Category: Book Reviews

Echo

It is here that we begin to subtly get clues about the word “echo.” As one sister played the harmonica, the echo continued while the next sister played, and so on. Because this is an enchantment, that echo goes out into the world sending waves of magic with it. And as this blessed harmonica transfers from Frederich in 1933 Germany to Mike in 1935 Philadelphia and then to Ivy Maria in 1942 Southern California, the magic reverberates through many lives, possibly saving many souls. Until, at last, it works its final magic and the enchantment is broken.

Blueberries for Sal

If I were asked for the ten picture books that are not, for any reason, to be missed, this would always be on my list. The story itself is completely charming and a joy entirely on its own. The illustration, however, is not “as good as the story.” The illustration is in fact absolute perfection.

A Long Road on a Short Day

“Early on a white January morning, Samuel’s mother said, ‘I do wish we had a brown-eyed cow to give us milk for the baby.’” So Papa sets out to get Mama a cow, and Samuel goes with him. “‘Keep up,’ said Samuel’s father. He looked up at the gray clouds. ‘It’s a long road on…

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Landmark: Daniel Boone

What a way to open a book! John Mason Brown assumes that we know something of Daniel Boone. Because, honestly, what American in 1952 didn’t know something about Daniel Boone? Today, it is probably a different story, but that doesn’t make the opening any less exciting. Presuming that we have a sense that Daniel Boone is a frontiersman and a hunter (the cover alone suggests that), Brown makes us think that this first scene is that of a great hunting expedition. And, it was. But not the kind we are thinking of. Instead, he is telling us about young Boone (not yet 21, we are told) traveling with the British regulars and General Braddock to take Fort Duquesne from the French in the French and Indian or Seven Years War.

The Stray Dog, Caldecott Honor 2002

I understand that the Caldecott Medal is not awarded to the author for the text, but rather to the artist for the illustration. So, if the art is compelling, then the story is secondary in consideration. Illustrator Marc Simont is a thrice-honored Caldecott artist. In this offering, however, I am unimpressed. Some scenes are very winning, like the opening spread. Most, however, are just not that interesting. The people are cartoonish and most of the pictures are only adequate. 

Maggie the Magnificent 

Maggie the Magnificent is the story of an Australian magpie. I would not have been surprised if Maggie flew off the page and began to sing. This book chronicles the life of Maggie–a typical magpie–from a fledgling to an adult bird. Maggie does not tell us about himself–he acts, thinks, and communicates like a bird. Magnificently life-like human characters give us an account of what magpies are and do. And when they can’t, Thompson fills the gap. The people in this story tell us other facts that many of us probably don’t know. 

Warrigal the Warrior

C. K. Thompson’s books give us an accurate account of Australian wildlife. But unlike some science books, they also tell a story beautifully. Thompson does not condemn or excuse the animal he writes about. The back of the Living Book Press edition quotes him, saying, “I have not sought to glorify Warrigal, neither have I condemned him. I have just tried to present him as he really is, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”

Landmark: Magna Charta

Written with powerful and romantic prose, James Daugherty invites us into the exciting drama of the Magna Charta. He opens with a prologue titled “The Magic Island” that reads like the introduction to epic poetry and then gives us a most handy family tree to help us follow along through the twists and turns of wars, power struggles, and political intrigue. Then, he breaks the story into four parts: “The Twelfth Century,” “The Angevins,” “King John,” and “The Magna Charta.” Then a most fascinating final forty pages titled “The Children of the Magna Charta.” This last section is not only deeply interesting but it is also essential to understanding the Magna Charta itself and the ramifications of that revolutionary act.

Willy Wagtail

C. K. Thompson portrays this small black and white bird as the greatest gossip in the Australian bush country (the Australian backcountry). Willy just has to know what is going on and must be in everything. When some birds are fighting with some other birds that are trying to take their nest, Willy is the referee, to make sure that it is a fair fight and there is no cheating. When there are cuckoos,  Willy is the first one to kick them out. But sometimes his nosy ways get him and his mate in trouble. 

Monarch of the Western Skies

I reached for some of the birds first when choosing books from C. K. Thompson’s Australian Nature Stories series. Maggie the Magnificent, an Australian Magpie, was the first I read. I loved it. I read one about a dingo next, Warrigal the Warrior. And then Monarch of the Western Skies. Apparently, and this is unlike me, I prefer predators. Warrigal the Warrior was awesome. And this one, Monarch of the Western Skies, was just as good.

Nurses Who Led the Way 

Adele and Cateau de Leeuw made me care about women I had never heard of before, like Dorothy Davis, a Heroic WWII nurse who tried so hard to be sent to the Philippines but was detained over and over again. Or Mary Ann Bickerdyke, a Civil War nurse, who even told the general what to do.