INTO THE UNKNOWN by Stewart Ross

Ross, Stewart. Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air. Illus. by Stephen Biesty. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-7636-4948-7. $19.99. Ages 8-12.

In my education classes, I was taught that boys need hands-on learning. I was also taught that they tend to choose non-fiction over fiction. Into the Unknown meets both needs. The text is well written, with a good mix of history, science, and storytelling. The pages have detailed diagrams, maps, and pictures, which focus on things like ship construction, supply loading, and route mapping. The pop-outs make the narrative a 3D experience.

The sequence includes not only commonly known explorers like Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and Marco Polo, but also lesser known adventurers like Mary Kingsley, who explored the West Coast of Africa solo, Edmund Hillary, who first peaked Mount Everest, and Umberto Nobile, who flew over the North Pole. Ross begins his chronicling with Pytheas, a classical Greek explorer who navigated the Arctic waters as early as 340bc, and finishes with Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.

The book’s dust jacket unfolds to reveal a giant world map poster, perfect for hanging in a bedroom and imagining one’s own adventures. The map, which shows all the continents, lists the explorers, and draws out their routes, is a bit plain, but a fun surprise nonetheless. The book also contains a glossary of exploration and navigation jargon, and an index.

Marisa Behan

THE ACCIDENTAL HERO by Matt Myklusch

Myklusch, Matt. The Accidental Hero. New York: Aladdin, 2010. ISBN 9781416995623. $6.99. Ages 9-12. 468 pp.

Growing up in an orphanage named St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost does not inspire a kid to have much hope or fun in life. Jack Blank has spent the whole of his life at St. Barnaby’s, where he is not only the most disliked and picked upon child, he doesn’t even know who he is. The last name Blank only came about because he always had to leave the field for last name blank when filling out forms, and to top it all off, according to his school aptitude tests, his highest career aspiration is to become a toilet brush cleaner. Yet, Jack is not without spirit. He is creative and imaginative despite all efforts to beat it out of him, thanks to the comic books he smuggled out of the trash. Then one day, Jack is attacked by a Robo-Zombie, just like a character in one of his comic books and everything changes. All of a sudden a mysterious agent appears to take Jack to an island called the Imagine Nation, where it seems Jack was born. In the Imagine Nation, Jack realizes that his favorite comic book characters are real. The citizens of Imagine Nation range from superheroes, warriors, aliens, robots, and ninjas to inventive scientists and technologists. In the Imagine Nation, Jack discovers that he too has powers and in learning his identity realizes that the distinction between hero and villain is not as clear it seems in comic books.

Incorporating elements of comic books, medieval legends, fantasy and science fiction, the world Matt Myklusch created in the Imagine Nation is vast and inventive. The book moves slowly at first due the enormity of genres and concepts Myklusch needs to illustrate in order to establish the background and describe the many facets of the landscape of the Imagine Nation, but after that readers will find themselves engaged in both the storyline, which is in solving the mystery of Jack’s identity, and the intricacies of the Imagine Nation itself.

One of the concepts detailed in the book that I really enjoyed is creativity and the power of the imagination. The agent who takes Jack to the Imagine Nation tells him that he has to truly believe before he goes there:

All the fantastic, unbelievable things in this world start in the Imagine Nation. It’s a real place, but you can’t get there if you try to keep one foot in the real world when you go. Only people who believe in the unbelievable are able to see the island. To find it, you have to believe that there’s a place out there where the impossible is possible. You have to believe it deep in your heart. If you can’t do that, you won’t recognize it when you see it. Even if it’s staring you right in the face.

The agent tells Jack it is the influence of the Imagine Nation that led to time periods like the Age of Exploration and the Enlightenment, and that many long ago writers, artists and world changers came from the Imagine Nation. But it is not the same anymore with less people being able to find the Imagine Nation and becoming less adventurous. It parallels our modern times, where children do not read as much and there is less creativity in schools. It is thanks to books like The Accidental Hero, and other fantastical and imaginative stories that reading is beginning to regain popularity. Along with supporting the renewal of creativity and imagination, this book also stresses that a person’s future is what they make of it. Overall, this is an enjoyable book.

