The Hunter: a Chinese Folktale

The Hunter: a Chinese Folktale retold by Mary Casanova, Illus. by Ed Young, 2000.

During a drought, the village hunter, Hai Li Bu, has occasion to rescue a pearly colored snake from a hungry crane. The reptile, not just what she seems, is the daughter of the Dragon King of the Sea, who rewards the hunter with the treasure of his choice. Although he is offered rubies, emeralds, sapphires or pearls, Hai Li Bu asks that he may understand the animal's language. With this talent he is able to provide food for his village and restore health to his people. Then one day he learns from the creatures that a flood is coming that will destroy the village. He has been told that if he reveals the source of his gift, he will be turned to stone. Yet, without proof his people will not believe his story of danger. Will Hai Li Bu sacrifice himself to save the lives of so many others?

Ed Young's pastel and gouache illustrations have graceful line drawings against warm sepia backgrounds, highlighted with white and subtle color.

Goblin Secrets

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander, 2012.

I mightily enjoyed the National Book Award winning Goblin Secrets and I can't wait to hear William Alexander speak at this summer's Camp Read-a-Lot!  His imaginative fantasy adventure indeed  unfurls its secrets and draws the reader in. I'm a super fan of fairy tales, and so I enjoyed Alexander's nods to old tales such as the Russian Baba Yaga stories (see more on Baba Yaga here and here. ) I was swallowed by his world building. Dreamlike details like fish who swim in dust, heart-coal warming fire grates, and the mechanized chicken legs of  Graba the witch enrich the story.

Rownie, believed to be somewhere between 8 and 10 years old, is an orphan who lives with a tangle of other children in Graba's house. As long as he runs Graba's errands and watches himself around his overbearing older "siblings," Rownie survives. His true older brother, Rowan, has disappeared some months ago and Rownie spends his free time looking for signs of him. Then everything changes when Rownie decides to sneak some coins owed to Graba and see a forbidden goblin masked performance. In the city of Zombay, acting is not allowed, and pretending to be something that you are not is an arrestable offense. Rownie increases Graba's wrath by not just watching the show, but playing in it and wearing a mask. Afterward, he is on the run from Graba and her far-seeing pigeons, and he joins up with the goblin troupe. And all the time, the inhabitants of Zombay are waiting for the floods to come. Will the witch's "grubs" catch Rownie? Can he make a new place for himself with the goblins?  Can Rowan be found? Or will the rising waters destroy everything?


Fans can make masks at the Goblin Secrets website:here

I look forward to reading the companion book, Ghoulish Song, about Kaile, another child of Zombay.

Book Speak! : Poems About Books

Bookspeak! : Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas. Illus. by Josee Bisaillon, 2011.

In this celebration of books and reading, Minneapolis, Minnesota author Salas has delivered twenty- one fun and thoughtful poems. Inside, various books give their points of view, like a journal in "Top Secret," and a physically worn but well-loved title in "On the Shelf and Under the Bed." Components such as a cover ("I've Got This Covered,")" Index," "Book Plate," and a story's middle ("The Middle's Lament: a Poem for Three Voices") share their feelings and purposes. Reader's also hear from essential story devices in "A Character Pleads for His Life," "Cliffhanger," "Conflicted" (about the problem needed to drive the plot) and "The End."

The joyful mixed media pictures are provided by Josee Bisaillon and are the perfect accompaniment to the poems. In "Calling All Readers," we are treated to a merry scene including a child painting a rainbow in the sky, clouds sprouting flowers, a swimming polar bear and boy, and a barefoot princess floating away on a bunch of balloons. "Lights Out in the Bookstore" features a polka dotted seal balancing a book and a stack of cupcakes, an upside down boy with his horn, a goggle-eyed girl using an over sized volume as a parachute and some striped and dotted kitties. Readers will also love the final picture of a bespectacled octopus holding seven books and a zebra striped umbrella, with three little fish sneaking a peek inside one of the books.

Here is the beginning of my favorite of the poems:

"Vacation Time!"

"Whenever I'm checked out, it's like a vacation.
I'm scanned and I'm packed for a new destination!

I've floated in airplanes. I've lain on the beach.
I've hidden in bunk beds--just out of your reach..."

Laurie Purdie Salas

Please pick up the book to enjoy the rest!