nonfiction

“Events churn to an utterly
predictable confrontation that leaves the door open
to the next volume in the planned trilogy.”
from hemlock
and has her own shipboard romance. Pamela’s needy, troubled
mother arrives during the same week that her father and his
girlfriend are on board. A rather old-fashioned plot with a tone
of comfortable familiarity mixes with a smattering of innuendo
and scatological humor. Alice observes it all from her place on
the verge of adulthood, pondering what the future holds for her
as she looks back over her life so far.
Readers who have been along with Alice on her journey
from the start will enjoy this latest installment in a reliable
series as it begins to wind down. (Fiction. 13-15)
SQUID AND OCTOPUS
Friends for Always
Nyeu, Tao
Illus. by Nyeu, Tao
Dial (40 pp.)
$16.99 | Jun. 1, 2012
978-0-8037-3565-1
Nyeu’s latest contains four stories about the relationship
between two eccentric sea creatures.
When Squid knits socks for his multiple limbs and Octopus
tells him they wear mittens, not socks, the buddies argue. Next,
Squid is sad to have lost the X-ray vision bestowed while dreaming—and
his status as “Super Squid.” His friend convinces
him that he remains special. Octopus then mistakes a cowboy
boot for a hat; finally, the duo reads a fortune about everlasting
friendship—the most successful story of the lot. While Nyeu’s
swirling silkscreens, executed in a controlled palette of blues,
greens, oranges and yellows, present flora and fauna in magical,
decorative compositions, her verbal narrative falls short.
The conflicts and dialogues, for the most part, do not ring true.
Why wouldn’t Squid know about mittens, if those are what they
always wear When Octopus cheers Squid up after his dream,
the conversation sounds more like an unnaturally cheery adult
talking to a child than two close friends. The characters’ emotional
range is limited. Side comments of secondary characters
don’t add much in the way of humor or interest. Arnold Lobel,
James Marshall and Mo Willems each created famous odd couples
by pairing verbal restraint with nuanced facial expressions,
universal feelings with understated affection. There is something
to be learned from these models.
Long on design; short on story. (Picture book. 4-6)
CHICKEN, PIG,
COW’S FIRST FIGHT
Ohi, Ruth
Illus. by Ohi, Ruth
Annick Press (26 pp.)
$6.95 paperback | PLB $19.95
May 1, 2012
978-1-55451-370-3
978-1-55451-371-0 PLB
The trio of best friends is back (Chicken, Pig, Cow on the Move,
2011), but this time the problem they solve is of their own making.
All three toys are impressed with the block city Girl has
made, but Chicken declares it perfect only after he adds a
chicken statue crafted from yellow leaves and red flowers.
Meanwhile, Pig just can’t contain his enthusiasm. Predictably,
his zip-zooming wrecks Chicken’s chicken. After the I-toldyou-so’s
and Pig’s failed attempt to repair the statue, a tearyeyed
Pig runs off and gets out his manic energy in a few acts
of derring-do that lead to the destruction of something much
larger than a statue. Convinced of his innate badness, Pig hides
under the couch. In the meantime, Chicken and Cow devise a
way to keep Dog (who is real) from getting the blame. Pig’s eventual
apology and request to help rebuild the statue are heartfelt,
and his friends reassure him that he is not bad: “You’re a good
friend who was in a bad, mad mood.” While this may be true of
Pig’s destruction of the city, adults may need to address Pig’s
initial poor decision to run around. Short sentences and simple
vocabulary make this accessible for early readers. Ohi’s watercolors
are as endearing as ever, watercolor strokes conveying the
characters’ every emotion.
Ohi’s toys keep getting more real with every outing—
what new problem will they tackle next (Picture book. 1-5)
TRANSCENDENCE
Omololu, C.J.
Walker (336 pp.)
$16.99 | Jun. 1, 2012
978-0-8027-2370-3
A girl musician who starts remembering
her past lives learns that reincarnation
can be dangerous, but romantic too.
Cole, who plays the cello at worldclass
standards, meets a dark and handsome
stranger when she visits the Tower
of London. There she has a vision of her own execution. Griffon
rescues her when she faints. On returning to San Francisco,
she learns that Griffon also lives there, and he tells her that he
and she are “Ahket,” people who can remember their past lives.
Meanwhile, Cole remembers more and more about a previous
life as a young Italian cellist who was innocently involved in a
murder over 100 years ago. Also, she learns that her cello student
is a woman who just may have been the victim and who may be
seeking revenge. Cole finds herself strongly attracted to Griffon.
Could he be a romantic partner from an earlier time Omololu
moves the action along, revealing her plot, narrating the past-life
memories in italics and inserting intriguing clues into those episodes.
