The Rabbit and the Shadow - a review

The Rabbit and the Shadow 

by Mélanie Rutten

Eerdmans, 2018

(originally published in France)

It’s a good idea to step out of our cultural bubbles from time to time. One way to do that is experiencing books from other countries. These books often have an instant feel of “otherness,” when compared to our own American canon of children’s literature. Some examples are the dark humour of the British, Jim: Who Ran Away from his Nurse and Was Eaten by a Lion (yes, he does get eaten!) , the family realism of Spain’s, Manolito Four-Eyes , and the beautiful, cutting and cautionary,  Queen of the Frogs from Portugal. 

When I entered my name to win a copy of The Rabbit and the Shadow by Mélanie Rutten, I did so because even on my laptop screen, I could tell that the illustrations are exquisite. When I won a copy from LibraryThing Early Reviewers, I was also pleased to see that it was originally published in France.

The pen and watercolor illustrations are in gentle hues that fit the story’s outdoor setting. Most are small vignettes that expertly accompany the nearby text.  Rabbit is the story’s main character, but his life becomes entwined with those of the Soldier, the Cat, the Book, a Shadow, and the Stag, Rabbit’s caregiver. When the Soldier forcibly takes Rabbit from his hiding hole, a small vignette manages to encapsulate the vastness of the unknown world, the fierceness of the Soldier and the apprehension of the Rabbit.

The familiar valley lies behind them, and a red sky ahead hints at a dangerous future as the Soldier points his sword toward the future with the Rabbit in his grasp,

“And he dragged the Rabbit off, shouting: ‘On our own! On our own!’ “

The Rabbit and the Shadow is a lengthy, thoughtful book that is best suited for older children.  Although the Soldier has abducted the Rabbit, the Soldier bears him no ill will. The Soldier is merely angry, and the reader will find that the Soldier harbors a secret. The Cat suffers from a recurring dream that will not resolve; the Book searches for knowledge. The Stag searches for his Rabbit. The Shadow searches for nothing, and is ironically enlightening, as Rutten explores the weighty issues of anger, responsibility, separation, and growing up.

Artfully placed in the center of a beautiful yellow-hued palette, are the following words, surrounded by a dreamlike border illustrating the characters’ thoughts

“‘What do you think about

 to feel less afraid?’

asked the Rabbit.

‘Nice things from the past,’

 replied the Soldier,

 ‘like eating rice pudding cake

 when I was little.’

‘You’re still little!’ said the Cat. ‘Me, I think

 about nice things to come.’

‘Like when you’ll have a mustache?’

 teased the Soldier.

The Cat thought about his dream.

They all though for a moment,

about their dreams. “

I don’t know if The Rabbit and the Shadow is typical or exemplary in French children’s literature. Here in the United States, it is strikingly attractive, thoughtful, and distinctive.

Note:

If you're interested in reading the best in books from other countries, ALSC recognizes excellence in the category every year. The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is awarded yearly to “the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.”

This year’s winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award is TheMurderer’s Ape by Swedish author, Jakob Wegelius. 

Dead Boy - an audiobook review

Below is my review of the audio book version of Dead Boy by Lauren Gale and read by Robbie Daymond.  Great plot with some unexpected turns.

GALE, Laurel. Dead Boy. 5 CDs. 6 hrs. Listening Library. 2015. $35. ISBN 9781101916827. digital download.

Gr 5-7–Crow was once a regular boy who played baseball and had friends and loving parents. But now, he’s dead. At first, being dead wasn’t so bad, but then his rotting flesh began attracting maggots. He couldn’t eat or sleep. His parents divorced. His mother will tell him only that his parents “wished him back to life,” but what kind of life? He’s trapped in a house kept purposefully cold to slow the putrefaction of his flesh. When Melody and her father move in next door, she and Crow become secret friends against the wishes of their parents. Together, they begin to unravel the terrible secret of his parents’ wish. Their forbidden friendship will be tested as they face a series of deadly challenges in their quest for the truth. Though the book’s description promises humor, narrator Robbie Daymond’s presentation of Crow is morose and forlorn. His cheerful portrayal of Melody offers the only break from the macabre atmosphere. VERDICT - Not for the squeamish, this one will be best for middle school fans of ghoulish favorites like The Night Gardener (Abrams, 2014) or The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls (S. & S., 2012). [“A great recommendation to middle grade fans of dark humor”: SLJ 7/15 review of the Crown book.]

