Book Review and Giveaway: Little Fish: A Memoir by Ramsey Beyer

Posted on by

Little Fish cover imageRamsey Beyer, author of Little Fish is big on making lists of all kinds, like “The Top 5 Things I Like About My Neighborhood,” and “Recent Best Feelings Ever.” As part of the Little Fish blog tour, I have one copy of the book to give away to a reader in the U.S. If you’d like to win a copy, leave a short list of your own in the comments section before midnight (PDT) on Wednesday, September 25. Please note: the giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Lori on winning.

I’ll start off with my list called Four Tough Adjustments When You Send Your Child to College:

  1. Her bed stays made every day, constantly reminding you she’s really not home.
  2. You worry endlessly when she’s sick and you can’t go to the doctor with her.
  3. You no longer know her friends.
  4. You’re happy that she’s happy away from home, but you’re just a bit sad too.

Here’s my review of Little Fish: A Memoir:

Accustomed to life in a small town in Wisconsin where everyone knows each other, Ramsey is excited that she has the opportunity to venture out on her own after she graduates from high school. Shy and pig-tailed, she nonetheless enters college life at an art school in Baltimore with high hopes and dreams of adventure. Little Fish is her memoir of her first year away from home.

The title reflects Ramsey’s feelings that she has become a little fish in a big pond, and at first she is definitely out of her element. But as she makes friends and becomes immersed in challenging schoolwork, she gradually builds up confidence and starts to branch out.

Told through illustrations and copies of journal entries and blog posts Beyer wrote at the time, Little Fish: A Memoir is an honest look at the difficulties young adults face when leaving what they know and beginning to forge a life away from home. It’s a great insight for both high school students on the cusp of a similar experience and the parents who will send them off. Beyer captures the balance of both excitement and fear that comes with stepping from a safe, known world into one that is unknown and full of possibilities as well as drawbacks.

I recommend Little Fish for mother-daughter book clubs and other readers aged 14 and up.

If you’d like to find out what others are saying about Little Fish, check out the blog tour page at Zestbooks.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Posted on by

Neverwhere cover imageRichard is not the kind of guy to make waves. He lives a normal life in London with a fiancée who tells him what to do and a good-enough job where he performs well even if he doesn’t distinguish himself. That all changes the day he sees what appears to be a homeless girl on the sidewalk who is hurt. When he stops to help her, his life becomes entwined with the underworld of London, a place full of hardship, danger, deprivation and totally unlike anything he has ever experienced before. He also discovers that if he wants his old life back, he’ll have to be daring in ways he never thought he could be.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman takes the reader on an adventure in a richly imagined world with demented assassins that live for centuries, a family that can open doors where there are none, a separate underground system existing alongside London’s Tube, along with the darkness and dirt you would expect to find in a world below.

Richard has never considered himself a hero or any kind of risk taker. He has always plodded along doing the thing expected of him. But thrown out of his normal life, and with his life threatened, he learns to call upon personal resources he never imagined he had. His relationships with the characters he meets in the underworld are more intense than any he has had above ground. It all makes him wonder if regaining his old life is really what he wants.

Neverwhere is a great book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 16 and up. Discussion can center around the world Gaiman creates as well as Richard’s struggle between his desire for his old life and his thrill at stepping out of the bounds he has created for himself. That theme should resonate well with girls on the cusp of finishing high school and moving on to what comes next.

Book Review: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Posted on by

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock cover imageLeonard has decided that he’s going to kill himself and the guy who torments him. But first, he decides to say goodbye in his own way to the people who made a difference in his life: the old guy next door who taught him to love Bogart films, the high school teacher who teaches a class on the Holocaust, a girl who hands out religious tracts on the subway, and a fellow student who is a secret violin prodigy.

Leonard is convinced he has nothing to live for, and that Asher Beal deserves to die. As the story unfolds, we find that Leonard’s father abandoned him long ago and his mother is mostly absent. He and Asher used to be friends until Asher turned on him.

