One Cool Kitty

So this Christmas we got a couple kittens. I know I said the next couple posts would be themed to love, and they are. This one just happens to be for lovers of cats.

“I Don’t Want a Cool Cat”

By Emma Dodd

For Ages 3 – 6

Cat lovers and will enjoy this fun romp through crazy rhyming feline attributes. Those who don't like cats may enjoy it too, as a young girl searches for the perfect cat to be her pet. Rated 3.5 (rhyming verse, cats, humor)

Greedy cats, stuffy cats, and treat-me-like-a-fool cats are all represented here as a young girl looks for the one cat she can call her own. She doesn’t want just any teeny cat, she wants the right cat – one that she can love and will love her in return.

Families with cats in the household will enjoy this fun and playful tale. The will have no trouble seeing their cat spelled out on the books pages. The strong rhyming text makes for a good read-aloud story for young readers still working on sounds and rhythm. The bright and energetic illustrations will keep their attention with bright colors and humor. “I Don’t Want a Cool Cat” is the purrfect gift for cat lovers.

For the Love of Thumb

I know it's not February anymore and Valentine's Day is long gone, but I was feeling inspired to write a few reviews of books that fall under the love theme. Maybe it's because I didn't review any Valentine's books or maybe I am just a loving guy. Either way you are stuck with the theme of "Love" for a few reviews.

“Thumb Love”

By Elise Primavera

For Ages 4 – 6
A 12 step program to quick sucking your thumb, this humorous tale of thumb sucking has plenty of style. Rated 3.75 (humor, life lessons, thumb sucking)
Lulu is very happy sucking her thumb. She sees no reason to stop, but since her family is putting pressure on her she begins a 12 step program to quit. Lulu finds it more difficult to quit her thumb sucking ways than she thought it would be. Part of this struggle is due to the sway her anthropomorphic thumb has over her. When She listens to her thumb until the night Lulu has a nightmare. She finds herself with buck teeth and speech problems and decides it’s time to get serious.

Primavera, best known for her “Auntie Claus” books, shows a different side of her talents with subtle vignette illustrations that use playful color and humor to create energy and character. Although the tale positions itself as a manual for children to quit thumb sucking, it will appeal more to parents and those children who have already quit. Primavera fans may be disappointed that it’s not “Auntie Claus,” but “Thumb Love” is intriguing, fast-paced and offers plenty of humor and style to make it worth the read.

Fat Vampire

I am a big fan of Adam Rex's work. If you are not familiar with it you are missing out. He is an amazing illustrator, as evidenced by "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich," "Frankenstein Takes the Cake," "Pssst!, "Tree-Ring Circus" and many other picture books. His creativity also comes through in his imaginative story telling, evidenced by "The True Meaning of Smekday." So I was excited to dive into "Fat Vampire." I know the vampire thing is overdone, and that is exactly why thought Rex's take would bring something new and different to the genre. Was I right?

"Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story"
By Adam Rex
For Ages 15 and Older
If you think all vampires are dark, sexy and brooding, you'll be surprised to find that only brooding seems to be a constant. This coming of age teen dramedy throws a wrench into things by changing the protagonist into a vampire -- a 15-year-old, overweight, nerdy vampire with glasses and acne. Vampire or not, teens will relate to the well-developed characters and their search for acceptance among peers and within themselves. Rated 3.75 (violence, language, teen drama)

Doug Lee is a dorky, overweight 15-year-old guy who is attacked and turned into a vampire by another newly-turned panicky teenage vampire. her is nothing sexy about it.T With no manual at his disposal Doug is at a loss with how to handle his new-found situation. And unfortunately it doesn't appear to be as simple as watching Dracula or studying other vampire myths. Doug hopes to find a goth chic with a vampire fetish, but when that doesn't happen he settles for feeding on cattle. It provides sustenance but little else. When the local vampires of note decide to mentor the newer ones, Doug begins to come to terms with his new life. As this transformation takes place he also finds himself fitting in with a group of friends at school. Of course life is never easy, so Doug tries too hard to win love, discovers how to feed on humans, develops special powers and begins to lose the humanity that made him special. You don't have to be a vampire to relate to this teen's angst. His struggles to find himself and be comfortable in his own skin are universal.