  Copyright © 2016 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

Divorce is the Worst - a review

Higginbotham, Anastasia. 2015. Divorce Is the Worst (Ordinary Terrible Things). New York:The Feminist Press at CUNY.

I didn't think I'd like this book, and I didn't; I loved it. It is honest; it is practical; it is a beautifully artistic rendering of a sorrowful event.  If you know a child in need of a divorce book, look no further; this is it.

Please, do watch the trailer.

 ...

Today is Nonfiction Monday.  See what else is new on the Nonfiction Monday Blog.

Words with Wings - a review

Below is my review from the August, 2014, edition of School Library Journal.

GRIMES, Nikki. Words with Wings. 1 CD. 41 min. Recorded
Books. 2014. $15.75. ISBN 9781490609676. Playaway, digital
download.

Gr 3–5— Gabriella is a dreamer, more like the father she visits than the mother she lives with every day. Since her parents separated, Gabby and her mother have moved, and she has enrolled in a new school. Always the class daydreamer, she's prepared for the teasing that she knows will come. Mention the word "butterfly," and her thoughts may soar out the classroom window on the imagined wings of a beautiful creature. Other words create thoughts that are more pensive. Sometimes it's easier to retreat into her imagination than to face her circumstances. Gabby's expectations for her new school are low, but her teacher and a quiet boy in the back of the room offer some hope in her new surroundings. With encouragement, perhaps a pen and paper can anchor the "words with wings" that set Gabby's mind adrift. Mutiyat Ade-Salu is perfectly cast for this story in verse, told in the first person in the present tense story. Her voice is youthful and likable, and as Gabriella's thoughts soar, plummet, and wander, so too does the voice of Ade-Salu. A perfect book for poets, dreamers, and reluctant readers.


Copyright © 2014 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

###

Read excerpts from Words with Wings on the author's website.

Short, funny, and illustrated - two chapter book reviews

I recently finished two short, easy-reading chapter books by two very popular authors - Kate DiCamillo and Jeff Kinney.

• DiCamillo, Kate. 2013. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (Illustrated by K.G. Campbell)

Kate DiCamillo is nothing if not unique.  Whether gifting us with the mystical, magical, Magician's Elephant, the breath of fresh air that was Mercy Watson, or the delightfully improbable hero, Despereaux, DiCamillo never shies away from a new horizon.  In fact, I feel as if she has as much fun writing her books as we have reading them.

How else, but in a spirit of fun and adventure, could she gather

• Flora - a "natural-born cynic," and avid reader of The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto
• Ulysses - a dreamy, poetic squirrel with a superpower (typing), garnered from the interior of a super-suction, multi-terrain vacuum
• William Spiver - a temporarily blind boy who prefers to be known by his complete name, so as so distinguish himself "from the multiplicity of Williams in the world."
• two loving, but flawed (aren't we/they all?) parents
• delightful neighbors

and 

• Mary Ann - a lamp

Humorous comic panels and sketches by K.G. Campbell are the perfect complement to this warm and funny, impossible story of love and poetry, friendship and family.

Flora &Ulysses resources:

• Teacher's Guide
• Discussion Guide
• Sample Chapter

• Kinney, Jeff. 2013. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck, Book 8. New York: Amulet.

(Advance Reader Copy)

Download your own Hard Luck wallpaper here.

In Hard Luck, Greg Heffley finds himself temporarily friendless when Rowley gets a girlfriend and no longer has time to spend with Greg.  Since all of his previous life decisions have led to bad ends, Greg decides to trust his fate to chance, allowing an old Magic 8 Ball to make his choices.  How much worse can it get? (If you know Greg Heffley, you know it gets worse – much worse!)

