The Night the Moon Ate My Room!, by Jesse Wilson

The Night the Room Ate My Room!
Author: Jesse Wilson
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Publication Date: September 4, 2012
Source: Goodreads
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Oh dear. I can tell that author Jesse Wilson loves this book dearly. Not only did he promote it on Goodreads (which is where I first heard about it, and how I won a free giveaway copy--thanks again) but when he sent me a copy I saw that he had also sprung for the matching bookmark. This book is his baby. Not only that, but his author bio lists his job as giving "educational performances of The Night the Moon Ate My Room for schools." Eek! This book is his life. So I'd hat to tell him I didn't love it.

In fact, if your name is Jesse Wilson and you're reading this you may want to just stop right now. Go get some tea, take a walk, then come back and look at a different website altogether. Okay?

Okay.

The truth is I hated this book. There's so much I hated about it I don't even know where to start because it makes me feel a little mean. But here are the main criticisms:

First, the book is such a clumsy allegory that even the author of the "Footprints in the Sand" poem would be like, "Whoa! Pull back a little!" It's like if you took a Mitch Albom book (say, Five People You Meet in Heaven) but stripped away all the sentimentality and relatability and all the things that make you care about hte character, and all you were left with was "The Lesson." Or if you took a Roald Dahl book (like James and the Giant Peach, for example) and surgcally removed all whimsy and clever writing until all that remained was...well, still better than this book, quite frankly.

Don't believe me? Well how about this. Even though the book is over 120 pages long he never bothers to give the main character a name. It's not all told in the first person either. Most of it is a third person narrative in which he refers to the hero of the story as simply "the boy."

Few things irritate me more than authors who are so intent on "teaching a lesson" that they forego good writing, good editing or good storytelling in order to focus solely on "the message." I find it insulting to the target audience and to the target buyers, teachers and parents. Because do you know who doesn't have to sacrifice good storytelling in order to impart a lesson? Good storytellers. And Jesse Wilson is not one.

Whew! I'm glad I asked him to leave the room before he read that.

Black and Bittern Was Night, by Robert Heidbreder (illustrated by John Martz)

Black and Bittern Was Night
Author: Robert Heidbreder
Illustrator: John Martz
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: August 1, 2013
Source: NetGalley and Edelweiss
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What an unusual book! It reminds me a little bit of the Dr. Seuss meets The Nightmare Before Christmas, with all the adorable spooky skeletons trying to take over the holidays. In this case it's "skel-a-mug-mugs" who are trying to scare everyone in town so that Halloween is cancelled. It almost works when the "tall-bigs" lock up their "doorholds" and "drapefolds" and won't let their "tyke tots" out to trick-or-treat. Luckily the kids know better and sneak out to out "splook" the skel-a-mug intruders. The nonsense rhyme with made up words and silly tongue twisters is hard to read but surprisingly easy to understand.

It would also make a good exercise for elementary school aged children to try to figure out the silly poem's meaning. Poetry can be a bit daunting and inscrutable for some, and what better way to take on the task of deciphering poetry than to practice on a silly rhyme about skeletons at Halloween?

My daughter Magda had fun picking out all of the children's Halloween costumes ("Look! A wolf! I wonder why he doesn't have any candy?") as well as the silly skeleton features (some were wearing glasses, others suspenders). She was so amused by the silly rhymes and charming pictures that she forgot to be scared by the spooky "splooks."

Magda's favourite part: When they were trying to go in the houses but they couldn't get in. The pictures were so funny.

My favourite part: Don't laugh, but I really liked it because it reminded me of Plants vs. Zombies.

NOTE: I borrowed the "Magda's favourite part/My favourite part" idea from a great children's book blog called Read It Daddy. It's written by a dad from the UK with his daughter Charlotte and features "Charlotte's best bit" and "Daddy's best bit" in each review. You should definitely check it out. It's all kinds of awesome.

Loula is Leaving for Africa, by Anne Villeneuve

Loula Is Leaving for Africa
Author: Anne Villeneuve
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2013
Source: NetGalley and Edelweiss
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Loula has had enough! Her triplet brothers are loud, stinky and driving her crazy! She's decided she's going to Africa. She doesn't know where that is, but she knows that it's very, very far away. So she packs her bags (her bunny, her tea service and her best drawing), tells her opera singer mother and her moustache-crafting father (is that a job?) that she's leaving. Then she's off. Luckily her chauffeur is actually paying attention and he spends the day with Loula, taking her on a "ship" (the town car) to "Africa" (the park), using their imaginations to have a day long adventure.

