Grand Rapids Area Library children's librarian Tracy Kampa reviews and recommends books for What We’re Reading. Her latest recommendations include a new picture book on cats by Maddie Frost and a fascinating book about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Also a new middle grade book by Dan Gutman and a graphic novel adaptation of the classic book Tuck Everlasting.
Picture books
Cats on Cats on Cats by Maddie Frost.
Tracy’s take: Every weekend, Beatrix visits her Granny. They are a dynamic duo, and a weekend with Granny is filled with new places to go and new treasures to acquire. Beatrix, though, is sad when each weekend draws to a close, believing that Granny will be lonely without her. So, Beatrix fixes the situation by gifting Granny a cat.
But Granny thinks that Beatrix obviously wants to play with cats at Granny's house, so she acquires more cats. And when Beatrix jokes, slightly desperately that they might need more cats, Granny, of course, gets them. Wouldn't that be what a fun grandma would do?
Beatrix, though, has long reached her cat limit and comes up with an ingenious plan B, the details of which made me laugh out loud. While maybe not the most thought-out plan, never fear, as Granny's emergency yarn saves the day. Of course, all is sorted out by the end with a hint of the future on the last page spread. I absolutely adored Cats on Cats on Cats by Maddie Frost. And I think you will too. It is not only great fun, but helpful as well, as this fun granny is now contemplating the advisability of attaining a handbag large enough to carry around a ball of emergency yarn. Really, don't miss it.
Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault by Megan Clendenan and Brittany Cicchese.
Tracy’s take: Sometimes I am in awe of how much I can learn from a simple picture book. Many of you may be familiar with the global seed vault on the island of Svalbard, Norway. For those of you unfamiliar, here are some facts that I learned in 10 minutes with the beautiful and essential picture book: did you know there are over 580 million seeds in this seed vault, as each type of plant life on Earth might have hundreds or thousands of varieties? Some plants are facing extinction because of not only climate change, but also the fact that humans just don't use them. There are more than 20,000 plants that humans can eat, but today we rely on only 12 major crops for our food, and even varieties of those crops can grow extinct if they are not used and cultivated.
Can you imagine the stress of being in charge of all the potential food on Earth? The first withdrawal from the vault happened after refugees fled war in Syria. Before they escaped, citizens sent 116,000 varieties of seeds to the Svalbard Vault. After settling in Lebanon and Morocco, 38,703 varieties of seeds were retrieved and planted. Those varieties of seeds have since been replenished in the vault.
Want more? The back matter of this book is fantastic, and all this knowledge is beautifully wrapped in a stunner of a picture book. Please check out Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, written by Megan Clendenan and illustrated by Brittany Cicchese.
Middle grade books
The Picasso Curse, by Dan Gutman.
Tracy’s take: Dan Gutman is an author with one of the most sought after of all abilities, true kid appeal. He is probably best known for his My Weird School series and his Baseball Card Adventure series. I am always eager to put a new Gutman on the shelf, and his latest, The Picasso Curse, is a great addition to our collection. Indeed, I was helping a patron find a book the other day. She saw The Picasso Curse on the shelf and exclaimed, “I loved that book!”
Edwin Hodge hemmed and hawed before he paid $10 for a Kobe Bryant poster at a flea market. When he took it out of the frame to tape it above his bed, another piece of paper fluttered out. It was a doodle, and as Edwin described, it kind of looked like a woman's face, and at the same time, it kind of didn't.
After introducing the story, Gutman spends a couple of chapters of true history, how the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911, and how Pablo Picasso was questioned by police as a suspect in the case. Who knew?
Edwin's teacher still encouraged show-and-tell for her 12-year-olds. So, Edwin brought in his Kobe poster and the doodle he found behind it. That might have been that, but his art teacher caught a glimpse of the doodle that sends Edwin and his family down a rabbit hole that included a trip to Chicago to verify that, indeed, Edwin had unearthed an early Picasso. How to keep it safe, the decision to sell or not, and trying to figure out who broke into Edwin's house in search of the doodle, all leads Edwin to believe that he, too, has been a victim of Picasso's curse. In Edwin's case, as his family deals with the pros and increasing cons of owning a piece of art that could be worth millions of dollars, he feels it just isn't worth it. What he decides to do with the doodle, however, very much surprised me.
Uniquely, the reader is completely pulled into the end of the story, and the outcome relies on their choices. Gutman finishes with a fantastic author's note about who really stole the Mona Lisa, now that we know it wasn't Pablo Picasso. If someone in your life is looking for a great read, check out The Picasso Curse by Dan Gutman.
Tuck Everlasting: The Graphic Novel by K. Woodman-Maynard.
Tracy’s take: It's been a while since we've talked graphic novels, but I've got a great one to share with you today. Remember that graphic novels, which are essentially book-length, completely illustrated stories, are outstanding for our brains, as the reader needs to interpret the pictures as well as decode the words. If a reader in your life is hooked on graphic novels, that is a cause for celebration, as their brains are getting a great workout. If you've never tried a graphic novel, I've got an excellent place for you to start.
Tuck Everlasting won a 1975 Newbery Honor Award. You may remember it tells the tale of 10-year-old Winnie Foster, a lonely child from a wealthy family. Winnie meets the Tuck family and discovers their secret: they inadvertently drank from a spring that guarantees eternal life. After the Tucks know that Winnie holds their secret, they take her to their cabin to try to convince her not to tell the world. Meanwhile, a new gentleman in town convinces Winnie's parents, who believe that Winnie was kidnapped, that he knows where she is, and he will lead them to her in exchange for a deed to some land they own, which happens to hold the spring from which eternal life can be gained.
The book does an excellent job of raising thoughtful questions without handing the answer to the reader. The graphic novel adaptation is superb and very true to the story. The story leaves the reader to question what they might choose were they in Winnie's shoes.
The most unique part of this graphic novel, however, might be the back matter, where the author-illustrator shows exactly how this graphic novel was born. From several readings of the book to hundreds of sketches and paintings, I was left with a significantly better understanding of the process behind graphic novel creation. If you know a graphic novel enthusiast, or if you have never read one and would like to try it out, I highly, highly recommend this one. Don't miss Tuck Everlasting: The Graphic Novel, masterfully adapted and illustrated by K. Woodman-Maynard.
Happy reading!
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What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