The classical-music motif is a welcome addition to the plot,
and the reincarnation theme stands out as a nice break from the
usual paranormal subject matter. That Griffon is biracial, both
indicated on the cover and revealed in the text, promises another
nice break, but there is no textual follow-up.
Overall, nicely done. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)
THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO
TRACKING MERMAIDS
Paquette, Ammi-Joan
Illus. by Letourneau, Marie
Tanglewood Press (32 pp.)
$16.95 | May 1, 2012
978-1-933718-59-0
This second Tiptoe Guide (The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies,
2010) has readers scouring the seashore for mermaids and
imagining what their lives must be like.
Not a story, but not a guidebook in the traditional sense
either, this is more of a fits-and-starts foray into imagination
that may leave many of its readers behind. Listen to a conch
shell’s secrets, search a tidal pool for evidence of baby mermaids,
imagine shells as mermaid jewelry, sand dollars as money and
ocean plants as food, with crabs scrounging the leftovers. But
the author goes beyond readers’ reach, as the mermaids play
with dolphins, swim amid the coral and carry out their daily
activities (primping, napping, shopping) on the ocean floor.
While Paquette’s first capitalized on the popularity of fairy
houses and the easy accessibility of most to the great outdoors,
this latest narrows its readership by focusing on the ocean. It
further disappoints this limited audience by highlighting beachcombing
finds that are relatively rare, if not geographically
impossible: perfect sand dollars and conch shells, ocean plants,
tide pools—not to mention the warm-enough-for-a-bathingsuit
but nonetheless deserted, beach. Letourneau layers her fanciful
watercolor mermaids atop beautiful photographs, which
gives a jarring feel to the artwork. Further, when the text asks
readers, “Can you see any mermaids anywhere” she makes no
effort at hiding them.
The glittery cover and promise of mermaids may
attract readers initially, but there is little here to lure them
for repeated readings. (Picture book. 4-7)
HEMLOCK
Peacock, Kathleen
Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
(416 pp.)
$17.99 | May 8, 2012
978-0-06-204865-3
Ever since the white werewolf killed
Mackenzie’s best friend, Amy, she’s been
having nightmares. Amy’s boyfriend, Jason,
has gone off the deep end. And their other
friend, Kyle, has distanced himself.
The Trackers, an anti-werewolf vigilante group, have come to
Hemlock to round up anyone with Lupine Syndrome to be permanently
interned in a government-run “rehabilitation camp.”
You’d think Mackenzie would be behind this, but one of the few
caring adults in her peripatetic youth with a no-good father was
a closeted werewolf who had never hurt anyone but was rounded
up and interned anyway. Peacock makes sure readers understand
the symbolism; narrator Mackenzie actively reflects on the parallels
between the werewolf hunt and war propaganda. But because
this is a teen paranormal romance, the dominant plot is, surprise,
a love triangle. Kyle, who Mackenzie and readers learn fairly early
on is a werewolf, is in love with Mackenzie. So is the tortured Jason,
who has joined the Trackers. As Mackenzie says to herself, “It was
official: my life belonged on the CW.” It’s this ironic self-awareness
that keeps the book at all palatable. Events churn to an utterly predictable
confrontation that leaves the door open to the next volume
in the planned trilogy.
Mildly interesting ideas are obscured by all the necessary
ingredients of the genre. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)
COCK-A-DOODLE WHO
Perrin, Martine
Translated by Kossnar, Elizabeth
Illus. by Perrin, Martine
Whitman (40 pp.)
$12.99 | May 1, 2012
978-0-8075-1107-7
Die-cuts and a rhyming question-and-answer format showcase
animals and patterns.
Two different but similar patterns are used in this puzzle that
depends on reveals. A die-cut animal shape is shown against an
inappropriate pattern, and a question is posed. “Mooing cow, for
whom do you wait” (The cow has a black-and-white–flowered
hide.) After the page turn, the animal has its proper pattern and
the new image answers the original question. “This maid stepping
with a very quick gait.” (The milkmaid wears a flowered
dress; the Holstein now has the usual black-and-white coloring.)
The cow, duck, snail, sheep, ladybugs, trout, fox and rooster are
presented as a farm animal collection, but they make an unusual
one. The couplets, translated from the original French, have
end rhyme, but limping rhythm makes them difficult to read
aloud. Two of Perrin’s previous books have been published here
as board books (Look Who’s There! and What Do You See, 2011)
866 | 15 april 2012 | children’s & teen | kirkusreviews.com |
| kirkusreviews.com | children’s & teen | 15 april 2012 | 867