The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke
The book, The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke and illustrated by Sophie Bass is one of those books where I picked it apart to make my overall score. First, I looked at the big picture which is almost a 5. The only reason it wasn’t a full 5 (and a 4.75) is because the text was crowded on the page and it was a smidgen on the longer side. The details included made me wonder if it would have been better as a novel, or […]
Cry Wolf Girl by Ariel Slamet Ries
I think I dislike everything about this book, Cry Wolf Girl, yet it was an amazing read. I just could not put it down. There are no natural breaks so it was not like I could stop at the end of a chapter but that didn’t matter. I just wanted to gobble it up. The book makes you think, feel and question. There are clearly marked paths we are taking, but things are not straight forward. It is artistic. It is not what you think […]
Tonight Is Krampus Night by Kyle Sullivan
One thing I try to do every year is to find at least three Christmas books and at least one other winter holiday book. The Christmas books I try to find are a religious one, a more fun one (Santa, or silly reindeer have been in the past) and an Other book (maybe spiritual but it hits the spirit of things). I try to find one Hanukkah and one Winter Solstice, or something that is a holiday and/or just fun. This year I found a […]
Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai
La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya
A local school was purchasing a few titles for their library. I was unaware of the picture books Dumplings for Lili and La Princessa and the Pea. Therefore, I gave them a quick peak when they came in. Both were two of the sweetest books I have read all year! (Okay, got the year joke out early.) These two books are a modern fairytale and a reimaging of a classic. Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai is a lovely, illustrated book about a young girl […]
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: The Graphic Novel by Natalie Andreson
Having never read the original version of The Nutcracker, I only have various (mostly cartoon) movie imagery to reference. Therefore, I am not sure how close to the text in this book is to that original story. But The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: The Graphic Novel is a version that seems to follow what I know from the movies. Whether it is good, or close or something altogether other, that is up to the reader. Natalie Andreson has the basics of E. T. A. […]
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi is an expert in pulling back the cobwebs from the old trunk in the attic, shaking out the goods within, and daring you to take a good strong look. She weaves familiar fairly tales with Yoruba folktales, inter-generational family strife, and good old fashioned 21st century anxiety. In her most recent novel, Gingerbread, she leaves spicy breadcrumbs of Hansel and Gretel, the Gingerbread Man, and many other traditional tales. I was also strongly reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Orsinian Tales. Oyeyemi’s characters present […]
