Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed (Juvenile Fiction)
Fun fact: I read this for a virtual Tween Book Club program I help facilitate and the kids loved this book.
Amal is such a lovable character. She has strong relationships with her family and friends and is spunky, smart, and brave. After an infuriatingly unjust encounter with the landlord of her village, he sends Amal to his palace as an indentured servant. I think Saeed does an excellent job introducing the horrifying and ongoing problem of indentured servitude to a younger age group. Though I was angry much of the book, I believed in Amal's resilience and trusted she could flourish in any environment thanks to her strength and the knowledge that her family loved her and was missing and fighting for her. I also appreciated the message that no matter how small we think we are, we still have the power to make things right, and can make the lives of others better through love, listening to others, and investing ourselves in each other's happiness.
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury (Adult Nonfiction)
The pages of Zen in the Art of Writing hum with Bradbury's loud enthusiasm for writing. Reading this was a little like exploring the museum of his imagination, opening and closing doors to his stories and ideas. I marked many passages but my favorite moment happens in the essay, "Drunk, and in Charge of a Bicycle." Bradbury writes, "This is the kind of life I've had. Drunk, and in charge of a bicycle...Drunk with life, that is, and not knowing where off to next. But you're on your way before dawn. And the trip? Exactly one half terror, exactly one half exhilaration."
Aggie Morton Mystery Queen series by Marthe Jocelyn
Prior to the Aggie Morton series, the only mysteries I've read are the Boxcar Children series and a couple Lillian Jackson Braun books. I haven’t even read the Agatha Christie series, which this series pulls inspiration from. For whatever reason I just don't gravitate toward mysteries. So I'm not sure how The Body Under the Piano ended up on my to-read list, but I am so incredibly glad it did.
Aggie Morton is plucky, hilarious, curious, imaginative, and almost annoyingly insistent on finding answers. I say this last part with only praise and admiration. I laughed all the way through this funny mystery and was surprised by the ending and murderer. I was impressed by how each new clue kept me changing my guesses as to who the murderer was. This is coming from a novice mystery reader so keep that in mind.
I think kids who have a slightly darker sense of humor will love this. The book opens with this paragraph: "I will tell first about making a new friend and save the dead body for later. This follows the traditional rules of storytelling - lull the reader with pleasant scenery and lively dialogue, introduce a few appealing characters, and then - aha! - discover a corpse." It was love at first paragraph for me. And it just kept getting better!
There were plenty of moments where I laughed out loud. For example, when one of the characters calls the police to report the murder he says, 'A constable is required at the Mermaid Dance Room on Union Street...We've got what you'd call a candidate for the graveyard.'" I also enjoyed when Aggie let her imagination get the best of her and she would let a scene play out in her mind.
My only concern with this series is the author goes a little too far making light of death and even demonstrates on multiple occasions that death is this exciting thing if it doesn't happen to someone you love. Or at least that's the attitude that reveals itself every now and then. Though the death of Aggie's father, which happened when she was younger, is mentioned in both books in the series, the characters don't express a lot of empathy for the victims. This could have something to do with the time period the series is set in, which is the early 1900s, when deaths were more common. I still love the series despite the lack of empathy expressed by the characters and think it's a great way to initiate a conversation about empathy with your loved ones. Included in both books are drawings of the characters at the beginning of each book and a drawing to start each chapter. The drawings are wonderful, and I would have like even more!
The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers (Picture Book)
Barnabus and his friends are failed projects who live below the Perfect Pets shop. When they learn they are going to be recycled they decide to break out of the individual glass jars they live in and help each other escape. The journey to freedom is perilous but through teamwork, friendship, and persistence they find a better life. At the end of the story the Fan brothers let their readers know that there are still struggles ahead, but that the family of imperfect pets can overcome anything when they do it together. The illustrations are incredible. Each page is filled with so much detail and the imperfect pets are all unique and so lovable. The story is also beautifully told and though it's a thick picture book, it's not too wordy. My favorite moment is when the imperfect pets help free each other from their glass jars and their names are all listed - names like Bumble Bear and Bottle Mogs. I couldn't help myself. I read the whole page aloud and then started the book over again and read it aloud. It's one of those books that has it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment