[ARC REVIEW] Light by Rob Cham

Title:  Light

Author:  Rob Cham

Genre:  Adventure / Fantasy / Friendship / Horror

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  11/3/2016

Publisher: Magnetic Press / Buno Publishing 

Source: eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 13+ (Some Violence and Scary Imagery)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Magnetic Press and Buno Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Introduction:

Now for years, I had read many graphic novels that would have written dialogues from the characters to help us understand the story being told in the comics.  However, even though I had read many children’s books that had no text and the story was being told through the artwork, I had never read a graphic novel that did not have any dialogue spoken by the characters and lets the artwork tell the story.  Luckily, I was able to come across such a graphic novel called “Light” by Rob Cham that was graciously provided to me by NetGalley and I have to say that I was quite impressed with this wondrous story!

What is this story about?

The story starts off with two explorers (a white big nosed creature and a grey leaf looking creature with large eyes) going on a journey through deep inside the earth to find five magic gems that would bring back color to the surface world.  Along the way, the two explorers meet up with various dangerous and strange creatures that get in their way of completing their mission to find the magic gems!

What I loved about this story:

Rob Cham’s story and artwork:  Wow!  Everything that Rob Cham did in this graphic novel was just fantastic to read through!  Not only was this a nice quick read due to the story not containing any text, but I found the story to be extremely creative and exciting!  I loved the way that Rob Cham told the story through the artwork as we get to see the two explorers go through various obstacles in order to obtain the five magic gems.  I like how the storytelling is similar to a video game mission where you have to find all the items to complete the game (sort of like how with “Sonic the Hedgehog” you have to find all the chaos emeralds to get a complete ending for the game).  However, in this case, the video game mission is given a more coherent plot and you get to experience the journey with the two explorers through the artwork!  Rob Cham’s artwork is what really sold this graphic novel to me as the characters look so strange yet wondrous at the same time and I really loved the appearance of the two explorers as they look so adorable compared to the other strange and dangerous creatures in  this story.  I also loved the colorings for the artwork as the surface world is drawn in black and white colors as it represents the lack of color in their world, while the world below the earth has neon colors, but the coloring is against a black background that gives that world a dark and frightening feel.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For those of you who do not like violence and scary imagery, this graphic novel does have several moments where the explorers have to stab and cut their enemies in order to survive the journey.  Also, there are images of some frightening creatures such as the large bat that chases the explorers and night creatures that try to eat the explorers that might creep out some readers.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Light” is a truly fantastic and creative story that anyone who loves fantasy adventure stories will definitely get a kick out of!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola

Title:  Pancakes for Breakfast

Author:  Tomie dePaola

Genre:  Food / Comedy / Wordless / Winter / Pets

Year Published: 1978

Year Read:  2016

Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

You know, I have been reading Tomie dePaola’s works ever since I was a child and out of all of those works, I had never once read a book of Tomie dePaola’s that was…WORDLESS!  Now, I have been reading many wordless picture books for ages, but I never knew that Tomie dePaola wrote a wordless picture book called “Pancakes for Breakfast” which was indeed his first wordless picture book!

The story starts off with an old woman waking up from bed, along with her dog and cat and she wanted to make a nice batch of pancakes for breakfast.  So, the old woman went to her kitchen to get the ingredients she needed for the pancakes, but she realized that she did not have any eggs for the batter.  So, she goes out to the barn to get some eggs from the chickens and after she got the eggs, she realizes that she does not have any butter for the batter.  So, she goes outside to milk her cow and create the butter with the milk she churned from the cow and after she made the butter, she realizes that she does not have any maple syrup!  So, she goes to her neighbor’s house to get some syrup and just as the old woman got all the ingredients to make her pancakes…

Does the old woman finally get the chance to eat her pancakes?

Read this book to find out!

Wow!  For a wordless picture book, this was some pretty impressive work from Tomie dePaola, especially when you are so used to Tomie dePaola’s works having text to narrate the stories!  Tomie dePaola’s artwork really sold this story as it shows how an old woman wanted to make pancakes for breakfast, but keeps on forgetting the essential ingredients to make her pancakes such as milk, eggs, butter and syrup.  It was cute seeing the old woman try to obtain the ingredients for the pancakes in many different ways such as milking her cow to get the butter and milk, getting eggs from her hens and getting syrup from her next door neighbor as it gives the story an old fashioned and traditional vibe that really made this story stand out from the other modern day stories about obtaining ingredients for a recipe.  I also loved the images of both the dog and the cat as it was adorable seeing them accompany the old woman in her need to obtain the ingredients for her pancakes.

Overall, “Pancakes for Breakfast” is a truly cute story about an old woman trying to find the right ingredients for her pancakes that many readers, who had to go through the same experience, no matter how differently they went about it, would definitely relate to! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Title:  The Lion and the Mouse

Author:  Jerry Pinkney

Genre:  Animals / Fantasy / Friendship / Manners / Fable

Year Published: 2009

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

      

“The Lion and the Mouse” is a Caldecott Medal award winning book by the wonderful Jerry Pinkney that is about how a bold lion realizes that the smallest creature can be a big help when he is trapped in a predicament that he cannot get out of.  “The Lion and the Mouse” is a brilliant retelling of the classic Aesop fable that children will read over and over again.

Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations alone retell the story of a popular Aesop fable, since there are no words in this book to tell the readers the story.  Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations are beautiful and realistic looking as the reader can tell that the setting of the book is set in Africa since there are dozens of wild animals around and drawings of high yellowish grass.  The image that stood out the most was the image of the lion itself as it looks extremely realistic and beautiful, especially during the scenes where the lion was holding the small mouse in its paws and has an angry look on its face.

“The Lion and the Mouse” is definitely one of the best wordless picture books since David Wiesner’s “Tuesday” and it will definitely attract children of all ages for its beautiful illustrations and uplifting story.  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since toddlers would not have problems reading this book since there are no words to tell the story.

*  2009 Cybils Award Nominee for Fiction Picture Books
*  2010 Caldecott Medal
*  2010 Indies Choice Book Award for New Picture Book

[BOOK REVIEW] The Yellow Umbrella by Henrik Drescher

Title:  The Yellow Umbrella

Author:  Henrik Drescher

Genre: Animals / Traveling / Family

Year Published: 1987
 
Year Read:  2008

Publisher: Marcel Dekker

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I have been reading Henrik Drescher’s works for awhile now and I always loved the bizarre nature of his illustrations!  But in “The Yellow Umbrella,” the illustrations take on a more tranquil approach as we are treated to the adventures of a mother monkey, her baby and a yellow umbrella!

The story starts off with a father and his daughter going to the zoo to see the monkeys when suddenly, the father dropped his yellow umbrella into the monkey cage and the two monkeys ended up grabbing the yellow umbrella.  The two monkeys then go up towards the top of the hill in their cage and were admiring the yellow umbrella when all of a sudden; a strong wind picks up and blows the two monkeys, who were holding onto the yellow umbrella, away from the zoo!

Wow! This book was simply amazing!  I always loved Henrik Drescher’s works on his children’s books because of the surreal illustrations he brings to the stories being woven. But in this book, Henrik Drescher brought something entirely different to the illustrations as they were truly cute and expressive!  I loved the fact that this story was told mainly through illustrations, marking this as another wordless picture book that I had enjoyed since David Wiesner’s “Flotsam!” I loved the way that Henrik Drescher’s illustrations really told this story as we go through a journey with the mother monkey and her baby as they travel across the world with the yellow umbrella guiding them to their destination.  I also loved the images of the mother monkey and her baby going through different parts of the world such as flying over the ocean and then flying over the jungle as it gives the story a truly beautiful feeling of exploring the wonders of the world. I also loved the fact that Henrik Drescher’s illustrations are mainly done in yellow, white and black colorings. The fact that the title of this book is called “The Yellow Umbrella” and that the only other color that is prominent in this story besides black and white is yellow, really made the illustrations truly stand out in this story as they emphasize the significance of the color yellow as the yellow umbrella symbolizes freedom for the two monkeys as they fly away from the zoo and explore the dangers and wonders of the world that they could not explore in the zoo.

Overall, “The Yellow Umbrella” is a truly fantastic story about the importance of freedom and exploring the wonders of the world that many children will enjoy for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book and the storytelling is easy enough for smaller children to understand.