Kathi AppeltRecensioni

Keeper was born in the ocean, and she believes she is part mermaid. So when she accidentally sets off a series of disasters, she goes out looking for her mother—an unpredictable and uncommonly gorgeous woman who swam away when Keeper was three. Keeper heads right for the ocean, right for the sandbar where mermaids are known to gather on full moon nights. But her boat is too small for the surf—and much too small for the storm that is brewing on the horizon.
Kathi Appelt follows her award-winning and New York Times bestselling novel The Underneath with this stunning, mysterious, and breathtaking tale of a girl who outgrows fairy tales just a little too late—and learns in the end that there is nothing more magical and mythical than love itself.½

Counting

Two parallel stories set in the swamps of eastern Texas meet. One story begins 1,000 years before the other when the daughter of Grandmother Moccasin, a shape-shifter, falls in love with a human and gives up her serpent form. Grandmother’s jealousy over her daughter’s happiness leads to her daughter’s death. Hawk Man, the daughter’s husband, imprisons Grandmother in a jar and buries the jar under a loblolly pine tree. In the present day story, a calico cat's owners abandon it by the roadside. The lonely baying song of an old hound dog brings her to a tilted house that has only known cruelty and sorrow, but there she bears her kittens and finds love. The dog, the cat, and the kittens live under the house's porch- in the "holy underneath." The only dark spot in their lives in Gar Face, an angry man who kills and skins animals to buy the alcohol that keeps him alive. Gar-Face wages an age-old battle with the ancient swamp alligator. Ranger, the hound dog, warns the cat that Gar-Face will use the kittens as bait if he catches them. Heedless of the danger, the kitten Puck can’t resist the warm sunshine of Gar-Face’s broken yard. One day, Gar-Face catches him and his mother when she tries to defend her kitten. The cruel man throws them in the river. Puck survives and finds refuge in the roots of a loblolly pine tree where Grandmother Moccasin has been imprisoned in her jar for over 1,000 years. When fate frees her, the snake chooses to help the innocent animals imprisoned by Gar Face.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

The night of the blue moon held so much promise for Keeper's friends and family. Mr. Beauchamp's night-blooming cereus will burst into color and fragrance. Dogie will sing his two-word song to Cigne-- "Marry me. Marry me." And they will all feast on Cigne's wonderful crab gumbo. Unfortunately, none of these wonderful events happened on blue moon night. The day's disasters start with ten "stupid crabs" that clack and snip and call to Keeper's mer-blood and beg to be set free. She races to do their bidding before Cigne returns from town. Then, one bad thing after another happens until Keeper has destroyed all of the beautiful things that were supposed to take place on Blue Moon Day. Not able to face the people she wronged, Keeper runs away on the high tide in search of her mermaid mother who swam away from her seven years before.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

Is 2016 shaping up to be the Year of Sad or what? (See: [b:Raymie Nightingale|25937866|Raymie Nightingale|Kate DiCamillo|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446751148s/25937866.jpg|45835163] and [b:Pax|22098550|Pax|Sara Pennypacker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1434493048s/22098550.jpg|41443759].)

By the way, total tangent, I unofficially dubbed 2015 the Year of the Grandparent: [b:Listen, Slowly|22477286|Listen, Slowly|Thanhha Lai|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418764650s/22477286.jpg|41725865], [b:Circus Mirandus|23281919|Circus Mirandus|Cassie Beasley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415585333s/23281919.jpg|41824344], [b:Goodbye Stranger|23615709|Goodbye Stranger|Rebecca Stead|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1439670673s/23615709.jpg|43219487], [b:Gone Crazy in Alabama|22836574|Gone Crazy in Alabama (Gaither Sisters, #3)|Rita Williams-Garcia|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417982385s/22836574.jpg|42391493], [b:Bayou Magic|23197281|Bayou Magic|Jewell Parker Rhodes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413130729s/23197281.jpg|42742269], [b:Sunny Side Up|24612600|Sunny Side Up|Jennifer L. Holm|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1423543976s/24612600.jpg|44223650], [b:The Lightning Queen|25205301|The Lightning Queen|Laura Resau|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1457104810s/25205301.jpg|44917987], [b:Great Ball of Light|20537712|Great Ball of Light|Evan Kuhlman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1425975239s/20537712.jpg|37781711], [b:In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse|24795887|In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse|Joseph Marshall|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1425594754s/24795887.jpg|44431922], [b:Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer|22639675|Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer|Kelly Jones|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404420425s/22639675.jpg|42139665], and saving the best for (ahem) last, [b:Last Stop on Market Street|22521973|Last Stop on Market Street|Matt de la Pena|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1453342770s/22521973.jpg|41969141].

