Autism.

It’s a word that Leeann refuses to even say.  While she still has big hopes and dreams, they have suddenly shifted to something much more immediate.  Each day Clay slips farther into his shell.  This is something that she can not ignore or wait out.  Through immediate and exhaustive treatment, Leeann fights as only a mother can fight.  A fight to reclaim her son before it’s too late.  The title of her moving memoir, A Child’s Journey Out of Autism: One Family’s Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure by Leeann Whiffen, is aptly named.  For it is a fight that she wins.  Clays diagnosis is completely removed.

This family’s story however is not as simple as the above description makes it seem.  The research that Leeann conducts is overwhelming.  The intensive, in-home therapy treatments are not covered by insurance and the $40,000 price tag is a financial strain.  Add on top of that the added strain of relationships, friendships and simply on oneself, and the years of treatment are exhausting

In A Child’s Journey Out of Autism, Leeann shares her darkest moments, the lowest of lows, her guilt, worry, sadness, unbelief, and her highest of highs, her determination, strength, energy, and the happiness in reclaiming her son.  She writes with such honesty and beauty.  Such an important book to read regardless if you know somebody with autism or not.  Every child is different and this is just one family’s journey of customized treatment and recovery but it’s a testament to a mother’s love for her child.  It is a testament to empowered parents.  It is a testament to the joy of a child.  To reclaiming that which was once lost.

Watch this short trailer for the book featuring Clay himself and then watch for my author interview with Leeann Whiffen immediately following this post.  Leeann lives locally to me and I’ve been fortunate to meet her on several occasions.  Reading her book is like discovering a friend that you wish you always had and if it’s not to bold of myself to say, I feel fortunate to now call her one myself.

Links of interest:  Leeann Whiffen website, blog and Twitter. More book blogger reviews. Did you know April is National Autism Awareness Month?  Check out all my book reviews that address autism.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: Sourcebooks. March 1, 2009
Paperback, 336 pages. ISBN 1402218389
Source copy: Review copy
A Child’s Journey Out of Autism is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

After growing up in Houston, Texas, Sarah Harper finds herself transplanted to Manhattan and is doing well in in her advertising career.  But one stupid decision changes it all, she forwards an inappropriate email to all of her co-workers, and is suddenly out of a job and has a lot of time on her hands.  So what better thing to do than go back home to visit her sister Mackie for Thanksgiving?

But what was going to be a simple vacation turns into something much longer as Sarah learns that Mackie has given up on having a baby due to infertility.  Sarah puts forth a plan that nobody can resist and that will change them all forever, sometimes not always for the better.

But the storyline, of course, isn’t so simple.  Memories of her deceased mother, reconnecting with her father whom announces he’s getting remarried and avoiding the hot ex-boyfriend whom she dumped horribly in high school play a role as she rediscovers who she is.  Add to that a new job at a non-profit which will literally put her on top of a library roof by herself for 102 hours, and there is plenty to keep the reader engaged.

This is a story about relationships.  With sisters, with friends, with parents, with co-workers and most important, with oneself.  Katherine Center has a way of writing that just pulls you into the story and you have to remember to stop and breathe every once in a while.  Or at the very least see if your kids have destroyed your house while you were previously engaged.  She’s just so darn good at what she does!

These characters were real and flawed.  Oh, there were times, when I wanted to say, “Sarah!  Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!”  But the beauty of the story is that Sarah is full of so many good intentions that she acts impulsively.  We, the reader, have the benefit of watching Sarah as she journeys on a very steep learning curve.  And Sarah certainly makes the journey well worth watching.

Those who go into this book expecting a quick, light read full of chuckles will find just that, but ultimately, will be surprised with the depth of emotion, story, and characters that labels Katherine Center has an author who has seemingly created a genre all her own.

And I LOVE the videos that Katherine makes.  Check these three out.  And tell me, how can you not help loving her!

The first ends with these words: “Your time is now. To be fearlessly resilient. To rebound with purpose and power. To lead with intention. To discover what you want – and go get it.” Powerful.

This video makes me want to get up, move around, and features words from Get Lucky:

And last, a video about sisters. A very appropriate celebration of Get Lucky:

Seriously, don’t skip them!  Already waiting anxiously for Katherine’s next book and passing off my copy of Get Lucky to everybody in my book club, who all audibly gasped when I mentioned her new book was out.

