How to use this Page

Star Wars: Jedi Academy. by Jeffrey Brown. August 27, 2013. Scholastic. 160 pages. ISBN: 9780545505178

Roan, a native of Tatooine has always expected to be accepted to the Pilot Academy, where he will learn to fly just like his grandfather, father, and older brother before him. When he is accepted to the Jedi Academy instead, he doesn’t understand why - and neither do his classmates, many of whom have been training as Jedi from birth. Nonetheless, Roan shows up at school for the most difficult year of his life, which will involve gym class taught by a Wookiee, cryptic advice from a short green guy called Yoda, and learning to use something called the force, without trying to learn how to use it.

While Tom Angleberger brings Star Wars characters and references into the middle school environment in his wildly popular Origami Yoda books, Jeffrey Brown does just the opposite - he brings middle school to the Star Wars universe. What a great idea! This book combines the two things male readers in grades 3 to 8 love more than anything else: the Star Wars franchise and stories told in drawings and diary entries. If I were a nine-year-old boy, I doubt I could imagine a more perfect book.

Roan’s story is pretty typical of most school stories, in that it follows him through an academic year as he becomes accustomed to new friends and a new environment. To be honest, not very much about that aspect of the story is all that memorable. What keeps the story moving is the reader’s curiosity about how Roan’s story fits into the Star Wars canon. Though I am by no means a die-hard fan, I think Brown does a great job of telling a new story set in this universe without deviating too much from George Lucas’s vision. Readers who know a lot about Star Wars will be pleased to find that the references Brown makes to places and characters created by Lucas make sense in this new context, and that the Jedi Academy does not exist in a vacuum. Readers who don’t know much about Star Wars won’t be lost, though, because Roan is as new to the way of the Jedi as any Star Wars novice. He can’t even understand Yoda when he first meets him!

Finding this book an audience won’t be difficult. Recommend it to fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Smile, Drama, Dear Dumb Diary, and Clueless McGee. Libraries should plan to purchase multiple copies - I expect this book to be popular and for kids to “forget” to bring it back.

I received a digital ARC of Star Wars: Jedi Academy from Scholastic via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

Love is in the Air by Jonathan Fenske. December 27, 2012. Penguin Young Readers. 32 pages. ISBN: 9780448461601

Love is in the Air by Jonathan Fenske is a new (December 2012) Level 2 easy reader published by Penguin Young Readers. It is designated for the “progressing reader” and its Guided Reading Level is H. After a party, Balloon is left all alone, tied to a table. Just as he starts to droop, along comes Kite, a new friend who invites Balloon to fly with her. Balloon manages to break free, but then he flies higher than Kite. Once they are side by side, they have lots of fun... until the wind dies down and Balloon runs into a bird with a sharp beak. Is this friendship doomed to deflate?

In this, his very first book, Fenske has done everything exactly right. He creates lovable characters out of everyday objects, and gives them personality and significance in just a few simple words and images. Each word of the text is important, and none is extraneous; his writing is aptly economical and perfectly suited to the reading abilities of his audience. There are also some great artistic moments that set the writing apart. Alliterative phrases like “rose on the breeze,” “cool clouds” and “down drifted Kite” give the text a pleasing poetic sound. Onomatopoeia enhances but does not take over the text, appearing only in speech bubbles to express sounds such as “Doink!” and “Plop!” This approach works so well, because readers get both the rich vocabulary of the story and the fun of those silly sound words.

The use of panels and speech bubbles give the book great visual appeal, and they work well with the cartoonish facial expressions of the two main characters. Fenske also makes great use of white space, giving the characters lots of room to move around. The result is that the illustrations feel almost animated. Visual hints that the story is set in the sky are minimal, but that sense of movement makes it impossible to forget that we’re meant to be floating on the breeze.

The relationship between the two characters is also perfect for the easy reader audience. Romances aren’t great for early elementary school kids, but gentle friendship stories still appeal to them. Kids will be intrigued by the idea of a balloon and a kite becoming friends, and they will be excited by the problems they have in being together, and ultimately comforted by the story’s sweet and happy ending. This sweetness also makes it a perfect easy reader for preschoolers who start reading early.

Love is in the Air is definitely one of my new favorite books, and I can’t wait to see more of Fenske’s fresh style. Watch for his second book, Guppy Up, out this month!

