Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman, Lorenzo Mattotti (Illustrations)

Neil Gaiman's creepy books are quite popular with the students, and this will fit in nicely with "Coraline" and "The Graveyard Book." The black and white illustrations look like woodcuts used for inking, mirroring the woodcutter father in the tale. They add to the atmosphere of hunger and survival. Composed more like the original fairy tales that were written for adults and grisly, Gaiman's take is less violent, but still dark for he has a woodcutter and his wife that purposefully lose their children in the woods so they will die. The two parents think this is the only solution to saving themselves in the face of a famine caused by war.

While the mood is dark, Gaiman balances it with light, just as the illustrations do too. The woodcutter father loves his children and truly regrets leaving them in the woods. He's just a dolt that can't come up with another solution. The mother is more grim (or Grimm) for she clearly wants to save only herself and initially tells the father to "kill them." The father refuses to do a monstrous act like that and instead agrees to "lose" the children in the forest.

The son overhears this conversation and leaves rocks to find his way home with his sister. They return to an overjoyed father who takes them out to the forest to die again. The second time they leave, Hansel only has time to get bread and the birds eat it making it impossible for them to get home. Hansel is clever and while his sister does not seem so at first, she is the one that outwits the old witchy woman. She pushes her into the fire by pretending to be dumb and not know how to cook.

The sparse writing reminds me of some of the original fairy tales I have read that were written for adults, but Gaiman makes it his own giving it a modern flavor. The Author's notes explain how the fairy tale has changed over the years and should not be missed. Those that are purists to the tale they grew up with and want it to read like that might be disappointed on this take. Personally, I ate it up once and read it again for dessert. Truly delicious.

5 Smileys

Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

I read oodles of books. Always have. Always will. Sure wish these blogs were around when I was growing up in the age of typewriters. My reading experiences are quite different than the students I chat with on a daily basis. They come at books with their own unique perspectives. Just like me. Just like you. This book has an appealing emotional punch that is similar to "Wonder," by R.J. Palacio and terrific character development. As an adult reader who has many favorites when it comes to books on children with disabilities, I'm getting pickier over what is original and stands out in the herd. While some parts of this story were touching, others fell short.

Sixth grader Ally is in school and her teacher is going on maternity leave. She asks her students to write a short paragraph on themselves for the long-term substitute teacher. The teacher and Ally get in a power struggle because Ally doesn't want anyone to know she can't read or write. Ally gets angry at being forced to write and scribbles hard on the desktop because she knows she'll get out of the activity. The teacher sends her to the principal and cleans the desk. Hmmm... usually the kid would clean the desk but this is one frustrated teacher. And she plays right into Ally's hands.

Ally's brain will think one thing and she'll blurt out another. Making friends is like washing peanut butter out of hair. She is bullied by Shay but also laughed at constantly by other kids in class. Most think she is trying to be funny and her quick-witted responses are often accidental - she doesn't mean to be a jokester or sassy-mouthed. The result is she fools the adults around her and successfully hides her disability. Other outliers in her class are picked on such as Albert, the scientific genius; Oliver, the ADHD tornado; and Keisha, the cooking prodigy. When the new teacher shows up he figures out that Ally has dyslexia and the two bond as she deals with her learning difficulty. More importantly, he draws out the potential in her and she learns to read and believe in herself.

The beginning sets up the stereotyped teacher that can't manage students and is exasperated by an uncooperative student. Her character is flat and perhaps it makes her a more obvious foil to the substitute teacher, Mr. Daniels; however, her lack of complexity made me not as engaged in the plot until Mr. Daniels chalks his way into the classroom scenes. Ally's inner monologue shows the emotional turmoil of a kid that is full of self-doubts. Students will empathize with Ally as she agonizes over making friends, feeling like a loser, and dealing with her problem. She lashes out at others and desperately wants to fit in with her peers. When she makes friends with the other misfits, Albert and Keisha, she finds power in friendship. Although when Ally first meets Keisha she asks her if she likes eggs and rambles on about all the different ways she likes eggs. This painful exchange magnifies her social ineptness. By the end this drastically awkward girl has all but disappeared.