This is not the funniest of the Wimpy Kid books, but abandonment and loneliness are not funny topics, and I give Jeff Kinney credit for tackling them, and doing it with  humor and hopefulness. Kids love the Wimpy Kid series, and they’ll love this one, too. Sure, it’s funny, but it may hit a bit closer to home than others in the series, and I don't think that's by chance.

Bigger than a Bread Box - a review

A brief review today with lots of extras...

Snyder, Laurel. 2011. Bigger than a Bread Box. New York: Random House.

Like Wendy Mass' "birthday series" books, Bigger than a Bread Box is realistic fiction infused with an element of magic - in this case, a mysterious bread box that appears to grant whatever wishes can fit inside its limited dimensions. At first 12-year-old Rebecca is delighted,but she belatedly discovers the consequence to her wishes.

Told in the first person, Bigger than a Bread Box is a unique story in which magic doesn't necessarily makes things right - or wrong, just different. Most touching in the story is the evolving relationship between Rebecca and her brother, Lew, a toddler. With no one else to turn to after her mother spirits them away to Georgia against their father's will, Rebecca "discovers" her younger brother,

The only difference was that now, when I was alone in the afternoons, I wasn't so alone. Each day I spent a little more time with Lew, and that felt different. It was like he'd been a piece of furniture before, a big doll, and now he was a person, just because I'd noticed he was.

Worth checking out.

Read an excerpt here.
A Study Guide is available here.

Other reviews @

• 100 Scope Notes
• Pink Me
• Dog Ear

A Monster Calls

Ness, Patrick. 2011. A Monster Calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

 (Advance Reader Copy, courtesy of NetGalley.)

(booktalk)

There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.

When the monster calls, Conor is not afraid. For this monster, this powerful, all-seeing monster, born of the earth, the trees and all the ages is not nearly as frightening as the monster that lurks within his nightmare.

... it does not matter what you think, the monster said, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day.

You do not write your life with words, the monster said. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.

The Batboy

Lupica, Mike. 2010. The Batboy. Read by Lucian Doge. Penguin Audiobooks.
(About 6 hours)

Fourteen-year-old Brian Dudley lives with his divorced mother.  His father, a one-time major league pitcher, is coaching in Japan, unable to give up the game he loved once his pitching career was over. Brian shares his dad's love of baseball.  He plays on a travel team with his best friend Kenny and has just landed the job of his dreams - batboy for the Detroit Tigers.

With his favorite player returning to the Tigers after a steroids scandal, his travel team, The Sting, heading for the playoffs, and the Tigers making a run for the pennant, the lineup reads like a perfect summer.  But a perfect roster doesn't always equal a win in baseball, and Brian's perfect summer lineup may be in for a few losses.

Mike Lupica's latest is a home run.  Just close your eyes and you can smell the hot dogs, hear the crack of the bat, and see the play at first. No one does sports like Mike!

If you're a fan of baseball or ever wondered what it's like to be a batboy, Batboy is your summer reading!


Read an excerpt or enjoy this interview with the author and a trailer for the book.






A podcast of this booktalk will be is available on the Multimedia Booktalk page soon now! :)
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Waiting for Normal

Connor, Leslie. 2008. Waiting for normal. New York: Harper Collins.

“Truth was I never really liked dinnertime. Breakfast was our best meal because it was the only meal that was normal. What I mean by that is we had either toast or cereal. That’s normal for breakfast – everyone eats those things for breakfast. But we often had cereal or toast for dinner, too. … So, toast dinners became my specialty.”

Addie and Mommers live in a dilapidated trailer, sitting on cinder blocks on a busy street corner in Schenectady. The corner, not in Schenectady’s best part of town, has a vacant lot, a Laundromat, and thankfully, a mini mart and gas station. The trailer is a parting gesture from Addie’s ex-stepfather. After Mommers fritters away the mortgage money on another Internet scheme and abandons Addie and her half-sisters while Dwight is out of town on a job, Dwight really has no other choice but to take his daughters (whom Addie affectionately calls, The Littles) and move on. But despite his love for her, Addie is not his daughter. Addie belongs to Mommers, and Mommers is what Addie describes as "all or nothing." The problem is, Addie often gets nothing, while business schemes, boyfriends, and Internet chat rooms, get all.