I received a review copy of Love is in the Air from the author.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Wedgieman to the Rescue. by Charise Mericle Harper, illustrated by Bob Shea. February 12, 2013. Random House. 48 pages. ISBN: 9780307930729

Wedgieman to the Rescue is a level 3 easy reader from Random House’s Step into Reading series. In his second adventure, Veggieman (aka Wedgieman) comes up against Bad Dude, a villain keen on zapping the playground and forcing all the kids to work in his factory. Not only does Wedgieman come through to save the kids, but the kids give Bad Dude a toilet-themed nickname of his own.

I like Veggieman as a character, and I think the tone and illustrations of this book are spot-on for the target age group. Unfortunately, I think the assumption that kids are bad spellers, and that the only jokes they laugh at are related to underwear and poop, is a major weakness. Kids reading at this level know about the silent E at the end of certain words, and they would know better than to pronounce “dude” as “doodie.” I think the average child likes at least some vegetables, so trying to use toilet humor to make them more palatable doesn’t really work either. While Veggieman isn’t really an objectionable personality, I don’t understand why the hero of a children’s book is this man who lets kids bully him and call him names, and who seems to think so little of their intelligence. Odd choice.

Wedgieman to the Rescue might appeal to fans of the first book, but it’s not among Harper’s best. As an alternative superhero series, try Marvel’s Superhero Squad series, two titles in which I have reviewed. Wedgieman to the Rescue will be published on February 12.
 
I received a digital ARC of Wedgieman to the Rescue from Random House via Edelweiss. 

For more about this book visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

Wedgieman: A Hero is Born. by Charise Mericle Harper, illustrated by Bob Shea. August 7, 2012. 48 pages. ISBN: 9780375970580

Wedgieman: A Hero is Born is a level 3 easy reader from Random House’s Step into Reading series. (In this series, Level 3 is for readers who can read independently, and the back of the book promises engaging characters, easy-to-follow plots, and popular topics.) Though the title suggests comparisons to the Captain Underpants series, I am happy to report that Wedgieman is somewhat less gross than the famed chapter book hero. In fact, Wedgieman starts out as Veggiebaby, then Veggieboy, and finally Veggieman, a superhero who wants to help kids eat their vegetables and stay healthy. (I like to think of him as Captain Vegetable for the 21st Century.) Wedgieman only gets his new underwear-inspired nickname after a mix-up with the letter on his uniform and a run-in with some kids who are fond of toilet humor.

While I don’t necessarily think the plot of this book is the most original thing in the world, I have to say that the telling of the story and the artwork really stand out from other easy readers. Charise Mericle Harper’s sense of humor is perfect for early elementary school students, and Bob Shea’s illustrations give the book the cartoonish feel it needs to draw in superhero fans. Harper makes great use of alliteration early in the book when she describes the shapes Veggiebaby can build out of his food (broccoli bears, spinach spiders, etc.) and again when she talks about the mess Veggiebaby makes while eating (peas in his pants, cabbage on the cat, etc.) Though the story doesn’t give a lot of room for description, Harper works in a few great lines showing, rather than telling us, about things like Veggieboy’s strength. “He held a bus full of chattering grandmas high in the air” is just about the best sentence I can imagine to convey a superhero’s super abilities.

The underwear humor in the second half of the book isn’t my cup of tea, but I know a lot of kids - both boys and girls - who are in that stage right now who will laugh themselves silly when they read this book. I also think there is something appealing about a bumbling superhero character who isn’t as smart or as savvy as the kids around him. That kind of humor works well for this age group, even if I do think the kids’ gossiping and name-calling is a bit mean-spirited.

All in all, Wedgieman is a promising new series sure to appeal to fans of other funny easy reader series like Fly Guy, George and Martha, and Elephant and Piggie as well as to readers who enjoy the Super Friends and other Marvel and DC comics easy readers.

I borrowed Wedgieman: A Hero is Born from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

NOTE: This book was nominated by LoriA for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Book category. I am a first-round panelist in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!

Add a Comment

The Hobbit. by J.R.R. Tolkien. 1965 (1937). Ballantine Books. 287 pages.

The Hobbit is one of those books I have always intended to read. As a kid, I was deeply disturbed by watching part of the Rankin-Bass movie, and that put me off the entire thing basically until the Lord of the Rings movies came out. Then I was suddenly all about Frodo, and I got very into the whole Tolkien universe. But I still didn’t read The Hobbit. Now, once again, I’m ashamed to say that I’m being motivated to read a book because its movie is coming out. I hope that it saves some face to say that the copy I read was the authorized paperback edition from 1965 and not a 2012 edition with the movie cover, but I’m still pretty ashamed that it took me this long to read a classic.

