Category: Ages 12+

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

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By Maureen Tai, 20 April 2018

“It’s pretty weird. Maybe it doesn’t belong to anyone. Maybe it doesn’t come from anywhere. Some things are like that … ” … ” … just plain lost.” – Pete

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I can’t remember how I came across The Lost Thing, or what compelled me to flip through the ochre and sepia-tinged picture book pages.  Perhaps it was the small print on the cover that said “A tale for those who have more important things to pay attention to.”  Perhaps it was the oddly ethereal yet somewhat dystopian world that spread out before me.  Or perhaps it was just luck.

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Mysterious Traveller by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham

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By Maureen Tai, 16 April 2018

“Issa’s old eyes had watched thousands of dawns, but still it seemed to him that each one was a miracle. Each time, it lifted his heart.”

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Some books entice because their authors are celebrities.  Many books call out with their intriguing titles. And there are those books such as Mysterious Traveller that ensnare you with their magnificent cover illustrations.

 

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Bake Sale by Sara Varon

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By Maureen Tai, 15 April 2018

“I’m in a baking rut. I got up early to make a new recipe but I just made a mess. I wish I could make something besides the usual baked goods.” – Cupcake

Several years ago at a writers convention, I discovered that a charmingly soft-spoken children’s book historian (I’ll call him Mr. M) and I shared a common love – reading comics and graphic novels.

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We talked excitedly about the comics of the past – Beano, Dandy and Richie Rich – and the exciting graphic novelists of the present – Kazu Kibuishi, Raina Telgemeier and the incomparable Shaun Tan.  In an embarrassing flash of hindsight, it was probably me who gushed excitedly while Mr. M – whom I found out afterwards is one of the world’s pre-eminent authorities on children’s books – kindly indulged me.  Bake Sale was his parting recommendation, and Sara Varon’s endearing novel found a home in my library not long after that chance encounter.

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The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

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By Maureen Tai, 31 March 2018

“N is for NEVILLE who died of ennui.” – Edward Gorey

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The Gashycrumb Tinies has black and white pictures of children in it and sparse, rhyming text ordered alphabetically, so I suppose it could be categorized as a child’s alphabet picture book. Except it describes, with a hint of delicious glee, the unexpected ways in which 26 small defenceless children come to their (sometimes macabre) ends.  Continue reading →