Valentina's room

Picture Book Monday: "The Great Paper Caper" by Oliver Jeffers

2008-10-13T09:00:00.001+01:00

Ok, resistance is futile. I have to review this book. I'd have rather feature a new unknown author or illustrator, but Oliver Jeffers just keeps producing such great books that I can't just ignore him. Basically all he has done is in my favourite list:
How to catch a star, Lost and Found, The Incredible Book Eating Boy are just masterpieces. The Way Back Home was nice too. And now this:

"A thrilling tale of mystery, crime, alibis, paper planes, a forest, and a bear who wanted to win."

The story is this:
Things are not as they should be in the forest. Branches have been disappearing from the trees mysteriously. All the inhabitants are puzzled. The owl, the duck, the beaver, the pig, the fawn and the boy. They all start accusing each other but they all solid alibis. So they decide to get to the bottom of things and find the culprit...

As usual Oliver Jeffers uses bare, almost stylized illustrations, that manage to be so surprisingly expressive. I mean, he draws sticks for legs (with no feet), dots for eyes, the boy's body is a rectangle and basically everything looks like is being sketched. And yet they are enriched by small details, humour, imagination and originality, that bring everything to life.

The story is a mystery with a final importance message: save the trees. But also learn how to make great paper planes!
I love its autumn feel, it's just perfect for the season.
Also for a picture book with fairly little text it introduces some big words like "alibi" and "prosecutor".
And as if all this wasn't enough, Oliver Jeffers added a little extra which should make a lot of kids happy. The dust jacket (which doesn't appear in the picture of the cover that I found) is a paper plane manual in disguise! Once you take it off it reveals an even better cover and the jacket can be read and then used for making a plane,but I haven't tried it cause I've only borrowed the book :)
Oh and it also has instructions on how to make more paper after you've finished using the plane, which should be very interesting.

For "All Ages +", as the back cover says.

"Take it easy": my dream bookshop

2008-10-10T20:14:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I started daydreaming about the day when I will open my own bookshop...and I thought it was so good I had to share. It would be called "Take it Easy", and its name would reflect its mission: a place where we take everything the easy way. Absolutely no uniforms. Individualism in dressing would be encouraged, as well as in the hairdos, make up and everything else. Staff behaviour should be friendly and open but not sales driven. Customers should feel like they're stepping in their own place, like a second home, where they're welcome but not pushed to buy or to make conversation. The shop and the shelves should be neat and tidy but the shelves and the walls would be customised by the staff and the customers: stickers, accessories, any kind of decoration. All the posters would be hand-made, painted by a member of staff recruited for their artistic skills. Or any of us should try out our artistic senses.
Then, and here I think it's the best part, the sections wouldn't be your regular, traditional ones. Well, yes, I would retain maybe the main "Fiction" or "Biographies" for examples. But the main features should be sections like "Books to keep you awake at night" , "Unputtadownables", "Banned books you should read", "Future Classics", "Non-sappy romances", "Gates to the Otherworld", "Books you shouldn't bother, you're warned"(I'd say that'd be a small section, but yuu always have those people who always want to do the opposite of what they're told...), "Comfort reading", "Recommended by customers" and others...
Then I'd have a section for the dead stock (unreturnables) with a mailbox beside it for people to leave whatever they think the book is worth ( inspired by Hay-on-Wye!).
I imagine the shop itself to be very colourful. Also, if there's enough space, I'd like it to have a small coffe-shop, run by the staff at turns. I don't want a different company inside it. I would hire someone to bake organic and fair-trade cookies, muffins and cakes. And pancakes in the morning. This idea is stolen straight from my other dream job which is a coffe-shop with lots of other things going on, but that's another story. If I can't have that one, I'd have a bit of both in them. So, in my "Take it easy" bookshop, there would be regular gigs in the evening, with locals or emerging bands, and obviously book launches as well!
To encourage the building of a community of people I would offer free coffee or cake to anyone who writes a review for our newsletter/magazine. Also I'd have bookclubs, make-and-do clubs, knitting clubs, and lots of other stuff.
It'd be AWESOME!
Now, who's willing to put the money in? :P
No? Ok then, I'll keep dreaming:)

Fire and Hemlock - Diana Wynne Jones

2008-10-08T20:12:00.007+01:00

It took me ages to review Fire and Hemlock. I just didn't feel ready. I loved it, but I wasn't sure what to say about it because the book lost me completely towards the end, and it almost gave me a headache. So, how can you save you enjoyed a book, if it gave you a headache, you might ask? Well, first of all, I loved it immensily till the last 50 pages, more or less. Then I kept reading but I had no clue what was going on. That was partly due to my ignorance. If I knew a little about the ballads of Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin it would have helped really a lot. So, my advice to those who haven't read it: Don't be scared, but do a bit of homework first. It'll be worth it.

The book tells the story of Polly, who, at 19 years old, realises that something is missing from her memories. Something very important that a picture called "Fire and Hemlock" suddenly brings back to her mind, after many years. Going back to when she was 10, Polly starts remembering about that day when she gate-crashed a funeral at that big mansion, near her grand-mother's house. There she had met Tom Lynn, and together they had slowly started something quite extraordinary. Then she had done something terrible, and Tom had disappeared from her life.
The narration starts almost at the end, and goes backwards to tell how Polly met Tom, and how their friendships created a whole sets of adventures while interfering with long established other-wordly recurrencies...

What I found most compelling about this story is that it's not fast-paced like so many fantasies for children. I think some writers think that kids today are too hyperactive therefore they need to keep their focus constantly by adding one action scene after the other. But this superfast rhythm leaves no space for actually savouring the characters, finding a cosy place beside their lives and getting attached to them so that you never want to leave them. Which is exactly what Diana Wynne Jones does in this book. Easily and gently, her writing lulls you into the characters' world and without even realising it, it conquers your complete attention.
The story follows Polly growing from childhood into adolescence, showing her difficult relationship with her impossibly selfish mother and her absent father, her school activities and her normal day-to-day life. Her adventures are always linked with the real world, and often the magical happens in subtle ways. It's not a green-lights-flashing from-the-sky sort of magic. But it's there, and it gets more and more real by the page.
After all Diana Wynne Jones herself stated: what I wanted to do really was to write a book in which modern life and heroic mythical events approached one another so closely that they were nearly impossible to separate.Exactly what I meant to say, but better.

