36. Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

listened on Libby

306 pgs. (11:34)

Adult Magical Realism/ Dark Fairy Tale
Finished 77/23/25
Goodreads rating: 3.71
My rating: 4
Setting: Small Town Alaska - in the woodsy mountains

My comments: Oh my, what a story.  It was fairly slow-paced, which for once didn't really bother me, and I guess I'd consider it a realistic dark fairy tale.  Someone called it haunting.  Oh yes.  And tragic.  Sad.  Mesmerizing.  Long-winded in places....and touching. Told in three voices:  Birdie, the mother; Amaleen, her daughter; and Arthur's father.  Most of the story focuses around Arthur.  And although I wasn't too fond of listening to the endless ramblings of six-year-old Amaleen, I realized by the end how important her voice is to the story.

Goodreads synopsis:  An unforgettable dark fairy tale that asks, Can love save us from ourselves?

Birdie’s keeping it together; of course she is. So she’s a little hungover sometimes, and she has to bring her daughter, Emaleen, to her job waiting tables at an Alaskan roadside lodge, but she’s getting by as a single mother in a tough town. Still, Birdie can remember happier times from her youth, when she was free in the wilds of nature.

Arthur Neilsen, a soft-spoken and scarred recluse who appears in town only at the change of seasons, brings Emaleen back to safety when she gets lost in the woods. Most people avoid him, but to Birdie he represents everything she’s ever longed for. She finds herself falling for Arthur and the land he knows so well. Against the warnings of those who care about them, Birdie and Emaleen move to his isolated cabin in the mountains on the far side of the Wolverine River.

It’s just the three of them in the vast black woods, far from roads, telephones, electricity, and outside contact, but Birdie believes she has come prepared. At first, it’s idyllic, but soon Birdie discovers that Arthur is something much more mysterious and dangerous than she could have imagined, and that like the Alaska wilderness, a fairy tale can be as dark as it is beautiful.

Picture Book - A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee by Chris VanDusen

Illustrated by the author

2003, Chronicle Books, San Francisco

28 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.36 - 1055 ratings

My rating:  5!!!!

1^st line/s:  “Early one morning at 7:03,

     Mr. Magee and his little dog, Dee,

Packed up the camper and hitched up the load.

     Hopped in the Rambler and then hit the road.

They drove to the mountains, far from the sea,

      For two nights of camping (or possibly three).”

My comments: Perhaps I love this VanDusen as much as Circus Ship (which has been my all-time favorite for the past couple of years).  Great, funny story, rhyming BRILLIANTLY, with just the coolest illustrations ever.  SO Maine!  I couldn’t love a picture book more!  Full of adventure and humor, a bear, trying to get at the yummy marshmallows, disconnects the camping trailer from the car and down the  hill the camper plunders…into the river and towards a waterfall!

Goodreads:  Mr. Magee and his trusty dog, Dee, are enjoying a peaceful camping trip when all of a sudden they find themselves plunging down a mountain and teetering on the edge of a huge waterfall! How will they find their way out of this slippery situation? Chris Van Dusen, the creator of Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, has filled this new adventure with charming illustrations and a playful, rhyming text. A fun read-aloud for children (and adults!) on campouts or snuggling at home!

Christmas Storytime at the Library

I read three books aloud to preschoolers today, I chose ones with three different animals as protagonists. Then we glued sequins for ornaments, drew garlands with glitter crayons, and topped the pre-cut green construction paper tree with a sticky star.  Very cute, and manageable for little hands.  I had eight books to choose from and the ones I chose were big hits:

Merry Christmas, Merry Crow
by Kathi Appelt
Illustrated by Jon Goodell
2005, Harcourt, Inc.

     "Wind's a blowin'
Sky's a snowin'
     Where's this feathered
               fellow goin'?"

The crow glides through each double-page spread, collecting all sorts of tinsel and trinkets he finds laying around, to decorate a tree for all his flying friends.  Gorgeously illustrated, with no white edges (I love edge-of-page to edge-of-page illustrations), the continuous snowfall and merry Christmas shoppers and carolers make this a happy, fun book to share with kids.
     Goodreads rating:  3.93 - 87 ratings

Stowaway in a Sleigh
Written and illustrated by C. Roger Mader
2016 Houghton Mifflin

"It was the darkest hour of night when Slipper heard strange footsteps in the house."

Well, of course she went to investigate, and discovered Mr. Fuzzy Boots...and crawled into his now-empty cozy red bag. After she was whisked away to the North Pole where she made new friends, Santa made a special trip back to Slippers' house to return her.  My little listener was at first a little distressed when she realized that Slippers might not be able to get home again, but enjoyed the story and the illustrations greatly.  Again the gorgeous illustrations covered each entire double-page spread from edge to edge and accentuated the story superbly.
     Goodreads rating:  4.15 - 161 ratings

Bear Stays Up for Christmas
by Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Jane Chapman
2004, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon & Schuster

"The day before Christmas,
snuggled on his floor,
Bear sleeps soundly
with a great big snore."

Bear has such a tough time staying up once his friends awaken him for Christmas...it is time for his "big sleep" after all, but when it comes time for them to doze off on Christmas Eve, he has a wonderful time preparing surprises for them to find in the morning.  A very cute story, again with many double-page spreads.  Three winners today!
     Goodreads:  4.28 - 6,938 ratings



   

3 PICTURE BOOKS by Mary Murphy

I found all three of these at the Arivaca Library on 10/17/14.  The two librarians there turned me on to Mary Murphy.

