[ARC REVIEW] Hiznobyuti by Claude Ponti (@archipelagobks)

Title:  Hiznobyuti

Author:  Claude Ponti

Genre:  France / Family / Abuse / Fantasy / Adventure

Year Published: 1993 (Translated from French in 2018)

Year Read:  2018

Publisher:  Archipelago Books

Source:   eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 7+  (Themes of  Emotional Child Abuse and Some Scary Imagery)

Trigger Warning:  Child Abuse

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I would like to thank Edelweiss and Archipelago Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I spotted this unusual children’s book at Edelweiss, I was interested in checking this book out since it was translated from French and I enjoy reading books that are translated from other countries (that is if I can find that many books)!  Originally called “Okilele,” “Hiznobyuti” by Claude Ponti and translated by Alyson Waters is a truly unique and delightful treat for children both young and old!

When Hiznobyuti was born, he was not the prettiest child in the world, since he had a long snout that clashes with his family’s short snouts.  Because of this, Hiznobyuti was ostracized by his family and he had to live underneath the kitchen sink to stay out of his family’s affairs.  One day however, Hiznobyuti ended up getting a message from the stars that he is needed elsewhere and Hiznobyuti decided to run away from home and go on a wild adventure with his companion Martin Clock to find out the mysteries of the world while reaching his true destination.

Wow!  I was quite impressed with this bizarre yet creative little children’s book I just discovered!  Claude Ponti did a fantastic job at both writing and illustrating this book as the story is highly creative and sad at the same time.  I like the way that Claude Ponti managed to balance both whimsical magic and sadness throughout this story as I was captivated by the magical world that the characters inhabited, especially the fact that Hiznobyuti is able to do magical things like talk to the trees and travel to the stars.  I was also saddened by the scenes where Hiznobyuti was emotionally abused by his family, especially the scene where Hiznobyuti’s father ends up locking Hiznobyuti underneath the sink by building a brick wall to trap him, which was quite upsetting.  I really enjoyed Claude Ponti’s artwork as while it has a somewhat dark and gritty feel to it, it is mostly done in a creative and cute way and I really loved the appearance of Hiznobyuti himself as he has the appearance of a small aardvark and he really stands out in the artwork.

Parents should know that there are some scary and sad moments in this book, which includes Hiznobyuti meeting up with some terrifying monsters on his journey.  Also, the scenes where Hiznobyuti is emotionally abused by his family may be too upsetting for both kids and adults, who had experiences of seeing children go through such abuse.  Also, the narrative of this book tends to get a bit confusing at times as the story tends to jump all over the place with Hiznobyuti’s adventures.

Overall, “Hiznobyuti” is a truly fantastic children’s book that every child should definitely check out!  I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since the narrative tends to be a bit confusing at times and the scenes of Hiznobyuti’s parents emotionally abusing him can be a bit hard for some children to handle.

You might also like:

• Unraveling Rose by Brian Wray

• Robin and the White Rabbit by Åse Brunnström and Emma Lindström

• The Fool and the Flying Ship by Eric Metaxas

[BOOK REVIEW] Sector 7 by David Wiesner

Title:  Sector 7

Author:  David Wiesner

Genre:  Fantasy

Year Published: 1999


Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Clarion Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Sector 7” is a Caldecott Honor book from the creative mind of David Wiesner and it is about how a young boy meets a mischievous little cloud during his class field trip to see the Empire State Building and when they separated from the boy’s class, the cloud and the boy ended up having wild adventures together in Sector 7!  “Sector 7” is truly one of the most memorable wordless picture books ever created that children will love for many years!

Is there nothing more grand that David Wiesner can not do with wordless picture books?  Well, “Sector 7” has certainly proven the master illustrating skills that David Wiesner possess and is well known for!  David Wiesner’s illustrations alone tell the story of the adventures that the boy and the mischievous little cloud have together at Sector 7.  I love the way that David Wiesner illustrates the boy in having a brown waistcoat and a red hat with a red scarf, which sort of makes him look like Little Pete from “The Adventures of Pete and Pete” (I am a huge Nickelodeon fanatic which is why I usually love to compare various characters from certain books with Nickelodeon characters!). 

