The editor's choices for the most memorable books reviewed in Notes from the Windowsill.
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The following reviews are reprinted with permission from Notes from the Windowsill, an electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1998 Wendy E. Betts. Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission. Mail editor@windowsill.net with comments or questions.
Mine, All Mine written and illustrated by Ruth Heller. Grosset & Dunlap, 1997 (0-448-41606-9) $16.96
Forget grammar lessons that feel totally disconnected from the English that people actually speak: Ruth Heller's superb "World of Language" series uses the information native speakers already have to make language rules seem sensible, relevant and fun. This book on pronouns starts by demonstrating how necessary pronouns are: without "his" and "he," for example,
King Cole would call for King Cole's pipe. King Cole would call for
King Cole's bowl and King Cole's fiddlers three.
On and on... it makes me yawn. It's awkward and wordy. The rhythm is gone.
This is something that any native speaker (possibly even non-native speakers) can easily understand. They can also understand that the correct sentence is "he draws better than she" rather than "he draws better than her" because what the sentence is really saying is "he draws better than she draws." And when talking about presents, who wouldn't understand "They are mine. They are all mine."?
With lively rhymes that reinforce the information, silly or unusual examples, and bright, animated illustrations for eye appeal, this is a rare grammar lesson that most readers will enjoy. * (6-12)
Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker. Henry Holt, 1996; Laurel-Leaf, 1998 (0-440-22697-X) $4.99 pb
I've gotten increasingly tired of bleak, gloomy young adult novels in recent years, to the point that a downbeat opening paragraph is often enough to make me toss a book in disgust. Don't Think Twice, a novel about a bitter, desolate teenager waiting out her pregnancy in a home for unwed mothers, starts off downbeat and pretty much keeps going. What saves it is its truth.
Seventeen-year-old Anne narrates her story with unabashed self-pity and a biting, often mean humor, making the other girls at the home the targets of her anger. It sounds awful, but though Anne's griping does start to get tiresome towards the end, the overall effect of this story is somehow very freeing. The truth is that Anne does have every reason in the world to feel lousy and there's little that can change that, short of an implausible deus ex machina ending. It can be satisfying to read a book that simply acknowledges that sometimes life is hard and there's not a lot you can do about it, except try to grow from the experience.
It also helps that Pennebaker set her story in the sixties, which left her free not to worry about what messages she might be sending to today's teens. In one of the book's most satisfying scenes, the girls in the home have a party, get drunk, and make nasty toasts to the boys and men who got them pregnant and then deserted them, a scene that would be out of place in a book set in the present, but which works perfectly in this context.
Although much of the story is dark, the friendships Anne makes in the home offer a note of hope, as does the connection she finally achieves with the baby she had tried so hard to ignore. In the end, we can see that she's a much stronger person than she was before, and can hope that she will be able to make a happier life for herself. (YA)
The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom. Illustrated by Mary Chalmers. HarperCollins, 1960 (0-06-024576-X) $12.89; HarperTrophy, 1988 (0-06-440022-0) $4.95
(reprinted in part from The WEB: Celebrating Children's Literature
According to Dear Genius: the Letters of Ursula Nordstrom (see below), Nordstrom, a "nonlibrarian, nonteacher, nonparent and noncollege graduate" defended her qualifications to edit children's books by saying "I am a former child, and I haven't forgotten a thing." This, sadly Nordstrom's only book, shows how very right she was. Although there's nothing overtly fantastic about this story, it touched my imagination in a special way when I was a child, leaving the kind of glow in my memory that is rarely sparked by anything but a wonderful fantasy.
The setting is a boarding school, where Vicky North, age eight, is away from home for the first time. Miserably homesick, Vicky finds a partner in hatred of the school in Martha Sherman, an eight-year-old would-be iconoclast who uses a "secret language" (actually only three words) to taunt her less inventive schoolmates. When she shares her secret with Vicky, the two becomes best friends and together discover that though the "traditional" boarding school activities (like midnight feasts and finding secret passageways) never work out as planned, there are plenty of other opportunities available for creative friends: bunk beds for playing and whispering in, trees for hiding things in, and even woods where they can build their own private hut.