That was fun! I'd much rather list books I enjoyed last year than dwell on how depressed I am by this year's books. Honestly, Maybe a Fox isn't a bad book. Raymie and Pax aren't bad books either. But they're all so depressing. (Though not one of them actually made me cry, and I'm a crier.)

So here we go. This is a book about grieving. There are not one, not two, not three, but four deaths in this story. (I'm counting Sylvie's and Senna's deaths separately. I can't believe that poor girl had to die twice.)

There's a unique kind of spiritualism running through this book. You can call it mythic. You can call is animism. You can call it fantasy. It's hard to pin down and I suppose that's what makes it interesting. Jules and Sylvie often like to guess at what happens when you die. Maybe you turn into a star. Maybe you disappear. Maybe you fly to another planet. I don't think they ever say, "Maybe you go to heaven," or "Maybe you turn into a ghost," like one would expect. The clue to what actually happens in this book is right there in the title.

This is undoubtedly beautifully written, especially if you're into Appelt's signature style of simple, poetic repetitive phrasing. It did leave some loose ends dangling (they never find Sylvie's body, and the Zeke/catamount story fades away without resolution) but the main plot ties up in a mostly satisfying way. I think this will be appealing to fans of [b:The Underneath|2768169|The Underneath|Kathi Appelt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347371015s/2768169.jpg|2793892] but I doubt I'll be recommending it unless a kid comes into the library and says, "Do you have any good books for morbid animal lovers?"

I listened to the audiobook, which I thought was very well done as read by Allison McGhee.

This is a tall tale about a swamp in Texas guarded by a cryptid (look it up, sports fans) called the Sugar Man. As the title suggests, the swamp is looked after by scouts. These scouts are named J'miah and Bingo and they're young raccoons.

Also inhabiting the swamp is a young boy named Chap. Chap's just lost his beloved grandpa and to make matter worse, some greedy folks are trying to shut down his family's pie shop and pave over the swamp so they can build an alligator wrestling arena. (Oh, the pies! Boy did this book make me hungry. I don't even really know what fried sugar pie is, but I want one. I suppose I'd have to go to Texas to get that special canebrake sugar they're made from.)

No one can question Appelt's ability to turn a phrase. My issue with her previous books was that her writing can be too repetitive and a little too proud of itself. Often I felt the words and sentences were beautiful, but didn't serve the story or young readers. Well, I can't really complain about this book. It was fun! It had some of the same appeal for me that last year's [b:Three Times Lucky|11737313|Three Times Lucky|Sheila Turnage|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1335476936s/11737313.jpg|16686499] did. Both are a little magical and full of southern charm.

I listened to the audio book, which was narrated by Lyle Lovett. He was a bit stiff in the beginning, but then warmed up to the narrator's voice and was really kicking booty by the end.

Kathi Appelt has this style of writing where she repeats the same phrases over and over, almost like a chant or a theme in classical music. It can come off beautifully, but at times I found it super annoying. (Her newest, [b:Keeper|6609700|Keeper |Kathi Appelt|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347375594s/6609700.jpg|6803667], is written similarly.)

