Book Review of Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

This week I am reviewing Brian Selznick's novel, Wonderstruck which you can find at Amazon or your local library.  I chose Wonderstruck because I had read Mr. Selznick's previous novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which my children and I just loved.  And just like Hugo, Ben, the main character of Wonderstruck is an orphan, trying to find the secret to his past.  Both Hugo and Ben are, in a way, searching for their fathers.  Hugo has an automaton which his father had restored partially and he sets out to re-restore because he believes it will tell him something his father wanted him to know.  In the end, it leads him to find the actually inventor of the machine and ultimately to a new family.

The same themes are explored in Wonderstruck.  We meet Ben, newly orphaned when his mother is killed in an automobile accident.  He is already partially deaf and that deafness becomes complete when he begins to try to locate his father, whom he has never met and about whom his mother had never spoken.  An impulsive and brave boy, he sets out for New York City where he hopes to find this mysterious man by following an address he finds in an old book about the American Museum of Natural History he discovers among his mother's things.  Chance takes over and Ben is swept along my his own desires and dreams as well as the clues which lead to more clues and finally to an unexpected discovery not only about his father but about himself.

Mr. Selznick doesn't just spin a yarn with rich prose, which he does indeed do.  He also tells a story in pictures.  As in Hugo, Mr. Selznick gives the reader illustration after illustration, leading them along with each page turn, telling with pictures.  In Hugo, he uses the pictures to create action and suspense.  In Wonderstruck he uses the illustrations to tell a parallel story of a deaf girl who is also on a journey to find something, but for her it is freedom and a place in the world.  And it seems wonderfully appropriate that her story is told through our eyes and imagination as she is unable to speak.  Ben on the other hand is able to speak to other characters and thus to us.  He is never truly silent only without the ability to hear.

Wonderstruck is a compelling story of the need we all have to know who we are and where we come from. Often that means knowing who our parents and even our grandparents are.  And like Hugo, in Mr. Selznick's previous novel, Ben also finds a family who understands and loves him at the end of his journey.  My children and I loved following Ben and the little girl through the text and the pictures.  Mr. Selznick's illustrations are so beautiful and full of details and story.  I hope you will pick up a copy of Wonderstruck and follow along on the journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read about what I thought of this lovely book.  I hope it will inspire you to read more illustrated books which shouldn't be looked down upon as only being for children.  I think the really excellent ones are for all of us.  Please leave a comment and tell me what your favorite children's books are!

Book Review of Sleep Like a Tiger

This week I am reviewing Sleep Like a Tiger written by Mary Logue and illustrated by Pamela Zaarenski.  Maybe I felt attracted to this book because I need more of what it is telling a story about!  A little girl, reluctant to succumb to the natural inclination to slumber, asks her very patient parents, "Does everything in the world go to sleep?"  In lovely sleepy similes  her parents assure her that all the creatures, even those which do not seem to, sleep.

Finally the little girl tells of a creature who sleeps to become strong; the tiger.  So slowly, even after her parents give her permission to stay awake all night, she falls asleep like the strong tiger.

Accompanying Ms. Logue's prose are the dreamy paintings of Ms. Zagarenski.  Each one is filled with pattern as you might find on soft comforters and quilts.  The soft pastels sooth the eye as the story soothes the ears.  And in the midst of the patterns are figures which seem flat in one way, but are solid and heavy in another, giving a feeling of settling down and finding the place to stay and rest.

My children listened to the story just before bed.  My son, a third grader, recognized the similes Ms. Logue use to describe the sleep the animals and enjoyed them very much.  As they listened  they became quiet and restful.

In this beautiful picture book, we say goodbye to the sun and follow the moon and stars across the surreal landscape, watching the little girl's eyes grow heavier with each turning page.  Ms. Logue's skill as a story teller shines in this bedtime tale about settling into bed and Ms. Zagarenski tucks us in with sleepy bears, slumbering dogs and snoring tigers.