What sets The Secret Language apart from other, similarly delightful books about friendships and secrets, is its never ponderous recognition of a negative side. Martha can be very bossy and opinionated; her ideas often end in disaster; Vicky's mother doesn't like her... these are all realities of their friendship. By showing this understanding of the complexities of childhood relationships, without making them the focal point of the book, Nordstrom created a firm base that makes Vicky and Martha's shared secrets seem even more magical. The Secret Language provides a wonderful setting in which to be an imaginative child, and vividly conveys the joy of having a friend to share imagination with. It creates a special world I still love to revisit. * (8-12)
Dear Genius: the Letters of Ursula Nordstrom edited by Leonard S. Marcus. HarperCollins, 1998 (0-06-023625-6) $22.95
She wrote only one book herself... but according to historian Leonard Marcus, Ursula Nordstrom was "the single most creative force for innovation in children's book publishing in the United States during the twentieth century." I'd say that this collection of letters easily proves his point.
The director of Harper's juvenile department from 1940 to 1973, Nordstrom was involved in the creation of many of the greatest books from that Golden Age of children's publishing: Charlotte's Web, Harriet the Spy, the "Little House" books, among countless others. As her letters show, her job went far beyond choosing the best books and gently rejecting those that didn't measure up ("If I can resist a book, I resist it," was her motto, one I wish more editors would employ.) She was also the person who cajoled depressed writers and convinced them to keep trying, who passionately discussed their work and helped them to improve it, who sought out just the right illustrators to make characters stay in our minds forever, who intelligently and compassionately answered complaints, and who generally did everything she could to make sure children got the more wonderful, alive, real books possible.
For anyone interested in children's literature, Dear Genius is utterly compelling as a collection of historical documents. So much of children's literature as we know it today had its roots in Nordstrom's work, in the way she fought to open doors and break new ground and to preserve artistic vision, as seen in this impassioned response to concerns about a controversial book:
"...I bleed at every pore when I read your plaintive statement to the Sales Manager: `I wonder if the book couldn't stand a little editingi if it isn't too late.' ...if we want to publish Ruth Krauss AND WE DO we have to publish 100% pure Krauss. She knows something we don't know... and most grown-ups don't know... I respect her instinct and her final judgements and when she decides that there is nothing more she can honestly do to a book I have to respect her knowledge and trust her. Because she is the one with talent--and I'm only someone who recognizes and loves creative talent."
Without Nordstrom, who often said she liked to publish "good books for bad children," many of the things we take for granted--even expect--in children's books today-innovative uses of language, unpretty illustrations, realistic depictions of "bad" behavior--might still be considered unpublishable. Her influence on the genre can't be calculated.
But there is a also special pleasure in reading Dear Genius for anyone who, like me, grew up with the children's literature that Nordstrom contributed so much to... it is a chance to read wise, witty, intimate comments about my favorite books from someone who loved them as much as I do. *
The Paper Princess written and illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Dutton, 1994 (0-525-45231-1) $14.99; Puffin, 1998 (0-14-056424-1) $5.99 pb
A little girl draws and cuts out a princess with a dress like a forest, socks like starry skies and shoes like watermelons--but before she can give her hair, the paper princess is swept away by the wind. Floating around the town trying to get back to her little girl, the paper princess goes through all kinds of changes as another little girl accidentally draws green hair on her and then crumples her up in dismay, a jay rescues her and gives her human hair, and a little boy draws a picture on her back to make a present for his sister--who turns out to be the princess's own little girl. The princess happily tells the girl about her adventures, while the girl draws her "an elephant to ride, and a banjo to play, and a brother to play with, and a sweater to wear when she went out flying--here, there, everywhere and home again."
Although promoted as a metaphorical story about children gaining independence, what struck me most about this book is the value it gives to art as a process of experimentation and creation. It is full of the artistic spirit of the very young, whose art is still free, unrestrained by conventional standards of what art should be. To the paper princess, everything has potential--cloud hair or blossom hair or candy-wrapper hair may not work out, but they're worth trying, and "green hair is all right. . . she didn't have to crumple me!" The jay too sees the possibilities in everything, even a crumpled wad of paper, and the little boy sees his art as a worthy gift. Only one foolish child, who has obviously forgotten that spirit, thinks the paper princess is ruined because of her green hair.
