The Marvels

I am a big Brian Selznick fan, and have been ever since I was intrigued by the gigantic size of Hugo Cabret and the pencil drawing of a boy's face staring at me from it's fat spine.  I loved discovering a story through words and pictures in a whole new way.  The pictures didn't just accompany the words of the story, they actually took the place of the words for large chunks of the book.

I was equally enthralled with his next book Wonderstruck, which Brian surprised me with before I even knew it was in print.  (Definitely a good surprise.)  I loved seeing another face looking out at me from the spine, and was struck again by Selznick's amazing ability to craft and communicate a truly original story.  He's amazing!  It's incredibly rare to find someone who is equally gifted with both a writing pencil and a drawing pencil, and he's brought his talents together in a fascinating way.

So it was with tingling anticipation that I swiped The Marvels from the library shelf last Thursday and brought it home with me. Setting that fat spine on my nightstand was like collecting a new but somewhat familiar friend.  I loved the gorgeous cover, the shimmering gold-leafed pages, and the expectation of a fantastic tale.  I finished the book in one sitting this afternoon (not as hard to do when half the book is illustrated), but came away with mixed feelings.

There were a couple of things different about this book by Brian Selznick.  The first thing I noticed was that instead of having chunks of illustrations shuffled with chapters, this book had a mass of illustrations at the beginning, followed by a mass of text, then concluded with a few more pictures.

The other thing that felt different about this book was that the illustrations at the beginning launched me into a multi-generational saga, hooked me into the characters, and left me wanting more.  The written portion tied in the original story, but took me in a completely new direction.  I was so invested in the original story and longed so much for more on that line and a conclusion to the tale, that the turn took me a while to get into.  Part of me was disappointed that the original story turned out to be second string to the written text, and although Selznick clued us into the reason behind the missing conclusion, I still ended the book feeling like something was missing.

I wasn't prepared for the heavy hints towards AIDS and gay living found in the narrative, but on the other hand I was intrigued and delighted to read about the true stories and details that led Selznick to craft this story.  I find myself tonight wanting to pull out Wonderstruck and reread a Selznick novel I truly love.  I'll probably recommend his first two novels more than this one.  Or maybe I'll just relive the illustrated portion over a couple more times before I turn it back in...

Not sure what my conclusion is on this book.  I'm probably a little too close to it to judge my reaction clearly, but I know I'm more likely to pick up Hugo or Wonderstruck next time I want a good Selznick in my day.

Randy Riley's Really Big Hit

Randy Riley stood at bat,

he gazed out at the mound.

His knees began to tremble 

and his heart began to pound.

What boy doesn't love baseball?  Randy Riley certainly does.  But there's just one problem...

Then Randy started thinking

about the pitchers throw

and wondered, without gravity

how far the ball would go

Randy Riley is so caught up calculating the science and mathematics of things that he strikes out at bat every time.  In the illustrations, you can see his frustrated and disappointed team members in the background, shaking their heads, kicking the fence, and looking pretty despondent.  It's enough to make anyone feel down.  Luckily, Randy has another passion that is always able to cheer him up!

But something beyond baseball

brought a smile to Randy's face.

What Randy Riley really loved

was stuff from outer space.

Such begins a book that quickly became a new favorite in our house.  Randy's passion and genius are quickly apparent, and when paired with the well-rhymed phrases, this book was one we couldn't put down.

This book was one of those lucky finds at the library.  The combination of well-written verse, baseball, robots, outer space obsession, and fun fifties-style illustrations made this an instant 'hit' at our house.  (Pun intended.)  In the story, Randy uses his outer space interest to detect a meteor-sized threat to his home town, then uses his love of baseball to save the day...and finally get a really big hit.

We had this book in our house for five weeks, and Maddie never got tired of it.  We read it at least once, and up to three times a day.  Sometimes we'd read it two or three times in a row.  She loves books in verse, so I think that was part of the appeal.  But I think she also loved Randy's obsession as much as he did.  The book immerses you into it with Randy, and it's captivating.  Several pages were memorized before we finally loaned it back to the library (until next time), and Maddie still loves to say "Ka-Pow!" from one of her favorite pages.  (One of my favorite memories with this book is when Maddie was hanging out in just a shirt and her underwear - potty training, after all - and leaning up against the couch where Brian is sprawled out, reading this book for the fourth time that day.)

This book is great for young toddlers interested in well-written verse and detailed pictures, but would certainly interest young listeners and readers up through about second grade.  I love that this book could especially peak the interest of boys, and will probably gift it to a few boys in the coming years.  As the parent reader, I never tired of the book (which is saying a lot!) and was as sad as Maddie to give it back to the library.  Request a copy today!  You won't be sorry.

*I definitely want this book on my shelf at home.  Maybe I'll request it for my birthday coming up!