Links of interest: Today’s post is in conjugation with Katherine’s TLC blog tour, more blogger reviews, Katherine’s website, my book review of Everyone is Beautiful, The Bright Side of Disaster, my author interview with Katherine, Nikki’sguest post interview with Katherine, and let’s not forget her awesome soup.
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books. April 6 2010.
Paperback, 288 pages. ISBN 0345507916
Get Lucky is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

In full honesty, I believe it was only last year when I read Freedom Walkers, The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman that I realized that there were others before Rosa Park who were arrested after refusing to give up their bus seat.   I know that civil rights leaders were looking for the perfect person to give voice to the injustices that they faced.  And although Claudette Colvin was one such person who fought against injustice it was Rosa Parks who rose to visibility while Claudette Colvin not only faded into obscurity but was often shunned and seen as an unfit role model.  And this was in despite of the fact that it was the lawsuit and testimony in court that Claudette and others brought against the city of Montgomery that ultimately desegregated the bus system.

In this biography of Claudette Colvin, Phillip Hoose has spent countless hours researching and interviewing Claudette and her family to bring us her story.  This is the most complete story and direct quotes that we have from Claudette Colvin and is well worth checking out.

Claudette Colvin was only 15 when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman.  A great reminder that is ordinary people doing extraordinary things who make all the difference.And while her name may have almost been lost in history, it was her actions that had a direct effect on the civil rights movement that changed the south for everybody forever.

Hear from Claudette herself in this video and then check out this informative book which will have you questioning whether or not you would have had her courage:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice is part of my themed reading for the month of February which celebrates Black History Month.  Join me this month as I explore books that celebrate the history of African-Americans.
>Links of interest: Phillip Hoose website, book blogger reviews.
Genre: Young Adult Non-Fiction
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  January 20, 2009.
Hardcover, 144 pages. ISBN 0374313229
Claudette Colvin Twice Towards Justice is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Duck! Rabbit! is the perfect read-a-loud book with its two narrators.  In fact, it was read very energetically by two librarians and it was well received by the kids.  When I got my hands on my own library copy, my husband and I both read it out loud together to the kids.  A fun book to read either on its own or in a group.

In Duck! Rabbit! the off page narrators debate whether or not the animal in question is a duck or a rabbit.  Where one sees ears, another sees a bill.  Where one hears rabbit sounds another hears duck sounds.  The illustrations vary little which I think is fantastic.

But really, no need for me to ramble on about it.   The video says it all:

A great book for kids to think about shapes in new ways.

Links of interest:  Amy Krouse Rosenthal website, Tom Lichtenheld website, more book blogger reviews.  Duck! Rabbit! is a  fiction picture book Cybil’s nominee for which I’m a panelist.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher:  Chronicle Books.  March 11, 2009.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0811868656
Duck! Rabbit! is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Marcus is having a hard time both at home and in school.  Since the death of his sister, his father has moved out of the house and his mother is having a hard time just keeping it together.  Marcus has begun to fight at school and is headed down a road that will get him kicked out of school and his house and one that will be difficult to travel back from.

While at the park, he is challenged to a game of chess from C.M., a nickname that stands for Chess Man, Check Mate and Chess Master.  It is through their games together that Marcus begins to learn how to keep his own emotions in check and to always be looking at least three moves ahead – both on the chess board and in real life.

The dust jacket says, “Inspired by inner-city school chess enrichment programs, Chess Rumble explores the ways this strategic game empowers young people with the skills they need to anticipate and calculate their moves through life.”  This is a statement that I would completley agree with.  I do also agree with Ms. Yingling’s statement that the size and format (including page stock) of the book borders too closely of a picture book.  I just can’t see a teenage boy feeling cool touting this book around, if you know what I mean.

Chess Rumble is also told in verse, a format which I always enjoy. Overall, I liked Chess Rumble and found it well worth the read.  I just wonder if the same could be said of its intended audience.

Book trailer:

Links of interest:  G. Neri website, follow on Twitter, more book blogger reviews,
Genre:  Middle Grade Fiction, approx age 9-12.
Publisher:  Lee and Low Books.  November 8, 2007
Hardcover, 64 pages.  ISBN  1584302798
Chess Rumble is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

My boys and I have been excited ALL summer (photo on the left is my baby about 2 1/2 years ago) because Christy, the elephant at Hogle Zoo, which we frequent about two times a month, was expecting a baby elephant.  In August her due date had finally approached.  I had talked with somebody at the zoo and was thrilled when he told me that if all goes well, the new baby elephant would be on display immediately following the birth.  Wow!

