It Fell From the Sky by The Fan Brothers

24 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , ,

Published: 28 September 2021 by Goodreads badge
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Fan Brothers
Pages: 48
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

It fell from the sky on a Thursday.

None of the insects know where it came from, or what it is. Some say it’s an egg. Others, a gumdrop. But whatever it is, it fell near Spider’s house, so he’s convinced it belongs to him.

Spider builds a wondrous display so that insects from far and wide can come look at the marvel. Spider has their best interests at heart. So what if he has to charge a small fee? So what if the lines are long? So what if no one can even see the wonder anymore?

But what will Spider do after everyone stops showing up?

Immediately the illustrations grab you eye, before any hint of a story. The Fan brothers use colour well and the way it’s used to bring life to the garden is done well. The contrast of the black and white against the colour of the marble is impactful from the moment you open the book and the colour choice, or lack of colour, sets up a wonderful mood for the story. It’s not only the colours, the illustrations themselves are gorgeous. Double spreads of the garden and the insects in it. It was amazing that a place usually full of colour could still look so stunning in black and white.

From a delightful mystery I loved how it then turned into a story of greed and extortion and while there isn’t a lesson spelled out, it’s clear that the selfish among them understand their mistakes and try to make it right, all keeping within the quiet, calm nature of the story.

It is a lovely story that shows a little word beneath our feet where bugs and other insects live and the wonders of our everyday may seem to them. I loved how each insect approached the object and used their experience and interpretations to understand it. It’s amazing how a relatively simple story could be so touching.

You can purchase It Fell From the Sky via the following

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Rodney Was A Tortoise by Nan Forler

10 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , ,

Published: 15th February 2022
Publisher: Tundra Books
Illustrator: Yong Ling Kang
Pages: 40
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Bernadette and Rodney are the best of friends. Rodney’s not so good at playing cards, but he’s great at staring contests. His favorite food is lettuce, though he eats it VERRRRRRY SLOOOOOWLY. And he’s such a joker! When Bernadette goes to sleep at night, Rodney is always there, watching over her from his tank.

As the seasons pass, Rodney moves slower and slower, until one day he stops moving at all. Without Rodney, Bernadette feels all alone. She can’t stop thinking about him, but none of her friends seem to notice. Except for Amar.

With a title like this you know going in it’s going to make you sad, and yet I persevered. I’m glad I did because it is a beautiful story Forler has created about acknowledging that even though Rodney isn’t a conventional pet, or one you could play with in the traditional sense, he still was a pet and Bernadette had all of the same feelings that go with that.

Kang’s illustrations are absolutely adorable. The expressions on Rodney’s face is delightful and the pictures of him and Bernadette having fun together are beautiful and simple watercolours. The watercolours vary from small pictures beside relevant text to full page or double page spreads. I liked how the pictures changed size for their purpose and Rodney was kept as realistic as possible even in all of Bernadette’s activities.

Forler describes grief in a way children can understand, the feeling of hurt in your stomach that won’t go away, and feeling sad that the normal things you would do are different. The symbolism of Bernadette going into her shell is clever and it’s great how Forler uses Amar as an outside force to get Bernadette to come back to the world.

The ending is simple and sweet and Forler doesn’t feel the need to explain anything to the reader. It’s a bitter sweet tale of old friends and new friends and finding a new path after losing someone you loved.

You can purchase Rodney Was A Tortoise via the following

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Weirdo by Zadie Smith

03 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , ,

Published: 15th April 2021Goodreads badge
Publisher: Puffin
Illustrator: Nick Laird
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Meet Maud: a guinea pig who inexplicably wears a judo suit – and not everyone understands or approves. When Maud is thrown into a new and confusing situation, it takes brave decisions and serendipitous encounters for her to find her place and embrace her individuality.

The charming characters of Magenta Fox, whose work is evocative of Raymond Briggs and Janet Ahlberg, perfectly offset Zadie and Nick’s warm, wry prose.

Weirdo is an endearing story about the quiet power of being different by two veteran writers, and introduces an exciting debut illustrator. Together they have created a picture book that adults and children alike will treasure.

I am a sucker for a cute illustration and a guinea pig in a judo suit was hard not to pick up. I liked this story because it shows that everyone is different, we all do and like different things which doesn’t make us strange and Smith shows us that embracing other interests can be fun and beneficial.

Maud isn’t even that weird, but being different to those around her made her weird and their unwillingness to get to know her perpetuated their opinions of her. After trying to change herself to fit in with the other pets Maud finds someone who helps her realise that being different is ok, and being different makes her her own person and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Officially nameless until Kit gets home the story alternates between calling her Weirdo or The Surprise before being dubbed Maud by Kit. I loved how Smith has Maud call herself The Surprise but has others call her Weirdo, it’s a great distinction on who others think she is verses who she sees herself as.

The mean pets see the error of their ways and is a nice demonstration of people not liking anything new or different, or changes to their way of doing things. Smith has told the story well without needing to drive the point home, instead they focus on Maud and her journey which I loved. You can’t make other people like you, and it’s much better to like yourself first.

