Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure

I have a confession to make - I am probably a small town girl at heart.  Or possibly a medium city girl at the most.  This might surprise those of you who know that I lived in San Diego until I was 21.  Or those of you who know me from my time living in Phoenix - both big cities.  I do love the benefits of living in a big city - the shopping (an actual mall!), the arts (very few bands make Helena a tour stop!)!  But I also really appreciate many of the things this small town showcases.  And I'm comfortable here.  When I was in college, I took a train from Virginia to Massachusetts.  I had to switch trains in New York City.  Granted, I never left the actual station, but even that experience intimidated me.  I've never wanted to go back.  So I feel a lot of admiration for books with characters who treat New York City so casually - who have, indeed, conquered it.  It's one of the things I mentioned in my review of Starry Night.  And that confident independence (something I could never imitate) is what strikes me about Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure.

It begins like any other school day for these tweens.  They emerge from the subway, thinking about the field trip that day.  And then there is Pablo, whose parents are hovering over him, worrying because it is his first day at this school.  He tugs away from them to enter school on his own, saying "Please just go away!"  But in true mom fashion, his mother gets in the last word, announcing loudly and in public that she's packed Pablo's teddy bear into his backpack in case he gets lonely.  I can feel Pablo's cringing embarrassment from all these thousands of miles away.

Pablo is part of the class going on the field trip, and Alicia volunteers to be his partner for the trip.  It starts off poorly, with the other kids teasing them.  Then  the teacher engages the class in a discussion of their favorite subway trains, since they will be traveling on one to the Empire State Building.  When all the other students rattle off their preferred subway lines, Pablo takes a calculated risk and volunteers the X train.  That starts the rest of the class off into giggles again, since everyone else knows there is no X train.  Pablo has attracted the wrong sort of attention.

But their teacher smoothly moves on from Pablo's mistake, giving lots of facts about both the construction of the subway system and the Empire State Building.  As the class makes their way down to the subway platform, Alicia asks Pablo where he's from.  Pablo replies "Nowhere.  My dad has to move a lot for his job."  Alicia asks Pablo "But where is HOME for you?"  He replies angrily "NOWHERE!", and Alicia states the obvious "Then I guess New York is your home now!"  Pablo huffs "Whatever."  You can already see their emotions about the day in this exchange - Pablo is overwhelmed and negative; Alicia upbeat and positive.

As they enter the platform, the teacher is explaining the difference between express and local trains.  The platform fills with commuters - talking, walking, checking their phones.  Alicia takes the opportunity to show Pablo a map, so he can familiarize himself with the subway system.  Just as she drags him over, though, the rest of the class boards a local train (which makes additional stops).  In a moment of panic, Pablo grabs Alicia to rush her to the train.  But they have rushed onto the wrong train.  The teacher gestures wildly at them, hoping that they will get off at the next stop the two trains share.  In the meantime, Pablo and Alicia argue over whose decision got them separated from the rest of the class.

The panicked decision-making from Pablo and Alicia only continues throughout their travels.  They are impulsive and worried, jumping from train to train.  At this point in the story, this mother was worrying about their safety.  But at least Alicia is a city kid, comfortable with the maze of subways.  Pablo has the sheer determination to conquer the new school and the subway.  The thing they need to succeed in reuniting with their class: each other.  Can they work together and maybe even become friends?

As much of the story fascinates me, being as far from my children's life experiences as can be, what amazes me about Lost in NYC are the layered, thoughtful illustrations.  The series that TOON Books began publishing last fall is called TOON Graphics for Visual Readers, and I think Lost in NYC is one of the best examples of this series.  Let's start with the endpapers.

The front set of endpapers shows a cropped section of the NYC Subway map, including parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.  It has the stops marked in bold black font and the trains in different colors.  The subway lines interweave on the map, showing how commuters get where they need to go.  It's a traditional subway map - one that is most likely available at any stop to stash in your pocket.  It is the same map posted on the wall in the subway station where the class loses Alicia and Pablo.  On the back endpapers, the students' trip is shown.  The scale is off - the children are as big as buildings - but this is purposeful.  You can spot Alicia, Pablo, and their class throughout this map as they travel.  It's whimsical and suits the story perfectly.  Pablo, for instance, enters a subway car at one height, then in the next car, he fills the car completely, looking a little scared and out of his depth.  It also shows Alicia, the class and Pablo all converging on the Empire State Building.  I like this slightly different perspective on the map of their journey - it feels a little more emotional.  It gives readers a unique view of how they all got to their destination.

As we all know, there are millions of people in New York City, Sanchez has the challenge of drawing the crowd of people surrounding Pablo and Alicia throughout the book, but to also keep the readers' attention.  Many people are dressed in muted colors, so that Alicia (dressed in pink and green) and Pablo (in blues) stand out.  But the commuters also have lots of individual details that draw the eye - absorbed in their phones as they wait, shuffling along in single-file lines, listening to headphones, reading - there are lots of terrific details when the reader pores over the illustrations.

One of the other very cool things about this book is the way it incorporates photographs and New York City history into the graphic novel format.  When the teacher begins to give information to the class in preparation for their trip, the class is shown on a map of the subways (again, much like the one in the front of the book).  The teacher explains how the subways were constructed at the turn of the century, which included digging trenches for the trains.  As he describes the construction process, the students perch on the edges of newly dug trenches.  This double-paged spread is also filled with historic photographs of the subways being built - another way for students to visualize what happened then.

