Gaiman's: The Wolves in the Walls

Picture books just don't look like they used to. Neil Gaiman writes a nightmarish tale of wolves coming from the walls of Lucy's family's home. Lucy knows and warns, but her family denies and ignores until it is too late. Will the family stay to fight or run in fear? McKean's paint/drawing embellished photo collages help set the foreboding tone. This off-the-wall story wouldn't be complete without a surprise visit from the Queen of Melanesia to assist with the gardening. When it comes right down to it, this story is about facing fears and an important pig puppet. Gaiman may also be having a little fun with the idea of urban legends.

Fairy Tales Revisited

Diane Stanley writes a sequel to Rumpelstiltskin in Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter. The miller's daughter is now married to Rumpelstiltskin and has a wise daughter. The king is back to his greedy ways and his kingdom is impoverished. The daughter takes him on and tricks him into giving away his gold. Some very nice details in the illustrations including some clever and comical homages to many master painters. Readers will likely find that more was removed from the original tale than was actually added here, including much of the charm.

Virginia Hamilton relates a West Indian version of the little gold spinning man in The Girl Who Spun Gold. Told in simplified colloquial speech patterns of the West Indies this tale too has a greedy king and rich detailed illustrations with shiny gold accents by Leo and Diane Dillon. The patterns in the woven cloth are beautiful and the angry little man explodes in an extravagant display in the end.

An illustrator/writer Kevin O'Malley teams up with two more illustrators, Carol Heyer (princess illustrations) and Scott Goto (motorcycle dude illustrations), to create Once Upon A Cool Motorcycle Dude. With this battle of the sexes, 3rd grade style, the story of a pony loving Barbie-esque Princess Tenderheart is introduced by a little girl. It seems a giant is stealing away her ponies making the poor princess distraught. The story turns from pink and lavender melodrama to black and orange action adventure when voiced by her little boy partner. And in if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em spirit the story goes from wacky to over the top volcano-exploding silly...the end. But wait, there's more...

Faces of America

Allen Say writes an interesting tale of the importance of appearances, self-identity, and perseverance. An engaging biography of Bong Way (Billy) Wong who, fighting the odds through more than persistence, becomes the first Chinese Bullfighter, El Chino. An engaging story with unexpected turns to surprise reluctant readers perhaps facing their own odds. It reads like a faerie tale with the magic of ingenuity, self-image and self-realization. The pictures have a very still and peaceful almost antique photograph-like quality. They match the steady perseverance of Billy Wong following his dreams.

A tattered child's coat in the Ellis Island Immigration Museum inspires Elvira Woodruff to write this story of a childhood friendship between a story teller and an illustrator in Memory Coat. Themes of loss, family, and anti-Semitism culminate in a dramatic conclusion where wit overcomes an obstacle to keep family together. Michael Dooling recreates the mood of historical photographs for the oil painting illustrations.

Pre-World War II street vendor shouts in Charleston, South Carolina are the basis for a child describing the music she hears of her hometown in Carolina Shout!. From the early morning raindrops on the tin roof to the evening sad song of the Charcoal Man a girl finds music everywhere and in everything. Award winning author Alan Schroeder and award winning illustrator Bernie Fuchs join forces to create this lighthearted remembrance of a time when our lives sounded so different. This was a time of frogs croaking and street vendors shouting. The oils on canvas capture warmth and action as the sounds are captured in song and onomatopoeic verse.