[BOOK REVIEW] The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author:  Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy / Horror

Year Published: 2013

Number of Pages: 181 pages

Date Read:  11/24/2013

Publisher: William Morrow Books 

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Child Abuse)

Trigger Warnings:  Child Abuse

Now, I have been reading Neil Gaiman’s works for many years now and I have been enjoying most of his works (my personal favorites being “Coraline,” the “Sandman” series, “Neverwhere,” and “The Graveyard Book”).  So, imagine my amazement and delight when I realized that Neil Gaiman had a new book coming out called “The Ocean at the End of the Lane!” And before I knew it, I immediately ran to the bookstore to buy this book and I started reading it right away!  I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this book!

The story starts off in Sussex, England, where a middle aged man goes back to his childhood home after attending a funeral.  It was there that the man starts to remember his childhood memories at his old home and also about meeting up with a strange and amazing little girl named Lettie Hempstock.  It turns out that Lettie Hempstock was the one who helped the boy get through the most frightening event that happened during his childhood, which was caused after a South African opal miner committed suicide in the boy’s father’s car that he stole.  This series of events will cause the boy to think about whether or not magic really exists in the world he lives in and also help him understand the true meaning of friendship.

Neil Gaiman has struck a nerve in my ever lasting book loving heart with his stellar storytelling in stories that deal with fantasy and horror elements!  I loved the way that Neil Gaiman wrote this story in a poetic way as it gives the story a more imaginative and beautiful tone and I actually felt myself experience the adventures along with the boy in the story.  One of my most favorite quotes in this book deals with the boy’s fascination with books as stated here:

“I was sad that nobody had come to my party, but happy that I had a Batman figure, and there was a birthday present waiting to be read, a boxed set of the Narnia books, which I took upstairs. I lay on the bed and lost myself in the stories.  I liked that.

Books were safer than other people anyway.”

This pretty much explains so much about the narrator’s timid nature as he enjoys reading books, but he was always afraid to make friends with the other kids.  But, probably my most favorite character in this story was none other than Lettie Hempstock, who was indeed a strange and unusual little girl who befriended the boy. I loved the way that Lettie Hempstock was willing to put her life on the line to save the boy from the disturbing occurrences that happens at his home, like meeting up with various monsters that seem to come from another world.  It really shows what a strong and loyal heroine Lettie really is and I loved the fact that she shows the boy the true meaning of friendship!  I loved the way that Neil Gaiman handled the mystery surrounding the “ocean” at the end of the lane, which actually looks like a pond from another person’s point of view as I keep wondering throughout the story about why Lettie was so obsessed with the “ocean” at the end of the lane. When I finally found out what the secret about the “ocean” really is, I was truly mesmerized and surprised at the reveal!

For anyone who does not like frightening moments in any novel, there were some genuinely frightening moments in this book, especially concerning the little boy who was only seven years old!

*SPOILER ALERT!*

Probably the moment that really scared me and even upset me in this book was the scene where the boy’s father nearly drowns the little boy in the bathtub after the boy was trying to warn his father about their new nanny, Ursula Monkton.  The reason for this is because the new nanny, who was actually a monster who was made out of old cloth, started controlling the father to the point that the father would hurt the little boy if he was disrespectful towards Ursula. This scene was quite unnerving because I easily get uncomfortable whenever the subject of child abuse rises up and even though I knew that the boy’s father was being controlled, it was still disturbing to see the boy nearly drown in the bathtub by his own father.

*SPOILER OVER!*

Overall, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is truly one of the greatest fantasy novels I had ever read in this decade! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a huge fan of Neil Gaiman’s works and love reading novels full of fantasy and horror!

[BOOK REVIEW] Garfield Pulls his Weight (Garfield Classics #26) by Jim Davis

Title:  Garfield Pulls his Weight

Author:  Jim Davis

Genre: Animal / Humor

Year Published: 1994

Year Read: 2013

Series: Garfield Classics #26

Publisher: PAWS Inc.

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Mischievous and Rude Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Introduction:

Now, I have been a hug fan of the “Garfield” comics for many years now as I used to read them all the time in the Sunday newspapers when I was younger.  Now, I finally have the pleasure of being reintroduced into the “Garfield” comics through paper trade backs and I have been enjoying reading these classics again! Well, the twenty-sixth volume of the “Garfield” classics, which is called “Garfield Pulls His Weight,” certainly did not disappoint me with its off-the-wall humor involving everyone’s favorite fat and orange cat!

What is this story about?

Basically, this volume details more of Garfield’s hilarious adventures with both his unlucky owner, Jon Arbuckle and his not so bright dog companion, Odie; as Garfield continues to make jokes at the expense of Jon and Odie while eating and sleeping all the way!

