Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices, by David M. Schwartz (photographs by Dwight Kuhn)

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Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices

Author: David M. Schwartz
Photographer: Dwight Kuhn
Publisher: Creston Books
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Source: Net Galley

My three-year-old daughter and did not quite agree on this book. And rightly so. A preschooler's reaction to icky gross things is usually quite different than her mom's. So I've split it up into two reviews:

My Review: Ewwww! It's so gross! I mean I knew it would be gross because it's about mold and rotting fruit. It IS called "Rotten Pumpkin" after all. But still, it's sooo gross. Close ups of fuzzy mold and slugs, coupled with little stories from the points of view of the bugs, fungi, soil and pumpkin itself. It's definitely not for the squeamish.

Magda's Review: This book was fantastic! I really liked how the slime mold is actually a whole bunch of little molds that work together. It's good to work together. And there are a lot of true facts in this book, like how some molds are used for medicine and fermentablation [she means 'fermentation'] which is good. Why don't we let our fruits rot so we can feed all the bugs and molds? We should do that!

Sigh. Thanks a lot, David M. Schwartz and Dwight Kuhn. My daughter loved your very informative and verrrry icky book.

Ten Birds Meet a Monster, by Cybèle Young

Ten Birds Meet a Monster
Series: Ten Birds
Author: Cybèle Young
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2013
Source: Edelweiss
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Ten adorable and frightened black birds are about to be attacked by a scary monster in the next room! At least they think it's a monster. It's definitely casting a very scary shadow. One by one they use a pile of clothes to devise costumes to make themselves look like bigger, even scarier monsters. But the creature in the next room is unmoved. Finally, bird number ten wanders into the next room and discovers what the "monster" really is.

The line drawings remind me of antique book engravings, except with adorably big-eyed bird faces staring back at me. Every page made me want to go, "Awwwww...cuuuuute!"

Magda loved it too. Usually she has a love-hate relationship with books that might be scary or monster-filled. She doesn't like to be scared, except that she really does (just like her mom). But she was so charmed by the silliness of the birds' attempts to scare the "monster" that she wasn't scared at all.

Magda's favourite part: There's not really a monster! It's just a shadow!

My favourite part: The line drawings. I can't get enough of them.

Fans of Cybèle Young's previous book, Ten Birds, will be pleased to know that the bridge featured in that book (seen above) appears as a picture on the wall in Ten Birds Meet a Monster.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Lady Fiona J. M. Aitken Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon (Audiobook narrated by Wanda McCaddon)

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle
by Lady Fiona J. M. Aitken Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Audiobook Publisher: Tantor Media
Publication Date: March 5, 2012

 

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of the audiobook from Tantor Media through Edelweiss (Above the Treeline). I was not required to write a favourable review, nor was I otherwise compensated in exchange for my review. I also borrowed the print edition of the book from my local library. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

I loved both the print and audio versions of this book! As a fan of Downton Abbey, I was fascinated with all the ways in which the show mirrors the real life of the family who inhabited Highclere Castle (where the show is filmed) at the time. Normally with books like this I try to indicate whether or not I think it would be "for fans only" or if it be of interest to non-fans as well, but this book is aimed at fans of Downton Abbey for a reason. If you are interested in the lives of the aristocracy and the servant classes in early twentieth century England, you will probably like this book. Then again, if that's the case you'll probably like Downton Abbey too! 

I loved reading about the similarities between the fictional Lord and Lady Grantham and the real Lord and Lady Carnarvon, including the Earl marrying a wealthy woman to save his fortune, the castle serving as a hospice for soldiers in WWI, the shooting hunts (or is it hunting shoots?) the division of labour among the servants and much of the specific details about their lives, the Earl's ever faithful dog, and even a stoic but compassionate man named Mr. Bates who is forced to walk with a cane due to a war injury (Wow! So many things! And more, actually.). Above all, I loved reading more about my absolute favourite character on Downton Abbey, which is Highclere Castle itself.

