This goofy picture book is a random, run-on series of disjointed thoughts by a cute little shell. If you've seen the popular video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU), you'll recognize much of the story. But it's still worth revisiting. Seven million times. Because I still laugh every time.
As a stand-alone, the book is still funny. Little kids think and talk the same way Marcel does - in strings of tangentally related thoughts on their everyday life. Marcel's size offers a different perspective on everyday objects, and you'll probably never look at bread the same way again.
I bought the book, and donated it to the library for Christmas.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy
The tiny island of Guernsey, off the coast of France but part of the UK, was occupied by German forces during WWII. Island residents who hadn't fled lived under Nazi rule for five years.
In this book, a young wife lives out the occupation while caring for two daughters and her elderly mother-in-law while her husband serves overseas. A group of German soldiers take up residence in the vacant house next door to Vivienne - just across the hedgerow and definitely within earshot. How the two groups interact and relate throughout the war becomes our story.
A couple of years ago, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows was on the best-seller list and covered a similar subject matter. Honestly, I also thought it covered the topic better. "The Soldier's Wife" takes a more melodramatic tone and a certain Harlequin-romance element sneaks around the edges of the storyline.
But while I saw the ending coming from a bomber's distance away, there were enough interesting twists to keep me reading. I find the idea of living in wartime a great dramatic foil and an interesting subject - I just wish this hadn't been quite so close to the previous book.
In this book, a young wife lives out the occupation while caring for two daughters and her elderly mother-in-law while her husband serves overseas. A group of German soldiers take up residence in the vacant house next door to Vivienne - just across the hedgerow and definitely within earshot. How the two groups interact and relate throughout the war becomes our story.
A couple of years ago, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows was on the best-seller list and covered a similar subject matter. Honestly, I also thought it covered the topic better. "The Soldier's Wife" takes a more melodramatic tone and a certain Harlequin-romance element sneaks around the edges of the storyline.
But while I saw the ending coming from a bomber's distance away, there were enough interesting twists to keep me reading. I find the idea of living in wartime a great dramatic foil and an interesting subject - I just wish this hadn't been quite so close to the previous book.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan
Absolutely not another vampire book. Really! (Just immortals - they're not vampires. :))
Nastasya (Nasty to her reprobate friends) is about 400 years old. She's seen and been everywhere, so by now she's desperately looking any kind of a thrill: alcohol, drugs, sex - the usual kinds of debauchery. But then something happens, and Nasty begins to wonder if there's more to life.
So she goes into hiding, finding a commune-of-sorts especially for immortals like herself. Reluctantly she begins mucking the barn, growing spinach, scrubbing floors, meditating and studying crystals - in short, trying to learn to be a better human (who lives forever).
It makes perfect sense to me that if you are forced into immortality, at some point you could lose your morality. Nasty's quest for a better self is agonizing, and she spends a lot of time sabotaging her own journey. That makes it a story that will resonate for many people. And while I understand the marketing of a supernatural novel is easier in the teen market, I really think a lot of "mature" readers will find this book engaging.
The writing is captivating, and the story also encompasses ancient flashbacks, modern-day romance and family drama, and hints of a much bigger storm brewing on the horizon for Nastasya. This is the first book in a trilogy, but I didn't feel like the story was incomplete. While the end certainly doesn't wrap everything up in a neat bow, I was satisfied and still curious about the next book's release date (pushed back to Jan 2012).
Nastasya (Nasty to her reprobate friends) is about 400 years old. She's seen and been everywhere, so by now she's desperately looking any kind of a thrill: alcohol, drugs, sex - the usual kinds of debauchery. But then something happens, and Nasty begins to wonder if there's more to life.
So she goes into hiding, finding a commune-of-sorts especially for immortals like herself. Reluctantly she begins mucking the barn, growing spinach, scrubbing floors, meditating and studying crystals - in short, trying to learn to be a better human (who lives forever).
It makes perfect sense to me that if you are forced into immortality, at some point you could lose your morality. Nasty's quest for a better self is agonizing, and she spends a lot of time sabotaging her own journey. That makes it a story that will resonate for many people. And while I understand the marketing of a supernatural novel is easier in the teen market, I really think a lot of "mature" readers will find this book engaging.
The writing is captivating, and the story also encompasses ancient flashbacks, modern-day romance and family drama, and hints of a much bigger storm brewing on the horizon for Nastasya. This is the first book in a trilogy, but I didn't feel like the story was incomplete. While the end certainly doesn't wrap everything up in a neat bow, I was satisfied and still curious about the next book's release date (pushed back to Jan 2012).
