Lost & Found (A Book Review)

Lost & Found (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Tan, Shaun. Lost and Found. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), 2011 (first Omnibus edition). ISBN 9780545229241

Plot Summary

Lost and Found is a book containing three stories told mainly through illustrations in imaginative and futuristic detail. Each highlights the theme of loneliness and hope, abandonment and help, and foreign occupation of native lands, destruction, and the possibility of coexistence.   

Critical Analysis

In this highly detailed, unique and imaginative picture book lies the tales of The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, and The Rabbits. The Red Tree details the life a young girl stuck in the monotony of routine, searching for something meaningful. Just as the moroseness of the story begins to wash over with overwhelmingly dark images, suddenly the story shifts into a celebration; a possibility. Told with few words, the underlying message for the reader seems to be that life may not always be what you expect, but if you dwell on it too much, you will miss the great moments it has to offer. 

The Lost Thing is told from the perspective of a teenage boy living in an over-populated futuristic industrial city powered by many kinds of machines. The coldness is felt in the gray and brown hues decorating most of the city and the impartial expressions worn by the busy citizens. Nothing extraordinary really happens until the boy stumbles upon a bright red thing on the beach. As he inspects it, it springs to life and he finds himself playing with the thing for hours. When he realizes it's time to go and the thing has not been claimed, he sets out to find more information about it and who lost it. Befriending the thing, the boy eventually realizes through trial and error and careful observation where the thing's home should have been all along.

The Rabbits highlights an ugly truth about society's past; the invasion into foreign territory and often toxic influence on the native inhabitants and surrounding lands. The reader is appalled as the rabbits take over, spreading out and developing while eliminating the wild-life and natural characteristics of the landscape. In the end, the future of the creatures and their possible coexistence remains an unknown variable. Special notes from the author about his unique illustrations and the origins of the stories is detailed at the end of the book.            

Review Excerpt(s)

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007
A New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2007
World Fantasy Award 2007, Best Artist
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2007
A Booklist Editors' Choice for 2007
A 2012 ALA Notable Children’s Book
Parents’ Choice Gold Award
2012 USBBY Outstanding International Book

Starred review from Publishers Weekly on 03/14/2011:
"There isn't really a bad time to win an Academy Award, but Shaun Tan's timing is impeccable. His animated short film, The Lost Thing, picked up an Oscar just as the book upon which it was based returns to print in this collection..."

Starred review from Booklist on 04/01/2011:
"Gr 4 Up—Three previously published stories collected into one volume, all illustrated by the amazing Tan. "The Red Tree" follows a solitary girl through a single, not very good day, exploring her feelings as they shift from disappointment and confusion to alienation and despair. The spare, lyrical text provides an anchor for Tan's large, moody, beautiful paintings. "The Lost Thing" is a more upbeat tale of a boy who discovers an unusual object and then must decide what to do with it. Freedom and imagination are the themes in this story, and here the art includes fascinating and sometimes humorous bits of technical drawings. The prose of John Marsden's "The Rabbits," an allegory about imperialism, is so simple and melodic that it verges on poetry..."

Review from The Boston Globe on 12/8/2011:

“Lost & Found," written by Shaun Tan and John Marsden, illustrated by Tan. Tan’s inimitable art tells three stories about darkness and hope, loneliness and friendship, and displacement and belonging. He won an Oscar for the short animated film he made of “The Lost Thing,’’ a tale about a boy who takes pity on a strange thing when no one else would."

Connections
Other Shaun Tan books to check out:

• Tan, Shaun. Tales From Outer Suburbia. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), 2009. ISBN 9780545055871

Lost and Found is a creative work of fantasy with global messages any reader can glean and apply to real life. It is a book that invokes thought about society and allows the reader their own interpretations.

The Crossover (A Book Review)

The Crossover (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. eISBN 9780544289598

Plot Summary

Twin brothers Josh ("Filthy McNasty") and Jordan are stars on the court like their former NBA dad. Trouble arises when the twin stars are thrown apart by Jordan's sudden interest in a girl and a family tragedy.   

Critical Analysis

Told from "Filthy's" perspective in exciting and humorous verse is the story of twin teen basketball stars Josh and Jordan Bell who are following in their former super star NBA father's footsteps with the support of their assistant principal mom. With inventive and rhyming vocabulary that seems to move all over the pages like a basketball in motion, Josh (nicknamed "Filthy McNasty") leads the reader into an account of the special relationship and bond he shares with his brother and parents.

In the beginning, Josh and Jordan's relationship seems effortless as they interact like typical twin brothers who share a love and talent for basketball. Raised in a loving family, Josh is caught off guard when his brother suddenly goes head over heels for a girl and breaks their twin bond that he has always known. Finding it hard to contain his jealous feelings and the sense of being forgotten, Josh goes through a journey of self-discovery as he tries to recover the special relationship he had with his brother.                

