When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

When the sea turned to silver and the cold chilled the light of the sun, Pinmei knew the Black Tortoise of Winter had arrived with his usual calmness.

Grace Lin proves once again that she is a masterful storyteller. Like her two previous books, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and Starry River of the Sky, When the Sea Turned To Silver celebrates the act of telling stories, and is filled with small heroes (children) who are able to accomplish great things. All in the face of danger!

Pinmei lives with her grandmother Amah very high up in the mountains. Amah embroiders silks by day and tells her granddaughter, and the villagers, stories by night. There is talk of the Tiger Emperor coming to their village to look for a Luminous Stone that Lights the Night. Nobody has heard of such a thing.

“Amah, these stories aren’t real, are they?” Pinmei asked. “Was there really a tortoise or a Nuwa?”

Amah spooned the rice from the pot. She handed Pinmei her plain bowl, the cooked grains shining like a mound of pearls against the dark pottery.

“They say when you see a rainbow in the sky, you are seeing Nuwa and the colored stones she put there,” Amah said. She gave Pinmei a smile, her face wrinkling like the pit of a peach. “Whether you believe that or any of the things I tell you is up to you.”

But when the Emperor’s soldiers arrive in the middle of the night to take Amah, Pinmei must hide in an old gang, or large clay pot that used to hold wine. Pinmei holds her breath, terrified out of her wits, wondering why in the world the Emperor himself would show up to kidnap her grandmother!

Along with Yishan, the boy who lives higher up the mountain, timid and shy Pinmei must find the courage within her to rescue her grandmother.

Lin’s own gorgeous illustrations can be found inside the book, where the stories are illustrated in jewel-like tones. Set in a re-imagined Ancient China, ancient Chinese folklore is an evident influence in Lin’s stories. When the Sea Turned To Silver is beautifully written and I think that children ages 8-12 will relate to Pinmei and Yishan, and will enjoy accompanying the two children on their journey to rescue Amah.

When the Sea Turned to Silver was a National Book Finalist for 2016. Congrats to Grace Lin!

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart

Trenton Lee Stewart, the author of The Mysterious Benedict Society, returns with a long-awaited new novel for kids called The Secret Keepers. As a testament to the popularity of The Mysterious Benedict Society series, the series has sold over 2.5 million books. Stewart’s books are for children who like mysteries and riddles, and there are many scenes where readers hold their breath in suspense. Much like The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Secret Keepers has an eclectic cast of characters, the book is just as mysterious, just as exciting, and just as fun to read.

The Secret Keepers is for children ages 8 to 12. Readers will find a hero in Reuben Pedley, a kid who has a proclivity for climbing walls and walking on dangerous ledges 10 stories off the ground. It is during one of these expeditions high up above street level that Reuben discovers a pocket watch hidden behind crumbling bricks. How did it get there? Who does it belong to? And why are the clock’s hands stuck at twelve? Once Reuben narrowly escapes falling off the ledge (and descends by climbing down a drainpipe) he knows that his discovery of the secret pocket watch is a mystery waiting to be solved.

“It seemed like the end of an adventure, and yet somehow Reuben knew—he just knew—it was only the beginning.”

Who are the secret keepers? Follow Reuben as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Fans of The Lord of the Rings and The Mysterious Benedict Society will enjoy this book.

This review originally appeared at The Clarion Ledger.

Lemuria Books has signed copies of The Secret Keepers, and they do ship!

The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield, Illustrated by The Fan Brothers

You may recognize The Fan Brothers from their debut picture book, The Night Gardener, which was published in February of this year. Here, they illustrate the story of astronaut Chris Hadfield as a young boy. When Hadfield was a young child, all he wanted to be was an astronaut.

“When it was time to take a bath, he told his mother, “I’d love to, but I’m saving the planet from aliens.”

The Fan Brothers illustrate a young Hadfield with an adorable pug dog named Albert as they use their imagination to fight aliens and fly to Mars in a bathtub. But have you ever heard of an astronaut afraid of the dark? As a young child dreaming of becoming an astronaut, Hadfield was afraid of the dark.