When Hogle Zoo twittered about the new arrival, I was ecstatic and asked again when the elephant would be on display.  I literally was ready to drop everything to see this elephant.  I was so bummed when this was the reply: @mawbooks Baby elephant and her mom are not on exhibit yet. Should be six to eight weeks and we’ll keep folks posted on the big debut! Dang it!  I’d waited all summer.  But the wait is finally over!  Our newest arrival will be on display a week from today.  I’ve already put in on the calender and told my friend I want to be there when they open.   And we have a new giraffe too.  It will be an exciting day.

Why am I talking about elephants?  ‘Tis funny because Tilbury House Publishers were on the look out for reviewers for two of their elephant books and they happened to catch me Twittering about well – elephants.  It’s like they read my mind, because I was thinking that reviewing some picture books about elephants would be a perfect tie-in to our own arrival here! I’ve reviewed other Tilbury titles and have enjoyed them. So I’m really excited to share two of their elephant titles with you.  But first, I have to share the baby with you!

(Photos attributed and copyrighted to the Hogle Zoo)

Isn’t she a cutie?!  I can’t wait to go visit my first baby elephant on Friday.  If any of my local readers are  planning on going bright and early in the morning, do let me know.

Let’s talk about elephant books!

Both Tarra and Carol have unusual lives and it’s in this photo essay entitled  Travels with Tarra by Carol Buckley that Carol shares with us her unusual relationship with Tarra, who happens to be an elephant.  Imagine sitting at home doing homework when you look up and see a baby elephant walking down the sidewalk.  For Carol that’s exactly what happened and it was love at first sight.

Tarra belonged to a tire store owner who bought her from an elephant broker (who literally snatched Tarra from her herd in Burman and shipped to the U.S.).  Tarra served as a mascot for this tire shop and the owner hoped that she would bring in more money.

Carol visited the tire shop so often that she soon became her caretaker and even took the elephant home with her night.  Tarra was still very much a baby and needed the physical and emotional contact that every baby needs.  For Tarra that need was accomplished through Carol and they became the best of friends.

Carol purchased Tarra and for twenty years the two of them traveled the world in shows, circuses and even making an appearance in the movie Annie.  Tarra loved to perform and was generally a very happy elephant.  But she would also get tired of the same tricks and Carol had to be inventive on how to keep her entertained.  There were a few times that she was kept in a zoo but ultimately Carol knew that Tarra was happiest with lots of room to run around.  She purchased 800 acres and founded The Elephant Sanctuary.  It’s not a zoo or a theme park in the sense that it’s not open to the public, but rather, I thought of it as more as a retirement home for elephants.  A place where they could live with other elephants and roam and play openly.

Travels with Tarra did an excellent job conveying how social elephants are.  They need attention and touch.  They truly care and comfort each other.  It also illustrates how many elephants were cared for by ignorant owners (the tire shop owner would literally drive Tarra home in the trailer, turn off the lights and go to bed – leaving her alone for hours in a very small space).  Although, Tarra loved to perform she was always the happiest when she had the opportunity to just run around in open space.

The Elephant Sanctuary has recently received a lot of media coverage and I found Travels with Tarra a good book to introduce me to the sanctuary and its background.  It would make for a good read-a-loud book in the classroom or in your home with your children.

Just for Elephants also by Carol Buckley is the story of two other elephants at the Sanctuary.  Shirley had lived a long life.  She had performed in a circus and after breaking her leg and being unable to perform tricks was sold to a zoo.  After many years with the zoo, it was decided to move Shirley to The Elephant Sanctuary where she could live out the rest of her life roaming freely with other elephants.

When she arrived, she was greeted by another elephant named Jenny who just happened to be a baby elephant in Shirley’s circus many years earlier.  The old adage, “elephants do remember” is only too true and these two elephants instantly remembered each other, stood close together.  They touched each other affectionately and often wrapped their trunks together.  They became inseparable best friends.  I enjoyed learning how the elephants lived in the sanctuary and the importance of friendships to them.

The narration in both Travels with Tarra and Just for Elephants left just a bit to be desired in its simplicity.  In Just for Elephants, I was taken a bit out of the story when the entire book was told from a third person omniscient and then at the end the author inserts herself in the story and switched to first person with the use of I.  I wouldn’t let this override your pleasure of either book, but thought that I would mention it.  Both books are full of large photographs which my children enjoyed very much.

