Review: The Stonekeeper

The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was looking for interesting graphic novels for my 5-year-old and thought that maybe this one, with almost 30,000 raitings averaging higher than 4, would be a good choise. The art is good, the story is dark, just what the kids want at that stage when they want to be frightened, right? And yes, my kid liked it, so I will have to suffer through at least one more volume, because he wants to know what happened next. Suffer, because the book is marginal at best. The plot is lame, with a number of discrepancies and poor character building. It so doesn't deserve a place among the best graphic novels for children or 500 essential graphic novels.

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Review: Green in Nature

Green in Nature by Martha E.H. Rustad
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I firmly believe that factual mistakes are absolutely unacceptable in picture books. There is no telling what a kid will remember and how hard it will be to squeeze out that rubbish. That is why this book gets one star from me. A green book about the color green may be a good idea. And I understand that the authors and designers probably don't have a lot of education. But just five minutes of googling would save them from calling duckweed algae. And what duckweed! It even has flowers on that unfortunate picture, which is pretty rare, proving to everyone who can see that it's a flowering plant.

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Review: Rosie's Walk

Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A cute little book for cute little kids. It was fun to read a book with 32 words on 32 pages (no, not one word per page). The illustrations are also hilarious, even though I don't usually like this style. The unusual side of the book is the lack of descriptions. The few words that are there don't really tell the story, unless you are looking at the pictures. Or rather, they tell the story how it's seen from Rosie's point of view, which doesn't really correspond with what really happened. Thus, a lot is left unsaid, giving space for imagination, word-play and discussion. The downside - it can't be one of the first books a kid tries to read him or herself; since the words and the pictures tell two different stories, it makes it impossible for a beginning reader to focus. But it's a great book for reading together. I wish I learnt about it earlier, when my son was three or four; back then it would be very entertaining and educational for him. Now, that he's five, it's not all that educational, but we still had a lot of fun and a nice discussion.

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Review: The Long Way Down

The Long Way Down by Craig Schaefer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Review to come. Need some time to think it through. Not even sure about the rating.)

I guess I took enough time to think about the book. It's May now, and I finished it in January. The reason it took me so long to process is I was surprised. I never expected a book of this genre and format to be so good. The most appealing part is the deviation from the usual a-stupid-hero-saves-the-day line. The hero here is not stupid. And he doesn't do one stupid thing after another. He has a goal and with limited information at hand he gives it his best. His opponents are also not stupid, they try hard to succeed. The hero does what he can as good as he can and carries the day, sort of. Only sort of, because nobody can win every battle and, though he achieves the main goal (even if temporarily), he looses several other important things. That's a very refreshing way to write a book and I like it much more than sugary 'happily ever after' without moving a finger. Applause to the author!

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Review: Lost Ocean

Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways and forgot about it for a long time. Then two things happened. First, I saw the book in a store. Second, I went on Goodreads and discovered that its rating was 4.65, which is well above average. After all that I couldn't resist leaving a negative review. The problem is I didn't expect that the 'advance uncorrected sampler' I asked through giveaways in reality would be a ten-page excerpt. I feel offended. Besides 'magical journey beneath the ways' is a description that fall very far from reality. That promise makes me think of some real creatures to color, while the book is just an assembly of sea-themed patterns.

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Review: Shadows Return

Shadows Return by Lynn Flewelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a lot of reviews here pointing out the lack of intrigues and politics in this volume. This is certainly not an epic, like the second book of Nightrunner, nor even a detective, like the first and the third. The beloved characters, Seregil and Alec, are sent on a questionable errand early in the book and most of the rest happens after its failure. They are caught, enslaved, tortured, and are expected to use all their resourcefulness to get out.

I would say this book is not as brilliant as the others in the series, but. For the first time in two years a book kept me up till morning. It wasn't as gripping at the beginning, just an ordinary book, but after 260-300 pages I came to a point when I couldn't put it down. So I had to sacrifice my night rest. It was amazing that the perfect pair of the heroes is not so perfect together. I would have though that their special talimenios bond would safe them from jealousy and uncertainty, but, oh, how wrong I was. This book gives Seregil and Alec a more real feel, they become for the reader something more than a perfect pair of lovers, who know each other thoughts and feelings. The author gave them insecurity in love we all live with.

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Review: In the Night Kitchen

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My first thought after reading it was "What was it?" The second one was "No, wait! What was it?" I picked In the Night Kitchen, because it's listed as a children's classic. Since English is not my native language, I was spared this as a kid, but I thought that maybe my son would be interested. And no, turned out he wasn't.

Most of the reviews of this book on Goodreads mention the character's nudity one way or the other. The book is even called "one of the most controversial books in history" due to those pictures of a naked boy. Is it really what makes a book controversial? Mu son didn't even notice/comment on it, neither did I pay it any particular attention.

What I saw in this book was a surreal story. A boy called Mickey dreamt of cooking a cake and saving the day. Great. It is surreal all right, but not in a good way. A surrealism without any particular meaning. Not especially fun, either. I guess it's in the "best kids' books" list because it was written many years ago and a lot of people who make those lists read it in childhood. But I don't think it's a reason enough.

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Review: The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant

The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I first learnt about this book from Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science or some other book by Richard Dawkins, I don't remember exactly. What I do remember is that he mentioned Babar as something he used to read to his daughter. It sounded like a reason enough to give it a try.

I wish I didn't. My five-year-old is ok with the book, of course, since he can't recognize in it what I can. I guess in 1933, when it was published, a book like that was totally fine for children; just a normal life, wasn't it? Unfortunately, it's totally not ok now. Too much colonial by any standards.

Babar's loving mother is shot, while he is still a kid (a toddler by the feel of it, since he rides on her back at that moment). He wanders in the forest for a few days, during which he apparently matures enough. Without further ado he comes to a city, where he leads a life of a young gigolo for a few years. Then an accident makes him decide to return to the forest, which he does pompously. Meanwhile, the elephant king is conveniently poisoned, and Babar, having learnt the proper ways in the city, becomes a king (making his cousin he met that very day his queen).

The only way it can be read today is assuming it a social satire. Maybe it even have been that from the beginning, it's hard to judge. But satire is not a genre a kid still reading picture books can understand, so it's definitely not suited for children. The book is described by many as a children's classic, but in my view it's more of a relic.



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Review: Traitor's Moon

Traitor's Moon by Lynn Flewelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I feel a little conflicted about this third book in the series. On the one hand, it's still much better than most of what I read. On the other hand, it's sort of transitional. Te books in the series are very different in style. The first one is a detective, the second - an epic, this one has elements of a detective again, but demons that must be hunted are mostly inner. It's all about Seregil, he learns himself in this book and sorts out his past and present.

The writing changes greatly from book to book in this series as well. Here the author pays more attention to colorful details, creating a stiring pattern of blazing pathes, but the big picture is somewhat blurry. It looks more like an oil painting than anything else. A painting you can get lost in. And it's wonderful. The language is more elaborate, more interesting, but. There is always that but, a trade off. Here it's in another sort of details. Little details that make the story consistent and believable. The author forgets a lot of them, putting people into places they couldn't be, forgetting about objects (and horses) that deserved at least some mention, loosing the flow of time.

Anyway, it was an interesting and thrilling read and I'm looking forward to the next volume.



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