Koala and the Flower

2001 Roaring Brook Press

HC & price

28 pgs  (I wonder if the end pages might have been pulled out?

Goodreads rating:

My rating: 4.5

     Badger and Raccoon see things n black and white.  They are always sure they are right.  Little gray Koala isn't sure about many things.  She asks lots of questions.
     What a clever book - and it has all sorts of atrributes!  Two pages of "graphic novel."  The appearance of a LIBRARY and BOOKS!  Two supposed friends who are subtle bullies.  The excitement of watching plants (flowers! grow from seeds with just a tiny bit of nurturing.  SO much to take in - and all of it was wonderful.

I Like It When ...
Board Book - 12 pgs.
1997

I like it when
     you hold my hand
     you let me help    (thank you)
     we eat new things   (surprise)
     we play peekaboo    (b00)
     you tickle me
     you dance with me
     you read to me
     you hug me tight
     we splash about
     we kiss goodnight

Say Hello Like This!
2014, Candlewick
ages 2 - 5
endpapers:  loud and cool - cows and cucks and chiks.

"A dog hello is licky and loud..."  (turn a half page and see what is described  - "a cat hello is prissy and proud"

Such a vibrant story - both in illustrations AND plot.  I'm not a huge animal person, but the front and back endpapers are just wonderful.

Otis & Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever - Laura Numeroff

Illustrated by Dan Andreasen
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 4/5
Endpapers: Light blue

This is a very cute story about friendship, about best friends, about enjoying the company and companionship of just each other - needing no other entertainment.

When Otis plans a surprise birthday party for this BFF Sydney, he puts the wrong date on the invitations....and no one shows up, of course, on the right date. All his planning doesn't go to waste, however. The two friends dress up and play and eat and have a blast together anyway.

Once again, it's the illustrations that I love most. Beautfiully inked black lines create the pictures, then they're colored in. The texture, the patterns, the facial expressions, the happiness, are all expressed in the illustrations. My favorite illustrations so far this year, I think!

This would be a great book for adults to give to their own BFFs!

Lousy, Rotten, Stinkin' Grapes - Margie Palatini

Illustrated by Barry Moser
Simon & Schuster, 2009
$15.99
32 pgs.
Endpapers: Grape-purple
Attractive cover

This retellling of the famous Aesop Fable "Sour Grapes" stars the wily fox PLUS a bear, a beaver, a porcupine, and a possum. Fox plans and plans, but his attempts to reach the grapes high in a tree (are the vines using the branches to twine around?) are futile. He interrups each of the animals as they are about to share a much easier way to reach the grapes, because he feels he is much more wily and sly than them. Wrong....of course.

The illustrations are lovely: Barry Moser.....need I say more? The story is a little repetetive and drawn out for me, but I think young kids would, for the most part, enjoy the repetition. A nice addition to an Aesop collection....but not vital.

The Biggest Bear - Lyn Ward

Caldecott Medal 1953
Houghton Mifflin, 1952/1980
paper $6.95
84 pages
Rating: 3.5

The illustrations in this 1953 Caldecott Award winner are brown and white and lovely. The story is definitely 50 years old.

Johnny Orchard goes out to hunt a bear as is the custom in the area, apparently. However, he befriends a baby bear, takes him home, and makes a pet of him. The bear eats and grows, eats and grows, until he becomes somewhat of a menace looking for food. The father tells the boy that the bear must go back to live in the woods.

Of course he's too late. No matter where or how far he takes the now-grown bear, he always finds his way back. So only one thing can be done. The boy takes his rifle and heads out into the woods. But, instead of shooting him, they are captured in a huge trap. The zoo is looking for animals, and the zoo is where this huge bear will now live out the rest of his life.

Blech!

The pictures are very cool.

The story....well....is it still believable for some parts of the rural U. S? Because I don't think it was written as a tongue-in-cheek story. Did it match the times? Or is it just my-own-personal-anti-gun thing? Needless to say, many aspects of the story didn't do much for me. I've got to read more of these older award-winners...will this run true with others?

Magic Box - Katie Cleminson

Published: 2009
for: Ages 3-7
Hyperion Books for Children
Rating: 4
$15.99
Endpapers: Blue and red splatters washed across the top of page, musical score with rabbits instead of notes across the bottom.

This UK artist has created a simple story of an imaginative young girl. It's the glorious illustrations that I loved about this book. It's mostly black and white, with the exception of faint red shadings on Eva's shirt -- and bold splotches and droplets of oranges, reds, and blues sweeping across the background of each page.

For her birthday, Eva receives a box that contains Monty, a big white bear. But abracadabra, with a flick of a wand she creates floating rabbits, delicious food, and magical music to dance to.

Great fun!

Roawr! - Barbara Joosse

Illustrator: Jan Jutte
2009
Rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Med. Egg Yellow

This book is somewhat reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak).

"One dark and snarly night when Papa was away, and Liam was a-snuggled in, he heard the forest crack and snap!"

To protect his Mama, because he knew there was something big and scary outside, he sets off to capture whatever "it" is. And what is it? A hungry bear. After he captures the bear, clever Liam discovers its hunger and figures out how to satisfy it.

"Now what? Now what do boys so clever, brave and true, with hearts a-thump for bears so fine and Mamas sleeping in the night....what do they do?" They go home and finally sleep.

More illustrations to love. Just past the center is a wonderful two-page spread of Liam crossing a fallen tree in the woods in the black of night. It's just lovely! Most illustrations cover the full page and are great fun. He used ink, watercolor, and acrylic.