some changes in the layout of the book, however. The print does not need to be so large. It overwhelms the pictures which should be the major focus. As well, a paragraph should never be broken between two pages, especially if it cuts a sentence in half.
Well recommended.
April 26, 2014
Osborne, Mary Pope – Pompeii Lost and Found – Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen – Book Review
Pompeii Lost and Found is a nonfiction picture book for children in grade 4 and up. It begins with an explanation of the devastation of Pompeii by the volcanic explosion of Mount Vesuvius. The book leads us through the archaeological discoveries of an entombed city. It explains the artifacts and what they mean with regard to the life of the historic city. There is just enough information at each page to pull the reader through the book. It is written in a style sure to intrigue all readers and is filled with juicy tidbits such as, “They’ve also found graffiti written about gladiators, such as ‘Celadus, glory of the girls, heartthrob of the girls.’”
Bonnie Christensen’s amazing illustrations given air of authenticity to the book. She adapts the style of her art to the subject matter once again by creating genuinely frescoes to tell the story of Pompeii. In Italy, the artist learned how to paint pure pigment mixed with water on wet plaster, like the ancient Romans, creating a fresco. She explains the process in a note at the end of the book. As we turn the pages, it feels as though we have walked into an ancient city. The texture of the frescoes is authentic and fascinating.
Children, and adults, of all ages will learn from and enjoy this exceptional book. Highly recommended.
Winner Chosen by Rafflecopter
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest for a free paperback copy of Rayne Shines. Congratulations to Sabrina Bradley.
Follow my blog or facebook page to learn about the new contest coming up in May.
April 24, 2014
Moss, Miriam – Don’t Forget I Love You – Illustrated by Anna Currey – Book Review
This is the story of Billy bear who lives with his mother. He loves his toy stuffed Rabbit so much he does everything with it. He lives with his Mama patiently coax the same to hurry in the morning, washes pars, it is breakfast, get dressed, brush his teeth, and put on his boots and coat. But on the way to nursery school, Billy spills his lunch and they arrived late. Mama drops Billy off and rushes off to work. Heartbroken Billy realizes two things. He can’t find his toy Rabbits and his Mama didn’t say “I love you,” which she always says. Suddenly Mama returns with Rabbit, a hug, and the perfect words,” I forgot to say I love you.”
Working mothers will love this story. It reminds us that we need to be patient with our little ones no matter how hectic our own lives and that the most important thing to our children is our love. As long as a child knows he is loved, he can handle almost anything. Rituals help a child feel secure and nothing is more important than the ritual of saying goodbye in a consistent, reassuring way.
The illustrations by Anna Currey, are in ink and watercolor. They are as soft and warm as the bears themselves.
Highly recommended.
Gaiman, Neil – Chu’s Day. Illustrated by Adam Rex – Book Review
On the very first page, the problem is set up. “When Chu sneezed, bad things happened.” Here we see a little panda bear with his aviator cap wearing a small smile. On the second page, Chu and his mother go to the library. She expresses concern that the old book dust in the air will make him sneeze. He almost does, but shows relief when he doesn’t. His father expresses similar concern when he takes Chu to a diner. Then the entire family goes to a circus. Chu tries to tell them he is about to sneeze, but no one listens. When he does, circus tents are blown over, balloons fly away, I train is derailed, and the diner and the library are also demolished.
Adam Rex’s oil painting illustrations are bright and rich with color. Children will spend a long time examining the expressions and positions of all the circus animals after the sneeze.
Then the story gets a little thin.
After the circus, Chu went to bed. Yup, said Chu. That was a sneeze all right. Good night.
I felt the ending was flat. It didn’t relate to the beginning of the story or the suspense building throughout. I think it would’ve been better with a different ending. Perhaps Chu could shake his feather pillow and feel a sneeze coming on.
April 23, 2014
Godkin, Celia – When the Giant Stirred, Legend of a Volcanic Island – Book Review
This is a nonfiction children’s picture book suited for grades three and up. It is the story of a tropical island where peaceful villagers live in harmony with nature and each other. When the volcano, the villagers call the giant, growls they toss garlands of flowers into the crater. One day this does not calm the threatening rumbles. When the birds leave the island, the chief tells his people they must also leave. They pack everything into small boats and move to another island. The volcano erupts spectacularly. Its power even reaches their new home but the people know they must seek high ground for safety.