The Hobbit follows the adventures of reluctant traveler Bilbo Baggins, who is selected by Gandalf to accompany an expedition of dwarves who plan to fight a dragon and win back the treasure they lost years and years ago. As compared with Lord of the Rings, this book is much less dark and less violent. Bilbo does find himself in dangerous situations fairly often, but even when others around him perish or are injured, he is spared the majority of the pain and suffering. I imagine this is because The Hobbit is intended as a children’s story, and that Tolkien wanted to incorporate excitement and adventure, but without scaring his audience so much they’d want to stop reading.

I enjoy Tolkien’s writing, and even read sections of this book aloud to myself in my empty house to just really appreciate the words and descriptions that he puts together. I was disappointed, though, that this book lacked a lot of the high stakes and subtlety of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I had gotten the impression somehow that there were more obvious connections between the two stories than I actually found. It was fun to read about Bilbo’s first encounter with Gollum, wherein he comes to possess the ring that causes all that trouble later on, but I had always imagined that Gollum had a huge role in The Hobbit, and in reality he gets just one chapter. I was thankful for the other characters I got to meet, however, especially Beorn, the large man who can morph into a bear. (He reminded me somewhat of Tom Bombadil, one of my favorite LOTR characters, and I can only hope that they won’t cut Beorn from the film the way they did Tom.) I also have the same affection for Gandalf that I do for Albus Dumbledore. I sighed in relief each time he reappeared in the story, and his relationship with Bilbo is very touching, especially knowing what it will be like in the future stories.

I’m not a fantasy reader, I always say, but The Hobbit is one of those books that everyone should read, regardless of the genre you feel most comfortable with. It’s a bit dense for inexperienced readers to enjoy alone, but it would be a perfect family read-aloud. Kids like stories about defeating dragons, and Bilbo is child-like enough that kids can imagine themselves in his shoes and follow him on his journey. The nice thing about fantasy titles, too, is that they don’t get dated as quickly as realistic fiction titles. The world Tolkien has created can always exist in our imaginations, without the worry that some modern technology will change the way we think of it.

Anyone taking a child to see the first The Hobbit film this holiday season should definitely share the book with that child first. Kids who love Ranger’s Apprentice, Harry Potter, Last Apprentice, and Septimus Heap will feel right at home in Bilbo’s world, but many other types of readers can find something to love about it as well.

The copy of The Hobbit I read for this review came from my bedroom bookshelf.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Little Wings #2: Be Brave, Willa Bean! by Cecilia Galante, illustrated by Krista Valiant. December 27, 2011. Random House. 112 pages. ISBN: 9780375869488

This second book in the Little Wings series might be set in a fantasy world, but it deals with some real issues faced by kids in early elementary school. Willa Bean has learned to fly, but that doesn’t mean she’s completely confident. In fact, when it comes to flying high up into the air like her friends do during the playground game of Tip-Top, and flying at night in pitch darkness, she’s downright scared! When her sister gets into a sticky situation after sundown, Willa Bean is the only one who can help her. Will she face her fears and save the day?

I am a huge fan of the world Cecilia Galante has built for this series, and this second book immerses the reader even further into it. This time around, we learn that the days of the week have different names in Willa Bean’s world (Thursday is Thunderday, for example) and we find out that her father’s arrows, which he uses to help grown-up humans fall in love, are actually very special objects that can only be touched by members of the cupid’s family. We also learn more about Willa Bean’s owl, Snooze, who is sick with a cold. All of these details paint a rich portrait of Willa Bean’s fantasy world, making it easier for early chapter book readers to relate to it.

The other thing that struck me when I was reading this book was how much I love Willa Bean’s best friend, Harper. She’s much less timid than Willa, and willing to face the world head-on, and she encourages Willa Bean to take on things that scare her, and to look for the positive in life. Their friendship reminds me a lot of other chapter book best friendships - namely Mallory and Mary Anne from the Mallory McDonald series, and Grace and Mimi from the Just Grace books- where opposites attract and complement one another. Willa Bean’s fears of flying and the other fantasy elements of her school life also reminded me a lot of the Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy, which would make excellent read-alikes for the Little Wings series.

Read my review of the first Little Wings book, Willa Bean's Cloud Dreams here.

I borrowed Be Brave, Willa Bean! in Kindle format from the public library and read it on my Smartphone. 
For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Ride, Fly Guy, Ride! by Tedd Arnold. March 1, 2012. Scholastic Inc. 32 pages. ISBN: 9780545222761

In his 11th adventure, Fly Guy goes for a ride in the car with Buzz and his dad. When Buzz opens the window and puts his arm out, however, Fly Guy gets blown into a truck. The truck driver accidentally sucks him into his mouth, then spits him into a motor boat. From there, Fly Guy is bounced from one mode of transportation to the next until a rocket comes along. Will Fly Guy survive a trip to space?

It took me a while to get around to reading a Fly Guy book. They’re so popular, it can sometimes be hard to get my hands on them to begin with, but on top of that, they don’t really need very much promotion. Kids love Buzz and his pet fly and seek him out without any assistance from adults. Still, though, I’m glad I finally “discovered” the books during Cybils season, and that I was able to snag this one before it went out on the shelf at my library.

What I like so much about this newest title is that it focuses on a common story time theme: transportation. I have some books that I like on this subject, but many more songs and rhymes, so I’m always looking for something to pair those songs with that is entertaining and of high quality. Because this book involves all modes of transportation, it works well with almost anything, and on top of that, it’s a fun and entertaining read featuring characters kids love. I don’t think it’s the funniest of the series, but certainly readers with six-year-old senses of humor will love the moments of slapstick comedy where Fly Guy bounces off an elephant’s trunk, or gets stuck in an airplane’s wipers, and the last page, where Fly Guy makes it clear he has survived it all unscathed will tickle the funny bone of many silly kindergartners.

Read my review of the previous Fly Guy title, Fly Guy vs. The Flyswatter here. 

I borrowed Ride, Fly Guy, Ride from my local public library. 

Add a Comment

The Hop. by Sharelle Byars Moranville. March 20, 2012. Disney-Hyperion. 288 pages. ISBN: 9781423137368

The Hop is a forthcoming middle grade novel that retells the story of the Princess and the Frog (and/or The Frog Prince) from the points of view of a toad and a young girl named Taylor. Tad the toad is troubled because for the first time in his life, he has had a dream during his hibernation, which foretells danger for his home in Toadville-by-Tumbledown. Taylor, too, is burdened by worries. Her grandmother is fighting cancer, and the lake and land surrounding her grandmother's house have been sold to developers, who plan to fill in the lake and pave it over. Neither character knows it, but their fates are intertwined. Tad's home is near the very lake Taylor fights to save, and in order to save his fellow toads, Tad must be kissed by a human girl.

The story starts out really strong, with a lot of great description of the world of toads, and some great backstory on Taylor and her family. It's clear to the reader almost immediately how the two main characters' paths will intersect, and it's fun to see the characters figure it out as well. I did find that the story unravels somewhat as it goes on. The trip to Reno, though important for Taylor's understanding of her straitlaced parents' more relaxed sides, seems random, and maybe not necessary to the overall plot. Once the fantasy element is introduced, after that inevitable kiss, things speed up so much that the end of the story feels very rushed and almost unfinished. The book has a really nice, leisurely pace at the start, but really sprints toward the final page, leaving me feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

This criticism doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, though. The tone of the story is great, and I love the author's style. I am not always into fairy tale retellings, but this one has a nice contemporary spin on it, and makes things really interesting by incorporating the toad point of view. I really wished for more from the story, because I didn't get a real sense of how things turned out for Tad, whose psychic powers are only briefly explored, or of how the magic in the story was meant to work. I realize this might be a convention of the fairy tale genre, where magic doesn't always have an explanation, but just exists, naturally, like everything else, but it did bug me. Still, though, the fact that I was left wanting more is a compliment to the author, whose writing hooked me and got me interested.

Recommend this book to budding activists with a strong interest in environmental issues, as well as those girls who like fairy tales, but aren't crazy about princesses and damsels in distress. The Hop will be published on March 20, 2012, just in time for Spring!

I received a digital ARC of The Hop from Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Polina Panova is a seamstress who lives in Venice, California. Georges and Cecile are ducks who live on the canal outside Polina's door. They consider themselves to be French, and Polina to be a beautiful princess. Georges and Cecile also romanticize Polina's "prince," a movie star named Sebastian Sterling. One day, though, their romantic notions come crashing down when Sebastian announces that he must go, and leaves Polina behind. Georges, despite Cecile's disapproval, can't imagine how Polina will move on without Sebastian and begins immediately trying to mend Polina's broken heart. What he - as well as the reader - learn, however, is that healing takes time, and though we can become happy again, we never fully forget those we love and lose.

This modern fairy tale's important message works on a couple of levels. The first and most obvious interpretation is a challenge to the happily ever after motif popularized by the Disney princess franchise. Polina is a princess not just because she's pretty and has a handsome boyfriend. Rather, it is her talent as a dressmaker and her kindness toward her duck friends that truly define her. When Sebastian leaves, she is suitably sad, but there is never a moment where she grovels, begs, or even feels truly sorry for herself. She is willing to let go, and to allow herself to heal and move on. In a world where princesses almost always wind up married to princes, this book's focus on the princess as a person, rather than as a part of a romanticized pairing is a welcome and refreshing change.

The second interpretation of this story actually focuses more on the ducks, who I saw as the child characters of the story. Georges and Cecile love Polina, and they are confused and hurt when Sebastian, whom they previously trusted, hurts their beloved friend. They can't understand why Sebastian and Polina can't work things out, and they want to find the quick fix that will bring everything back to normal. In my mind, these feelings parallel the way children sometimes feel when parents divorce, or a parent's partner is suddenly out of the picture. Without being overly didactic, this book teaches children how to channel those feelings and provides the comforting reassurance that even when we lose someone we love, life goes on, as does happiness.

French Ducks in Venice is a book unlike any others I have read this year. It combines elements of fairy tale fantasy with the realities of loss and empathy, and creates this unique world where talking ducks make sense, and strawberry jam is the key to a beautiful dress. Erin McGuire's illustrations beautifully depict the environment of the canal. There are some truly gorgeous scenes featuring wide expanses of sea and sky that are so atmospheric I felt as though I could reach out and truly touch them. The ducks, though accurately drawn as ducks for  the most part, also have these little sparks of personality in their eyes and beaks that bring them to life as characters and will keep kids interested even when Polina must deal with more adult issues. I also thought it was a really interesting choice on McGuire's part that she never shows Sebastian's face. This is one story that is not about the prince, and excluding his face from the illustrations really drives that point home, and focuses our attention where it belongs - on Polina's journey from disappointment to renewed happiness.

I think the audience for this

Add a Comment

Toys Come Home is actually a prequel to Toys Go Out and Toy Dance Party, but I have never read either of those, so I’m really reviewing this book in isolation. This story is mainly about a toy stingray and how she comes to be in the possession of a little girl who also owns several other toys. It is also - among other things - about what happens when a toy is lost, how a sheep who apparently figures heavily into the other two books loses an ear, the cliqueishness of the towels living in the linen closet, and the warmth associated with being the toy chosen to sleep in the big bed.

I have loved every book I’ve read by Emily Jenkins but I was very unexpectedly blown away by Toys Come Home. I’ve seen Jenkins do witty and funny in her YA novels written as E. Lockhart. I’ve loved her picture books, especially The Little Bit Scary People, for turning stereotypes on their heads and challenging kids not to be judgmental. I also loved Invisible Inkling for its wonderfully imaginative creation of an invisible species. And Toys Come Home is the book that completes my portrait of this author. It is yet another side to her writing, that beautiful, emotional, nostalgic tone that we often see as a sign of great children’s literature.

This book contains so much that will undoubtedly turn it into a classic. Each word is chosen so carefully, to convey exactly the thought or emotion the character experiences. From the first moment of the story, when Stingray first becomes aware that she is sentient, and that she has found a new home, the reader is just immersed in this gorgeous stream of consciousness that conveys exactly what it would be like if toys had feelings. And the toys in this book have many feelings - joy, sorrow, grief, loneliness, uncertainty, fear, bravery, love. They question their existence and speculate about the girl’s feelings for them. They watch out for one another, and over time, grow from uncertain newcomers into leaders.

It’s amazing what Jenkins has done with such a simple concept - toys that come to life. Within the world she has created, there are so many opportunities to explore the bigger questions that kids and all human beings must wrestle with. It’s the kind of book that really gets into your mind and doesn’t easily leave again. I am really looking forward to reading the other two books to find out what else happens in this series.

I would recommend this book, honestly, to anyone, even very small kids who would need to have it read aloud. In terms of reading independently, however, it is on the high end of the early chapter book spectrum, and probably most appropriate for kids reading at the third grade level.

I read Toys Come Home at my local Barnes & Noble store.

