In honor of National Library Week, a review of I Believe in Unicorns.

 Michael Murpugo is one of my favorite writers. His books are written for children, but adults will find that his stories have something for them as well. The stories make you pause, and think. They explore issues that are far-reaching and universal. 
   When I review a book that really touches me, I keep it and put it on my 'favorites' book shelf. Most of Michael Murpurgo's books are there. His book War Horse was turned into a film and a play.

I believe in Unicorns
Michael Morpurgo
Illustrator:  Gary Blythe 
Fiction
For ages 7 to 10
Candlewick Press, 2005, 978-0763630508
Tomas is eight years old and more than anything he loves to roam the countryside having adventures and helping his father tend the beehives. He hates having to go to school and he despises books and stories. Books and stories belong in the school room and they certainly aren't any fun. So when his mother makes him go to the story hour at the library, Tomas is very annoyed and not in the least bit interested in listening to the librarian tell her stories.
   Tomas only has to listen to a little bit of the library lady's first story and he is completely entranced by her words. She sits on a lovely wooden unicorn reading to the children and telling them stories that she has made up. She tells them about her father who long ago, during a war, did his best to prevent evil people from burning books. Tomas finally begins to see that books are more than just pages of words and that they have a great deal to offer everyone, even him.
   When war arrives in Tomas' own peaceful valley Tomas and all the people in his village are suddenly faced with a terrible calamity - their library is set on fire by a falling bomb. Something has to be done to save the books and their beloved wooden unicorn. Soon everyone, even the children, are working hard to save the most valuable thing in the village.
   Many of us take books for granted, forgetting the many hours of pleasure that they have given us. In this book Michael Morpurgo reminds us that books and libraries are a treasure which should be fought for and defended. No one should be allowed to take away our books, for without our stories, poems, histories, biographies and scientific accounts our lives would be very empty indeed.

The April Bookish Calendar and National Library Week

Happy Monday everyone. I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. I'm a little late, but here is the Bookish Calendar for April. Click on the links and they will take you feature pages where you will find books that are relevant to they event or birthdays.

by Chris Dunn. www.chris-dunn.co.uk

In addition to the events, holidays, and birthdays on this calendar, April also has many additional national and international days, some of which I will be blogging about. 

National Library week (US): This event started yesterday on April 4th and will end on the 10th. You can find a collection of reviews about books that are about Books and Libraries on the website. For books that are specifically about libraries you can take a look at these titles, which I found on the site by using the search function to look for books about this subject. 

National Library Week allows us to promote our local libraries and their workers. From Harry Potter and Matilda, to Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, I'm sure at some point that you’ve dashed to the library to borrow your favorite book, or perhaps you have borrowed an ebbok or audio from your library by going online. Haven’t we all spent endless hours in our university or college library revising for our exams, borrowing textbooks, free journals and using their online resources? Do you remember that feeling of getting a brand-new library card – of whipping it out when you borrowed a mountain of DVDs? Of course, times have changed since the millennium, but aren’t the staff always so professional and kind? 

Libraries are pivotal to society. Celebrating them, means celebrating silent reading, our communities, and getting into an institution of higher learning. This National Library Week, let’s look back on our days spent in libraries, and wholeheartedly thank our local public libraries.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and observed in libraries across the country each April. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.

The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.

Albert Einstein

           This wonderful piece of art was created by Brian Paterson. Brian Paterson was born in Ayrshire in 1949. At the age of 12 his family moved to Somerset. He met a local girl, Cynthia, and they married in 1973. The couple initially moved to London where Brian worked as a designer by day and on developing his own style of illustrating by night. They then moved to Henley-on-Thames where they conceived Foxwood Tales, Cynthia writing and Brian illustrating. I love the Foxwood Tales and I just bought a used copy of The Foxwood Treasury on Ebay.

Memories of spring and a review of: Beautiful Eggs: A journey through decorative traditions from around the world

Where I grew up, on the island of Cyprus, Easter is a very big celebration. 

