Jennifer's Book Reviews
I have reviewed books since 1997 for libraries, book review groups, and KIRKUS. When I started, I wasn't very good at it. I was required to write my first review in library school in 1996 as a class assignment, and my teacher made me do it over. I guess the second attempt was an improvement because the note on my paper said to frame it.
Later we moved on to literary criticisms, and though I have lost that first review, I do have the first literary criticism I ever wrote, for The Carousel by Liz Rosenberg, which follows:
This book contains illustrations reminiscent of The Polar Express in terms of of the eerie atmosphere created by the use of subdued tones of color in acrylic and pencil. The feeling of a wet winter's evening pervades throughout established by the blue and gray tones used in the illustrations. The reader is told that it is February, but warm, and that it is starting to drizzle as twilight hits. Breaths of air can be seen coming from the older sister's mouth as she warns her sister to be quiet, and later the horses "snorted white clouds of breath". During the last half of the story, after the horses have gone wild and the sisters are attempting to fix the carousel, the rain and lightning are apparent in the illustrations and we are told that "thunder rumbled". Throughout, the scene is set for some mystical adventure.
La Marche uses subtle references in the illustrations before and after the magical encounter that extend the experience. The shapes of horses can be see in the clouds as one sister whispers, "The horses are asleep", and the bushes outside the carousel imitate two horses, one in a rearing stance. Also similar to Van Allsburg's style is the unusual perspective and emotion shown in every illustration. From the surprised looks on the girl's faces at the beginning, to the wild eyes of the horses as they are discovered, to the stoic stance of the older sister as she prepares to play her flute, to the final illustration of the girls standing with their father reminiscing about their mother, there is magic and expression and realism exhibited. Each illustration raises the curiosity level of the reader necessitating a flip of the page to find out what will happen next. For example, close to the beginning when the girls hear a strange sound, the adjoining illustration shows the older sister shushing her sister quiet and a look of amazement and shock on the the younger sister's face. The setting is dark and foreboding and the perspective shown enhances the fact that this is not a typical situation. The reader is not put at ease. He must turn the page to find out what the girls see. Likewise, the illustration showing the older sister sitting on the zebra and holding her flute case while watching the horses flying wildly through the air is reminiscent of a soldier preparing for battle. The reader must turn the page to discover the outcome.
The circumstances of the magical evening are told retrospectively by the youngest sister which, combined with the action and commotion depicted in the illustrations, leads to an exciting story. In addition to the magic, there is the continual reference to the girls' mother who has died. The memories are good ones and there is the feeling that perhaps their mother is helping them the entire time and watching over them - that even though she is gone, perhaps she isn't. And differing from many other stories that deal with a parent's death, these girls already know this to be true. For example, when the girls decide to fix the broken carousel to calm the wild horses they immediately think to use their mother's tools. She had been the one who could fix anything so the feeling is that this mechanical ability is passed on to the youngest daughter. She is her mother's image. Likewise, the oldest daughter uses a song that her mother had played to the girls when they could not sleep at night to calm the horses, perhaps hoping for that same calming quality. Things that their mother used to say were mentioned throughout the story such as, "...the carousel horses slept all winter and woke in spring", and "...take good care of your tools and they'll take good care of you", and "...that park was magical in the rain." As the girls were leaving the horses and the carousel the smell reminded the youngest sister of her mother's old wool coat. It is as if they have spent the afternoon with their mother through their memories in this magical place and, at the end, return home safely to their father. The final illustration shows the girls with their father under his big umbrella. There is a feeling of such safety and comfort in this illustration, with the horse picture in the light shade behind them, "...all three of us, safe inside the umbrella, under the shining porch light..." The entire mood has changed in this last illustration from a dark, mystical feeling to one of great comfort.
The story is full of imagery - Rosenburg filling the text with similies and metaphors that create another depth of appreciation. The harnesses can be heard chiming like Christmas bells and one can imagine the backs of the Lippizaners gleaming like snowy mountains. The mare's silvery neck is said tosmell like new-mown grass. Likewise, the description of actions lieaves little doubt of the behaviors exhibitied, "She was watching the horses the same way she sometimes watched me."