Magda ADORED this book. I'm sure we've already read it twenty times. When I asked her what her favourite part was she told me about ten different things. Here are the highlights:

Magda's favourite part: "I really like the name 'Loula.' But I liked how the driver called her 'mademoiselle' because that's like a fancy thing to say. And I like how they go to the park and have a picnic and stay out really late even after it starts to get dark. But why were Loula's brothers stinky? Were they really stinky? Did they just need a bath?"

My favourite part: Oh the eccentricities! The hipster haberdasher father, the opera diva mother, the little girl with her own chauffeur, the absurdity of the whole premise. I love it! It reminded me of those Eloise books about the little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel. It's like stepping into a whole different world by reading about this little girl's life, which is sort of the point of the story anyway. So good!

I don't know much about author/illustrator Anne Villeneuve except that she wrote/drew a wordless book called The Red Scarf, but I hope she considers giving Loula her own series. I think my daughter would happily read 30 more books about this little girl!

Cozy Light, Cozy Night, by Elisa Kleven

Cozy Light, Cozy Night
Author: Elisa Kleven
Publisher: Creston
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Source: NetGalley
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This is sort of a book of seasons with each page finding "cozy" things about each time of year. It's a great book to snuggle up--nice and cozy--with a little one and read before bed.

It's also a book you could read again and again because each page is filled with such detailed pictures. There are children playing, dogs running, butterflies fluttering, snow falling, stars twinkling, cats pouncing, and more.

It's also nice to see the same word used in so many different contexts. It really deepens the understanding of the word, which is lovely.

Magda's favourite part: "I like how they keep saying cozy everything. It reminds me of Cozy Little Book Journal!"

My favourite part: I have to agree with Magda. I'm a sucker for a book that has "cozy" in the title. But I also love the rich illustrations with lots of details to explore.

Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots, by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro

Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots
Series: Shapes and Spaces
Authors: Sheryl and Simon Shapiro
Publisher: Annick Press
Publication Date: July 4, 2013
Source: NetGalley
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I received digital review copies of Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toe and Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots (Firefly Books/Annick Press) from NetGalley. Quite frankly I'm a little surprised they were marketed on NetGalley because neither of them seem like the type of book that would generate pre-market buzz, or even the type of book that you would buy based on a recommendation. They're both books of stock photography accompanied by simple and unimaginative text about shapes and patterns. They're the kind of books you might pick up on the sale rack at the book store or grocery store. They might catch your eye and you might get them for your child or grandchild if they weren't very expensive, but...well they're not...oh I hate to be mean but...they're just not special. There are lots of books like this on the market and I'm at a loss to think of what makes either of them better than any of the many others available.

Here's the cover of Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toe:

Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toe, by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro

Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toe
Series: Shapes and Spaces
Authors: Sheryl and Simon Shapiro
Publisher: Annick Press/Firefly Books
Publication Date: July 4, 2013
Source: NetGalley
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I received digital review copies of Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toe and Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots (Firefly Books/Annick Press) from NetGalley. Quite frankly I'm a little surprised they were marketed on NetGalley because neither of them seem like the type of book that would generate pre-market buzz, or even the type of book that you would buy based on a recommendation. They're both books of stock photography accompanied by simple and unimaginative text about shapes and patterns. They're the kind of books you might pick up on the sale rack at the book store or grocery store. They might catch your eye and you might get them for your child or grandchild if they weren't very expensive, but...well they're not...oh I hate to be mean but...they're just not special. There are lots of books like this on the market and I'm at a loss to think of what makes either of them better than any of the many others available.

Here's the cover from Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots:

Valentino Finds a Home, by Andy Whiteside (illustrated by Catherine Hnatov)

Valentino Finds a Home
Author: Andy Whiteside
Illustrator: Catherine Hnatov
Publisher: Star Bright Books
Publication Date: April 15, 2012
Source: NetGalley
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Valentino is a South American guinea pig and he worries that his days may be numbered. When he walks by restaurants and diners he can't help but noticed that his species is often on the menu. Eek! What's a fluffy rodent to do? Well he must escape obviously. But first--a training montage!

Valentino joins a gym. He lifts weights. He learns to swim. He listens to the soundtrack from Rocky. (I may have added that last one myself.) Once he's very fast and strong, he heads to the airport to sneak into someone's luggage. His plan is a success. Hoorah!