The Underneath was adored by critics, so I expected to like it. But I didn't really buy into it. I kept having this imaginary conversation with the author:

Me: Kathi, please stop repeating yourself and tell the dang story!
KA: But I love the goldy sun and the Petite Tartine and sssssister!
Me: Girl, you love repeating your favorite phrases too much. Try some new ones. Like maybe phrases that move the story forward.
KA: But, I wrote a pretty good ending eventually. Loblolly pine! Long lists of different kinds of snakes! Long list of different kinds of trees! Stupid dog!
Me: Sigh.
KA: Do not provoke me. DO NOT.

So I'm not a big fan of Ms. Appelt's novels, though I think she can craft a nice turn of phrase. Maybe she'd be better off writing poetry or short stories.

The story and the characters were great, but the pacing of this kept me from loving it. The writing was very repetitive (several entire chapters contained absolutely no new information) and I didn't see the point of it. Was it to make the reader feel the slow passage of time as Keeper sits out on a boat in the middle of the night? Maybe so. Either way, I think there will be other readers like me frustrated by how slowly the plot moved.

Dark bayou tale with a menacing gar-face man, a beaten blues singing hound, and twin kittens in peril. I would have loved this as a kid, but also had nightmares.

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death of a child, death of a sister, grief and loss depiction, death of a brother
Score: Eight points out of ten.

I decided to read this book a while back, and not long after, I finally read it. I didn't know what to expect, and I hoped that it would be better than the last book I read; I'm so glad I did since this was an intriguing book about grief, yet it also has a touch of fantasy, but I can say that I've read better books like this since then, where do I even begin. It starts with the main characters Sylvie and Jules, whose surnames I forgot, and initially, they live their lives together. They have fascinating characteristics since one is like a geologist, and the other is a fast runner. This is where the book first started to hit me like a truck when suddenly Sylvie ran too fast with nothing to stop her except a creek, and thus she ran into it and died there. For some reason, the book then cuts to another POV of a fox whose name I forgot if it even had one at all, and I think it was born after the death of Sylvie. I didn't know that could happen, but alright.

The book alternates between the two remaining characters as one tries to comprehend what just happened, and the fox tries to live the life it was given, and only a few pages later, they meet one another. However, I think there was a barrier between them. Even though this is quite heavy, the fantasy aspect of this book shines just a little more in the spotlight, hence why the library put this in the fantasy section. Did I mention another character, Elk, who interacted with Jules for a good portion of the book and dealt with his struggles? Even though I enjoyed reading all these characters, I've seen more fleshed-out ones. By the end of the book, Jules and Elk move on from their trauma, and the fox reaches the end of its arc, wrapping this up on a high note.

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death
Score: Seven points out of ten.

Good book.

Did this book make me cry? Only my dog can say for sure.

Many pictures illustrate the true story of the pack horse librarians of Kentucky. They put books, magazines, and newspapers into the hands of children and adults living in a book desert.

The Underneath is a middle school fantasy novel that tells two different stories simultaneously that eventually converge into one cohesive whole. In the present, Mama the calico cat is pregnant when she’s abandoned by the side of the road in the east Texas bayou. All alone, she hears the plaintive baying of a hound that speaks to her, so she follows his voice to a tumble-down shack in the middle of nowhere. She befriends the poor, old hound named Ranger, who has been chained to the porch for a long time. He urges her to stay in The Underneath, the space under the house where they’ll be safe from Gar Face, the mean man who lives there and who will no doubt try to use the sweet cat as alligator bait if he finds her. There Mama gives birth to two kittens, Sabine and Puck, which she and Ranger care for, telling them to always stay in The Underneath. But as Puck gets older, his curiosity gets the best of him, and one day he leaves the safety of The Underneath with disastrous consequences that leave him separated from his family and fighting for survival as he struggles to keep a promise he made to Mama.