The pictures, aptly enough, are collage art: richly colored and textured, with a skillfully crafted seeming disregard for size and perspective that creates a comfortably imperfect childlike look. Multifaceted patterns bloom throughout each picture, glowing and dazzling; crowd scenes are full of lovingly drawn detail. Nothing is inappropriate: bits of newspaper are as much part of the collage as beautifully colored paper.
Whether you see it as about art or parent-child relationships--and indeed, the spirit of creation is certainly involved in both--The Paper Princess is a unique book. I don't know how much of its message children will take away with them but the joy of artistic expression dwells so strongly within both story and pictures, it can't help but make itself felt. Be sure to restock your art supplies if you read this one. * (4 & up)
September 1998, Volume 6, No. 7
This Land is Your Land words and music by Woody Guthrie. Illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen. Little, Brown, 1998 (0-316-39215-4) $15.95
"This Land is Your Land" has certainly been illustrated before, but perhaps never as honestly or as movingly as here. A tribute to Woody Guthrie, as well as an illustration of his most popular song, this book does justice to his work as a social activist by including the more sombre and usually censored lyrics ("As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking/Is this land made for you and me?"), as well as images of America that include homeless people and CIO strikers. But like most of the song itself, the mood of the book is generally upbeat, showing that America is a wonderful land that can get even better, if people care enough.
Woody himself is our guide through the verses of the song, walking that ribbon of highway, seeing that endless skyway, in delicate, precise folk- art style paintings. For the many choruses, Jakobsen shows a multitude of American images, from a placid Iowa cornfield to a jewel-like Mardi Gras float; the lavishly designed pages also include framed quotes from Woody and verses of his other songs. Many events from his life are included: one of the most memorable is a scene of Woody playing his guitar, depicted accurately with its slogan, "this machine kills fascists." If there's a flaw in the book, it's that images from the past and present are mixed indiscriminately, making it difficult for us to know if we're seeing an image as Woody saw it or as it exists today. Dates would have been helpful.
This is a book that will captivate adults interested in folk music, who can enjoy playing spot the folk legend in its pages; an especially satisfying spread shows Woody and many of the folk artists he sang with (Leadbelly, Phil Ochs, Odetta, etc.), while underneath a tribute concert to him includes John Wesley Harding, Country Joe McDonald and Bruce Springsteen. (Both, of course, include Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger.) Young readers may not have the same appreciation for this historical reference, but can certainly enjoy the wealth of images and the thoughtfulness the words and illustrations engender. * (4 & up)
The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes. Illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. Harcourt Brace, 1960; (0-15-298572-7) $7.00 pb
(reprinted in part from The WEB: Celebrating Children's Literature)
It's so wonderful to see this book still in print, with the original illustrations, that I won't complain overly about the changed cover. The original was a beauty, but the new one is fairly evocative and (unlike the covers of so many other reprinted classics) at least inoffensive. Now, if they hadn't kept the inside illustrations... that would've been a crime.
Although it's not a "picture book," The Witch Family served much the same function as one for me, because I learned from it how to make pictures that went with stories. I don't remember many pictures from my childhood; even when very young I was more likely to concentrate on words. The Witch Family sent me on a drawing/storytelling binge that made up for lost time.
It's easy now to see why this book inspired so much creativity: pictures and stories are very powerful in The Witch Family. The heroine, Amy, loves to draw and also loves to hear stories about "Old Witch"; one day the two passions inevitably combine, as Amy decides to draw Old Witch banished to a glass hill as punishment for her wickedness. From that point on, Old Witch is real, and really banished, and the rest of the book is about her attempts to break out of Amy's control; meanwhile, Amy's increasing sympathy for Old Witch's loneliness results in the formation of an entire witch family, including Amy's counterpart, Little Witch Girl. Ardizzone's delicate pen & ink illustrations stand in place of Amy's drawings, showing us exactly what she wanted to convey in each memorable scene.
