The Horn Book » HBMMay2012

Review of Boy21

Katrina Hedeen — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:00:55 +0000

Boy21
by Matthew Quick
High School Little, Brown 252 pp.
3/12 978-0-316-12797-4 $17.99
When Russ moves to decrepit, race-torn, Irish-mob-ruled Bellmont after his parents’ brutal murder, the school’s basketball coach (a family friend) turns to team leader Finley to help him acclimate, but also to convince former-phenom Russ to play ball again; since the tragedy he goes only by “Boy21” and insists he’s from outer space. Despite inherent awkwardness, the two boys are immediately comfortable together: reserved, compassionate narrator Finley doesn’t push Boy21 to be someone he’s not ready to be, and a tender friendship develops. That basketball is only a cursory detail in their relationship becomes clearer when tragedy also strikes Finley’s life and basketball “just doesn’t seem so important anymore.” Russ’s alien alter ego gracefully, almost unnoticeably, dissolves as he sees his friend in similar anguish; his coping as Boy21 suddenly seems like a logical reaction to such disorienting pain. Fascination with the cosmos is a recurring theme, both as acknowledgment of our tininess within the enormous universe and as a soothing force of stability. Every aspect of this multilayered novel harmonizes: secondary characters such as Finley’s girlfriend Erin and his handicapped grandfather are artfully likable; non-gratuitous threads of organized crime and violence add grittiness and are woven through the plot with finesse; excellently set-up twists display Quick’s mastery of pacing; authentic dialogue and deft character development ensure both our emotional investment in these richly complex boys and also our empathizing with their main commonality—feeling like “you’re not the person on the outside that you are on the inside.”

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Susan Katz on The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub

Jennifer M. Brabander — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:25:09 +0000

From the May/June 2012 issue of The Horn Book Magazine:

Jennifer Brabander asks The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub author Susan Katz about writing presidential poetry. Read the full review of The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub here.

Jennifer Brabander: Which president was the hardest to write a poem about?

Susan Katz: James Monroe. The incident I used for his poem was the only unusual detail I was able to unearth, even after reading four or five biographies. One historian dubbed him “dull as a stone.” I’d have to concur. (The easiest to write a poem about, I unofficially add, was George W. Bush since he wrote half the poem for me!)

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Review of The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems about the Presidents

Betty Carter — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:20:16 +0000

The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems about the Presidents
by Susan Katz; illus. by Robert Neubecker
Primary, Intermediate Clarion 64 pp.
2/12 978-0-547-18221-6 $17.99
In forty-three poems, Katz gives each of our U.S. presidents their due. She concentrates on little-known facts (William McKinley taught his parrot “Yankee Doodle”) but often slips in sly political observations. For example, the poem about President Obama entitled “Yo Mama” reveals many of the names he’s been called but ends with this respectful line: “Not a single snicker could anyone vent / at Obama’s new name, Mr. President.” The poems vary in form. Concrete poetry shaped like a stovepipe hat tells of Abraham Lincoln’s habit of hiding notes in his hat; “Where Didn’t George Washington Sleep?” is a list poem; and Woodrow Wilson’s “Baaad Sheep” is composed of five couplets. Some of the poems aurally echo their content; Rutherford B. Hayes’s “The President’s on the Phone” begs to be read in two voices, and Warren G. Harding’s fondness for alliteration comes out clearly: “Always an admirer of alliteration, / Harding hardly ever halted his habit of haranguing / crowds by constantly copying compatible consonants.” Neubecker’s digitally colored ink drawings brightly decorate each poem, emphasizing the playful tone without deconstructing the verse. Footnoting each poem is a more complete discussion of the highlighted event or character trait. Appended is a list of presidents with their dates in office; birth and death dates; nicknames; a “first” accomplishment of the man or office; and a famous quote.

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Bob Graham on A Bus Called Heaven

Cynthia K. Ritter — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:06:17 +0000

From the May/June 2012 issue of The Horn Book Magazine:
Cynthia Ritter asks A Bus Called Heaven author/illustrator Bob Graham about the idea behind his new picture book. Read the full review of A Bus Called Heaven here.

Cynthia Ritter: Was your inspiration for the book a real bus?

Bob Graham: I did see such a bus parked in the street, and I learned our granddaughter Rosie had looked inside.

