I would give this a five but I’m not sure of the text. There is something about the story that I am not sure of. The only way to understand is to read it yourself. I could tell you all day what is happening, but that does not do it justice. Is it too preachy? No, but there is a message the author wants you to know. Is it too sad? No, but even the ending is not completely “happy-happy.” The tone is somber. I […]
Life Doesn’t Make Narrative Sense
I cannot review the Little House books without talking about this: these books are racist. I hope that teachers or parents who are introducing these books to children for the first time are having serious discussions with these kids about racism and colonialism, and how these attitudes influenced westward expansion. As I was rereading these books (which, by the way, I loved as a kid and reread many times), I couldn’t stop thinking about the word “pioneer,” which in this case is just a euphemism […]
The awkwardness of middle school and dental drama
My previous review was for Sisters a biographical graphic novel about the relationship between the author, Raina Telgemeier, and her younger sister Amara. Before she wrote Sisters, Raina chronicled the difficult and awkward time of middle school through the transition to high school in Smile. Poor Raina, at a time when you can feel your most self conscious she had an extra complication of braces and dental work on a level I had never heard of before. At eleven years old an unfortunate accident knocked out one of Raina’s top […]
A peak into a possible life
Raina Telgemeier took her childhood struggles with her sister and adapted them into this funny, and at times touching, graphic novel about the joys and angst of sisterhood. I have two sisters, however with a twelve year age difference between my first sister and myself, and a fourteen year age difference (plus the complexities of autism) between me and my second sister, with the added complication that I moved away from home when they were seven and five respectively, I’ve never had what I consider […]
Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy
A group of young wildflowers on skateboards and scooters zoom around the pages of Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy by Fiona Woodcock. They leave seeds all over to create color and life where there was only gray before. Poppy, Buttercup, Bluebell, and Dandy (the names of our heroines) is a straight forward story about conservation and making your world beautiful by going out and doing instead of just standing by. The watercolor-like illustrations keep with the lightheartedness of the text. This allows the deeper meaning […]
Lovely Children’s Book for the Times We Live In
This review was written together with my 8 year old daughter, who has read the book over and over because she liked it so much. She first heard about the book at an author talk, and later asked to buy it when coming across it at a school book sale. She is a prolific reader, and considers this her favorite book. Amina’s Voice is a book for 8-12 year olds about a Muslim-American girl who just started 6th grade. Her best friend, a Korean immigrant, […]
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