Finally, this book does not disappoint in back matter either.  TOON always has great information in its back matter, and Lost in NYC is perfect.  There is a fascinating behind-the-scenes section about Sanchez's trip to New York City and how he found all the details included in the book.  There are also pages on the subway system's history and the subway system today.  Finally, there is a brief history of the Empire State Building and of course, a bibliography. It is especially helpful that the books in the bibliography are provided with age ranges to help guide readers.

As always, these books are quality products, elegantly designed, but with an appeal to children.  Even here in our little town of Helena, Frances and Gloria have read and re-read Lost in NYC.  I hope you will too!

Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure.  Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio Garcia Sanchez.  TOON Graphics, 2015.

sent by the publisher for review

Cast Away on the Letter A

In getting ready to review a new season of TOON Books, I realized that I still had a couple from the fall that I hadn't reviewed yet.  And in the case of Cast Away on the Letter A, there will be a new book in the series coming out this spring.  So I wanted to make sure I took the opportunity to introduce you to Philemon now, so you'll know who he is when I talk about him again.

Just the title Cast Away on the Letter A evokes nonsense, mystery and quirkiness.  How, exactly, can you be cast away on the letter A?  What does that even mean?  Well for Philemon, it all begins with a trip to the well.  His father tries to pump water at their spigot, but nothing comes out, so he sends Philemon to the well for water.  When Philemon gets there, he is surprised by a message in a bottle that he hauls up in his bucket of water.  It simply says "Help!"  He can't imagine how it could have gotten in the well, but dismisses it as a prank.  Until more bottles appear immediately in the same well.  Philemon is dying to figure out how the bottles are arriving.  So he shimmies down the rope to get a closer look.  While Philemon's donkey, Anatole, mutters dry comments such as "Curiosity killed the cat, Phil." (p. 15), Philemon slips into the well and is pulled under the water.  As he is gasping for breath, a tide pulls him down deeper and deeper.  One of the next indications that things aren't what they seem happens as a shark swims past bewildered Philemon.

Now Philemon is really in trouble.  He wakes up on a beach as things continue to get weird.  After he wonders what time it is, a clock emerges out of the sand.  Just as rapidly, it explodes.  He believes Anatole has come through the well also - he sees a pair of hind legs - but they turn out to belong to a centaur.  The centaur mentions in passing that they are on an island, which really confuses Philemon.  Philemon runs after the centaur, trips and falls into another hole.  This hole has a little man in it, dressed all in green.

The man introduces himself as Bartholomew, the well digger.  He tells Philemon he's been digging wells for forty years.  Bartholomew was digging a well all that time ago, was sucked into a whirlpool, and never escaped.  He's been digging wells on the island ever since, sending messages in the bottles, hoping he can reverse the effect and get back to his life.  Oh yes, and he explains that they are stranded on the letter A...  Philemon thinks "What's he talking about?  He's off his rocker!  Too many years living alone, no doubt..." (p. 23).  As usual, I don't want to give away too much of the plot in my post.  But this is also such an intriguing book that I don't want to give away too many of the surprises.

TOON Books has translated and reprinted Cast Away on the Letter A from its original French.  Francoise Mouly, who is one of the publishers of TOON Books (but also Art Editor of The New Yorker), recalls "As a teenager growing up in Paris in the late sixties..." (p. 44), she would read the serialized versions of Philemon's adventures.  This story was originally published in 1972, and I was pleasantly surprised at how timeless these adventures feel.  The art has a slightly retro feel to them, but readers can interpret that retro quality as occurring because of Philemon's trip down the well.  That island where he lands feels very much out of time.  As the story unfolds, it is so odd and unbelievable that the reader doesn't expect anything modern anyway.  And the language is plain, so without any dated frills or vocabulary.  It works very well.

Just from the little I've mentioned of the plot, it should feel very fantastic as well.  When Philemon awakes on the beach after his trip through the well, he exclaims "That's impossible! A beach inside a well? But I'm not dreaming.  It's real sand." (p. 18)  He is already having a hard time distinguishing reality from the bizarre world around him.  And who could blame poor Philemon?  He sees a clock grow out of the sand, then explode.  He meets a centaur and a man who has been digging ditches for 40 years.  The influence of fantasy on this story is heavy.  When Philemon begins to hear Bartholomew's story, he says "Then you're the well digger in the legend?'  Philemon goes on to explain "Well, in my village, they tell the story of a well digger who never came back up from the well he was digging forty years ago." (p. 22).  So Bartholomew has become a legend through his disappearance.  And the island is also a place of legend and mythology.  There are also many mysterious elements here, including a bottle tree.  Bartholomew harvests bottles off the tree for the messages in the bottles he sends. 

This title comes from TOON Books' series called "TOON Graphics for Visual Readers".  This is a newer series, which was first issued in Fall 2014.  (I reviewed Theseus and the Minotaur here) and it is designed for a slightly older audience.  I found a Teacher's Guide to Cast Away on the Letter A on the TOON Books website, and it is as thoughtfully produced as everything they do.  The Teacher's Guide ties the book to the Common Core standards, and includes questions that help readers interpret the many layers of the story and the art.  One of the things that I found most thought-provoking about the Teacher's Guide was an explanation about how the story had been originally serialized.  The Guide challenges readers to find the cliff-hangers in the story, where the story would have stopped temporarily until the next issue. 