I also love the way that David Wiesner brings a strong fantasy element to the story as Sector 7 is located in the sky and supports itself on small windmills on each side of the factory which makes it look like the castle in “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

The images that truly stood out the most for me were the images of the clouds themselves, both the humanized clouds and the real clouds in the sky.  I truly love the scene where the boy and the little cloud are flying through the air and the clouds are slightly light brown and look so stretched out and gorgeous that you can actually feel yourself flying through the air yourself!  I also loved the interior of Sector 7 as it looks likes the inside of a train station as there is a large bulletin board at the top of the station that tells the arrivals and departures of different types of clouds.  I also loved the idea that David Wiesner makes the story take place in New York City, since I have been to New York City myself, but I have not really been to the Empire State Building, so it was truly interesting to see the Empire State Building in David Wiesner’s magical world!

All in all, “Sector 7” is definitely a book that every child should read, especially for children who cannot read yet, but love looking at illustrations of many different children’s books.  This book is truly one of the most memorable wordless picture books ever made next to Raymond Brigg’s classic “The Snowman” and I definitely think that many children will enjoy this book since the illustrations are truly beautiful and engaging to look at!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book that would cause parents concern.

* 1999 New York City Book Award for Children's Book
* 2000 An ALA Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers
* 2000 Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book for Children
* 2000 Caldecott Honor

[BOOK REVIEW] The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Title:  The Lorax

Author:  Dr. Seuss


Genre: Environment / Satire / Animal


Year Published: 1971


Year Read:  1992

Publisher:  Random House Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Suggestive Themes and Intense Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“The Lorax” is one of Dr. Seuss’ most memorable books as it is about the importance of taking care of all of the trees in the world.  “The Lorax” may have some controversial issues, but it is still a great book for both children and adults to treasure for many years.

Dr. Seuss’ story about how chopping down too many trees can destroy the Earth’s environment is truly powerful and moving as it realistically portrays what can happen to the environment when trees are cut down through Dr. Seuss’ childish world.  Dr. Seuss’ illustrations as always are extremely creative and inventive especially when we are first introduced to the land of the Truffula trees, the land is colourful and peaceful looking, but when the once-ler starts cutting down all the Truffula trees, the land looks dark and bleak, representing the pollution that is caused from cutting down the trees.

Parents should know that even though I personally do not see anything wrong with this book, this book was considered extremely controversial due to the fact that many people believed that the book was trying to promote the idea that industrialization is a bad thing.  Personally, I think that this book was just trying to discuss about the issues of environmentalism and that cutting down too many trees can cause pollution on the earth.

“The Lorax” is one of the greatest books about the issues of environmentalism that kids will understand perfectly and will definitely be evolved into one of the greatest cult classics to ever come to the world of children’s books.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up due to the controversial material about whether or not industrialization is a good or bad thing for the world that small children might not understand.  

REASON FOR BEING BANNED: For portraying the foresting industry in a negative way and some people felt it persuaded children to be against logging.

[BOOK REVIEW] Abarat by Clive Barker

Title:  Abarat

Author: Clive Barker


Genre: Fantasy

Year Published: 2003

Date Read: 3/14/2005

Series: Abarat #1

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source:  Library

Content Rating: Ages 15+ (Violence and Frightening Imagery)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository
 

I remembered reading Clive Barker’s classic story, “Abarat” years ago when I was in high school and I remembered really enjoying the story when I first read it.  Now, I have taken the time to re-read this book again and lo and behold, I love it just as much now as I did years ago!  “Abarat” is clearly a truly creative and exciting for fans of Clive Barker’s novels and exploring surreal fantasy worlds!

Candy Quackenbush was just a normal girl who lived in a boring town called Chickentown, where everything revolves around the history of chickens.  One day however, when Candy spots a strange man named John Mischief (whose brothers all stay on the horns of his head) being chased by a frightening creature named Mendelson Shape, she realizes that her world will change forever since she is thrown into a completely strange and fantastic world called Abarat.  Once Candy stays in Abarat meeting new friends and enemies most notably Christopher Carrion the Prince of Midnight, she starts to realize many unanswered secrets about herself that could decide the fate of Abarat! 