Review Excerpt(s)

2015 Newbery Medal Winner

2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner

Review from Booklist on 03/15/2014:

"...An accomplished author and poet, Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip-hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond. The effect is poetry in motion. It is a rare verse novel that is fundamentally poetic rather than using this writing trend as a device. There is also a quirky vocabulary element that adds a fun intellectual note to the narrative. This may be just the right book for those hard-to-match youth who live for sports or music or both."

Starred review from School Library Journal on 03/01/2014:

"Gr 6–10—Twins Josh and Jordan are junior high basketball stars, thanks in large part to the coaching of their dad, a former professional baller who was forced to quit playing for health reasons, and the firm, but loving support of their assistant-principal mom. Josh, better known as Filthy McNasty, earned his nickname for his enviable skills on the court: "…when Filthy gets hot/He has a SLAMMERIFIC SHOT." In this novel in verse, the brothers begin moving apart from each other for the first time. Jordan starts dating the "pulchritudinous" Miss Sweet Tea, and Josh has a tough time keeping his jealousy and feelings of abandonment in control..."

Starred review from Kirkus on 12/18/2013:

"...Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story. Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch."

Connections
Other Kwame Alexander books to check out:

• Alexander, Kwame. Booked. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. ISBN 9780544570986

The Crossover is a book teen boys may enjoy and relate to the characters on a personal level. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (A Book Review)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Saenz, Benjamin. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012. ASIN B0055OJC78

Plot Summary

Aristotle is an often angry and isolated teenage boy trying to understand the meaning of life and his family's secrets about his brother. Through an unusual friendship with a boy named Dante, Aristotle begins to understand more about himself. 

Critical Analysis

Aristotle is a disgruntled and often angry fifteen year old Mexican teenager living in El Paso, Texas in the year of 1987. From the very first line of "One Summer Night I Fell Asleep Hoping The World would be different when I woke,' Aristotle has readers hooked in his constant melancholy and cynicism mixed with Spanish slang. Desperate to understand his silent father who is scarred from war and why his own mother (whom he is close to) won't speak about his brother who is in jail, Aristotle (or Ari, for short) begins a journey of self-discovery that proves to be surprising for both the reader and Ari simultaneously.  

On the surface, Ari's Summer outlook appears to be dull and uneventful as is told in introspective and sometimes amusing detail through his own voice. Set in the back drop of a normal suburban neighborhood in El Paso and accurately described, the desert becomes Ari's source of refuge when he is not visiting the community pool during the hot days. It is during one of his routine swimming pool visits that he hears a squeaky voice offer to teach him how to swim. Reluctantly, Ari allows the boy (Dante) to teach him although he's not sure they have anything in common. Ari has never had a friend before, often citing the complexities of teenage relationships as the source. Over the course of a year, the natural friendship unfolds as each boy bears witness to tragedy and the harsh realities of growing up and understanding one's place in a world during a time when society's prejudices and stereotypes had not yet evolved to today's level of acceptance.                      

Review Excerpt(s)

Pura Belpre Author Medal Winner (2013)

Michael L. Printz Honor Book (2013)

Stonewall Book Award (2013)

  

Starred review from Booklist on 12/15/2003:

"When Aristotle and Dante meet, in the summer of 1987, they are 15-year-olds existing in “the universe between boys and men.” The two are opposites in most ways: Dante is sure of his place in the world, while Ari feels he may never know who he is or what he wants. But both are thoughtful about their feelings and interactions with others, and this title is primarily focused on the back-and-forth in their relationship over the course of a year..."

Starred review from Kirkus on 04/18/2012:

"He doesn't know why his older brother is in prison, since his parents and adult sisters refuse to talk about it. His father also keeps his experience in Vietnam locked up inside. On a whim, Ari heads to the town swimming pool, where a boy he's never met offers to teach him to swim. Ari, a loner who's good in a fight, is caught off guard by the self-assured, artistic Dante. The two develop an easy friendship­, ribbing each other about who is more Mexican, discussing life's big questions, and wondering when they'll be old enough to take on the world..."

Starred review from School Library Journal on 11/08/13:

"This 2013 Printz and Stonewall award-winning book (S & S, 2012) is a wonderful coming-of-age story, and Miranda does a stellar job of capturing the essences of both teen characters. A terrific addition to audiobook collections."

Connections
Other Benjamin Saenz books to check out:

• Saenz, Benjamin. He Forgot to Say Goodbye. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010. ISBN 9781416994343

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a book teens struggling with identity or sexuality can relate to on a personal level.