Her relationship with Tom is beautiful and complicated. At the beginning it feels a bit uncomfortable. After all she is only 10 and he is much older, although it's never properly specified. But after a while it just becomes part of the story. Tom is great fun, playing along Polly and making up their hero stories through their letters. And Polly has all the freshness and wild imagination of childhood. I love the fact that Tom sends books to Polly. It has an important meaning to the story, but it also shows Jones's literary loves: The Golden Bough, Lord of the Rings, The three musketeers, The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe, The Sword in the stone, Five Children and it,The Wizard of Oz, etc...
Then as Polly grows older the relationships starts to take a different, but I'd say, inevitable course, and that's when everything changes.

There's so much in this book, a review is not enough. It's literally packed with references, and it's so well structured is astonishing. Everything is there for a reason, everything means something, although I couldn't quite tell you what.
Nymeth has kindly directed me towards an essay that the writer wrote about this book, which I found extremely exciting.
You see, I've done literature in college, where you had to read essays after essays of people speculating on other people's writing. But here I had the actual writer analising her work just like a scholar! Exactly like it. Saying "this was there because I wanted to represent this and that"or "Polly's name means this and that" or even "The whole book's pattern refers to this other book...".
So much for just a story for children.
But don't be put off. Yes, it's complicated. Yes, it has many layers. But it can also be enjoyed just for the story, without knowing much about anything else. It still is completely gripping.
It's a fantasy story with a true heroine, smart and brave, who ultimately fights to win her love. A must read.

ps: here is the link to the essay, scroll down till the end of the page. It's easier to read if you print it. But DON'T read it before the book, it contains MAJOR spoilers!

other blog reviews:
Lightheaded
Nymeth
Rhinoa
Epiphany
Geranium's Cat

Got any more?please, let me know, I'd be glad to add it to the list!

Cybils 2008 - time for the nominations!

2008-10-06T19:22:00.005+01:00

Being too tired to post a review for Picture Book Monday I'd like to remind you about the Cybils 2008 and the fact that they're accepting your nominations now!
Cybils stands for Children and Young Adult Bloggers literary awards. Awesome, isn't it? All you have to do is pick one book (only) for each category (which include Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Fiction, Non-fiction: Middle Grade and Young Adult, Non-fiction Picture Books, Poetry, Young Adult Fiction, Easy Readers) and post it in the comments. Go do it now!

100 most frequently banned or challenged books of the 21st century (2000-2007)

2008-10-05T11:59:00.006+01:00

In researching reviews for Huckleberry Finn to add to my review below I realised that I had just reviewed one of the most banned books of all time, during Banned Book Week! and I haven't even mentioned it! And I haven't even had a single post about it! ( I know it's only in the US, but I can be supportive, can't I?)
So, even if the week was officially over yesterday, I want to make up for it by doing this little meme about the most frequently banned books of the 21st century (I can't believe we're still talking about banned books in the 21st century......).
In bold the ones I have read. In purple those already in my wish list.

1. Harry Potter (series) - J. K. Rowling
2. Alice (series) - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier
4. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
6. Scary Stories - Alvin Schwartz
7. Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Meyers
8. It's Perfectly Normal - Robie Harris
9. And Tango Makes Three - Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
10. Captain Underpants - Dave Pilkey
11. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
12. The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
13. Forever - Judy Blume
14. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
15. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
16. Killing Mr. Griffin - Lois Duncan
17. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
18. King and King - Linda de Haan
19. Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
20. Bridge to Terabithia - Catherine Patterson
21. The Giver - Lois Lowry
22. We All Fall Down - Robert Cormier
23. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
24. Beloved - Toni Morrison
25. The Face on the Milk Carton - Caroline Cooney
26. Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson
27. My Brother Sam is Dead - James Lincoln Collier
28. In the Night Kitchen - Maurice Sendak
29. His Dark Materials (series) - Philip Pullman
30. Gossip Girl (series) - Cecily von Ziegesar
31. What My Mother Doesn't Know - Sonya Sones
32. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging - Louise Rennison
33. It's So Amazing - Robie Harris
34. Arming America - Martin Bellasiles
35. Kaffir Boy - Mark Mathabane
36. Blubber - Judy Blume
37. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
38. Athletic Shorts - Chris Crutcher
39. Bless Me, Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya
40. Life is Funny - E. R. Frank
41. Daughters of Eve - Lois Duncan
42. Crazy Lady - Jane Leslie Conley
43. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Katherine Patterson
44. You Hear Me - Betsy Franco
45. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
46. Whale Talk - Chris Crutcher
47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby - Dav Pilkey
48. The Facts Speak for Themselves - Brock Cole
49. The Terrorist - Caroline Cooney
50. Mick Harte Was Here - Barbara Park
51. Summer of My German Soldier - Bette Green
52. The Upstairs Room - Joanna Reiss
53. When Dad Killed Mom - Julius Lester
54. Blood and Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
55. The Fighting Ground - Avi
56. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
57. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor
58. Fat Kid Rules the World - K. L. Going
59. The Earth, My Butt, And Other Big Round Things - Carolyn Mackler
60. A Time to Kill - John Grisham
61. Rainbow Boys - Alex Sanchez
62. Olive's Ocean - Kevin Henkes
63. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
64. A Day No Pigs Would Die - Robert Newton Peck
65. Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
66. Always Running - Louis Rodriguez
67. Black Boy - Richard Wright
68. Julie of the Wolves - Jean Craighead George
69. Deal With It! - Esther Drill
70. Detour for Emmy - Marilyn Reynolds
71. Draw Me A Star - Eric Carle
72. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
73. Harris and Me - Gary Paulson
74. Junie B. Jones (series) - Barbara Park
75. So Far From the Bamboo Grove - Yoko Watkins
76. Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
77. Staying Fat for Sarah Burns - Chris Crutcher
78. The What's Happening To My Body? Book - Lynda Madaras
79. The Boy Who Lost His Face - Louis Sachar
80. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
81. Anastasia Again! - Lois Lowry
82. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume
83. Bumps in the Night - Harry Allard
84. Goosebumps (series) - R. L. Stine
85. Shade's Children - Garth Nix
86. Cut - Patricia McCormick
87. Grendel - John Garner
88. The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende
89. I Saw Esau - Iona Opte
90. Ironman - Chris Crutcher
91. The Stupids (series) - Harry Allard
92. Taming the Star Runner - S. E. Hinton
93. Then Again, Maybe I Won't - Judy Blume
94. Tiger Eyes - Judy Blume
95. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
96. Nathan's Run - John Gilstrap
97. Pinkerton, Behave! - Steven Kellog
98. Freaky Friday - Mary Rodgers
99. Halloween ABC - Eve Merriam
100. Heather Has Two Mommies - Leslea Newman