Alongside the story of the dog and three cats is another narrative that takes place a thousand years ago in the same area, told in the style of a Native American myth from the perspective of the ancient trees that see all. It tells the story of Grandmother Moccasin, who is a lamia, half-snake, half-human. She once took on her human form and fell in love with a human man who betrayed her, so she retook her snake form and can never become human again, for once an enchanted creature such as this returns to their animal form, that’s how they’ll stay for eternity. She wandered the bayou with her only friend being an enormous hundred-foot-long alligator. She was lonely for a long time until she crossed paths with another young lamia, Night Song, who became her adopted daughter. But when Night Song grew up, she fell in love with Hawk Man, and the two of them took on their human forms to be together, leaving Grandmother feeling once again betrayed. From then on, she lived in anger and resentment until a selfish and fateful decision led to terrible consequences that ended with Grandmother being imprisoned in a clay jar for the next thousand years. In the present, she’s still alive in that jar buried deep beneath the roots of an old loblolly pine that sits on the banks of the Little Sorrowful creek, and in the nearby bayou, King Alligator still lives, too, presenting a temptation to Gar Face, who views him as the ultimate prize. The story of these animals and magical creatures eventually weave together in surprising ways.

The Underneath is aimed at middle-school readers with the back of the book stating for ages 10 and up. I definitely think it would be best suited to this age group. While younger kids might be tempted by the picture of the sad hound dog and cute kittens on the cover, it does cover some challenging themes that they might have difficulty processing. Gar Face is a miserable excuse for a human being, but he didn’t become as mean as he is in a vacuum. There’s a flashback scene where he’s abused by his father, which leads to him running away and ending up in the swamp where he now lives. Untreated injuries from the abuse is what caused his face to become deformed and him to be known by the nickname Gar Face. He’s also implied to be an alcoholic, drinking heavily and frequently due to his unhappiness. Grandmother Moccasin is angry for different reasons, and she allows her bitterness to fester until she doesn’t tell her daughter the truth about something, leading to irrevocable consequences. However, she is redeemed in the end, and I think her earlier actions could be used as an object lesson for kids about the dangers of lying and selfishness. Three characters die, one out of selflessness, one of a broken heart, and one out of greed. Death can be a difficult topic for kids, but I think it can be helpful to process it through the safe lens of a story. The reasons that lead to each character’s death could be used as talking points as well.

The issue that might be the most difficult, though, is the animal abuse and neglect that occurs throughout the story. Gar Face seems to only view animals as commodities or prizes, and even a pet, once it’s outlived its usefulness, is no longer important to him. Poor Ranger has been chained to the house for a long time with an untreated injury, he often isn’t fed properly, and later in the story he’s further abused for daring to defend his only friend. Each of the cats ends up suffering in various ways because of Gar Face’s actions, too. I don’t want to make the story sound too bad or scary, though, because the nature of it allows other characters to step up and show goodness, and it has a positive ending. Most middle-schoolers could probably handle the material. I’d just say know your child’s sensitivity level before allowing them to read it, and that it might best be read with parent or educator guidance. There’s even a helpful reading guide at the back with discussion questions and suggested activities.

I’d have to say that The Underneath didn’t end up being quite what I expected. The cover image and the book blurb make it seem like the story is all about Ranger and the kitties, perhaps something akin to The Incredible Journey, so the whole storyline about Grandmother Moccasin, Night Song, and the other enchanted creature characters was a bit of a surprise. I enjoyed each part of the narrative individually, but at first, I wasn’t entirely sure what they had to do with one another. However, I can say that they do eventually merge in an interesting way. The book was a Newberry Honor Book and a National Book Award finalist, and I can see why. The writing itself is quite beautiful and has a lyrical quality to it that almost made it the equivalent of literary fiction for children. Because of this, the style may not grab some kids, and reluctant readers may find it to be a harder read. Although there is adventure within the story, it’s rather slow-paced, but it still held my attention and probably would appeal to a certain subset of kids who are more literary-minded readers.

