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Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers
by broxi3781
One morning flicking through the channels, we found a short cartoon about a boy and penguin. It was absolutely lovely, but I didn't even catch the name. A few weeks later, I was reading reviews and came across one for this book. It was obvious that this was the same story, so I quickly clicked over to Amazon to try to find a copy for us. ... I was just about to buy a paper back copy when I noticed you can buy the exact same story in a pop up version. My sons have always loved pop up books, and I like having a wide variety of types of books. The Pop up is quite a bit more expensive. New copies sell for £9.93, and used copies are nearly as much, but buying pop ups used can be a gamble, as they can easily be damaged by careless handling. Since the price difference was less than 50 p we went a new copy ( thanks to dooyoo vouchers). A paper back version, with the same illustrations and story, just no pop ups is available for £3.66 new, and Amazon offers a board book for younger children at £4.07 new.
I can only describe Lost and Found as a work of art. The story is beautiful in it's simplicity, and the illustrations also have a magical simplicity to them. I have read heavy criticism of some of Jeffers' early works for his style of drawing, especially the thin stick like legs of the "The Boy". The critics seem to have fallen silent on this book though and there is nothing but praise for it. Of course the boy is not the most realistic drawing of a child I have seen, but I do like it. It isn't a crude drawing, instead I think this is Jeffers' style, which is rapidly becoming a personal trademark. The rest of his illustrations are simple and uncluttered as well. Many depict only the main characters a single prop on a white background. Another picture shows only a few house with a darkened sky, a full moon and stars.
The main characters of this book are a boy and a penguin. The boy is also in 4 other Oliver Jeffers' books that I know of: How to Catch a Star, The Way Back Home and Up and Down. The boy is never named. I don't always like this in a story, but it works perfectly in this one. The boy is nondescript in a way that I think makes it easy for a child to imagine themselves in his place. The book begins when the boy answers a knock at the door. To his surprise, he finds a penguin standing there, and assumes the penguin must be lost. The boy is determined to help this sad and lonely visitor and sets off on an epic quest to help the penguin get home. But before the story ends he will find something else that he has lost, and that friendship is the most valuable find of all.
The text on this is simple. The penguin can not talk, so there is no dialogue. There are simple sentences describing the boys actions, and thoughts. Their is something about this wordless friendship that makes it all the more special, as if words would only spoil the wonderful relationship between these two, but not being able to speak does lead to one misunderstanding.
We do own a couple of other books in this series, and they are all popular with my youngest son, but this has the added magic of being a pop up as well, and the pop up are wonderfully engineered. The first page has a pop up version of the boys house with the penguin standing at the door. You can see the boy through the window, but pulling the door open will cause him to walk past the window and stand at the door. Another tab will show the penguin following the boy. Pull down flaps double as extra pages, and a number of tabs add action to the stories. My son especially enjoys turning the lights on and off in the house and the giant waves on a two page spread of the friends ocean voyage. I'm sure this book would still be a favourite without the pop ups, but they do add another dimension to this book.
My son rarely chooses this book, or any of Oliver Jeffers' books in the daytime. When reading stories at night he puts these on the bottom of the pile and says they are to be read last. There is something peaceful and soothing about this book, that makes it ideal for just before bed, and my son seems to realise that this does help him get ready to nod off. I think these books would be ideal for very young children, even babies - although I think I would choose the ordinary edition or board book if buying for a child under two. I wish I had found this book sooner. I would recommend this book for children as young as 8 months. I believe the simple text and lack of dialogue make ideal for the very youngest of children. My youngest is 3, but will be 4 this summer. This book is still completely magical for him, and I can't see him outgrowing it anytime soon, but at age 7 my oldest is really too old for this. He enjoyed the pop ups a few times, but has moved beyond picture books now. I would recommend this from ages 0-5, although I expect a child that has grown used to this as a quiet way to unwind before bed may continue to enjoy it for some time afterwards.
This is one of those books that will be kept when my son outgrows it. It simply has too many memories of him falling asleep beside me as I read to ever part with it, and hopefully some day he will read this to his children.
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Divergent - Veronica Roth
by InchyInchy
Divergent by Veronica Roth
---Book synopsis---
In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the ... society she lives in is not perfect after all.
One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs and determines you loyalties...forever.
---Review---
Overall, there were a lot of things I really enjoyed about Divergent and then, well there were parts that spoilt the story a little for me. A lot of people LOVED this book and I LIKED it but I only liked it.
Divergent is set in a world that is unrecognisable from our own. The world, the people have changed and they are only capable of limited personalities and accordingly they will choose and live in only one of the five factions.
The five factions are -
Dauntless - The brave
Abnegation - The selfless
Erudite - The intelligent
Amenity - The peaceful
Candour - The honest
While I did have some issues with some elements of Divergent I really liked the character of Tris (Beatrice), she wasn't your typical damsel in distress that seems to plague a lot of the YA dystopian genre. She was determined, strong and still vulnerable all at the same time. I liked her. And she is memorable.
I also dare anyone who reads this not to like Four, the dauntless teacher that will put all the new recruits through their paces and a lot more. And I really enjoyed the part of the book where you learn why he was given the nickname of four. Again he is a character that I will look forward to reading more about as the series continues.
However, as much as I loved some of the main characters a lot of the other characters felt a little underdeveloped and some were little more than a stereotype. Some authors have the knack of really creating a range of strong minor characters and personally I think Veronica Roth just fell short of that.
Throughout the book there were a few scenarios that made me feel uncomfortable when reading them. There was a lot of bullying going on in the dauntless training camp and it was all seen as ok, expected even. For a dauntless it seemed that it was braver not stand up to bullies than to report them for fear people might think you are coward - my personal view just kept shouting WRONG, tell someone, tell anyone don't let that person nearly kill you before you stand up to them. It all just grated on me a bit.
I found it hard to understand the dauntless society it just didn't fit with what the initial explanations behind the creation of the original five factions. Yes the author did try to explain the discrepancies but I felt like it was all glossed over and didn't really get to the heart of the matter, i.e., why a faction that favours bravery has turned more cruel than brave.
I just wasn't convinced by a lot of situations throughout the story and often the characters seemed to act or do the opposite of what I would think of as brave choice.
Again, most of what I didn't like came down to the fact that I thought a lot of the world building aspects were poorly done. There wasn't enough history or explanation why the society developed as it did and I really struggled with understanding why people fit so nicely into one faction or another. It didn't make sense, it made sense for more people to be Divergent. There is a sort of explanation towards the end of the book but it felt tacked on and not completely though through.
There was just too many moments in Divergent that seemed to easily addressed by the author in a very convenient manner. I want more in depth answers. I want more complex world building. I want something more than formulaic relationships. I want something that just isn't ok. I didn't get moat of those things from Divergent.
But, what I did get from Divergent was an entertaining story. And although I may have said some negative things I really did enjoy following the recruits from initiation onwards. Even if some of the sections felt a tad repetitive, as they have to participate in similar tasks more than once.
I do think that this series has potential and I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Insurgent. Hopefully some of the answers and explanations I really needed to like Divergent more will be laid out in Insurgent.
Recommended? Definitely, but just don't expect anything like all the hype surrounding this book suggests.
To sum, reading Divergent was one choice that didn't transform me. I have read so many reviews from people who have loved this book, perhaps my main problem was because I was expecting more. If you do or have read Divergent be sure to let me know what you think.
Three out of Five stars
Genre - YA, dystopian
Published by HaperCollins (2011)
Paperback - 487 pages (£9.99 - £6.99)
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