And, as always, TOON Books does an impeccable job with the back matter.  Inside the back cover is a list of tips for parents, teachers, and librarians.  One of the items noted there is that "Reading TOON Graphics is a pleasure for all.  Beginners and seasoned readers alike will sharpen both their literal and inferential reading skills."  That is so true of this book.  I may have recognized some of the ideas mentioned here, but there is an amazing compendium of elements on pages 44-45 for readers to engage with.  There is a small graphic to help readers tie the element back to a specific place in the story.  There are also page numbers for the citation, and information from other myths and legends that may have influenced the author.  This is incredibly useful for readers and teachers alike.  In her preface to this section, Mouly notes "I knew that in that first slow, careful reading, and every re-reading after that, I would be rewarded with a wealth of hidden treasures."  (p. 44)  Honestly, even with my initial reading (and multiple re-readings to write this post), there are most likely many layers and themes to this story that I've missed.  I'm grateful for the extra help in the back matter.

Philemon's adventure is created of fantasy with a kernel of truth in it.  And I haven't done justice to the book's sense of humor -that will have to be saved for another post.  Philemon is quirky, clumsy, disbelieving, but a lot of fun.  I am looking forward to reviewing another of Philemon's adventures this spring - catch up while you still can!

Cast Away on the Letter A: A Philemon Adventure.  Fred.  TOON Graphics, 2014.

sent by the publisher for review

Theseus and the Minotaur

"Adventure, mythology, and a Minotaur!

What's not to like?"

 - Frank Cammuso

(from back cover)

I'm not sure I've ever written about Greek or Roman mythology on my blog.  While I've read books of both kinds, I think mythology didn't really come to life for me until I read the Percy Jackson series, much like many readers today.  I've always loved the clever way that Rick Riordan weaves multiple strands of the myths together.  But this first book in the TOON Graphics for Visual Readers series, Theseus and the Minotaur, brings a reality to the myths, brings them to life.

The story opens with a man retelling this myth to two young people on a boat.  He reminds them (and the reader) "This is an ancient one, a heroic tale that has been told thousands of times, transformed by generations of narrators with fertile imaginations." (p. 9)  It is a terrific opening, particularly because this story has many layers of gods and men and wars.  So many layers that I am not sure I can even sum it all up successfully in a way that makes sense.  But I'll try!

Pommaux weaves two strands of the myth together to create one storyline.  First there is the story of Theseus' mother, Aethra.  On the same day, she was in a "watery embrace" with Poseidon, and met and married King Aegeus in secret.  Later, when she delivered her baby boy, Theseus, she believed he had two fathers - a god and a king.  In the meantime, King Aegeus had returned to his country (where he was married to another woman, Medea) and his worries about his country's impending struggle with the island of Crete.  Crete's ruler, Minos had some son issues of his own.  His son, Asterion, was born of his wife's love for a beautiful white bull, and was "monstrous" (p. 15) - half-man, half-bull.  Asterion is better known as the Minotaur.  In order to keep Crete safe from the Minotaur, Minos built a labyrinth.  He ordered Aegeus to bring him tributes on a regular basis.  Those tributes would go into the labyrinth and never return.

Whew! Dizzy yet?  I have to admit, I read this story a few times through before I was able to distill it into its core facts.  And this isn't because Pommaux adds in unnecessary details or spends too much time creating a family tree.  On the contrary, Pommaux uses descriptive language, but in a simple style of writing.  For instance, "Crazed with grief, Minos threatened to wage war against Aegeus unless, every nine years, he sent seven Athenian young men and seven Athenian young women to the Labyrinth." (p. 19)  I love how Pommaux describes Minos as crazed with grief.  I think that is a term that readers may not come across often, but it gives a strong explanation to Minos' actions.  But I digress...

The reason it is so difficult to simplify this text into a couple of paragraphs of summary is because the mythology is complicated.  There are reasons why the humans in this story act the ways they do - love, pride, anger, fear, bravery.  There are reasons, too, why the gods act the way they do - jealousy, temptation, boredom.  All of those individual emotions and actions wreak havoc with the lives down below.  Minos is responsible for appeasing the gods, and asks for a sign from Poseidon.  Poseidon sends a glorious bull, but demands it be sacrificed to him.  Minos ignores Poseidon because he thinks the bull is so beautiful.  So Poseidon gets angry and makes Minos' wife fall in love with the bull.  And we all know how that ends...with the Minotaur.

There are certain themes that Pommaux brings up in the text over and over again.  One of those is the contradiction between free will and fate.  It is Minos' free will that keeps him from doing what Poseidon requires and sacrificing the bull.  Is it his wife's fate to be in love with a bull, or to be the mother of the Minotaur?  Or is it not fate, because Poseidon created this situation as a punishment for Minos?  Minos is a particularly fascinating character to me.  He is proud, brash, a little bit ugly (both physically and in character), yet he never seems to learn from either his punishments or his mistakes.  He sends his beloved son, Androgeous, to Athens, to boast of his strength and might.  Minos loves his son very much, but it is more important to Minos to show him off.  And of course, Minos risks Androgeos' life by doing so.  I feel a little bit of pity for Minos and his bull-headedness.

There are many, many things to discuss in this story - brains v. brawn, the father-son relationships that we see depicted, the idea of the labyrinth... And these multiple themes point out that this is a leap for TOON Books.  Their previous titles have been mostly aimed at beginning readers (with the exception of The Secret of the Stone Frog).  This book marks the start of a new series of titles.  These TOON Graphics for Visual Readers are exciting in their own right.  The books are larger in size (8 1/2 x 11), but the covers have the same smooth, high quality feel.  If you couldn't tell from the summary of the myth, the subject matter is also suited to a slightly older reader.  The fact that the myth is so complex, and rich with thematic matter, means there is lots to discuss with older readers.  To aid in discussion, there is a list of possible questions on the inside back cover.

