We
discussed our picture book first -- Teacup by Rebecca Young. One reader
stated, "Teacup is just not my 'cup of tea'!" We all pretty much
agreed. Although one reader felt that the illustrations were exquisite, most of
us felt that they didn't work for a picture book -- either as a read-aloud, or
for new readers. The text, mostly printed in white over light grey or blue
seascapes, was practically invisible, and this was the situation for most of the
double-page spreads. We also questioned the story of a boy who leaves home --
alone -- in a small boat, carrying only a few things, including a teacupful of
soil from the place he's leaving, and then bounces around on the sea for a
looooong time -- long enough for an apple tree to grow in the teacup. (huh??)
The bulk of the story describes his journey, but we felt that it probably
wouldn't hold youngsters' interest for very long. We also questioned his life
alone on an island he finally found, and then the arrival of a young girl, which
presumably made him very happy. The final illustration showed footprints in the
sand: large ones, smaller ones, and then very tiny ones. (again -- huh??) This
was not among our favorite picture
books.
We all
liked our novel, Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko. We agreed that
although the text was very simple and straightforward, it served the well-told
story very adequately. We loved the characters, and the issues the story dealt
with in a very non-didactic way: the roles of women and girls in 1900 San
Francisco, racism toward the people of Chinatown, the strength of the friendship
between Lizzie and Noah even though it was in secret, the relationship between
Lizzie and her father, and the issue of telling the truth when it's important to
do so. We loved the research that Choldenko had done about this historical
period and the plague epidemic, and we appreciated all of the additional
information provided in the back of the
book.