Like other books by Matthew Quick (Boy 21, Sorta Like a Rock Star) Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is not comfortable to read, but it is important to read. Leonard’s emotions are raw, and he is isolated. Repeatedly he reaches out to his mother and is rejected. He’s awkward interacting with friends. Fortunately for Leonard his teacher recognizes his suffering, possibly because he went through something similar in his youth, and extends a lifeline to him. The characters are real and gritty and somehow familiar.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a great book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 up to read and discuss. Topics to talk about include social strains on teens, how teens can find help if they need it, the kind of thinking that will push someone to do something extreme, and more. I highly recommend it.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Posted on by

Eleanor & Park cover imageIf it weren’t for the school bus, Eleanor and Park would have never gotten to know each other. But Eleanor was new and looking for a seat, and Park was the only one who moved over to give her one. Eleanor really stands out in a crowd, not that she wants too. Her hair is red and curly and there’s lots of it. There’s also lots of Eleanor. Park is half-Asian (his mother is from Korea), the only Asian kid in his school in Omaha. Each of them is sure the other could never be attracted to them, yet once they start sharing the things that are important to them, like music and comics, they find a lot to like about each other. The trouble is, Eleanor lives with an abusive stepdad, and she has to keep her relationship with Park a secret. She’s knows it’s just a matter of time before Ritchie finds out and ruins everything.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is a tender, sweet romance about two misfits who find each other. Eleanor can’t imagine how she can ever have a normal life when her family is so messed up. Park comes from a stable family, but he’s never been the type to do the things his dad wants him to do, like hunt and fish and drive a stick shift. Their friendship grows slowly until it becomes so much more, yet it’s a fragile thing that is easily strained. Their stops and starts are tentative and real, and I worried that the ending would be painful. But the story of Eleanor and Park is safe in Rowell’s hands; she treats her characters as gently as they treat each other. I recommend Eleanor & Park for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Save

Book Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Posted on by

If You Find Me cover imageThe day Carey’s dad shows up at her broken down camper in the woods with a worker from child protective services she knows her life is about to change, but she doesn’t know how much. Her meth-addicted mom has kept her and her younger sister Jenessa hidden away for years, and while Carey knows how to hunt and make a can of beans last on a rumbly belly, she has no idea what it’s like to live normally. Plus, after all the stories her mom has told her, she fears that her dad is abusive.

Carey is surprised to find her dad remarried to a woman who seems to really care about her and Jenessa. Her stepsister Delaney is less welcoming. Still, Carey works hard to adjust if only for Jenessa’s sake. But the secrets of her past may just unwind the sense of security she allows herself to feel.

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch looks at the vulnerability children face when the adults they depend on fail them. In many ways, Carey is older than her years, as she has had to be responsible for her own and her sister’s survival. But she is stunted socially, unsure of how to interact with people and deciding who she can trust. She knows that she will never be “normal,” yet she also works to forge a path that will help her fit in and create a future for herself.

Carey’s story is a reminder of how much kids need the adults around them to do the right thing, and how wrong things can go when they don’t. If You Find Me is a gripping read that will work it’s way into your heart. At the satisfying end, I still found myself wondering what happened next for Carey and it was hard to let the characters go. I recommend the book for mother-daughter book clubs and other readers aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

Posted on by

Delilah Dirk cover imageSelim is a lieutenant in the sultan’s army in early 1800s Constantinople. He lives a quiet, simple life until the day Delilah Dirk shows up in the sultan’s dungeon. While questioning her he discovers she claims to be a fearsome fighter, with deeds to her credit around the world. When she escapes, the sultan believes Selim had something to do with it, and he orders them both to be killed. Delilah frees Selilm and takes him along on her adventures.

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, a graphic novel by Tony Cliff, mixes humor and adventure as it follows the two main characters on their exploits around the sultan’s empire and beyond. Delilah is fearless while Selim is a bit bumbling and overly trusting. But Delilah thinks he makes the best tea in the world, and that is her excuse for bringing him along with her. As they get to know each other their friendship deepens even as Selim’s skills grow. When faced with the opportunity to return to his quiet life, he must decide what is more important to him.