In this title in the series, I am also really pleased with the shift towards nonfiction.  Not many publishers pay attention to all of the little details that make a book useful in the classroom.  And there are many details that are used effectively here.  There is a map of the action on the front inside cover, pronunciation of the Greek names throughout the text, further reading and an illustrated index.  And if all of that wasn't enough, there is my favorite part - trading card sized text boxes that remind readers of all of the main characters in this story.  The "trading cards" include facts about the characters' families, birth places, siblings, and the meaning of their names.  There is so much supplemental information included here.

I can't wait to explore other titles in this series and I will share them with you in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in more information about the series, there was a great article about TOON Books in the New York Times a few weeks ago, located here.  For now, Theseus and the Minotaur is a great place to start.

Theseus and the Minotaur.  Yvan Pommaux.  TOON Books, 2014.

sent by the publisher for review

Benny and Penny in Lost and Found!

You all know how much I love TOON Books.  And you've heard repeatedly how much Gloria in particular loves TOON Books.  But did you know that the New York Times also loves TOON Books?  That's right - they do!  I am so happy to see this article share some of the things I love best about this company.  I was lucky enough to get the books that are mentioned in this article and I'm looking forward to sharing those titles with you this fall.  But in the meantime, I'd like to introduce you to do the latest Benny and Penny title: Benny and Penny in Lost and Found!

As I linked above, we read and reviewed the last book in the Benny and Penny series, Benny and Penny in Lights Out!, and Gloria cheered when this one arrived.  Just to catch you up, Benny is the older, more emotional sibling, and Penny is the younger, more practical sister.  And they show their personalities from the very first page of this story.  Benny announces "I'm in a BAD mood!" (p. 9).  When Penny asks why, it turns out that Benny has lost his beloved pirate hat (it was also left outside in Lights Out!).  She retorts "AGAIN?" (p. 9).  Benny, who is the one who feels everything strongly, continues "How can I be in a good mood when I'm in a bad mood?" (p. 10).

He feels the loss of the pirate hat very much, and sets off to find it.  Penny has some practical, sisterly advice ("In this fog? You'll get LOST!" (p. 12)) but finally agrees to help him search.  They set off, and have some alleged sightings of the pirate hat.  But just like in Lights Out!, the shadows turn out to be anything but the pirate hat.  One of the shadows is a dinosaur? a lizard? (Frances says lizard, Gloria says dinosaur) that tags along with them for a few minutes before they are all frightened by one last shadow.  This one looks suspiciously like...a cat.

They all scurry away as quickly as they can.  When the danger is over, Penny scolds Benny, "Benny, you always lead us into TROUBLE!" (p. 26).  And sure enough, he has.  Both Benny and Penny recognize that they are lost.  This is where something interesting happens for Benny and Penny.  Their relationship shifts from a more challenging, adversarial one to more of a team attitude.  Benny, who is usually hot-headed and emotional, settles down in the crisis.  Penny, usually so practical and slightly disapproving, melts down.  She yells "WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THAT OLD HAT?!!!" (p. 27).  Benny is put in the position of comforting his younger sister.  Once the meltdown is over, then they can go about the business of finding home safely, where indeed, the pirate hat is waiting for them.

While Benny and Penny's mother is never seen, she is still within earshot, providing for them.  Their mother is the one who finds Benny's pirate hat while the children are out searching.  It's worth noting that way back at the start of the story, Penny asks Benny if he's checked in the house before they set off on their adventure.  Of course, when they return home, their mother tells Benny his hat was in the closet all along.  Penny, wisely, never says a word.  As soon as he finds the pirate hat waiting, mercurial Benny is in a good mood again.

Being lost as the two mice are can be really terrifying for a young child.  Their mother has several adages about being lost that Penny repeats during their adventure.  Penny first announces in a confident, slightly snotty tone " Mommy says 'When you lose something...think of the last place you had it.'" (p. 11).  Benny ignores this advice, of course.  When they are really lost and upset, Benny remembers "Mommy says 'If you get lost, always go back the way you came.'" (p. 31).  And when they find their way back, she is there waiting to comfort them.  That helps reassure young readers that losing things, even your way, might turn out okay at the end.

I think the illustrations do an excellent job of bridging the gap between reality and fiction.  These are mice, after all, but with their strong personalities, you might forget it.  While they wear some outerwear (a sweatshirt and jacket), they really do look and act like mice do.  Their funny faces are full of human expression.  The dinosaur/lizard is all cute, though.  While he scares the siblings at first, he is just as scared by the menacing cat as they are, and he scampers quickly away.  The fog is almost another character in the book.  It obscures most of the scenery, giving an added feeling of tension to the story.  It's cloudy, dark and mysterious, with a touch of swampy.

I almost always close my reviews of books in the TOON line by talking about the company's literacy efforts.  Gloria is just beginning kindergarten next week, and her teacher came for a home visit, as is mandated by the district.  I made a point of talking to him about TOON Books, and showed him this book.  What I always love about these books is TOON's leveling system, and how clear it is.  On the back cover, this book is indicated as Level Two.  When you look inside the back of the book, there is a page of tips for parents and teachers about how to read comics with kids.  There is also an explanation of the levels.  This book is intended for students in Grades 1-2, and also includes Lexile, Guided Reading and reading recovery information as well.  And TOON gives a handy breakdown of what Level 2 means to them:

• 300-700 words
• short sentences and repetition
• story arc with few characters in a small world
• 1-4 panels per page

This is all valuable information for those of us wondering if this is the right book for our child.  I also told Gloria's new teacher about the online cartoon maker, which we like to use often.  I can't say enough about TOON Books and how unique their efforts are.

I hope there are many more Benny and Penny adventures for us to read.  I love their sibling relationship, as well as the precarious situations they get themselves into.

Benny and Penny in Lost and Found! Geoffrey Hayes.  TOON Books, 2014.

sent by the publisher for review

Secret of the Stone Frog

We have read so many fascinating, quality books from TOON Books.  It does my heart proud that Gloria particularly is a comic book reader.  I've mentioned before how it will take me awhile to blog about books from TOON.  That is primarily because Gloria steals them from my blog pile to pore over them.  She is a strong reader at 5 1/2, and could read chapter books if she wanted.  But unlike Frances, she's not been interested in tackling chapter books.  While Frances sees chapter books as a sign of being a big kid and a strong reader, Gloria prefers to pull down a large stack of picture books from the bookcase, or catalogs to read.  But she has now finished her first long book, and I am especially pleased that it is a graphic novel.

The Secret of the Stone Frog was sent to me almost two years ago.  It was the very first graphic novel  that TOON had produced.  Let's start with the book design.  It is gorgeous - a rich red with faux binding on the corners and spine.  The frontispiece is slightly inset, and the front cover illustration is done in black and white.  There is a bookplate printed inside the front cover.  The edges of the paper are deckled.  All of this effort together gives an expensive air, but more importantly, it also gives off an old-fashioned feel.  It sets the tone for the book right from the cover.

So then the reader isn't surprised when they meet Leah and Alan, who awaken in beds, under a tree.  Under a tree?  Yes, their beds have appeared under a large tree.  And that isn't the oddest thing that will happen in the course of this book.  In their crisp white pajamas they look around in bewilderment.  As they are trying to decide what to do, a voice intones "If it's a way home you're looking for It's right behind me.  Look no more." (p. 5)  The voice belongs to a stone frog, who gives them more advice: as they travel, they should watch for other stone frogs to ask for help.  And, most importantly, they should stay on the path.

Leah is older, and a little more conscious of the rules.  She is quick to obey the stone frogs, and navigates down the path.  Alan, on the other hand, is young and impetuous enough that his hunger trumps the stone frog's warning.  He convinces Leah that a house they glimpse through the thicket might have food, so off the path they go.  As they approach the house, they stumble into a garden filled with enormouse bees.  Then they meet the beekeeper, a lady dressed in vaguely Victorian attire, but with an absurdly, disproportionately large head.  She seems kind enough, so Alan and Leah follow her into her home.  The beekeeper serves them a fabulous tea, with an assortment of enticing  things to eat.  As Alan and Leah dig in, all thoughts of disobeying the stone frog have disappeared.  And when the beekeeper asks questions of Alan, he obligingly answers.  But as Alan speaks, a bee darts out and begins to carry away his words.  Alan is struck dumb, as Leah fights the bee to get her brother's words back.  When she stuns the bee, it makes the beekeeper furious.

As Leah and Alan race down the path, trying to outrun the beekeeper and her mob of her angry bees, they swear they won't divert from the path again.  There are a whole host of awesomely odd characters waiting for them off,the path, though, and it's where all the fun is.  They discover large rabbits and fish waiting for a train.  The ordinary and extraordinary are all jumbled together in one big adventure.

At the same time as I was reading The Secret of the Stone Frog I was reading a book of critical essays on children's literature called Only Connect.  In an essay by Edward W. Rosenheim, Jr., I found this quote: "Effective imaginative literature is an amalgam of the new and strange - what taxes credulity and complacency - with what is somehow believable, authentic, and immediate." (p. 47)  This quote really struck me as applicable to this graphic novel.  This is why waking up under a tree isn't very surprising to Leah and Alan.  They begin to solve the problem of how to get home, but never stop to ask how they actually got under that tree.  There is that combination of the strange and the believable here.  After all, the children did wake up in their own beds.  Another example of this are the fish waiting for the train in the station.  There is an enormous disparity in the fish, eager to go home.  Again, Victorian style is a commonality, but there are short fish, tall fish, fish in cravats, fish with bow ties.  And I'm sure you could superimpose this picture onto a picture of commuters in any big city, and they would look very similar.  The waiting behavior (eyes straight ahead or slightly raised, arms at sides, near each other but not touching) will be recognizable to children.  The odd-looking fish are the mystery here.

I'm sure you may be drawing parallels to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as I did while reading.  Like Alice, Leah and Alan are forced to negotiate foreign rules and cultural norms while on their quest to return home.  They both get into trouble when they go off the proscribed path.  The weird and familiar are all intermingled in both books, along with a dream-like quality to the adventure.  And both adventures are bookended by sleep.

This adventure eventually has a happy ending, but one of the things that Alan is trying to understand throughout their adventure is that it has been decided that Leah will be moving out of the nursery and into her own room.  It is one of those transitions of childhood, and could serve to make Leah and Alan more disconnected than they are now.  During the story, they are wound closely together physically - one always has their arm around the other, or Alan will hide behind Leah's nightgown.  The transition to a new, grown-up room for Leah reminds me of Wendy in another classic novel, Peter Pan, where the transition out of the nursery is inevitable but mourned by all involved.