What I loved about this story:

Jim Davis’ writing: Jim Davis’ writing continues to be hilarious and witty as Garfield continues to eat and sleep his way through life while making deadpan jokes at the expense of his owner Jon and his dog companion Odie.  I loved the fact that even though these comic strips were made during the 1990s, the humor continues to be fresh and I am pretty sure current generations will enjoy this graphic novel as much as I did!  There were many comic strips in this graphic novel that I really enjoyed such as this one comic strip being about Garfield and Jon camping out and the exchange goes like this:

Jon: I love camping. The fresh air…the mountains…the flowers…

(Garfield is suddenly dragged off-screen)

Jon: The trees…

Garfield: (stuck in a large spider web) the big spiders.

As usual, the humor is extremely witty and I always loved the sarcastic comments that Garfield makes towards Jon and Odie as he is easily one of the funniest characters in this entire comic strip!

Jim Davis’ artwork:  Jim Davis’ artwork is as usual hilarious to look at, especially the image of Garfield himself as he is shown to be a fat, orange and black cat with large, rounded eyes.  I also loved the artwork of the slapstick hijinks that Garfield, Jon and Odie go on as it makes me laugh every time I see them either get hit in the face with food or occasionally picking on each other!

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Garfield Pulls His Weight” is another fantastic read for “Garfield” fans that love everyone’s favorite orange fat cat and are looking forward to loads of laughter from this series!

[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.

[BOOK REVIEW] Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold

Title:  Green Wilma

Author:  Tedd Arnold

Genre: Animals / School / Adventure

Year Published: 1993
 
Year Read: 2009

Series: Green Wilma #1

Publisher:  Puffin

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Mischievous Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Green Wilma” is a hysterical children’s book created by Tedd Arnold, well-known author of the “Parts” series. Chaos ensures when a female frog causes mischief at her school when she tries to catch a delicious looking fly that was flying all over the school. "Green Wilma" is certainly a book that will have children rolling around laughing for many years to come.

Tedd Arnold has done an excellent job with both illustrating and writing this hilarious story. Tedd Arnold writes the story in a rhyming poetic text, which makes this story seem similar to Dr. Seuss’ popular children’s books and this truly brings out the creativity of this story about a female frog who wanted nothing more than to catch a tasty fly that keeps escaping her throughout the book. Tedd Arnold’s illustrations are truly something to be remembered as all the characters have bug-out eyes and small bodies, especially of the image of Wilma herself as she has orange curly hair and a yellow and red polka-dotted dress and a body of a frog. I also love the way that Tedd Arnold makes the background seem three-dimensional, especially of the image of the quilt that Wilma sleeps in at the beginning of the book as it has many different colors and shapes for its design. 

Parents should know that the ending of this book might likely confuse many small children.  I will not give away the ending of this book, but it does involve some kind of a dream sequence with one of the characters in this book.  Parents might want to explain to their children about the difference between dreams and reality so that they might not be confuse about what happens at the end of the book. 

“Green Wilma” is the perfect children’s story for children who love frogs and good humor and children will find themselves reading this book over and over again. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since smaller children might be confuse about the ending.  

[BOOK REVIEW] Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix Volume 1 by Shiro Amano

Title:  Kingdom Hearts:  Final Mix Volume 1

Author:  Shiro Amano

Genre: Comedy / Adventure / Sci Fi / Video Game



Year Published: 2013



Year Read: 2013



Series: Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix #1



Publisher: Yen Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I just want to say that I am a huge fan of the “Kingdom Hearts” games, as I played all of them (at least, the ones that came out on Playstation) and I enjoyed the game play and the storylines involved.  So, imagine my surprise when I found out that they were making a manga series about the famous “Kingdom Hearts” games and I just had to pick this series up to see if it is just as good as the games were!

In this volume, Sora is separated from his friends Riku and Kairi when a terrible storm hits his home island and he is thrown into another world.  In that world, Sora meets up with Donald and Goofy, who were travelling to other worlds to find King Mickey, who had suddenly gone missing.  It was then that Sora, Donald and Goofy decided to work together to find both King Mickey and Riku and Kairi while Sora defends the world from the monstrous Heartless, using his newfound Keyblade.

Shiro Amano had done a fantastic job at adapting Tetsuya Nomura’s concept for the “Kingdom Hearts” video game series into manga format.  I loved the fact that Shiro Amano made the manga faithful to the original games, with a few changes here and there, and it was great seeing my favorite characters from the “Kingdom Hearts” games come to life in manga format.  I also loved the strong friendship built between Sora, Donald and Goofy as it was a hilarious yet heartwarming type of friendship as they were bonded when they were all trying to find people that they care about and I loved how this story emphasized the importance of friendship, even during rough times.  But, what always intrigued me about the “Kingdom Hearts” series was the fact that we are able to see our favorite Disney characters intertwine with the characters from “Final Fantasy” and such.  Even though Sora was a made up character for the “Kingdom Hearts” games, it was great seeing him mingle with other Disney characters such as “Hercules,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Aladdin.”  It was also interesting that Shiro Amano made the manga version of “Kingdom Hearts” much funnier than the original games as Sora seems to act more childish in this version than in the games and I really enjoyed the hilarious bantering between Sora, Donald and Goofy.  The artwork for this volume was extremely well done as the characters look both realistic and slightly exaggerated, which gives this volume a dramatic yet comedic feel.

