The Blue Lotus

The Blue Lotus is the fifth volume in The Adventures of Tintin series. It follows Tintin and Snowy on their adventure in China where they team up with the Sons of Dragons to combat opium smuggling. There, he uncovers a nefarious plan by film director Rastapopoulos.

After having received criticism of depicting racist stereotypes in his previous works, Hergé carried out extensive research on China with the help of a Chinese student, Chang, while writing The Blue Lotus. There is a conversation in the book between Tintin and the Chinese orphan, Chang, where they each share their stereotyped impressions/beliefs about each other's culture and have a good laugh at how ridiculous it was. Perhaps Hergé should have done some research on Japan too, as the Japanese character, Mitsuhirato, did come across as being a rather negative stereotype of Japanese people.

The book opens with an introduction to the main characters. I found this useful as I embarrassingly have not read any other books in the Tintin series. There is some background information on the the author's real-life inspiration at the end of the book. This is interesting and enhances the reader's understanding of, and appreciation for the story.

This is a fun read with language suitable for young readers. However, it is possible that some parents would not appreciate the depiction of opium smoking and opium dens. Buyer beware!

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.


Author: Hergé

Published in 2013 by Egmont UK Ltd.

Age range: 9 to 12 years old

NA's rating: 4/5

The Witches

The Witches is the story of a boy and his grandmother who, after an unfortunate run-in with witches, decide to stop them from wiping out all the children in the world.

I first read The Witches when I was nine and it freaked me out; I seriously considered not taking regular baths. Even though it does get quite scary at parts, we can learn some good values from the story: bravery, the importance of family, overcoming setbacks and a positive can-do spirit.

Roald Dahl has a wicked sense of humour and can be quite rude, which was what got me hooked onto his books as a child. And Quentin Blake is the perfect illustrator for his stories: he captures the essence of the characters perfectly. The Witches is quite dark, so I would recommend it for young readers who enjoy such stories and are not uncomfortable with reading about the supernatural.

This is one of my all-time favourites, so I shall have to give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
First published in 1983 by Heinemann Educational Books Ltd

Age range: 9 to 12 years old

NA's rating: 5/5

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is a coming-of-age tale full of danger and hope. It is the story of Nobody Owens, known as Bod to his friends, a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard.

The story is wonderfully written and has all the elements needed for a brilliant tale: the theme of good versus evil, a protagonist with a tragic past, interesting and enigmatic characters, supernatural elements and exciting adventures. I could not put the book down and had to read it through to the end in one sitting! Neil Gaiman is a masterful storyteller and he always does a superb job of writing stories with themes as old as memory yet are still really modern and relatable. His stories are usually rather dark, so I would recommend this to young readers who enjoy fantasy and the macabre.

I love this book. 5 out of 5 stars!


Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
First published in 2008 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Age range: 11 to 14 years old

NA's rating: 5/5

The Island

The Island is a simple yet poignant tale of a man washed up on a strange island and the treatment that he receives from its residents.

The story is written in language that is simple and in a style that is accessible and straightforward. The illustrations are beautiful, if sombre. Characters represented are grotesque and the colours used are dark and muted. The illustrations are wonderful at depicting the emotions and reactions of the characters. They are also used very effectively to capture and relay the dark mood of the story.

This book is perfect to kick-start discussions on issues like racism, human rights and xenophobia. It gave me chills but I love it nevertheless. 5 out of 5 stars!

Author and illustrator: Armin Greder

First published in 2002 as Die Insel in Germany by Sauerländer Verlag

Age range: 8 to 16 years old

NA's rating: 5/5

The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors is about Thomas, the visually-impaired protagonist, and how he experiences the world.

The entire book is black, with text standing out in white. The illustrations are done using raised lines which the reader can feel, rather than see. Text is minimal but vividly describes how Thomas experiences the world through his other senses: hearing, smell, taste and touch. The Braille alphabet is included at the end of the book. The experience of touching the illustrations is interesting and allows the reader to get an inkling of how the visually-impaired live and feel. It's a good way to start the conversation on tolerance and understanding for people who are different. Overall, I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Author: Menena Cottin
Illustrator: Rosana Faría
Translated by: Elisa Amado
First published in Spanish as El libro negro de los colores in 2006

Age range: 5 to 16 years old

NA's rating: 4.5/5

The World in Infographics: Planet Earth

Planet Earth presents facts about Earth's physical aspects - ecosystems, geographic features, plate tectonics, water cycle - through infographics!

The infographics featured in the book are brightly coloured and eye-catching. This definitely influenced my decision to borrow it. Each topic is given a spread over two pages. There is a main infographic taking up the bulk of the spread and smaller infographics or paragraphs of text in the remaining space. These make it quite exciting to read - it gives one the feeling that there's just so much to know about each topic!

The language used is simple but there are quite a number of difficult terms used, such as "transform boundary". It is therefore more suitable for older children. There is a glossary of terms included at the end of the book to help with understanding. An index and a list of useful websites for further reading are also included. Since infographics do not present information in a conventional manner, the index is especially helpful in pinpointing where certain facts or topics appear.

Overall, this is a nice introduction to our home planet. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Editor: Jon Richards

Designer: Ed Simkins
Part of the World in Infographics series

First published in 2012 by Wayland

Age range: 8 to 12 years old

NA's rating: 4/5

Flotsam

Flotsam is a wordless picture book that tells the story of a boy who found an old camera washed up on the beach. He develops the pictures which show wonderful and almost unbelievable scenes of life under the sea.

This book is a great of example of the often-heard saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". It's no wonder that this book won David Wiesner his third Caldecott Medal in 2007. Even though there are no words, the illustrations keep the story flowing very smoothly. The illustrations of the facial expressions of the protagonist do very well in capturing and communicating his emotions. There are also strange and beautiful full-page scenes of life under the sea that capture the imagination.

As one with a strong interest in marine life, I found this book very enjoyable. It was also interesting "watching" the story unfold rather than reading and imagining the scenes in my head. The accessibility and clarity of the illustrations make this book easy for children of all ages to understand. Adults can also get children to participate by pointing out details in the illustrations that they find interesting or by describing the scene and what they think is happening. This is a good introduction to marine animals in spite of the elements of fantasy.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. (Disclaimer: Reader beware! I am being very biased.)


Author and illustrator: David Wiesner
First published in 2006 by Clarion Books

Age range: 3 to 8 years old (and older!)

NA's rating: 5/5