Special Baked treats are made, families get together to celebrate, and they decorate eggs. Two families lived in our building, mine, and one other. We were very close to the Protopapas family and I often spent time with Yiayia, the grandmother. She did not speak any English, and in the beginning I spoke no Greek, but we always found a way to communicate. Yiayia taught me how to make flaounes, a sweet and savory bread, and she also showed me how to decorate eggs using the water from boiled onion peels. Often we would use the leaves of plants to create an image on the eggs. We would polish our decorations by rubbing wax all over them, and then Yiayia would place the eggs in a basket lined with bright green leaves,

Beautiful Eggs: A journey through decorative traditions from around the world
Illustrated by Alice Lindstrom
Nonfiction Board Book
For ages 4 to 6
Scribble, 2021, 978-1-95035-4436
When we think of egg decorating, we usually think of Easter festivities. Many people in countries around the world decorate boiled or blown eggs for this spring celebration. However, in some cultures they decorate eggs for other celebrations. In Mexico pretty eggs also appear on Cinco de Mayo and other festive days.
   People have been decorating eggs for centuries, and they have developed all kinds of ways of making eggs beautiful. A great deal of time and effort can be spent on decorating eggs, and some of these creations are so prized that they are put in museums or art galleries.
   In the Ukraine they have been creating extremely colorful eggs that are covered with fine and delicate designs for a long time. Red and green dyes are commonly used, and the designs are drawn on using beeswax.
   In the Czech Republic Easter eggs are decorated using many dye colors, and straw. When the eggs are complete, there are “Shiny kaleidoscope patterns” all over them.
   In Japan they use washi paper to decorate their eggs. The colorful printed papers, that are also use to make origami, are used to cover the eggs.
   With gorgeous collage illustrations and informative pieces of text, the illustrator of this board book introduces children to seven different eggs decorating traditions. At the back of the book young readers will find a fold out page that children can use as a stencil to make their own drawing of a decorated egg.

Easter is only a few days away. You can find more reviews of books about Easter on the TTLG Easter Books Page.

A story about The Story of Babar

Many years ago I lived in a little village on Mount Lebanon. One of the first books I was given was a copy of The Story of Babar written in the original French. Many Lebanese are bilingual (French and Arabic) and I was learning both of these languages at my school. When the civil war broke out my Babar book went with us as we fled to the island of Cyprus. Later my copy went to uni with me in England; and then I brought it to the States with me when I moved here. Before my daughter was born I got an English copy of the book which I read to my baby before she was came into the world..

In the June issue of the journal I created a new feature: The Classics and Favorites Collection. It felt essential that The Story of Babar should be included in this collection as soon as possible.

http://lookingglassreview.com/books/the-story-of-babar/

The new issue of Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews is online

Happy September dear book loving people! The new issue of the journal is online and it contains some wonderful bookish treats for you all.

The special feature is Writers and Writing and I got to review several books about writers and the writing process. Start with a Word by Peter H. Reynolds (of Dot and Ish fame) is the perfect book to give to someone who loves to write but who needs a little help getting into the writing groove (yes there is such a thing).

For the Series Spotlight I chose The Paper Magician trilogy. These books take readers to a wonderful place where magicians are (mostly) well respected members of society, and where magic is (mostly) used for the betterment of all. The main character is utterly delightful and the touch of romance in the story is charming. Mind you, these stories are not all sweetness and light. There are some very low points that I have to confess left me feeling rather shaken. Magic must be taken seriously and it needs to be treated with respect, and of course there are always those who will use it to hurt others. Many thanks to Charlie N. Holmberg (the spotlight author in this issue) for creating these books.

Just last month the wonderful poet and anthologist, Lee Bennett Hopkins, left the stage and he will be greatly missed. He was such a dear, funny, and generous man, and it was a privilege to call him a friend. In his honor I chose to review one of his newest poetry anthologies in this issue, and I also featured a book that won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, a poetry prize that he brought into being and that carries his name.

For this issue I also chose to include some reviews of a few older, classic books. Ballet Shoes, George's Marvelous Medicine, Nurse Matilda, and The Railway Children, have all been around for a while and getting to read them again, as an adult, was a real treat.

I hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to hearing from you.

A Review of She Persisted Around the World - Celebrating Strong Girls Strong Women

Not long ago I met a young woman who announced that she was not going to vote in the next election. I admit that I rather lost my temper. I proceeded to tell her how disappointed I was that she was throwing away all that our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers did to get men to treat them as equals. She said that none of that was relevant any longer. It is all "cool," I was told. I promptly lost my temper again and told her the story of a Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head because she defied those who wanted her to be silent about what was happening in her country. "What does that have to do with me?" she asked. I told her that she, and I, have to carry on the fight so that all women can get an education, can vote, can work where they want, and can get a fair wage. Our vote is one of the tools that we have to make this happen. Yes, I really got on my soapbox that day.

Today I bring you a review of a book in which we can read the stories of thirteen women and girls who were told "NO!" by the societies they lived in, and who said "YES!" in response.

She persisted Around the World: 13 Women who ChangedHistory

Chelsea Clinton

Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger

Nonfiction Picture Book

For ages 6 to 8

Penguin, 2018, 978-0-525-51699-6

Being a girl can be challenging no matter where you live in the world, but there are some places where it is particularly difficult. For example, for many of us going to school is something that we do without even thinking about it. It is a requirement, and we often consider it a bore. There are some countries where girls are not allowed to get an education, and for them this is a terrible deprivation; for without an education how can they get a job and live a life of their own choosing? How can they be financially self-sufficient and make their own choices?