Joyce Myers

DEAR AMERICA: LIKE THE WILLOW TREE by Lois Lowry

Lowry, Lois. Dear America: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce. Like the Willow Tree. New York: Scholastic, Inc, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-545-14469-8. $12.99 US/$14.99 CAN

The Dear America series has long had a reputation for excellence. Lois Lowry’s contribution, “Like the Willow Tree,” a diary of the fictional Lydia Amelia Pierce, an orphan of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, lives up not only to the quality of her extensive other publications, but also the rest of the Dear America novels.

When Lydia and her brother Daniel lose both of their parents simultaneously to the Spanish influenza, their grieving uncle sends them to be raised by Shakers. Lydia learns the lifestyle of the Shakers at Sabbathday Lake, while worrying about her brother, who struggles much more acutely than she with the transition to Shaker life. Over the course of the year, Lydia grapples with difficult issues of gender separation, the loss of her personal property, and the strain of diligent work. She tries very hard to be a good Shaker, learning their songs and conforming to their ethical system, but she accurately questions the Shakers on the denial of marriage as a means of propagating the religion.

Lydia’s story and voice are a compelling read. Lowry also manages to be very informative about Shaker culture and the historical decline of the faith in American society.  Young readers will both enjoy the story and gain valuable insights about an often forgotten or misunderstood faction of American history.

Marisa Behan

THE WHITE BALLETS by Rajka Kupesic

Kupesic, Rajka. The White Ballets. Plattsburgh, NY: Tundra Books of Northern New York, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-88776-923-8. $19.95 US $21.99 CAN. Ages 9-12

The White Ballets is equally as much a work of art as a storybook. The book itself is stunningly gorgeous. All of the pages are edged with gold, and the illustrations are richly made in paint and gold leaf. The art is reminiscent of an illuminated fairy tale storybook and fits well with the elegant tales of dance told on the pages.

Kupesic retells the plot of three ballets: Swan Lake, Giselle, and La Bayadère. Her writing style is graceful and clear. The three stories are separated by full-page spreads written in the author’s voice explaining her paintings, which encourages readers to flip back to the earlier pages and examine the art in detail.

The White Ballets makes a beautiful gift for the young ballerina in your life. It belongs on display on a table or upright on a shelf – as elegant and gorgeous as the fairy tale ballets it retells!

Marisa Behan

THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN by Shutta Crum

Crum, Shutta. Thomas and the Dragon Queen. New York: Knopf, 2010. ISBN 9780375857034. $15.99. Ages 7-11. 266 pp.

Despite being the oldest of nine children, twelve-year-old Thomas is a comparatively small boy. Yet he dreams of training to be a knight and serving the kingdom. One day, a chance encounter with Sir Gerald, a knight of the realm, brings Thomas the opportunity to go to the castle and train. The kingdom is experiencing hard times and needs the help of any who are willing and able bodied, even a boy who is extremely short. Sir Gerald sees that Thomas possesses the knightly qualities of being smart and hard working and decides to gives him a chance. Thomas perseveres through his training, working past the ridicules of his peers, eventually gaining the privilege of becoming squire to Sir Gerald. Then one day, a dragon queen kidnaps the princess. There are no knights available to send to her rescue due to the war. Thomas valiantly volunteers and the king agrees to send him and so Sir Thomas heads out on his first quest armed only with a sword just barely longer than a dagger, and a donkey, outfitted only with a leather vest. It is the adventure of a lifetime and Thomas proves that size that nothing to do with what it truly means to be knightly.

Although the basic premise of the story sounds like a generic fairytale, with a knight on a quest to rescue a princess guarded by a dragon, it is anything but typical. The hero is not tall and handsome; he is not even grown up. And when he reaches the dragon’s lair, it is not the standard evil, ferocious, treasure-guarding dragon he meets, and it is not a knight’s strength that is needed to rescue the princess and defeat the dragon. Accompanied by black and white illustrations, some small drawings, others full page or double spreads depicting scenes from the book, for example Thomas among his younger brothers and sisters, several of whom are much bigger than him, or Thomas riding on his little donkey, this book is great for young readers transitioning from picture books to longer chapter books. The story keeps readers surprised and enthralled and emphasizes the importance of qualities such as courage, loyalty and honesty over that of physical appearance and prowess.

Joyce Myers