Adam Rex turns vampire lore on it's head. His vision is one with limited sexiness. This is not what we have all come to expect from vampire stories. He develops the characters well, focusing on Doug, his best friend, his female infatuation, and a few others smaller characters. Rex pokes fun at paranormal reality shows with his Vampire Hunters, a crew of bumbling idiots. Watch Vampire Hunters videos here and here. Rex keeps the tale from becoming to brooding with liberally sprinkled humor. I was hooked on "Fat Vampire" from the opening chapter at Comicon. The story held my attention all the way through until the end. The ending, however, was lazy and made me angry. I felt as though I had wasted my time reading the book, which is one of the reasons I had to wait several weeks to actually complete my review. I'm not going to tell you the ending. You'll have to read "Fat Vampire" and decide whether you like it or not for yourself.

So I'll leave Fat Vampire with this... if the ending had been as good as the rest of the book I could easily have given it a rating of 5. As it is now it barely gets a 3.75.

Visit Adam Rex's blog here.

We'll Miss You

This year, on Valentines Day, the world of children's literature said goodbye to a true force in the publishing industry. Margaret K. McElderry died at the age of 98, leaving behind a legacy of tales that will inspire generations to come. Click here to read more. For those of you trying to place who Margaret McEderry is, you may be familiar with "The Borrowers," "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," "The Dark is Rising," or even Margaret K. McElderry Books, a children's book imprint from Simon & Schuster. It was the first such imprint to carry an editor's name and is still in operation today. 

Heroes Unite

Every child has dreams of having super powers at one time or another. I could fly in my dreams, but I usually had to be on my bike. I guess "E.T." had a big impact on me as a child. I decided to feature a couple books about superheroes in this column. 

“Archvillain”
By Barry Lyga
For Ages 9 – 12
Comic book fans, and kids who like the idea of superheroes, will have fun with this fast-paced adventure. "Archvillain" mixes many of the mythologies of Superman, Spiderman and other well-known super hero tales and mixes them with teen drama. Rated 4 (teen drama, super powers, anti heroes)
There is a new super kid in town and his name is Mighty Mike. It all began one boring night in the town of Bouring when something exciting happened – a plasma storm. The next thing you know a kid with amnesia and super powers is discovered. Everyone thinks he’s a hero. That is, everyone except Kyle. He knows the truth because he was in the same field when and where the plasma storm occurred. Kyle also gained superpowers that night. Now he is ready to do what has to be done to expose Mighty Mike as a fraud, even become an archvillain.

Readers will enjoy how Kyle turns everyday objects into fantasy gadgets. They'll also relate to his authentic middle school persona. There is plenty of humor mixed with the complexity of good versus evil and daily teenage life. I look forward to book two in the series.

“Fashion Kitty”
By Charise Mericle Harper
For Ages 7 – 10
You won’t find any potty humor, like that of "Captain Underpants," but you will find plenty of high-spirited action in this graphic novel for preteen girls. Rated 3.5 (super powers, adolescent relationships, fashion)
Wonder Woman may have met her match… or maybe not, unless you are talking about fashion sense. On Kiki’s eighth birthday she has a slight accident and is knocked unconscious when fashion magazines fall on her head. When she awakens from the bump Kiki is transformed into Fashion Kitty. Able to mix and match hundreds of outfits in a second, avert fashion emergencies and see fashion faux pas in the making, Fashion Kitty has her own style and she is not afraid to show it. The storyline is a little thin, but for girls wanting their own light comic-book-style adventure, Fashion Kitty delivers. The built in fashion flip book is a nice touch too.

Think Outside the Box

I had originally intended to review "Fat Vampire" with this blog entry but I got sick. While I was sick I changed my mind. So now you have to wait a little longer. I also have a short interview with Sean Beaudoin, author of "You Killed Wesley Payne" planned in the coming weeks. So check back again often. In the meantime enjoy this review of an unexpected book.

"The Danger Box"

By Blue Balliett
For ages 8 - 12
More of a character study than a mystery patient readers will enjoy the details as 12-year-old Zoomy Chamberlain's life is turned upside down when a mysterious box that may or may not be connected to Charles Darwin ends up in his possession. Rated 3.75 (tragedy, special needs, creationism vs.evolution)

In the 1980’s a small, but highly valuable notebook was stolen. “The Danger Box” explores a “what if” scenario using this notebook as a catalyst. Like all of Balliett’s books there is a mystery, a real town as the backdrop, and a great deal of character development.

