Dear Heather Henson and David Small,

That Book Woman – Heather Henson, illust. David Small – 32 pages

“Cal is not the readin’ type. Living way high up in the Appalachian Mountains, he’d rather help Pap plow or go out after wandering sheep than try some book learning. Nope. Cal does not want to sit stoney-still reading some chicken scratch. But that Book Woman keeps coming just the same. She comes in the rain. She comes in the snow. She comes right up the side of the mountain, and Cal knows that’s not easy riding. And all just to lend his sister some books. Why, that woman must be plain foolish — or is she braver than he ever thought?”  –from Books.SimonandSchuster.com

When I saw the cover of That Book Woman and recognized that lovely loose artistic style, I just had to pick it up.  Mr. Small, I’m a huge huge fan of your art, which I’m sure I’ve said before, because I’ve reviewed others of your books on this site.  Still, can’t hurt to say it again–your art, particularly the picturebooks, make me giddy with joy and extraordinarily jealous of the way your style makes it look so easy.  I know most good artists make their work look easy, but for some reason the kind of line you have and the way it flows makes me imagine that you just touch pen to paper and suddenly amazing things happen by some sort of crazy magic.

With the fangirling out of the way, now I can get on to what a visual pleasure this book is for me just in its own right.  The composition, full of wide pulled-back shots and extreme close-up foregrounds, keeps every page fresh and makes me really feel the wide open space, the distance from this hilltop cabin to any other kind of civilization.  The colors are understated and used in unexpected ways to great effect, and the overall messy sort of look is really endearing and evocative.  It matches the text, the pleasantly messy dialect, to a T.  (What a weird phrase, to a T.  Where on earth does it come from?  Hmm, I sense internet research in my future.)

Of course, the words are entirely brilliant too, Ms. Henson–it’s fairly rare to see a picturebook that’s written in free verse, when so much poetry for children is rhyming.  I love the measured way you and Cal tell his story, the gentle rocking flow that, in my head, mimics the trusty, steady motion of the Book Woman’s horse.  And what a truly fantastic message!  That books are as necessary for living as food and shelter, that encouraging a reader is worth such effort through hardship and the elements, and that a reader can be made out of anyone, if they only want to try it.  I want to meet the Book Woman, and have her bring books like this one to me.

When this book came up in mock Caldecott discussion with my book club last year, there were a variety of reactions–perhaps it isn’t everyone’s style–but I think it’s lovely and brilliant, and every time I re-read it I’m struck in some way by a detail of the art or by a turn of phrase that makes me glad I have it on my shelf.  Five stars from me, hooray for books!

Love,

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Dear A. David Lewis, mpMann and Jennifer Rodgers,

The Lone and Level Sands – A. David Lewis, mpMann and Jennifer Rodgers – 160 pages

“Pharaoh Ramses II hasn’t seen his long-lost cousin Moses in nearly forty years. Yet while pressed by the Hittites to the North and construction delays in the South, Ramses must make time for this ancient desert rascal, the long-ago mystery he represents, and the impossible demands of an alien deity. Drawing on the Bible, the Qur’an, and historical sources, writer A. David Lewis (Mortal Coils) and artist Marvin Perry Mann (Arcana Jayne) present a retelling of the Book of Exodus through the eyes of the man who is either its greatest leader or its worst villain: a man trying to rule wisely, love his family well, and deal justly in the face of a divine wrath.” – taken from the publisher’s website.

The Lone and Level Sands is an odd but well-woven mix of extrapolation, Biblical storytelling, and murky ancient history.  I’m not entirely sure how much of the story of Moses, or at least of Ramses II, is actually historical, but I’m sure that anything documented somehow wound up in this graphic novel.  You’ve got an intriguing political story set alongside the more familiar spiritual one, and it’s a perspective I don’t think I’ve quite seen before.  Clearly it’s all reminiscent to me of The Prince of Egypt, because I love that movie and have seen it a million times, and the basic story is the same.  You take less license with appearance, which I appreciated–though it’s cool to see Moses as a heroic young man, it’s probably more accurate to portray him in the aged way you do, and it changes the dynamic between Moses and Ramses dramatically.  I also enjoyed the focus on Ramses’ family, his relationship with Nefertari and with his son made the whole thing more emotionally gripping.

I agree with what a reviewer quoted on the publisher’s website said, in that this is an “intelligent book.”  I think, though, that it’s a little dense–both in plot, which might have been easier to follow if taken at a slower pace, and in art, which was interestingly stylized but difficult to “read” in such volume and in a relatively small size.  That said, you’ve done something really interesting here, and I found it enlightening though not completely engrossing.  Four stars!

Love,

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Books this year: 90

Pages this year: 17,253

Dear Pamela Porter,

The Crazy Man – Pamela Porter – 176 pages

It’s 1965 on a small Saskatchewan farm when Emmaline’s dog Prince runs in front of her father’s tractor.  Emmaline leaps in to save him, without thinking, and is caught under the tractor in his stead.  Her father, torn with grief and guilt over his daughter’s crippling injury, shoots Prince and runs away; Emmaline and her mother are left alone on the farm.  Desperate, Emmaline’s mother hires Angus from the local mental hospital to do the heavy field work, and in spite of the wild rumors and prejudices of a small town, Emmaline discovers that Angus may be exactly what their family needs.