The middle of the story takes off with characters defined by distinct traits and voices. Ally's brother shows that he has an engineer-type brain but suffers from the same learning fate as Ally. The dad is deployed overseas in the Middle East and the mom is doing the best she can with her children. The brother's ingenious design of windshield wipers without a motor reveal his innovative and inventive spirit. Mr. Daniel's character shows he's not always perfect either. Sometimes he singles Ally out to praise her and give her confidence that makes her feel like a charity case, other times he shares her secret. The complexity of trying to teach Ally is captured not only with her fragile ego, but with Mr. Daniel's not always making the right choices when dealing with her. This strengthens the authenticity of their relationship and shows that Ally can forgive even when she's been hurt by adults. I thought Mr. Daniel got preachy at times changing the focus from Ally's internal changes to a slight didactic tone on how to behave, especially at the end.

The humor balances the darker themes of bullies, anger, and misunderstandings. Ally tells Albert and Keisha why Shay is hell-bent on making her life miserable and it is easy to see why they don't get along. And it is Ally's fault. I won't spoil it, because it is so Ally. Needless to say Ally's mistake and Shay's relentless put-down's are understandable. Shay's mother is a bully, as well as her daughter, making Shay's character more understandable and engaging. The author creates strong characters that pull the reader into the plot along with themes such as self-acceptance, confidence, and communication, to name a few.

The ending doesn't seem authentic because Ally goes from this impulsive kid that is a bit odd to a leader in the classroom that the kids look up to, ask advice, and want to be friends with in a very short time. It did not add up with the evolution of her character. Perhaps when Keisha, Albert, and Ally fantasize about the future about how successful they will be and are dreaming big, it sent me spinning off the cliff. I just needed them to be settled in their skin and instead the focus shifts toward them being successful in the eyes of the world and that jarred with me because up to that point they were being successful in their own eyes. In the book, "Absolutely Almost," by Lisa Graff, the boy learns to accept himself without outward success and it seemed more authentic; whereas, this is more wish fulfillment. There is nothing wrong with it, but it made the resolution feel off.

Novice readers have limited emotional experiences and reading is one way they can live vicariously through characters and be exposed to emotions before they happen in real life. This exposure helps prepare them to have empathy for others. By representing the inner qualities of a character such as feelings, beliefs, assumptions, intentions, and thoughts, an author can produce a way for readers to empathize with fictional characters giving them a strong emotional engagement that supports their cognitive and social development. This book does just that. And while I'm coming at it from as an adult reader and see some holes, I know that most will want to be on team Ally. A great addition to any library.

4 Smileys

Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust by Loïc Dauvillier, Marc Lizano (Illustrations), Greg Salsedo (Ink), Alexis Siegel (Translator)

The Holocaust Museum addresses the age-appropriateness of introducing the Holocaust to children. It specifies that students grades 6 and up can understand the complexities and context of the Holocaust, while younger students struggle with the scale and scope of the genocide. Elementary students can be taught tolerance and the harmfulness of prejudice, but the texts need to be more introductory in nature rather than comprehensive. Hidden provides an excellent launching point of introducing the Holocaust through the eyes of a grandma sharing her story of persecution during World War II with her granddaughter. Readers will empathize with the grandmother's fear and pain, while seeing how Jewish students were singled out and mistreated at school. The dark side of human nature is balanced with adults risking their lives in the Resistance to save the young Jewish girl and hide her from the authorities on a countryside farm.

The story is framed by the granddaughter, Elsa, getting up in the middle of the night and finding her grandmother, Dounia, crying. She crawls into her lap and asks why she is sad, so the grandmother tells her story for the first time in her life. At the end it is revealed that the son didn't even know about his mother being hidden from the Nazis. Dounia shows how deep her grief was over the trauma, but by talking to her granddaughter the story shows the possibility of her healing from her painful past.

The father tells the girl that the star she must wear is a sheriff's badge and she goes to school only to be pushed to the back of the classroom, ignored by the teacher when she knows the answer to a question, and put down by the teacher. The author does a brilliant job unfolding her innocent belief that it was a badge and how her parents in an effort to protect her didn't prepare her for the anger she had to face at school. She later learns of her friend, Isaac's public shaming in class. She and another girl with a badge/star are shunned and isolated on the playground. The color illustrations capture their downcast faces contrasting with the other smiling students playing hopscotch and tag.

When the police ransack her place, she finds a reprieve in the countryside on a farm. Working on the farm helps her forget all the frightening moments that led her to it and the reader learns about those citizens that were not Jewish, but risked their lives to help Jews escape the atrocities that were being done to eliminate them. The speech bubbles change in color to indicate when the Grandmother is talking to her granddaughter. This helps guide the narration and makes the dialogue clear.

