Alice Cary

Children's & YAPicture Book

Twain’s bedtime story

Review by Alice Cary

When Mark Twain’s daughters begged for a bedtime story in a hotel in Paris in 1879, he began a fairy tale about a poor boy named Johnny. Later he jotted down 16 pages of notes, only to leave the project unfinished.

Fast forward to 2014, when Doubleday acquired the rights to the story, working with the Mark Twain House and Museum and the Mark Twain Papers. The publisher turned to husband-and-wife team Philip and Erin Stead, the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee. The result of this years-in-the-making, grand collaboration is the highly unusual, lively The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine.

The story rolls right along, focusing on dirt-poor Johnny (and his pet chicken, named Pestilence and Famine), who, after a series of misfortunes, shows kindness to an old beggar woman. As for the titular princely hero, he only makes a brief appearance near the end, as a demanding, narcissistic young man holding a band of poor outcasts hostage in a cave.

There’s also a king and queen and a menagerie of talking animals, including an elephant that will remind fans of the Steads’ Amos McGee pachyderm. Erin’s trademark illustrations combine a variety of techniques (wood carving, ink, pencil and laser cutting) in muted colors to convey sadness, humor and immediacy, serving to pace the lengthy tale perfectly.

Not surprisingly, both pictures and words hold magic here. How could Philip pay homage to Twain while crafting his own tale? The solution: Philip interrupts chapters with imagined exchanges between himself and Twain, as they sit, sip tea and argue plot points. Somehow the whole thing works beautifully, providing readers with an intriguing look at the creative process.

This is a noteworthy publishing treat, one best shared and read aloud. Readers can imagine Twain sitting back, nodding his head and smiling as he admires this new, deeply imaginative rendition.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

This is a noteworthy publishing treat, one best shared and read aloud. Readers can imagine Twain sitting back, nodding his head and smiling as he admires this new, deeply imaginative rendition.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

When wishes become action

Review by Alice Cary

BookPage Children's Top Pick, October 2017

What can be done in the face of racism and hatred? Newbery ­Medal-winning author Katherine Applegate deftly explores this question in her stellar new novel, Wishtree.

A 10-year-old Muslim girl named Samar and her parents move into a house in a suburban neighborhood, hoping for a new life. Samar has wary eyes and a shy smile, with “the look of someone who has seen too much.” Even so, she is quietly hopeful, tying her written wish on a large red oak wishing tree in front of her house, as people have done for decades. “I wish for a friend,” she whispers, and the tree listens.

But the next-door neighbors aren’t friendly. A teenager carves the word “LEAVE” into the tree’s trunk. Someone throws eggs at Samar’s house. A car races by whose occupants shout, “Muslims get out!” Finally, the “wishtree,” named Red, can stand silent no longer. It’s time to act.

Using an oak tree as a narrator is a huge creative risk, but Applegate carries out this feat with literary bravado, elevating her tale to an unforgettable, timeless fable in the process. Red has not only carefully watched the world for over 200 years but is also very funny. “I could write a book,” Red muses, wryly adding, “In fact, I could be a book.”

This neighborhood story has a marvelous animal and human cast, including a pair of policemen who investigate the tree vandalism and the tree’s owner, Francesca, who wants to cut the oak down. Helping Red in the quest for neighborhood peace is a menagerie of animals that find shelter in the wise old tree and whose interactions add another layer to this story about the pleasures and difficulties of living in harmony.

Wishtree is a page-turning, magical read that packs a lot into its pages. This gentle yet powerful book is suitable for all ages, from young to old, and its message remains more vital than ever.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

What can be done in the face of racism and hatred? Newbery Medal-winning author Katherine Applegate deftly explores this question in her stellar new novel, Wishtree.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Growing up and letting go

Review by Alice Cary

Set in the idyllic seaside tourist town of Isla, a place famed for its talking birds, Pablo and Birdy is a mystical, fable-like novel that gently examines big questions of identity, family, refugees and freedom.

As a baby, Pablo was set adrift at sea in a child’s inflatable swimming pool with a parrot named Birdy. After Pablo washed ashore, a souvenir shop owner named Emmanuel took him in, helped by other shopkeepers who had emigrated from places like Cuba, Haiti and Ireland.

Now, on the eve of his 10th birthday, it’s no wonder that Pablo is haunted by questions about his past. Just as Pablo is coming to terms with his mysterious origins, he faces a turning point with his beloved Birdy, long presumed to be flightless and voiceless. Helped by a comic “Committee” of talking birds, Pablo begins to realize that his guardian parrot may be an elusive Seafarer, who according to legend can hear and reproduce every sound ever made.

