Gloria Whelan

Queen Victoria longs to go swimming in the sea in this amusing picture-book, told in rhyme. As it would be scandalous for any of her subjects to see her in any fashion undressed, the idea is at first rejected, until Prince Albert puts his mind to the question, and comes up with an ingenious solution. And so the bathing machine, a rolling structure that will shield his wife and queen from prying eyes on the beach, and take her down into the water while preserving her modesty, is invented...

On show more the one hand, I found Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine an absolute hoot. The rhyming text from author Gloria Whelan is a lot of fun to read aloud, and the colorful artwork from illustrator Nancy Carpenter accentuates the humor of the tale. As a work of picture-book history, the title offers a glimpse into Victorian mores concerning modesty, as well as ideas about the proper role of royalty. All that said, I couldn't help but feel that it was also somewhat misleading, as child readers and listeners could very well come away with the notion that Prince Albert invented the bathing machine. Now it may very well be that he designed the machine that Queen Victoria used on the Isle of Wight (I have not read extensively on Victoria and Albert, and cannot say), but the bathing machine itself, as a type, dates back to the early 18th century, and this is really something that should have been mentioned in the afterword. If read solely as a fun tale of a queen going bathing, then this flaw shouldn't matter too much, but if this is intended for use in any non-fiction, historical capacity, than it is a significant detraction from the book. Although I enjoyed this one, I subtracted a star from my rating, as a result of the confusion I think the story creates, regarding this issue. Recommended, but with the caveat that adult readers should offer additional information to their child listeners/readers, regarding the long(er) history of the bathing machine. show less

A young girl named Zulviya, part of the Turkoman community of Afghanistan, narrates this story of her family's involvement in the rug-making industry, and her own long day at the loom, waiting for the owl's call that signals the end of work. Waking with the muezzin's call to prayer, and working until her fingers bleed, Zulviya sits between her cousin Aghabil and her sister Aqbika, where she holds two patterns in her mind: the pattern of the rug taking shape before her, and her own internal show more pattern, which weaves together the beauty of the world around her, and her own thoughts and dreams. After an evening celebration in honor of a bakshy, or traveling musician, eight-year-old Zulviya falls exhausted into her bed, to dream of a pattern in which there is no loom to cast its shadow over her...

The Turkoman, or Turkmen people, are the majority ethnicity in the country of Turkmenistan, but also have populations in Afghanistan, Iran and other parts of Central Asia. They should not be confused with the Turkoman people of northern Iraq, who are linguistically distinct from the Oghuz Turks (Turkmen). Given that there is potential for this kind of confusion, especially amongst young readers who might be unfamiliar with the region, and given that this is part of a series (Tales of the World) intended to introduce American children to their counterparts around the world, I was particularly disappointed to note that, although Gloria Whelan did include an afterward about the rug industry, and the use of child labor, she did not include any information about the Turkoman people.

Leaving that issue aside, I greatly enjoyed Waiting for the Owl's Call, which offers a very gentle introduction to a sobering reality: the use and abuse of child labor in rug weaving. I liked that the narrative focused on Zulviya, and her thoughts and feelings. I liked that her parents and community are not made out to be the "bad guys," and that the narrative hints that both adults and children are aware that the girls should be in school, but that other (unstated) factors, like poverty, have prevented it. Finally, I simply adored the artwork by Pascal Milelli, with its lovely impressionistic quality! I think the illustrations really bumped this from a three to a four-star rating, and I will definitely be looking for his forthcoming title, Seal Song! show less

Part of Sleeping Bear Press's Tales of the World series, a collection of picture-books meant to introduce children to diverse parts of the world through the stories of the young children living there - other entries include Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers (Japan), The Gift of the Inuksuk (Arctic Canada), and Waiting for the Owl's Call (Afghanistan) - Yatandou follows the adventures of an eight-year-old girl from Mali, who spends hours out of her day grinding millet with the older women. show more It is back-breaking work, and allows little time for play, or for schooling. Then Yatandou learns of a machine, something the women of the village are saving up to buy, that will do the grinding for them! Can she bring herself to sacrifice something very precious, if it will help toward that goal...?

As engaging tale of one young girl, her relationships with her family (I liked her brief interaction with her brother, Madou), with her special goat Sunjata, and with her village, Yatandou is also an introduction to the realities of life in a poor village. I appreciated the fact that Whelan managed to highlight the real difference that a seemingly small change, like the procurement of a grinding machine, can make in the lives of the poor, without veering too sharply into the realm of didacticism. The accompanying artwork by Peter Sylvada has a lovely, light-filled quality to it, with shapes that are sometimes a little indistinct, but also surprisingly solid. All in all, an appealing title that I would recommend to young readers who are curious about how children in other parts of the world, particularly Mali, live. show less

Continuing my journey to study Russian history, I found this book on one of my shelves and spent a pleasant rainy day reading this well written historical novel.

Combining fact with fiction, Angel on the Square is wonderful for many reasons, primarily because it does just what historical fiction should do, ie it opens the door to a glimpse of history and wets the appetite to search for more knowledge about the subject.

Twelve year old Katya Ivanova lived a life of splendor behind guilded show more palace walls. Her life was secluded and sheltered. When her mother becomes the lady-in-waiting to Empress Alexandra life drastically changes and through Katya's eyes we witness the growing tension in Russia as the Tsar suppresses the masses, embraces WWI and through sheer ineptitude ushers in the downfall of a culture and country rich in tradition.

As she continues a life of priviledge, through her young, naive revolutionary friend Misha, she becomes aware of the plight of the masses of poor, starving and increasingly dissatisfied pheasants.

Through Katya's eyes we witness a country crumbling as the rich become the enemies and the poor are used as pawns in the hands of the revolutionaries and Lenin.

This book presents a well balanced depiction of the evils of a monarchy out of touch with the unrest of the masses while also showing the madness of a brutal group who portray themselves as wanting the best for the people while ruthlessly using and then discarding those they claim to represent.

Angel on the Square is more than a YA coming of age book, it is complex, intricate and multifaceted.

Recommended! show less