Home in the Woods - A Review

                            Written and Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

A story of survival.

A story of unshakeable faith and indomitable courage.

A story of turning boulders of obstacles into nuggets of opportunities.

When six year old Marvel and her family are forced to live in a forest due to sudden vicissitudes of circumstances, she cringes at the sight of her soon-to-be home; an empty, ramshackle shack.

But her Mum's sage advice, "You'll never know what treasures we will find," springs forth a bellwether of hope.

As the story unravels, each page of the books seems to bring hope amidst insurmountable hopelessness.

The forest abounds in unfathomable riches. From the "soft, dark, rich soil" to the tracks of "whitetail deer", nature seems to pour out a wealth of resources for the family's survival.

A "twisting trout creek", a "blooming berry patch", is nature's way of indulging Marvel's family with miraculous opportunities of fortune.

While Marvel's Mum goes to work, she and her siblings find incredible ways of divvying up chores, demonstrating compassion, camaraderie and cooperation.

Marvel's siblings not only carve out games to hone their minds, but tap into their entrepreneurial spirit. This is no mean feat as the siblings range from 3 month Eva to 14 year Rich.

The joyous spring, the hot summer, the cool-and-crisp autumn, the frigid winter offers endless possibilities of joy and laughter; only of we know where to look for it.

When Marvel's Mum whips up "magic" with her cooking, Rich says, "a feast for the kings and queens of the forest!" 

Marvel warms up to her new home and the shack looks "bright and filled up with love..." 

Written and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, Home in the Woods is an unforgettable story of love, hope and overcoming challenges in the midst of inordinate tribulations. 

Based on a true story from the author's life, it is an amazing story of faith, hope, courage and persistence. 

Underneath the element of sadness, there is an aura of hope and light that permeate throughout the book, materializing the proverbial statement "where there's a will there's a way".

The illustrations are breathtaking. I mean they are magical. Each time I pore over the art-work of one page, I find myself immovable to go on to the next page. Truly captivating!

A must read for children and adults.

My 12 year old, who loves to read my blog, pulled this quote from her chest of quotes. I thought it was so apt, that it would remiss of me not to include it in my conclusion.

"With this hope, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope" - Martin Luther King Jr.

 Image Source: www.amazon.com 

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books an imprint of Pengiun Random House LLC.

The Other Side - A Review

                                

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B.Lewis (illus.)

Nestled in a small town, amidst a sun-run-drenched summer...the story unfolds...

"That summer the fence that stretched through our town seemed bigger. We lived in a yellow house on one side of it. White people lived on the other."

Clover played with her friends, while Annie watches them from "The Other Side."

Annie's overture of friendship is squashed when Sandra (Clover's friend) rejects her (Annie's desire) to play with them.

Clover is caught in a quagmire of emotions. 

Time passes by...

Eventually, Clover casts aside centuries of inhibition and summons courage to walk up to the fence.

Annie extends her hand in friendship and the two chat away in blissful oblivion.

Not to be left aside, Clover's friends join the duo and together it's quite a celebration.

Written by critically acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by notable illustrator E.B. Lewis, winner of numerous awards, "The Other Side" is a story of the invisible veil of racism that permeates our society.

It acts as a shroud that blankets us from reaching into our inner power of love, truth and compassion.

In the summer of 2020, I was introduced to Jacqueline Woodson, at my first-ever and that too a virtual SCBWI conference. Burrowed in a Covid world, I was grateful for this wonderful opportunity from SCBWI; of meeting one of the luminaries of the children's literary world.

I was smitten by Jacqueline Woodson's powerful contribution to the world of literature and writing. 

True to my nature, I started checking out her books from my local library - the incredible Cincinnati Public Library and soon I had plunged myself into the "The Other Side".

I was stuck by the life-like renditions by E.B. Lewis. The gorgeous illustrations added another dimension to the story.

As I read further, I was taken aback by the well of emotions it stirred within me.

Having been raised in a gender-biased society, I could see how bias seeps into our lives at an unconscious level, preventing us from reaching into our inner essence of empathy, compassion and generosity.

If we can transcend this wall of prejudice and reach into our hearts, learning to co-exist harmoniously, we can transform our lives as well as those around us, as underneath we are all connected at a deeper level.

A must-read.

Image Source: www.amazon.com | Publisher: G.P. Putnam and sons.

Each Kindness - A Review

                         Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B.Lewis (illus.)                                          

                                                                      

As the snow whirls and twirls, carpeting the outside world; a shy little girl makes her debut appearance in Chloe's class.

Maya's whispered "Hello" is received with mocking derision and she becomes the object of endless contempt and disdain.

Her repeated overtures in befriending Chloe and her friends, are tossed away.

As spring dances in the air...

Maya comes to school all prettied up...her classmates lose no moment in displaying their loathing for Maya and her hand-me-down attire.

And one day...

Maya is gone.

Shocked beyond words, her classmate Chloe churns in a litany of emotions.

Filled with remorse, she yearns for Maya's return and laments at her missed moments of kindness.

Written by esteemed writer Jacqueline Woodson and brilliantly illustrated by none other than E.B. Lewis; winner of multiple awards including the Coretta Scott King award, Each Kindness is a haunting and poignant tale of lost opportunities of kindness.

Seen through the eyes of elementary level children, Each Kindness explores the unrequited acts of kindness that perpetuates our society. It's a shadow that polarizes us leaving our hearts full of gaping holes of sorrow.

It reminds us that we are so enmeshed in our rose-tinted-stained-glass vision of the world, judging, analyzing, labelling people for not conforming to our narrowed interpretation of the world, that we fail to see the beauty around us.

Maya is an unacceptable choice as Chloe's friend. Raggedly dressed, she is deemed a misfit right from the get-go. She never conforms to Chloe's choice of who or what constitutes a friend and becomes the brunt of taunts and insults.

The story demonstrates how cruel and heartless we can be when others do not conform to our perceptions and we lose no moment in demonstrating our loathing.

Albeit no expletives are used, the mannerisms and gestures convey boatloads of information - leaving gasping holes in our hearts.

A sense of superciliousness cloaks us when we see people coming from challenging situations and instead of holding out a hand to ease the pain; we seek pleasure in the pain.

Yet...the story is inspiring. It shows that despite the wordless assaults, Maya refuses to be a prisoner of her past, and although Chloe and her friends belittle her at every opportunity, Maya continues to hold out her hand in friendship.

When a forlorn Chloe understands that Maya will never return, she laments at the missed moments of kindness and realizes that kindness only propagates as we give.

A brilliant and transformational book. A must read for children and adults alike.

Image Source: www.amazon.com

Patience, Miyuki - A Review

Patience, Miyuki
Roxanne Marie Galliez and Seng Soun Ratanavanh (illus)
Princeton Architectural Press, October 2019

It is springtime and Miyuki's world is ablaze with blooming trees and blossoming flowers; yet, a tiny flower is asleep to this dazzling brilliance.

Miyuki, frantically moves from pillar to post in search of the beads of the purest water that can only quench the thirst of this little flower.

Her search proves futile. She is heartbroken and bemoans her ineptitude.

Her sagacious Grandfather tells her to "Come, sit close to me, watch, and wait for once."

Miyuki slows down and while she watches, her Grandfather inhales the intoxicating scent of "a blooming flower" and curls its leaves to let a "few drops" of the purest water glide gently into the blooming flower.

The tiny flower awakens in all radiance to greet Miyuki and her Grandfather.

Written by French writer Roxane Marie Galliez and illustrated by French painter Seng Soun Ratanavanh, Patience, Miyuki is a gorgeously tender story of a little girl's desperate quest for drops of the purest water to awaken a sleeping flower; evangelizing the message that children need to be sensitive to the laws of nature and cultivate patience, tolerance and kindness.

To me, it evangelizes the all encompassing morale of weaving patience, kindness and empathy in our daily fabric of existence.

The illustrations were mesmerizing and had an intensity that seemed to leap out of the pages and engulf me. I could spend hours poring over each stroke, each direction, each nuance of the artwork.

It's a brilliant book and an absolute must read for children and adults.

Image Source:www.amazon.com