What gives Amy authority over Old Witch is never completely clear. It isn't exactly that anything she draws comes true; the blend of fantasy with reality is more complicated that that, especially when Amy steps into Old Witch's world and finds she has very little power there. But pictures are part of how Amy controls her world--or uses her imagination, from a more realistic, though less interesting, point of view. Amy's pictures let her tap into a fantasy and become part of it--even to make up rules about it. What a powerful idea that is for a child! What an incredible plug for pictures and stories!
I can't think of a better book to give or read to a child that you want to become enamored with art and literature. But don't choose it because of that; choose it because it's just too wonderful to miss. * (6 & up/7 & up)
November 1998, Volume 6, No. 9
Truly Grim Tales by Priscilla Galloway. Delacorte, 1995 (0-385-32200-3) $10.95 trade pb; Laurel-Leaf, 1998 (0-440-22728-3) $4.99 pb
Almost anything can become comfortable over time; by adulthood, most of us are so familiar with the classic fairy tales that we no longer see their dark and bewildering aspects. Like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, Truly Grim Tales strips us of that complacent familiarity; unlike Carter, though, Galloway does not so much expand on the psychological meaning already implicit in the tales as find new meanings in newly strange and macabre elements. Using an oddly effective mix of traditional and contemporary language, settings and themes, each rewritten version of a well-worn story takes an unusual perspective, most often that of the villain, which give bizarre but recognizably human motivations to the characters. The giant in "Jack and the Beanstalk" suffers from a rare disease curable only by human bonemeal; the prince in Cinderella has a confused sexual identity which has led to a foot fetish.
Perhaps the most powerful story is a futuristic interpretation of "Little Red Riding Hood" which uncovers one of those fascinating truths that seem so obvious once they are revealed: that beasts which can reason, speak and feel, are essentially human.
The title, Truly Grim Tales, doesn't really convey the right atmosphere for this collection: readers seeking quick chills or postmodern humor may be disappointed, although the stories certainly contain both. Essentially this is a serious work for mature readers; it could just as well have been published as an adult book. But though like many modern rewrites of traditional tales it sometimes stretches a parallel to the breaking point (as in the terminal that dispenses gold coins from the government in the "Jack in the Beanstalk" rewrite), the main pleasure of reading it is in the little shocks of surprise that come from seeing stories we thought etched in stone turned on their sides or their heads. (YA)
December 1998, Volume 6, No. 10
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones. Greenwillow, 1977; Beech Tree, 1997 (0-688-15546-4) $4.95 pb
The Chrestomanci books, sparkling alternate world fantasies peopled with very real kids, are some of Jones' most accessible and enjoyable books, and this may be the best of them all. In an England in which girls still wear petticoats, only rich people have cars, and magic users are accredited, Eric Chant, known for some reason as Cat, and his older sister Gwendolen are orphaned in a boating accident. (Gwendolen, being a witch, couldn't drown, and Cat held on to her.) With no other family left, Cat clings to Gwendolen and allows her to run his life. But when the two are sent to live at Chrestomanci Castle, their usual images of themselves are severely shaken up. Gwendolen, furious at being forbidden to use magic, insists on challenging Chrestomanci with upsetting spells, while Cat finds that his unthinking submissiveness to her is ruining possible friendships and getting him in hotter and hotter water. But even Cat doesn't know what Gwendolen has up her sleeve, or how important it will be for him to choose the right side in her war against Chrestomanci Castle.
The most attractive features of Jones' alternate universe fantasies-- memorable characters, a cozy combination of fantasy with reality, and a pace that is somehow excitingly fast and intriguingly leisurely at the same time--combine perfectly in this story. As always, Jones refuses to make things easy for her readers, and the fantasy is half mystery, laden with obscurities that will go unexplained until the end, when all the pieces will fit together in a most satisfying way. That satisfaction is part of the (ahem) charm of this book, but it's the genuineness of the characters and relationships that really keeps me reading to that amazing end. This is not just a sophisticated puzzle, but a fascinating, living world where readers will feel right at home. * (9 & up)
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