The Charlie Brown-type illustrations are childlike and support the introductory text. Tension mounts as Dounia sees stars like graffiti on the glass of the shops owned by Jews and police hurting adults and spitting on them. The images show more than the text and reflects Dounia's bewilderment at why her city has changed into such a harsh place. When she later has to change her name to protect her identity and the people hiding her, her expression is afraid or unhappy. Eventually she learns to smile again but not before having to face physical changes in others and death.

5 Smileys

All the Answers by Kate Messner

Ah, the joys of wish-fulfillment. Remember Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill that magically wrote when she interviewed subjects from the Harry Potter series? Most of the stories were sensational but one time it was accurate (sort of). I really want a magical pen that will write for me. Just think, papers or book reviews appear with no mistakes. No drafts. No bad-writing days. Now I'm going to add Kate Messner's magical pencil to my wish list. Imagine having a pencil that answered all your questions. Oh, the places you'd go. Or not. Twelve-year-old Ava has found such a pencil and luckily she is morally grounded and learns to not abuse the pencil's magical powers. Her friend, Sophie, on the other hand, does use the pen to hurt others and learns the hard way that she cannot control a person's free will. There's plenty of humor, emotional turmoil, and strong character development. If you liked, "Bigger Than a Breadbox," by Laurel Snyder, then you'll like this realistic book with a touch of magic.

Ava  Anderson is taking a math test when she hears answers to her questions as she writes on scratch paper. She figures out that her pencil is magical and shares her secret with her best friend, Sophie. Messner is good at creating distinct traits in her characters and Sophie is a rambunctious, tumbling gymnast that uses the curb as a balance beam and does back handsprings when she finds out a boy likes her. She's impulsive and it gets her in trouble when she uses the pencil to feel important with other kids in her grade. When she starts to share secrets about others that hurt feelings, it is Eva that reigns her in.

The two friends balance each other out. Eva is neurotically worried about the future. She has so many fears that it can be crippling. Sophie, convinces her to take risks or lets her know when she's out-of-control. Eva is particularly worried about death. Her grandma passed away five years earlier and Eva's grandpa is in a nursing home. She's also concerned about her parents getting a divorce or her mom having cancer. Many of her fears come true so she seems justified in her worries, although it was appropriate that she saw a counselor at the end to help her deal with anxiety.

The plot is a bit overly ambitious with death and divorce and cancer. Seems like one could have been dropped. The subplot of romance is light with the girls interested in boys but no one is serious for very long. It's spot-on for most middle school behavior. The grandpa's storyline is easy to figure out early in the book but it isn't resolved until the end; however, the pencil twist and where the magic comes from was not predictable. Good fantasy writing explains the source of magical powers and while some might find this far-fetched, it makes for a stronger plot. Some criticized it and I know my readers that really don't like fantasy might struggle with this unbelievable part.

The humor helps lighten the heaviness of the topics and I especially enjoyed the father and his attempt to create some famous recipe that would draw people to his general store. A large superstore is coming to town and he is trying make his small grocery store stand out so that people will choose it over the other. When he starts an oven fire and then pulls out a donut that is charred on the outside and raw on the inside, it reminded me of my sister and me making brownies. I preheated the oven and my mom had sixteen boxes of cereal stashed inside (family of seven). I set the cereal on fire and my sister and I lined up like a fire brigade chucking cereal into the kitchen sink with the faucet on full blast. Later we cooked the brownies only to discover we'd read the recipe wrong and the inside was runny. I was 16 and she was 10-years-old. I'm still a hopeless cook, just like Ava's dad.

4 Smileys

Boy on the Edge by Fridrik Erlings

An abused and bullied boy named, Henry, searches for a true friend on a farm in the stark volcanic landscape of Iceland. He finds peace but it is not easy at his new foster home run by a childless couple, the Reverend and Emily. The Reverend is more of a screecher than a preacher, reminding Henry of the shouting bullies he endured at school and making him identify more with the outcast Satan than God.

Henry's mom has given him up to the state after he hurt her in an argument. He feels cast out of his home and is angry with the world. He has dyslexia, a debilitating stutter that makes him not talk, a clubfoot that makes him limp, and a long history of being bullied at school. When he meets foster mother, Emily, he learns kindness and begins to feel at home for the first time, especially with the farm animals. He longs for a friend, and is deeply hurt by rejection. He has anger management issues and the adults are misguided in their dealings with him. In the prologue, Fridrik Erlings reveals this as a tale of redemption for him and a chance for him to right a past wrong. Beautifully written and moving, it shows a boy's difficult journey to self-acceptance.

