Kid Lit Round-Up April 17, 2010

Maybe there IS a monster over there; that doesn’t mean it’s out to get you.

Hooray for Sally O. Lee! She’s taken the fear of hideous monsters lurking…somewhere…and turned it into a tea party!

One of the hardest jobs of childhood is overcoming fear. The sad thing about overcoming fear is that it leads to growing up. Who wants to do that? If we don’t overcome fears, though, we miss out on so many great opportunities.

Is There a Monster Over There? is about a little girl named Mabel who was terribly afraid of monsters and expected to find them in a lot of places monsters shouldn’t be. Sometimes she and Tiffany, her cat, build a fort to keep the monsters at bay.

One day it occurs to Mabel that monsters might not be scary, that they may, in fact, be just like us. There’s only one way to prove this theory, of course, so Mabel examines a conveniently nearby monster. In so doing, she discovered something she has in common with the monster — it is just as afraid of her as she is of it.

I don’t believe that all children’s books should deliver heavy-handed messages (or any message outside of the story, for that matter), but I delight in children’s books that deliver a message that applies to both children and adults. Is There a Monster Over There? teaches us that if we don’t examine our fears, we don’t know what it is that scares us — maybe it’s nothing at all.

When Mabel and Tiffany confront their fear, they make a friend, so we also learn that if we don’t face our fears, we may be missing out on some pretty good things, like friends and tea parties. And you can never have enough of either!

 Lee designed the typeset (“furry monster”), which is a neat touch, making the look entirely unique. Her watercolor and pen and ink illustrations convey the dark side of a child’s imagination, that place where the monsters hide until it’s time to jump out of nighttime closets. All is not dark, however, and Mabel, Tiffany, and the monster do get to frolic in the sunshine.

Bottom Line: Would I buy Is There a Monster Over There? Yes, even grownups need to be reminded that sometimes fears are unfounded.

What if the dinosaurs weren’t really extinct, but escapees from a threatening comet? What if they decided to return?

What is it with kids and dinosaurs? Are children captivated by dinosaurs because they are such opposites: dinosaurs were (mostly) big, kids are (mostly) little; dinosaurs were relatively dumb, kids have a magnificent, growing, skills set; dinosaurs are extinct, kids aren’t. Whatever the reason, there are literally thousands of books about dinosaurs.

Most of the dinosaur-themed books aimed at children that have crossed my desk are non-fiction. Dinos from Space is a fantasy, a story that puts forward “what if the dinosaurs weren’t wiped out; what if they weren’t so dumb?”

Author Michael Treni chose the comet-strike theory as the cause of extinction, and proceeds to debunk that myth with the story of what really happened. Treni tells the tale, in verse, of dinosaurs that were actually very intelligent and escaped earth in spaceships “built with dino skills.” After fifty-million years, dinosaurs return to earth and are less than pleased with what they find.

As smart as the dinosaurs were, they hadn’t counted on something crawling out of a pond and becoming man, multiplying rapidly and changing the face of the earth. Shopping malls, cities, towns, and airplanes dismayed them. They were not thrilled that their return didn’t make much of an impact, and were displeased with the lack of space and breathing room. They went so far as to consult The Idiot’s Guide to Humans, but apparently found no comfort there.

Doing as most of us would do when returning to our old neighborhoods only to find they have changed beyond belief, the dinosaurs shake their heads, jump in their ships, and take off again. Before leaving Earth, the dinosaurs tell the humans to clean up their act.

Brightly illustrated by Kristin Olivo, Dinos from Space sparks the imagination with images of dinosaurs that have human thought processes and feelings. Pre-school children through eight-year-olds who have discovered — and are in awe of — the world of dinosaurs are sure to enjoy it. Older children may not be impressed with the dinosaur’s threat of not coming back until earth is “fixed,” or buy into the fantasy of sentient, intelligent dinosaurs living shoulder-to-shoulder with humans in the modern world.

It’s fun to imagine renovating restaurants and movie theaters to accommodate the returning dinosaurs, and trying to get past a couple of gabbing dinosaurs stopped in the grocery aisle, catching up on old times. Dinos from Space offers many opportunities for imaginative discussion with its “what if” theme.

One of the more interesting points Dinos from Space makes flies in the face of traditional children’s stories. When confronted with unwelcome change, the dinosaurs don’t try to make it in a hostile world, they leave. This is a far cry from the success-at-great-effort stories like “The Little Engine that Could.” These dinosaurs aren’t hung up on making a situation work, they tell us “if you’re not happy, move on,” or “pick your battles.” Clearly, sorting out Earth’s problems was not a battle worth fighting. Bottom Line: Would I buy Dinos from Space? Yes, for young dinosaur enthusiasts.