Of course he does have to put up with people calling him a rat all the time, and he runs the risk of being exterminated or put in a lab, but luckily he makes his way to a pet store where he is finally adopted by a lovely little girl named Maddie...even if everyone does still think he's a rat.

Magda's favourite part: "Well, I didn't like the part where everybody kept calling the guinea pig a rat. But I did like the part where Valentino says, 'I'm not a rat. I'm a guinea pig!' I liked that."

My favourite part: The details in the illustrations, like the Louis Vuitton bag in the picture above. Also, the fact that they mention guinea pigs as food in South America, which is absolutely true.

Francis, the Little Fox, by Véronique Boisjoly (illustrated by Katty Maurey)

Francis, the Little Fox
Author: Véronique Boisjoly
Illustrator: Katty Maurey
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2013
Source: NetGalley and Edelweiss
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Francis is a very fancy fox. He even dresses up to do laundry, which he and his father do at Mr. Li's Small Socks Laundromat. But it's not all smooth sailing on laundry days. Franis is used to doing laundry at home, and the new laundromat has a lot of rules. Plus there's Lily Rain Boots, Mr. Li's granddaughter. She's always playing tricks and causing mischief. Still, Francis is a good sport and enjoys spending Saturdays with his father (and away from his sister Lola).

There's not much I didn't love about this book. The characters are wonderful, the illustrations are beautiful, and the story is both charming and easy to relate to, especially for city kids (it reminds me of Knuffle Bunny in that respect).

Plus there's something subtle and wonderful about the set up. Francis has had to get used to the laundromat ever since his father moved into an apartment. Is it because his parents have divorced? Has the family had to downsize? Or have they simply moved to a new city? The author doesn't say, which makes for a story that many children could relate to for a variety of reasons.

The same goes for the character of Lily. She clearly spends a lot of time at her grandfather's laundromat, possibly while her parents are at work, and she behaves the way many children who spend a lot of time in their parents' stores behave. She's comfortable there, she amuses herself, but she gets bored and has to find ways to entertain herself, even if it means playing tricks on the customers. When Magda read this, she immediately thought of the little boy she met at a small Middle Eastern restaurant here in Halifax. He was about her age and he was riding a tricycle around and around the restaurant while we ate while his parents cautioned him not to bother anyone. Magda thought it was fantastic. She couldn't believe the boy's luck that he got to bring a bike to a restaurant, until I explained to her that it was probably his parents' place and he probably spent a lot of time there. She still thought it sounded fantastic.

Magda's favourite part: The character of Lily Rain Boots, the mischievous granddaughter of Mr. Li, who owns the laundromat. "I really like the name Lily Rain Boots. And she wears rainboots!"

My favourite part: The gorgeous illustrations with a colour palette that would make Wes Anderson swoon. Also, the fact that the sentient fox is not particularly crafty, wily, sly or any of the other stereotypes applied to fictional sentient foxes.

The Religions Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Publishing)

The Religions Book:

Big Ideas Simply Explained

Publisher: DK Adult

Publication Date: July 15, 2013
Source: Edelweiss

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I studied religions at university (I have a degree in Religious Studies and Women's Studies from McGill University...not strictly the most practical degree but fantastic for having interesting conversations) and I wish I had had this book at the time. It's not that any of the information is in-depth or comprehensive, it's just that it's a great at-a-glance guide to a lot of information, a quick reference "cheat sheet" of world religions. Plus it's easy to read and pretty to look at. And even though the information about each religion is basic, the book does a fair job of distilling complex ideas into accurate nuggets of essential facts. In all honesty, the book lives up to its title. It IS a book of "big ideas simply explained." Well done, DK!

Of course I'm not surprised. DK Publishing is responsible for some of my favourite "big ideas told simply" infographic and quick reference books. I think I'd be very happy to have an entire library of their books. It could be my "knowledge at a glance" book shelf. Oh that would be brilliant! And the books are all tall and thin so they wouldn't actually take up that much space.

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. Bottom line: I highly recommend this book. Scroll down to see some page spreads from the book, which will give you an idea of the layout and general feel of the book.

It's Time to Say Goodnight, by Harriet Ziefert (illustrated by Barroux)

It's Time to Say Good Night

Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Barroux
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Source: Edelweiss
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It's funny that the book is called "It's Time to Say Good Night" when most of it is about saying good morning. The little boy in the book spends his entire day saying good morning to everything.

Good morning to the sun, good morning to the hills, good morning to the cow, etc. In fact by the time he's finished saying good morning to every single thing and animal he sees, the day is done and it's time to say goodnight. Hopefully he get more accomplished the next day...

