From Bunny Babies to Evil Queens: 6 books I've Been Wanting to Tell You About

Hi guys! I've been reading loads of good books lately, and I wanted to tell you about 'em. Some I've read for the Cybils Graphic Novels judging, others I've just read in the last while. I'll put a star (*) by the books that made a Cybils shortlist. It is also worth noting that you can click on a book cover to shop for that book (or whatever else), and when you shop I make a small commission.

The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation - Another solid entry into this great series of first chapter books. As you can imagine, the princess's vacation gives Duff the Goat Boy a chance to get his first taste of action. And Magnolia herself faces the most fierce monster yet! (more of my reviews of this series are found here). I have to say, both story lines in this book were kind of painful for different reasons, but I don't want to spoil too much. 

A Child of Books - This is the sort of picture book that adult book worms will eat up. I loved it, but my kids weren't poring over it while we had it checked out of the library. The beautiful art is made of typography and mixed media. The text is a poem about rediscovering books and imagination.

Hand in Hand - Here's another picture book that I loved. I'm going to say that this one was also written for adults though. Each picture features a mother and baby bunny, and the text is a poem from the little one to the grown-up. As the book goes on, the little rabbit gets older until at the end he is independent. I really love Rosemary Well's art, and this might be some of her best. I also love her stories, and this one isn't a narrative as much as an ode to mothers.

Snow White - This is a graphic novel retelling of the classic story, but it is set in the 1920's. I loved the update of the "magic mirror," though I won't spoil for you what object takes on magical significance in this version. The illustrations are Phelan's classics and his image of the wicked queen will be staying with me for a while! Thumbs up for transplanting this story into a new era.

*Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey - This book's title doesn't do it justice, in my opinion. It is a graphic novel memoir of growing up in Turkey, of course. The book starts out with light childhood memories, which are quite enjoyable to read. it progresses and talks about Özge's time in school and follows her until her college education is complete. It reminded me (and others on the Cybils panel) of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It has much less darkness and upsetting material than Persepolis does, but it still has lots of interesting themes to talk about. I think it would make a great book for discussion in a 7th or 8th grade class. 

*The Nameless City - This graphic novel is first in a new series that is going to have wide appeal. I loved it, and I can see kids from third to tenth grade enjoying it. It follows two kids in a city: one is a girl whose ancestors have lived in the city for a long time, the other is the son of a soldier of the occupying army, training to become a soldier himself. Because of the city's unique position, it has been conquered time and time again. Because of the kids' unique skills and resources, they become business partners and then friends. Lots of meaty themes (representation in government, military occupation, homelessness, diplomacy), lots of action (jumping from rooftops, hand to hand combat) and the relationships between the characters make this one a page turner and book worth reading. 

I'm interested to know what sort of books you're looking for these days. Anything I can help you find?

with love,
Alysa

Movie Review: The General (1926)

Remember when I said I wanted to see the looks on my kids faces while they watched a Buster Keaton film? Well, I've seen some of them now, and I have one word: priceless.

A little bit of backstory: We wanted to do something to celebrate the last day of school. (Benjamin's first ever last day of school!) Our plan was to have a family movie night and watch The Lego Movie, which we have heard so many good things about. But it turned out that it wasn't available to rent yet. While I was determining whether or not we could rent the Lego movie, Levi and Jubilee went to bed. I had mentioned to Jacob earlier that I wanted to watch The General with Benjamin, so he turned it on.

Unfortunately, Benjamin was still dead-set on the Lego Movie; and, he couldn't quite grasp the concept that it wasn't available yet. So he began watching The General with a bad attitude -- whining and begging us to turn it off. That only lasted the first 5 minutes or so. I can tell you for certain that he was squealing in delight by 11 minutes in. Benjamin loved the physical gags that Keaton is so famous for.

I appreciated the drama of the situation: our hero is a railroad engineer, visiting his sweetheart in Marietta, GA. Just as the two lovebirds are cuddling up on the sofa, the Civil War breaks out. Johnny goes to enlist in the confederate army, but is rejected by the army and doesn't know why. His girlfriend is misinformed and believes he never tried to enlist -- the relationship is on the rocks. Well, of course he goes on to be a hero in the war effort and make amends with his love. The whole movie builds toward a spectacular train wreck -- literally.

It's a great movie to watch now -- I can only imagine how awesome it was in 1926, when it was released. The stunts are thrilling and funny: I admit to exclaiming in alarm at one of the stunts Keaton does. The dialogue was great. "Wait . . . what? I thought it was a silent film!" you say. It is. But I about died laughing at the line, "If you lose this war, don't blame me!"

We were reading the title cards to Benjamin of course. He is a good reader these days, but reading them out loud was a way to get him engaged early on when he wasn't so thrilled to be watching. It also helped that the film was set in Georgia, and that we had driven through Marietta only days before. How cool is that?Occasionally we narrated the action for Benjamin, but not much once he got into it.

In short, this was a great family movie, made even more fun by my having read Bluffton, by Matt Phelan. We totally loved it!