I said, “What did you see, Rose?” A girl of few words, she replied, “Candles.” It was not the vehicle’s contents that inspired my first scribbling, it was the image of a child on tiptoe peering into the windows of an old bus with a package-taped sign reading “Heaven.”

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If Babies Ran The Horn Book, Part 4 of 4

Elissa Gershowitz — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:15:37 +0000

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Review of A Confusion of Princes

Deirdre Baker — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:32:21 +0000

A Confusion of Princes
by Garth Nix
Middle School, High School    Harper/HarperCollins    337 pp.
5/12    978-0-06-009694-6    $17.99
Library ed. 978-0-06-009695-3    $18.89    g
Nix’s gaming-inspired, sci-fi fantasy is a pleasing mix of high-adventure space drama, total bunkum (e.g., “it’s functioning on the tertiary backup level, without a holo…”), and wry, boyish charm. Khemri’s coming-of-age story begins with his emergence from years of genetic and technical “remaking” to take up his title of Prince. But he’s only one of millions of Princes in the Empire, and immediately finds that Princely life isn’t the easy, glamorous ride he’d imagined. Instead he has to join the Navy, suffer manifold humiliations, and, if he wants to live, heed his personal Master of Assassins. But Khemri’s telepathic intelligence is above average, and eventually he moves into a new sort of training that involves him becoming an almost normal human. That experience and his native intelligence cause him to reinterpret everything he’s been taught about the Empire. Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels.

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If Babies Ran The Horn Book, Part 3 of 4

Elissa Gershowitz — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:49:29 +0000

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Review of Animal Masquerade

Kathleen T. Horning — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:58:58 +0000

Animal Masquerade
by Marianne Dubuc; trans. from  the French by Yvette Ghione;  illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary Kids Can 120 pp.
3/12 978-1-55453-782-2 $16.95
For kids who never tire of driving one joke into the ground, this is the perfect book—and for their adults, there are enough surprises to make that one joke tolerable for repeated readings. There are fifty-three animals headed for a costume party, each one disguised as  the next animal in line. Six additional party guests/disguises include Little  Red Riding Hood, a three-headed  monster, a unicorn, a poppy, and a chocolate cake. Of course, it’s funny  to see a mouse disguised as a flamingo, a flamingo disguised as a giraffe, and a giraffe disguised as a millipede— suffice it to say that none of the disguises are going to fool anyone—but a little of this goes a long way. Just when you think you’ve had enough, the text breaks the pattern: for example, the bear chases Little Red Riding Hood (disguised as a chocolate cake) before he puts on his own snail costume. The dromedary is roundly criticized for disguising himself as a camel (too easy!), and the hen is simply too stupid to participate. The pencil crayon illustrations show each animal before and after they don their disguises, and they all march from left to right across the page, headed to a party that’s shown in a final wordless double-page spread. “Welcome to the masquerade!”

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Review of Summer in the City

Dean Schneider — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:31:54 +0000

Summer in the City
by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel; illus. by Marie-Louise Gay
Intermediate    Groundwood    151 pp.
4/12    978-1-55498-177-9    $15.95    g
e-book ed. 978-1-55498-200-4    $15.95
Sixth grade is almost over, summer’s approaching, and Charlie’s parents haven’t revealed the family’s summer plans yet. What great adventure is in store? In the past, they’ve been caught in a revolution in Mexico, gotten sandblasted in the desert, ridden out hurricanes on the coast, and faced down hungry alligators in a swamp. As it turns out, times are a little hard this year, so Charlie and his younger brother Max will have a “stay-cation”: they will have to make their own fun in their hometown of Montreal. And so they do, with each chapter relating adventures that inevitably become misadventures. The summer begins with relatively tame efforts—rescuing cats, walking dogs, camping out in the backyard—but escalates to dirty, tattooed Santas riding motorcycles; a thrilling rescue from a stranded car during the storm of the century; a goldfish named Jaws landing in the toilet; and a baseball game interrupted by medieval knights. Who needs trips abroad with so much happening right at home? With energy and enthusiasm, spelled out with many an exclamation point and with added black-and-white illustrations for visual appeal, Summer in the City continues the adventures related in previous novels Travels with My Family and On the Road Again!

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If Babies Ran The Horn Book, Part 2 of 4

Elissa Gershowitz — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:15:35 +0000

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