We Are in a Book!

We Are in a Book! is one of the Elephant and Piggie books (why it isn't called Gerald and Piggie, since those are the characters' names, I do not know) by Mo Willems, a very popular children's author who started off winning Emmys on Sesame Street, and is collecting Caldecott Honors.  He has written such books as Pigeon Wants a Puppy, Knuffle Bunny, and--oh, yes--Time to Pee!  


Also, a few days ago I got to work just as a co-worker was reading aloud from The Duckling Gets a Cookie?, and thought that was one of the cutest books ever.  I was also informed that I simply had to read Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct.  So I will definitely be flipping through that at work, and it may turn up in this blog later on.

The Elephant and Piggie books are what are referred to as Easy or Early Readers; and if you want a clear definition instead of a vague idea of what that means, it's simply a book intended for children just learning to read.  Easy/Early Readers are often available for children anywhere from kindergarten (or pre-) to second or third grade (or later!).  This series, as far as I can tell (though I am no expert, so don't take my word!), are more for kindergarten/first graders, with few, short words per page.

And although several of the other books in the series are perfectly adorable, I love this one because it's one of those break-the-fourth-wall, speak-to-the-reader, someone-is-watching-us! kind of books.  Piggie makes the reader say a funny word (that is, assuming the reader is reading aloud), which sends the two of them into peals of laughter.  And then Gerald asks when the book ends, at which point Piggie checks and informs him:

...which then makes Gerald panic, since that means the book is not nearly long enough for his taste.  And of course, the more he panics, the more pages he uses, and the faster the book comes to the end.

...or is it?

Fancy Nancy

I shouldn't have to do much introduction for Fancy Nancy, written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, because insofar as I can tell, it is one of the most popular children's books in the library, and frankly, it is such with good reason.  As with Press Here (ha!, said it right!), it's a wonderfully adorable little book that I like for many reasons, which I will enumerate momentarily.

But first, this is why you should always keep an eye on kids around library books, especially if they have writing utensils in their hands:

Yup, that's the first thing you see when you open up our library's copy of Fancy Nancy.  Just because these books are available to the public doesn't mean that they should look like it.

But as to why I like Fancy Nancy, it's very simple: Nancy is unreservedly in love with all things frilly and sophisticated, and this includes not only feather boas and pearls and tiaras and saying "darling" with your pinky finger raised while eating, but also: words.  Exquisite.  Iridescent.  Ecstatic.  Plume.  Chauffeur.  And speaking of "chauffeur," Nancy loves French words, because "everything in French sounds fancy."  So merci, oui, and an explanation of what R.S.V.P. is short for (Repondez s'il vous plait -- I DID NOT KNOW THIS) are what you can look forward to.  Brush up your French!

Nancy's family is quite wonderful as well, though rather plain comparatively.  When she decides that her family--woefully lacking in any sense of fancy--needs lessons, they join in wholeheartedly, and then all go out to eat in style:

Also, we find out in Bonjour, Butterfly, that Nancy is, quite possibly, one of the single most talented, epicly, wonderfully dramatic sulkers...

...of all time.

And there you have it.

Press Here

This is a children's book, called Press Here, by Here Tullet, and originally published in France under the title Un Livre.  Also, I have a habit of calling it Push Button, which is an entirely different book by author/illustrator Aliki.

I can only assume that this book isn't as popular as I think it should be because it was only first published in English two years ago, and c'mon, we've got to give it some time to gain popularity, right?  At any rate, I think it's a perfectly adorable, lovely little book that children can "interact" with, and though I've only read it to one child (Kate), I'm quite certain that it's her favorite of the books I checked out for her, since she's forever asking me to read her "the button book."

Basically, you open the book and see this:

So you press it, and when you turn the page, BAM!  TWO DOTS!  THERE ARE MAGICALLY TWO DOTS!

Rubbing the dots make them change color, tapping them makes them multiple.  But what may be Kate's favorite part is shaking and tilting the book, which makes the dots all jumbled up and then slide around the page.  Then you can line them all up, and turn the lights on and off, but then there's dark all over the page so you lift it up and blow on it to make it go away, but then you've accidentally blown too hard and most of the dots are off the page so THEN you have to tilt the book some more to get them all back in their proper place in the center of the book.

Then Kate makes me do the next part (I don't know why she won't do it herself):

Yup, that's right: they get HUMONGOBIG when you clap.  They get so big, in fact, that the yellow dot fills up the entire page, and then you have to...well, I don't want to spoil the whole thing, children's book though it is.

I'll say this, though: I don't really read the text on the page, since it's kinda stilted if you're just reading it aloud to a kid.  So instead, I modify it a little, to make it flow better.