Pablo hopes that Birdy’s special powers may help reveal his origin story. At the same time, however, he worries that he will be forced to set Birdy free, to return to the ocean on the rare “Winds of Change” that are quickly approaching Isla. As news reporters race to capture a legendary Seafarer, possibly endangering Birdy’s life, Pablo is faced with a gut-wrenching decision.

Pablo and Birdy provides an engaging introduction to an all-important issue: As Emmanuel explains, there are many “in this world who had to leave their homes, for various reasons, and their journeys are long and hard.”

 

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Set in the idyllic seaside tourist town of Isla, a place famed for its talking birds, Pablo and Birdy is a mystical, fable-like novel that gently examines big questions of identity, family, refugees and freedom.

Children's & YAPicture Book

The joy of exploration

Review by Alice Cary

Rare is the picture book that grabs as immediately as On a Magical Do-Nothing Day. On the cover, a bespectacled child of indeterminate gender, wearing a neon-orange coat, swings through the air on a tree branch, pulling readers along on a wondrous journey.

Award-winning Italian author-illustrator Beatrice Alemagna tells the story of a child’s transformative day, reminiscent of Aaron Becker’s Journey series. But while Becker’s bored young hero escapes into a fantastical world of imaginary creations, Alemagna’s narrator explores the woods outside a cabin on a rainy day, eventually seeing the world in a new light.

While Mom writes at her computer, the child grows bored with a video game. The dreary day gets even worse when the narrator goes outside and accidentally drops the game into a pond. Alemagna’s straightforward prose conveys the kid’s misery, while each illustration offers unexpected delights full of texture, swirls and whirls, showing, for instance, the hero’s legs turning into leaden tree trunks. Meanwhile, the orange splash of raincoat shines like a flashlight from scenes of dark greens and grays.

Soon, however, the child begins to notice a world of luminous natural delights, like snails with antennae “as soft as Jell-O” and how digging into the mud reveals “a thousand seeds and pellets, kernels, grains, roots and berries.” Alemagna’s sense of color, design and artistry is stunning as she manages to convey the delights of the outdoors without being preachy or predictable.

“I felt that there was something special close by. That I was surrounded,” the narrator says. Readers of On a Magical Do-Nothing Day will indeed be surrounded by something special: a masterpiece of narration and art.

 

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Rare is the picture book that grabs as immediately as On a Magical Do-Nothing Day. On the cover, a bespectacled child of indeterminate gender, wearing a neon-orange coat, swings through the air on a tree branch, pulling readers along on a wondrous journey.

NonfictionHistory

An unshakable bond, forged in chaos

Review by Alice Cary

Canadian journalist Deborah Campbell traveled to Damascus, Syria, in 2007 to report on the mass exodus of Iraqis into Syria in the wake of sectarian violence after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There, she met an Iraqi woman named Ahlam who would not only change her life but also draw her into the very story on which she was reporting.

Campbell hired Ahlam as a “fixer,” a local who helps journalists arrange interviews, interprets and provides context to what journalists see and hear. Ahlam was one of the best: A smart, bold and kind mother of two, she spent her life helping others, even starting a school in her apartment for refugee girls. Not only was she an invaluable resource, she quickly became Campbell’s cherished friend.

A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War is the fascinating account of both Ahlam’s story and Campbell’s life posing as a professor while working as an “undercover” journalist in Syria. Although the country’s civil war had yet to start, Syria was a dangerous place. One day, Ahlam was suddenly arrested and imprisoned, whisked away to an uncertain fate. Desperately worried and fearing that their work together may have contributed to Ahlam’s arrest, Campbell upended her life to try to help her friend. “Caught in a web of fear and suspicion,” she writes, “I wanted to run for cover but knew I had to stay and look for her.” In riveting, heartbreaking detail, Campbell seamlessly weaves together her own search and investigation with Ahlam’s horrific imprisonment and interrogation.

Campbell also provides an excellent primer on how the Middle East’s complex history has contributed to the area’s strife. This is an important, chilling book that explores the ongoing plight of Syria’s citizens and refugees, as well as the perilous struggles of the journalists who deliver their stories to the rest of the world.

 

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Canadian journalist Deborah Campbell traveled to Damascus, Syria, in 2007 to report on the mass exodus of Iraqis into Syria in the wake of sectarian violence after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There, she met an Iraqi woman named Ahlam who would not only change her life but also draw her into the very story on which she was reporting.

Children's & YAPicture Book

If you give a bird a phone. . .