I will admit that this was quite an unusual book to read!  Clive Barker has done an excellent job at both writing and illustrating this book about a young girl traveling to a strange and unknown world while finding out more about herself in the process.  Clive Barker’s writing is extremely interesting and beautiful as Clive Barker details everything that has happened in Candy’s journeys in vivid detail.  I loved the way that Clive Barker describes Abarat as being a place full of wonder, especially the part about how Abarat is a world that has islands that represent a different hour of the day such as the Great Head that represents eight in the evening and Gorgossium is an island that represents midnight.  I also loved the way that Clive Barker unfolds the histories of each character little by little without spoiling too much for the readers until the end of the novel which makes me really want to solve the mysteries of each character as the book goes on.  The characters in this book were fantastic, especially Candy Quackenbush and John Mischief as they brought life to the story.  Candy Quackenbush was quite an unusual heroine as she just easily gets used to the surreal nature of Abarat, which adds more mystery to her background and I also loved the spunky personality that Candy possesses as she always speak her mind and can be a friendly person if she is not threatened.  John Mischief is another character I was quite interested in, especially the fact that on his horns, he has the seven smaller heads of his brothers living on his horns, which I found extremely odd yet fascinating at the same time.  I also loved how brave and kind hearted John Mischief is, even though his past history is quite questionable.  Clive Barker’s illustrations are extremely colorful and creative and I loved the images of the islands that are in Abarat as they are colorful and gorgeous to look at, especially when the lands are surrounded by water and you cannot help but feel like you are actually experiencing the wonderful world of Abarat.  I also loved the images of the strange creatures that live in Abarat such as the image of John Mischief himself as he has red skin and has horns where seven small heads (which are his brothers) occupied his horns and some images of birds with skulls for heads.  I also loved the fact that Clive Barker manages to make this story have a perfect blend of “Harry Potter” (the magic elements) and “Alice in Wonderland” (main character travels to a strange land) as it made the story extremely creative to read.  Here is how I compare the characters from “Alice in Wonderland” to this book:

Alice – Candy Quackenbush

The White Rabbit – John Mischief

The Queen of Hearts – Christopher Carrion

Wonderland – Abarat

The only problem with this novel is that there are some violent content and disturbing images that some readers might not like.  Some of the violent content included are a fight with a dragon that involves stabbing and a few beatings of a character.  There are also some images that are a bit frightening to look at such as the image of Christopher Carrion himself as he has a pale face and he has a red box shaped mask that shows green worm like things that are the nightmares he keeps in the red box shaped mask.

Overall, “Abarat” is a truly wonderful book that anyone who loves reading fantasy adventure books will enjoy for many years to come! Now, I am off to read the second book in the “Abarat” series, “Days of Magic, Nights of War.”

*  2002 Borders Original Voices Award for YA or Independent Reader

[BOOK REVIEW] Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly

Author:  Cynthia Hand


Genre: Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2011

Number of Pages: 435 pages

Date Read: 3/2/2012

Series: Unearthly #1   

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Some Language)

I have been reading many paranormal romance novels for teens, the main one being Richelle Mead’s “Vampire Academy.”  Now, I have stumbled upon this new paranormal romance book called “Unearthly” by Cynthia Hand and man, was it an excellent ride!  “Unearthly” is one teen paranormal romance novel that is filled with drama, forbidden love, destiny and some hot loving that teens will definitely get a thrill out of!

Clara Gardner was just a normal teenaged girl who does normal teenage things like talking to her friends and being involved in sports.  But one day, when Clara receives a vision that includes her saving a boy in Wyoming who is involved in a forest fire, she and her family, her mother and her younger brother Jeffrey, leave their hometown in California and move to Wyoming so that way, Clara can fulfill her purpose in saving the young man.  While at her new school, Clara meets an attractive boy named Christian Prescott who she immediately falls in love with and just when she thought that she might have a future with Christian, Clara meets another boy named Tucker Avery who at first she does not get along with, but she starts to develop feelings for him.  Unfortunately, when Clara gets closer to fulfilling her purpose, who will she choose?

Wow! This book was just so amazing that I have actually stayed up late so many nights just to get through this book!  This was the first book I have read by Cynthia Hand and I am already hooked on her work!  Cynthia Hand has done a brilliant job at writing this story as it is filled with drama and forbidden romance that really got me hooked the moment I started reading this book!  What I loved the most about this book was how Cynthia Hand wrote each of the characters as they felt so real to me, especially with the characters, Clara Gardner, Tucker Avery and Christian Prescott.  Before I get into what I loved about the heroes in this book, I would like to declare my love for the main heroine Clara Gardner.  Clara Gardner is such an interesting character as she is an angel-blood and I loved the way that she is always exploring with her powers as an angel such as performing an impressive stunt called “glory” where she glows and being able to fly with her huge white wings.  I also loved Clara Gardner’s character as she is extremely kind hearted yet she is always curious about her heritage and what kind of secrets it holds. Now, this was definitely the first romance novel I have come across that has two heroes in the story and they were Tucker Avery and Christian Prescott.  I enjoyed both heroes, but I am definitely leaning more towards Tucker Avery.  While it is true that Tucker Avery and Clara Gardner did not get off on a good start, when they started getting together, it was just magic between these two.  It was awesome seeing that Tucker Avery is not the rude boy that he was presented as in the beginning of this book, but is a truly caring and honest person and that really made me fall head over heels in love with him!  Christian Prescott was a truly great hero of this story as he has a kind nature and seems to care about Clara also.  The only thing that sort of bothers me about Christian Prescott’s character is that we do not know much about him like we know Tucker Avery and he seems to be a plot device used in Clara’s need to be in Wyoming.  I loved the way that Clara and Tucker’s relationship was moving along slowly where they try to get to know each other instead of falling instantly in love with each other because it shows how real their relationship is and how they have so much in common with each other.

The only problem with this book is that there is some language in this book, but it is not too bad and it is extremely few in between.  For anyone who might be offended by profanity, you might want to skip over the scenes that contain the offending language.

Overall, “Unearthly” is clearly a brilliant book about choosing what you want, despite destiny having a way into your life and because of this book; I am more interested than ever in reading the sequel, “Hallowed!”

[BOOK REVIEW] Simon's Book by Henrik Drescher

Title:  Simon's Book


Author: Henrik Drescher



Genre: Monsters / Art / Surreal / Friendship



Year Published: 1983



Year Read: 1996


Publisher:  MacAdam/Cage Publishing


Source:  Purchased


Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Scary Scenes)


Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads 
 

I actually first saw Simon’s Book when I was watching Reading Rainbow, a show that used to come on PBS when I was little. When I started watching Simon’s Book, I was intrigued by the creative drawings of Simon and the monster that this book became my all-time favorite children’s book from the creative mind of Henrik Drescher.

Henrik Drescher’s master storytelling and his wild drawings make this book extremely appealing to everyone of all ages. He vividly draws the monster as a scary figure that at first threatens the main characters by chasing them all throughout the book and then draws the monster as a cuddly figure that brings Simon, the pens, and the ink jar safely back home. Simon himself is depicted as an innocent wild haired boy who only wants to get out of the predicament that he has been put into so carelessly and the ink pens are drawn like they are playful looking snakes who want to help Simon get out of his predicament. Henrik Drescher’s creative drawings mixed with his simplistic yet intriguing narrating makes Simon’s book both intense and comforting at the same time.

Parents should know that the beast in this book looks extremely scary, probably scarier than any other monster you would see in many children’s books. The beast looks like a warthog-monster with the pig-like snout and the bristles on its back are truly terrifying as they are black and extremely pointed. If you look on the cover of the book, you probably know what this beast truly looks like. But, the monster also comes off as being a friendly creature in the end of the book so many children do not have to worry about the monster eating Simon.

Simon’s Book is one book that is to be treasured by every one of all ages. Henrik Drescher has mastered creativity beyond his ability to draw by creating intense scenes that keeps you wondering until the very end about whether or not the beast is going to eat Simon and then mellows down to a happier tone when the audience finds out that the beast is actually a friendly monster. This book is also great for children who are beginning to read since the format of this book is written in a kindergarten fashion as there are only a few words on each page and is great in reading new vocabulary, such as the book using the words “comfort” and “retreated.” Simon’s Book is a wonderful book for anyone who loves adventure and the power of friendship overcoming any obstacle in life.