Give children something to think about
Philosophical reads are sure to entertain. Bernie Goedhart offers two titles.
Philosophical bents usually aren't the first things I look for in kids' books, but they're definitely present in the titles reviewed here this month. Lemony Snicket declares, in the first chapter of Poison for Breakfast, that it is “a book of philosophy, a word which here means thinking about things and trying to figure them out.” Kelly Barnhill, author of The Ogress and the Orphans, makes no such claim, but does include a philosophical orphan named Bartleby who likes nothing better than raising and answering questions.
Poison for Breakfast
Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Margaux Kent Penguin Teen
Ages 12 to 112
The older I get, the less I know. It's a sense that Lemony Snicket seems to share, as he tries to solve the mystery of a slip of paper, found under his door, bearing the words “You had poison for breakfast.” He takes the mysterious message to heart and tries to determine which part of his meal may have been poisoned. In the process, he gives us plenty of food for thought, leavened with frequent doses of humour and word play.
The Ogress and the Orphans Kelly Barnhill Harpercollins Ages 9 to 14
While Snicket's slim volume defines bewilderment (literally and figuratively), Barnhill's hefty novel more closely approximates the storytelling of a classic fairy tale — if only because a female ogre who lives at the edge of town is a central character, becoming the unwitting focus of a xenophobic streak brought out in townspeople who subscribe to the claims of a mesmerizing mayor. Prior to his arrival, the residents of Stone-in-the-glen all got along, but then the town was hit with several fires. People grew suspicious and started keeping to themselves. One thing that brought them together was the mayor and his slick speeches, which only served to drive a deeper wedge between the residents and eventually prompted them to blame the ogress for their misfortunes. Suffice to say that the titular orphans (Bartleby included), play a significant role, and readers will learn more than they ever knew about dragons or ogres. They'll also learn not to believe everything they're told by people who seem too good to be true.