HarperTeen - 9780380731480  

Marirosa Mia: Julie in the future when I have children, I'm dropping them off with you to be raised, ok?

Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno               Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu

      Harper Collins - 9780690012873                          Dial Books - 9780803733282

Mia: I think it's interesting that for our second posting we've picked two wordless picture books. We're writers after all.  We make our living putting words together in some sort of continuous stream.  But there was something about these two (yes, two!) books that just charmed our pants off.  I have absolutely no illustrating talent, and I'm pretty sure Julie doesn't either.  Right, Julie? Unless you've kept your burgeoning talent in watercolor hidden from me.  

Julie:  Good heavens, no.  No talent whatsoever.

Mia: It's an unfair world, I tell you!  A few things signal a good wordless picture book for me. First off: envy. I wish I'd "written" the book myself. And secondly, I can't fathom what words would do justice to or enhance what's already on the page. Recently, I had exactly those reactions to a picture book: WONDER BEAR, by Tao Nyeu. The first thing that got attention was the spine. Yes, the spine! It has to be good if just the spine is getting my attention, right? And I was not disappointed.  Once I started the journey, I was carried into an adorable and whimsical world. The story centers on two siblings who one day decide to plant some seeds. While the little girl plants watermelon seeds, the little boy decides he's going to grow himself some hats.  He plants those instead. The hat seeds grow overnight into a large beanstalk-like plant, and out emerges Wonder Bear!  With the use of this magical hat, Wonder Bear proceeds to enchant the siblings with monkeys and dolphins and and . . .you get the drift.  It's a bit like THE CAT IN THE HAT, except this time the cat doesn't cause a ruckus. Ha!  The illustrations are charming and whimsical, and I want to just rip them off the page and frame them. Children will love making up new stories to accompany the magical adventures! What about you Julie? What wordless picture book rocked your world?

Julie: It's bold, but I'll say it:  There is no better way to introduce a child to numbers that ANNO'S COUNTING BOOK, by the immensely talented illustrator Mitsumasa Anno.  Each number from 0 to 12 gets its own beautiful, two-page watercolor painting.  For 0, Anno paints a hillside and nothing more.  For 1, he paints the same hillside in January, the first month of the year, and adds 1 child building 1 snowman in front of 1 house, 1 tree, and 1 crow.  And so it goes.  Each month, everything about the hillside (the weather, the color of the grass, the clothing worn by the characters) changes to match the season, and Anno includes the relevant number of buildings, trees, children, adults, animals, and other surprises.  Many of the paintings suggest a story (as when 2 men argue outside of two stopped trucks).  I miss sitting with my girls and counting donkeys, or dragonflies, just to make sure he painted the right number.  (He always did.)  It's a picture book I'll never give up, even though my girls long ago moved beyond counting books and even though I'm in desperate need of bookshelf space.  And I do mean desperate.      

Mia: I know I've seen your shelves! I envy them. 

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Wendy Lamb Books - 9780385737425

Julie: It was so easy choosing Rebecca Stead’s WHEN YOU REACH ME as our first recommendation.  We’d both read it recently; we’d both loved it; it was the obvious choice.  But now I’m having a hard time putting together a simple summary of this middle-grade novel.  There are so many interesting story lines that should have little to do with one another, but Stead ties them together so cleverly.  Here are a couple of my favorites:  the mom trying desperately to win the jackpot on a game show; the best friend who gets punched by a stranger and then withdraws; the mysterious villain.  But there's still so much more to say about what happens!    

Marirosa Mia: I feel you, Julie. Every time I try to sum up this lovely and engaging book I feel like I fall short of what it was truly about and how much I enjoyed it. Just bums me out. I mean, where to start? The sci-fi? The homage to A WRINKLE IN TIME? Who knows. How about:  This is a story of a sixth-grade girl in Manhattan named Miranda . . . (I especially like the ellipses because it implies mystery.) And go from there?

J:  This is the story of a sixth-grade girl in Manhattan named Miranda who must respond to a series of mysterious messages in order to prevent a tragic death.  I think that’s the best I can do!  Maybe discussing what we liked best about the book will be easier.  I like how Stead takes a very interesting idea about time travel and uses it to create tension and suspense that drive the story.  And you?

M: What I love about this book is that it takes the idea of time travel/science fiction and makes it normal. It's not about fancy gadgets and space (not that this is a bad thing), but just another way of experiencing life—which is what good fiction does. Steps out of the genre. Or is more than its genre. I don't know if it's her writing style or just the pace of the story, but it's a book that makes me confident in handing it to someone else and going, "Just read it," without asking, "What kind of books do you like?" It also makes me want to read all of Stead's other work.

J:  That’s so nicely put!

M: How about cons? Was there anything in the piece you could have done without?

J:  I don't think there's anything I could have done without.  It's a slender novel, and every scene has a purpose.  My only quibble is that over time, the idea of the story has stayed with me more than the characters have.  I don't really miss being in their world, the way I do after finishing my very favorite books.  It doesn't rise to that level, for me, though I still think it's very good.  Do you agree?

M:  Hmm. I understand what you mean. What stays with me after I read a good/great book is the feeling I had while reading it. I definitely had a strong emotional connection with the book as I read it - but this was definitely not character specific but rather the book as a whole and the way it was told. Actually, come to think of it - I think we are in agreement about this one! Want to come to a joint conclusion that we heartily recommend picking up the book?

J: Yes, let's heartily recommend that!