Magda's favourite part: I liked the cows and pigs and all the animals, but I didn't like that all he did was say good morning to everyone and then he had to go right back to bed. I wouldn't like that.

My favourite part: I like the folk-art type pictures and the fact that the child has to see everything before he's ready to settle into bed. But I agree with Magda. It's sort of weird that his whole day is spent saying good morning and then he has to go back to bed.

Backstage Cat, by Harriet Ziefert (illustrated by Jenni Desmond)

Backstage Cat
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Jenni Desmond
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: March 12, 2013
Source: Edelweiss
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My daughter Magda is in love with this book. She's already asked me to read it to her a half dozen times. It's the story of a cat whose owner is a Broadway actress, so the cat spends most of its days backstage at the theatre. Except of course for the day it finds itself right on stage!



This book reminded me a lot of Rifka Takes a Bow, which I've previously reviewed. I liked Rifka better because I think it did a better job of showing the details of a backstage production, and it was more specific with the details. I would have liked this one more if it had been describing a specific theatre or a specific play (if it was I couldn't figure it out).



This is especially true when the various stage crew are trying to coax the cat down from its perch among the prop trees and the leading lady comes out to sing her cat down. The song she sings is long and difficult to read aloud, but I was not able to sing it because I couldn't figure out what song it was (if it was a real song). I would have appreciated an information page at the end with more details about the song and theatre depicted in the book.

Having said that, my three-year-old liked this book more than Rifka Takes a Bow (which she also likes) because, well, this one has a cat. And also if you look carefully you can see that one of the female characters in the book may be pregnant, a detail which delighted my daughter.

It's a Firefly Night, by Dianne Ochiltree (illustrated by Betsy Snyder)

It's a Firefly Night
Author: Dianne Ochiltree
Illustrator: Betsy Snyder
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Source: Edelweiss
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I loved this book. It's the exact right combination of beautiful and evocative illustrations, a simple and delightful story, and new facts to learn. It's the story of a little girl whose father gets her out of bed to see the night sky full of fireflies. My daughter Magda, who has never seen a firefly, was fascinated to learn that they are actually beetles, that adult fireflies live such a short time that they never eat, and that the larva are called glowworms. She also liked finding hidden delights in the beautiful illustrations.



Magda thought there was a swan in the above picture. Can you spot it? (Hint: It's actually a skunk.)



Magda said, "We don't know the little girl's name so I'm going to call her Lola. She looks like a Lola. Lola really likes fireflies!"

Lovely Knits for Little Girls: 20 Just-Right Patterns, Just for Little Girls, by Vibe Ulrik Sondergaard

Lovely Knits for Little Girls:
20 Just-Right Patterns, Just for Little Girls
Author: Vibe Ulrik Sondergaard
Publisher: Taunton Press
Publication Date: February 21, 2012
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Source: NetGalley 

In many ways, this book delivers exactly what it promises. The patterns in this book are indeed lovely and they are definitely meant for little girls. They're not just frilly dresses covered in flowers and bows, but they are feminine and pretty things like billowy sweaters, knit shrugs, sweater dresses and wrap scarves. Most of them are presented in neutral but stylish colours like creamy ivory, soft grey and light blush pink, with details like fabric bows and puff sleeves.

Sofia Elf Cardigan with Fabric, page 10

However...

I wouldn't say these are the most practical garments. I agree with Deirdre at Wyvernfriend Knits who said that "this is a book more for events than for everyday." There are a lot of short-sleeved sweaters with VERY puffy sleeves and small shrugs or mini-vests in thick yarn. In both cases I think that if it's cold enough for those garments, it's probably cold enough for a coat but I'm not sure how you'd wear one over them. In most cases they look like they're purely for fashion and not for actual cover ups. 

And the oh-so-high-fashion photos confirm that. The photos are beautiful and full-colour, with multiple photos per garment, but they're very "fashion-y." The girls are wearing satin bubble skirts with giant bows on the hips and elaborate fascinations on their heads. It's definitely not playground wear or even everyday school clothes, though some (but not all) of them probably could be worn  that way.

Apart from the lovely photos of the finished garments, there were no pictures or schematics of the pieces in progress, closeups of techniques, or closeups of seam stitches or anything like that. And the introduction is pretty sparse, without any "mastering the basics" introduction. So it's not really a book for beginners, at least not without some good reference books to help you along with the techniques. 

