USA
56
Asher, Jay
Thirteen reasons why. A novel
New York: Razorbill, 2007. – 288 p.
ISBN 978-1-59514-171-2
High school – Suicide – Friendship – Grief
One day, out of the blue, Clay
receives a shoebox in the mail with seven cassette tapes. When he starts
listening to the first one, he is shocked and confused to hear the voice of
Hannah Baker, a classmate on whom he had a crush and who committed suicide
two weeks before. Increasingly sick, appalled, and terrified by what he
hears, the teen-age boy wanders through the night playing the tapes to learn
of the thirteen reasons why Hannah decided to take her life and of the
amount of his guilt. It is a night that changes him forever. The author of
this gripping detec-tive-story-cum-problem-novel seamlessly interweaves the
two narrative voices of Hannah and Clay to slowly unravel how apparently
»harmless« incidents, such as teasing, mobbing, and thoughtlessness
eventually lead to a young girl’s death. (14+)
57
Becker, Bonny (text)
Denton, Kady MacDonald (illus.)
A visitor for Bear
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2008. – [56] p.
ISBN 978-0-7636-2807-9
Bear – Loneliness – Mouse – Surprise – Friendship
Bear never has any visitors
and to prevent anyone from daring to invade his peaceful solitude, the old
crank has put up a huge sign that no one could possibly mistake: »NO
visitors allowed«. Yet, one day, a »small and gray and bright-eyed« mouse
shows up on his doorstep and – no matter how often and how forcibly he gets
thrown out of the bear’s dwelling – will not be dissuaded. Eventually Mouse
has the old grumbler worn out, who, to his very surprise, realises that SOME
visitors might actually melt his frozen heart. The short, comical text and
the vivid illustrations in soft watercolours, ink, and gouache that
ingeniously depict the bear’s growing despair and the unfazed visitor’s
cheeky re-appearances make for a hilarious read – not only for small
children. (3+)
58
Berger, Carin (text/illus.)
The little yellow leaf
[New York, N.Y.]: Greenwillow Books, 2008. – [36] p.
ISBN 978-0-06-145223-9; 978-0-06-145224-6
Autumn – Foliage – Fear – Friendship – Courage
In this quiet picture book in
narrow portrait format, reluctance and fear of the unknown are the central
topic. Unlike its fellow leaves, which boldly embark on the journey of
sailing through the autumn air, Little Yellow Leaf anxiously tightens its
grip on its oak tree. It simply feels not ready yet. Days turn into weeks,
snow starts falling, and still the lonely leaf clings to its branch until it
suddenly glimpses another lonely little red leaf high up on the opposite
side. Together the two summon up enough courage to embrace adventure and
soar into the cold winter air. The stunning collage illustrations in matt
colours, which show the little leaf from several perspectives and follow its
floating flight, perfectly complement the poetic text as the tale slowly
aproaches a satisfying climax. (4+)
59
Caletti, Deb
The fortunes of Indigo Skye
New York [et al.]: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008. – 298 p.
ISBN 978-1-4169-1007-7
Waitress – Tip – Wealth – Change – Search for identity
What would you do if you were
suddenly to become rich? Eighteen-year-old Indigo waitresses in a small café
before school every morning and considers this job her true vocation. She
likes her regular customers, enjoys their gossip, and cares for them. When
suddenly a new, slightly mysterious guest leaves her a 2.5 million dollar
tip, she is both dumbfounded and over the moon; yet never would she have
believed that money could change a person so much. It takes some trouble and
a lot of adjusting until she eventually finds her true self again. Deb
Caletti’s insightful novel is peopled with a bunch of intriguing, amiable,
funny, and well-rounded characters. The riveting plot plunges Indigo into an
unfamiliar world and will make readers ponder over how they would cope with
such an unexpected blessing (or curse?). (14+)
60
Cheng, Andrea (text/illus.)
Where the steps were
Honesdale, Pa.: Wordsong, 2008. – 143 p.
ISBN 978-1-932425-88-8
Elementary school – Afro-Americans – Teacher – Pupils – Friendship – Self-esteem
Although the inner-city
elementary school Pleasant Hill has been standing for decades, it won’t be
there much longer. Before it is being demolished, however, sympathetic Miss
D. has resolved to teach her African-American class about the American Civil
War, and introduce them to heroes like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and
Harriet Tubman. In this insightful verse novel, Andrea Cheng describes home
and school struggles through the eyes of five different third-graders.
Accompanied by atmospheric small wood-cuts, the poetic texts, each in its
peculiar voice, describe the students’ growing bond among themselves, their
friendships and jealousy, their worries and fears, and their love for their
wonderful teacher who instils in them a sense of self-esteem and provides a
feeling of security in difficult times. (6+)
61
Gaiman, Neil (text)
McKean, Dave (illus.)
The graveyard book
New York: HarperCollins, 2008. – 312 S.
ISBN 978-0-06-053092-1
Orphan – Graveyard – Ghost – Education – Protection
Ever since Nobody Owens
miraculously escaped the mysterious assassin Jack, who slaughtered his
parents and older sister when Nobody was only a little toddler, the boy has
been living in the vast graveyard on the hill. Adopted, raised, protected,
and educated by the ancient cemetery’s ghostly inhabitants, Nobody
(affectionately called Bod) is an expert on the ways of the dead; yet as he
becomes older, the lad grows more and more curious of the outside world,
untroubled by the lethal dangers that await him beyond the protection of the
graveyard walls. The quirky and suggestive black-and-white illustrations
with slightly distorted proportions add a sinister element to the
suspenseful narrative, which undeniably owes some of its inspiration to
Kipling’s famous classic »The Jungle Book«. (10+)
62
Johnston, Tony
Bone by bone by bone
New York, NY : Roaring Brook Press, 2007. – 184 p.
