This blog was a passion project and way for me to have some where to put thoughts down while job searching to be a librarian. Now that I am a librarian I hope to be able to update so I have something of an outlet for expressing my thoughts on books I really enjoy. Like Odder the book I just posted about!
So, read it and enjoy or not but maybe this blog will see some changes and maybe not will see what happens.
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| Odder by Katherine Applegate Illustrated by Charles Santoso |
Squiggles and Splash by Applegate
Pg. 11
Odder is a novel in verse by Katherine Apple Gate which I picked up because well I love otters. I have visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium where the little otter in this story is rescued and rehabilitated at.
This children’s book is written from the perspective of a little otter who is orphaned in a storm and rescued by the team at the Aquarium, which the otters call “Highwater.” Each of the poems presents a different aspect of Odder’s life and why there are so few of them and why we need to help them.
I found the book an easy read and can see why children enjoy it. Certainly, recommend the book for all those who love otters and want a fun quick read!
The Story (spoilers):
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| Illustration by Charles Santoso pg. 121 |
However, after being taken back to the wild she is still curious about humans and often gets too close, repeatedly needing to be relocated. She meets friend otters in poems and all is well...until one day she ventures too far with a friend and a shark attacks. Landing her back at Highwater!
This is sadly her last stay at Highwater as she is determined to be un-releasable because of her injuries but then gets to join a new program for raising baby otters.
The Review:
This book is written in verse with a look at both the present and past mixed. While Odder is currently telling the story from her perspective of being at Highwater after her capture it does start out when she was a baby. Each section tells a different aspect of her story. Applegate draws the reader in and even though I typically do not enjoy novels in verse this book reads easily and is cohesive. It does not feel like a set of disjointed poems but a single working unit.
Overall, the work is well put together and an enjoyable piece of children’s literature for any collection. Especially for those who love otters and/or are familiar with Monterey Bay.
Resource
Applegate, K. Odder. (2022). Feiwel and Friends. New York.
My TBR pile is still growing, and I am still working to finish Cloud Cuckoo Land that I have been reading for much of 2022, maybe 2023 will actually see me finish the book!
I have always wanted to be a Children's Librarian, well since I started going into libraries in 2015 and worked on my MLIS from SJSU where I did have a focus on children & teens. I had started out to be a teacher, as that was my first career (still seems strange that I already am on my second career in my mid-thirties). I still love teaching and this position allows me to teach but not be responsible for the wellbeing of each child as their guardian is with them, except the older children.
I love being able to work as part of a team which this new move has enabled and provided, unlike my old position where I was a solo-librarian and manager. Now I have a manager over me as well as many associates under me who work with me in providing excellent service to the community.
I am going to continue to update this blog periodically with some book reviews, maybe finally Cloud Cuckoo Land and possibly add ideas for Youth Services Librarianship as I continue to grow in my position. I have my review coming soon and look forward to continuing for much longer in this position.
Here's to a Wonderful New Year!
Cover of Madeline Martin's The Librarian Spy
This book is an exciting look at the hidden lives of Librarians during WWII and the role they played in preserving and forwarding secret intelligence to the Allies. It is then countered by the lives of resistance workers in France working tirelessly to produce some of those very works that are being preserved.
The Librarian
Ava is a young Librarian working in the rare book room of the Library of Congress when she is recruited to work in a special project in Lisbon. This is a great opportunity to help the war effort and hopefully bring her brother, who raised her, home sooner along with all the other brave soldiers. During her time in Lisbon, she meets many interesting characters including other Librarians working to collect other nations intelligence via newspapers
and written works, refugees, and even spies.
One of the people Ava meets is James, who works at the British Embassy, she meets him often to collect newspapers for her job to preserve and believes he is doing the same thing. James introduces her to many people including a Jewish man who is able to procure some Resistance papers for Ava. This romance is well written into the book and doesn't seem force to the story by Martin, it works nicely.
Pg. 148 Ava's Purpose as quoted by one of the Refugees
The Resistance Worker
Elaine, a French housewife, was swept up into the resistance one night after her husband was taken by the Nazis and she found a young woman in need of a new name. The young woman Elaine helped was a Jew and looking for a way to stay safe, by using Elaine’s (or Helen’s) name she was safe [SPOILER readers later find that this is true the end of the War with a thank you from the woman to her returning the original name card]. This one act launches Elaine’s stint in the Resistance and work not only as a delivery worker but eventually a printer of the French paper Combat that Ava actually preserves connecting the two.
The Lives Lived
The two women are surrounded by a cast of many different characters who are true to life from lovers to friends. Each finds a new life in their own way. Ava finds love in her new world in Lisbon while Elaine finds a purpose, even in loss. The women are real and vibrant, and the reader can feel their heartache from the page. Martin elegantly details the ravages of war from two different perspectives. Ava experiences the opulence that is seen in Lisbon a city that is almost untouched by the War as a safe haven, while Elaine is in the thick of Occupied France experience rationing and a family that is torn apart. The reader is taken on the journey of a lost life with Elaine and her many companions while Ava is finding and discovering herself with only minor losses at the fringes of her circle. Ava mostly sees success, save for a few lost friends
Elain's Letter Returned. Image of Text
(SPOILER one that hits hard is the loss of a Jewish man who is refused a visa, a sad truth) while Elaine is met with loss at almost every turn from the start where we meet her with the loss of her husband to the Nazi invaders until the end where she seems to have lost most of her friends to the war.
Review
Overall, I recommend this book as an exciting story for anyone interested in WWII historical fiction or Librarian fiction. I connected with the women in the story as I am trying to find myself. The lives they lead are detailed well and in details that draw readers in by Martin. The stories are sad and delightful making it seem like you know them. I found the book a true delight to read.
Reference
Martin, M. (2022). The librarian spy. Hanover Square Press.
Images taken of the book by me
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| Cover of Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1 |
After the new adjustments in my life, it was nice to set down with a book that was exciting and filled with adventure. I had been meaning to read Dune for a while but kept putting it off, however, when I came across this graphic novel in my new library, I decided to give it a go. I will say that I am pleasantly surprised.
The Premise
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| Panel from Book |
The story begins with the trials of the boy, Paul, by the Reverend mother to determine if he may be this Saviour. He passes, though to the distaste of the Bene Gesserit, and the detriment of his mother, Jessica.
Along with this trial, Paul’s father, the Duke, is in the midst of troubles with his mortal enemies as they try to take over a new world of sand. The world is already divided over the need for water but this shift in power causes even more difficulties.
The intrigue of the story takes place during a time of tumult with many unhappy and difficult characters. It is full of scandal and palace intrigue. The tale ends in the midst of this world of chaos and with Paul and Jessica possibly lost forever to the desert or enemies.
Review
This graphic novel breathes new life to the classic Sci-Fi tale by Frank Herbert. The muted colors of the panels change with the planets, houses, and characters. Each setting has a different set of colors, the artists portray the emotion of the characters in each image.
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| pg. 148-49 Rescue? Panels |
Book
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Illustrated by Raul Allen and Patricia Martin. Frank Herbert's Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1. (2020).