Carol Buckley has a new book entitled Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends which comes out in just under a week and published by Putnam Juvenile.  The Elephant Sanctuary has created the following video about Tarra and her elephant friends and it’s my pleasure to exclusively debut it here on the Maw Books Blog!

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The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is the nation’s largest natural habitat refuge developed solely for endangered African and Asian elephants. It operates on 2,700 acres.  For every 100 copies of their elephant books sold, Tilbury House has pledged to sponsor a much-needed item from the Sanctuary’s wish list. These gifts will include 100 lbs of peanut butter (a favorite treat), a day’s worth of meals for one elephant (including more than 10lbs of fruits & veggies and 100 lbs of hay!), and an elephant-sized piece of land (to support the Sanctuary’s recent expansion.)  This “Trunk Sale” will run through the end of this year December 31st.

Giveaway!

Tilbury Publishers is sponsoring this giveaway of the following titles:

• Copy of Just for Elephants signed by Sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley
• Copy of Travels With Tarra signed by Carol and stamped by Tarra the Elephant
• Package of Tilbury House Animal Books— The Goat Lady, Thanks to the Animals, and an advance copy of Bear-ly There.

The publisher will draw 3 lucky winners from all of those who comment on any of the participating tour posts from Sept. 1-9, and announce the winners on Sept 10th.  Open to U.S. and Canada.  Other stops on this tour this week are  Reading Rumpus, Sacred Elephants, Read These Books and Use Them!, Shelf Elf,  Bees Knees, Through The Looking Glass, and ending Tuesday the 8th with Bri Meets Books.

To enter this giveaway, simply answer this question:  have you ever seen a baby elephant? As you can tell, I’m a tad excited.  Am I in for a treat?

Links of interest:  The Elephant Sanctuary website is very in-depth and a fantastic resource.  It also includes a curriculum for teachers for an in-depth study of elephants.
Just for Elephants Genre:  Picture Book, non-Fiction.  Approx. ages 9-12
Publisher:  Tilbury House.  November 15, 2006.
Hardcover, 32 pages.  ISBN 0884482839
Just for Elephants is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s and Amazon.

Travels with Tarra Genre:  Young Adult, non-fiction photo essay.
Publisher:  Tilbury House.  July 2002.
Hardcover, 40 pages.  ISBN  0884482413
Travels with Tarra is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s and Amazon.

Tarra & Bella Genre:  Picture book, non-fiction.  Approx ages 4-8.
Publisher:  Putnam Juvenile.  September 8, 2009
Hardcover, 32 pages.  ISBN  0399254439
Tarra & Bella is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

And yes, I post this despite the way that it sounds.  That my good review was “bought.”  Certainly not.  But I must admit that if the author makes such a fuss over her book and packages it in such away that I know she knows it’s a special book, then I can’t help but think that this book is special.  And guess what?  It certainly feels that way.

The only thing that eighth grader Nikki Maxwell wants is a cell phone.  It would certainly help her fit in better at her new snooty school (which she’s attending on scholarship because her dad got the bug extermination contract – just picture what it’s like to get picked up from school with a large roach on top of the car) but what she gets instead is a diary.

One stupid diary.

Absolutely no one writes their most intimate feelings and deep, dark secrets in a diary anymore!  Why?!

Because just one or two people knowing all your BIZ could completely ruin your reputation.

You’re supposed to post this kind of juicy stuff online in your BLOG so MILLIONS can read it!!

Only a total dork would be caught WRITING in a DIARY!!!

Yep, this book totally had me from less than eight quick pages in.  But despite swearing to never write in the diary, she does.  Nikki, like many other middle-schoolers, has a lot to worry about.  She’s new.  Invisible.  Desperate to make friends and not embarrass herself in the process.

Nikki loves to draw and fills her diary with really fun illustrations.  The school has a art competition and Nikki really wants to win but that means rivaling the school’s most popular girl Mackenzie who has it out to “get her.”  There was a scene at the end of the book between Nikki and McKenzie that had me laughing out loud.  In fact, there were many laugh out loud moments.  It was funny, cute, and yet touched upon so many worries that young tweens fret about.

I can’t help but compare Dork Diaries to Diary of  a Wimpy Kid (my reviews of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules,  The Last Straw), and it’s a comparison that was offered up to me by the author itself.  I loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Dork Diaries is certainly within the same vein.  Not to say that it’s not original.  That’s the beauty of it.  Coming off of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid wave, I didn’t possibly think that Dork Diaries could be original.  But it is.  Very much so.

