The Places You Will Go

Picture Book of the Month: Mommies are for Counting Stars

January 2005

Mommies are for Counting Stars

By Harriet Ziefert

Illustrated by Cynthia Jabar

Publisher: Picture Puffins

This is just one book in a series that includes "Daddies Are for Catching Fireflies", "Teachers Are for Telling Stories" and "Brothers Are for Making Mud Pies". All the books are really precious. They list all the special things that the important people in your life do for and with you, like cuddling, feeding, helping, playing and protecting. Each page has a flap that opens to reveal a surprise picture that further illustrates an activity or action. One of my favourite bits is in "Daddies", on the page that talks about Daddies reading bedtime stories and, often, falling asleep themselves. The flap opens to reveal a whole crowd of stuffed animals sitting on Junior's tummy and listening to the story (and Daddy's snores) too!

Mini Review: The Whispering Road

The Whispering Road
By Livi Michael
Puffin Books
ISBN: 0141317035

Main Characters:
1. Joe
2. Annie

What It's All About
Brother and sister, Joe and Annie, run away from their master, a cruel farmer who bought them from a workhouse. The children were left there by their mother who promised to come back for them. Like most workhouse children, Joe and Annie are ill-treated - beaten, starved and over-worked.One night, Joe decides to flee and takes Annie with him. So starts a journey full of dangers and evils.

What I Like About It
It's a fast-paced, exciting story, with characters (Joe and Annie as well as the people they meet along the way) you can really believe in.

What I Didn't Like About It
It's very sad. However, that's also what makes it good. Michael is simply describing a state of affairs that actually existed. This is no fantasy but the grim truth of 19th century England. What's really heartbreaking is that Joe and Annie's life is really not too different from that of children living in poverty in many countries, right now in the 21st century!

If You Like The Sound of This book, You Should Also Try:
Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Reviewed by: Daphne Lee

My Book Reviews

A friend and I were talking this morning and when we started to discuss books, she suggested that this blog should contain links to my reviews in newspaper. Goodness! I put those links up ages ago and update them whenever a new review gets published.

I guess I''ll now have to post some sort of notice everytime a review comes out. In the meantime, here are a list (linked) of the last five reviews I wrote for The Star.

A more complete list is right there on the right of this blog, under the Archives section. It's called My Stories in The Star and lists about 80% of all the reviews I've ever written for the paper, plus one or two interviews with authors.

Growing Pains

Today, Tots to Teens focuses on Young Adult novels. Here are some of my favourites.

Reading Away the Blues

I was incredibly touched by Erna's post about her bout with depression. I also identified with her finding solace and encouragement within the pages of a book.

Besides indulging in really frivolous films, I get myself out of the doldrums (this happened a lot when I was in my early and mid-20s; I'm glad to say, the older I get, the happier I seem to be. Still, there are days when the dark clouds still gather.) by re-reading certain books.

I thought I'd list these books here. Most of them inspire and comfort me, while some just put a smile on my face and make me purr with pure cosy contentment.

Small but Beautifully Written

The Whitbread Book of the Year is Andrea Levy's Small Island.

The book was declared winner of the Whitbread Award Novel category on 6 January.

Read what The Times, The BBC and The Independent have to say.

Book Tower Update

My tower keeps on growing!

New additions:

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
On loan from my colleague, Ling.

The Master by Colm Toibin
My friend at Kinokuniya found me a paperback edition that won't break my bank!

Heartburn by Nora Ephron
I wanted, I ordered and it's arrived!

Murkmere by Patricia Elliott
Ditto!!

Which, plus the other four, makes eight in total. However, must be prepared for the possibility that I won't like them all so I'm going to keep on adding to the stack.

Mini Review: Little Women

Who hasn't read and loved Little Women by Louisa May Alcott? Well, I was surprised to discover that many of my friends and acquaintances are Alcott-virgins!

I first read the book when I was about seven. It was an abridged, picture book edition with the most wonderful illustrations that made it clear that the illustrator had a soft spot for Jo: She was drawn so that her hair was certainly not her "one beauty".

After I'd read the book at least a dozen times, I went on to read the unabridged edtion as well as the sequels Good Wives, Little Men and Jo's Boys.

I recently recommended it to a Tots to Teens reader who said she didn't "dare" read it because
classics were boring. Well, this one definitely is not. I happen to think everyone should read Little Women at least once in their lifetime. Which has got me wondering ... if you could pick five books (of anyy genre) that every man, woman and child had to read, what would they be?

Have a think about it. And in the meantime ...

 

Picture Perfect: Lauren Child

As promised in today's Tots to Teens, I'm posting Lauren Child's and Sara Fanelli's bibliographies.

 

Talking Shops

Today, the BOOKS section at the Guardian Unlimited website features a story on independent bookshops. In this day of Borders, Kinokuniya and MPH, most of us are used to large chains that serve coffee and cheesecake, and have staff guilty of shelving Stephen Hawking under OCCULT.

We've all had scary experiences at big book chains. Ask for a book or an author and, very often, you're treated like you're speaking some obscure Eastern European dialect or quoting from a thesis on astro physics! I must say that this happens less at Kinokuniya, KLCC in Kuala Lumpur. Well, at least the people who work in the children's book department seem to be making more effort to know what they're selling. However, I did overhear one of them telling a customer that Malaysian Children's Favourite Stories is for toddlers: Wrong!!!