Cliff’s illustrations portray Delilah as carefree, confident and capable. She and Selim are both likable in different ways, and the places they travel are exotic. It’s fun to follow along as they get into and out of trouble again and again

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Author Katie Davis Talks About Toddlers and Pre-Reading

Posted on by

Recently I got an email newsletter from Katie Davis, one of my favorite kidlit authors and educators about how toddlers are great pre-readers. Katie is funny, energetic, and full of great ideas about kids and reading. She agreed to let me share her message with you; it’s a good reminder that almost anything can lead to an opportunity to share books with your kids while tapping into something that makes them really excited. Read on to hear what Katie has to say. And if you’d like to get more messages and tips like this from her, you may want to sign up for her newsletter yourself. She even gives a free gift when you subscribe.

You know, Kidlit Lover, an obsessed toddler is the perfect pre-reader.

Why?

Toddlers get obsessed.

  • Trucks? CHECK!
  • Firefighter hat? CHECK!
  • Pink tutu? CHECK!

Almost every parent has countless stories to tell about their child’s obsessions and the funny stories that came about because of them.

Pack a lunch: you might be stopping at every construction site you see to sit for a while and watch.

Get a nose plug: don’t EVEN try to take off that firefighter hat to wash hair!

Buy a comfy couch: you’ll be watching that new ballet movie 17 times straight. And 42 times later after that.

We’ve all been there, in one way or another. Whether it’s construction or trains or Princess Barbie, the drill is the same. Our kids live it and breathe it until we think we just can’t stand it.  I was lucky. Benny got obsessed with a teeny tiny guitar when he was two—to the point that he was sleeping with it as though it were a teddy bear! We picked up a VHS blues guitar video at a yard sale and he watched it until I almost (but not quite) stopped loving my favorite music!

So how is an obsessed toddler is the perfect pre-reader?

  • When little Jimmy wants nothing but more trains, trains, trains give him just that. Go to the library and lead him to all those delectable books about trains. If his name isn’t Jimmy, it’ll be harder. 😎
  • Get your child their own library card and let them begin to check out a few books at a time. Make sure to explain that you guys can go back and check out more books when they’ve been read (probably ad nauseum)! They’ll begin to understand the concept of libraries, the borrow system, and that the books are not theirs to keep…and that they can always get new ones!
  • Let your child not only pick books you read together, but also decide what and how long you read a specific book. It’s okay if they want to stop in the middle – prolonged attention spans haven’t kicked in yet!
  • They might want to just look at it all by themselves or better yet, let them “read” to you!

Catch your kid at being good!

  • Gift a new book about trucks/hats/tutus/whatever
  • Put it on their pillow as a surprise bedtime story surprise.
  • Earn star stickers for a new book.
  • Buy books at yard sales.

What do you do if your child expresses no interest in books at all?

 

  • Leave piles of books all over the house, within reach. (If it’s a paper book and they need supervision, you can leave it on a high shelf where it is still visible.)
  • Keep a bunch of books in the car. Don’t push your kid to read them – just have the books within reach.
  • When you do have that picnic as you watch the construction site, read the book about trucks right then and there.
  • Leave books just lying around and let them discover it or re-discover it on their own.

Forcing a child to sit down and listen to a book before they’re ready will send the wrong message. You don’t want them to start to see it as something to dread, not cherish. And if they get a cuddle with you, it’ll soon be something they’re begging for.

If all else fails, grab a truck, a firehat, and a tutu and get that kid obsessed!

Warmly,

Katie Davis photo with signature

KatieDavis.com

Book Review: Carnivores, written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Dan Santat

Posted on by

Carnivores cover imageSome of the world’s best known carnivores—the lion, great white shark and wolf—are thought of to be fearsome and frightening. Yet when the trio get together in a new picture book, Carnivores, they can’t wait to share about how their feelings get hurt when they are labeled as meanies.

What’s a good meat-eater to do? These three decide to go on a vegetarian diet, but find they don’t have the stomach for it. Ultimately they go back to being their true selves, even if it does mean they eat cute animals.

Written by Aaron Reynold and illustrated by Dan Santat, Carnivores is a light-hearted look at what it means to be at the top of the food chain. The play starts on the cover, where the carnivores are covered in plastic as though they are packaged at a grocery store meat counter. The fun continues from there with the wild animals working to get in touch with their feelings and be more likeable.

The topic is a bit macabre, with the lion eating antelope, the shark dispatching dolphins and the wolf consuming bunnies, but it should help young children understand the role of carnivores in nature while entertaining them with humorous illustrations. It’s lots of fun in a dark sort of way.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...