Shelf Awareness--My Bison

PB Review: My Bison

My Bison by Gaya Wisniewski (Princeton Architectural Press, 36p., ages 4-7, 9781616898861)

Gaya Wisniewski's first book in English, My Bison, is a gentle story of love, loss and healing told through unadorned text and extraordinary illustration.

One spring, a young girl's mother holds her up to see a bison. "Look!" the mom says. "He's back!" The girl visits the meadow every day, getting closer and closer to the large animal until they're friends. The girl pets him and brings him food. But one morning, her bison must leave "to join up with the other bison." She wishes he could stay, but she's sure he'll return "when snow cover[s] the ground again." The girl is lonely until it's winter again, and her bison does return. He listens "with tenderness" as she relates stories about the forest she loves and all the things she's done while he was gone. The years go by and her bison leaves many times, always returning to the girl. Until one winter when he does not.

As the narrator imparts her story of unlikely friendship, Wisniewski's breathtaking art portrays the bison doing increasingly fantastical things, such as eating with a spoon, sipping tea at a table and lying tucked into a cozy bed. Likewise, as the story progresses and readers fall more deeply under its spell, the charcoal and ink illustrations become enhanced by strategically placed deep blue and mauve. The spare text, surrounded by plenty of white space, adds to the hushed tone of the piece, and leaves plenty of room for reflection. Deeply contemplative, never frightening, this fanciful tale of friendship amid the passing years is not to be missed. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI.

Discover: A girl narrates the magical story of her years-long friendship with a bison.

March Recommendations

Novels:

I don’t want to give away any spoilers by describing THE TOLL, by Neal Shusterman, which is the final book in his Arc of a Scythe Trilogy. For those who have read the previous two books, SCYTHE, and THUNDERHEAD, this final installment twines all threads together, ups the ante, and finishes the series with a flourish. It does not disappoint. (YA)

THE KINGDOM OF BACK, by Marie Lu, is a fantasy-infused account of the close relationship between musical genius Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart and his lesser-known sister, Maria Anna (Nannerl). Nannerl Mozart, a musical “miracle” herself, desperately wants to be a composer, but she lives in a time when women are defined by marriage and childbearing. She's drawn into an alternate world, a fairy story taking place in a land called the Kingdom of Back, where a wild-looking boy promises to help her achieve her heart’s desire. Fantasy and reality blur, and Nannerl must decide for herself what her legacy will be. (MG)

Graphic Novels:

BUG BOYS, by Laura Knetzger, is an odd and adorable friendship story between two bugs, the impulsive Rhino-B, and the quieter, more bookish Stag-B. It features a series of adventures, including treasure-hunting and bug-napping, delivering books to the strangely friendly Dome Spider at the Insect’s Library, a trip to a Bee Hive AND a Termite Hive, and so much more. Just like the storyline, the art is delicate and whimsical. (MG)

Picture Books:

THE LOVE LETTER, written by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins, is the story of three friends—Hedgehog, Bunny, and Squirrel—and how one shared letter sends a message of love that impacts them all. Denise's text is compact without seeming terse, and the illustrations are the usual top-notch stuff we are used to from Cummins.

IN A JAR, by Deborah Marcero, features two bunnies, Llewelyn and Evelyn, who bond over their love of collecting--and sharing--glass jars filled with everything from the mundane to the extraordinary. Then Evelyn moves away, and the two friends must figure out how to share from afar. Marcero’s text is spare and evocative, and her stylized art gives this story a unique look that serves it well.

In UP ON BOB, by Mary Sullivan, Bob is a dog who "has work to do." He must get his person’s bed perfectly arranged so he can have his nap. It’s hard work, but he likes hard work, and it pays off. But when the bed is finally ready, Bob gets a visit from a surprise Someone. Good thing the Someone likes hard work, too. The antics—and personalities—of Bob and Someone are perfectly portrayed in this picture book/easy reader hybrid.

--Lynn

March's Book of the Month--Dear Sweet Pea

March’s Book of the Month is the funny and heartwarming middle grade novel, DEAR SWEET PEA, by Julie Murphy.

When Sweet Pea’s parents get a divorce—or a “mindful division,” as her mom calls it--they set up “two completely separate houses on the same street that look just about as identical as two different houses could.” Right in between them lies the home of Miss Flora Mae, whose advice column, Miss Flora Mae I?, is read by practically everyone in town.

Miss Flora Mae goes on vacation, and she asks Sweet Pea to handle her mail. Sweet Pea needs to send along new questions for the column, and submit to the newspaper the ones that Miss Flora Mae has already answered. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, it all starts when Sweet Pea recognizes the handwriting on one of the letters that comes in. Before long, she has plenty of problems of her own, involving current best friend Oscar, previous best friend Kiera, divorce and more divorce. There’s also that small matter of barfing on Greg, the cute new seventh grader, at a Trampoline Zone party, and the fact that being a “juniors’ size eighteen” doesn’t mean she wants her graduation dress to resemble “dumpy floral” wallpaper.

For me, this book is all about the main character. In Sweet Pea, the author has written a funny, relatable, flawed-yet-earnest protagonist, one who springs to life on the very first page. The book may tackle a whole slew of issues, but for me it’s all about Sweet Pea.

Have you read DEAR SWEET PEA? What do you think?

--Lynn