But yeah.  If you have a child, or babysit a child, or have a cousin/niece/nephew who is a child, I do recommend this book.

(Though you may be sick of it after a dozen reads.)

Ranger's Apprentice: Ruins of Gorlan

Another juvie book!  Yaaaaaaay!

Actually, these next few books I talk about are going to be juvenile or children's picture books, so if you want some more adult stuff, you'll have to be a little patient.  Sorry!

So this is the first book in the series Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, called The Ruins of Gorlan. I believe it's Flanagan's first book (thus the "debut" in the tags), and apparently was originally a series of short stories for his son, to get said son interested in reading.  And I'll be honest, I was not in the least bit surprised when I found that out, because when I was reading it I thought that it was choppy in places, with the timeline moving along quickly (though that may be because I'm far more used to Tolkienish detailing of the passing of time).

One thing that I really appreciated was that the animosity between our main character, Will, and his pseudo-rival, Horace, did not have the cliched outcome that I was expecting.

But as with Cryptid Hunters, there's not much more than that to say.  I like the characters of Halt and his former apprentice, Gilan, but most of the other characters were pretty forgettable.  It's a good story, though nothing new, and the role/idea of the Rangers is pretty standard fantasy fare, but nothing I was particularly impressed by.  I can see why kids enjoy it, but I won't be hunting after the second book any time soon.

Cryptid Hunters

The first juvie book!  Yaaaaaay!

I picked this up because I've been eyeing its sequel, Tentacles, for some time now, and because it was in a small display we have set up of "books for boys."  I want to be an actual librarian, and am thinking about being a children's librarian, and boys are children, right?  Right?

Okay, mild justification aside, the bottom line is that I picked it up because I wanted to.  So there.

The starring roles of Cryptid Hunters, by Roland Smith, are 13-year-old twins Grace and Marty O'Hara, and fair warning: some of you nit-picking party poopers will point and scream "Mary Sue!  Gary Stu!  AT LAST WE MEET FOR THE FINAL TIME!"  Their parents (who have disappeared, presumed dead by some) are fabulously wealthy, the children themselves are fabulously smart and clever, they get in trouble--well, Marty does, at least--but not too much trouble, and are wily enough to go up against bad guys and henchmen and the dangers of the wild jungle and survive relatively unscathed.

But honestly, it really was a very enjoyable book.  Yes, it's a bit cliched at parts--but "cliche" does not equal "bad," and it's a kids' book.  When kids read, they don't necessarily pick up on the stuff that adults clearly see as cliches, for the simple fact that they usually don't have the years of reading experience that adults have, and therefore don't pick up on it.  ...that was redundant.

And...I think that's all I have to say about it.

The Alloy of Law

...I...I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book.  I checked it out December 1, 2011, and did not actually get around to reading it until, oh, March 25 or so.  Yeah, it's now been renewed five times (three weeks each!), the limit for what my library allows.

But I finally read it!  And I enjoyed it, as I knew I would.  Because, you see, I love Brandon Sanderson, and I don't think he gets nearly enough credit as an author of modern fantasy.  If someone were to come up to me and ask for a epic fantasy novel they could really sink their teeth into, he'd probably be the first on my list.

Yup, even above Tolkien.   I am a heathen.


So, The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson, is a "sequel of sorts" to his amazingly awesome Mistborn trilogy--"of sorts" because it takes place 300 years after the end of the trilogy, so the characters from those books--Vin, Elend, Sazed, etc.--are legendary figures with religious followings.  Instead, we get two new main characters, Waxillium "Wax" Ladrian and Wayne ("wax" and "wane," geddit?!).  There is also Marasai, an intelligent young woman and possible love interest for Wax, but Wax is stupid.  This is also "of sorts" because it can easily be read as a standalone--so if you're wary about reading an entire trilogy before getting to this one, you can relax.  Go ahead and go pick it up if you want.

I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed this so much is that the world of Scadrial actually had progression in those three hundred years, so while Allomancy and Feruchemy are still the big deal, there are also such nifty little things like guns, electricity, and even horseless carriages (or at least, mentions of horseless carriages--I don't quite remember if any of the main characters actually used one or not).  This makes the world so much richer and more believable, I think--so many fantasies seem to be permanently stuck in an idealized Middle Ages, which, yes, can be very fun, but once you really think about it, it's kinda boring with all the "same ol', same ol'."

Also: Sanderson has said there "might" be a sequel to this "sort-of sequel," to which I say, Mr. Sanderson, you are fooling yourself if you think you won't eventually write a sequel.  Yes, I know you've got a billionty-and-one other books in the works right now, but your ending was so blatantly set up for continuation that I think your subconscious may not be entirely in tune with the rest of your plans. You may want to look into that.