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A cautionary tale that will probably never appear on a Florida school library shelf

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

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CBR15Passport Different Genres: juvenile fiction  Eugene Yelchin is a talented illustrator and writer. I first became aware of his work through the brilliant The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, and then last year I read and reviewed his illustrated account of his childhood, The Genius Under the Table. Special thanks to Black Raven for recommending that book and for giving Breaking Stalin’s Nose to me for the holiday exchange. Yelchin was born and raised in the Soviet Union and left in the 1980s. While he would […]

Great art tells the truth and that can be dangerous

The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin

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Over the summer BlackRaven reviewed this book and I immediately recognized the name of the author. Eugene Yelchin illustrated/co-wrote one of my favorite books, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, and BlackRaven’s review made The Genius Under the Table sound too good to pass up. And indeed it is! Eugene Yelchin was born and raised in the Soviet Union, and The Genius Under the Table is a memoir of his childhood in Leningrad, a childhood marked by secrets and repression. Yelchin was born in the mid-1950s, […]

He loved art, but not puzzles

The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin

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I had not realized how recently published The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin was. I figured this was a 1990s books or even earlier due the 1980s style of cover. But then again, since the author was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s it is probably appropriate to have that feeling to the cover. We learn about the author/illustrator in a way only they can tell us. The troubles, the love, the misunderstandings, the political and […]

Ms. Was told me this book was a gem and, by gum, she was right!

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

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As a book lover, nothing delights me more than when a friend recommends a book to me and, after reading it, I’m able to go back and tell her that I unequivocally loved it. For a few years now, Ms. Was has been singing the praises of The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, and now I’m finally able to say, “Thank you for introducing me to this gem.” Brangwain Spurge is an elf entrusted with an important mission: Enter the land of the goblins and deliver […]

Silly, Funny, Worth Your Time

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson & Eugene Yelchin

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CBR Bingo: Friendship What a wonderful little book, and perfect for the Friendship square in Bingo. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge takes place in a world where elves and goblins live in neighboring countries with an uneasy truce after centuries of war and invasions. It begins with the elfin historian, Brangwain Spurge, on a mission to goblin country to offer a gift to the goblin king. He also has a second, secret mission–to spy on the goblins and report back to elfin high command. When […]

Goblins, Elves and Diplomacy

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

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How to describe The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge? According to writer MT Anderson it’s “…a tragic meditation on how societies that have been trained to hate each other for generations can actually come to see eye to eye.” But is it?  According to illustrator Eugene Yelchin, “A crazy story about two fools blinded by propaganda is not a tragedy. It’s a comedy.” Who’s correct? Well, both are. This National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature is a story of political intrigue and espionage, and […]



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