Review by Alice Cary

Nerdy Birdy and his best friend, Vulture, are back in another delightful installment that celebrates the importance of actual friends over virtual buddies in this age of social media.

While Vulture’s favorite pastime continues to be “snacking on dead things,” video-game lover Nerdy Birdy gets caught up in a craze called Tweetster. Soon he’s ignoring Vulture while fawning over his 500 new “friends” which include, Nerdy excitedly shouts, a flamingo, an ostrich and a puffin from Iceland. Bored and ignored Vulture unsuccessfully tries to attract Nerdy’s attention (“Did you realize I can fit your whole body in my beak?”). Finally Vulture gives in and joins Tweetster.

All seems swell until Nerdy Birdy secretly posts an unflattering photo of Vulture, an act of secret-sharing that Vulture finds disloyal and embarrassing. Can this friendship be saved?

Aaron Reynolds turns an all-too-common modern pitfall into a clever story that will make young readers both laugh and think, while Matt Davies’ pen, ink and watercolor illustrations ramp up the humor and charm. Who knew that a vulture of all things could be so darned cute? In Davies’ gifted hands, he’s downright adorable―a hairy, frazzled-looking creature whose long lashes flutter atop expression-filled eyes. The same goes for Nerdy Birdy, whose huge glasses illuminate his animated, impetuous personality.

Even though the target picture book readership is unlikely to be on Twitter or Facebook, Nerdy Birdy Tweets works as a cautionary tale that tackles age-old issues of friendship, loyalty and reconciliation in a way that young readers will adore. Perhaps they can remind their elders about the book’s important message: “Just because you thought it, doesn’t mean you should tweet it.”

Nerdy Birdy and his best friend, Vulture, are back in another delightful installment that celebrates the importance of actual friends over virtual buddies in this age of social media.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

After school stories

Review by Alice Cary

“My mother is ruining my life,” notes fifth-grader Allie West.

Many kids come to that same conclusion, but Allie really can’t escape her mom, who is the principal of her elementary school. Allie is stuck at school all day, long after everyone else has headed home, which is why she’s such good friends with the kindly custodian.

Allie has several things on her mind, especially the fact that her best friend, Chloe, hasn’t spoken to her for months, ever since Allie mistakenly got her in big trouble—with the principal. Allie desperately wants to make things right and also hopes to be chosen for the school math team, of which Chloe just happens to be captain.

Confessions from the Principal’s Kid has plenty of heart and soul, especially since author Robin Mellom actually was a principal’s kid and weaves some of her own memories into the story. “This novel is not a memoir nor an autobiography,” she writes, “but it was inspired by my experiences as an After.” Afters are the handful of faculty kids forced to hang out after school while their parents finish up their duties. Not only do the Afters know every nook and cranny of the school, their bonds go deeper than Allie realizes, especially Allie’s friendship with a bullied boy named Graham.

Like Allie, this tale is full of fun, pluck and longing as she learns to navigate difficult social situations while discovering the true and sometimes tricky meanings of friendship and loyalty.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

“My mother is ruining my life,” notes fifth-grader Allie West. Many kids come to that same conclusion, but Allie really can’t escape her mom, who is the principal of her elementary school.

NonfictionHistoryFood & Drink

A literary and culinary feast

Review by Alice Cary

Everyone’s got a food story, writes culinary historian Laura Shapiro, but most will never be told. Shaprio believes that one’s relationship with food typically defines who we are, and What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories profiles six vastly different women and their appetites: author, poet and diarist Dorothy Wordsworth, sister of William; British chef Rosa Lewis, known as the “Queen of Cooks,” whose champions included King Edward VII; first lady Eleanor Roosevelt; Hitler’s mistress and eventual wife, Eva Braun; British novelist Barbara Pym; and writer and publisher Helen Gurley Brown. Each of these women is fascinating, and Shapiro’s carefully researched, astute writing sheds light on their unique places in history, as well as the culinary trends of their time.

Take, for example, Roosevelt, who proclaimed herself “incapable of enjoying food.” Shapiro asserts that instead, Roosevelt had “an intense relationship with food” all of her life, bringing the home economics movement to the White House while insisting on hiring “the most reviled cook in presidential history,” who served dishes like Shrimp Wiggle—shrimp and canned peas heated in white sauce, on toast.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Hitler’s consort, Braun, regularly sipped champagne while the rest of Europe suffered complete devastation. She adored treats but considered keeping her figure of utmost importance, eventually choosing to kill herself with cyanide rather than by gunshot so she could be a “beautiful corpse.”

British novelist Pym “was not a food writer, but she saw the world as if she were,” leaving behind diaries and 88 notebooks that proved to be a culinary historian’s dream, often including shopping lists and recipes. And while her literary characters sipped vast quantities of Ovaltine and tea, Pym showed in both her books and in her life that “good food can be found anywhere.”

Each of the six essays in Shapiro’s What She Ate is a culinary and historical delight. Feast on them slowly so as not to miss a crumb.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories profiles six vastly different women and their appetites.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Tub time for everyone

Review by Alice Cary

Who’s ready for a bath?

After tackling “chores through the ages” in Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?, Wade Bradford takes young readers on a squeaky-clean tour of tubby time in Around the World in a Bathtub. In the opening pages, a young boy runs from his mother at bath time, shouting, “No, no!” as she proclaims, “Yes, yes.” Splashy spats like this one are happening “all over the world,” Bradford explains, “but sometimes in different ways.”

For example, in Japan, “family members take turns, from oldest to youngest, relaxing in a square tub called an ofuro.” Bathers in Himalayan valleys enjoy dipping into hot springs, while Columbians might try a mud bath in a small volcano.

After touring a bit of the world’s intriguing bathtubs, readers return to the boy and his mother, enjoying part two of their “bath-time battle.” Of course, once kids are in the tub, they don’t want to get out.

Micha Archer’s vibrant collages make this book come alive, especially in scenes featuring the bathing boy and his mother. He plays with a beach ball that looks like a globe, quietly reminding readers of the book’s global quest.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty of learning to enjoy. With each new country, mothers and kids say, “yes, yes” and “no, no” in their native languages, providing a natural refrain for out-loud readings. Notes at the end of the book add more details about bathing practices in various countries.

Around the World in a Bathtub is a welcome addition to young readers’ nighttime routines.

Who’s ready for a bath? After tackling “chores through the ages” in Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?, Wade Bradford takes young readers on a squeaky-clean tour of tubby time in Around the World in a Bathtub.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Our favorite authors and illustrators as young artists

Review by Alice Cary

Calling all writers, illustrators and lovers of children’s books. Whether you’re a child or an adult, this book is for you.

Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids, edited by Elissa Brent Weissman, presents the very first work and inspiration of 26 children’s writers and illustrators, including childhood photos, summaries of their achievements, brief personal essays about their earliest literary aspirations and attempts, plus photos of these childhood works, including handwritten stories on notebook paper, childhood drawings and illustrated stories.

Dan Santat remembers being amazed by a Norman Rockwell painting at age 5, trying to perfect his own talent for years and suddenly deciding in a college biology class to become an artist, instead of the doctor his parents had in mind. Thanhha Lai writes movingly about leaving everything behind in Vietnam when her family left in 1975, and remembers the hours she spent listening to her mother tell stories from her childhood.

During the Depression, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor wrote and illustrated a little book called The Food Fairies on the back of used paper. Gordon Korman shares a wonderful fifth grade speech, “How to Handle Your Parents.” Rita Williams-Garcia was desperately trying to sell her seventh-grade stories while enduring a crush on a boy named Franky, a trumpet player. Kwame Alexander spent two days writing an epistolary poem for his mother, which she still has framed in her living room. As a middle schooler, Grace Lin won fourth place in a national book contest for her illustrated “Dandelion Story.” Ashley Bryan shares drawings he made in the 1930s.

The wonderful diversity of these writers and artists shines through in this fun, insightful collection. A page of tips for young artists and writers may very well inspire the next generation.

Calling all writers, illustrators and lovers of children’s books. Whether you’re a child or an adult, this book is for you.

NonfictionTrue Crime

Burning down the house

Review by Alice Cary

BookPage Top Pick in Nonfiction, July 2017

Abandoned buildings were going up in flames in sleepy Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in late 2012 and early 2013. More than 60, one after the other, lighting up the skies in the middle of the night. Neighbors grew suspicious, vigilante groups were formed, and police checkpoints dotted lonely country roads.

In the end, a bizarre story emerged once police captured the culprits, who turned out to be engaged lovers Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick. The story of the hunt for these Bonnie-and-Clyde arsonists, their capture and trials is mesmerizing, as told by Washington Post feature writer Monica Hesse in American Fire. The chase involved 26,378 hours of work by the Virginia State Police and 14,924 hours of overtime for nearly five months. Teams of men spent nights in tents beside potential targets, hoping to catch the fire starter red-handed.

Hesse happened upon this story when she went looking for an assignment that would simply get her “out of the office for a day.” She got more than she bargained for, spending the next two years researching, writing and trying to understand the why behind the strange crime spree.