Two older boys, Mark and John, come to the farm, along with a younger kind boy, Ollie, that upset Henry's provisional peace. Tensions mount as Mark and John manipulate Henry so they can have a secret party with some local girls. The two boys want to escape the isolation of the farm and seek Henry's help. However, it is Ollie that threatens Henry the most for he draws Emily's attention away from Henry. Worse, Ollie hounds the illiterate Henry asking him to read. Henry does everything he can to avoid doing that and it leads to a tragic climax.

Henry doesn't speak and most of the narration is his inner monologue where he agonizes over making friends and being rejected. He is incredibly lonely finding the farm animals his closest friends. He thinks John is becoming a friend, but that changes when Mark comes to the farm. Emily helps him feel at home, but when Ollie shows up, Emily gives him her undivided attention making Henry feel lonely again. The imagery of sacrificial lambs is rich in symbolism from the animals to the people. Just like Christ died on the cross and had to be in total darkness cut off from God to take on humankind's sins, Henry feels the darkness of his anger and being cut off from others in relationships. He calls the boys at the farm children of lust and wonders if that is why the world rejects them.

The Reverend uses corporal punishment and religion to be an authoritarian figure. Even the name he has chosen for the boys, "Home of the Lesser Brethren," shows an attitude of superiority and not compassion. He bullies those around him and has no clue what it means to love another human like himself. He even preaches the gospel in a way that suits his needs. He says that when the boys misbehave they are being overtaken by the devil and the Reverend has to punish the devil in them. He punishes anyone who speaks up and questions his authority even if it is done respectfully. He makes them rebuild an altar of stones all night long to get the devil out of them or pray locked up in a boiler room.

History shows over and over people that use religion to justify actions that are contrary to the gospels; they will murder, oppress, and abuse people in God's name. The Reverend is like this. He preaches that the devil was cast out of heaven because God asked him to worship men. However, Satan was actually cast out because he wanted to replace the one true God. Ironically the real Gospel story is a warning about pride, but the haughty Reverend has baptized himself in pride missing the meaning of the scriptures. Tragically, he is a man that does not know how to love others. He just wants to rule and control the boys at the farm. Unable to love his wife, he doesn't ask anyone's opinion and is a hell and brimstone preacher. His goal is to build a church, but he does so at the expense of his marriage. On the day of his first sermon he realizes that he has lost his wife's love to Ollie and expresses regret to Henry.

The character development is particularly well-done in this book. All of them are metaphorically pushed to the edge of the cliff in their relationships. Mark wants to keep running and won't face his past or accept himself. John is pained by his parents abandoning him to the point that he suffers depression. Ollie tries to deal with the death of his parents by quoting poetry to get rid of bad memories. The Reverend does not nurture his marriage. Emily loses the twenty boys she loves because of the Reverend's need for a church. And Henry desperately wants a friend and must learn to love himself.

Emily tries to get Henry to read "The Little Prince," but he throws it over a cliff. Later Ollie tries to get him to read the same book because he wants to hear about the fox. The fox gives advice in the book on human relationships such as, "One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eyes." The fox also talks about a rose and it being special because it was the object of the prince's love. This ties in with the author's prologue where we discover he is Ollie in the story and Henry was a boy he didn't talk to for twenty years in real life. Instead Henry died and Ollie read his notebooks only to discover that he was the rose in Henry's life because he introduced him to books and it was through literature and writing that Henry found acceptance and peace.

This complex book might appeal to adults more than kids. The swear word "sh**" is used quite a bit and might offend some readers depending on personal taste. I thought it got repetitious with the description of the animal's defecating, but I did think it made the two older boys conversation more authentic when they were using it. While the book is dark there are moments of humor and lightness. The suicide attempt, violence, and abuse make this young adult, but they are not graphic. Henry's confusion and emotional turmoil should keep readers on the edge of their seats.

