The Genius Under the Table

The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin (Juvenile Biography)

The Genius Under the Table is bleak but also strangely cozy at times.  It’s hopeful, heartbreaking, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and may stir up tender feelings for your own strange family.

Eugene (Yevgeny) is a child growing up behind the Iron Curtain.  His family shares a kitchen and bathroom with several families, including a spy who’s always lurking in the corner of the kitchen.  Eugene is bursting with questions - Why is his grandfather’s face cut out of all the family pictures? Why doesn’t anyone want to talk about defecting (which is too close to the word defecating?)  And why is poetry respected but also dangerous?

Each night, before his family (mom, dad, grandma, brother) goes to sleep, all the furniture is rearranged, and Eugene’s cot is set up underneath the table.  This is where he creates drawings that help him chew on all the questions he has.  Both parents really want him to be the best at something. Eugene thinks that because he doesn’t initially have a talent like his brother, Victor, his parents do not love him.  He struggles but eventually comes to understand that being the best at something is his only chance to have a higher-quality life and a greater chance at surviving and thriving.  Though his age isn’t always clear to me, it feels like he grows up really fast, and his perspective of his parents changes with just a mere flip of pages.

Though his drawings sometimes interrupt the text, there were a few illustrations that had me laughing out loud.  Somewhere around the middle of the book I realized just how much I was enjoying his skill for creating unique facial expressions.  His love for his family shines through most in his illustrations. 

I think this is a great book for anyone really, even though it’s intended for kids.  Prior to reading this, I didn’t know how precious a stick of gum was, how hard it was to acquire books during the cold war in the USSR, or what a bones record was.  While reading this, I kept sharing snippets with family and friends of all ages.  Our conversations continue, even after I was slapped by the heartbreaking ending, haunted by the black page, and swimming in murky gratitude for my privileged life. 

wild meatloafs

Mad About Meatloaf (Juvenile Graphic Fiction)

Grade Level: 1-4.  Weenie (a dog) and his friends, Frank (a cat) and Beans (a guinea pig) have some humorous and challenging adventures involving meatloaf in this Bad Guys readalike.  Weenie’s owner, Bob, just made some meatloaf and Weenie really wants it.  Frank, a true representative of the naughty side of Weenie’s conscience, encourages him to eat it.  Beans, Team Angel, tries to tell Weenie it’s a bad idea.  Weenie gives in to the meatloaf temptation, but there’s a hilarious twist to this story thanks to his guilt and the combined imaginations of three unusual pets.  Though the vocabulary is thrillingly tricky at times, I think this is a great beginner graphic novel.  It’s not too long, and though it’s short, contains six chapters.  The artwork is excellent, the panels aren’t cluttered, and the text is easy to follow.  I particularly enjoyed going on the hunt for “wild meatloafs” and watching them frolic with a unicorn.  I haven’t met a wild meatloaf before or really even contemplated their existence, so the world I perceived and lived in prior to reading this changed slightly and grew just a few millimeters larger.  

island and mushroom adventures

 Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo (Juvenile Fiction)

Grade Level: 3-8. This is a fast-paced adventure you will not be able to put down, so once you settle in to read this make sure you have nothing on your schedule for a couple hours. 

After Michael and his dog, Stella wash up on a deserted island following a sailing accident, they soon realize they are not alone. Kensuke, the only other person on the island, is elderly, speaks Japanese, and is initially cautious and unfriendly. Kensuke, however, does leave food out for Michael and Stella and attempts to warn Michael of dangers. This only confuses and angers Michael, who feels trapped and scared. 

Eventually they became friends and help each other understand their languages and histories. I enjoyed their daily routine and all the tiny but momentous tasks that formed their days and kept them alive. Though I wanted the orangutans to make more appearances in the story, I loved their interactions with Kensuke. Yes, you heard me right. There are orangutans! 

Be prepared for an ending that will completely gut you and keep you up for hours (so maybe don't read this before you go to sleep). I spent longer trying to recover from the ending than I did reading this short book. Michael wants so badly to be reunited with his mom and dad. Kensuke is wrestling with the new knowledge that his family could have survived the bombing of Nagasaki and may have been alive the forty years he spent living on the island. Michael and Kensuke have also become each other’s family during the year Michael lives on the island. Big decisions must be made, and they are bittersweet and heartbreaking. 

One last thing to note. Stella, his loyal dog, comes to no harm during the story.

Mushroom Rain by Laura Zimmermann and illustrated by Jamie Green (Nonfiction Picture Book)

Mushrooms are so fascinating and complex and Zimmermann’s poetic and brief mushroom overview gives the reader just enough information to want more. Included in the back is more information including instructions for making a spore print, an interesting tidbit about Mushroom-Harvesting Ants who eat mushy mushrooms, and an excellent bibliography including where you can learn more about “how spores act as nuclei for raindrops.”

sneaky books

A couple reviews for ya!  These are both older titles, which just goes to show that books escape my attention all the time.  Since I spend several hours a day in the company of books, this is quite the feat!  I love sneaky books that slip past my constant trolling of the shelves so to speak.  It would be a total bore to hear the little voice in my head only ever say, "read that, read that, read that."  And patrons are always excited to share something I've never heard of.  

This first book came highly recommended by a young patron who insisted I check out the book as soon as she returned it.  Because, as we all know, most of my day is spent standing patiently by the book return, waiting for the Love Monster and other book friends to come back.  

Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright (Picture Book)

A great demonstration of the pros and cons of sharing and the internal dilemma we all go through when we feel greedy or particularly attached to something and may not want to share. I love the sneaky twist at the end. I won’t give anything away, but the Love Monster has some wonderful friends. “You see, sometimes it’s when you stop to think of others…that you start to find out just how much they think of you.”

An Earthworm's Life by John Himmelman (Nonfiction Picture Book)

Charming, engrossing, and deceptively simple overview of an earthworm’s life cycle. Both Himmelman’s words and illustrations bring the earthworm to life. You will not be able to contain your excitement the moment the earthworm slips out of its ring full of eggs and poof there’s an egg case.

*Note* I am a Himmelman fan and had read a couple in this nonfiction series. There are several others if you are a fan of An Earthworm's Life: Ladybug, Dandelion, Monarch Butterfly etc.  Though the earthworm is my favorite of the series, I highly recommend them all.  They are a delight, not too wordy for nonfiction, and each is a unique way of looking at the seasons.

smushy stuff

I've been busy soaking up spring, immersed in books and projects.  

Here are a few pictures of all the loveliness going on around here:

Josie and I just finished up what may be our last virtual storytime.  Over the past two years we have enjoyed smushing ourselves together in our tiny storytime space and singing songs and reading books to an empty room, BUT I am ready to do an in-person storytime this fall.  I will miss my Jo-pie, but she will still get lots of songs and love.  After two years she can proudly say she never once tooted when we were live.  And she always looked smushy and soft and sometimes even engaged and smiled like she knew what we were doing.  She was a perfect cohost. 

We went from a beautiful March to a chilly and windy April to humidity and heat in May.  Summer is here, and my heart is happy.

The last cup of hot tea while sitting on a patio at a restaurant when it was chilly.

And now it's time for copious amounts of iced tea.  Thankfully the Midwest Tea Festival was back this year and I could stock up.  It was my first time trying a tea from The Great Mississippi Tea Company and it's simply magical and my new favorite black tea.

We've been wandering as many strange neighborhoods as we can get away with.

This is my Goper (Margo) at her finest.

There are even times the poops have been getting pooped out.  A sure sign of humidity and heat.

Probably the biggest change around here is Josie and Margo's sleeping arrangements.  Though the dogs are almost four and we've been leaving their kennels open at night for months (well over a year I think), they've both continued to stay in them all night.  

Then it happened.

Jo-Pie started creeping out a couple months ago and tucking herself next to Robert's side of the bed.  Robert put a dog bed down for her, and then a blanket, and then a second dog bed for cushioning, and she is happy as can be.  

It didn't take long for me to grow intensely jealous and one night, I evicted Goper from her kennel and asked her very politely to lay on my side of the bed.  She politely declined and the battle began.  Eventually I won her over and we started playing musical dog beds again, trying to figure out what she liked best. 

Robert and I have started telling each other that the "filling is out of the danish" if Josie is no longer fully in her bed (a tripping hazard).  Or the "filling is out of the croissant" if Margo oozes out of her bed (also a tripping hazard).  Occasionally my side of the bed looks like a slime bomb has gone off.  Margo's lips go on adventures at night, making snail trails everywhere.  But for the most part, Josie is the perfect danish, and Margo is my sloppy croissant, and no one has fallen and broken anything yet.  The kennels are packed away and our sweet pastry dogs are close enough for a quick pat or two in the middle of the night.