Children's Review: Not a Box

Not a Box
Antoinette Portis

Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5

I have forever been in love with this book. Not a Box details the inner lives of millions of imaginative children who can go on adventures with little flash and just the assistance of a box and a garden hose. The story is simple, the writing clean and unadorned. The images are the truth of the story, showing first the main character's physical reality with the box and followed by a red-sketched version of the same image only improved by the character's imagination.

One of the joys of this book for me is that the main character is entirely without gender. This story is designed to appeal to girls or boys or kids who haven't figured it out yet. Being a rabbit, the main character is also without human ethnicity and the simple style of storytelling transports any child into the not-a-box of this character. This is also an excellent choice for read-aloud storytimes, as the limited story and bold strokes of the illustration are very easy for children to grasp and expand on. Highly recommended for anyone who ever went to the moon in a box.

Teen Review: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer
Rick Riordan

Rating: 4/5

The Sword of Summer begins another of Rick Riordan's multi-book series centered on mythology from different regions. This particular series focuses on Norse and Scandinavian mythology and opens with a smart-aleck first-person narrator named Magnus. As Magnus is introduced to a new world of monsters and gods that lives parallel to the world he knew, Riordan brings out a time-tested formula of snappy narrator, unknown evil, and a whole new set of rules that the reader is learning just as the main character is. The result is a fast-paced, hysterically funny read for teens, mature children, and adults who can't resist a smart-mouthed narrator.

Rick Riordan does follow a formula in writing these mythology reboot series, it really is a fantastic formula. His characters glow, popping off the page both from his dialog and his vivid descriptions. The action happens fast, at the speed of the character's grasp of the situation. And then there's the later commentary from now-Magnus looking back on then-Magnus. Riordan is a master of the cliff-hanger ending, drawing the reader from page to page even between chapters with a constant sense of curiosity.

This series came to my attention after the announcement that Rick Riordan had been awarded the Stonewall Award for the second installment. In that book, he introduces a trans and gender-fluid character, Alex Fierro.

Rick Riordan (in his acceptance speech): "I think, to support young LGBTQ readers, the most important thing publishing can do is to publish and promote more stories by LGBTQ authors, authentic experiences by authentic voices. We have to keep pushing for this. The Stonewall committee’s work is a critical part of that effort. I can only accept the Stonewall Award in the sense that I accept a call to action – firstly, to do more myself to read and promote books by LGBTQ authors." 

Teen Review: Nimona

Nimona

By Noelle Stevenson

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Plot: 5/5

Characters: 4/5

Story: 5/5

Every villain needs a sidekick. And that is what Nimona says she is, when she appears suddenly in Lord Ballister Blackheart's dungeon hideout. But she is more than she says she is and the science-obsessed bad guy must discover the truth while fighting his nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. 

I loved this graphic novel. The artwork is fun and funky but still deeply important to the character development and WOW is there character development. The ending sort of indicates a closing to the story, which breaks my heart because I want to spend volumes following Nimona and Ballister around. They are absolutely perfect.

One thing I really love about Nimona is that she doesn't look like a typical female heroine. She isn't tall. She isn't blonde. She isn't skinny and perfect. She's short and realistically shaped, funky and punky and in your face. She doesn't act like a good little sidekick, either, in spite of what she tells Ballister at the beginning. She does what she wants, when she wants, and however she feels like doing it. Her truth is THE truth, regardless of what anyone thinks of her. And I love her for that.