Category: Classics

White Jade Tiger.

12/15/2016

White Jade Tiger ( Ages 9+ )
By ; Julie Lawson
Publisher : Dundurn Books ( January 2017 )

White Jade Tiger was first published in 1993 and was the winner of the Sheila E. Egoff Children`s Literature Award. The book reveals the early Chinese immigrants` influence on Canadian history and how poorly they were treated in the past. But it is a lot more than a historical fiction cum fantasy; it`s a book that`s brimming with wonderful literary elements, written in flowing prose and gripping to the end with an exciting story plot.

The story encompasses two centuries through time traveling - as two thirteen years old youngsters, Jasmine living in Canada during the modern times and Keung from rural China living in the eighteen-hundreds, are first connected through their dreams. They dream about each other and the long lost White Jade Tiger. According to Chinese legend, if the owner who possesses the white jade loses it, her entire generation would be cursed. Keung believes that his family and his whole village are cursed. And his mysterious dreams hint at him about the lost White Jade Tiger`s whereabouts. Keung decides to travel across the seas in search of the White Jade Tiger. Meanwhile in alternate chapters we get to read about Jasmine, the protagonist. Her dreams start after her mother`s accidental death. Then while touring in the China town at a shop called " the never ending shop" she steps out through a mysterious door into the eighteen-hundreds in British Colombia. Jasmine meets her match there, Keung. Together they embark on an adventure to find the lost White Jade Tiger...........

Deftly written text oozes with beautiful prose and compelling dialog. The story is presented in different levels that would carry different atmospheres and are helpful in understanding the characters. Through Victoria, BC & China town in Victoria in the nineties and rural China in the eighteen hundreds to the Victoria`s China town in the eighteen-hundreds are brought to life with beautifully portrayed settings and a vivid array of characters. Mirrored through them are the greed and racism that existed during that era. Nevertheless, it`s an adventure and a fantasy that would keep the young readers on edge until the last page.

However as I continued reading, I felt as if the whole story is being depicted by Jasmine`s making of her quilt in the early chapters. It`s "a memory quilt, her mother had said when she started the project / Every bit of fabric will remind you of something / a time or a place or a person......."
Later after the sudden death of her mother her, father explains about Jasmine to her aunt and Jasmine eavesdrops
" That`s all she wants to do / It was true / She felt safe / Leafing through the fragments of her past / As if putting the pieces together would bring back something that was gone / make her feel whole again.............."
The story line-up, as intriguing as it is, would make the readers feel like sorting out patchwork pieces for a quilt; connecting a piece by piece into a perfectly co-ordinated quilt. A wonderful creation that would remain in our memories long after reading it!
( With many thanks to Dundurn Books and NetGally for the ARC )

White Jade Tiger

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Short.

12/6/2016

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Short ( Ages10+ )
By ; Holly Goldberg Sloan
Publisher : Penguin Random House ( January 2017 )

A very short girl`s observations of the world around her, her pains and self consciousness about her height are cleverly presented with humor and depth.
A first person narration; Julia will make the readers laugh and cry at the same time! This coming of age novel assures that the young readers will grow along with Julia as the story moves ahead. And the author captures and hold the readers with her clever and witty, yet expressive writings.

The early chapters provide a record of Julia`s life as a short girl and her thoughts about many incidents she faces, how much her dog Ramon meant to her and how she feels after she lost it. Then her mother signs her up for an audition of a summer production of The Wizard of Oz. She joins with reluctance. Julia explains to the reader about facing it "I dont want to be here, but grandma Mittens says I`m a terrier and they can bark loud. So I sing with everything I have in my lungs and I make sure my hands aren`t all knotted up in fists........" In her mind she is a very ordinary girl with no special talent - and dreadfully short! Unexpectedly, she gets selected as a Munchkin and though she didn`t wish for it, Julia joins the team with reluctance, but instantly gets drawn to the team as she meets the grown-up crew members. Would the theatre change her life and help her to discover herself?

The readers will be enthralled by Julia`s chronicles, for the way it is presented. And they will consume the wisdom provided at every page turn, without even realising it. A must read!

- Based on a sneak peek - With many thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGally for the ARC

Short

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The Wolf`s Boy.

6/9/2016

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The Wolf`s Boy ( Age : 9+ )
By : Susan Williams Beckhorn
Publisher : Disney Books ( June 2016 )

A beautiful tale unearthed from the prehistoric era during the stone age. The novel brings to life man`s earliest encounters with canines through the child protagonist Kai and his pup; the "yellow wolf pack" to Kai`s people, were actually early dogs according to Susan Beckhorn. Along Kai's journey, different levels of their relationship and how it affects the boy is revealed together with how he reaches the maturity to confront his difficult life. Lesser known unfamiliar settings of the story are cleverly introduced to the reader; one could easily be lost among those people of Kai`s tribe - who seem to have come from early Asian migrants to the Europe. They have a bit of technology, some traditions, basic skills of art, music and beliefs in hand. This information is skillfully tailored into the story through Kai`s thoughts, as he narrates us his - almost 40,000 years old- tale.

Twelve year old Kai with a club foot yearns to become a hunter, to hold a 'Keerta' ( a hunting weapon ) and throw it right at the target and to take pride in those hard earned meals just like his handsome older brother Sen. Instead, he has to do 'girl`s work', helping his mother with her daily chores. He is not taken into the boys group, and is laughed at because he is crippled and a 'Tabak' ( a curse ); he must never touch a Keerta or it would bring bad luck!. In a community where every person was given a sign, Kai has none . He has no identity as he is crippled, and is despised and insulted by everyone. He feels hurt by his elder brother Sen`s treatment of him as he remembers how they played together when they were small -when differences meant nothing.
The book presents us with a number of divergent characters which further uplifts the compelling effect. These people; Kai`s parents, his siblings, other boys in the tribe, Mir; the beautiful and cruel girlfriend of his brother, Vida the kind one, and the "Shaman" together weaves us a lively tale and assures that young readers will continue to read in fascination.

The first part of the book tells us about this lonely boy`s pains, fears and his struggle to find his place in his community. Kai`s unusual closeness to the yellow wolf pack is an aftermath of rejection, but Tal ( God ) seems to have different plans for him. Kai visits the yellow wolf pack often. They know him well. Upon the death of the mother wolf, Kai decides to take the weakest of the orphaned pups home, Holding his fears back he bravely enter their deep cave, but elder wolves does not challenge him. The wolf pup is named Uff by Kai and his siblings. Kai finds his comfort in the company of his wolf, but the wolf pup grows fast, and his people feeling threatened by Uff wants to be rid of her. When his handsome brother had a dangerous hunting accident, which leaves him with a scar, even his parents starts to doubt their decisions taken in the past; is the crippled boy really a "Tabak"? Meanwhile Kai packs up to leave the tribe.

The second part of the book brings us Kai`s heroic journey in search of his identity. They travel to the North along the "Forbidden River". A peregrination full of terrors and wonders. But his wolf lady stands by him, empowering him and guarding him . Their journey is a test of powerful friendship and bravery.
When he spots a great fish eagle with a single foot hunting a fish, Kai watches it in awe. The incident provokes his thoughts.... He moves ahead, with a newly made Keerta in hand. He carves his sign on it - an eagle with a single set of talons. He learns something new with every step ahead until he finds his true identity ......The fascinating discoveries of caves and the nature of the 'new world' may leave readers in wonder. His short encounter with an Ice-man ( Probably a Neanderthal) may provoke curiosity in readers.

The human cultural evolution during the prehistoric era is exposed to children admirably well with a remarkable touch of imagination through this, while revealing the amazing powers of determination. A book for all readers of all levels from average to talented, with the right amount of facts, easy to grasp; it enables the reader to dive in and explore a world beyond their touch! And a tale with many precious facets of rich literature. A must read!!
(With many thanks to Disney Books and Net Galley for the ARC in return for a honest review)

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Wolf Hollow.

5/4/2016

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Wolf Hollow. ( Ages 11+ )
By : Lauren Wolk.
Publisher : Dutton Books for Young Readers( May 2016)

The story commences with such a moving confession by the protagonist about loosing her childhood innocence to an "incorrigible" class bully Betty Glengarry. Written in the words of Anna, an innocent country girl, in a lyrical language beautiful and entertaining, but one may feel helplessly miserable at the same time about the tale Anna unravels.
Annabelle tells us everything we wish to hear about her rural country setting and how the second world war effected their unruffled country lives through her innocent and simple narrations. " The talk was of concentration camps / Which I thought at first meant places where people went to think hard thoughts" Wolk`s absolute attention to detail,her use of language and her line up of incidents makes "Wolf Hollow" such a tempting bait altogether.

Her story is filled with many people spanning three generations of young and old, yet assures to introduce them properly, so that we know them, maybe as much as Anna does. Anna`s introduction of her mother turns as " I wasn't afraid of my mother / though despite how hard she could sometimes be / She had forgotten what it felt like to ride a swing up into the sky / To stop hoeing at the first sign of a blister to expect anything to be easier than it was. / She had been seventeen when she `d had me / was only twenty eight the year I learnt how to lie."

The early chapters of the book hints us of the coming of age of an innocent girl through the complexities she`s compelled to encounter, but us readers can hope for an intellectually matured girl who`s brave and protective yet aware of moral values by the end. Wolf Hollow addresses bulling issues as much as it is a historical classic and thus will stay close to children of any day.
-The review was done by reading a short excerpt of the book.- ( With many thanks to Penguin Young Readers and Net Galley for the short ARC )

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Listen Slowly.

12/10/2015

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Listen Slowly. ( Ages 9+)
By : Thanhha Lai
Publisher : Harpercollins ( Feb.,2015)

Home is where the family is! Among many literary pieces written about the subject of second and third generation immigrants,this stands out due to it`s beautiful descriptive language with a touch of humor.
Mai who`s Mia to her American friends is a second generation Vietnamese American girl.Being a daughter of two professional parents she grew up sheltered from the struggling days of her parents early lives which also consisted of many years of cultural displacement.. An intelligent girl with exceptional grades she was planing to spend her holiday season in the Laguna beach with her friends.To experience her first romance ,But she was bombed with the news that she was expected to accompany her grandmother,who received some information about her long lost husband in the war, to Vietnam for the holiday season. The story kick starts at the scene inside airplane with Mai still trying to show her displeasure of having forced to go to Vietnam. And her thoughts are beautifully expressed here "I`m a Laguna beach girl who can paddle-board one-legged and live on fish tacos and mango smoothies.My parents should be thanking the Buddha for a daughter like me:A no - lip gloss no - short shorts twelve year old.........I should at least be able to spend the summer resting my brain at the beach "
This is the journey of finding oneself. Despite her Vietnamese background she`s an alien in Vietnam with her lack of knowledge of her language and culture. She struggles to survive in Vietnam, counting days to go back home at, the beginning.
The story provide us a rich setting with lots of information about the southeast Asian land. Equally every character is introduced in a well defined descriptive manner through Mai`s humor full intelligent narrations. For example her soft and loving Ba (Grandmother) she says is always in "soft brown home sewn clothes" and her old age is lovingly expressed through "Ba really does have the best smile.Lines spread like outstretched fingers at the corners of her eyes and tiny spears circle her mouth the way I used to draw the sun`s rays. The skin on hands has wrinkles shaped like puzzle pieces,clicking together just so. Her hair is mostly white now really thin,She`s seventy nine you know,so the onion at her nape what she calls her bun,is much smaller ............"
As the time passes, slowly she learns to appreciate her people,food history and culture.And as she acquires new language skills and meet new friends with whom she explore .......she learns to create a bridge between her two worlds.Mia returns back to California as a true Vietnamese - American girl.
The story is completed with adventures,humor and delicious descriptions to keep readers engaged.
  Thanhha Lai is the author of National Book Award winning and Newbery Honor book "Inside Out and Back Again"

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The Adventures of Miss Petitfour.

11/15/2015

The Adventures of Miss Petitfour ( ages 7 to 11)
By : Anna Michaels(Author)
Publisher : Tundra Books ( Nov.,2015)

An absolutely delicious Petitfour!!
Join Miss Petitfour and her sixteen Cats on their "just the right size"adventures by her very normal mode of air-transport-a tablecloth. No one even blinked an eye in the village as they were all used to it. She can land tidily on her toes, followed by her waterfall of cats purring into the street.
A feast of language. Delightfully descriptive in the most compelling manner."If Miss Petitfour were short and if she were a bird,you might say she was as prim and proud as a sparrow" then "Every shop had a big wooden sign that swung and cracked in the breeze, and every sign was in the shape of what was sold in the shop. So for example,the sign for Mr Patel`s Bakery was in the shape of a great wooden cupcake, the sign for Mrs.Collarwaller`s Bookshop was a giant book and the sign for Mr.Clemmo`s Hardware shop was a gigantic hammer..."
The book is in the form of number of short stories interwoven through characters and the setting. Emma Block`s awesome illustrations go well with the story.
Only drawback in this to some readers could be the fact that the stories discuss more about cats ;their adventures and personalities than about humans. Although these personalities are somewhat replications of us people, and bringing up cat personalities instead may or may not be attractive depending on the likes and dislikes of the reader, kids usually love cats, so it could become a compelling fact.
Anna Michaels is the award winning author of "Fugitive Pieces". Her work has appeared in translation in over forty countries around the world. This is her first children`s book.

White Jade Tiger.

Short.

The Wolf`s Boy.

Wolf Hollow.

Listen Slowly.

The Adventures of Miss Petitfour.

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