Children's Books discussion

Winner: The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris.

Newbery Honors:
Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson and Junvi Wu
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri and Daniel Miyares

These should, of course, be widely avl. in libraries, but I'm checking early.

I already gave Simon Sort of Says four stars. I might reread it, but probably not just because there are so many this month! My review:

(view spoiler)[The premise and the first few pages might put a reader off, especially a jaded reader like me. But I know the author can write, so I wanted to see where she took all the stories that add up to these characters' lives. Well, she didn't actually 'take' them anywhere....

Because real life is always about change, whether it's growing up, facing challenges, overcoming loss, experiencing epiphanies... life can certainly have happy closures, but not 'ever afters.' And that's what this amazing book shows us. Simon is more than his status of being a survivor, Agate is more than her autism, and this small town is about more than the dichotomy between Team Science and Team Farm.

Otoh, there are a few nits one can pick. For example, Curtis is played for laughs; if there is ever a sequel we'd have to do something nice with him that would enable our undertaker to have a more competent assistant.

And, honestly, I wouldn't mind a sequel. Life goes on, yes, and these are characters I enjoyed spending time with. I'd love to spend more time with them. In the meantime I will look at the author's other books.

I even learned something from Agate: "Did you know that the risk of dehydration actually increases when it's humid?" Which explains why I was so thirsty in the humid summers in Missouri, and why sweat was such an issue there. (See comment for more detail if you're interested.) (hide spoiler)]

I think that I will reread Elf Dog and Owl Head because I only gave it three stars and a not well-written review. Iow, I think that I must have missed something.

Hm. You might want to check, too. At least two of these are not available in my little local library, so thank goodness I have access to the city.

Three stars, my own opinion, for The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams.

Not my kind of story at all. No map, though it is a tale of the Silk Road. Idiomatic English using cliches that should have been avoided even if they didn't jar... I guess the point is that jokes, word-play, etc. are universal... but they still seem wrong.

There is humor. And heart. And philosophy, author's note & bibliography, twist ending, illustrations. It's fine. I'm not sure why the Newbery committee likes it though. A global perspective I guess.

I do not like the cover though. Way too busy, takes time to parse and even then is odd & vibes something very different than the story. I opine the cover should be very simple. Take the silhouettes of the boy and the man from the chapter headings, put Samir's on the front, and the other on the back. I don't know the best colors - maybe dark red on sand. Let the potential reader be intrigued, not overwhelmed.