Review: The Storm in the Barn

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan (978-07636-3618-0)

This was definitely worth the wait. I'm glad I didn't try to lump it in with the other three books yesterday. I still read it quickly, but that's only because there was so little text. Most of the story is conveyed through the art, with a careful use of color. Browns and tans dominate, appropriate for a story set during the Dust Bowl, but there are careful spots of soft greens and blues, and, at one memorable spot, the red of blood.

Jack Clark's older sister cannot leave her bed, the dust is so bad. He's too young to do anything to help his father fix the car--all that is keeping them on the farm. There are no chores except occasionally watching his younger sister for his mother. He's bullied by boys in town. Then, he starts seeing things through the cracks in the Talbot barn. I won't say what Jack sees, because that is the crux of the story, but how he deals with it makes Jack one of the Jacks of fairy tale stuff--just like the stories he hears from the storekeeper and his sister's Oz books. I am so glad I got this book for my library (and very happy that Candlewick took the effort to give it a good binding and excellent quality paper).

Quick Mentions: New Books, Continuing Series

Just a quick post:

Got some new stuff last week that I have to give to the processing people: A Little Snow Fairy Sugar 3( 978-1-4139-03546), which is the last volume in the set; The Big Adventures of Majoko 2 (978-1-897376-82-9); The Storm in the Barn by Matthew Phelan (978-0-7636-3618-0); and The Lapis Lazuli Crown 2 (978-1-4012-2121-8), also the last of the series.

I got Sugar to complete the set--I don't really have time or interest in reading it for review. I enjoyed the first Majoko, which is why I got the second. (I really should have my daughter read them.) I'll review Storm another time--it's supposed to be good, so I want to give it enough time to read and absorb properly. Lapis Lazuli was as good as I hoped, though the story felt a little rushed. There's a bit more political intrigue in this issue, but again, no annoying chibi or drawn-out battle scenes. Yay!

Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers #18

Got the lastest BWI shipment in yesterday, and for fun set aside D.A.N.G.E.R. Spells the Hangman (Hardy Boys: Undercover Brother #18 from Papercutz, 978-1-59707-191-1). I was reading it just after reading The 3-2-3 Detective Agency (see previous post), so I was in a mystery mindset.

I can't say it's much better than 3-2-3, unfortunately. I like the art better, though I think 3-2-3 has the advantage of being more attractive for younger readers. All the Hardy Boys are done in a manga style (down to even some funny faces to depict emotions at times). The mystery was more life-threatening (someone is trying to kill spelling bee contestants, not just kidnap). In fact, the opening "teaser" is about preventing the assassination of a young boy at a paintball range. But still, seriously, spelling bee contestants? The denouement read more like a Scooby-D00 cartoon than something written for tweens/teens. Good thing I'm purchasing for elementary/middle school readers then.

Why am I buying these again? Oh yeah, steady series that circulates anyway. Well, I hope the readers are at least looking at other things on the shelf.

Review: The 3-2-3 Detective Agency

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency in the Disappearance of Dave Warthog by Fiona Robinson 978-0-8109-8489-9

I'm afraid I don't have much to say. This book has been reviewed and summarized extensive elsewhere--part of why I purchased it. My reaction to this is tepid. It's cute, and I'm sure younger readers will love it. The mystery seems weak to me, however. The art is very colorful, and almost too busy (but I could still follow the action). It's a nice hardcover binding (I'm a sucker for hardcover--they tend to hold up in the library better). I'll just have to see how the circulation holds up after a year or two on the shelf.