The illustrations at time reminded me of Tenniel's illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  The beekeeper, with her indignant expression and overly large head, reminds me of the Queen of Hearts.  Nytra's style is very detailed and specific, with lots of background crosshatching.  All of the crosshatching gives texture to each panel.  It adds to the gloom and opressive feel of each page as the children wind along another unfamiliar path.  The children are dressed in pure white pajamas to help draw the reader's eye towards the children in every panel.  Every character's facial expressions are easily discernable, helping children interpret the mood of the story.

While this is billed as a graphic novel,  that does not mean that the text is novel-length.  There are not very many panels with more than a sentence of text.  Confident younger readers will enjoy this adventure just as much as older children.  Gloria said that this book was "really weird but awesome" and she's right.  The fantasy in this story will appeal to older readers, but younger readers will love it too.  I'm not sure even I have made sense of it, even after repeated readings.  I love that about this book.  Readers will continue to make connections to it long after they've closed its sumptuous covers.

The Secret of the Stone Frog.  David Nytra.  TOON Books, 2012.

"Children's Reading and Adults' Values."  Edward W. Rosenheim, Jr.  Only Connect: Readings on Children's Literature.  2nd ed.  Oxford University Press, 1980 (p. 39-54).

The Secret of the Stone Frog was sent by the publisher by request.  Only Connect is from my personal library.

Benny and Penny in Lights Out!

So if you are a regular reader of my blog (or even an occasional reader!), you know that I have two young girls - Frances, who just turned 7, and Gloria, who is 5 1/2.  I've talked before about their names here and how those aren't the names my girls were born with, just the names that I use on the blog so as not to identify them.  There are a lot of similarities between the Frances and Gloria Russell Hoban created and my girls.  They have similar personalities - my Frances can be way too  trusting, like in A Bargain for Frances; my Gloria likes to play with her sister, but on her own terms, like Gloria in Best Friends for Frances.  But lately I've seen a tendency towards sibling behavior like that of Benny and Penny in Benny and Penny in Lights Out!

This is the fourth book in the Benny and Penny series of easy-to-read comics from TOON Books.  From the very first panel, it is clearly bedtime.  Benny is peering at the moon outside the window.  Penny is trying to keep them on track with their bedtime routine.  Benny continues with his antics - "haunting" Penny with a flashlight, burping, basically acting up in that way that only children who should really be asleep do.  Then Benny realizes that he left his pirate hat...gulp! outside.  In the dark playhouse.  It is only his sister's bravery and their teamwork that rescues the needed pirate hat.

One of the parts of the Benny and Penny series that appeals most to me is the sibling relationship.  Benny and Penny aren't perfect and they don't always get along.  There is tons of sibling squabbling.  Penny announces imperiously "It's time to brush our teeth." (p. 6)  And Benny promptly ignores her mandate, like most siblings would.  He tells her he is busy.  Then Benny cooks up a plan to scare Penny when she's brushing her teeth.  He turns off the light and uses a flashlight to try and scare Penny with threats of the Boogey Mouse.  It's all very familiar to those of us with more than one child - our constant refereeing of fights over a blanket, an inch of floor space, a perceived fight.  And the also constant picking at each other - just like Benny does in this book.  He's really only teasing Penny with his prank about the Boogey Mouse.  But siblings can get under each other's skin unlike anyone I've ever seen.

But there is something equally redeeming about siblings and the way they can put aside their fighting when needed.  Benny realizes that the pirate hat he can't fall asleep without is still in the playhouse out in the backyard.  He sneaks out the window, and when it takes longer than Penny thinks it should, she is out the window after him.  She's scared, though Penny keeps reminding herself that "The Boogey Mouse is not really real.  It's just a story!" (p. 17)  Ultimately, even though he drives her crazy, Penny is there to support and lend a hand.  When she finally makes it to the playhouse, Benny is too scared to go in.  It takes both of them together to rescue the pirate hat.

Another thing I enjoy about this story is the "just-right" sized adventure.  There isn't anything really fancy about this adventure.  To a parent's eye, there isn't even anything dangerous about their trip out to the dark backyard.  But seen through the eyes of the two young mice, the story becomes perilous indeed.  The two mice are on their own - no parents in sight as the story progresses.  They feel real responsibility for what they must do to rescue Benny's hat.  They are at that age where they want to solve the problem themselves, without parental involvement.  And Benny and Penny take satisfaction from having saved the hat on their own.  It's only after Benny has  fallen asleep that Penny asks their mother for her help, but only with reading a story.


And that brings me to one of the best themes of this story - reading and storytelling.  It combines the best of Penny and Benny.  Both children like to read and tell stories, but of course their stories are very different.  Penny loves fairy tales - they combine princesses with a sense of storytelling structure that appeals to Penny, with her love of routine.  Benny, on the other hand, retells stories with drama, action and adventure.  Those stories appeal to his daydreaming, adventurous side.  He throws in some whimsy when he tells a story about a dinosaur that lives at the circus.  The two children have a shared love of reading and story.  They fight about story too.  Penny primly gets under the covers and informs Benny that she is trying to read.  He chimes in "You can't read." She says "Yes, I can." (p. 10)  You can hear this fight going on for an eternity, but thankfully Benny burps loudly and breaks it up.  Both mice can "read", but the stories they are "reading" really comes out of their imagination.  Hayes very naturally shows the connection between adventures, imagination and literacy.  Everyone loves the idea of a good story, and through reading, Benny and Penny have created their own adventure story.

As you know, TOON Books is one of my favorite publishers because of their innovative approach to literacy through comics.  On their website they have an online CarTOON maker which Gloria loved using.  It's a lot of creative fun.  Benny and Penny in Lights Out! is a Level Two comic, designed for readers in grades 1-2.  One of the descriptions of Level Two books in the back of this particular book says that Level Two books include "a story arc with few characters in a small world".  This is a perfect description of Benny and Penny.  It's intimate: Benny and Penny never go more than a few steps from their window, yet it seems a long, long way away.

Benny and Penny in Lights Out! Geoffrey Hayes.  TOON Books, 2012.

sent by the publisher for review

A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse

More than a year ago, I received an email from TOON Books, telling me about their Fall 2012 line.  Among those books was this title from Frank Viva, A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse.  I requested it immediately, because I loved Viva's previous book, Along a Long Road.  And when it came, it went right into my "To Blog" pile, because I was excited about it.  And sadly, there it sat.  Through two Cybils panels, through many,  many other blog posts, it sat in the pile.  And it wasn't because I didn't like it - it just always seemed like I was on deadline for something else or had another book I was really enthusiastic about.  And A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse waited patiently for me.

In the meantime, Frances and Gloria grew and changed.  They both are voracious readers now (just like their mama).  And while I am enthusiastic about this book, it truly belongs to Gloria.  In fact, at least once a week Gloria asks to take it to bed with her.  She also asks regularly when it will get out of my blog pile so she can keep it in her room for good.  So now it's time to talk about A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse so Gloria can finally get it for her very own.

One of the things I love best about Viva's artistic style is how he regularly breaks "out of the box".  The story begins on the endpapers.  As a ship sails through a series of icebergs, there is one sad question "Are we there yet?" With just four words, Viva manages to convey the length of the journey to Antarctica and the tedium of such a lengthy journey by sea.  On the title page comes the answer "Soon, Mouse."  It is in a differently colored speech balloon, to indicate a different speaker.  All you can see is the freighter, sailing placidly along under a midnight sky.

Once they "get there", Mouse and the other speaker (a young boy) peer over the side of the ship.  And all Mouse wants to know is "Can we go home now?"  The anxiety is evident in his face as he asks - whiskers sticking straight out in alarm, worry lines radiating around his wide eyes.  But the answer is "Not yet, Mouse."  The reader can plainly see that the trip does not agree with Mouse, even before he lists all the things that are difficult to do in the waves: "eat...sleep...kiss...draw...and stand!"  Mouse does not want to be there, and he doesn't care who knows it.

As his friend excitedly explores Antarctica, with its enormous sky, its penguins and whales, Mouse's familiar, repeated chorus is "Can we go home NOW?"  There is always the steady, patient reply "Not yet!"  The discoveries continue, until finally the ship sails off into the horizon.  And on the endpapers, one final question from Mouse: "Can we go back there soon?'

This is a fun book, a funny book.  Viva does a terrific job bringing Antarctica to the comprehension level of the youngest readers (it's marked Level One, which is defined as approximately K-Grade 1).  Mouse is the perfect foil  to the other explorer.  Not only does Mouse's repeated question help beginning readers decode the action, but his plaintive request will most likely sound familiar too.  Gloria quite often gets somewhere fun (a movie, a birthday party) and announces "I want to go home.".  Sometimes parents talk up an activity, and it isn't quite what the child has envisioned.  So many children can feel for Mouse and his preference for home.

I mentioned already that Mouse and his friend use a list style to give facts about the Antarctic.  It is a fun way to give a lot of information.  For instance, when Mouse friend notes "It is COLD out there, Mouse."  Mouse suggests that he needs "boots...mittens..a hat...a scarf...and a snowsuit!"  And quickly adds "Can we go home now?"  On many pages, four of the options take up one page.  Each choice in the list is in its own box, with bold, heavy black lines separating the panels.  The last choice is on its own page.  In the list of clothing,  Mouse is shown in each panel adding on more clothing also.  So by the end, in the snowsuit panel, Mouse looks quite silly indeed, peering out of one boot with mittens over his ears.  And those worry lines around his eyes haven't gone away.

Viva keeps the lists feeling fresh.  In a list of different types of penguins, each penguin is seen through a telescope, which gives the effect of an old-fashioned cameo.  A goldenrod line leads from one speech balloon to the next, guiding the reader's eye.  It keeps the sense of fun for new readers, and it is one of the things I appreciate most about TOON Books.  These are very visual stories, and this style suits Viva's graphic sensibility perfectly.

One final thing I loved about this book came at the very end.  In a page about the author, it is noted that this book was based on Viva's own trip to Antarctica on a Russian research vessel.  What an amazing experience!  But the blurb also notes that Viva, much like Mouse, became very seasick.  It forms a great connection between the author and the story, and can lead to some interesting discussion with children.  This could also be paired with simple nonfiction books about Antarctica to enhance their learning about this continent.

I can't wait to read other collaborations between Frank Viva and TOON Books.  This seems to be a natural, dynamic fit.  In the meantime, I started writing this post one afternoon, and then set my notebook down.  As soon as Gloria saw the book with my notebook, she started asking for it again.  I need to hit publish so she can have it back!

