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books

Binky Under Pressure by Ashley Spires

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I was introduced to Binky the Space Cat last year and was utterly charmed. As a space cat, it is Binky’s job to protect his family from the “aliens” (bugs) that threaten the “space station” (the family’s home). It’s a tough job…but somebody’s gotta do it. In Spires’ third installment, Binky must contend with an interloper in the space station – a foster cat named Gracie who is more than she seems.

I quite enjoyed the story. The first two books were were pretty solitary – Binky interacted with his family (only a little, and they never understood him) and his best friend Ted (who is a stuffed animal), but no one on his own level. With the addition of Gracie, he’s given another animal to socialize with, and they get up to some fun hijinks.

Although the gimmick of Binky being a “space cat” is no longer new, each additional book in the series has maintained the same high quality as the first. The stories are clever and fun (with just the right amount of farting) and the art continues to delight. While Binky himself doesn’t talk, he does make some hilarious noises. His facial expressions are probably my favorite – Spires communicates so much with just a little re-positioning of the mouth or narrowing of the eyes. There are enough details that a second reading is just as enjoyable as the first.
Previously, on Binky the Space Cat…

Since much of the story is told through captions rather than dialogue, thought-bubbles, or pure action, I think these books work well as read-alouds, which can’t be said for most comics. Of course, the art is still wonderful – those expressions on Binky’s face kill me – and adds so much to the story, meaning it’s best shared with one or two little ones so they can each get a good look. (Or you can have your grown-up boyfriend read it and giggle with you, whichever.)

Binky isn’t sure how he feels about the new addition to the space station. Look at his expression in the last panel! Precious and sassy.

Binky the Space Cat and Binky to the Rescue by Ashley Spires

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Binky is a space cat, although no one else in his household knows it. He’s received his official letter from F.U.R.S.T. (Felines of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), which means he is ready to venture outside of the house and into outer space (known simply as “outside” to the rest of us). Binky’s goal as a space cat is to protect his family – a woman and her son – from the aliens that encroach upon their home (also known as the space station). You and I may call the aliens bugs or insects, but Binky knows better.

In Binky the Space Cat, Binky begins his tenure as a space cat by building a space ship. His family ventures into space all the time, and Binky knows he must protect them from the aliens that live out there. The only way to do that is to build a space ship and go out exploring. He also must undergo a lot of self-directed training for his trip. His faithful companion Tim, a stuffed mouse, is with him constantly. Binky’s project goes fairly well for some time, but when he nears the launch date, he realizes something that changes all of his plans.

Binky the Space Cat

In Binky to the Rescue, Binky falls out a window into outer space. He is rescued by his family, but when he is brought back inside, he realizes Tim has been left outside – right underneath an alien warship! Binky mounts a rescue, all the while being thwarted by his family who insist on keeping him inside the space station.

The stories are told mostly with captions rather than dialogue. Binky is not a talking cat – he meows and sobs and munches and makes other noises, which means he is much more of a “real life” cat than his feline counterparts in other stories. It wasn’t what I was expecting – I’m so used to talking animals by now that I’m surprised when they don’t talk – but it made for a nice change. Spires’ narration is witty and sly and just right for kids, who should get a real kick out of Binky’s misunderstanding of common everyday items as things from outer space.

Because Binky doesn’t speak, he communicates a lot through his facial expressions. All of his emotions are crystal clear and highly amusing. In fact, I’d say Spires excels more at the illustration aspect of storytelling than the writing, although she’s no slouch at writing either. As a bonus, these books are full-color, something I almost always require in a graphic novel before I’ll even consider picking it up.

Binky to the Rescue
Possibly my favorite review of this series of books is the one from School Library Journal, which calls it “sweet and clever, and for those who disdain sweet and clever, there is also farting.” The books are perhaps not as clever as I had wished – I tend to get my hopes up sometimes – but they’re clever enough to keep me reading and enjoying. Plus, Spires includes plenty of details in the illustrations that can be picked up on a re-read (in my case, I discovered at least one new fart, helpfully pointed out to me by my boyfriend). Binky’s a winner – and there’s a third adventure due out on September 1.

Books borrowed from my local library.

