Maw Books » I-L Author

Goodnight, Little Monster by Helen Ketteman, Illustrated by Bonnie Leick

Natasha Maw — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:53:08 +0000

I know I’ve been saying this a lot about the Halloween picture books that I’ve been reviewing this past week but I have another book for you that is sooooo cute and adorable that I can hardly stand it. Have you seen Goodnight, Little Monster by Helen Ketteman and illustrated by Bonnie Leick? It’s a new one this year and one that you have to have!

Rhyming text describes one little monster’s going to bed rituals: bathtime and scrubbing every scale, tangling his hair, bedtime snack of worm juice and baked beetle bread, brushing his fangs, reading a book, checking under the bed for scary children, and snuggling in with a night-light (an eyeball of course).

Sweet dreams, Little Monster.
My darling, sleep tight.
With Mama nearby,
you’ll be safe through the night.

What absolutely steals the show in this book are the gorgeous illustrations. Just enough cuteness and just enough ick. Bonnie Leick certainly knows how to make me wish I could bottle up that little monster, put him in my pocket, and take him home with me. I love the clawed monster feet on all the furniture. Lots of bugs. Lots of spiders. Bats and mice as well. Both of my kids got a great kick out of the worm juice and baked beetle bread. They love to point out the jar of eyeballs on the copyright page.

Although perfect for the Halloween season, I’d read this book all year round. Oh man, the illustrations are just too adorable. I can hardly stand it.

Links of interest: Helen Ketteman website, Bonnie Leick website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books. August 2010.
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 076145683X
Source: Library copy. A 2010 Cybil’s nomination for which I am a 1st round panelist.
Goodnight, Little Monster is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, Illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

Natasha Maw — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:58:59 +0000

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson and illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler is the biography of Wangari Maathai who won the Novel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental activism which included founding The Green Belt Movement which teaches people to take care of the environment by planting trees, recycling, and seeking alternative energy sources. She was the first African woman and environmentalist to receive the award.

Her mother had taught her to revere and love the trees of Kenya. When few girls went to school, Wangari’s parents managed to send her where she excelled in science. She won a scholarship to attend college in Kansas where she learned that a woman could do anything she wanted to. She found her strength as a woman scientist. America had changed her.

When returning to her homeland she accepted a teaching job at the University of Nairobi in a profession were there were very few woman teachers and even less female scientists. But she also witnessed a change happening in Kenya. Trees and the land were being destroyed and so much that the people depended on was lost. Wangari had an idea that started as small as a seedling but that would effect much change in the environment of her country and that was to plant trees. “We might not change the big world but we change the landscape of the forest,” she said.

Seeds of Change is Wangari Maathai’s inspirational story. It is a story of planting more than thirty million trees in Kenya. It is also a story of overcoming and persvering through those who work against you. It is a story of woman’s rights. It is a story of giving back to the Earth when we take too much from it.

To quote the book, “She understood that persistence, patience, and commitment – to an idea as small as a seed but as tall as a tree that reaches for the sky – must be planted in every child’s heart. ‘Young people you are our hope and our future,’ she said.”

An excellent portrayal of Wangari Maathai. And a great reminder that even as an adult, I learn so much from picture books.

Links of interest: Jen Cullerton Johnson website, Sonia Lynn Sadler website, The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai biography on Nobel Prize site.
Genre: Non-fiction picture book. Approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Lee and Low Books. June 30, 2010.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 160060367X
Copy source: Review copy sent from publisher.
Seeds of Change is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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The Potty Train by David Hochman and Ruth Kennison, Illustrated by Derek Anderson

Natasha Maw — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:40:44 +0000

I am going to tell you a secret. I have checked out The Potty Train by David Hochman and Ruth Kennison and illustrated by Derek Anderson from the library SO many times that it is really ridiculous that I haven’t bought it yet. I am most ashamed of this because if I have checked out the book no less than half a dozen times (renewing three times for three weeks each – meaning I’ve had the book in my home at least for 54 weeks off and on) then the least I can do is to actually buy this this book thus supporting the authors and illustrator. So by putting this shameful secret on the internet I will remedy the error of my ways and make the book a permanent book in my collection.

We started reading The Potty Train when I was potty training my oldest who has since mastered it some time ago. And sadly, I do have to say that no matter how many times we read The Potty Train much to the enjoyment of my three-year-old we have come to a standstill with the potty training. I’m hoping that you will have better luck than me.

That said, we LOVE The Potty Train! I mean come on, any book that says “Chugga chugga pooo-poooooo!” not only on the cover but also in the story is going to be a huge hit. My boys love trains so this is perfect for them. The illustrations are ADORABLE! And we love how learning how to go potty is just like taking a train ride – sometimes you get off track, you might get wet, sometimes you have to wait at crossings but one day you’ll even be able to ride through the night.

Highly recommended for the potty training toddler in your life. Sadly, I think mine just might enjoy the book more than actual potty training. We’ve already read it twice today. I do wish potty training books would come with a 100% guarantee to actually potty train your child. I can dream right?

Links of interest: David Hochman website, Derek Anderson website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction picture book. Approx ages baby to preschool.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. January 8, 2008
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 1416928332
Copy source: library.
The Potty Train is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins and Hilary Leung

Natasha Maw — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:09:25 +0000

Ninja’s, cowboy’s and bears. What more could two little boys want? I mean really. That’s all you have to say.

Ninja’s.

Cowboy’s.

Bears.

That’s it. End of story. End of review.

(Wait. Really? End of review? Let’s at least squeeze the name of this adorable picture book in here somewhere: The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins and Hilary Leung. Did I say adorable? Take that back. Really adorable.)

Now it’s the end of review.

Links of interest: Hilary Leung blog, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Kids Can Press. September 1, 2009.
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 1554534860
Copy source: Review copy for 2009 Cybil’s nomination consideration for which I was a panelist.
The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Long Shot (Comeback Kids) by Mike Lupica

Natasha Maw — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:52:38 +0000

Now I’ll easily admit that Long Shot by Mike Lupica is not my usual fare in reading material. But when I was offered it for review, I accepted for a couple of reasons. I have two boys myself who one day are going to grow up and start reading on their own. I was merely curious to find out what the heck the prolific Mike Lupica was about and what type of sports fiction boys are reading right now.

Long Shot summary from Mike Lupica’s website:

Pedro Morales has always been content helping others look great. The epitome of a point guard, he plays the game to set up his teammates—Ned, in particular, the star forward on the receiving end of Pedro’s pinpoint passes. Pedro wants to make his father proud, and so he runs for class president. Yet doing so means going one-on-one against Ned, easily the most popular boy in school. And Pedro learns the hard way that being a good teammate doesn’t mean that others will return the favor. Now Pedro wants to win more than ever—but this time, it’s for himself.

Reading this as a mother and a thirty-something old woman, I could tolerate it. It was okay, but I wasn’t loving it at all. But that’s not a very fair assessment is it? After all, I’m not the target audience here. Mike Lupica’s books are meant for preteen boys who love sports.

I guess they’d like it just fine. But if this is as good as it gets, I hope that something better in regards to sports fiction will come along by the time my boys are reading independently. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, the book wasn’t completely awful but it did feel as though it was hitting me over the head with it’s message.

I guess I was hoping that the book would give us something different than expected. But instead, it’s exactly what you would expect: a story all about teamwork, which in sports fiction, I can only imagine is a recurring theme. A good thing? If that’s what you’re looking for than that’s definitely good. But if you’re hoping for something a little unexpected and different, than nope, not the book for you.

If you have a sports loving preteen boy in your house, and perhaps a reluctant reader at that, than I wouldn’t hesitate to see how they respond to Mike Lupica’s books.

Links of interest: Mike Lupica website.
Genre: Juvenile Sport Fiction, ages 9-12.
Publisher: Philomel. October 2, 2008.
Hardcover, 192 pages. ISBN: 0399247173
Long Shot is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart

Natasha Maw — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:21:06 +0000

The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart is a lovely book. Georgia has been best friends with Riley for forever. They had been the queens of finger paints and mud pancakes. Now teens and ten years into their friendship, at a time when they are both redefining themselves, both travel together from their suburban Pennsylvanian home to Juarez, Mexico, a border city with El Paso. There they hope to not only change their own lives but make a difference for the families there through community service.

Georgia has always been the reliable one. The one who will always do the right thing. The one who recognizes and appreciates just how much her parents love her. On the other hand, Riley just can’t seem to catch the attention of her distracted mother. A mother who laments that Riley is just “ordinary” or in other words, nobody special. Riley is brilliantly artistic but it’s not enough. A mother’s love. That’s what she so desperately seeks and in chasing it will almost lose herself.

Georgia hopes that the Juarez trip will make a difference. But how long can she ignore Riley’s secrets? How long can she not speak up? Instead of bringing the two of them closer together, their summer together may tear them apart instead.

I have to admit that the beauty of Beth Kephart’s writing was so beautiful and poignant that I found it almost distracting to the story. I kept stopping and reading paragraphs again or deconstructing sentences. I feel as though I could open any page and find a gorgeously written passage.

Later that night I woke up sweating from a dream, those black wings inside my rib cage beating, my mother’s words – Apply your intelligence to every living thing – snaking through my blood. Because again my heart knew what my mind had avoided: Juarez was probably a hare-brained scheme; what were the chances – really – that I’d fly all the way there and come home stronger? I fought with the dark to free myself from my bed, struggled to wrest the weight from my chest. It was after two, and the house was quiet, and I headed for the stairs, my right fist against my heart to quiet the fury, to survive it. I needed the night beyond, which finally I reached, stumbling out onto the porch and into the streets and heading for the fairgrounds, which were empty now, the horses long since talked back into their trailers and driving off, Riley’s stories floating somewhere in the caverns of their heads. I hadn’t had a panic attack in two months. Each one was bigger than the last.

We find out the heart only by dismantling what the heart knows.

The words are from a poem Jack Gilbert wrote and Mr. Buzzy read toward the end of my sophomore year, when I finally stopped minding the class so much and settles in to learn. I walked the streets that night with that line in my head – walked until I could breathe again and stand up straight without collapsing. I was going to Juarez because I needed some perspective, some place where I could let the big bird free. My head knew things that my heart didn’t yet. I was privileged. I was smart. I had a future. It was time to believe in myself.

I LOVED the creativity of the characters. Riley through her art endeavors, painting, jewelry making. Georgia through the lens of the camera. I was able to identify with the need for Georgia to take photographs. While I sometimes had a difficult time remembering the side characters, I felt that I got an immediate sense of both Riley and Georgia and through their parents, a solid background of how they were both approaching their upcoming Juarez trip. The sense of place was also very strong. And one can’t help but love the children of Juarez after Kephart’s lovely descriptions.

This is a book that I could tell the author poured her soul into. One that was crafted with love and care. And from the end result – a poetic, layered, and thoughtful story that doesn’t back off from issues affecting teens – it shows.

Links of interest: Beth Kephart blog, The Heart is Not a Size resource blog, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: Harper Teen. March 30, 2010
Hardcover, 256 pages. ISBN 0061470481
Source copy: Review copy
The Heart is Not a Size is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham

Natasha Maw — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:14:42 +0000

In Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham, ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett only knows one way of life and that is sharecropping and the people in her small town. In fact, she’s never left the town at all or explored the surrounding communities.

Life is relatively simple and happy but not without its sorrow as her mother loses baby after baby or without poverty due in part to the Great Depression. There is one thing that Ludelphia loves more than anything and that’s to quilt. Her mother says she was born to quilt and she’s never seen without a scrap of cloth and needle in her pocket. The act of quilting and the subsequent act of contemplation that it brings is a thread that binds this story together.