And I had trouble figuring out the sizing. I have other books that have directions for how to make the same garment in multiple sizes (how many extra stitches to cast on to make it one size bigger, etc.) but with this book I was a little skeptical. Many of the designs are only described in one size with little to no information about sizing it up or down, while others claim to be suitable for sizes 3-8 years but the measurements for each size are nearly identical (surely a girl grows a lot from the age of 3 to 8?). And it seemed most of the size adjustments were in the chest measurements but not the length, which is where my daughter grows the fastest. All in all, I found it a bit confusing and a little daunting.

Has anyone tried any of the patterns in this book? If so, I'd love to hear from you and find out how it went. Leave a comment!

Eating My Feelings: Tales of Overeating, Underperforming, and Coping with My Crazy Family, by Mark Brennan Rosenberg

Eating My Feelings:

Tales of Overeating, Underperforming, and Coping with My Crazy Family 

Author: Mark Brennan Rosenberg 

Publisher: Three Rivers Press 

Publication Date: August 6, 2013

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OMG I feel like I just met Mark Rosenberg and already I want to hang out with him, like, everyday. He can come shopping with me and Ross Matthews who is definitely my new best friend. We'll gossip about celebrities, or better yet, '90's celebrities that we all still remember and wish would become famous again. He could make his case for Taylor Dayne and then he could help me track down the current whereabouts of Roxette. And there would be cake. Obviously.

But it's not all stories about cake and celebrities. There are also some poignant and sometimes heartbreaking stories about his childhood (he did not get along with his stepmother AT ALL), about growing up as a fat little gay kid with parents and stepparents who disagreed about everything from religion to which summer camp to send him to (his mom wanted to let him keep going to the obviously superior theatre camp while his stepmom overruled the decision and sent him to basketball camp...which actually turned out to be fat camp. No wonder he didn't like her).

I didn't know anything about the author before I read this book, but it turns out he's the author of the blog, The Single Life of a Manhattan Homo (already bookmarked it) and the previous book, Blackouts and Breakdowns (which is going on my TBR pile IMMEDIATELY). Also--and he doesn't know this now so don't ruin it for him--he's now my new best friend. Well, him and Ross Matthews. Obviously.

Monster, Be Good! by Natalie Marshall

Monster, Be Good!
Author: Blue Apple Books/Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Natalie Marshall
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Source: Edelweiss
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My daughter Magda and I have read similar monster books before and--I hate to say it--we're often disappointed. The pictures are so great and promising (they remind me of Ed Emberley's monster books) but the books are very short (okay for very young readers I guess) and the lyrics don't seem to match the whimsy of the illustrations.

This one in particular is trying to tell children not to be scared of monsters by reminding them that they are "in charge" of them, but I found it a little clunky, if that makes any sense. I think the message could have been better told with funnier text (like Ed Emberley's books) and they would have suited to fantastic pictures better.

Magda's Take: "Is that it? Is that the end of the book? Oh."

ABC of Toronto, by Per-Henrik Gürth

ABC of Toronto
Author: Per-Henrik Gürth
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: August 1, 2013
Source: NetGalley and Edelweiss
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I love the fun and brightly coloured series of Canadiana picture books by Per-Henrik Gürth, but I think this was the first one I had read that featured one specific city. Although I've been to Toronto many times my daughter Magda never has, so I assumed I'd be explaining things to her as we read. In all honesty, she was interested in hearing the extra information but she was just as happy reading the book as it is. The pictures do a wonderful job of presenting the city as an exciting place with lots of different things to do (which it absolutely is!). Looks like we're going to have to plan a trip to Toronto one of these days!

Here are some of the illustrations from the book:





Magda's favourite part: The science museum, the street car, the double decker bus and "the concert with all the different animals playing instruments that are their right size."

My favourite part: I love anything that encourages national pride for Canadian kids. I hope they do more books in the series, featuring Canadian cities from coast to coast!

Of course now I have that song "I Don't Want to Go to Toronto" by Montreal comedy troupe The Vestibules in my head. It has nothing to do with the Per-Henrik Gürth book but it is about Toronto...sort of. I couldn't find a proper video for it but there is a mash-up that someone did with anime, so it'll have to do:

(By the way The Vestibules used to be known as Radio Free Vestibule and are Terence Bowman, Bernard Deniger and Paul Paré. I contacted Terence to ask him if it was okay if I used this song in the review and he said yes but that he had to go because he was on his way out the door...to Toronto. True story.)