Momo's Kitten

Momo's Kitten. Mitsu and Taro Yashima. 1961. Viking. 33 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: Momo's family moved out West from New York City to Los Angeles, but Momo did not see any ranches or cowboys around her. Instead of these, on the way home from the nearby market one afternoon she found a miserable kitten under a geranium bush by the sidewalk. "If your father says it's all right, you may keep the kitty," Mother said. Momo made herself ready to cry in case Father should say it was not all right.

Premise/plot: Momo, the heroine, finds a stray kitten and gets to keep it. To her surprise, but probably not to her parents' surprise, her cat, Nyan-Nyan grows up to have kittens of her own. She's not allowed to keep the kittens, but consoles herself, in a way, by making birth certificates for each kitten as they are given away. The illustration of the certificate I found quite charming. I would say this is a good, old-fashioned first-pet story.

My thoughts: I love, love, LOVE Umbrella by Taro Yashima. I do. It's one of my favorite, favorite books. Momo's Kitten is another story starring Momo. So if you love Umbrella, you may just want to seek this out-of-print book out. Did I love it as much as Umbrella? Probably not. But I am glad I read it. I definitely enjoyed the text. Some illustrations I loved. Other illustrations not so much. I definitely found the illustrations for Umbrella to be more appealing.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

I Love My Dinosaur

Board Book: I Love My Dinosaur. Caroline Jayne Church. 2015. Scholastic. 10 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Hi! I'm Patrick, and I love my dinosaur! 
So here's my little dino.
He's green with tiny teeth.
Scaly on his top side
And bumpy underneath.

Premise/plot: Readers meet a boy, Patrick, who loves his dinosaur. Through rhyme, he shares just why he loves his dinosaur so much.

My thoughts: Caroline Jayne Church's board books are best for young toddlers. The art is cute and precious-y. Some readers find that type of art irresistible. Others not so much. But you always know what to expect from Caroline Jayne Church.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Case of the Phantom Cat

Case of the Phantom Cat (Maisie HItchins #3) Holly Webb. Illustrated by Marion Lindsay. 2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I enjoyed this one, I did. But I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two books in the Maisie Hitchin's mystery series. In the third mystery, Maisie meets a new friend, Alice. Alice takes French lessons from someone who boards with Maisie's grandmother. Alice has been sick and missed a few lessons, Maisie, curious as ever, goes to visit her. This will be their first time to actually talk freely and for any length of time. Some in Alice's household take a liking to Maisie, others not so much. Her father invites Maisie, whom he has just met, and whom his daughter has just met, to accompany his daughter to the country. The two girls will be accompanied by the governess. Things could go smoothly, or, not so smoothly for everyone...but with a title like CASE OF THE PHANTOM CAT...one can guess that trouble and danger are on the way...

Alice and Maisie do indeed find an adventure at the rented country house. But it isn't necessarily a dangerous one. Maisie will solve the mystery of the spooky sounds, the white "phantom" cat, and the HORRIBLE smell in the library...

If you're already hooked to the series, this one is worth your time. If you haven't met Maisie yet, this isn't the best introduction.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Night Divided

A Night Divided. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2015. Scholastic. 384 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Did I enjoy A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen? Yes and no. The better question may be, did I find it compelling and well-written? The answer to that question is YES. You see, A Night Divided isn't exactly a book that you can feel comfortable ENJOYING. The heroine, Gerta, wakes up one morning to find a wall outside her window. THE BERLIN WALL. This would be disturbing or troubling no matter the situation, but, the fact that her father and brother are now outside the wall, on the other side of Berlin, that is VERY TROUBLING to Gerta, Fritz (her other brother), and her mother.

Gerta knows that what she is feeling, that what she is thinking--whether acted on or not--could lead to nothing but trouble with the government if she's found out or informed against. For she longs with all her being to be FREE. Her brother does as well. The two of them are at risk throughout the novel...even before Gerta interprets a "secret" message from her Father.

I would definitely recommend this one to readers who enjoy historical fiction. The writing was great. The characterization was done quite well. And though I know it's subjective, I feel it was a compelling, captivating read.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Thing About Jellyfish

The Thing about Jellyfish. Ali Benjamin. 2015. Little, Brown. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

The Thing About Jellyfish is a middle grade novel showing one girl's reaction to a former friend's unexpected death. To say she STRUGGLES would be an understatement. She breaks down, or shuts down even. Suzy (Zu) turns to science for the answers. But her obsession with finding THE answer leads to more trouble. Though she herself doesn't see it. To Suzy there has to be one definitive answer to WHY her friend drowned. And until she proves her theory, she is going to stay obsessed with jellyfish.

I have very mixed feelings about The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. At times I loved it. At times I hated it. I didn't consistently feel any one way about it. Perhaps this is directly connected with how I felt about the characters.

Zu (Suzy) is at times likable and infuriating. On the one hand, her account very much focuses in on her as a victim. Poor Suzy, doesn't fit in, she doesn't belong. Suzy grew up having one really good, solid friendship. But as the two girls grew--Franny is her name--they grew apart. That is Suzy stayed exactly the same as she always was. And Franny started growing up, becoming older, more in touch socially. Zu becomes increasingly ANGRY with Franny. She takes this venomous anger to EXTREMES. If she'd merely felt all angsty and angry and hurt and confused and whatnot, I'd have sympathized more. I really would have. But because she chose to act out, well, I have a really hard time relating to Zu. Socially awkward misfit, yes, I can relate to that. Not having anyone to sit with at lunch time, yes, I can do that too. Not really wanting to talk unless you have something important to say, unless you feel really heard, I can get that to in a way. But it's the extremities that Zu goes to that keeps me from identifying with her in the end. For example, Zu is out of touch with right and wrong in big ways, extreme ways. The end of school incident between Zu and Franny is a great example of how out-of-touch she is. Not to mention the whole, it would be a great idea for me to steal money from my parents and travel to Australia to meet a perfect stranger.

I actually liked several of the "minor" characters in this one. I really liked the boy who befriends her and calls her "Belle." And I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the science teacher. So there were definitely things I enjoyed about this one. But there were also things that I didn't enjoy, things that troubled me.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews