Empty Fridge by Gaetan Doremus

Over the last year quite a large number of new books have been added to my school library and since I have been away for the whole year I am now trying to catch up on all this reading.  The pile beside my bed grows taller each day.  Today I picked up a couple of the new picture book additions one of which was Empty Fridge.

This book is brilliant. It is a simple celebration of community via a shared meal made from ingredients collected from each of the inhabitants of a tall apartment building.  Everyone has had a busy day "so much so that no one has thought of buying anything to eat. There's not a single packet of noddles in a single cupboard, not a single onion in any one's fridge. To cut a long story short : it's a disaster!"

It turns out each person in the building can rustle up one or two simple ingredients until they reach the top floor where everyone reviews the collection.  Flour, butter, milk, three carrots, five tomatoes, a capsicum, some chives, two eggs and a little bit of cheese.  What can they make?  A quiche. One quiche turns into a neighborhood celebration.  The final illustration is a riot of colour as tables are set up outside and everyone shares a quiche or two.  "Slices of quiche, slices of life."

The touches of colour among the black and white line drawings reminded me of an old favourite book Murgatroyd's Garden illustrated by Drahos Zark.  Empty Fridge was originally published in France in 2008.  I am so happy some one decided to do an English translation.  Quite simply this is a joyous book!  As a bonus its size and shape mean it looks just like a fridge.

Noah Barleywater runs away by John Boyne illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

As a marketing strategy books often have recommendations or other details on their covers.  This book, Noah Barleywater runs away, has a sticker that says "From the author of the Boy in Striped Pyjamas".  For me this is not a recommendation.  I rarely say I dislike a book but I thoroughly disliked The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and so I did hesitate to open this book.

Now that I have read it, however, I can say I really did enjoy Noah Barleywater runs away.  This is a brilliant storytelling using the story of Pinocchio woven into the story of why Noah has run away.  I must confess that while I think I "know" the story of Pinocchio I have no memory of actually reading this famous story so that will be my next book.  Luckily I own a wonderful version illustrated by Roberto Innocenti.

Noah runs away travelling through two strange and unwelcoming villages where he witness very odd things such as a moving apple tree that begs him not to take its fruit.  When he reaches the third village he meets a talking donkey, a helpful dachshund and a man in a toy shop.  The toy shop is a magical place.  Every toy is handmade from wood and most special of all the shop is filled with hundreds of puppets. The building is oddly shaped and positioned beside a very special tree that seems to be almost hypnotic.  Noah enters the shop and spends the whole day with the toy maker.  The two of them take turns to tell their own life story.  The toy maker has had a very eventful life beginning with absolutely horrid bullying in school and then the discovery that he is an outstanding runner.  His running takes him on an adventure around the world. Noah talks about his family and in particular his mother who has organised the most wonderful and memorable outings for Noah over the last few weeks.  As Noah reveals more and more of his story the curiosity of the Toymaker grows and grows as he tries to discover why Noah has run away especially when everything he describes seems to point to a loving family.

Here is a description of the toys :

"There were houses and villages, boats and trucks, every conceivable toy that an interested mind like his could dream of - and every one of them was made of solid, dark wood which seemed to give off a glow of richness and, yes, even a sort of distant hum. ... Almost everything was painted carefully - and not with just any old colours either, like the toys he had at home ...These were colours he'd never even seen before; ones he couldn't possibly even begin to name."

Reading this book is a wonderful experience. I especially loved the quirky shop with its moving door called Henry and the real cuckoo cuckoo clock. This book will probably be very different from any you have ever encountered but this is a book I highly recommend for middle and senior primary students.  One reviewer quoted inside the front cover said : "a carefully crafted, whimsical gem."

Here is a detailed review by Lois Lowry writing in the New York Times.  Take a look at the author web site.

Here is a comment from The Australian newspaper :

Quality novels for primary school-age children are quite hard to find, so this book is very appealing. There are many worthwhile series books, often filling important niches, but the inimitable stand-alone novel is rare.

Sam I am by Ilene Cooper

A few years ago a new topic was introduced for our Grade 3 students called People and their beliefs.  In this topic the children learn about some of the major religious beliefs in the world.  We have an extensive collection of books on this topic in our Non Fiction section.

Sam I am takes up this theme from the point of view of a family where the dad is from a Jewish family and mum is an Episcopalian Christian.  The sticking point comes with holidays like Easter and most especially Christmas.  The compromise they have developed is called a Hanukkah Bush.  Sadly as Christmas approaches the energetic family dog knocks over the tree breaking it and most of the delicate vintage decorations.  Mrs Goodman is so upset she refuses to replace the tree and so the stage is set for a very different Christmas this year for Sam and his family.  Meanwhile Sam struggles with his first boy girl friendship/relationship, a term in school where the topic is the holocaust and the family tensions surrounding these different religious beliefs.

