reviews RULES OF SUMMER
CHILDREN’S
Imagination’s lessons REVIEW BY JULIE DANIELSON
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that Shaun Tan’s books are breathtaking—just consider his wordless graphic novel, The Arrival. But the effect is even more astounding when he puts words and images together, as he’s done in Rules of Summer. There is an underlying beauty to his work that transcends our everyday lives. His design sense is striking, and he pushes the boundaries of picture books in delightful ways. As the title of his latest offering indicates, readers are given a series of rules, as a young boy looks back on the previous summer to share what he’s learned. But don’t expect rules that in any way embrace mundane realism. Tan always takes us on fantastical journeys, and this one is filled with mystery, fear, wonder and magic—all with the boy’s older brother by his side. “Never eat the last olive at a party,” we read with an illustration By Shaun Tan showing oversize, sharp-beaked creatures in suits, glaring at the boy who Arthur A. Levine, $18.99, 48 pages is reaching for the last olive on a dinner party plate. Stepping on a snail ISBN 9780545639125, all ages could immediately call forth a vicious tornado, and leaving the back door open can invite sea-like alien creatures that might overtake your den. PICTURE BOOK But it’s not all menace. There are parades with wildly imaginative creatures; a baseball-esque game with robots (just don’t argue with the umpire); and a luminous world towering over short concrete walls attempting to contain it (don’t forget the password, since big brother will ask for it). And Tan wraps it all up with a series of spreads connected by an emotionally poignant thread about brotherhood. The rich, lush paintings are for poring over, as there is much to be found in Tan’s details. They tell cryptic tales that leave ample room for the child reader to wonder and reflect. The very title is deliciously fun, given that Tan is always up for subverting the standard storytelling rules of picture books. Compelling and evocative, Rules of Summer is a great choice for both diehard Tan fans and those coming to his inventive books for the first time. Illustration © 2014 by Shaun Tan. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic.
THE MEANING OF MAGGIE By Megan Jean Sovern
R E A D M O R E AT B O O K PA G E . C O M
Chronicle $16.99, 224 pages ISBN 9781452110219 eBook available Ages 8 to 12
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MIDDLE GRADE
If you are—or ever were—a kid who couldn’t wait for school to start in September, get ready to meet Magnolia Jane Mayfield. It’s 1988, and Maggie’s starting sixth grade. She’s thrilled to have a lunch table all to herself, because she can spread out her books better that way. Her mother has a new and glamorous (or at any rate, glamorous-sounding) job; her father tells jokes even while his limbs get increasingly “sleepy”; and a boy named Clyde is beginning to make her understand her older sisters’
interest in lip gloss. But her career aspirations come first: After all, she plans to be president of the United States someday. Maggie’s fear and confusion as she learns more about her father’s illness are direct and authentic. A contemporary tween would go online for information, not chase after a missing encyclopedia volume as Maggie does, but the retro feel only adds to the charm. The Meaning of Maggie does for middle-grade fiction what John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars did for teen literature: Both portray coping with serious illness as one aspect of a complex character, not as the single issue that defines them. Details of life with multiple sclerosis are spot-on, but what ultimately stands out is the way Maggie describes her world, including her footnoted observations about everything from butterscotch to the unbreakable Law of Mom. Funny, sweet, smart and poignant, this is a book not to miss. —J I L L R A T Z A N
THE BOUNDLESS By Kenneth Oppel
Simon & Schuster $16.99, 336 pages ISBN 9781442472884 Audio, eBook available Ages 8 to 12
MIDDLE GRADE
From the best-selling author of Airborn and This Dark Endeavor comes another cinematic adventure. In this historical steampunk folktale, young William Everett is traveling across Canada on the maiden voyage of The Boundless. With seven miles of cars, including enough freight cars to form a circus “town,” The Boundless is the longest train in the world. When Will witnesses a murder related to the railway’s golden spike, hidden in the former railway president’s funeral car, he finds himself the next mur-
der target. Hiding from a villainous brakeman and his accomplices is no easy feat, especially on a moving train that winds along perilous curves, through pitch-black tunnels and lands inhabited by menacing creatures. As Will notices his world becoming larger and stranger, his daring escape becomes an opportunity to reinvent himself and discover his artistic talents. With real-life historical figures, literary allusions, astonishing gadgets and scary beasts, this atmospheric pageturner is indeed boundless with nonstop action. —ANGELA LEEPER
THREE BIRD SUMMER By Sara St. Antoine Candlewick $16.99, 256 pages ISBN 9780763665647 Ages 10 and up
MIDDLE GRADE
For the first time ever, it will just be Adam, his mom and his aging grandmother at their cabin on Three Bird Lake. His parents have recently divorced, and although it will be a different kind of summer, 12-yearold Adam looks forward to escaping the routine of school, sitting on the dock by himself and watching the loons. But his grandmother has other ideas and decides he should learn to canoe around the lake by himself. After disappointing her with his inept efforts, he finds a curious note in her handwriting that sends his summer in a new direction. There has been talk of a cute new girl in the neighborhood, and Adam resists his family’s expectation that they’ll become boyfriend and girlfriend. But when Adam and Alice take a daylong canoe trip, she turns out to be much better friend material than he’d expected. The two end up spending every day of the summer together, canoeing, swimming and tackling a mystery set in place years ago when his grandmother was young and in love with someone else—not Adam’s grandfather. Three Bird Summer will charm readers with its tale of a summer that is very different indeed. —BILLIE B. LITTLE