Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Title: Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction
Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Publisher: Graphix, Scholastic
ISBN: 978-0545902472
Genre: Graphic Memoirs, Comics
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars

I love graphic memoirs. They make the pain of the protagonist bearable to the reader. It doesn’t feel all that much to handle, but it is. Because it is done in the form of pictures and that makes it even more real. Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka is a graphic memoir that will cut like a knife and make you see the true brilliance of the graphic memoir.

Jarrett is in kindergarten when his teacher asks him to draw his family. We all know that some of us have more complicated families than others. Jarrett’s mom is an addict, his father is a mystery and Jarrett doesn’t know where to search for him, or even his name for that matter. He lives with his grandparents who are old and don’t know how to take care of a child anymore, but they try their best. In all of this is Jarrett trying to go through childhood – making his life more real and normal, and finally leading to his teenage years when he wants to know more about his family.

Hey, Kiddo is ironically hilarious. It is the kind of book that is feel-good and not-so-feel-good at the same time. The trauma that one goes through if one parent is an addict is unimaginable, and to add to that a father who isn’t around, just makes it worse. This book is like a support group in itself – in a strange way it just helps you soldier on.

Hey, Kiddo is one of those graphic memoirs that will help conversations in families – where relatives are stand-in parents, where there can be hope for the young, and more than anything else what does family really mean. I know a lot of memoirs perhaps have been written of this nature, and yet to me this book stood out and struck a chord even though I have never gone through something like this. That’s the power of good storytelling, I guess.

Sparrow by Sarah Moon

Title: Sparrow
Author: Sarah Moon
Publisher:  Scholastic
ISBN: 978-1338032581
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 Stars

As an introvert, Sparrow’s life has not been easy. She has been prone to reading and being by herself, which isn’t a bad thing at all. She prefers watching birds, and spending time with her high-flying mother, who is an IT executive at a Brooklyn bank. She has no friends and her world is limited to books and her teacher, Mrs. Wexler, the school librarian. She is the perfect friend Sparrow has – she doesn’t speak much and knows exactly what book Sparrow will like next. Till tragedy takes place and Mrs. Wexler dies in a freak accident. From then on, Sparrow is left all alone – miserable and lonely, almost wanting to commit suicide. Sparrow enters therapy and her world changes like never before. Enter: Rock & Roll music.

This is the plot of “Sparrow” by Sarah Moon. Sarah knows how to decode a teenager’s head. What goes on in Sparrow’s mind is almost bang-on. In fact, many a time I was transported to my teenage years and that had me nodding in affirmation to everything that was going on in the book. Moon’s prose is bang-on in so many parts, especially when she describes Sparrow with a book or her new-found love and the solace Rock & Roll brings to her life.

The book touches on mental health issues delicately and I wish it had probed a little further on it, though it is there and does address it in more than one way. The story doesn’t stray and I enjoyed Sparrow’s transition from grieving to loss to contemplating suicide to seeing things and life for what they were. Sarah Moon doesn’t glorify anything. If anything, she tells a story the way it is meant to be told – in an honest way. Just for that “Sparrow” deserves one read at least. Also, because it is rather warm in a lot of places.

 

Wings of Fire #1 The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland

Title: Wings of Fire #1 : The Dragonet Prophecy
Author: Tui T. Sutherland
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 978-0545349239
Genre: Children’s Fantasy, Teens
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5/5

After a long time, I read a book for kids that was super-fun and thrilling at the same time. It was also heartwarming and made no bones of using everything that has been already covered when it comes to dragons, yet it felt so refreshing. “The Dragon Prophecy” is the first book in the “Wings of Fire” series and was first published in 2012. It is also a high-fantasy series might I add but thank God that it doesn’t read like that.

The series as you must have guessed is all about dragons – it goes a step further and introduces a war going on between seven dragon tribes over the throne of SandWings (Game of Thrones but with only dragons). And in all of this we are introduced to Clay (a dragonet) and his four friends (Tsunami, Glory, Starfight and Sunny) who are destined to stop the war and have been raised in a cave under a mountain by three guardians, so no one can harm them. The plot of the book moves around the prophecy, the mystery behind it and the introduction to the dragonets, and more.

The plot exists but is kind of loose right now maybe because this is just the first book and there is so much more to come. The writing is engaging, at times I thought it could have fleshed out the dragonets a lot more but I guess she has left it for later. I am also very happy that Scholastic has brought this series to India. It is the perfect series for middle-graders, teens and even adults to start with. “The Dragonet Prophecy” is a fun read with the correct elements in place for a high-fantasy – which will sure evolve in the coming books (which are out and available by the way).

Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan

Title: Rules of Summer
Author: Shaun Tan
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN: 978-0545639125
Genre: Children’s Fiction, Picture Books
Pages: 48
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 Stars

I remember when I first read Shaun Tan. It was the book Arrival and it was without words. Pictures said it all and there was really no need for words. I also remember loving that book to the hilt and recommending it to one and all. It spoke of the immigrant status so well and brought up so many issues without saying anything at all. I then chanced upon “Rules of Summer” last year and the publisher Scholastic was kind enough to send me a copy. It is a different story that I only read it this year and loved it to bits, as expected.

“Rules of summer” is a coming of age story, but told in such a weird manner that only Shaun Tan can. Rules of summer are the ones that can be made up by your older brother and you have to follow them all through summer. It is the kind of rules that border into fantasy from reality and that’s how they should be. I used to think that some books of Shaun Tan aren’t meant for children and rightly so but this one is out and out a children’s books and brilliant at that.

The words are perfect for a six-year old and above and the illustrations are magnificent and extremely imaginative. The rules are sinister but go with the story and it is most certainly about terrains that are forbidden for children but they go there anyway. Shaun Tan’s illustrations are out of this world. I must say this again because they must be given more than their due. And as you go along adding up the rules to the pictures, the book makes perfect sense at the end. A book not just for kids but adults as well. One of those reads that will enter your dreams.

Zen Series by Jon J Muth

For those who have still not experienced the Zen Series by Jon J Muth, I guess this is the best time to. Also, might I add, that you are very lucky to have not encountered them yet, because they are wondrous and heartwarming at the same time and you are in for a treat.

The books are not really children’s books according to me – their lessons are meant for all and these are things that perhaps we already know of, but do not take the time to ponder or act on. May be that is the biggest problem of our age – just sitting and wondering and doing nothing about things.

Jon J Muth’s series starts with Zen Shorts, where Michael, Karl and Addy discover a giant panda in their backyard and then the Panda starts telling them stories – Zen stories. His name is Stillwater (kinda obvious). The book is wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The watercolour illustrations and the stories go so good together that it feels like you are in a dreamland or something. Zen Shorts was followed by Zen Ties, Ghosts and the latest one was Zen Socks.

The series of these books is something else. I think it rings so true is because it is inspired from life – it is what we go through and live every single day, may be that’s why I was able to connect with them the way I did. The writing is simple and more characters get added as you move along the books – there are so many lessons in these books but they do not sound preachy even once. It is all about living and finding it out for yourself. These 4 books, Zen Shorts, Zen Ties, Zen Ghosts and Zen Socks will leave with with a big smile on your face and maybe even some wisdom.