Plus the audiobook narration by Wanda McCaddon is absolutely perfect. Although you miss out on some of the photos if you opt for the audiobook only, I'd almost say it's worth it just to hear the story in Ms. McCaddon's pitch perfect delivery. If only they could have somehow had the Downton Abbey theme playing in the background of the audiobook, it would have been sheer heaven.

I wonder what other similarities the writers will use in upcoming seasons of Downton Abbey. Will Lord Grantham help uncover the tomb of King Tut in Series Four, just as Lord Carnarvon did in 1922? OH I HOPE SO!

Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons, by Sara Levine (illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth)

Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons

Author: Sara Levine

Illustrator: T.S. Spookytooth

Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group/Millbrook Press

Publication Date: August 1, 2013 

(Canadian Publication Date: October 1, 2013)

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Source: NetGalley

As a children's book this is okay. It introduces children to different animals by asking them "What kind of animal would you be if..." with variations such as "if your back legs were much longer than your front" or "if your fingers were as long as your body," etc. Turn the page and find the answer (hare, bird, etc.). It's cute, but I found myself wishing for two things. One, that it was longer or at least had more information (in sidebars or outlined boxes, so it could still be a picture book but would have greater appeal to older children). And second, I wish it were less open-ended. The guessing game format of the book suggests that each page has a right answer that children can figure out from the clues, but the clues are vague enough that they could each have multiple answers. I found that a little frustrating.

Still, the idea is a good one. And how great is it that it's illustrated by someone who goes by the name "T.S. Spookytooth"?

Speeding Down the Spiral: An Artful Adventure, by Deborah Goodman Davis (illustrated by Sophy Naess)

Speeding Down the Spiral: 
An Artful Adventure
by Deborah Goodman Davis
Illustrator: Sophy Naess
Publisher: DGDFA
Publication Date: October 1, 2012
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Source: NetGalley

My daughter and I loved this book so much! As a matter of fact, as soon as we had finished reading it Magda asked if we could read it again. It's basically the story of a father, daughter and infant son who visit the Guggenheim museum in New York City. They start at the top of the museum's famous spiral when the dad stops to check an email on his phone. His daughter Lizzie tries her best to be patient but before she knows it, her baby brother Ben's stroller has gotten away from her and is--as the title promises--speeding down the spiral! As Lizzie chases after Ben, she passes by many of the museum's famous art works and gathers a crowd of helpers at the same time. By the time Ben's stroller makes it all the way to the bottom, he is being pursued by Lizzie, a teacher and students, a tour group, a security guard, an amateur artist and various other museum guests. Plus they've all learned a lot about the art they've seen.

I loved this book. The illustrations are perfect and certainly do justice to their subject matter (which is all further explained at the back of the book). I also like that many of the things that Lizzie learns about the art is said by characters who are huffing and puffing and running down the spiral ramp. It adds to the fun and frantic nature of the book. Well done!

I also like that the moral of the story seems to be not to spend all your time playing with your phone when you're supposed to be watching your kids. Or at least that's what I took away from it. 

For more information about the book you can visit its website: speedingdownthespiral.com

Oh, also, does anyone know anything about the publisher, DGDFA? I'm 99% sure that stands for "Deborah Goodman Davis Fine Arts" so does that mean it's self-published? Or that the author has a publishing house? Either way, I was shocked to find that out. The layout and editing choices reflect the work of a larger publishing house, with many hands making it perfect. It's certainly not impossible for an author to do this on a smaller scale, but in my experience it is much harder and rarer. If this is an indication of the quality that's to come, I'll definitely be looking for more from her (and/or them)!

Sometimes Just One is Just Right, by Gayle Byrne (illustrated by Mary Haverfield)

Sometimes Just One Is Just Right
Author: Gayle Byrne
Illustrator: Mary Haverfield
Publisher: Abbeville Press
Publication Date: April 5, 2013
Source: NetGalley
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I got this book specifically with my three-year-old in mind. She's always asking about the possibility of siblings and is positively obsessed with the sight of pregnant women. While I don't know whether she'll have a sibling in the future or not, I was hoping this book would be a good reminder that there are worse things in the world than being an only child. She doesn't have to share her toys, her room or her parents, for instance. She doesn't have to get dragged along to a sibling's extra-curricular activities when she'd rather be at her own. She doesn't have to listen to everyone cooing about how cute the baby is (not that I think she'd mind that).