She ended up moving to the area for a while, riding on fire trucks, visiting Smith and Bundick in jail, getting to know residents at church potluck suppers and digging deep into the area’s past, present and future, even reading a book about the chicken industry “that is more interesting than any book about chicken farming has a right to be.”

So why did Smith and Bundick commit these crimes? “The answer,” Hesse writes, “inasmuch as there is an answer for these things, involved hope, poverty, pride, Walmart, erectile dysfunction, Steak-umms . . . intrigue, and America.” What more is there to say? American Fire is deftly written and endlessly surprising.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a Q&A with Monica Hesse about American Fire.

This article was originally published in the July 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Abandoned buildings were going up in flames in sleepy Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in late 2012 and early 2013. More than 60, one after the other, lighting up the skies in the middle of the night. Neighbors grew suspicious, vigilante groups were formed, and police checkpoints dotted lonely country roads.

Children's & YAPicture Book

It’s hard to be patient

Review by Alice Cary

Badger and Rabbit spend a day together after Badger inquires, “What are you waiting for?” and Rabbit responds, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Thus begins many rounds of a guessing game as the friends traipse through the woods, spying many wonderful discoveries: field of daisies, deer, a snake, squirrel, mischievous mice and more.

Very young children are often forced to wait, and they’ll greatly enjoy the give and take of these questions and mysterious answers. The illusive thing has a smile, but no legs or tail, and it’s very old and always changing. The day goes by, with seemingly aimless exploring and delights, as the pair get closer and closer to their goal.

“I’m tired. I give up,” Badger laments.

“Don’t give up now,” Rabbit urges. “We waited all day.”

Badger persists with question after question, while Rabbit patiently answers, never giving in to Badger’s pleas for an answer. Finally, as night comes, Badger falls asleep, nearly missing the big surprise.

Scott Menchin’s gentle tale of friendship is a perfect bedtime tale, and Matt Phelan’s pencil and pastel drawings are reminiscent of crayon scribbles, artfully conveying the story’s perfect mix of energy and anticipation with the rewards of patience and fortitude.

Badger and Rabbit spend a day together after Badger inquires, “What are you waiting for?” and Rabbit responds, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Thus begins many rounds of a guessing game as the friends traipse through the woods, spying many wonderful discoveries: field of daisies, deer, a snake, squirrel, mischievous mice and more.

NonfictionBiography

The last days of a tyrant

Review by Alice Cary

What's it like to spend hours with a murderous, monstrous world leader? Can such a person be capable of kindness?

In the summer of 2006, a group of 12 American soldiers deployed to Iraq were astounded to find themselves in a strange crosshair of history: They were assigned to guard fallen leader Saddam Hussein throughout his trial during the months leading to his execution on December 30. Calling themselves the "Super Twelve," and ranging in age from 20 to mid-30s, the men weren't allowed to take notes or tell their families about their mission.

Author Will Bardenwerper, a former Airborne Ranger in Iraq and Presidential Management Fellow at the Pentagon, listened to Army interviews with these 12 men and conducted hours of his own questioning of the group as well as others. The Prisoner in His Palace offers a behind-the-scenes look at history that's nearly impossible to put down. Interspersing tales from Saddam's past with scenes of his final days, Bardenwerper paints an intimate portrait of a man sometimes called "Vic," for "Very Important Criminal."

Hussein's atrocities are numerous and well documented. Desperately poor as a child and terribly abused by his stepfather, the CIA has described him as a "malignant narcissist" with certain "psychopathic attributes." He had his own sons-in-law assassinated and was responsible for the ruthless killing of many.

Interestingly, this bellowing showman who was on trial for his life immediately quieted down once out of the courtroom, often sharing expensive cigars with the Super Twelve while asking for stories of their families. An FBI agent described Hussein as "a genius in an interpersonal setting," and indeed, he proved to be an excellent listener.

Certainly a man of contradictions, this murderer was a germophobe, a skilled chess player and a neatnik who saved crumbs to feed the birds. Hussein even wrote a poem for his medic's wife, and urged the youngest of the Super Twelve to leave Iraq and go to college. In fact, he offered to pay for the soldier's college if he ever gained access to his bank account.

As he was being led away to his execution, Hussein thanked the 12 Americans guarding him, adding that "they'd become 'more family to him' than any Iraqis had been." The Prisoner in His Palace offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the final moments of a brutal tyrant's life.

What's it like to spend hours with a murderous, monstrous world leader? Can such a person be capable of kindness?

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