Review: The Lapis Lazuli Crown

The Lapis Lazuli Crown 1 by Natsuna Kawase, 978-1-4012-2120-1
What do you know, there is shojo (girl manga) I can stand to read! This is the story of the middle daughter of an impoverished noble family who is, well, freakishly strong, a situation she is not happy with. In addition, her older sister is a genius sorceress, and her younger sister look to be the same, while Miel has trouble controlling the most basic spells. One day she literally runs into Prince Radian, who is going about town undercover after he gave his best friend/retainer the slip. She doesn't know who he is at first, and they get to know each other when she gives him a "tour" of the city. After his deception is revealed, he gifts her with a charm made from lapis lazuli, the royal stone, and tells her he'll wait for the day she can use the stone to cast spells (you can't work at the palace unless you can use lapis lazuli, which is a fragile stone). This actually motivates her to study magic harder, even transferring to a magic-oriented high school. I'm definitely hoping there are more issues forthcoming. I even enjoyed the secondary story, about a cat burglar saving his reputation by helping a girl targeted by his copycat (even though it took up about a third of the book).

I think what I like most was the lack of over-emoting, chibi characters. There were no cutesy talking pets, no overload of Japanese-style emotion faces (aside from Miel falling to her knees when overwhelmed a few too many times). There weren't any knock-down-drag-out duels that last for 50 pages (more a problem with shonen, I know). The magic system in the story is fairly straightforward, and the world seems fairly well-built (considering I only saw the cityscape, I could be wrong). The characters were well-drawn, and I could tell them apart, even in black-and-white. I could follow the flow of the action. There's supposed to be a concluding volume coming out this month--I'll be looking for it.

Donations Reviews, Round 2

Alice in Wonderland, retold by Martin Powell, illustrated by Daniel Perez 978-1-4342-1585-7
This reads a lot like a Cliff's Notes edition of the book by Lewis Carroll. It would definitely work as something to hand a first- or second-grader. Powell managed to capture some of Lewis's turns of phrase, but like any summary of a larger work, the poetry seems lost. Perez's art is much less eye-searing than Wonderland (which I mentioned in an earlier post), and has echoes of the original art from the Carroll book (especially, I though, in the face of the Duchess). I have no problem putting this on the shelf.

The Emperor's New Clothes, retold by Stephanie True Peters, illustrated by Jeffrey Stewart Timmins 978-1-4342-1595-6
This is a perfectly fine adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson story. The art is done in mostly sepia tones, which I have no problem with, and the action flows well. The people looked a lot like clowns, however, since everyone had round circles on their cheeks and red noses (which, I suppose, is better than the other interpretation for such an appearance). Even more clown-like are the whitened faces. On the cover, the Emperor is shown in his undergarments (modeling the "new clothes"), and I can clearly see the lines of his white face. Due to the similar faces, I had a hard time distinguishing one character from another at a few points.

The Incredible Rockhead by Scott Nickel and C.S. Jennings 978-1-4342-1591-8
I enjoyed this one a lot more than the Zinc Alloy book. From front cover to back, the book is designed to mimic a traditional newsstand comic book, with an issue number on the front and a faux ad on the back. It's still a pretty simple origin story, but it ends with the words "to be continued" which means it could be expanded to a more complex plot. (As I've said before, you don't need a simple plot just because the vocabulary has to be simple.) I even enjoyed the way the vocabulary page and discussion questions were formatted to resemble even more mock-ads. This is something I'll consider getting more of (assuming I have a budget to spend in 2010).

Princess Candy: Sugar Hero by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Jeff Crowther 978-1-4342-1587-1
A superhero book for the girl crowd, since I don't know a single reluctant reader boy who'd pick up a book with "Princess" and a pink-haired girl on the cover. It's another origin book with minimal plot (pain-in-the-rear star student turns out to be cheater). The main character, Halo Nightly, has a non-traditional family structure (she lives with her grandmother, who drives a taxi for a living) which is actually a nice change from the norm. There is no mention of what happened to her parents, but Halo's mysteriously missing Aunt Pandora is the start of the super powers. Another one I'd consider more of.

New Comics

I'm taking a break from the Stone Arch stuff for a few days.

Got a box of stuff in today: 2 replacement Garfields, a new Sonic the Hedgehog book, Wolverine and Power Pack Digest, and more:

Knights of the Lunch Table 2: The Dragon Players by Frank Cammuso (978-0-439-90323-3). Just as excellent as the first Knights. I love this grade-school variant on the King Arthur legend.