One of the hardest things in life is accepting that all living things will die. Here is a hands-on workbook for Jewish children to lead them through the mourning process and help construct a memory book.

When a family member dies, it is a time of upset and confusion, a time younger members of the family do not fully understand. I have vivid memories of the uproar when my grandfather died; despite the fact that it was not sudden, everything seemed to come undone. I was 11 years old, and I was more upset by the drama resulting from the death of an Italian patriarch than by the loss.

Every religion, every culture, every society has its own rituals that are invoked when a member dies. Some of the customs seem bizarre to young witnesses who are trying to understand their own feelings. A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort is a workbook designed to help Jewish children sort and understand their feelings at the loss of a beloved family member, and to further understand Jewish customs at such a time.

Children are encouraged to write, draw, and color on the pages as they wish; to add photographs; and to mangle the book in whatever way they please (well, they’re given permission to fold the pages). In addition to the explanations and exercises, there are short stories which further illustrate the purpose of A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort.

Parents reviewing A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort before giving it to a child, will be tuned in to things they may not be considering in their own time of grief. It offers activities that a child and adult can do together, not just during the initial time of loss but in the future to remember and honor memories.

Jewish families are not the only ones who can benefit from A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort; it is a useful resource for those involved in grief and bereavement counseling. I have both received bereavement counseling and later performed same, and know that sensitivity to cultural differences is key. A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort clearly explains Jewish customs and rituals and provides a glossary of terms with which gentiles may not be familiar.

Exercises throughout this workbook are designed to educate and comfort a child; parents or other adults may also draw comfort from working on them with the child. It includes entertaining activities, such as puzzles, on which a child can work, as well.

Bottom Line: Would I buy A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort? Yes, if I were still engaged in bereavement counseling. Many of the exercises and activities are appropriate for children of different faiths, and it is an informative introduction to Jewish custom.

A four-year-old boy named Jordan went to the company Christmas party with his mom. He was excited at the prospect and he was not at all disappointed once the party had begun. There were many children there, who all played together and had great fun.

The big moment, though, was when Santa arrived and gave every child a gift. Jordan’s gift was a bright Yellow Hummer with a wired remote control. He could barely wait to get it home and play with it.

Jordan lived with his mother and grandmother. When he got home, he unwrapped his present completely, but needed help getting it free from the packaging. Luckily Grandma had a pair of scissors and popped the car right out. However, when she got to the last twist tie that was holding the remote control in place, she accidentally cut the wire for the remote — now where did she leave her glasses?

Jordan took his ruined car — the best gift he’d ever gotten — to his room where he cried himself to sleep. Grandma had apologized and promised to get him a new one, but he was upset.

When Jordan awoke from his nap, he picked up his yellow Hummer and looked at it for a long time, then went searching for Grandma. Uh-oh, Grandma, you’re in big trouble now! Jordan saw Granny sitting by the fire and he rushed to her, climbed onto her lap, and she held and rocked him.

The little boy then told his grandmother that the car was okay, he could still play with it. “…Grandma realized that Jordan had forgiven her. Jordan had discovered that his grandmother was more important than the gift he loved so much. Grandma was very proud of him.”

The message of this story, people are more important than things, is a fine one. However, Graham-Morgan rushes the moral in order to end the story.

I am happy to see a story about a child whose family consists of him, his mother, and grandmother; all types of families need to be acknowledged. I was disappointed that Jordan’s realization of what is important was not explored. For the story to be effective, the reader should be given a little more insight into Jordan’s feelings and how he arrived at his conclusion.

I expected that Jordan’s mother would discuss values with him when she accompanied him to his room after Grandma’s scissors slipped. Instead, Jordan takes a nap, wakes up, and everything’s fine. We know he stared at the toy, but we’re not given any indication of what he was thinking. I also expected that Jordan and Grandma might have a bit of conversation regarding the incident and their feelings.

The Yellow Hummer makes it the reader’s responsibility to discuss its message, but leaves out the necessary groundwork. Essentially, the story is “a little boy was happy, then sad, then happy.” Readers need to know why he felt these emotions, and how he resolved any negative feelings he might have had (Was he angry at Grandma? Disappointed? Heartbroken?). The Yellow Hummer is a story half-told.

Bottom Line: Would I buy The Yellow Hummer? No.