Have you seen The General? What are your favorite old films? I'd love some recommendations.

Bluffton

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

The art is gorgeous, of course. Have you seen his other books? Both Storm in the Barn and (my personal favorite) Around the World also feature the gorgeous watercolor, pencil, and ink of Matt Phelan.

Bluffton is about the summers that famous film pioneer Buster Keaton spent in Bluffton, MI. We hear about these summers from the perspective of a fictional main character, Henry. I wouldn't have known that Henry was fictional except that it says so right in the back of the book. The relationship between Henry and Buster (and others) feels very authentic, as does the plot in general. Of course, the book is born of Phelan's lifelong fascination with Buster Keaton, so you know, there was a lot of research.

Despite having been well researched, the book never feels like it was written by a robot. Also, the book is not so perfect and glossy that you're like "how was that even made?" No, you can see how it was drawn, complete with tiny imperfections. I noticed one panel in particular where the coloring went outside of the border:

That sort of thing would be easy to clean up, digitally or otherwise. But I feel like it adds to the character of the book, and maybe even helps establish the book's setting -- a century in the past.

Bluffton is certainly appropriate for ages 8 and up, but my guess is that it will appeal more strongly to teens and adults (especially those who already know a little bit about Buster Keaton). I don't know how the book would read for someone who has no idea of who Keaton is. Speaking for myself, Bluffton made me want to re-watch some of Buster Keaton's films; I got my first taste of them in my college's Intro to Film class. I want to share them with my kids and watch their faces. It looks like there are some on YouTube.

This book is so well done. That's really the bottom line. In Bluffton, Matt Phelan perfectly mixes dialog and illustration. Let me show you what I mean. An interaction like this one could be totally hackneyed with extra descriptions. ("... she said. Suddenly, Henry realized he was sitting on a heart-backed love-seat with a girl who had just said the L word..." No.) The pictures just do it so well.

I hope you'll check this one out, if it interests you. If not, may I once again recommend Around the World? My review is here, and I also recorded my book club's reaction.

UPDATE: I watched The General with our five-year-old son and it was priceless! My review of that is here.
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If you make a purchase after following one of these links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Amazon - Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton. Barnes and Noble - Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton 

Book Club: Around the World by Matt Phelan

This last week I hosted book club at my house. The book I chose was Around the World by Matt Phelan. (I've written about it before.) I wanted to introduce some of the smartest ladies I know to graphic novels, and this one was a big hit. For starters, almost everyone who came read it! (I, myself, have been guilty of not reading the book before I attend this particular book club.)

"I liked it! And I didn't think I was going to like it." 

"I was like 'Oh, no, I've got two book club books to read!' but then I opened this one up and yay! It was a graphic novel!"

"You can say some things in pictures that you can't say in words. Like when she is dancing."

"I love the expressions on their faces."

"I found Thomas Stevens' story really inspiring. He was unhappy with his life and he made a new life for himself in a time when it was really hard to do that."

"Nellie Bly was my favorite!"

"I thought Joshua Slocum's story was just so sad . . ."

"I could tell the flashbacks in the last story, because they were a different color."

"I had to read the last one a couple of times, it was confusing to me. There aren't many words."

"I don't like graphic novels, but I liked this one." 

If you're looking for a good book club book, I heartily recommend this one. It is the sort of book that both satisfies you and increases your curiosity. It contains three true stories of world travellers, written and illustrated by the same hand.

What books has your book club read lately?

Around the World

Around the World by Matt Phelan

This is the nominee that I was rooting for that didn't make the short list (there's always one, of course*).

The book opens with fictional traveler Phileas Fogg and the premise of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days -- a smash hit of it's time and a classic today. Verne's book inspired world travel in its readers, and Matt Phelan writes about three real world travelers:

• The first man to ride around the world on a bicycle.
• A girl reporter determined to beat Phileas Fogg's record.
• An old sailor who circumnavigated the globe alone. 

Excerpts from the travelers' journals (and other publications that tracked them) mingle with imagined conversations and beautiful watercolor art. The stories are inspiring and uplifting -- it's beautiful to watch these people find and achieve their dreams. Themes of persistence and innovation are conveyed without any saccharine undertones. Several times while reading I said "wow" out loud. "Can you believe this?" is what I thought, but the stories are completely credible and obviously thoroughly researched. I found it fascinating to learn what humans are capable of, in re: world travel.

I think this would make excellent bedtime story material for younger kids, and teens and adults will pick up on the more subtle themes in the book. It's worth mentioning that Phelan's art is amazingly simple and skillful. I'm thinking in particular of the facial expressions of Nellie Bly, girl reporter. How Phelan conveys such emotion with just a few lines is beyond me.

Find it, read it. You won't regret it. An excellent choice for those who haven't read many graphic novels.
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*in 2010, that was Turtle in Paradise; in 2009, Cat Burglar Black; in 2008, My Dad's a Birdman.

Bonus: I picked this book for my book club! Reactions are here.

Another update: I now have affiliate links for this book! If you make a purchase I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Around the World from B&N; Around the World from Amazon.