The Lapis Lazuli Crown by Natsuna Kawase (978-1-4012-2120-1) It's manga I found recommended in a few blogs as being good for all ages. I'll have to set it aside to read/review.

The Secret Saturdays 1: The Kur Stone adapted from the Cartoon Network show (978-0-345-51694-7). I bought this one mostly for variety to put on the shelf--it's media-based, not exactly a superhero title, and is supposed to be acceptable for all ages. I've never seen the cartoon to judge the adaptation, but it looks a lot like Tokyopop's cina-manga style. I sure hope the binding holds up better than Tokyopop's.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency by Fiona Robinson (978-0-8109-8489-9). Another one I culled from blogs/online reviews that I'm putting aside to read. It's hardcover, which is good for physical staying power. The reviews were mixed: Again, I'm hoping for some variety.

Side note: There are now graphic adaptations of the Geronimo Stilton books (which were pretty visual to being with). We've got some, but they're already in circulation.

Donation Reviews, Round One

I should begin this by saying I personally have a low threshold for "hi-lo" books. Just because someone can't read well doesn't mean they don't deserve a good story. Green Eggs and Ham is the classic example of what you can do with limited vocabulary. However, Stone Arch press is targeted at reluctant readers, so I have to keep that in mind when I find them "too easy".

Airplane Adventure, by Cari Meister, illustrated by Marilyn Janovitz 978-1-4342-1618-2
From the My First Graphic Novel: Transportation series, this follows two kids who travel to visit their grandma in Mexico. There is no real plot. It might be useful for children taking their first trip on an airplane. It does show them going through modern levels of tightened security, but there is no sign of an escorting adult, which I find troublesome.

Zinc Alloy: Coldfinger by Donald Lemke, illustrated by Douglas Holgate 978-1-4342-1586-4
A boy has his own supersuit, and uses it to foil a villain. That's about the whole plot right there. This is part of a series. One-dimensional characters and clueless parents finish the book. It's only going in the collection because it's free.

Monster and Me by Robert Marsh, illustrated by Tom Percival 978-1-4342-1589-5
A girl tries to find a constructive outlet for the monster in her closet. I like this one much better than Coldfinger. There seemed to be slightly more plot, and the characters, though still shallow, had some signs of depth (the drama teacher wants just one good play production before he retires, Dad chronically misses Gabby's school events). The back of the book says Gabby is 12, but I thought she was slightly younger. Still, a cute book. If I had a much larger budget, I'd be tempted to get the other one in the series.

Float and Sting: One Round with Muhammad Ali by David Miller, illustrated by Andres Esparza 978-1-4342-1578-9
I think this landed on my desk because it's a mixed-media graphic novel. Some of the story is carried through panels of graphics, and some of it through traditional text. I've got to admit, I was disappointed when I first started reading. I though I was picking up a biography of Ali. I didn't notice the fine print on the cover that says "Historical Fiction". It's a story of one boy's encounter with Ali, who let people pay to spend one round in the ring trying to fight him. It's actually a nice little tale of determination as the bullied boy found a way to use Ali as an inspiration to improve himself. Definitely a keeper, though it's going in the regular hardcover fiction shelving. (One quibble: that boy does not look even close to 17 in the pictures. Again, the art looks too young.)

After the holiday I'll review the remaining graphic novels.

I'm back from vacation. Schools start next Tuesday, so things are stepping into high gear around here, with storytimes starting in two weeks.

I've added two copies of Tokyopop's High School Musical/High School Musical 2 Cine-Manga to the collection. I pray the binding will hold up for more than 10 circs each, since those puppies have a list price of almost $10 apiece.

I also came back from vacation to find a pile of donations from Stone Arch press on my desk. They periodically send a box of review copies to our library, which are then divided up by my department head according to our collection development responsiblilites. I got 18 books, 8 of which are graphic novels. I'm going to read them all and try to post reviews of the graphic novels here.

For the record, the Stone Arch imprint seems to cater to libraries and educators. The books are all excellent quality binding, but the list prices are a little steep for the average jane-on-the-street. They also seem to be aimed at the reluctant reader or a reader with difficulties.