In spite of all this, Addie displays remarkable courage, self-sufficiency, adaptability, honesty and humor. She becomes friends with Soula, the sickly and overweight owner of the mini mart and and her employee, Elliot. She makes new friends at her new school. She waits for normal.

This first person account of a young girl's triumph over adversity is reminiscent of Susan Patron's Newbery winner, The Higher Power of Lucky, however, Connor's protagonist is more hopeful, more believable. Even the dismal Schenectady street corner trailer seems to offer more promise than Lucky's trailer in a remote California desert town.

Both a coming-of-age and a triumph over adversity story, Waiting for Normal is a winner.

Rumor has Waiting for Normal as a possible Newbery contender. If chosen, it will be the second choice in as many years of a young adult (YA) or teen title. As a children's librarian, I hope that juvenile (J) title is chosen instead. There are many good choices this year.

Amelia Rules! When the Past is a Present

Gownley, Jimmy. 2008. Amelia Rules! When the past is a present. Harrisburg, PA: Renaissance Press.

The review on the back cover reads, "Not only is it one of the finest comics of all time, it is one of the best examples of children's literature I have ever read." (Jim Rutkowski)

I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far, but I will say that I did enjoy this graphic novel in the Amelia Rules! series. I admit that I'm not a big fan on fiction graphic novels, but this one is funny and socially relevant. I have not read the other titles in the series, but I was able to pick up the story line easily as middle-schooler, Amelia, struggles with her parents divorce and her relocation. With the help of good friends and a loving family, Amelia not only manages, she rules!

The illustrations are varied in style. In keeping with the book's theme, "The past is a present," there are lifelike depictions of old newspapers, comic strips, and postcards. There is a scene regarding a war deployment that is starkly illustrated with white background. There are realistic and artful pages of outdoor scenes (Gownley has a particular talent for artfully illustrating sunlight), along with the more comedic scenes of everyday interactions between Amelia and her friends.

The best laugh in the book is the "Thank goodness you're open!" game. I loved it!

Bird Lake Moon

Henkes, Kevin. 2008. Bird Lake Moon. New York: Harper Collins.

Bird Lake Moon starts off with an eerie feel. Mitch’s parents are getting divorced. He and his mother are planning to spend the summer with his grandparents at their home on Bird Lake. Spencer’s family is planning to spend some time at Bird Lake too. Both boys’ families are touched with sadness and a hint of mystery. There are secrets in these placid lakeside cottages, “a shiver went through Spencer and wouldn’t go away, as if a ribbon of ice had been tied to his spine.” Spencer and Mitch must come to terms with what is real and what is not. This is complicated by the story’s tagline, “Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there.” Ultimately this is a tale of two boys, of friendship, of growing up, of moving on.

Bird Lake Moon’s chapters alternate between views of Mitch and Spencer. The families, particularly Spencer’s younger sister, Lolly, are well-developed and believable. This is a thoughtfully written novel with an element of mystery that makes it a real page-turner.

Sam's New Friend

Robberecht, Thierry. 2007. Sam's New Friend. New York: Clarion.

Sam's New Friend was first published in Belgium and later translated to English. Sam, a self-described, "strong and brave" dog, plays with boys, not girls. When his mother tells him after school that the new girl in class, Ellie, will be coming over to play and spend the night, Sam is not happy. "But she's a girl!"

Sam is awakened during the night by Ellie's quiet sobbing. Her parents, she explains, may be getting a divorce. Sam models the behavior of his parents and treats Ellie kindly, comforting her and earning her friendship. And in the morning, he knows "she'll be all right, because she's tough. I'm Sam. I'm strong and brave. And so is my new friend Ellie."

Divorce may be mentioned in this story, but it is first and foremost a story of friendship and acceptance. The colorful oil painting illustrations and the vibrant colors of the text-only pages make Sam's New Friend an upbeat look at a sad topic. It's interesting to note that Sam's eyes (and the other characters as well) are depicted as small black dots - until Sam is "awakened" by Ellie's crying, and his eyes become wider and more expressive.