What's so amazing is that so many of these books promote tolerance, acceptance of diversities, humanity. They have been banned for what they stand AGAINST. That's what bugs me mostly. I'm against censorship full stop. I once had an argument about whether it was right to sell Mein Kampf or not in the bookshops. I thought it would go against my principles to deny the right to read that book, even if it obviously encourages racist and violent attitudes. This said, I wouldn't have been THAT surprised if it was in a list of banned books. Same for other books that realistically encourage racism, fascism, antisemitism or homophobia (I'm sure there are, only I can't think of any now). But these books above do the exact OPPOSITE! So it's not just a figure of speech. Censorship really causes blindness.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

2008-10-04T21:47:00.005+01:00

I really wanted to like this one. I really did. I tried hard, I promise. I absolutely adore Tom Sawyer, so much that I can safely say it would make my top 10 of all-time favourites. That's why I wanted to like this too. But probably I should have picked a better time to read it, when my mind didn't keep wondering somewhere else. And that isn't a small issues when the book you're reading is written in 19th century American English. When I was concentrated enough to follow the story I did enjoy it. At least till the storyline shifts away from Huck and starts focusing on two annoying crooks, who call themselves the Duke and the King. I hoped they would get out of the way soon enough, but they were still there when I "temporarily" put it aside for something else.

I'm sure it's not even necessary to tell what the book is about. Most of the people know it is about Tom Sawyer's friend Huck, who escapes on a raft with his runaway "nigger" friend Jim, to avoid being pestered by his drunk father. Following the river, they get into all sorts of adventures, including getting involved in a family feud and in several elaborated scums with the King and the Duke.
It was never easy to get into the flow of the story. I picked up some of the southern accent at the beginning, and I was able to read Jim's accent as well, but it was never relaxing.
But I love Huck, so I kept going. He is so careless and peaceful. All he needs is a raft, a pipe and a starry sky to feel happy. No rules for him, no manners or schedules. All he wants is to be free and be left that way. I also admire how he instinctly helps Jim even if he thinks he shouldn't. He feels guilty but still can't bring himself to betray him.
He is only a kid but he has this spontaneous wisdom that allows him to deal with the most unexpected situations with incredible ease. He knows that the King and the Duke are fakes, but he lets them believe he doesn't so not to hurt they're pride.
He is one of the most tolerant character in literature I've met. He is the epitome of the longing for freedom. You have to love him for that.

So excuse me Huck if I couldn't finish to read your adventures. I know you will take care of yourself, I trust you. I just hope you ditch those two little scumbags because they really aren't worth your time.

Other blog reviews:
Becky's Book Reviews
Tower of Books

Let me know if you've reviewed it too!

Weekly Geeks: Best of 2008 so far, Read-a-thon coming up and a big THANK YOU!

2008-09-30T13:40:00.006+01:00

This week WG is about our favourite books published in 2008. I've just checked and honestly, I haven't read that many new books. That's because my ever-growing pile of books is, of course, ever-growing and I always tend to delay the reading of new books in a miserable attempt to diminish that leaning tower...but the ones I've read I liked, mostly. I would definitely recommend the following to any book lover.
Also I love the idea of having a end-of-the-year book bloggers favourites. I'm really curious to know what's gonna make the list, I'm sure I'll find some to add to my wish list:)

Ok, The first I have here is Confessions of a fallen angel by Ronan O'Brien. It's an Irish novel, and it's a debut. It was surprisingly gripping, and totally heartbreaking, but funny too. It's coming out in paperback in October with a brand new cover, completely different from the hardback, have a look!

The second is Odd and the Frost Giant by Neil Gaiman.
How can you not love this little book. It was published for the World Book Day, so it's tiny and short. It makes a perfect bedtime story, and it introduces children to Norse Mythology, which is always good. Cosy and adventurous at the same time. Great Fun!

The third and last, for now hopefully, is The Book of a thousand days by Shannon Hale.
It's the first Shannon Hale's book I've read. Everyone raves about The Goose Girl, which I haven't read yet, but this was a fantastic read for me to start with. It has everything: humour, smart heroine, non-sappy romance, great writing, original development of a fairy-tale. Go read it!

Also, how can I not mention my wonderful picture books? I adore very single picture book I've reviewed, but I have two favourites:
The odd egg by Emily Gravett.
and
The girl in the castle inside the museum by Kate Bernheimer and Nicoletta Ceccoli.

I've been meaning to post about the Read-a-thon for a while now, but I've still haven't made out my mind yet. I'd love to read, just to take a day off from everything else and read till I'm sick of it. Only, I don't know if I can bring myself to do it. I'm worried I'll feel horribly guilty for not doing all the other things I should/want to do. I haven't written anything in ages, and that would be my biggest guilty feeling. Wouldn't it be great to have a writ-a-thon as well? That way I could join the readers happily if I knew I would write another day for 24 hours!!! Just an idea...Anyway, I'm more for the yes than for the no, but still very undecided.
If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about (which I doubt) go read about it HERE!

And finally, but not less importantly, I have to give a BIG hug to Melody and Darla
for saying such nice things about my blog, I love their blogs just as much.
Thanks girls, you rock!

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

2008-09-28T20:48:00.008+01:00

This book was exhausting. It kept me turning its pages frenetically, impatiently, just to know what happens to its heroines.
I loved it because it never let go, and shot one plot twist after the other, keeping me always in tension, waiting for the next surprise.
I hated it for the same reasons. For making me suffer with and for its heroines, waiting for an happy resolution to arrive, which instead kept eluding them, finding endless ways of slipping away. It was an emotional roller coaster. And to this day, I'm still not sure if I enjoyed it more than I hated it for that. One day I basically did nothing but reading it, and I didn't put it down till I finished it. Was I satisfied at the end? I don't know! It was a great piece of storytelling and it must have been pretty well-crafted to manage to keep my attention for so long. Still, at the end I was like, is this it? Can I have some more, please?

I can't tell you much about the plot, for obvious reasons. If Angela's Ashes had no plot, this is all about it. I can't tell you much about the writing style either, because, to be honest, I didn't stop enough to notice it, so much I was gripped by the story.
I can tell you it's set in Victorian London. 1862, to be precise. And it's about two young women, whose destinies interlock at some point in their lives.
Sue is an orphan, her mother was hanged for murder, and grows up among petty thieves.
Maud is also an orphan, but grows up in a dark mansion in the countryside, brought up as a secretary for her uncle.
When Sue accepts to take part to a fraud that will make her richer than she has ever imagined, she becomes involved in a series of events that bring up old secrets, treachery and lies. But also unexpected love and desire.