The Carousel, with its atmosphere, magic, emotion, action, plot, and imagery, is a combination that would enhance a unit on death or be used to delight for pure fantasy.
I don't ever want to write another literary criticism. This may be why I don't review picture books and why you probably won't find one on my page.
This book contains illustrations reminiscent of The Polar Express in terms of of the eerie atmosphere created by the use of subdued tones of color in acrylic and pencil. The feeling of a wet winter's evening pervades throughout established by the blue and gray tones used in the illustrations. The reader is told that it is February, but warm, and that it is starting to drizzle as twilight hits. Breaths of air can be seen coming from the older sister's mouth as she warns her sister to be quiet, and later the horses "snorted white clouds of breath". During the last half of the story, after the horses have gone wild and the sisters are attempting to fix the carousel, the rain and lightning are apparent in the illustrations and we are told that "thunder rumbled". Throughout, the scene is set for some mystical adventure.
La Marche uses subtle references in the illustrations before and after the magical encounter that extend the experience. The shapes of horses can be see in the clouds as one sister whispers, "The horses are asleep", and the bushes outside the carousel imitate two horses, one in a rearing stance. Also similar to Van Allsburg's style is the unusual perspective and emotion shown in every illustration. From the surprised looks on the girl's faces at the beginning, to the wild eyes of the horses as they are discovered, to the stoic stance of the older sister as she prepares to play her flute, to the final illustration of the girls standing with their father reminiscing about their mother, there is magic and expression and realism exhibited. Each illustration raises the curiosity level of the reader necessitating a flip of the page to find out what will happen next. For example, close to the beginning when the girls hear a strange sound, the adjoining illustration shows the older sister shushing her sister quiet and a look of amazement and shock on the the younger sister's face. The setting is dark and foreboding and the perspective shown enhances the fact that this is not a typical situation. The reader is not put at ease. He must turn the page to find out what the girls see. Likewise, the illustration showing the older sister sitting on the zebra and holding her flute case while watching the horses flying wildly through the air is reminiscent of a soldier preparing for battle. The reader must turn the page to discover the outcome.
The circumstances of the magical evening are told retrospectively by the youngest sister which, combined with the action and commotion depicted in the illustrations, leads to an exciting story. In addition to the magic, there is the continual reference to the girls' mother who has died. The memories are good ones and there is the feeling that perhaps their mother is helping them the entire time and watching over them - that even though she is gone, perhaps she isn't. And differing from many other stories that deal with a parent's death, these girls already know this to be true. For example, when the girls decide to fix the broken carousel to calm the wild horses they immediately think to use their mother's tools. She had been the one who could fix anything so the feeling is that this mechanical ability is passed on to the youngest daughter. She is her mother's image. Likewise, the oldest daughter uses a song that her mother had played to the girls when they could not sleep at night to calm the horses, perhaps hoping for that same calming quality. Things that their mother used to say were mentioned throughout the story such as, "...the carousel horses slept all winter and woke in spring", and "...take good care of your tools and they'll take good care of you", and "...that park was magical in the rain." As the girls were leaving the horses and the carousel the smell reminded the youngest sister of her mother's old wool coat. It is as if they have spent the afternoon with their mother through their memories in this magical place and, at the end, return home safely to their father. The final illustration shows the girls with their father under his big umbrella. There is a feeling of such safety and comfort in this illustration, with the horse picture in the light shade behind them, "...all three of us, safe inside the umbrella, under the shining porch light..." The entire mood has changed in this last illustration from a dark, mystical feeling to one of great comfort.
The story is full of imagery - Rosenburg filling the text with similies and metaphors that create another depth of appreciation. The harnesses can be heard chiming like Christmas bells and one can imagine the backs of the Lippizaners gleaming like snowy mountains. The mare's silvery neck is said tosmell like new-mown grass. Likewise, the description of actions lieaves little doubt of the behaviors exhibitied, "She was watching the horses the same way she sometimes watched me."
The Carousel, with its atmosphere, magic, emotion, action, plot, and imagery, is a combination that would enhance a unit on death or be used to delight for pure fantasy.
I don't ever want to write another literary criticism. This may be why I don't review picture books and why you probably won't find one on my page.