Fox’s illustrations are adorable, and I love the layout of the pages that help show movement and time passing. The different perspectives and scales are great as well, switching between pet level and human level. The tiny details are fantastic too; the pictures in background frames, details of the surrounding building and characters. It all works together to show the wider world as well as the micro world of Kit’s pets.

This is a fun story that isn’t too heavy on messages but still manages to make you understand being different is ok, and being weird actually makes life that little bit more enjoyable.

You can purchase Weirdo via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

 Wordery | Angus and Robinson

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What Happened to You? by James Catchpole

27 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , ,

Published: 6 April 2021Goodreads badge
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Illustrator: Karen George
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

This is the experience of one-legged Joe, a child who just wants to have fun in the playground. Constantly seen first for his disability, Joe is fed up of only ever being asked about his leg. All he wants to do is play Pirates.

But as usual, one after the other, all the children ask him the same question they always ask, “What happened to you?”

Understandably Joe gets increasingly angry until finally the penny drops and the children realise that it’s a question Joe just doesn’t want to answer…and that Joe is playing a rather good game…one that they can join in with if they can stop fixating on his missing leg.

Because children are children, after all.

I really liked this book, more than I thought I would. I picked it up based solely on the front cover and my curiosity of the story, but by the end I was surprised of the story direction. I thought it might have been a simple plotless book about understanding people were different but instead it’s a great story that demonstrates people are different but also have no obligation to tell you about it.

Immediately we’re told of Joe’s discomfort at having to meet other kids. Even as a young kid Joe is tired of people asking about his leg, interrupting his playtime. I loved that we start by seeing Joe playing, using his imagination and enjoying himself then show the trepidation as someone joins him. Catchpole doesn’t let us off easy though as page after page drives home Joe’s discomfort at the intrusive questions by the kids.

The illustrations and the text work well together as you can’t escape the visual of the kids ganging up on Joe, badgering him with questions and demanding an answer to their own curiosity. George keeps them simple but relevant and they are a great expression of Joe’s imagination.

I also liked how Joe turns the kids questions back on them, to ask their opinions. It’s great to show a young kid already have agency to make people understand how rude their questions can be, even if they are only curious. Catchpole also makes a great point of asking the question why people need to know. No one owes you an explanation. Of course everyone learns their lesson at the end, but what was great was that Joe isn’t the one to initiate it. Catchpole has told a great story about being yourself, using your words to push back against conversations you don’t want to have and it’s a great example that could be used in a myriad of other situations and circumstances.

You can purchase What Happened to You? via the following

 Booktopia | Book Depository

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The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I (#2) by Carolyn Mackler

07 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Audiobook, Young Adult Tags: , , , , ,

Published: 29th May 2018 (print)/29th May 2018 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books /Recorded Books
Pages: 304/7 hrs and 51 mins
Narrator: Laura Knight Keating
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

It’s been five months since sixteen-year-old Virginia Shreves thought her life was finally back on course: she has come to terms with who she is both inside and out, and she’s even started to rebuild her relationship with her older brother Byron, whose date-rape charge completely shattered everything.

But just as she’s getting used to the new normal, Virginia’s world turns upside down again. Sparks with boyfriend Froggy Welsh the Fourth fade, her best friend Shannon bombshells bad news, and then the police arrest Byron.

As Virginia struggles to cope, she meets Sebastian, an artist with his own baggage. The pair make a pact not to share their personal dramas. But secrets have a way of coming out, and theirs have the potential to ruin everything.

This sequel was published in 2018 so it’s clear after updating Virginia’s story Mackler felt compelled to keep the story going, either that or the compulsion for a sequel prompted a revision of the first. Either way it’s not a bad addition by any means, it’s the same characters and the tone is similar to the first book which works in its favour.

Plot wise I enjoyed that there were ongoing outcomes and consequences from the events in the first book. It’s only a few months later and it’s a nice reminder that things aren’t solved and wrapped up neatly at the end of a book. Having said that you don’t need to have read book one as the events previous are recounted fairly seamlessly, and the continuation of the story means nothing much has been happening in between.

There’s still talk around the sexual assault, and the fatphobia and body images aren’t gone which adds realism and believability to a story that previously tried to fix things a little too quickly. Previous characters return, some with more depth than before, and new antagonists bring conflict and a different type of drama.

I liked the introduction of Sebastian and how Mackler navigated it between Virginia and the bigger story. I would have been annoyed if they got close later in the book but the fact they become friends and maybe something more early on was a good distraction for Virginia and it allowed something to be only hers for a while. Of course it also allows for a bigger impact once all the secrets come out, classic storytelling. But Mackler handles it well and I liked how Sebastian and Virginia managed their relationship around the drama.

Virginia is once again shameless about her infatuations and her list. I also liked her approach to her brother and how she never really lets him off the hook for his actions. Trying to navigate that relationship now allows more growth for her, which is good as it shows there’s always more growing to do.

There are further reminders of the super-rich lifestyle as we delve into country clubs and nannies and it is very telling given how her parents react that there is a lot at stake about keeping up appearances and hoping things blow over around certain indiscretions. But overall it was an enjoyable story and satisfying to see further developments in Virginia’s story.

You can purchase The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I via the following

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Dymocks | Angus and Robinson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

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