The first book by Sarah Waters I read is Tipping the Velvet. It was also set in Victorian London but it was much more daring and decadent in its portrait of lesbian love. I loved it, but I can see why it's not for everyone. Fingersmith instead, seems to be more suitable for a broader audience. It's far more focused on the fast-paced action and on its unravelling of hidden truths, than on the romance side of the story. I wouldn't have minded, though, if the romance had been developed a bit more. Actually, that's the main issue I have with it. But other than that, an absolute winner. If you want gripping historical drama to keep you awake at night, try this.

Other blog reviews:
Among the Jumbled Heap
A work in progress
Dear Reader
Tammy's Book Nook

Did you review it too? let me know and I'll add it here.

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

2008-09-24T22:00:00.010+01:00

I had no intention to read this. It had been sitting on the pile for more than a year, until I had enough and chose it for the non-fiction challenge. See, I moan about the restrictions of challenges, but sometimes they help overcome some unreasonable blocks about some books we've had for ages. Like Angela's Ashes. In my head I had the notion that it was gonna be an immensely depressive read. I've seen the movie a while ago, and it was, immensely depressive. All the blog reviews I had read agreed. Very sad, unbearable, even boring.
But they must have read a different book, because I ended up enjoying it very much, I even found myself laughing and smiling quite often. It must be because of the language. Even when it recounts the most incredible hardship, it always has its very Irish way of telling it.
You have to get used to it, though. Especially because the prose doesn't use any quotation marks, which I didn't find confusing, but might require some adjusting at the beginning. I thought it added to the musicality and the flow of the narration.
So, the book, as many of you might know, is about Frank McCourt's childhood:

When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, ot course, a mirerable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood

Forget about plot. This is hardship after hardship, in Limerick in the 1930's. Drunk father, depressed mother, constant hunger. While I was reading it I kept thinking how lucky I was that I could eat anytime I wanted! Not something I will take for granted again.
The story recalls Frank's memories from when he was 3 and still in America, to the Limerick years of poverty and rain. McCourt's memories are incredibly detailed, even during the early years. Indeed, you could wonder how he knew that much at only 3. So, I just assumed that at least these early memories were partially fictionalised to fit the story.
I understand that reading about what it is about doesn't sound very appealing. Who wants to read about endless sufferance, dirty rags, cold winters and rainy summers? About queues at the dole, dead babies, stinky alleys and broken shoes? I wouldn't. But again, it's how you say it that counts, not what you say. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece of writing, but it was certainly entertaining.
Few examples: Grandam is a grumpy, hard soul, who never stops going on against protestants. But she managed to make me laugh when Frank's mother had just had yet another baby and there were fears it will die without being baptized.

Grandma is there to help and she says, That's right, no hope in heaven for the infant that's not baptized.
Bridey says it would be a hard God that would do the likes of that.
He has to be hard, says Grandma, otherwise you'd have all kinds of babies clamorin' to get into heaven. Protestants an' everything, an' why should they get in after what they did to us for eight hundread years?
The babies didn't do it, says Bridey. They're too small.
They would if they got the chance, says Grandma. They're trained for it.

Another favourite part of mine was Frank's composition called "Jesus and the Weather" which its last paragraph was:

It's a good thing Jesus decided to be born Jewish in that warm place because if he was born in Limerick he'd catch the consumption and be dead in a month and there wouldn't be any Catholic Church and there wouldn't be any Communion or Confirmation and we wouldn't have to learn the catechism and write compositions about Him. The end.

The conditions in which Frank's family managed to survive were unbelievable. I'm not surprised he left the country as soon as he could and never wanted to come back. If even half of what he tells is true, it would have been enough to drive anyone insane, or bitter at least.
But there was often a comic side of their miseries. Once their house was so cold that Frank and his little brothers Malachy and Michael run out of wood and decided to burn the wall that divided the two rooms in it. When the rent man saw what happened he wasn't pleased:

He says , Great God in Heaven, where's the other room?
Grandma says, what room?
I rented ye two rooms up here and now there's one. And what happened to the wall? There was a wall. Now there's no wall. I distinctly remember a wall because I distinctly remember a room. Now, where is that wall? Where is that room?
Grandma says, I don't remember a wall and if I don't remember a wall, how can I remember a room?
Ye don't remember?Well, I remember. Forty years a landlord's agent and I never seen the likes of this. By God, 'tis a desperate situation altogether when you can't turn your back but tenants are not paying their rent and making walls and rooms disappear on top of it. I want to know where that wall is and what ye did with the room, so I do.
Mam turns to us. Do any of ye remember a wall?
Michael pulls at her hand. Is that the wall we burned in the fire?

I can't help but laugh. The book is full of these tragicomic situations, which make the unbearable even funny, sometimes.
Ok, I didn't find it impossible to put down, but when I did pick it up I enjoyed it. i didn't expect it to, so it was a very pleasant surprise, which should teach me something about prejudices and expectations. Only, I know I would make the same mistake again. It's just too good to be surprised sometimes.

other blog reviews:

Peruse Peach
Well above average
Trish's Reading Nook

Let me know if you've reviewed it too and I'll add it to the list!

Picture Book Monday: Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Lauren Child (words), Polly Borland (photos) and Emily Jenkins (set)

2008-09-22T19:25:00.014+01:00

I've been neglecting Picture Book Mondays lately. Not because I've lost interest in picture book. I'm still very much in awe of them. But lately nothing has blown me away enough to dedicate them a post. Till I saw this.

This version of the beloved classic fairy tale is a book that could be either completely charming or absolutely creepy, depending on how much you like porcelain dolls and hand-made puppet bears. Either way, you've got to hand it to these three women, for delivering such a great piece of work.
Lauren Child, award-winning author of so many great books, creator of Charlie and Lola, illustrator of the wonderful new translation of Pippi Longstocking...(I could go on and on about her, but let's just stop here) wrote the text. You could tell immediately, simply by the way she physically shapes the text and fonts to play along with the story.
The story itself has been added new details, such as the role of Goldilocks' lovely red shoes (there weren't any red shoes to be taken care of in the original fairy tale, right?), and, I think, a stronger emphasis on the cheekiness of Goldilocks' behaviour. Lauren Child's light humour is always present, poking fun at Goldilocks' distractions more than once. I particularly loved the new twist at the end, when Small Bear gets to keep the red shoes. And her comments: You think she would have learned by now...after Goldilocks starts on trying the big bear's bed.
However, the text still retains its fairy tale-ish feel, regardless of the new twists or additions. It's the perfect bed-time story!