This book is only suitable for Senior Primary students because Sam's holocaust assignment takes up about one third of the book but teachers of younger grades could read extracts. The explanations of Hanukkah are a little overstated but would be useful for students with no background knowledge of this festival.  There are also extensive details about the bar mitzvah of Avi, Sam's best friend.  Here is a web site for the author where you can read a detailed re-telling of the plot.  Here is a review.  I did not purchase this book for my school library and I am not sure where it came from but it would be a good book for a Senior student who is interested in religion or the holocaust.

The trip to Panama by Janosch

"Once upon a time, a little bear and a little tiger lived down by the riverside."

Thus begins an absolutely charming story of adventure, friendship and contentment.  Little Bear is a fisherman. Each day he he catches the fish for their dinner. Tiger is a very good cook so while Bear is fishing Tiger collects mushrooms, berries and honey. Each evening they sit down for a delicious dinner.

One day down by the river Little Bear sees a crate which smells of bananas,  On the side is the word Pa-na-ma.  "This crate comes from Panama, and Panama smells of bananas! Oh, Panama is the land of my dreams."

The next morning they pack up their fishing rod, red cooking pot and stripy tiger duck toy.  Along the way they meet a mouse who cannot believe any place in the world could be better than his mouse hole.  Then they meet a fox.  "Turn left,' said the fox, with out giving the matter much thought .... Left was the wrong way; they shouldn't really have asked the fox."  Next they meet a cow who also advises turning left.  Even the youngest child will realize you cannot keep turning left.  "If you keep turning left, where do you get to in the end?  Yes, quite correct!"

I adore this conversational style of the off stage narrator.  The Trip to Panama is a conversation between the characters and between the reader and narrator.  Often this means the reader knows more than the characters and this is just such fun.

As the journey progresses there are numerous obstacles but these two are such good partners.  Bear builds a shelter, Tiger finds mushrooms and with gentle reasurance the pair are not afraid.  By good luck they meet a kindly hare and hedgehog.  The next day they meet a crow.  She flies the pair into a tree and they marvel at the wonderful countryside.  Bear and Tiger are really just seeing their own countryside, river and home but from the tree they don't recognize this - they are seeing their world from a new perspective. Continuing their journey down to the river, they build a raft, repair the broken  bridge (Little Bear had once built this bridge many years earlier) and lastly they stumble on a sign post.  At the start of their journey Little Bear had made a signpost from a piece of the crate to show the way to Panama.  Now "it had fallen over and was lying in the grass"  Reading the sign they dance for joy and just a little further on they spy a house.

I thought it was time for me to talk about this special book since I mentioned it in a previous post.  There are several books in the series about these friends although sadly all are now out of print.  You can read more about these on the author web site.  Luckily we do have this book and a simple video in our school library.  Look for it today.

The ghost at the point by Charlotte Calder

I must confess at first glance this book seems to fit into two genres which I usually do not enjoy - Ghost Story and Historical Fiction. That said I really did enjoy this book.  It is not actually a ghost story at all even though the title mentions a ghost and the historical aspects (it is the 1930's) were not a major theme.  If I had to put a genre label I would say The ghost at the point is a mystery story.

Dorrie lives with her grandfather on an island accessible only by boat from the main land.  They live on the far side of the island where there are very few inhabitants and no electricity   They enjoy a simple life of companionship and fishing.  They grow their own vegetables and raise chooks for eggs and  Gah makes a living selling the fish they catch each day. Dorrie goes to school on horseback and the only real interruption to their lives so far has been a short visit by Aunt Gertrude, Gah's sister, a few years earlier.  Aunt Gertrude has now died but her visit was motivated by concern that Gah might be letting Dorrie run wild. The simple lifestyle and outside 'thunder box' mean this city person does not stay long.  While she is visiting, though, Aunt Gertrude mentions that she feels the presence of a ghost and that as a young girl she actually saw a ghost in this house.

Gah has a bad accident and Dorrie takes him to hospital.  She is determined to stay home and look after her precious cat Poppy but she is also fearful of night-time noises which at first she thinks might be the ghost.  Then things start to go missing from the kitchen and finally she spies a young boy hiding in the bush.  There is a connection between Dorrie and this boy called Alonso and some treasure that Aunt Gertrude has mentioned in the past.  Two swindlers have obtained a map showing the location of the treasure so now there is a race to the finish to see who will claim the prize and solve the mystery.