To see more of the work of Caldecott honor medalist Pamela Zagarenski go to her site.  Mary Logue is the author of other works intended for adults and young adults.  For a great review of this book written by Julia Danielson, follow this link to Kirkus Reviews.  You can purchase this picture book at Amazon.com or visit your local library.  This is Ms. Logue's first picture book and I think, as I drift off, that she has created a beautiful piece of art.

Book Review of The Land of Milk and Honey by Joyce Carol Thomas

It's Thursday and it's time to look into another picture book.  Can I just say I love picture books!  It's an art gallery for your lap, to leisurely gaze at beautiful pictures full of story and emotion.

I found these things in abundance along with lilting poetry that tells the story of a young girl with her family on their way to the Land of Milk and Honey.

The Land of Milk and Honey is written by Joyce Carol Thomas and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, both of whom are award winning in their crafts.

In this story, published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in 2012, we go along on a journey with the author as a young girl, leaving Oklahoma for the far away place of California.  She dreams of this land of milk and honey, a place of promise and hope.

Ms. Thomas' voice is full of lovely poetic imagery like, "if you bite into a strawberry and taste heaven in your mouth" and "... I catch the desert dance of a coyote chasing a rabbit through tumbling sage bush."  Her words are pictures in themselves and Mr. Cooper's paintings, full of warm light, seem to be the words come to life before our eyes.

I love the faces of the children, full of playfulness and joy.  The mother is elegant and steadfast as she guides them on their way.  I feel the hope they feel as they arrive in this land of promise - as the title implies with biblical language.

This is a sweet, joyful story that expresses well the excitement and hope of the emigrant  whether from another country or another state.  New beginnings are full of promise and this delightfully told and illustrated book turns from any doubts about those beginnings and fully embraces the possibilities when a new journey starts.

Thanks for stopping by to read my review.  You can find The Land of Milk and Honey at Amazon or your local library.  I would love for you to leave a comment!

Book Review of Persephone, written by Sally Pomme Clayton

I found a lovely book this week at the library and decided to pick it up after speaking to my daughter's teacher.  They are discussing mythology and she had told the class the story of Persephone.  It was a happy coincidence that I found Persephone written by Sally Pomme Clayton and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers prettily displayed on the new book shelf waiting for someone to pick it up.  I thought, what a splendid book to start my children off with an understanding of mythology.

Sally Pomme Clayton (link to her site) has retold the ancient story of the abduction of Demeter's daughter in an appealing and poetic way.  Sweet, innocent Persephone, plucking flowers in the spring meadows is herself plucked by the dark and mysterious and somehow dangerous Lord of the Underworld, Hades.

Virginia Lee (link to her site) is the talented illustrator whose soft paintings evoke a feeling of timeless eternity, perfect for this story of the changing seasons.  Demeter's distress and grief, Persephone's sadness and Hades mystery are delicately portrayed in the full spread illustrations.  I found myself swept away by the story and the magnificent artwork, lost in the soft earthen tones, delicate faces and intricate details which so poignantly add to Ms. Clayton's words.

My children enjoyed the story and I had an opportunity to talk to them about how Greek mythology has shaped our western literature and the commonality of the deities in many ancient religions.  We also discussed how the religious beliefs of ancient cultures compare and contrast to our own Christian beliefs.  And I found the brief synopsis of the significance of the myth at the end of the book a nice way to help children take a first step into these foundations of western literature.

Spend some time in the misty far away memories of an ancient culture  resurrected by Sally Pomme Clayton's lush prose and enlivened by Virginia Lee's gorgeous illustrations which draw us into that far away place of myth and story.  You can find Persephone at Amazon or your local library.  Other books by Ms. Clayton are Greek Myths: Stories of Sun, Stone and Sea, Tales Told in Tents: Stories from Central Asia and Rama and Sita: Path of Flame.

I would love for you to leave a comment about this review and let me know if it was helpful.  Also, please suggest other picture books that you have read.  I am always looking for beautiful books to share with my children!