Long Tail Kitty by Lark Pien

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Long Tail Kitty by Lark Pien officially takes the prize for Cutest Graphic Novel Ever.  Long Tail Kitty (abbreviated LTK) is a kitty with a long tail (surprise!).  He’s got two visible teeth and a red stripe around his middle.  He has a number of friends, including a bee that stings him (they’re still friends, don’t worry), Good Tall Mouse (you guessed it, a tall mouse), and three aliens who come for a visit from their home planet (but they must be back in time for breakfast, Mom’s orders).  
The book is a series of five vignettes, and only two of them have any real conflict.  Usually this would be a death sentence for a book, but it works here.  The illustrations are so delightfully cute without being cloying, and LTK’s facial expressions are hysterical.  There’s a huge amount of energy and humor in every panel, thanks to Pien’s wonderful drawings, and despite the fact that not much happens in a lot of the book, it’s always entertaining.
My favorite part of the book involves LTK and his friend the bee, who stings him on the nose (despite the fact that LTK doesn’t really have a nose).  The bee’s stinger is nowhere to be found afterward, and the bee is distraught.  LTK doesn’t understand why the bee is so upset, since he seems to be flying fine without the stinger.  “Just imagine what it would be like if you lost your tail!” the bee exclaims.  LTK imagines just that, and the results (depicted so cleverly in his thought bubble) are hilarious. 
I don’t tend to read a lot of graphic novels for the very young set, and I’m glad I picked this one up.  I read it through in just a few minutes, but it’s worth poring over closely two or three times more.  Pien’s illustrations are simple, but she expresses so much with just a few lines.  There’s a fold-out page in the center that is especially delicious for the eyes.  Pien also includes one page at the end that teaches the reader how to draw LTK her/himself, plus another page with examples of LTK’s many moods (all hilarious and so expressive with a minimum amount of line).  Directions like these are a wonderful way for budding comic book artists to feel inspired and pick up the pen.
Everything about the look of this book is perfect: the cut-out window where we get our first glimpse of LTK on the front cover, the lettering (playful yet readable), the colors (semi-muted with a water color feel), and the final image of LTK dancing on the back cover.  When we talk about books being works of art, this is the type of book we mean.  Everything – page design, illustrations, lettering, cover and spine design, binding, even the type of paper used – works together so well.  It’s best for readers who appreciate illustration as much or more than they appreciate story, since the story is rather slim throughout, but honestly, I can’t recommend Long Tail Kitty strongly enough.

Kid-Friendly Graphic Novels & Knights of the Lunch Table by Frank Cammuso

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Every two months, all of the children’s librarians from my entire system (73 libraries!) gather downtown for an information order meeting. One of the presentations at a recent session? You guessed it – graphic novels for kids. Our fearless leaders in Children’s Services have been trying to broaden the world of graphic novels in the Los Angeles Public Library. The battlecry? No longer will the Young Adult area hold a monopoly over the graphic novels! Publishers, children’s librarians, and patrons are demanding more content for younger kids.

I managed to coerse the graphic novel committee into letting me post their great powerpoint overview of the graphic novel genre and how Los Angeles Public Library is incorporating these books into the children’s collections… and programming around it! As a verified non-expert in this genre, I appreciated the synthesis of a huge amount of information into a simplified format. I only wish I could’ve grabbed some snapshots of the cute insanely cute crafts that were demonstrated. I hope you enjoy the efforts of Marc Horton, Eva Mitnick, Carey Vance, Joanna Fabicon, and Maddy Kerr – I know I did.

The September issue of School Library Journal reflects this trend. Peter Gutiérrez wrote an article entitled “Good & Plenty: It used to be hard to find good graphic novels for the K–4 crowd. My, how times have changed.” Okay, the title is a bit of a clunker, but the article itself offers a great primer to some of the awesome material for children. And I decided to challenge myself to read a few of the novels mentioned.

My favorite of the bunch? Frank Cammuso’s Knight’s of the Lunch Table series, without a doubt.

I accidentally ordered the second volume of the series, the Dragon Players, instead of the first volume, the Dodgeball Chronicles. No matter – the story was easily picked up without needing an introduction.

King Arthur and the Round Table seemlessly fits into this modern day story about middle school. Artie attends Camelot Middle School with his evil sister Morgan. Of course, there’s a Mr. Merlyn, a science wiz with a mysterious raven as a classroom pet. And Percy and Guen show up as Artie’s best friend and love interest respectively. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to references to the Camelot legend. At times, I really want to go back and grab my copy of the Once and Future King, just to catch more obscure allusions in the text.

In the Dragon Players, Artie finds himself in a competition of dueling dragons – robot dragons, that is. The bullies of the school, appropriately named “The Horde,” have forced Percy to build them a fearsome dragon competitor. Cammuso weaves the theme of duality from the beginning of the story to the narrative climax. I particularly loved the scene where “the ladies of the lunch” dispense a warning.