Little by little, life returns to the newly shaped island.
I wondered why the book said legend when it felt so much like history. Additional information for older readers is included inside the front and back covers explaining the lifecycles of volcanoes and their effects on Pacific Island people.
This is a compelling story which explains the geographical feature through the eyes of the most vulnerable people. The writing is clear, vivid, and at times even poetic “On the island there was a cool, blue Lagoon, many silvery fish swam in an underwater garden of strange and wondrous animals.”
What a superb way for children to learn about the behaviour and affect of a volcano. The picture book section will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. The additional information provides facts and statistics the scientifically minded will find fascinating.
Celia Godkin illustrates her own work. As with her beautiful illustrations in Wolf Island and Ladybug Garden, the oil paintings glow with life. As the giant sea turtles make their way up the sand, we can imagine the sound of the rustling palm trees and the shifts of the ocean waves meeting the shore. The intense orange red of the fleeing parrots repeats in the flames of the volcanic blast and then reappears at the end with the returning parrots many years later. I love the way Godkin devotes an entire spread, without words, to the vividly exploding volcano, the star of the story. Another amazing book by Celia Godkin.
Highly recommended.
April 22, 2014
Gordon, David – The Three Little Rigs – Book Review
This is one of the more unique adaptations of The three Little Pigs I have read. A yellow, a blue, and a red rig set out on their own. David Gordon explains what tools and materials are used by each rig to build their own garage. The blue one uses wooden planks which are knocked down by the big, bad wrecking ball. The second uses stone blocks, which are also knocked down by the big, bad wrecking ball. The third rig uses steel beams to build his garage. The wrecking ball is unable to knock it down but returns with the mean magnet and the cruel cutter. In the end, the three villains are thrown into the melting pot.
Children who are interested in building and big machines will love this book. It is engaging, clever, and informative.
The illustrations are clear, bright, and strike a perfect balance between simplicity and detail. Although the main characters are machines, Gordon manages to infuse them with expression. The double-page spreads have the feeling of a movie screen, understandable since Gordon has worked for Pixar and other companies. I think they are digitally drawn. There are number of pages with interesting perspectives and shading is used well to provide mood.
Since the child, hopefully, already knows the story, the tension is reduced. But, Gordon arouses our curiosity as to how the formidable villain will be defeated. I would’ve liked the sentence explaining why the wrecking ball wanted to destroy all the garages. In the original version, we know that the big bad Wolf is hungry.
Well recommended.
April 21, 2014
Crews, Donald – Night at the Fair – Book Review
The book begins at the main gate of a fair where people are lining up to buy tickets and are drawn by the lure of the bright lights. With the black background, the watercolor pictures pop, especially the yellow and white lights. The individual faces could have had more detail and expression on several of the pages. Each double spread illustration gave a clear idea of the exuberance and clutter of the fair.
The story was lacking. Basically, we are taken on a tour of the sites at the fair. There is no central character to follow. There is absolutely no tension in the story at all. It feels more like a collection of drawings than a storybook. It could be used to build a child’s excitement before his first trip to the fair, but otherwise it’s the kind of book that would be looked through once with mild interest.
Not recommended.
April 20, 2014
Peek Merle author and illustrator of Roll Over! A Counting Song – Book Review
This is a new version of the classic song Roll Over which begins “10 in the bed and the little one said: “Rollover! Rollover!” They all rolled over and one fell out. I assumed that these were stuffed toy animals the boy had crowded into his bed.
The illustrations appear to be pen and ink and watercolor. The pages are done entirely in soft yellow, blue, and white.
The little boy begins his night by sharing the bed with a bear, snake, rabbit, monkey, and so on. After all the animals have fallen out of bed and the child is “alone at last!”, he falls asleep. The animals are now pictured in a wallpaper border encircling the room below the ceiling. So, I guess they weren’t stuffed animals after all.
While this is a novel concept for the song, I felt the pictures were lacking in interest. They needed either more detail or more color. I realize the story took place at night, but since the words were already familiar, the illustrations needed to draw the reader in more.
Not recommended.