It seemed like his dream was going to be impossible. In the summer of 1969, a young Hadfield eagerly awaited a very special event. The neighbors all gathered around the television to watch the moon landing of Apollo 11. As the astronauts jumped up and down for joy on the small tv screen, Chris noticed something.

“He’d never really noticed how dark it was there. Outer space was the darkest dark ever.”

Watching the moon landing changed his world. “He wanted to explore every corner of the night sky.” The budding astronaut was no longer scared of the dark, and he was ready to chase his dreams.

Chris Hadfield writes in the afterwards, "The dark is for dreams—and morning is for making them come true." 

This book is a gorgeous exploration of conquering fears, dreaming dreams, and making those dreams come true.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield

Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts by Esta Spalding

Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts is an adventure of the best kind. Four children live on a tropical island, which wouldn't be so bad except they live in an old green car. They are siblings with multiple mothers and fathers, so they are related in a way that Pippa, the youngest girl, describes by drawing a diagram with a stick in the sand. But when the parents are perfectly horrible, how do the children survive?

Kim, the eldest girl, is well below the driving age, but with a couple of cans of beans duct-taped to her shoes, she can reach the pedals. Constantly making lists of things to take care of, she dreams of finding a home for the Fitzgerald-Trout children. Kimo, the oldest boy, but younger than Kim by a few months, is the peacemaker, and dreams of reuniting with his father, who is lost at sea. Pippa is a ferocious little creature, with big glasses and an even bigger heart. Toby, the youngest, doesn't say much, but when he does, he is very serious. He is also the owner of a goldfish in a bowl of water, which creates some problems when the children drive around the island because water sloshes out of the bowl.

When the car becomes too small for all four children, what will they do? Where will they go? For fans of The Boxcar Children, or even The Swiss Family Robinson, Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts is a fun, hilarious, and heartwarming story perfect for this summer.


Original to The Clarion Ledger.

Interview Session: Peter Brown

When Peter visited Lemuria Books back in April, we sat down to talk about his newest book for kids: The Wild Robot. Charting a new path by writing a chapter book, this book is heartfelt, has adorable characters, and full of strange and mysterious things while at the same time feels very familiar. Many thanks to Peter for answering my questions! 

Peter Brown and Clara Martin stand by a life size Roz!

How did you enter the world of children’s books and illustrating books for kids?

PB: I studied animation at the Art Center College of Design. I wanted to make characters come to life. Once I experienced [animation] up close, it was not as comfortable as I thought.

Why did you switch to illustration?

PB: I was studying illustration the whole time, and when I realized that animation wasn’t right for me, I still loved characters and children’s books, so that was a way for me to continue creating characters. My books are like little short films. I’m the director, the costume designer, and I control the lighting.

What are your favorite children’s books?

PB: Frog and Toad Are Friends and Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. I fell in love with the Hobbit too. I wasn’t much of a reader, but I loved making stories. Since I wasn’t a fast reader I did not spend as much time reading.

What artists or animators have inspired you?

PB: Eyvind Earle. He was a Disney artist responsible for the look of Sleeping Beauty. His art is so graphic, bold, and textual. He was a real influence on me.

What was your first book?

PB: The Flight of the Dodo. I graduated and moved to New York City and started making picture books for kids. I fell in love with words. Eventually, I fell so in love with words that I made a novel.

That first novel is The Wild Robot. Tell me a little about it.

PB: I first got the idea when I was writing The Curious Garden. The total time to write, from the initial idea to the completed project, was eight years. I spent two-and-a-half years actually working on it. The first years were important.

What was your favorite animal to write about in The Wild Robot?

PB: Roz’s adopted son, Brightbill. Geese are interesting animals because we don’t think of them as such. They have interesting behaviors like migrating and imprinting. A gosling was perfect for my story because in the real world geese can imprint on people, so maybe they can imprint on a robot. I was also able to touch on real human emotions, such as “leaving the nest.”

What surprised you about Roz?

PB: She’s a robot. I was surprised by the similarities between my robot main character and myself. We have to find that little voice in our mind and explore that. I like a strict routine; I’m a creature of habit and a perfectionist, all things in common with Roz.

What upcoming projects do you have next?

PB: A sequel to The Wild Robot. There is no title yet. The second book will be as surprising and intriguing as the first one.

Peter speaks to captivated students at a school.