Ok, to be honest with you, this has never been a big favourite of mine. What did the trick is the technique used. The entire illustrations are real photographs of dolls and settings, shot by Polly Borland and created by Emily Jenkins. Penguin's website explains it much better than I could, so there you go:

The sets for the book took over a year to make. The doll-sized cottage, complete with winding staircase, stands about a metre tall. Real turf was grown for the roof. Special wallpaper and fabrics were designed and printed, featuring woodland motifs. Exquisite miniature furniture, including the three bears' beds, chairs and porridge bowls, were carved, crafted and painted by Emily and her team of designers. Tiny slippers were sewn, cushions stuffed and bed linen edged and folded. The tiny spoons were carved specially – even the porridge is real!The cast of characters were made by world-famous doll maker, R. John Wright, whose dolls and bears sell to collectors all over the world.
Goldilocks is 30 centimetres tall and made of soft felt with hand-painted features; her golden locks are made of the softest mohair. She arrived from America complete with a tiny hand-woven basket of felt daisies, which you can see her carrying in the book. Mother, Father and Baby Bear are all made from the softest fur and have tiny resin claws. Father Bear arrived with a hand-carved wooden pipe, which, if you look very closely, you can spot in the pictures, warming by the fire.

You have to see it yourself, to appreciate the results! I can show you the doll used for Goldilocks. It's been made by R. John Wright, famous for producing dolls of Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter's animals, Disney classic characters etc. I didn't know this company but their dolls look amazing!
This is Goldilocks:

"Remember these three things.
Do not stray from the path
Be back in time for breakfast
and whatever you do - make sure you look after your little red shoes"

and this is Small Bear:

A large tear welled up in Small Bear's eye and rolled down his little face. He was a sensitive type and also very fond of porridge.

The setting is equally gorgeous. The inside is like my dream country-house. Cosy and welcoming, and warm. The outside really look like an authentic wood. The bears are lovely too, (except for Father Bear, who actually looks a bit scary) and in the end, you actually feel sorry for them. Especially for poor Small Bear :D

This would be an awesome Christmas gift. I would certainly keep it in mind, if I were you.

The Brothers Lionheart - Astrid Lindgren

2008-09-19T19:16:00.007+01:00

This was one of the most unsettling and bizarre books I've ever read, and I don't really know what to make of it. It's one of those books for children that have you thinking "would I be able to recommend it to any kid?" and the answer is probably no. But I know people who absolutely loved this story when they were children and they weren't disturbed by it at all. That's probably because when you're a child you see things differently and what is disturbing for me as an adult, might appear innocent, or even brave to a child's eye.
So, what's so strange about this book?

It's the story of two brothers. Rusty is the youngest and is ill. Jonathan is the older, he is handsome and kind and brave like a hero in a saga. When Rusty finds out he will die soon, his older brother Jonathan reassures him. When he'll die he will have a marvellous time, in a place called Nangiyala, somewhere on the other side of the stars. Nangiyala, Jonathan tells Rusty, is where all the sagas take place, there he will have incredible adventures from morning till evening, and he won't have to lie down on the sofa and cough all day.
One day, though, a fire sweeps through their building, and Jonathan is killed in the attempt of saving his little brother.
Then Rusty is left alone, waiting to die, so that he can be with his brother again in Nangiyala. When this happens Rusty is transported magically into this mythical and idyllic world. There he meets his brother, who lives in a lovely white cottage with a stable, in a place called Cherry Valley. He gets his own horse and eat delicious food and think that he has everything he ever wished for. Soon though, he learns that the valley next to theirs, Wild Rose Valley, are oppressed by an evil tyrant, called Tengil, and Jonathan, who's being fighting with the rebels, is the hero of the resistance against him.
The whole book is the story of how Jonathan, with a little help from his brother, manages to defeat ruthless Tengil and bring peace into Nangiyala again.
Which is all nice and good. Nothing highly original or earth-shattering. It did bother me a bit that the Big Bad was completely one-dimensional. He was just evil, full stop.
The good were good and the bad were bad, with nothing else in between. Which I guess it's ok in a story that wants to evoke the days of camp-fires and sagas.
It's the ending that brings on the unsettling feelings, but I can't talk about it without giving it away....
So here it goes. Jonathan saves the day by killing the evil dragon, but he gets hit by her poisonous fire, paralising him irreversibly. Then he tells his brother about another world called Nangilima, where everyone's happy and there's no cruel ruler to fight. And all they have to do to get there is die. So what's the final, brave thing that Rusty does? He grabs his brother and let himself fall with him into the abyss.
He kills himself, and his brother! How creepy is that?

Now, I'm all for the right to euthanasia, when there's obviously nothing else to do. I'm also not religious, so I don't want to criticise the book's reincarnation ideas from that point of view. I might even welcome the idea of another life after this, it's not that. But to show children that the way to have an adventurous life is to die, either waiting for death to come, or even going towards it by basically committing suicide, is something that makes me feel very uncomfortable.
And I'm not happy to say this because I love Astrid Lindgren, or at least I loved Pippi Longstocking. It's still one of my all-time childhood favourite. So I was very excited when I found this in Bookworms' Heaven a.k.a. Hay-on-Wye, because I had never heard of it. I was prepared to love it too. But this suicide thing was just too much to accept.

There's an egg in my soup...and other adventures of an Irishman in Poland - Tom Galvin

2008-09-14T20:01:00.004+01:00

Up until two years ago I had no idea that so many polish people were in Ireland. I think I was in living on the moon. There's polish shops, polish newspapers, polish restaurants, polish signs in the banks, polish adds in the streets. An estimated 300.000 polish people are currently living and working across the country.
And I had no clue! Typical.
But anyway, when this book came out, it looked too funny not to give it a try. And it was, funny. Without being disrespectful or snobbish. No, this guy really loved Poland, so much that he stayed there for five years!
Tom Galvin went to Poland in the mid '90s to teach English in a State School for a year, and he ended up staying for four more, and marrying a polish woman in the meantime. So, it's less of a "travel" writing book, and more of a "stay-and-mingle-with-the-locals" kind of book. Which is essentially what I did. I meant to come to Ireland for a year, and I'm still here after four...
What I liked most about this book was its readability. I didn't expect a non-fiction book, about someone living abroad for few years, to be gripping. But it mostly was. It was a very quick and enjoyable read, which I would definitely recommend, even if you don't plan to travel to Poland anytime soon.
Some of the funniest parts were at the beginning, during his acclimatization stage, where he describes his struggling attempts to:
- buy food
- enjoy a cooked polish meal in a restaurant.
- hide empty bottles of beer in his coat.
- avoid the canteen meals.

