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I had some doubt about this book when it started with this quote, which felt very exclusive and quite vague at the same time: “To all those brave enough to become who they truly are, stay courageous”.
The book itself is a reformulation of what I have read hundreds of time in other self-help books: a) Short biography on how the author was living an unsatisfying life, had a breakthrough and then applied some life-changing method to be fully fulfilled in the present. b)List of those tips: morning gratitude, live with intention, retrain your brain, bedtime reflection. c)Repetitive journal worksheet to practice those tips. Done.
On a positive note, I really enjoyed the illustrations and the care that has been put in creating such a lovely and colorful book.
Thank you NetGalley and Rock Point for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-30
This is one of the rare books where, upon finishing, I said to myself: “I want to read it again!”. The two plays absolutely captivated me, and I was surprised by how simple Sartre's language is in French.
Huis Clos is an innovative sci-fi plot written in the 40's, focusing on the drama of interpersonal relationships. What would happen if time, sleep, basic needs were no longer a thing, and the only variant and ineluctable truth was the company of others?
Les Mouches re-explores the classic Greek plays on the lives of Orestes and Electra. It dives deep into the social questions of defining an identity, finding a sense of belonging, and understanding the foundations of a community and the meaning of life.
I loved the promise of this book: wherever you are, you can start a garden with a seed, some water and some soil. Just find any pot, shoe, or weird recipient that is big enough for a plant and here you are, you can start a garden!
I was even more excited to see that this book was apparently about inclusion, featuring a character in a wheelchair on the cover. BUT that did not go as intended. They didn't include this character at all in the story! He was just passing by. That was so misleading and such a missed opportunity to show that people in wheelchairs can work and garden too! I removed 2 stars for this reason.
On a positive note, I really enjoyed the illustrations.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-28
This book feels more like the visual introspection of a melancholic adult than a book for children. There is not much for kids to follow or to understand about the house, the grandma or the dog. I didn't understand why the last page states “Then there is nothing but snow.” while drawing the dog and an owl on a branch. There are a million other books about animals more suited for kids.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-28
The theme of this book hit home right from the start, as I used to live in places where the fog was so thick that you could barely see the person walking in front of you, and it would last for days in a row.
The first half of the book captures so poetically the fog entering the city, slowing down any activities, and forcing its inhabitants to retreat to their homes.
The second half of the book is not as well executed and feels very dated, even for the 60's. “The fathers got out of their cars and drove the mothers into town so they could do their marketing” ; “The fathers scowled and complained, the mothers tried to cheer everyone up.” Women do the emotional work of cheering up the family and taking care of the kids, while the men complain and do the driving. Come on! Even for the sixties it is dated!
This is the reason why I removed 2 stars from this book.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-28
We need books about the importance of community, of creating safe spaces for kids to play, of having great parks and places for arts in every neighborhood. I got what this book intended to do, but the result went all wrong.
Please do not teach kids to sit in the middle of the road, to skateboard, balls or draw with clay while cars speed inches from you. Please do not teach kids that risking your life and doing something illegal will get you there.
This is not the way to transform a community, this is not the way to behave around trucks and cars. I so highly encourage to not read this book to kids.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-27
A little girl desires more than anything to have a cat. She prepares her bedroom with all the favorite things a cat might like, catnip, boxes, balls... and waits with the window open. When she wakes up, surprise!
The little girl ends up caring for dozens of cats, and they all start to live together. There is absolutely no input from the parents, no talk about possible hygiene and disease issues, either for the girl or for the granny's cat. And worst of all, the cats actually belong to actual owners and have been missing from their dear homes. In the end, all the cats go back to their owners, except one kitten, who stays with the little girl. Even this part is wrong. We saw that the mama cat gave birth to her kitten days ago and the kitten is not at all ready to be separated from her mom! It's so wrong!
Regarding the illustrations, I find that the illustrator didn't put enough effort into drawing correct volumes, shapes and perspectives for most of the cats, which makes them look funny or as big as foxes.
In the end, I feel like the message is very confusing to kids. Are they going to learn that it's okay to welcome cats without checking if they are not lost? That parents just should watch and say nothing? That you can just adopt a kitten without checking if it is old enough to be separated from its mom?
It would have been so much better for the girl to want a cat and for the parents to go to a shelter with her! And then show the vet visits, the daily care of a cat, the ups and downs of caring for cats... I do not recommend this book.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-27
A young fox lives alone in the middle of broken things, spending her time fixing things and bringing toys back to life. Until one day, a bird falls from the sky... This story is about friendship, hope and the wonders of magic.
I wish that instead of disappearing for months, letting the fox fall into depression, the bird would have told her what she was trying to do, and they could have worked together into creating this new world of magic. A little more collaboration and better communication would have prevented fox from suffering so much. I removed 2 stars for this reason.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-27
I was so surprised when I learned that this tale was actually from the 70's, as I thought it was an old classic. This is a really remarkable tale story, with all the classic elements, extremely well written and stunningly illustrated. But that's also why it is not 5 stars but 4 stars. The classic element of the disable and scary witch and the trick of cutting your legs to gain approval. Somehow I wish that Audrey Wood could have created such a strong tale without falling into this ancient parallel of disable = scary/evil.
A final note to mention once again the impressive work of art that could without a doubt be framed in a museum. Very impressive!
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-26
The illustrations in this book and the choice of patterns are absolutely stunning, but the writing unfortunately ruins the full experience. The story is trying to be serious, evocative, even poetic, but it fails at being accessible and understandable to kids. A lot of words are extremely challenging for kids, and the story is hard to follow. The book doesn't feel like it was written for kids.
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-26
FINALLY a book about a kid with social anxiety where parents do not force, guilt-trip or push a kid to behave like all the other kids. Instead, this is a great lesson of gentle parenting, creativity, positive reinforcement, patience and unconditional love. And wow look at those stunning illustrations and this amazing palette of colors!
Read and reviewed: 2019-11-26
20 years of snail mail between Helene, a writer in New York and Frank, a bookshop dealer in London. I read this book in a day and I was happy to finish it. There was some charm in their correspondence, but I found it very repetitive at times, especially after the 15th thank you letter sent to Helene in response to her gift of a parcel of food.
I also found that she was quite bossy and rude at times, and that Frank always kept good manner despite all of it.
I was choked to hear Helene's reaction to Megan's decision to move to South Africa: “WILL YOU TELL MEGAN WELLS SHE IS OUT OF HER COTTONPICKING MIND? If she's that bored with civilization why doesn't she just move to a siberian salt mine?”
In the end, I think it will be a book quickly forgotten.
