I like the story (I read Phoebe Gilman's Something from Nothing earlier this year), but wasn't a huge fan of the art style.

This is the third instalment of the Rotherweird trilogy. Evil is back in Rotherweird and it has a name, Gervon Wynter. As is seen all over this planet, some are charmed by this power and support his masterplan although not many of them have a clear view what this plan exactly represents. And then there is the Resistance,ordinary, well perhaps not so ordinary, townspeople and country people. Of course the weird city of Rotherweird, an Elizabethan anachronism, plays a major role in this story as do many major and minor characters. Still one of the best characters in these stories is the city of Rotherweird. It is slightly gothic,Dickensian, there is a touch of horror in it ,but it is foremost absolutely captivating. This world building ,although complex,is done with great skill and is one(of the many)attractive features. As this is the third part of the trilogy it is fair to warn the readers that this is definitely not a standalone novel. If you have not been introduced to Rotherweird and its quirkiness, nor to some history or characters it is really unreadable. And as with all trilogies, especially fantasy,you are either completely mesmerized by it or you absolutely hate it! Well,I was very happy that I read it as it gave me many hours of sometimes confusing,sometimes marvelous and very often amazing pleasure.

The Adventures of Beekle, The Unimaginary Friend tells the story of Beekle, an adorable little marshmallow-looking character who is in search of a real child. You see, Beekle comes from a faraway land, where day after day he patiently awaits for a child to imagine him. After waiting for many nights he decides to do the unimaginable: embark on a journey to the real world. This short story is full of bright, beautiful illustrations and will undoubtedly capture the hearts and imaginations of young readers. Many children will be able to connect with the story by relating an imaginary friend that they once had (or have) with Beekle. 

After reading the story aloud I would discuss the themes of friendship and bravery. ("Beekle faced many scary things on his quest to find his friend...what are some ways that you show courage?") Another way to follow up the story would be to have students design their own imaginary friend. Since Beekle resembled a cute marshmallow puff, give students marshmallows (both jumbo and small), toothpicks, a sharpie, foil paper, scissors, and tape and let them go to town crafting their new friend! I also love the idea of connecting the story to Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are. In what ways are the stories alike? In what ways are they different? Students could draw a Venn Diagram to show the relationship between the two.

Recommended for Ages: 5-7

Lexile Level: AD480L 

I found this quite an interesting magical realistic read. In the Elizabethan era (the first one) the town was founded and it has only a few rules, no history older than 200 years, but history has a way of breaking free and influencing the future. Secrets rarely stay secret and the new teacher of history, Jonah Oblong is drawn in. Things are not helped by the new owner of the manor house, Sir Veronal Slickstone and his meddling in things that were hidden and it all becomes quite messy. Understanding the past is important to surviving the present but finding the truth about the past where everyone is trying to ignore the past is hard.

It's an interesting conceit and an interesting story and I'm looking forward to more.

Title:  Swimmy

Author:  Leo Lionni

Genre:  Animals / Drama / Family / Danger

Year Published: 1963

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Alfred A. Knopf

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Scary Scenes and Death of a Family Member)

I have have heard works from Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Marc Brown and David Wiesner, but I have finally stumbled upon some works that came from my childhood a long time ago and those works consist of Leo Lionni! “Swimmy” is a Caldecott Honor book by Leo Lionni and it is about how an unusual little fish named Swimmy, who survives a giant fish attack, tries to find another family to live with. “Swimmy” may have an intense scene with the big fish that might frighten small children, but I am pretty sure that most children will easily enjoy this book!

Once there lived a happy school of small fish who were all red except for one fish was black and his name was Swimmy. One terrible day however, a huge tuna fish came by and swallowed up all of the red fish except for Swimmy who had escape from the huge tuna. Swimmy, now the sole survivor of a tuna attack, then swims around in the deep watery world by himself in order to find a new family to be in.

Will Swimmy find a new family?

Read this book to find out! 

Never have I read a children's book that has both effective drawings and a heartwarming story at the same time as Leo Lionni has made this book! Leo Lionni has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book as it details the adventures of a unique black fish named Swimmy. Leo Lionni's illustrations might look a little bit simplistic, however, they are extremely effective and colorful, especially of the images of the underwater world where it seems that Leo Lionni took a piece of sponge and patted the background with the painted sponge, which really brings out the creativity of the images of the underwater world. The image that truly stood out the most for me was the image of Swimmy himself as he is shown to be the only black fish among a group of red fishes, who merely look like red outlines of fish. Leo Lionni has certainly made this book extremely intense yet heartwarming at the same time as I have felt sympathy for Swimmy after he lost his family to a tuna fish and I can understand how many children and adults will also sympathize with Swimmy's predicament, especially if they lost loved ones to an accident.



Parents should know that at the beginning of this book, Swimmy's family is eaten by a giant tuna fish and that might be too upsetting for smaller children to handle. On a side note, this scene strongly reminds me of a scene in “Finding Nemo” where Marlon's family except Nemo is also eaten by a huge fish and how Marlon has to cope with protecting his only son from anymore danger. Parents might want to discuss about death of a family member with their children before they read them this book.

Overall, “Swimmy” is a highly emotional and heartwarming book for children who have also lost their family members and how they can still find love among friends and other family members. I personally would recommend this book to anyone who loves Leo Lionni's works and learning about what it takes to be a true family. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the scene where the big fish eats all the other fish might scare smaller children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog