The Paper Crane - A Review

 

Molly Bang (author, illus.)

What a delightful book! The story is truly enchanting. An absolute page-turner!

Written and illustrated by the esteemed Molly Bang, the story, although written in a simplistic style, evokes a sense of intense emotion, wonder and mystery.

A restaurateur finds out that due to a new highway, his client traffic has been diverted. 

Once prosperous, his business is now on the verge of ruins.

Amidst such desperate circumstances, an unassuming and gentle stranger makes his way to the restaurant. The restaurant owner treats him like royalty and serves the stranger the most delicious meal he can ever imagine himself serving.

For this unusual hospitality, the stranger rewards the owner with a paper crane. Yes...it does conjure the imagination of Alladin and his magical lamp:) The paper crane is indeed magical. Unfortunately, the similarity ends here.

While the genie rewards Alladin by saying "your wish is my command" whenever Alladin rubs his lamp and comes up with different experiences, the paper crane comes alive whenever the restaurateur claps his hands and the bird performs the most amazing dancing feats.

The news of the magical dancing crane reaches far and wide, and people from distant places flock the restaurant to see the dancing crane.

Here comes the cliff-hangar! 

The gentle stranger returns! However, this time, he rewards the owner by just playing his flute. To everyone's surprise, the paper crane comes alive and the stranger embarks on the dancing bird and flies away never to be seen.

Adapted from a Japanese folk tale, the story is singularly remarkable and I just wanted more of it.

The story was very moving and captured my interest about life in ways than I could ever imagine. The plethora of what-ifs. The endless possibilities. The unceasing expectations.

The story has a moral...one should never take things for granted and yet, one should never lose hope and wonder and be open to endless magical possibilities that life offers.

The illustrations are uniquely beautiful. The book won numerous awards - The ALA Notable Book award, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration and the Reading Rainbow Feature Selection.

A must read for children and adults.

                  Image Source: www.amazon.com | Publisher: Green Willow Books

The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher - A Review

 

Molly Bang

There are reasons why some books end up winning multiple awards. The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher is one of them. 

"The book won a 1981 Caldecott Honor Book award, a 1980 Boston Globe-Horn Book honor book award for Illustration, A Children's Reviewer's Choice 1980 award, ALA Booklist award, a 1980 AIGA Children's Book Show Selection award."

A wordless picture book (candidly, I had no idea that there was such a thing as wordless picture book, but apparently there is!), Molly Bang tells a fascinating story of the relentless stalking of the grey lady by the strawberry snatcher.

The illustrations are mesmerizing and the story despite being wordless has a tension to it. It has this pulsating motion that kept me wanting to find out more of what would be the next scene and the next and the next...

The Strawberry Snatcher pursues the Grey Lady like a shadow. He creeps in upon her when she is in the wilderness, in the swamps, when she is about to catch a bus, and kept me on the edge.

It's spooky with a surprise ending to it.

Image source: www.amazon.com | Publisher: Four Winds Press

Magic Like That - A Review

Samara Cole Doyon | Geneva Bowers (illus.)

Gorgeously illustrated with lyrical text, Magic Like That is a beautiful story about a little girl and how she finds empowerment through her hairstyle.

Award winner author Samara Cole Doyon and award winning illustrator Geneva Bowers through imaginative text and vivid illustrations tries to showcase that we can find beauty within us if we can look within ourselves.

Through hair that is "tall and strong", or hair that is "turning and coiling", or hair that is "brushed and teased", Samara Cole Doyon expressive words encapsulates the boundless potential within us. 

We are always comparing ourselves to others, seeking external validation, but if we only look within ourselves, we will find this power. 

We need to trust ourselves, believe in ourselves, only then will we be able to see our potential.

Magic Like That is all about empowering ourselves with self-belief, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Image source: www.amazon.com | Publisher: Lee & Low Books Inc.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain - A Review

 

Barbara Kerley

Edwin Fotheringham

It's a tall order to read about Mark Twain, let alone write a review about him...? 

But whose order was it to write about him...?

None other than my instinctive order...that instinct, that instinct which we often times call the gut...

So, when The Extraordinary Mark Twain (according to Susy) caught my eye at my work place, I reached out instinctively to read about one of the world's foremost writers of all times.

The read was nothing short of captivating.

Written by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Forthingham, the book fascinatingly explores the life of Mark Twain as observed by his daughter Susy Clemens who takes us on an incredible voyage to capture the life of her 'extraordinary' father.

Barbara Kerley provides deep insights and shares thoughts from Susy Clemens writings, which made her father human.

Susy Clemens writes "They think of Mark Twain as a humorist, joking at everything." But she mentions "I never saw a man with so much variety of feeling as Papa has."

She goes on to describe his mannerisms, peculiarities, his temper. She mentions his writing habits, how, during summer he would write all day and and read his stories to his family. He would rely on his wife to edit his stories.

She recounts with depth and clarity their daily life. She mentions his 'extraordinary' and 'not-so-extraordinary' habits as well.

The books is a fascinating account of "the greatest humorist that the United States has produced."

This is a huge inspiration. 

If one wants to be a success in life, one can take a leaf out of this biography and work steadfastly at one's passion, doors of opportunity will open up.

Image source: www.amazon.com | Scholastic Press