When Ludelphia’s mother delivers her new baby early and falls deathly ill, her family is told that there is nothing that can be done. But Ludelphia won’t give up that easily and takes off on her own to Camden, a town forty miles away in hopes of bringing the white doctor back with her.

The journey is eventful and challenging and tests Ludelphia’s courage and resolve. Remember she’s never been beyond her town’s borders before nor even seen a white person. But in her attempt to save her mothers life will she end up dooming the entire town of Gee’s Bend? It’s certainly possible.

I enjoyed learning more about this real town of Gee’s Bend which is steeped in quilting history and was the inspiration for this novel. The book felt a bit slow near the beginning of the book but once Ludelphia began her journey, everything began to move along and I was fully invested in her story. Many in the town believe in witchcraft which I felt brought an intriguing element to not only the story’s beginning but its end as well.

Ludelphia is a strong and memorable character and while she may not always be the smartest in certain situations, I like young girl characters who know what they want and how to hold their own.

I can’t think of anything better to say then what Steph worded so well in her review:

It offers a memorable character and a compelling story with several interesting twists. It also provides fertile ground for discussion of quilting and folk art, sharecropping, poverty, racism, courage, and compassion, among other things.

The cover is ultimately what drew me to this cover. I knew I wanted to read it before I knew what is about.

Leaving Gee’s Bend 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: Irene Latham website, blog and Twitter.
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile. January 7, 2010.
Hardcover, 230 pages. ISBN 0399251790
Source copy: Unsolicited review copy (meaning it mysteriously showed up in my mail)
Leaving Gee’s Bend is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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War Child, A Child Soldier’s Story by Emmanuel Jal

Natasha Maw — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:03:17 +0000

Why do I love reading memoirs? Because of books like War Child, A Child Soldier’s Story by Emmanuel Jal. What an incredible book that had me thoroughly engrossed. I think using the word engrossed is supposed to be a no-no when reviewing books but how else can I describe a book that had me unable to put it down and talking about it to my husband whenever I wasn’t reading it?

Emmanuel Jal is truly an amazing person and one that makes me believe in the resilience of the human spirit. A former child-solder at the young age of seven in the Sudanese civil war, he is now a hip-hop star who is using his music to share his message and to find peace for his people in Africa.

About Emmanuel Jal’s story (from the War Child movie website):

In the early 1980s at the age of seven, Jal was swept into Sudan’s civil war, becoming one of 10,000 child soldiers conscripted on both sides of the two decade long conflict. After being forced to do many unimaginably horrible things, he escaped the soldier’s camp and trekked for four months through Africa. He was eventually found and adopted by the now legendary British aid worker Emma McCune who had married Sudanese guerrilla commander Riek Machar and convinced him to not employ child soldiers. Shortly after she adopted Jal, McCune died in a suspicious car crash, leaving Emmanuel “orphaned” once again. Jal rose from ruthless child soldier to refugee to rap star. He found his own redemption and life mission through a message of peace that represents one of the 21st centuries’ most inspiring and hopeful journeys, and a metaphor for the broader African predicament.

What I find so surreal about Emmanuel Jal’s story is that he is my age (or nearly close to it as he doesn’t know exactly when he was born). What was I doing in the comfort of my American home while he had to make decisions about whether or not to eat his dead friend in order to stay alive, or that he was sleeping with an Ak-47 and not only being trained at the age of eight as a soldier but also sent to the front lines to kill?

I was so mad at his father for giving him up. For abandoning him when he was just a small child No child should have to raise himself at the age of seven or eight. I was so mad that people could do such awful things to each other. But I was so inspired with those who reached out to help. I adored and loved Emma McCune. She is a hero and sometimes I secretly wish that I could make a similar impact on somebody’s life. I am so inspired by Emmanuel Jal himself. For overcoming his war-torn childhood, not only surviving but thriving and using his life to make a difference for others.

After I finished the book, I rushed out and watched the documentary about his life. When he lived in the refugee camps, he was filmed by National Geographic. He loved to talk when he was little so he became a natural spokesman for the children. It was surreal to watch him as a little boy and put a face to the little boy that I read about.