(A Deborah Brodie book)
ISBN 978-1-596-43113-3
United States/1950s – Racism – Friendship – Father – Son
Set in the early 1950s in a
small town in Tennessee, this powerful novel tells the story of the
friendship between two boys – one white, one black. From their first meeting
at the age of nine, David and Malcolm are thick as thieves. Nothing can
separate them; neither the hissed threats against Malcolm from Ku-Klux-Klan
members, nor the »Nigger Rule« that David’s racist father has set down.
Together, the two boys roam the neighbouring woods, explore caves, do chores
for an elderly lady, and play baseball. And all the while David imagines he
will one day be able to change his father’s mind about black people. Yet
when Malcolm comes begging for protection one night and David’s enraged
father aims the shotgun at him, David knows he has no choice but to leave.
Inspired by memories from the author’s own childhood, the engaging
first-person-narrative depicts a set of complex characters including a
sensitive boy who braves the fierce racism around him. (12+)
63
Lane, Kimberly
Asian art
Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2008. – 32 p.
(Come look with me) (World of art )
ISBN 978-1-890674-19-9
Asia/11th century-2004 – Art
Each volume in this popular
series of art for children provides a selection of twelve different artworks
either from a specific country, region, or culture (e.g. American Indian
Art) or about a certain epoch or topic (Exploring Modern Art; Animals in
Art). The latest addition to »Come Look with Me« introduces young readers to
art from Asia, ranging from India and Pakistan to Japan, China, Tibet, and
Korea and spanning several centuries from the eleventh century right up to
2004. Every artwork is presented on a full page, with simple questions that
encourage children to take a closer look at the painting or sculpture, and
with background information about the artist and the style on the opposite
page. This attractive book will spark an interest in Asian art both with
individual children or small groups. (6+)
64
Orlean, Susan (text)
Karas, G. Brian (illus.)
Lazy little loafers
New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2008. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-0-8109-7027-4
Siblings – Baby – Everyday life – Laziness – Complaint
Isn’t it just outrageous that
none of the million babies around the world has ever made the slightest
attempt at doing something useful, let alone finding proper work? The
protagonist of this amusing picture book, a young girl trudging towards
school with her bulky bag, simply cannot understand how these lazy,
slubbering, stumbling, snobby miniature kids manage to enchant adults and
make them their willing slaves; yet, she is determined to find out – and
whom better to analyze than her own baby brother. The witty double-page
collage illustrations add various new elements and their own punch lines to
the story and perfectly complement the ingeniously dry text. Irritated elder
siblings of new-born babies and toddlers will agree whole-heartedly with the
protagonist’s unexpected conclusion. (4+)
65
Shulevitz, Uri (text/illus.)
How I learned geography
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2008. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-0-374-33499-4
Refugee – Poverty – Map – Imagination – Travel
This impressive square picture
book is based on the artist’s memories of his childhood during World War II.
When Shulevitz was about five, his family fled from Poland to Turkestan in
Central Asia (now Kazakhstan). With nothing left and hardly any food to
survive, the little boy’s only pleasure is sitting in front of a large world
map his father had traded. Looking at the map, tracing the details, he
dreams himself into foreign countries, visits exotic places, encounters
strange sights and smells – and thus manages to forget about his gnawing
hunger and misery. The large-format watercolour illustrations depict the
little boy in amazing, colourful dreamscapes and thus easily confirm the
magical and soothing power that a vivid imagination can have.
(4+)
66
Spiegelman, Art (text/illus.)
Jack and the box
New York: Raw Junior, 2008. – 32 p.
(Toon Book)
ISBN 978-0-9799238-3-8
Toy – Fear – Fun
In spring 2008, experienced
editor Françoise Mouly and her husband Art Spiegelman, award-winning comic
book author, launched a colourful new series of simple comic books for
beginning readers to great acclaim. The titles in the new Toon Book imprint
are geared towards youngsters who might still be intimidated by big chunks
of text but love funny and action-filled stories in the tradition of Dr.
Seuss’s classic »The Cat in the Hat«. In this volume, Jack’s parents present
him with a new toy, and the little rabbit-boy is thrilled at first. However,
the »Zack«-in-the-box does not only play hide-and-seek with Jack; more often
than not, he enjoys giving the boy a fright. It takes some getting used to
the toy’s peculiar sense of humour until xJack can finally laugh about its
silly pranks. (5+)
67
Weston, Robert Paul (text)
Villa, Víctor Rivas (illus.)
Zorgamazoo
New York: Razorbill, 2008. – 281 p.
ISBN 978-1-59514-199-6
Governess – Threat – Escape – Parallel world – Creature – Quest
Katrina Katrell is an overly imaginative girl who keeps seeing weird creatures hiding in dark places; Mortimer Yorgle is a rumpled-looking reporter and reluctant hero in the underground land of the Zorgles. Their paths cross when terrified Katrina flees from her evil guardian, Mrs. Kremelda Krabone, and the »nutty neurosurgeon« Dr. LeFang’s plans of performing a lobotomy on her, and the two go on an adventurous and thrilling quest to find out whereto the missing Zorgles of Zorgamazoo have disappeared. This hilariously silly and entertaining debut novel is a cross between Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, and Edward Gorey and written completely in rhyme. The enchanting style, the absurd characters, the nonsense-adventures, and the quirky illustrations make this a perfect read-aloud for young and old alike. (8+)