Arthur, King of Middle School,
Within thy heart, two dragons duel.
One is warm and one is cook,
In thy life just one shall rule.

All pretty standard stuff, right? Of course the mystic lunch ladies would speak in cryptic gibberish. But Cammuso continues the exchange… with an appropriate food-related sense of humor. This, of course, totally confuses Artie.

French fries… or veggie sticks?
Who knows which dragon you shall pick?
Chef salad… or pizza cheesy?
One is right and one is easy.

I couldn’t stop laughing, and then I forced several co-workers to listen to the dialogue.

A shadowy figure in the guise of a dorky kid named Evo shows up with an easy answer to Artie’s dueling robots dilemma. And of course, Artie and his friends have to go through harrowing hijinx before they must make a decision. Kids will definitely identify with Artie; he’s savvy, street-wise, but a little uncertain at the same time. Like most kids, he looks to his friends and his mentors for advice… but Artie can also look to his magic locker (a middle school version of Excalibur) for a more unique form of guidance.

The art is fantastic – the characters are drawn with deft, broad strokes. The coloring is vibrant, appealing to both younger kids and their parents. I’m not extremely visually oriented; I read text too fast. But I found myself going back through the pages a second (and even a third) time to absorb all of the small details in the background of the panels. The stories pertain to middle schoolers, but younger elementary school readers will eat up this series.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

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As the school year starts picking up momentum, the writers at Stacked finally agreed on a title for our next round robin review. We have a lot of YA fiction representation, but our coverage of children’s literature is lacking at times. So, we all decided to pick up the highly discussed title, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. We keep hearing possible Newbery talk bandied about when this book is mentioned… so the contributors were intrigued!

Jennifer:

Two things really stood out for me after I read this book.

1. The setting – Fentress, Texas seems like a stereotypical little town in the middle of Central Texas. As a former resident of Austin (and a Texas native), I recognized many of the peculiar quirks so integral to Texas living – the prominence of cotton and the pecan tree, the excitement over staying at the Driskill Hotel on Congress Avenue in Austin, the constant reminders of Civil War battles, and the importance of county fairs in rural life. I especially loved the names of the Tates – 5 of the 6 Tate brothers are named after important Texas heroes of independence… and a cursory glance at my own family tree would reveal similar naming tactics for my own forebears. My mother’s family was from a small Texas town near Mexia – and again, the Calpurnia’s family stories sound very familiar when compared to the folklore of my relatives.

2. The main character – Calpurnia was inquisitive without being precocious. Obedient without being too goody-two shoes. Independent without being impractical. Towards the end, I felt like the author made Calpurnia’s distress about being a woman a little too modern in tone, but I suppose it works for a book about the dawning of the 20th century. Calpurnia also seemed very grown-up in her narrative – the book felt like it was written by her, but ten, twenty years in the future, after she attended that “university in Austin.” Her voice isn’t that of a child.

Kelly got more things right than wrong in this book. She was able to write with an authentic voice, and the reader really fell in love with so many members of the Tate family and Fentress community. I was especially partial to Travis, the tender-hearted younger brother who adored his animals.

But Kelly’s talent for writing these smaller tableaux may also be the book’s greatest weakness. This is a “small” book; very little actually happens plot-wise over the expanse of time. After reading it, I found it difficult to describe what it’s about beyond “Oh, a little girl learns about Darwin and her grandfather in turn of the century Texas.” In the end, I think that’s okay. We don’t always need overly-complicated storylines when the relationships between characters seem so real.