Another trailer (does contain graphic images):

And then after I watched the documentary, I rushed out and got his CD which I have listened to no less than a dozen times. His lyrics are so compelling and he’s really talented. I love that he is using his music to make a difference.

I love this tribute song for Emma McCune, the woman who smuggled him out of the country, took him in, and put him in school:

I wanted to share this song as well, because he was told that if he wanted to be successful he should become more concerned with material things. His response was that while his people suffered in Africa, those things are meaningless. Just goes to show what his character his like.

Emmanuel Jal tells his story in his own words. Please stop a moment and take the time to watch:

One year ago, Emmanuel Jal pledged to fast two meals a day until he raised enough funds to build a school for his people in Africa. One year later and countless meals missed, he has not given up. You can find out how’s he doing via the links below and help the cause.

I was so inspired from this book and learning about Emmanuel Jal’s journey that I chose this book for the Twenty-Minute Book Club on the That’s How I Blog, Blog Talk Radio Show hosted by Nicole at Linus’s Blanket, which I will be a guest on Tuesday, January 19th. (and if you’re into reading challenges – this book would fit nicely with the That’s How I Blog Challenge as well as the Social Justice Challenge). I would love for you to read the book, watch the documentary, or listen to his album and join us on that show to discuss it.

Regardless, this is one of those books that when you read it, you have to tell everybody about it. So this is me, telling you about it. Read it.

Links of interest: Emmanuel Jal website, Twitter, Facebook and on YouTube. War Child documentary movie website. Gua Africa, Emmanuel’s non-profit charity which he founded, which is currently raises funds for the Emma Academy, in honor of the woman who saved his life.
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press. February 3, 2009.
Hardcover, 272 pages. ISBN 0312383223
War Child is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving by Virginia Krull, Illustrated by Timothy Ladwig

Natasha Maw — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:38:57 +0000

Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving by Virginia Krull and illustrated by Timothy Ladwig is a lovely new book on the importance of prayer and gratitude for our blessing. Although saying grace or blessing our food wasn’t a new idea among early American settlers and the custom was practiced as early as biblical times, this author gives a fictional rendition of how prayer might have started in North America during the 1600’s with an early settler named Grace.

Eight-year-old Grace is worried about the upcoming harsh winter. And for good reason, last winter many people died including her own grandmother, her mother gave birth while her father was lost in a blizzard. Winter frightens her. As the season is upon them, Grace reads Psalms in the Bible where God takes care of even the birds and that He will take even better care of his children. With a child’s perfect faith she prays, “Please send us a gentle winter.” Her prayers were answered, no blizzards came and before they knew it spring had arrived.

Later that fall, during harvest time, a new settler told them of a custom to gather together as a community and to share a harvest feast. For Grace and her family, it would be their first Thanksgiving. After preparing pies, turkeys, pheasants and other delicious dishes, they all sit down and begin to dig in. But Grace knows that something isn’t right and shouts, “Wait! Shouldn’t we first say thank you to God and ask a blessing?” The next morning as they sat down to breakfast, Grace’s father says, “Say it Grace” from which comes the phrase “saying grace.”

The author’s note at the beginning of the book provides a few prayers that are good for children as well as scripture references that also make wonderful prayers. My family blesses our food before each meal and this will be a great book to solidify to my children why we call on God and thank him for our bounteous blessings, not only this time of year but all year long as well.

Links of interest: Illustrator Timonthy Ladwig website, more book blogger reviews. Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving is a fiction picture book Cybil’s nominee for which I’m a panelist.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx age 4-8.
Publisher: Zonderkidz. September 1, 2009
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0310712106
Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

Natasha Maw — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:18:10 +0000

Okay folks. Surely you’ve seen this book around haven’t you? Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. I’d seen the cover before but had never taken the time to pick it up and so I was a tad excited when it was a book read by our fabulous librarians at our story time that I go to every week.

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.

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