MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVEL (FICTION) REVIEWS: Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen & The Singing Rock by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
ABOUT THE BOOK
A heartwarming story of friendship, loss, and finding your way home from debut author/illustrator Mai K. Nguyen!
Willow loves the woods near her house. They’re calm and quiet, so different from her own turbulent emotions, which she keeps locked away. When her emotions get the better of her one day, she decides to run away into the woods.
There, she meets Pilu, a lost tree spirit who can’t find her way back home—which turns out to be the magnolia grove Willow’s mom used to take her to. Willow offers to help Pilu, and the two quickly become friends.
But the journey is long, and Pilu isn’t sure she’s ready to return home yet—which infuriates Willow, who’s determined to make up for her own mistakes by getting Pilu back safely. As a storm rages and Willow’s emotions bubble to the surface, they suddenly take on a physical form, putting both girls in danger… and forcing Willow to confront her inner feelings once and for all.
REVIEW
Willow struggles to contain her emotions. Because she doesn't know how to deal with them she tries to keep them locked up. But after attacking a bully and fighting with her sister, she flees into the woods where she feels most at home. While there she meets Pilu, a young tree spirit, who has also run away from home in the grips of strong emotion. Willow offers to help Pilu find her way home after she discovers that Pilu's home is the grove of magnolia trees her mother used to take her to visit. As the girls journey through the woods, they both start to work through their frustrations. But Pilu isn't sure she wants to go home and Willow is reluctant to face the emotions she's been trying to keep locked away. But emotions (personified here as little creatures in jars) can only be ignored for so long. And a rising storm also complicates things. I found this book to be a compelling story full of feeling. I even teared up in a few spots. Nguyen's illustrations are lovely and appealing. I had to get used to the personified emotions in jars that the illustrator uses to symbolize Willow's struggles to contain her emotions, but once I got used to it, it worked well. A thoughtful-book highlighting grief in a way I've never seen before.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A genie just wants a chance to grant a wish to the frog who accidentally let him out of his lamp—meanwhile, the frog just wants to be left alone. A witch is tormented by the cheerful (and awful) singing of a persistent bard, but when she finally snaps and turns him into a rock, he just keeps on singing—somehow the power of terrible music overcomes all magic. A wizard wants a pet. An ogre just wants to make beautiful art. Four original, wry, and utterly charming fairy tales comprise this new collection for young readers.
With a deft, lively text from Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and eye-popping, painterly art by Simini Blocker, The Singing Rock is the perfect read for kids who love a good yarn—and good comics!
REVIEW
The Singing Rock is an entertaining collection of four unusual fairy tales. I thoroughly enjoyed these original tales. Using recognizable fairy tale elements such as a genie, a witch, an ogre, and spells, Lachenmeyer creates fairy tales with his own twist. The first tale involves a genie determined to bestow the standard three wishes on a frog. But the frog just desperately wants to be left alone. Tale number two has a standoff between a music-hating witch, and a music-loving bard, who keeps singing no matter what animal she turns him into. Maybe being a rock will stop him? Story three pits two sorcerers against each other. One sorcerer gifts the other a talking parrot in an effort to steal his spells, but his efforts backfire spectacularly. Only the more clever sorcerer may be a little too clever for his own good. And the final story has a portrait painter relearning the art of painting things as they are, at the risk of his life. The stories are told in comic panels and short enough to read quickly with a fun twist at the end of each tale. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and appealing. A book young readers are sure to enjoy.
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