I will make a prediction that this book will be short listed for the CBCA awards in 2013.  I should have expected this to be a good book to read based on the publisher.  Walker Books editors have an exceptional eye for talent.

Stir it up by Ramin Ganeshram

This short novel is absolutely brilliant.  Anjali is a young girl living in New York.  Her family are from Trinidad and Anjali has a huge passion for cooking.  She helps out each evening in the family roti shop where she is allowed to experiment with her cooking ideas and occasionally even try these out on friendly regular customers. Anjali is a brilliant cook and she has a dream to one day host her own cooking show on television.

Anjali's parents, and especially her wonderful grandmother Deema, are happy to support this dream but they are also ambitious that their daughter attend a good school and to do this she needs to sit for a test to enter Stuyvesant High.  Deema takes Anjali to special cooking classes on Saturdays and one week she learns there will be a kids cooking show on television - think of Master Chef.  Anjali, with the help of a good friend,  makes a video and sends it into the competition.  She is asked to audition and this is a dream come true but there is a clash of dates with the High School test.  Naturally there is also a huge clash with her parents.

There are two kinds of recipes in this book.  Real ones for special food and recipes for life!  I read one review who thought kids would react badly to the food recipes because they contain ingredients that will be unfamiliar to many children but I loved this aspect of Stir it up.  We all need to expand our cultural horizons.  I knew nothing about food from Trinidad before reading this delicious book.  I may not cook the recipes but I can enjoy the experience of this spicy food through reading.

I am sure you can tell I loved Stir it up.  It is a quick and rewarding book and I especially enjoyed the realistic ending.  I won't spoil this but you might have guessed what happens.  I smiled all through this book because on my recent trip to New York city I visited the Chelsea Market where television cooking programs are filmed. (Anjali goes to Chelsea Market - can you guess why?)

The real recipes in this book include Red Bean Pudding, Aloo Pies, Deema's easy Curry Chicken and Jicama Watercress slaw.

Here is one of the life recipes :

Recipe for Ambition
4 parts desire
1 part hope
5 dashes moxie
3 cups plans, well laid
1. Pour the desire into a heavy pot placed over high heat.  Allow it to come to a hard boil and add the hope. Stir well and lower the heat to a simmer.
2. When the mixture begins to thicken, add the moxie and mix rapidly, using a whisk. Remove from the heat.
3. Allow the mixture to cool until it is no longer steaming but still hot to the touch.  Carefully fold in the well-laid plans until completely combined.
4. Pour into a heavy ceramic dish and allow to gel.

You can read a good review here and here.  If you enjoy this book you might also look for Thai-riffic.

Eddie Pipper by Janeen Brian

This book is from a junior chapter book series called Little Rockets.  I am only going to say it was okay - not great.  My biggest problem with this book was the age of the main character Eddie.

Eddie is obsessed with penguins he is also an absent minded child.  In the story he is eight years old about to turn nine but I really thought his behavior and reactions were more suited to a younger child of about five or six.  Eddie Pipper reminded me of Penguins in the 'Fridge (this is a much better book).  Eddie wants a penguin so badly he decides to make a paper-mache one to show his parents he is able to care for a pet.  He has had two bad mishaps with pets in the past - his mice escaped and the goldfish died from lack of food.  Eddie runs out of paper for his craft so he takes some paper strips from his dad's study.  It turns out these were plans for an origami competition and so Eddie is in big trouble.

The way Eddie forgets everything is so far fetched.  He forgets his bus money and so he super glues coins to his palm. Naturally he cannot pay the bus fare. He forgets his swimmers and has to swim in his pyjama pants which are decorated with penguins but the most unbelievable part is at the end when he forgets to go straight home and misses part of his own birthday party.  His mum had invited a wildlife carer to bring a real penguin but Eddie arrives home too late and the penguin has left.

The ending is not really surprise and instead of being quite joyful it just left me feeling flat.  I am sorry to be so critical.  This book does have a place in our library for younger readers who are ready for a simple chapter book.  The first chapter is good fun.

"His mum stood in the kitchen.  She was wearing her straight-mouthed look and her eyes glistened like two icicles.  She was pointing to the fridge door as she was doing a telly ad. She could've been saying, 'Look how much we can fit into out two door family fridge.  You should buy one too.'  Only her finger was stiff like a fish finger and she tapped her foot.  'Fridge door. Open. You?' Eddie nodded.  Why did his mum talk like she was texting him?  He was right in front of her."

Here is a web site for the series and we have all them in our collection. Janeen Brian has written lots of books and nearly all of them are in our school library.  I recently review Wishbone which I loved.