   One such girl was Juana Ines who lived in Mexico at a time when most girls did not get to go to school. Juana wanted to learn, and so she studied at home. When she was told that she could not go to university she found people who were willing to tutor her. Juana went on to write poems and plays that are still read today, and she wrote a paper arguing that it is a women’s right to get an education in the Americas; the first of its kind to get published.

   In New Zealand Kate Shepphard was told that women are not suited to play a role in political decision making. She refused to accept this argument and fought hard to get women the vote in her homeland. Her hard work paid off, and in 1893 New Zealand was the first country in the world to give all women the right to vote.

   Sisleide Lima do Amor lived in Brazil and at that time it was actually illegal for girls to play soccer. Sissi desperately wanted to play, and so she did so in secret playing with anything that could be kicked across the ground. Eventually Sissi’s parents got her a proper ball to play with. Two years after the law was repealed, when she was fourteen, Sissi began to play professionally. She went on to become a soccer star and an inspiration for girl soccer players in Brazil and beyond.

   This splendid picture book presents readers with the stories of fourteen women and girls who insisted on pursuing their dreams, even when the societies that they lived in tried to deny them those dreams. Their stories are inspirational, and they give us a picture of how far we have come; and how far we still have to go to make sure that all women and girls are given the same opportunities that men and boys have.

  

A review of Aim for the skies - Celebrating Strong Girls, Strong Women

One of the things that I love about reviewing these Strong Girls, Strong Women books is the fact I am learning so much. When I first got today's book I had never heard of these two amazing women who, within days of each other, set out to fly solo around the world.It would appear that we are surrounded by the stories of women who did, and are doing, amazing things.

Aim for the skies: Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith'sRace to complete Amelia Earhart's Quest

Aimee Bissonette

Illustrated by Doris Ettlinger

Nonfiction Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Sleeping Bear Press, 2018, 978-1-58536-381-0

Jerrie Mack is only seven years old when she takes her first ride in an airplane. She is so taken with the experience that she decides there and then that she is going to be pilot.

   Joan Merriam is fifteen when she takes her first plane ride in 1952. When the plane lands Joan tells her mother that she wants to learn how to fly a plane, and she ends up getting her pilot’s license before she even learns how to drive a car.

   Both women dream of becoming a record-breaking pilot like Amelia Earhart, and when Joan is twenty-three and Jerrie is thirty-seven they both decide that what they want to do next is to fly around the world.

   Jerrie and Joan set about preparing for their epic journeys. Maps have to be studied and flight plans have to be drawn up. Permission has to be granted by the governments of the countries that they will be visiting. The interesting thing is that the women do not know each other. Joan does not know what Jerrie is planning, and Jerrie has no idea what Joan is up to.

   Then, just a few weeks before they are supposed to set off on their epic flight, the women hear about each other. It looks as if their dreams to complete the journey that Amelia Earhart was not able to finish have been turned into a race.

   On March 17^th, 1964 Joan’s plane takes off from an airport in Oakland, California. Just two days later Jerrie takes to the skies. The women have different planes and they are taking different routes. Truly remarkable adventures that are full of problems and dangers lie ahead of them.

   This is the fascinating true story of two women who both greatly admired Amelia Earhart and who both decided, independently, to follow in the footsteps of the famous aviator. The narrative gives us a picture of what the two women were like, and we come to appreciate how difficult and dangerous their journey was. This story is a tribute to the two aviators, and it is also a tribute to the woman who inspired them.

A review of Lights! Camera! Alice! The Thrilling True Adventures of the first woman filmmaker - Celebrating Strong Girls Strong Women

Happy International Women's Day. Today I bring you a review of book that tells the story of an extraordinary woman. I confess that I had never heard of Alice Guy-Blache until I read this book. I was therefore delighted to learn that such a colorful and determined woman played such a big role in the early years of the moving picture industry.

Lights! Camera! Alice! The Thrilling True Adventures ofthe first woman filmmaker 

Mara Rockliff

Illustrated by Simona Ciraolo

Nonfiction Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Chronicle, 2018, 978-1-4521-4134-3

When she was a little girl, Alice loved stories. She loved the tales that she found in the books that her papa sold, and the narratives that her grandmother and her nursemaid shared with her. Stories were the stuff of life and she could not wait “to find out what happened next.”

   Unfortunately for Alice, what happened next was not pleasant at all. Papa’s business failed, and then he died, leaving Alice in dire need of a job. She ended up getting a position at a camera shop, and through her job she found out about a new innovation: cameras that could create moving pictures. Alice and her employer went to see one of the new moving pictures and they were astounded by it, even though the subject matter of the film was not all that interesting. The young woman began to think that moving picture cameras might be “put to better use.” Why show mundane scenes in moving pictures when you could tell stories instead.

   Alice decided that she would try making some moving pictures of her own, and so she set about looking for costumes, she made sets, and found people to play the roles in the stories. At first her films’ sole purpose was to demo the cameras, but people liked her films so much that they were even willing to pay to see them.

   Alice’s films were full of clever innovations that made them interesting and engaging. She became so successful that her competitors spied on her to steal her ideas. Alice and her young cameraman decided to go to America, thinking that the country that epitomized innovation would be the perfect place to build a new life. Little did they know that no one had even heard of Alice on the other side of the Atlantic. Little did they know that both success and heartbreak awaited them in the land of opportunity.

   Most of us have never heard of Alice Guy-Blache and yet she was one of the first filmmakers in the world. She was also the first woman to make films, she made the first talking movie, and some even think that she was the first to make films that showed made up stories.

   As was so often the case at that time, being female meant that Alice did not get the recognition that she deserved. Thanks to this book a new generation of girls will grow up knowing that Alice was a tour de force in the early years of film making.

  

A beautiful poster from Rachel Ignotofsky that tells the story of Strong Girl, Strong Women activists from around the world.

Rachel Ignotofsky is an author and illustrator who creates gorgeous and enlightening nonfiction picture books that readers of all ages will enjoy. I will be reviewing her book about women in science soon. She has created a poster that I think is just marvelous, and I would like to share it with you today. Take a close look at the poster to meet some of the world's women activists.

A review of I can be anything! Don't tell me I can't - Celebrating Strong Girls and Strong Women.

I don't know how many of you have had people tell you that you cannot not do something because of who you are. That, because you are what you are, something that you really want to do is out of your reach.

Like so many girls and women, I have experienced this kind of thing many times in my life. I was told that I could not play the saxophone in the school orchestra because girls don't play saxes. I was told that young women don't travel to India on their own because it simply isn't done. I was told that, because I was female, I could not ride a motorcycle. Some of these battles I won; I did go in India and I did ride a motorcycle. Some of them I lost; I never got to play the sax.

This month is Women's History Month in the U.S, and in honor of this event I have chosen to focus on Strong Girls, Strong Women in the new issue of TTLG, which I published this morning. Every week this month I will be posting at least one review of a book that celebrates girls and women who have chosen to pursue their dreams, even when people have tried to prevent them from doing so. They have turned away from the people who have said NO! They have held their heads high and kept on trying in spite of the barriers that have been placed in front of them.

On this first day of March I bring you a wonderful picture book that is empowering and thought-provoking. Many of us have a little voice inside us that tells us that we can't do this, or that we can't do that. For many girls this voice is reinforced by the loud voices of people in society who say the same thing. In this book a little girl fights against her little voice, choosing to say "I can" when it says "You cannot."

I can be anything! Don’t tell me I can’t 

Diane Dillon

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Scholastic, 2018, 978-1-338-16690-3

One day Zoe stretches her arms out wide and she thinks that she can be “anything I want to be.” She can even be a bird that flies “way up high.” Then that little negative voice of doubt pipes up and asks, “What if you fall?”

   Zoe does not let the annoying little voice take way her dreams. She responds by saying that she won’t fall because she will have wings, and if her wings get tired she will travel to a planet far away in a rocket ship. There she will have tea with the aliens that she meets on the planet before she heads for home. The little voice speaks up again and asks Zoe what “if you can’t get home?”

   Zoe knows better than to listen to the voice, the voice that wants to discourage her from doing things that are adventurous and interesting. In fact, she ignores the voice completely and announces that she could become an archeologist who travels around the world seeking out dinosaur bones and buries treasure.

   The voice tries to tell Zoe that she is “too little” to embark on such travels, but she refuses to accept this. “I’m bigger than you,” she tells the voice, and then goes on to talk about how she might become a scientist who discovers things or an inventor.

   Again and again the voice tries to crush Zoe’s dreams, and again and again the little girl finds an answer that affirms that she is strong and “smart,” brave and talented.

   This wonderful book shows children that they are not the only ones to have a voice of doubt whispering in their ear. In fact, we all have a version of that voice that tries to convince us that we can’t be anything we want to be. Children will appreciate the many ways that Zoe responds to her voice, and how she never loses hope in herself and her future. They will see that with knowledge, learning, skills, and courage they too can “be anything” that they want to be.