Zoomy Chamberlain is a 12-year-old boy with bad eyesight and OCD, who lives with his grandparents. When the notebook comes into his possession his life is turned upside down. He becomes friends with a very loud girl, his grandparents’ house is burned down, a stranger appears in town and Zoomy discovers a great deal about Charles Darwin. The mystery of the notebook -- Darwin’s field notebook -- is really of little consequence. Although there is some discussion of evolution versus creationism it cursory. The pacing is painfully slow and since the mystery is a mere afterthought the story hinges on character development. There is no shortage of character development in Balliett's books. this one focuses on Zoomy and his grandparents. It is primarily a character study of a special needs child coming of age, discovering the world around him and finding strength within himself.

As a Blue Balliett fan (I would recommend all three of her other books to anyone) I was disappointed in this book. It's very well written,but it just left me feeling a little flat. Maybe it's just me or maybe she just set the bar too high with her previous books.

Every Cross is Doubled

Every now and then I pick up a book and don't want to put it down until I've finished reading it. This is not always a sign of great literature. Sometimes it's just a compelling and fun story. A couple weeks ago I received "You Killed Wesley Payne" from a publicist. Having read "Fade to Blue," I was familiar with Sean Beaudoin's work and was a little hesitant to read this new book. It's not that I didn't like "Fade to Blue," I did. But I felt I was too out of touch with it's target reader to fully understand or appreciate Beaudoin's twisted, dark dramedy of teen life. I wondered if "You Killed Wesley Payne" would be any different?

"You Killed Wesley Payne"

By Sean Beaudoin

For ages 15 and older

What do you get when you mix "Chinatown" with "Pretty Little Liars," "Heathers" and "The Outsiders?" A riveting and gritty crime noir set in a fictional high school. If there are a million stories in the naked city, there are at least a few thousand at Salt River High and "You Killed Wesley Payne" is one. It's a fast, twisted and highly entertaining mystery you won't want to put down. Rated 4.25 (language, adult situations, violence) To read an interviw with Sean Beaudoin, visit http://chapteronereviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/into-mind-of-ya-novelist-8-questions.html.

"You Killed Wesley Payne" follows Dalton Rev, a high school senior that fancies himself a private dick. He patterns his life and career after Lexington Cole, his favorite pulp fiction detective. The mystery begins with a death, some murky details and several unanswered questions. It is quickly followed up with beautiful dames, ditsy chicks, brutal jocks and crazy rockers. Each stereotype is taken to an extreme and molded into a clique. Each clique has it's piece of Salt River High. Every teacher is on the take and everyone is on edge.

Dalton, is the epitome of a classic noir detective. He doesn't really solve the crime so much as survive the investigation. He is a straight-edge guy that lives by a clean code of conduct. Dalton's character is the balance to all the unbalanced players in the world. He rides into the story on his scooter and quickly brings the story around to money. A good crime novel is always about money -- money and women.

Don't get caught up in the fact that this story is set in a school. In this case it is just a setting that neatly forces all the suspects to interact. It is familiar yet still manages to keep the reader off balance and the opening clique chart will give you a laugh as it deftly pulls you into the narrative. "You Killed Wesley Payne" plays the noir shtick to the hilt and does the genre proud. Each line is delivered with cool reverence and nonchalant absurdity. Each page is filled with laughter and revulsion. Each answer is twisted and every cross is doubled. I only wish the glossary was found at the beginning of the book rather than tucked away at the end. The pronunciations and definitions of words and phrases helps develop the scenes and characters. Besides the glossary is a riot unto itself.

Beaudoin mixes social commentary into the story arc but it tends to get lost in the entertainment and off kilter brew of original characters and hard-boiled action. The sub-plots surrounding Dalton's father, his sociopathic little brother and the potential for a Harvard scholarship only serve to slow the pacing and never really materialize as more than passing distractions. The violence and language may be a concern for some younger teens, but older teens should be able to handle it.

"You Killed Wesley Payne" is not going to go down in history as great literature. But it is one entertaining, and darkly funny mystery that grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until it has punched you in the back of the head with the last word.