One of my favourite part was his description of the butchers in his town: Butcher Nice, Butcher Nasty, Butcher Nervy and Butcher Nephritis. All women and all scary, except for Butcher Nice, of course. Here are my highlights:

Butcher Nasty is to animals what Satan in to God-fearing Christians. Mean and tight and with a stare that would stop a cuckoo emerging from its clock, she cuts cold meats using cheese-wire and a ruler.

Butcher Nervy is a schizophrenic. Although she works alone, I distinctly heard her talking to her 'assistant' one day when I asked for a pound of sausages...The type of character that would have floated around the mind of Hitchcock...

Butcher Nephritis's shop looks and smell like a leper's graveyard. But Butcher Nephritis is really a kind old soul, a typical country butcher, and perhaps only for this have the tools of her trade not been confiscated and herself locked away in a walk-in freezer for a minimum sentence of ten years.

I also laughed out loud when I read about his first night out in a proper restaurant:

The second course is "tatar", a serious disappointment, having starved all day for it. Tatar, I'm told proudly, is a typical 'delicacy', consisting of raw, minced beef mashed with raw onion and crowned with the yoke of a raw egg. It strikes the fear of God in me. I later learned that God was right to have struck his fear in me, as I'm told of a man who got a tapeworm from the stuff.

Yeeewww!

But the best part must be the "customised" buses. I don't know if they still exist,but I wish I could go to Poland just to experience a ride on them:D

Unlike most public transport systems, in which a driver might travel different routes and on different buses, Polish drivers usually have the one bus for the duration of their careers. They tend to customise it according to their tastes, with stickers, pendants, crosses, picture of Jesus and the Pope, and of course, their own stereo and music collection. In the majority of cases, the music is a brand known as "Disco Polo", a poorly produced imitation of nineties continental disco with a hint of Polish folk thrown in. The result is unsettling.

Now, except for the customised buses, I'm not sure I would want to spend such a long time in east Poland as Tom Galvin did (you see, now I even know that the west of Poland is reacher than the east!). I understand now why so people left as soon as they could. It didn't sound like a place that offered a future for young people,especially in the rural areas. But I really wish one day to go as a tourist, at least now I have a slight idea of what to expect!

Me and Challenges...

2008-09-10T12:30:00.006+01:00

... don't seem to get along. I love the idea of joining and to set a goal and then share your experience with others... but when it comes to actually pick a book up, I haven't been much in the mood for any of those books I "should" read. Is it because I should? Or because I'm just too fickle and can't be bothered with following a schedule or a deadline? I don't know. The thing is I don't think I'll manage to finish any of the challenges I joined this year, except for the Once upon a time. And I'm torn because I know that I might love a lot of the books I chose to read, but right now, I'm not pushed to read any of those. So the point of this post is:
1) Looking for sympathy. I know I'm not the only one :D
2) Looking for incentives to read those books. Maybe if I get you to encourage me to read them, I will overcome this impasse and I won't think about ALL those books that I'd rather read first.
So here is the list of the books I should read before the end of the year. Which one should I absolutely read?:

YA challenge:
A swift pure cry by Siobhan Dowd (I had actually started to read this one, but then I saw that the sequel to The Declaration had come out and that HAD to have the priority!)
Epic by Conor Kostick
Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Over Sea,Under Stone by Susan Cooper

What's in a name challenge:
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Non-fiction challenge:
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes by Joan Ryan
Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy
No Logo by Naomi Klein

(Actually I only need to choose two out of these three. It ends in September so I guess I should give them the priority, but I'm SO not in the mood for them...I can change them though. So I'm thinking of replacing one with "Bury me Standing - the gypsies and their journey", something I'm very interested in at the moment).

tl;dr challenge:

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (I thought I was gonna get a free copy from a rep, that's why it's in the list. But I didn't)
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye

(This ends at the end of November, but I should only read two more).

The Classics Challenge:
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (I kinda read this,but I couldn't finish it. I thought I would have gone back to it, but it looks unlikely so I should just cross it off. But I feel guilty cause I think it was probably my fault not the book's.)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
bonus book: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

That's it!

Now, when I sat down and did my usual "What am I gonna read next" list, scrolling down
my TBR tag on Lybrarything, this is what I came up instead:

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
High Fidelity by Nick Horby (challenge book)
In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
Poppy by Avi
Come dio Comanda by Niccolò Ammaniti (his latest book which won the most prestigious literary prize in Italy)
A Swift pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd (challenge book)

I decided for the latter, but then, as I said, I abandoned it for The Resistance.
I know what you're thinking. Just stop moaning and go read the two you chose, which are actually part of a challenge! But I know that when I'm finished with the book I'm reading, my mood will have changed already, so I need encouragements!

Yes, I know how to complicate my life with useless problems :D

Holes - Louis Sachar

2008-09-09T22:56:00.004+01:00

This was such a great read that I feel I could recommend it to anybody. Children, teenagers, adults, men or women. It’s a very quick read, but unlike some other short novels I read, it left quite a big impression on me. It’s probably because it can’t be categorised into anything I’ve read before and because it was so beautifully crafted. Its theme is unusual and it would be hard to convince someone to read it by simply telling them what it is about:

A clumsy and unlucky boy gets sent to a detention camp by mistake, where everyday, together with other “troubled” boys, he is made to dig a hole in the hard ground. Five feet deep, five feet across. Apparently this exercise is supposed to build their character and make them better boys, but there's something their warden is not telling them…

The truth is this is not just Stanley’s story at Camp Green Lake. It’s about Stanley’s ancestors, and about Stanley’s camp-mates. It’s about the weird connections that life lays ahead of us and how they affect our destiny one way or the other. It’s about lethal lizards and about onions. There’s also a hearth-breaking love story and a gypsy curse. And there’s friendship. Powerful and selfless friendship. That’s all I can say about it. More would spoil the plot, which is far more interesting than it sounds.