I already outlined some of the possible detractors, but there are many important and thought-provoking themes as well that could have a positive impact on kids, too, if properly explored. There’s the concept of what it means to be a family and how some families are those of our choosing rather than biology. Ranger and the cats make a very odd family, but a family they are, and a very compelling one, at that. Their love for one another is sweet, pure, and unmistakable. In fact, the power of love—and hate—and how these emotions can affect lives for good or ill is palpable throughout. There’s also the idea that promises shouldn’t be made lightly, and that once made, one should do everything in their power to follow through with it, even if it’s challenging. There are additional positive themes of determination, selflessness, empathy, kindness, and sharing even if you have little. I think that sometimes it takes seeing the struggle and how bad the world can be to really see the good in it, and for this reason, I think the story could have great value to kids. I would recommend it to middle-schoolers and up, even adults like myself, who would be interested in an accessible story that has deeper meaning and a lovely writing style.

Genre
Humorous stories
Picture books for children
Stories in rhyme
Storytime standouts
Tone
Amusing
Whimsical
Subject
Animal attacks
Animal behavior
Cats
Cats and fishes

Very repetitive & sad.

Very repetitive & sad.

FROM PUBLISHER: To 10-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where she is headed - in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain.

When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe - Oh, no..."Maybe" is just too difficult to bear.

Nice story for kids, though lots of difficult words. The glossary translates Turkish, spoken to young camels.

53483

Genre
Picture books for children
Stories in rhyme
Tone
Upbeat
Whimsical
Illustration
Cartoony
Theme
Let's dance

Many people who also didn't like this book have said it better than I will.

I felt the book was overly-long, oddly written with an odd voice and was needlessly dark for the Newbery audience. I'm sure the style is defended by those who like that sort of thing. I don't like that sort of style.

The good news is that there are many other books worth reading out there and many of them are also Newbery honors or medalists. Go spend your time/money on one of those.

Absolutely delightful. Fun to read with a great rhythm and whimsical illustrations.

Angel Thieves goes between multiple perspectives, including two present day teens (Cade and Soleil), two slaves in 1845, a captured ocelot, and a Texas bayou. I really enjoyed parts of this book, particularly the story of Achsah, a the slave struggling to escape to Mexico with her daughters, and Cade's life story.
However, some of the sections (they are usually one to three pages long so they don't feel exactly like chapters) seemed unnecessary and repetitive. The ending in particular was a bit anticlimactic and felt rushed. The wonderful storytelling (in some sections) and unique setup of the book were held back by the repetition and somewhat moralizing tone.
*I received this as a Goodreads giveaway.*

This is a great book but I don't think it is for fourth grade. I enjoyed it as an adult. So much animal abuse and drinking and so on I think would be hard for sensitive children to read about.

It seems like the books I am choosing to read are all survival, emotional, coming of age stories. In this story, Jules and her sister Sylive live with their father. Their mother is dead. One day as she was bringing the groceries up to the house she crumpled and died. Sylvie ran as fast as she could to the neighbor's house. In her mind it wasn't fast enough. Jules collects rocks. She knows just about everything there is to know about them. She and her sister occasionally sneak off to throw rocks they have written their wishes on into the Slip. Their father has forbidden them to go there because it is dangerous. One morning after it snows the girls go out to build a snow family before the bus comes. Sylvie decides to throw a wish rock into the river. She doesn't return. Once again Jules is dealing with the grief that accompanies death. The other voice in the story is that of a fox who is born at the same time Sylvie dies. She is a special spirit animal connected to another being. The thoughts of Jules, the fox, Jules friend Sam and his brother Elk ring so true. It shows the range of emotions and the way that different people handle grief. The title comes from a game Sylvie and Jules played after their mother's death. They wanted to know what happened to you after you died. I won't say more than this because it would be way too easy to give too much away and this is a must read. Just make sure you have a box of tissues with you.