This book trailer will give you a good idea of how spunky Nikki is:

I highly recommend it tween girls and middle-schoolers (although this thirty-year-old can’t wait for the next book).  A friend of mine just asked me if I had heard of this book and if she should order it for her middle school library.  Yes.  Absolutely yes.  They’ll love it.

Links of interest:  Dork Diaries website and blog.
Genre:  Juvenile Fiction, approx age 9-12.
Publisher:  Aladdin.  June 2, 2009.
Hardcover, 288 pages.  ISBN:  1416980067
Dork Diaries is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Wife of the Gods is a whodunit murder mystery and in full honesty if the book wasn’t set in Africa without its many African themes and traditions I doubt I would have even given the book a second glance.  But what sets this book apart is its Ghanan African setting as well as its memorable characters.

In a small village of Ketanu, Gladys, a young medical student, is murdered in the forest and Detective Darko Dawson is brought in from the large city (obviously much to the annoyance of the local police) to oversee the investigation.  For Darko, the village of Ketanu brings back vivid memories.  He often visited his aunt with his mother twenty-five years earlier as a boy.  But that all changed when his mother went for a visit and never returned.  The mystery of her disappearance was never solved.  Darko intends to not only investigate the murder to which he has been assigned but also to seek out new clues into his mother’s disappearance.

It’s not easy though.  Darko is a complex character who leaves behind a loving wife and a young son who needs a heart operation.  He also has an anger management problem, although sympathetically it comes out when he sees those less fortunate being abused.  And he can’t help but use his police power to procure marijuana.

Darko clashes with the local culture which is still held by the strong belief in witchcraft and age-old traditions, such as virgin girls being offered up to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods.  His investigation is slowed by such beliefs and even the local police are apprehensive to question certain individuals in fear of angering the Gods.

Darko uncovers a myriad of suspects, characters who are all memorable in their own right: Gladys herself, who was an AIDS worker and gave many a motive for her death; Samuel, a young man with a simple crush; Timothy who worked with Gladys in AIDS education;  Isaac Kutu, the local herbalist and healer; Togbe Adzima, the fetish priest and his several wives; Elizabeth, Gladys’s aunt and believed by many to be a witch; and even his own Auntie Osewa who has a background which she’d rather keep secret.

There was one thing that hindered my full enjoyment of the novel and that was that I couldn’t recall characters after they were previously introduced.  There were a couple of times that I thought I was reading about a new character and then had to stop and see if I already knew who they were, which I realized I did.  Rechecking previous passages of the book always takes me out of the story a bit.  Fault of the reader and not the author?  Maybe?  Fault of the author and not the reader?  Maybe?  To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure.

Wife of the Gods is recommended for those who like a good mystery and intriguing characters.  Not only is there a mysterious murder to solve but several ideas to think upon including that of new culture vs. new, African culture, traditional and advanced medicine, family relations, and more.  And man, Quartey has convinced me that I’d love to visit Ghana for the food alone.  So many wonderful descriptions of the food!

If there are to be more books about Inspector Darko Dawson then I will be sure to check them out.  A series worth following.

Book trailer for Wife of the Gods:

When you read mysteries how often do you guess who the murderer is correctly?  I don’t often read whodunit genre books but I must admit that Kwei Quartey kept me on my toes although I rightly suspected the murderer (but don’t until about 3/4 of the way through the book).

Links of interest: TLC Book Tour stops, Wife of the Gods website, Wife of the Gods excerpt, reading group discussion questions, more book bloggers book reviews, and a thoughtful interview with Kwei Quartey at Jen’s Book Thoughts.
Genre:  Literary Fiction, Mystery
Publisher:  Random House.  July 14, 2009
Hardcover, 336 pages.  ISBN:  1400067596
Wife of the Gods is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Do not let this unassuming cover fool you.  14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy in collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah and illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez is a purely stunning picture book.  When I finished reading the author’s note at the end, I had tears rolling down my cheeks.  It’s a book that I think everybody needs to pick up and read both for it’s truly heartening, beautiful story and for it’s spectacular illustrations.

I usually don’t start off my book reviews with the book trailer but in this case I am because I want you to first see the amazing spreads of this book.