What I loved about it was the rewarding feeling that it gave me when all the threads came together in the end. All the different layers and the details in the story became one neat pattern of a jigsaw, which felt so satisfying. I love when the authors know exactly where they’re going and how they’re going to get there, even though it’s intimidating from an aspiring writer’s perspective.
I’m sure I will re-read it one day, which is saying a lot, since I don’t usually reread books.
Besides being a great piece of storytelling, it triggered many emotions. It was humorous, tragic and even heroic at some point. It was pure comfort reading. A book to keep for those reading slump sometimes people fall into. I can guarantee a speedy recovery!

Other blog reviews:
The Hidden side of a leaf
Courtney Rebecca
All Curled Up
In the Tower
Josette
Did u write a review of this book too? Let me know and I'll add your link.

I've been nominated for an award!

2008-09-08T18:58:00.002+01:00

Yuppi!
Thanks so much to Aloi for nominating me for the Brillante Weblog Award!(*happy dance*)

That's great, I feel really honored. Now I can have an "awards" tag :P
So the rules to accept the nomination are as follows:
1. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog. Check
2. Add a link to the person you received the award from. check
3. Nominate up to seven other blogs. I'll do that now.
4. Add their links to your blog. Check.
5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on in the comments section of their blog. will do that too.

The thing is that I haven't been blogging that much lately, and I haven't been reading that many blogs either (*hides under the screen*), but that won't stop me from bestowing this nomination to some wonderful bloggers out there, who I've been reading for a while now, even if not daily...

I'd like to nominate:

1) Raych at Books I done read
Because even if I don't always agree with her, she always makes me laugh, and that's always a good thing. Totally hilarious.

2) Darla at Books and other thoughts.
Because she's another grown up who read as much kids books as me (actually, definitely more than me!) and her blog is an endless source of great books to choose from. Also she posts a lot, and I can't keep up with her reviews, and that makes her brilliant to my eye.

3) Carl at Stainless Steel droppings
Because of the care he puts in all his posts, because he hosts the best challenge around (Once upon a time) and because he introduces his readers to so many talented artists I would hardly come across myself. and not to mention all those giveaways!

4) Nymeth at Things mean a lot.
Because she's Nymeth. 'nuff said.

5) Melody's reading corner because she's lovely and thoughtful and because she gave me Blogging Friends Forever Gold Card Award and I never officially thank her for that on this blog.

Also, speaking of awards, I've seen the nominations for the BBAW Awards 2008 are up at My Friend Amy. Of course, I don't know the majority of all those blogs, so I have a lot of blogging ahead of me before casting my vote!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

2008-09-07T23:44:00.004+01:00

This is was an exciting, fast-paced, action-packed adventure, which could be a perfect post Harry Potterish read. The story of Percy Jackson, who all of a sudden finds himself thrown into a spiral of events beyond his controls, discover his real self, which happens to be half-divine and half-human, and then is sent to Half-Blood Camp, where he learns about his powers and meets other kids who are also half-bloods, is very easily compared to the story of Harry Potter.

It was fun, it was clever, and it had me reading till the end, but… how do I say this without sounding too fussy? I was never comfortable with its idea of the Gods being where the Power is. Political, strategic, economic Power. And with the Western Civilisation being a living force that the Gods follow. According to what Percy’s mentor Chiron says The fire started in Greece, then…the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the Gods…Like it or not, and believe me, plenty of people weren’t very fond of Rome either – America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here.
It’s fascinating thought, and it kind of makes sense. But it stills makes me uncomfortable because of the way the world West is used. When Percy is trying to save the day, he doesn’t think about the whole world like your usual hero. No, he’s thinking about saving the Western Civilisation. No mention is ever made about other great cultures of the world and their own gods. Are they not worth existing because they are not “Western”? What about Chinese, Norse, Celtic, Egyptian deities? Weren’t they powerful enough to survive, or even to be mentioned?
It’s great that kids are drawn to Greek mythology after reading this, and that they want to know more about it, but it makes me angry that Rick Riordan deliberately chose to exalt one single culture, and to completely ignore the rest.
I reckon it wouldn’t have been so irritating if this idea were simply the setting for Percy’s adventure and self-discovery. Unfortunately the importance of the survival of the magnificent western civilisation is repeated countless of times. I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed if I read this as a child. Now, all it makes me think about is war, world hunger, climate change, unfair trade…for which the oh-so-wonderful western civilisation is largely responsible.
Now, I didn’t mean to go all political and rhetorical there, but I couldn’t help it. I know it’s a kids’ book. Yet, if I had children I would probably let them read it, because it’s fun. Then afterwards, I would talk to them about the rest of the gods that might still exist, even if they don’t hold the so-called power the Olympians have. And I would try to explain to them what that Power means and why it shouldn’t be worshipped.
I’m afraid to say that I won’t try and read the rest of the series, unless someone assure me that the tone radically changes, or that some other pantheon is acknowledged, or that it starts to be even slightly critical of America’s use of its power.

Other Blog reviews:
Books and other thoughts

Did you review it too? let me know and I'll add your link.

The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

2008-08-24T13:39:00.010+01:00

I've been trying to catch up with my reviews and with the blogging activities in general but since I've come back from holidays I've been so busy, and tired, and then busy again that I still haven't found time to even develop my holiday pics, let alone write proper reviews of the books I've been reading. Even now I have so many things I should do...I'm so stressed!!! anyway, this is supposed to be a review, so here it goes.

I had heard about Persepolis before its film came out. It was mentioned now and again by those graphic novels connoisseurs as a must read, a pillar of the genre, a masterpiece. But it never occurred to me to go and look for it, till the movie was made.

Now that I've read it all I can say is "Wow, what a page-turner!" I know, it's very generic, and it doesn't say much about the book, but that's the first thing that came to my mind after finishing it. Anytime I was reading it on the bus I was at risk of missing my stop, because I was so deeply immersed in it. I never imagined a biography to be so captivating.
The edition I have includes both part I and part II, so it was an uninterrupted journey into Satrapi's life.
In my total ignorance about Iran's history, I didn't know anything of the Islamic revolution and its consequences. About the repression, the tortures, the fear that was part of people's everyday life. One thing is reading history books (which I don't do anyway) and another is reading a memoir of someone who experienced those years personally. I have a tendency of identifying with the stories and the characters I read about. I did the same with this book, and it was extremely emotional.
But don't make mistakes, this is far from being a heavy read. It was tough, it made me shiver and it made me angry, but it made me laugh out loud too. A lot. The shocking and the funny was perfectly balanced and that, I think, is what makes Persepolis unique.
It helped that Marjane was raised by a very liberal family, with a socialist background and an independent way of thinking. It showed the stark contrast between what was going on outside, where you could have been arrested for wearing make up, and inside, where people were risking their lives to throw parties or listening to rock music.

