Category: Book Reviews

Help Comes in All Sizes

Welcome to our newest reviewer, Abigail Constance Richter, a New York third grader excited to share great new children’s books with you. This first review was inspired by the brave and selfless hurricane relief efforts in Texas and Florida, reminding us that anyone can lend a helping hand.

Bulldozer Helps Out, by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann; Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 40 pages, ages 3-6.

In Bulldozer Helps Out, Bulldozer wants to help the rest of the construction team, but the other machines say he is not big enough, strong enough, or tough enough. Soon, they feel bad and give Bulldozer an “easy” task. The full-page pictures in the book are big, bold, and colorful, and make the book a good choice for preschoolers and kids in kindergarten who love construction and want to be part of the team.

I Work Like a Gardener: A New Translation of Joan Miró’s Art Philosophy

Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist Joan Miró (1893-1983) is perhaps best known for his Surrealist sculptures and activity with the anarchic Dada art movement. Miró catapulted into the art world stratosphere, ending up on many contemporary art collectors’ wishlists.

In 1958, the artist spoke to Parisian critic Yvon Taillandier about his life and work, and that conversation was published in a French limited edition of seventy-five copies in 1964. Now, Princeton Architectural Press is releasing a new English translation of the book on October 10.  Read all about it on the Fine Books Blog  .

Politics and Politeness in Early America

Does it seem like everyone in politics has forgotten the Golden Rule? You know, treat others the way you’d like to be treated? The lack of decorum hasn’t gone unnoticed, and to that end, the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, is hosting author Steven C. Bullock on September 26 to discuss how early American leaders like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin believed in the importance of maintaining civility in public discourse, and why it seems so challenging for today’s politicians to embrace a similar position. Read all about it on the Fine Books Blog

French Coming-of-Age Graphic Novel Adapted for Film Makes its New York Debut

A French coming-of-age graphic novel adapted for film arrives stateside, starring Juliette Binoche as a choreographer and an actual Russian ballerina as….a Russian ballerina. Read all about it on the Fine Books Blog.

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