NOTE: This book was nominated by Becky<

2 Comments on Review: Toys Come Home by Emily Jenkins (Cybils Nominee), last added: 10/21/2011

Display Comments Add a Comment

The Trouble with Chickens is a chapter book by Doreen Cronin, who is the author of a bunch of hilarious picture books, including Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. In this, her first longer book for kids, she introduces us to J.J. Tully, a retired search-and-rescue dog, who despite his suspicion of chickens, is roped into helping Millicent, whom he calls Moosh, find her lost baby chicks. The story is told in the first person, mainly from J.J.'s point of view, and includes lots of humor, interesting vocabulary, and several surprise plot twists.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. Not only was it laugh out loud funny, with clever turns of phrase and well-timed punchlines, it was also just really well-written. The first sentence alone is fantastic: "It was a hot, sunny day when I met that crazy chicken." But that is just the beginning of the wonderful ways Cronin plays with language throughout the text. J.J.'s voice is absolutely perfect for his character. His deadpan tone and wry sense of humor really create the atmosphere of the story and wonderfully develop his character as a dog with a dangerous past, who has seen it all.  Cronin also creates these great rules and concepts that define how animals behave and interact with one another. J.J. notes the differences between indoor and outdoor words, for example. He also calculates time according to species. An hour in dog time is seven hours in people time, "[w]hich translates into forty-three hours in chicken time." There is a human in the story - Barb is the owner of J.J., the chickens, and Vince, the rival dog who lives in the house - but the drama of the book belongs solely to the animals and especially to the duplicity of the chickens.

I think it's really difficult to write a story for early readers that is both easy enough to read and interesting enough to attract readers. Cronin has managed not only to entertain me with this story, but also to produce a really sophisticated book that shifts between points of view, tricks the reader with red herrings, and comes together in a clever surprise ending. I do think some of those sophisticated aspects make it a book for kids on the older end of the early chapter book audience - eight and nine year olds, most likely - but it's a definite standout of the genre for this year, and one of my favorite 2011 reads.

I borrowed The Trouble with Chickens from my local public library.

NOTE: This book was nominated by Amanda Snow for the 2011 Cybils Awards in the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Book category. I am a first-round panelist in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!

Add a Comment

Breadcrumbs is a modernized retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. The main character is Hazel Anderson, a fifth-grader who feels very much like an outsider. Because her father has left and no longer supports the family, Hazel must change schools from the progressive, creative school she loves, to the public school, where she struggles to follow the rules and make friends with her classmates. She's also adopted, and contemplating the early days of her childhood in India that she cannot remember. The only bright spot Hazel sees in her life is her best friend and next door neighbor Jack. Though Jack struggles with his own problems - namely his mother's deteriorating mental state - he always makes Hazel feel like she belongs.

Things are changing between Hazel and Jack, though. He wants to spend more and more time with the boys, sometimes leaving Hazel on her own during recess. One day, after he gets hit in the face with a snowball that inexplicably contains a shard of glass, he cruelly insults Hazel, calling her a baby and refusing to spend time with her. Hazel can't help but feel like something very wrong has happened to cause such a dramatic change in her best friend - and after a while, she learns she is right. One of Jack's friends saw him head into the woods with a woman made of snow and ice. Hazel isn't sure what waits for her among the trees, but she is sure that, even if Jack doesn't care about her anymore, she must be the one to save him.

This book is way outside my usual reading interests. I'm typically not a fantasy reader, and I'm not crazy about fairy tales. When I won this book in a giveaway, however, and then heard such great things about it from bloggers like Elizabeth Bird  and Abby the Librarian, I decided to give it a chance. It took me exactly one page to be hooked, and I read the entire thing within 12 hours of starting it.

What drew me in is Anne Ursu's beautiful way with words. From the very first page, where she describes a mid-winter snowfall, I was drawn in to her language, and drank it up, wanting more. I love the way, for example, that she introduces the reader to Hazel and her neighborhood:

That morning, Hazel Anderson ran out of her small house in her white socks and green thermal pajamas. She leapt over the threshold of the house onto the front stoop where she stood, ignoring the snow biting at her ankles, to take in the white street. Everything was pristine. No cars had yet left their tracks to sully the road. The small squares of lawn that lay in front of each of  the houses like perfectly aligned place mats seemed to stretch beyond the boundaries of their chain-link fences and join together as one great field of white. A thick blanket of snow covered each roof as if to warm and protect the house underneath.

Not only is this a gorgeous image, but it establishes the importance of cold and snow to the story that follows.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is set almost entirely in the real world. The first four chapters mention no magic at all, but we do get a glimpse at the start of chapter five:

0 Comments on Review: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu (ARC) as of 1/1/1900