Unfortunately I've left it too late to write a review that would actually make justice to this wonderful book. All I know is that it was one of my favourite reads of this year, and that I couldn't recommend it more. Even if you think you wouldn't be interested, try and read the first few pages. I bet you'll be hooked before you know it.

Other blog reviews:
Thoughts of Joy (part I)
B&B Ex libris
The Book Nest (Part I)
An adventure in reading
Things mean a lot
The Hidden side of a leaf
Rhinoa's ramblings
ReadingAdventures
Katrina's reads

The Wish House - Celia Rees

2008-08-12T21:31:00.006+01:00

This is one of those books, I'm sorry to say, that didn't touch me at all. It left me almost completely indifferent. I know I'll forget about it very quickly, so I'm happy I jotted down some notes right after I finished it!

England, summer 1960s. For Richard this summer is a sort of initiation to adulthood. First love, first sex, first death.
It's also an introduction to the exotic, the unusual and outrageous, through the unconventional Dalton Family. Cleo attracts Richard's attention immediately, with her penetrating violet eyes and black shiny hair. She's 15, like Richard, but seems to have much more experience than him. At first their relationship goes though a time of bliss and playfulness. Having sex in the fields and woods, inventing games inspired by The Lord of the Rings or Swallow and Amazons. But soon Richards realises he can't have Cleo all for himself. He has to spend time with her millions of relatives, and more importantly, he has to pose for her father Jay, who seems to have found in him a new inspiration for his paintings.

There are hints of secrets that Cleo's family are hiding. There's an air of mysticism around Jay, but there's something else, some untold truth that might destroy their summery idyll for ever.

I read this till the end,eager to find out the big secrets, but honestly, there wasn't much to it. The ending felt very anti-climatic, and the story itself never had much appeal to me. I did like some things, though. The idea of the Daltons was intriguing and the writing itself was great. But other than that, a rather forgetful read.

Celia Rees is the author of Witch Child. I'd recommend to try that one, if you want to read something by her. It was different, in themes and settings, but definitely a much better book.

Travels of Thelonious - Susan Schade and Jon Buller

2008-08-01T23:11:00.002+01:00

In ancient times, when human beings ruled the earth and the animals did not yet have the gift of language, there was born a certain human baby, and his was names Bob...

That's how one of the old legends starts...

...and that's how this little charming book starts as well. Set in a far future, where humanity has disappeared mysteriously from the face of the earth, Travels of Thelonious is the first book of a series called The Fog Mound. Its hero is a young chipmunk called Thelonious, who lives in the Untamed Forest and firmly believes that the old legends about the Human Occupation are true. But his sister Dolores keeps saying they are only legends and humans never existed!
Then one day a flood carries Thelonious away from the forest and right into the ancient City Of Ruins. Here animals wear clothes, eat from canned food and read books. In this strange and decaying world Thelonious meet a kind porcupine, a flying Bear and a dodgy lizard and together they embark in an exciting adventure in search of the Fog Mound.

This was a very pleasant discovery for me. I found it at the library on the "new arrivals" trolley and I snatched it immediately. "Part graphic novel, part heroic fantasy, it's an adventure like no other!". The cover says it all. Add talking animals, far future setting and funny drawings to the mix and you'll be sure to capture my complete attention.
The story didn't disappoint me, although to know its ending and hence formulate a definitive opinion, I'll have to read the rest of the series, which I don't think it'll happen any time soon.
All in all, a funny and quick read, particularly recommended for reluctant readers, or for any kid who loves animals and adventures.

Away for two weeks! :D

2008-07-15T12:36:00.008+01:00

I'm leaving Ireland today. I'll be "home" for two whole weeks! I will be in Tuscany for a few days to see mum, granny and friends ( and also to see some good gigs, including Verve and Chemical Brothers...)and then off to Sicily for some serious swimming, sunbathing, and lazying and to see my dad.
I don't think I'll be posting here much even though I've so many reviews to do...but we'll see about them when I'm back on duty!
I'll leave you with some piccies of the places I'm going to, so you know why you should be jealous :D hihi...
Livorno - calafuria:

Livorno - Calignaia:

Check out this website for more piccies.

and Levanzo (small island on the west side of Sicily)!

I'm going to spend a lot of time sitting in the bar you can see on the right...so relaxing!

more of Levanzo...how I love this place, you can't imagine...

That's all for now, I'm hoping to take lots of pictures too, so more to come when I'm back! have great summer everybody :D

Picture Book Monday (on a Tuesday...): Il Sung Na

2008-07-07T12:42:00.017+01:00

This week I'd like to focus on one author, instead of just one title.
Il Sung Na has only published two books up to now, so I thought it'd be best to feature both of them.
His debut, Zzzzz - a book of sleep , is a true piece of art. It won me over immediately, with just one glance. Just take a look at some examples and judge for yourself:

He uses a mix of manual and digital media to create a unique decorative effect which is just stunning. I love the way he draws flowers everywhere, on elephants, whales, birds and fish. It looks like he doodled all over the pages, with spirals and prints and random decorations, but instead of looking messy, the result is really stylish and personal.

Even though I think this is his best work, his second book is great too.
It's called The Thingamabob, a funny tale of an elephant who finds a strange looking object and can't figure out what it is for...until it starts to rain!

This book is packed with elephant-y cuteness. It uses lighter tones of colours and it's less detailed than A book of sleep, but it still has all its charm and originality.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them and have a better look. It's worth it.

I'm so glad there's artist like Il Sun Na around. They definitely raise children's picture book onto a higher level. Children deserve to be exposed to these kind of beautiful works. I believe it helps expand their visual imagination and develop their artistic souls.
Sometimes I hear people saying "ah yes, this is great but would the kids understand it? Isn't it too advanced/complicated/more for adults than for them?". It's like saying when something is good than it's not for children.
And that goes to show how many times people tend to underestimate kids and toddlers.
I'm not saying this for Il Sung Na's books in particular. It's just something that bugs me a lot, since I've been working in bookshops and I've been dying to say it!
So, give children the best books. Expose them to art and beauty. Let them play freely with colours and paint and most importantly scrap all those dreadful narrow-minding colouring books!!!