5 Smileys

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan by Hildi Kang

Chinese protagonists in children's books are like agate hunting on Lake Superior's shorelines. They are hard to spot among all the other rocks. This new addition will help add to the diverse books we have and fill a need for Asian characters that young readers can relate to in our school. Chengli is an orphan who gets permission from his adoptive parent to work on a caravan that is traveling the silk road for trading. The goal of the boy is to find out what happened to his father who disappeared on the silk road when he was an infant. His mother died when he was too little to get answers from her. The journey is full of hardship, dangers, and adventures as Chengli discovers what it means to grow up and discover his strengths.

The master that runs the caravan is a fair man that thirteen-year-old Chengli respects. The caravan is forced by the Emperor to have a child-princess accompany them on their journey. She is to be delivered to her husband-to-be. She reminds me of mooncakes that look gorgeous on the outside, but once you sink your teeth into them the filling might be shredded pork, fish, eggs, or sweet red beans. They are unexpected and not always pleasing to taste, but I've developed a taste for some of them over the years. The princess has tantrums most of the trip, threatens to chop off heads like a dumpling-head, and is superior to everyone around her. The dangers of the road and a kidnapping force her to mature and see her servants as human beings.

The plot and character development have some holes, especially at the end when Chengli describes the master as being like a father to him and he seems to have feelings for the princess. He has respect for the master but not enough to tell him about his moral dilemma or treat him like a father. His adoptive parent he thinks of more throughout the story than the master. The princess and him are just friends. He rescues her and cares about her but she only calls him, "Skinny Boy" or "Camel Boy," giving no indication that she is interested in him. The end made it look romantic and it should have just focused on friendship to stay in line with the character development. There is plenty of action and that will draw readers into the story the most.

The character of Fourth Brother and his actions are never really brought to full light. His last action seemed too vicious for the relationship. His character becomes flat at the end of the story. Chengli is interesting but doesn't have many unique traits that make him memorable. He's a nice kid and its a nice story, but it will be a grain of sand in my constantly shifting sand-dune-pile-memory of forgotten books.

3 Smileys

One Witch at a Time by Stacy DeKeyser

Rudi is back. He is first introduced in the book, "The Brixen Witch" showing a knack for getting into pickles of some sort or another that are not entirely his doing.Yet, he shoulders the responsibility when fixing the problem falls on him. He does not blame others even when he can or maybe should. Internally, his character arc shows a boy that has become smarter about life through his adventure. He thinks about what it means to be a hero and have public glory but decides later that he doesn't do what he does for adoration. He just does what has to be done. The character arc lags at times but comes on strong at the end as Rudi thinks on what makes good leaders or heroes - it implies that greedy people are not fit to lead and heroes can lose sight of what is important if they act for public recognition. Rudi is the unsung hero who has learned that this path is best for him. The twisty ending is a terrific contrast from the classic "Jack and the Beanstalk."

Rudi is ambushed by nine-year-old Susanna on his way to the market to sell a cow. The family has fallen on hard times and needs food for the table. A foreign girl is trying to sell something in the market. Rudi finds her attractive, but not enough to sell his cow for some lousy beans. Susanna, on the other hand, recognizes the beans as magic and sells the cow behind his back setting into motion a plague on the town of Brixen. Everyone knows that magic brings trouble and the Brixen Witch knows that magic from another town must be returned for balance to be restored. Rudi is called upon to right the wrong in this action-filled adventure.

While Susanna's character is spot-on, Agatha's character wasn't rounded out enough. Writing a good plot can be tricky business. You want to tease the reader along, but don't want to give away too much to soon. You don't want to be too obvious because you threaten to bore the reader and slow the pace. You also don't want the characters acting in ways that don't make sense and develop them at the same time. Too many questions surround Agatha at the beginning and Rudi doesn't ask the questions like people normally would when they have been scammed by someone.

It doesn't make sense that Agatha would steal beans, try to sell them, then help Rudi return them. Her motives are obvious that she is not to be trusted. Also Rudi never forces her to explain herself as a normal person would. He just looks at her starry-eyed and accepts everything she says. He comes off really naive which is contrary to a boy that has already saved his village. Agatha shows a person constantly serving her own self-interests. While this story has good descriptions and dialogue, the plot involving Agatha is too obvious making it feel forced. But again, I'm an adult reader. Perhaps it won't be obvious to 3rd or 4th graders.

This works as a stand alone, but I suggest reading "The Brixen Witch." It is well-written and the reader will feel like he or she knows Rudi better. The ending and its twist on "Jack and the Beanstalk," was unexpected and funny. If you like fractured fairy tales, then you will like this one.

3 Smileys