Overall, “Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix Volume One” is a fantastic volume for anyone who is a huge fan of the “Kingdom Hearts” games and I will definitely be checking out the second volume to this series!  I would recommend this volume to children ages five and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this volume.

[BOOK REVIEW] Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Title:  Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre: Animals / Pride / Poetry

Year Published: 1950
 
Year Read: 1997

Publisher: Random House

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Some Bullying)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I had read many Dr. Seuss books over the years, since I am a huge fan of his work!  Now, I had finally come back to one of my childhood favorite stories of all time, “Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories” and I still enjoy it to this very day!

There are a total of three stories in this book which includes “Yertle the Turtle,” “Gertrude McFuzz” and “The Big Brag.”

Yertle the Turtle

In this tale, Yertle the King of all the Turtles, wanted to have a throne where he could see everything from high above.  So he decided to have the rest of the turtles climb up on each other so he could sit on them to make a throne that would reach up high into the sky. But once Yertle the Turtle became too unbearable, will the other turtles defy him in the end?

Gertrude McFuzz

In this tale, a young bird named Gertrude McFuzz wanted to have a beautiful tail like Lolla-Lee-Lou.  So, she decided to visit her uncle Dake and he tells her that in order to grow a beautiful tail like Lolla-Lee-Lou, she has to eat a pill that grows on the pill-berry vine on the top of the hill. But, will Gertrude go too far once she decides to eat all of the pills on the pill-berry vine?

The Big Brag

In this story, a rabbit and a bear were both arguing amongst themselves about who is the best animal in the world and they try to outdo each other with their sense. But when a worm comes by, will he set both the rabbit and the bear straight?

Dr. Seuss has once again created a truly brilliant and engaging book where each story details the consequences of letting too much pride cloud your good judgment.  I enjoyed all of the stories in this book as each story shows a different take on characters becoming too self-absorbed into themselves in certain situations, such as “Yertle the Turtle” showing the consequences of letting the power go to your head, “Gertrude McFuzz” which shows that you should just be yourself and “The Big Brag” which shows that there are better things to do than just bragging.  Probably the story I enjoyed the most was “Yertle the Turtle” since I loved the solution to the problem of Yertle making all the other turtles stand on each other to build a throne that can reach the sky (it is a pretty funny solution)! Dr. Seuss’ illustrations are as usual creative and humorous to look at as it is mainly done in black and white colorings with green and blue being the only other colors in this book, which gives the illustrations a distinctive feel.

Overall, “Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories” is a truly fantastic collection of stories that can be used to teach children about the importance of being humble in your actions and to not become too self-absorbed in yourself. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book and the format would be easy for smaller children to understand.

[BOOK REVIEW] Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert

Title:  Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile

Authors: Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert

Artist: Julie Paschkis

Genre: Folktale / Animals / Trickery

Year Published: 2003
 
Year Read: 2013

Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Perilous Situations)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

After reading so many African folktales, I just recently picked up a children’s book called “Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile,” which was a folktale that originated in Northeastern Liberia in Africa and was written by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert along with illustrations by Julie Paschkis. This book has also earned the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book Award and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at this book’s witty premise!

When Mrs. Chicken is captured by a hungry crocodile, who threatens to eat her, Mrs. Chicken quickly comes up with a plan that could save her life…convince the crocodile that they are SISTERS!

Can Mrs. Chicken trick the Crocodile in order to save her life?

I was actually quite impressed with this book!  I loved the fact that Won-Ldy Paye was trained by his grandmother to become a storyteller and the fact that he is from the Dan people of Northeastern Liberia, really put so much magic in this story as this story originated from the Dan people of Northeastern Liberia and the elements of Africa clearly shows in this story! I also loved the way that both Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert wrote the characters in this story as Mrs. Chicken is shown to be an extremely clever character as she tries to think of a plan to get out of being eaten by the crocodile!  The crocodile was also a great character as she was truly menacing towards Mrs. Chicken in trying to eat her and I was practically on the edge of my seat hoping that Mrs. Chicken gets out of this predicament alive!  Julie Paschkis’ illustrations were totally cute and colorful, especially of the image of Mrs. Chicken herself as she is brightly orange colored and has a rounded body that makes her adorable to look at.  I also loved the image of the crocodile herself as she is green and she seems to have a checkerboard texture on her skin that really made her stand out in the story.  I was also amazed at the fact that the crocodile’s body practically takes up most of the pages, giving her a truly menacing presence.

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because I felt that the illustrations were a bit too simplistic at certain points. As much as I enjoyed the story, I actually wished that the illustrations were a bit more detailed and not look too cartoonish so I could really feel the threat of the crocodile’s attempts at eating Mrs. Chicken.  I also wished that there were more details being made in the backgrounds so I could have a real sense that the reader is really exploring Africa in this story.

Overall, “Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile” is a great story for fans of African folktales and who love reading about clever animals escaping certain death! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the crocodile might scare smaller children.

* Winner: Charlotte Zolotow Honor