Library Lion: Michelle Knudsen

My darling little friend, Miss E, got a new book for her Birthday. I spotted the exquisitely illustrated hardback as soon as I stepped into her room. Library Lion is, on top of being a wonderful story, one of the most beautifully illustrated picture books I’ve seen in awhile. Written by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, it is not just a story, but a work of art.

As we all know, libraries have Rules. You know the sort—no running, no being loud, and certainly, No Roaring. However, there is no rule about lions in the library. So when a lion casually enters the library one day and wanders into the story corner to await story time, there is nothing to be done about it. Soon enough, the lion becomes an institution in the library. He assists the head librarian and the small children. He participates in story time. In short, he makes himself at home in the library. All goes well enough until an Occasion arises that requires he Run and ROAR! But it was an emergency! So, you know, sometimes there are good reasons for breaking the rules.

I am a sucker for stories about animals and I am a sucker for stories about libraries. Put them together and I’m plumb giddy. Library Lion is one of those wonderful, timeless stories that has entertaining characters, adult-themed nuances, and of course, those beautiful illustrations. If you are fortunate enough to have a child in your life, buy them this book! You will love reading it together.

Rating: $$$

The Paper Bag Princess: Robert Munsch

I didn’t discover The Paper Bag Princess until I was a teenager, which is unfortunate because this is a book that I think every little girl ought to own! Princess Elizabeth is very pretty and wears very pretty clothes, and she is engaged to Prince Ronald. She is basically what every princess should be. And then one day, a dragon comes along and burns up her castle and her clothes, and steals her prince. That’s right, we’re in a role reversal; it is the prince who is kidnapped by the dragon! What is a girl to do? Princess Elizabeth makes a dress out of a paper bag and stomps off to face the dragon to get her prince back. What ensues is a fantastic battle between girl and dragon, in which a very smart girl manages to outsmart a dragon and is in a position to rescue her prince. But the story isn’t over yet! There is a delightfully empowering ending that reminds women we don’t need a man to rescue us.

I love this book. The sentence structure is blunt, so don’t expect any prose here. It’s just straight forward fun. This book allows girls to have confidence in themselves and encourages them to use their brains to overcome obstacles. Storyteller Robert Munsch is a prolific children’s author, but this is by far my favorite of his many stories.


$$$

Whoever You Are: Mem Fox

It has occurred to me that I have read a great number more books than I post on this blog. Why haven't I posted them? Because they are children's books. And what's wrong with children's books? Nothing! They are often delightful reads that I have the pleasure of sharing with my little friends (I have one niece and two nephews, though none of them are biologically related to me). So I will begin posting reviews of the children's books I read, as so many of them are magical reads that some brilliant author and illustrator have invested talent and time into creating.

Whoever You Are is written like a letter, addressing "Little One, whoever you are." Using beautiful illustrations by Leslie Straub, this book assures every child that they are part of a worldwide collective of other Little Ones who all feel the same pains and joys, share the same tears and laughs.


Fox tells her young readers that there are children all over the world who have different skin, different families, different clothes, different homes, but there are things that they all have in common. It’s an important lesson that I’m not sure all adults have learned yet—namely that all love and pain are felt the same in every heart in the world.

Whoever You Are is a wonderful picture book that will inspire adults and children alike to view one another as equals.

$$$

The Sea of Monsters: Rick Riordan

Hello again, lovely readers! I again have to make apologies for my delayed absence. Summer is always such a busy time, don't you think? Not to mention the fact that I have picked up a total of four books and read anywhere from three to one hundred pages of each before putting them aside. I finally found one worth reading, though, so let's get to it!

The Sea of Monsters is book two in a the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. I read book one (The Lightning Thief) when I was in Korea and have only now finally found the second book. To give you some background information, Percy Jackson is the son of the sea god, Posiedon. His mother, however, is a mortal, so Percy is what is known as a Half-blood. He's a little awkward, ADHD, and dyslexic. Percy is like Harry Potter's slightly annoying little brother. He's not nearly as goody-two-shoes as Harry Potter, but he's got the same hero angle. Percy also has two best friends--a half-goat-boy, and an overachieving girl. Sound familiar? To be quite frank, I think Percy and the Olympians is an excellent series to follow HP. A stranger in the bookstore last week asked me what might be a good series to follow Harry Potter. This person said that Twilight seemed a bit too...well, TOO. I agreed and suggested Percy and the Olympians.

In this second volume, Percy is once again faced with a challenge that will put him in grave danger. The monsters are just as vile and the references to mythology are ever-present. The exciting part about this particular chapter in Percy's life is that it's personal. He gains a brother and has to save his best friend from an amorous cyclopes. This chapter of the overall story is building up to what I am sure will end in some final battle of good versus evil. The god of the underworld, Kronos, is gaining in power and will likely become Voldemort-esque.

For adults, the similarities may be too much to handle, thus boring the reader. For young readers, however, I think that Percy will open a whole new world of monsters and heroes. If nothing else, Riordan is a great writer who creates a humorous narrator in Percy Jackson.

Watership Down: Richard Adams

Watership Down is another one of those books on my "must read" list. It is often alluded to, and even shows up on many canon lists. I expected to pick up a piece of epic literature; a novel that would change my view of the world, or at least make me think about it.

Obviously, I was unaware that it was about rabbits.

This is not a novel about a sinking ship. It is, in some ways, a novel about war, but mostly, it's a novel about rabbits. Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, and all of the other rabbits are in hot pursuit of freedom. The novel is broken into four parts relative to the various parts of their journey. The rabbits leave their home warren to find a new home where they are free to be wild rabbits. Then comes the segment where they must intrude on a neighboring warren to steal away some females so as to propogate. There, they run into some trouble and it becomes a bit of a war story. But have no fear, there is a happy ending. Because after all, this is a children's story.

Yes, you read that right--it's a children's story. Richard Adams wrote this novel much like Rowling wrote Harry Potter--as bedtime stories for his kids. As a lit person, I have been well trained to look for the allegory in every story. I look for hidden meaning in subtle symbols. About halfway through Watership Down I found myself floudering, unable to explain what the story was really about. So I did some research and found an interview with Adams in which he explains that the book was comprised of just a bunch of stories he told to his kids. He did mention that he may have woven stories of his own military experience into the story. But ultimately, it was just stories for his little girls.

The book has never been out of publication, and has been made into a movie (a cartoon). Would I recommend it? Sure--read it to your kids!