Kelly
Jacqueline Kelly can write, there’s no doubt about it. The prose is lovely, intricate, and challenging, even for the adult reader. This is a book that will require the intended audience to digest the language and the work of art that has been developed.
That said, this story really, really did not do it for me.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate was a very slow moving story with no real problem or resolution; instead, it’s a portrait of a girl growing up in small town Texas at the turn of the twentieth century and the challenges she faces with her interest in science and her family and society’s pressures for her to be a housewife-in-training. Each chapter is a bit of a different time of year, from spring time and the summer fair to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and finally the new year.
What bothered me the entire time was that this book has been done before, and because there’s no compelling story line and no real climax nor action, I don’t think this is a memorable read other than for the language aspect. To put it bluntly, I was really bored reading this, and it took me far longer to read than it should have simply because I never felt compelled enough by it to want to read it more.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate certainly screams traditional Newbery for me — this is the sort of book that adults think that kids should read, even if it really doesn’t seem to have a lot of kid appeal. I have a hard time envisioning 10-13 year old girls picking this one up by choice and loving it. I suspect an older audience of teens may find more success with it, but because the main character is 11, they may be turned off. Although the historical accuracy with age and maturity is solid, this will read as dated or strange for current intended audiences, I think. Moreover, this book reminds me a lot of A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, which is a similar story set in a historical era where females had desires to be something other than what society has determined for them. Although the concept and theme are great, it is a book than languishes on the shelf.
I found the characters to be flat, particularly the ancillary characters. Callie never gave me a reason to like her nor care about her story; in fact, I wished that the story had been told from the perspective of her grandfather, who seemed a heck of a lot more interesting to me. And while the use of Texas war heroes as the names of her brothers was creative, they were all the same character to me.
Like Jennifer mentioned, this wasn’t written with the voice of a child. I think that’s precisely why I had a hard time figuring this one out. Had this book been written for adults, I think it would find so much more power and popularity. A story from the voice of Callie as an adult reflecting on her childhood could have developed her a lot more and made me care about her whys and hows. But as it is now, I just couldn’t. I don’t think that an 11-year-old reading this can possibly “get” it in any sense — they won’t have the appreciation for the language nor will they understand the importance of the historical setting nor will they get the importance of the message here. I also have a hard time thinking a lot of 11-year-olds would quite have the knowledge of Darwin and the implications of his findings that DO make this book rich.
Fortunately, for a language lover, there were long periods of just falling in love with Kelly’s word weaving. I look forward to seeing what she does in the future, even though Calpurnia Tate is one book I don’t think will make any of my personal favorite lists.

Kimberly

My main opinion about The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate can be expressed as follows: I liked it, but I’m not sure an eleven-year-old would. The book is a beautifully-written, leisurely series of vignettes about young Calpurnia in turn of the twentieth century Texas. Each chapter tells a different story about Calpurnia and her family, and Darwin’s ideas form a unifying theme that also functions as a metaphor for Calpurnia’s coming of age.

There are two main reasons why I believe the book doesn’t really work for its intended age group, and Kelly (my fellow blogger) has touched upon them both. Firstly and most prominently, Calpurnia’s voice is that of an adult. Jacqueline Kelly’s choice to write the book from the perspective of a grown Calpurnia is a baffling one to me, because it removes the reader from the thick of the emotional eleven-year-old experience. Kelly’s voice often comes across as nostalgic, and it’s hard for an eleven-year-old reader to feel nostalgic about being eleven. Calpurnia’s voice makes the book more suitable for an adult.

Secondly, and almost as importantly, there is no driving force behind the book. The individual stories are endearing and amusing, and Calpurnia’s family is lovable and usually interesting (particularly her wonderful, wish-I-were-related-to-him grandfather), but nothing really seems to be at stake here. True, at times we worry that Calpurnia will be relegated to domestic slavery like the other girls of her time, but as a reader I never felt a sense of panic, and there’s no push to find out what happens next. As someone who picked up the book knowing it was geared toward pre-teens, I was surprised at this fact, and it took me awhile to get into it as a result. Quite simply, I kept on waiting for something to happen. Once I realized that the book was not really about plot, I was able to enjoy it, but I just think younger kids need something a bit more than flowery prose to keep them interested.

Less importantly, the book is long. I know that eleven-year-olds of this generation have read the great behemoths that are the later Harry Potter books, but they started off by reading the early ones, which are much shorter. The book also seems longer because nothing really happens, and this is a problem for young readers. There’s no reason to read another chapter because there is nothing to be resolved – it’s just a day in the life.

As Jennifer mentioned, the historical details are delightful, particularly for someone who is a born-and-bred Texan as I am. I learned a bit about my own state’s history, and what’s more, I enjoyed learning it, unlike when I was force-fed such history in middle school. I do think the secondary characters were well-developed, with the exception of a few of Calpurnia’s brothers, and the book had more than a few very funny bits.

The story-within-a-chapter aspect of Calpurnia Tate reminds me a little bit of Little Women, which I loved as a girl. However, even Little Women built toward something at the end and had what could be called a climax or some sort of denouement. Calpurnia Tate just seems to end. This is not to say that it’s a bad book. I quite enjoyed it. But I do believe it will have a hard time engaging the tweens.