This book does a good job of making all of these points while still extolling the virtues of different kinds of families. Sometimes it would be nice to have lots of siblings because then there'd always be someone to play with. Dinnertime would always feel like a big party. It wouldn't be as boring and lonely as being an only child sometimes is.

On the other hand, the children from big families sometimes envy the only child, who never has to wait for their turn on the swing or has the privacy and quiet of their own room.

In the end the child in the book concludes, as the title says, that sometimes just one is just right.

Porcupette Finds a Family: A Story of Adoption, by Vanita Oelschlager (illustrated by Mike Blanc)

Porcupette Finds a Family: A Story of Adoption
Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Illustrator: Mike Blanc
Publisher: VanitaBooks
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
Source: NetGalley
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Oh dear. If there is one trend in children's books that I found particularly vexing it's the awkward allegory. You know those books that pretend to be about a cute little animal but are really about some Very. Serious. Issue? They always think they're being so subtle, but they're not. The thing is, there are millions (literally millions) of excellent children's books by very good authors about cute little animals who talk and have adventures and are absolutely wonderful, and ALL of them are allegories. You know how I know? Because real animals don't talk and have adventures. Those aren't the ones I'm talking about. The ones I'm talking about are the ones in which the author (often a psychologist or a well-meaning educator, rather than a professional writer) wants to help children deal with An Important Issue or teach them A Valuable Lesson (capitalized because this is always the MOST important part of the book) and decides to do so with cute little animals because why not? Isn't that what children relate to? They won't even realize how much they're learning because the story is JUST SO MUCH FUN! Except it isn't. The books I'm talking about are so heavy-handed with their message and so sloppy with their writing that good storytelling is often abandoned and it's difficult to enjoy the story on its merits without feeling you're being lectured. I hate that there are so many examples of this.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm suggesting that Porcupette Finds a Family is such an example.

In the story, Porcupette, a baby porcupine, is left orphaned after her mother goes out for food one day and doesn't come back. She feels understandably distraught. She's still so young and needs a mother. Luckily she is adopted by a mother bear and treated as one of her cubs even though, of course, she is not. The description sounds heartwarming and, by all rights, it should have been. There are PLENTY of "animal adopted by another animal and feeling different and awkward but still loved" stories. There are even a few fantastic "porcupine feels bad about being so prickly and wonders if anyone will love him/her" books out there (if you haven't read Mr. Fine, Porcupine, do).

But where this one misses the mark is when Porcupette immediately starts questioning if her mother abandoned her because of something she had done wrong, if she was such an unlovable child that her mother left her on purpose. While this might indeed be something that foster children worry about (the book's obvious target audience) it makes a lot less sense coming from a porcupine. And it's kind of a downer. At several points in the book my three-year-old piped up with, "That's silly. Her mother didn't leave her. She's probably just dead!" Because OBVIOUSLY that is the most logical conclusion to a missing porcupine. Even my three-year-old knows that.

But Vanita Oelschlager isn't really telling a story about forest animals. She's telling a story about foster kids. The problem is that the allegory loses its power when it stops making sense as a good story. It has to work on both levels for it to work at all. And above all, good storytelling can not be abandoned.

I understand the power of literature in dealing with difficult situations, particularly in childhood. Believe me, I do. In my personal and professional life I have read thousands of children's books, and have had many occasions to rely on books specifically written about difficult situations. But the best ones must be, above all, good stories and well-written books. And that's especially true with the animal allegories. Because if Vanita Oelschlager wanted to write a book that dealt with the particulars of abandonment, foster care or adoption, she certainly could have done so using human characters talking about real situations. Instead she chose to write about porcupines. This suggests that the story holds up on its own, both as an animal story and as a story with a message. But this isn't Stellaluna or The Ugly Duckling or even Mr. Fine, Porcupine. Although her good intentions are obvious, this is not a book I would recommend.