A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse.  Frank Viva.  TOON Books, 2012.

sent by the publisher for review

Maya Makes a Mess

When TOON Books originally asked me to advertise their Maya Makes a Mess contest in July, I asked for a copy of the book to review along with the contest.  I mentioned in the blog post how much I liked TOON Books, so I selfishly wanted the book for myself.  When we got the book in the mail, the girls wanted to read it right away.  Gloria ended up loving this book and reading it over and over.  In fact, I've had a hard time holding onto it for long enough to get a review written!  It's been a huge hit at our house.

The book opens with Maya and her parents eating dinner at the table.  Her parents are scolding her for eating with her hands (something I am very familiar with!).  The scolding continues: "'Sit down!' 'Sit up!'... 'Use a spoon!'. (p.6)  Frustrated, Maya asks why she has to follow all these rules.  Her father tells her "You need manners! What if you were eating dinner with the QUEEN?!" (p. 7).  And then the doorbell promptly rings.  Of course, it is the Queen's courtier.  Maya is whisked off to court for a dinner party.  She does point out htat she has already eaten, but that doesn't matter.  When the royal dinner is served, it is made up of all the things a child does NOT like to eat - goose livers, snail salad, spinach juice and broccoli broth.  So Maya pulls out her manners to request pasta with ketchup.  She pats herself on the back for good manners, and when she isn't sure which fork is the pasta fork, she digs in to the pasta the way she always has.  There are slurps, long noodles jammed into Maya's mouth, slipping through her teeth.  Suddenly, Maya becomes aware that while she's enjoying herself, everyone in the room is staring at her.

Maya's total lack of manners is at first horrifying to the party guests.  The Queen is shocked and disgusted.  But when she asks Maya why she eats that way, Maya tells the Queeen that it makes food taste better.  This then intrigues the Queen, who decides she (and everyone else at court) should try eating Maya's way.  There is a huge free-for-all, with people eating messily, but enjoying every moment of it.  And lest you parents worry that your children will want to eat like Maya all the time, the Queen declares that this has been so much fun that they will all eat like this again.  But only on holidays. 

In my first blog post on this book, I mentioned that I was a little leery of it.  I, along with most parents, work hard to instill good manners and behavior in my daughters.  I was afraid that this book would indulge bad manners, messy eating and ignoring the polite way to do things.  I was especially afraid when Gloria kept reading it - poring over it again and again in her bed, on the couch, wherever she could find it.  I was sure there was going to be a manners revolution in my house.

But I was so focused on the bad manners that I didn't realize Modan's subtle way of putting those manners into perspective.  Maya's bad manners aren't applauded by the Queen at first.  As I said previously, the Queen stops the entire dinner party in disgust.  But it's the way Maya describes her way of eating that appeals to the Queen.  When the Queen asks, repulsed, "...why, for heaven's sake, do you eat that way?"  Maya tells her "It makes food taste better." and adds "much better!" (p. 25).  It's Maya's total enjoyment that makes the Queen curious.  The double page spread that follows is hilarious and gross at the same time.  People are cramming lettuce in their mouths with their hands, slurping soup out of a ladle, feeding each other and spilling.  But here is the best part - the Queen's dinner party has gone from being a stuffy affair, with too many forks and food no one wants to eat, to a fun party where the guests are relaxed, smiling, and enjoying themselves.  That's what Modan is really emphasizing here.  There is a time and a place for manners and fun.  Maya may have mixed the two up slightly, but she has brought fresh air into the palace.  And the Queen is wise enough to mandatethat this sort of fun should only take place on holidays.  This isn't an everyday free-for-all - it's reserved only for special occasions.

For me, one of the best things about this book are the illustrative details.  Modan gets the life of a young girl just right.  From the very first panel, Maya is a total charming mess.  As she leaves on the plane to the palace, she stands on the cabin stairway, waving cheerfully.  She wears mismatched socks, scrunched around her feet, with no shoes and unkempt hair.  Her parents fruitlessly wave a dress and a toothbrush at Maya while the ambassador mutters "'No time, no time!'" (p. 11).  The Queen is much younger than Queen Elizabeth, but does have corgis that follow her every move.  And the illustration of her at the wild feast, pouring ketchup into her mouth straight from the bottle, is simply perfect.  There is nothing better.  Oh, except for the long, loopy strand of spaghetti that meanders along the bottom of all the pages.  It begins on the back of the title page, with a pot filled with boiled noodles.  And it ends, on the last page, in a final perfectly fitting detail.  Just perfect.

You may also remember from my blog post that I love how TOON Books has created these titles for easy readers.  This book lists its reading level as Grades 1-2, and I would say for the most part that is exactly right.  Many words are repeated throughout so if a child doesn't know it the first time they encounter it, they'll have plenty of opportunities to review it.  The only place I thought an emerging reader might have trouble was with the food labels at the dinner party.  I don't know many first graders who would recognize the words broth, livers or souffle, but that could just be nitpicking on my part.  Otherwise this book is easy for a child to pick up and get great enjoyment from.

The visual literacy aspect is also strong.  There are at the most six panels per page.  Modan is careful to indicate movement from panel to panel, so the new reader can easily decode which panel they should look at next.  And text and illustrations work together harmoniously.  Maya is very expressive, and Modan includes lots of emphasis in the text through bold fonts and italics.  It's easy to see how the text should be read.  All in all, Maya is a fun book to share with young readers.  It might make them not just a voracious reader, but a polite eater too.

Maya Makes a Mess.  Rutu Modan.  TOON Books, 2012.

sent by publisher for review