My introduction to Margarita Engle came through her poetic picture books like The Sky Painter (see my review here) and Drum Dream Girl, so when I saw she had written a memoir too, I immediately added it to my reading list. 

Enchanted Air is the first memoir I've read in verse form, which was different in that it's a quicker read than the nearly 200 pages would indicate, and leaves out some details and aspects that would "flesh out" a narrative written in regular prose. But an advantage to this form is that each line and word carries a lot of meaning. Recurring themes such as flight and air are easier to spot and relate to each other, and so many events, images, and feelings can be distilled into each poem. Even though it's quicker to read, I often wanted to dwell on a section for a few minutes, making sure I didn't miss too much imagery for the sake of the narrative.

The book follows Engle's first fourteen years of life, focusing on her trying to reconcile the two halves of her identity: American (like her father) and Cuban (like her mother). Though the family lives in California and visits Cuba yearly, Engle feels like a different person in each place. Cuba is beautiful and freeing to her, and it feels magical every time they fly across the water to reach it. 

But then the Cuban Missile Crisis happens, and everything changes. Engle feels estranged from a large piece of her identity, and fearful at the way she hears people talk about Cuba and Cubans. This is a segment of history I did not know much about, so reading it through the eyes of a child was especially powerful.

I really enjoyed this easy-to-read but sometimes heavy memoir that captures the hopes and imagination of childhood, combined with Engle's particular fears and questions about the world and the future. Engle adds a note at the end describing some of what has played out since, including the revival of Cuban relations under President Obama.

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author: Margarita Engle
Pages: 192
Content Advisory: During her junior high years, Engle references many things she sees going on around her -- smoking, drinking, a few different kinds of drugs, teen pregnancy, etc. -- though not explicitly. She also describes very clearly the anxiety and terror she felt during the Missile Crisis.

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This classic has been on my bookshelves for as long as I can remember, and is not only a wonderful children's story but a celebration of one aspect of the wild beauty of my home state of Maine. While Blueberries for Sal never comes out and gives a location (aside from "Blueberry Hill"), it's not difficult to imagine that this story is based in Maine (like several of McCloskey's others), given that Maine is pretty much the world capital for wild blueberries (one of the few fruit crops that's native to North America).

When I came back to this book as an adult, I could remember the gist of the narrative -- how Sal and a baby bear get mixed up, with each following the other's mother (as both mothers are quite focused on their task of finding blueberries for the winter). But what I find most endearing about this book is the way McCloskey's illustrations so perfectly capture the mannerisms of a toddler. Sal is capable of great focus on picking, but also an inability to keep more than three blueberries in her pail without eating them. Whether it's the facial expressions or the overall strap that's perpetually falling off her shoulder, Sal is the epitome of a cute and curious toddler who is satisfied by simple things.

I used this book with my son in pre-k for "B week." After reading it, we ate blueberries and "brown bears" (chocolate teddy grahams) for snack. 

Scrounged From: A gift for our child

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Robert McCloskey
Pages: 56
Content Advisory: None

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Letters to a Prisoner is a wordless picture book that communicates quite a bit through a story of a man who is arrested for peaceful protest, and is encouraged (and eventually freed) with the aid of letters written by people around the world. 

The story is understandably simplified, with the opposing political factions in the beginning simply denoted by different-colored shapes. Letters become symbolic of flight and freedom all through the story, and a lovely fantastical image helps to illuminate this idea even more at the end.

A note at the end explains that this story is meant to illustrate what can happen (and has) during Amnesty International's Write for Rights events. I had never heard of this before, so I went and looked into it more after finishing the story. 

I definitely felt inspired after reading this, though it also serves as a reminder that not everyone in the world has the same rights that many of us enjoy. I probably would not read this to a preschooler (the images show people being hit and the man being separated from his young child in a fight, which might be upsetting for young children), but it's easy enough for an adult reader to preview for age-appropriateness. 

(Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author/Illustrator: Jacques Goldstyn
Pages: 48
Content Advisory: See final paragraph above.

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I really enjoyed this informative book about the life of Andrew Carnegie. I thought the pace of the story was well done -- it covered important information without getting bogged down in words, and the illustrations were nice too. 

The narrative traces Carnegie's life from his poor beginnings in Scotland, to working his way up from factory worker to steel mogul in America, and then focuses on his charitable work building libraries all over the world. 

At the end there were a couple pages of more detailed information, including the aside that Carnegie's relationship with his workers was "complicated," noting how he clashed with employees who were trying to unionize. Although this wasn't what the book was about, I appreciated this tidbit because it helped avoid putting Carnegie on too much of a pedestal -- though it was certainly inspiring to read about how he believed his riches were for giving away, and rather than just starting "charities," he truly wanted to empower people to help themselves.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Andrew Larsen
Illustrator: Katty Maurey
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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I wasn't expecting to like this adaptation of Anne of Green Gables as much as I did. I'm not generally a graphic novel person, and at first I was a bit thrown off by the pupil-less eyes of all the characters, but by the end I was very drawn into it and surprised/sad that it was over so quickly. The scenes are well done and the landscape art is especially beautiful (there seems to be a lot of green, which is so fitting).

Certainly I would recommend reading the actual novel first, but after enjoying that as a teen as well as many viewings of the original movie, this distillation of the humor and poignancy of those scenes came back to me quite easily, and I was happy to rediscover my favorite Avonlea characters in graphic novel form.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Mariah Marsden
Illustrator: Brenna Thummler
Pages: 232
Content Advisory: None

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