In June of 2002, Kimeli Naiyomah returns home to his native Kenya and the Maasai tribe after studying abroad in New York City.  Kimeli was there on September 11, 2001 and watched the devastation upon his host country.  When he returns home,

A child asks if he has brought any stories.
Kimeli nods.

He has brought with him one story.
It has burned a hole in his heart.

And so he tells of buildings so tall that they can touch the sky, fires so hot they can melt iron and smoke, dust so thick they can block out the sun.  A story that this village in Kenya had not yet heard.

The story ends.
More than three thousand souls are lost.
A great silence falls over the Maasai.

Kimeli waits.
He knows his people.

They are fierce when provoked
but easily moved to kindness
when they hear of suffering
or injustice.

At least, an elder speaks.
He is shaken, but above all, he is sad.
“What can we do for these poor people?

As a child, Kimeli’s greatest ambition was to own a cow for his mother which is an animal that is the heart and soul of the Maasai tribe.  He knows that to heal the pain in someone’s heart, you must give something that is close to your own heart.  Now that he has earned enough for a cow, he asks the elders to bless a cow,  “to make it special so the gift may take away some of the sadness from American hearts.”

The tribe is not content with just a gift of one cow and so they sacrifice from their own herd and give America a total of 14 cows which is presented in a beautiful, sacred ceremony.  In the afterward Kimeli says, “We felt we had taken some of America’s pain into our Maasai hearts.”

14 Cows For America left me with profound compassion and respect for the Maasai people.  I was truly touched.

The text of 14 Cows For America by Carmen Agra Deedy is simply beautiful and at the end of the book there is a note from Kimeli Naiyomah which fleshes out more of the details about his childhood, the 14 cows, and where those cows are now.

The story itself is beautiful enough that it could stand on it’s own regardless of the illustrations that accompany it but it’s truly remarkable that the strongest strength of this book is its stunning illustrations.  My husband called them “haunting, mysterious and alive.”  Thomas Gonzalez has set the tone for the story perfectly.

My two favorite illustrations are first when Kimeli is describing the 9/11 destruction and there is a swirl of color and clouds above him and the other is when the diplomat arrives in a jeep to the Maansai tribe and realizes that it’s no ordinary diplomatic visit but rather . . . turn the page and BAM! in your face full tribal splendor, dance and ceremony movement.  Truly spectacular.  I almost feel as though my meager words are giving the illustrations a disservice.  So if you didn’t watch the above book trailer go back and do so.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting a video of Thomas Gonzalez as he describes the illustration process and offering a copy of 14 Cows for America to you as a giveaway sponsored by Peachtree Publishers.  This book is one that you don’t want to miss so please a make a point of stopping by again.  Edited to add:  giveaway link.

A truly wonderful book that I’m proud to have in my home.

Links of interest: 14 Cows website with further study, teachers guide and more (still under construction), read more book reviews on the 14 Cows for America blog tour, Carmen Agra Deedy website, Thomas Gonzalez website, and more book blog reviews.  Edited to add:  14 Cows for America giveaway and Thomas Gonzalez illustration process.  Come share your thoughts about 9/11.
Genre:  Non-Fiction Picture Book, Africa
Publisher:  Peachtree Publishers, August 1, 2009.
Hardcover, 36 pages.  ISBN 1561454907.
14 Cows for America is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

I’m thrilled to give away a signed copy of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (check out my book review), 2009’s Newbery Award winner and all around massively popular book by a massively popular author.  I was able to pick up a copy of the book while at BEA a few weeks ago and rather then keep it for myself, I know many of you who would be thrilled to have it!  So, it’s all yours!

Publisher description:

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family. . . .

Book trailer:

Giveaway Details:

• This giveaway will be open for two weeks and is open internationally. I will close the contest  at the end of the day, Thursday July 23rd and announce the winners within the week.  Edited to add:  Due to some offline time that I didn’t anticipate I am extending this giveaway until July 31st.
• To enter, leave a comment on this post answering this question: If you lived in a graveyard, which dead person would you want to make sure was buried there, so you could hang out together and why? No answer, no entry.
• Five additional entries for each of the following: If you are not already subscribed and you sign up for updates either through RSS or by email, Twitter this giveaway, Stumble or fav this post, post about the giveaway either in forums (leave a link) or on your blog.
• Ten additional entries if you are already subscribed.  My way of saying thanks if you’ve already been sticking around.

Links of interest:  Maw Books review of The Graveyard Book. Neil Gaiman website, blog and on Twitter.
The Graveyard Book is available from your local independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.