I love a good novel in verse, and The Crazy Man is a really good novel in verse.  It was a well-chosen gift from someone who always picks excellent books for me, and I’m glad she found it, because otherwise it might never have crossed my path.  You’ve got the Karen Hesse Out of the Dust vibe going on here, historical fiction in free verse, and I adored it.  You have a really light touch, with a lot of plain language that’s beautiful in its starkness, and a lot of subtlety.  I love the way you use the simplest actions and body language to convey a character’s inner workings–it’s a style I aspire to, but I’m usually just too in love with the sound of my own words to pull it off.    You’ve written a painful yet hopeful book about loss, a gentle statement about prejudice and mental illness, and a great introduction for people who don’t like or “don’t get” poetry, all in one slim volume.  Well done, you get four stars!

Love,

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Books this year: 89

Pages this year: 17,093

Dear Donna Jo Napoli,

Back when I took your Writing for Children class at Bryn Mawr, I hadn’t read any of your books.  Since then I’ve read a few, and enjoyed them, so when I got my hands on a galley of Alligator Bayou I was pretty psyched about it.  I found it fascinating–a lot of historical fiction doesn’t appeal to me, but being of Italian descent made me more immediately interested in a story about Sicilian immigrants.  Anyway, your book described a rather shameful portion of American history that I had only a vague awareness of, and I’m grateful both for the learning experience and for your compelling storytelling.  A good solid four-star read with a heartwrenching ending.

Love,

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Dear Judy Blundell,

I’m sad to say, considering this won the National Book Award, I’m not terribly impressed. It was well-written, it gets four stars, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. Evie, the main character, wasn’t very likeable to me, so I didn’t have much empathy for the situations she winds up in. The twists of the plot were pretty easy to guess, even chapters ahead of time–if that was a conscious choice, I didn’t like it very much, and if it wasn’t, then…well, the secrets weren’t hidden enough to be secrets…more I’m sad to say, considering What I Saw and How I Lied won the National Book Award, I’m not terribly impressed.  It was well-written, it gets four stars, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.  Evie, the main character, wasn’t very likeable to me, so I didn’t have much empathy for the situations you put her in.   The twists of the plot were pretty easy to guess, even chapters ahead of time–if that was a conscious choice, I didn’t like it very much, and if it wasn’t, then…well, the secrets weren’t hidden enough to be secrets for long.

Perhaps my opinion is colored by the fact that the becoming-a-woman-by-wearing-Mom’s-dresses-and-wearing-lipstick-and-kissing-older-boys theme going on is not one I particularly enjoy. Someone who likes 40′s and 50′s era fiction might think it’s the best book ever, and I’ll certainly recommend it if that desire comes up at the store–but it wasn’t the book for me.

Love,

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Dear Molly Gloss,

This was a beautiful, beautiful book. I know the title kind of stinks, and it’s a turn-off for anyone who isn’t a lover of horses like I am. But really, even if you hate horses, this book is worth it. It’s really more about people, and about war, and about what I think the real, actual West was probably like. The prose is smooth and easy and old-timey, and the plot is full of humanity and tragedy and gentle charm (and enough horsey bits to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside). Also, it b…more The Hearts of Horses was a beautiful, beautiful book.  The title kind of stinks, it’s a turn-off for anyone who isn’t a lover of horses like I am.  But really, even for someone who hates horses, this book is worth it.  It’s really more about people, and about war, and about what I think the real, actual West was probably like.  Your prose is smooth and easy and old-timey, and the plot is full of humanity and tragedy and gentle charm (and enough horsey bits to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside).  Also, it boasts one of the sweetest, shyest romance side plots that I’ve read in a while, which is nothing to sneeze at.  I was very pleasantly surprised, and I’m giving it five horseshoes–uh, I mean, stars.

Love,

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Dear Steve Kluger,

After you blew me away with My Most Excellent Year, I had to go back and read more of your stuff to find out what I’d been missing.  DAMN.  Last Days of Summer was just as good, and broke my heart into about a million pieces even though I knew what was going to happen and I think you wanted me to know from the get-go.  You rock, and you’re getting five stars from me again.

PS – You rock extra for putting in passing mentions of Buddy Hassett, who is well-known in my family as my grandfather’s supposed long-lost twin.  It’s a long and compelling conspiracy theory story.

Love,

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Dear Laurie Halse Anderson,

Wow.  Chains was really, really great.  I didn’t expect to be as absorbed as I was–I’m not usually a huge fan of historical fiction, but this was heartbreaking in all the right places, and complicated in all the right ways, and set in New York, which was cool.  Also, the cover design gives me a book boner, it’s so pretty.  Five stars!  I can’t wait for the sequel!

Love,

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Dear Margaret McMullan,

When I Crossed No-Bob was a surprise. The cover wasn’t doing it for me, the description didn’t grab me, but I had the galley in my box of things to read, and figured I might as well. I loved it. I read it in a matter of hours–just zoomed right through, delighted the whole way. The narrator’s voice is engaging, and rang really emotionally true for me. The moral message I think you were aiming for might be a little too obvious for some, but it wasn’t for me, I found the ideology to be folded into the story very palatably. Is palatably a word? It is now.  Surprise, five stars!

Love,

Wanna check out this title for yourself?  Try the Indie Bound or ABC bookstore finders!