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
A twist on the traditional antebellum novel, The Kitchen House is the story of a white orphan girl indentured at the ship captain's estate to pay for her now-deceased family's fare to America.
Lavinia is raised in the kitchen house, and enfolded into Mama Mae's family - a close-knit, proud and loyal negro slave family on the Pyke plantation. She's completely accepted as a member of the family, yet she doesn't understand why sometimes things are different for her; she truly doesn't see that she's any different from any of her playmates or workmates.
Equal parts wise and naive, Lavinia is pushed and pulled along the course of her life, sometimes based on fate and other times due to her actions. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her, but I also know we do our best based on the information we have at-hand.
The library's book discussion group chose this book, and I really had to scramble to finish it in time. But it's actually a quick read, and I found it completely captivating. The audiobook is narrated by two women, Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin, as chapters alternate viewpoint between Lavinia and her surrogate mother Belle. Both women are excellent narrators (Turpin was also part of The Help's audio team), and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them.
Lavinia is raised in the kitchen house, and enfolded into Mama Mae's family - a close-knit, proud and loyal negro slave family on the Pyke plantation. She's completely accepted as a member of the family, yet she doesn't understand why sometimes things are different for her; she truly doesn't see that she's any different from any of her playmates or workmates.
Equal parts wise and naive, Lavinia is pushed and pulled along the course of her life, sometimes based on fate and other times due to her actions. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her, but I also know we do our best based on the information we have at-hand.
The library's book discussion group chose this book, and I really had to scramble to finish it in time. But it's actually a quick read, and I found it completely captivating. The audiobook is narrated by two women, Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin, as chapters alternate viewpoint between Lavinia and her surrogate mother Belle. Both women are excellent narrators (Turpin was also part of The Help's audio team), and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Little Goblins Ten
by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jane Manning
It is definitely the season for goblin related books. In my search for something "slightly scary", I came across this new counting book. Counting books can be a lot of fun when reading with little ones. I think my favorite part of this book is that each number features a different ghoul and his/her children, but each one appears to be a single parent. So often children's books feature multiple adults in the lives of children, but this author recognizes that there is a distinct group of kids that have only one parent at home. The illustrations are purely fun; all these characters that could be scary are simply cute in this story.
It is definitely the season for goblin related books. In my search for something "slightly scary", I came across this new counting book. Counting books can be a lot of fun when reading with little ones. I think my favorite part of this book is that each number features a different ghoul and his/her children, but each one appears to be a single parent. So often children's books feature multiple adults in the lives of children, but this author recognizes that there is a distinct group of kids that have only one parent at home. The illustrations are purely fun; all these characters that could be scary are simply cute in this story.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The lamb who came for dinner
by Steve Smallman
Wolf is very hungry. He really doesn't want plain vegetable soup on such a cold winter's night. Luckily, the morsel of his dreams happens to knock on the front door. Can the big, bad wolf follow through on his dastardly plan when the sweet, timid lamb starts to warm his heart?
So often, wolves are depicted as horrible creatures in children's literature. It's nice to see one experience a bit of remorse before carrying out his scheme. This would be a fun story time read. In fact, the only thing I didn't enjoy was the fact that the wolf's name becomes, "Woof". I'm a stickler for using that "L" when pronouncing "wolf". Joelle Dreidemy's illustrations are sinister and sweet in all the right places. I particularly enjoyed the wolf's stripey socks.
Wolf is very hungry. He really doesn't want plain vegetable soup on such a cold winter's night. Luckily, the morsel of his dreams happens to knock on the front door. Can the big, bad wolf follow through on his dastardly plan when the sweet, timid lamb starts to warm his heart?
So often, wolves are depicted as horrible creatures in children's literature. It's nice to see one experience a bit of remorse before carrying out his scheme. This would be a fun story time read. In fact, the only thing I didn't enjoy was the fact that the wolf's name becomes, "Woof". I'm a stickler for using that "L" when pronouncing "wolf". Joelle Dreidemy's illustrations are sinister and sweet in all the right places. I particularly enjoyed the wolf's stripey socks.
What will fat cat sit on?
by Jan Thomas
Fat cat is looking for somewhere to sit. Unfortunately, he looks at each of his friends first. Who will find a reasonable solution before someone gets squished? This book ends with another question about the next thing fat cat is looking to do.
A humorous look at the adventures of a few select animals that every child will know. The illustrations are simple enough to make this a great choice for a toddler story time.
Fat cat is looking for somewhere to sit. Unfortunately, he looks at each of his friends first. Who will find a reasonable solution before someone gets squished? This book ends with another question about the next thing fat cat is looking to do.
A humorous look at the adventures of a few select animals that every child will know. The illustrations are simple enough to make this a great choice for a toddler story time.
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