Review by New York Times Review
THE GENIUS OF JANE AUSTEN: Her Love of Theatre and Why She Works in Hollywood, by Paula Byrne. (Harper Perennial, paper, $16.99.) Playwrights and actors who questioned and mocked social norms helped Austen learn to focus her material, make it amusing and give it critical punch, this insightful study shows. THE WIDOW NASH, by Jamie Harrison. (Counterpoint, $26.) This debut novel by Jim Harrison's daughter features a clever and adventurous protagonist who must determine what happened to her father's fortune after his suicide. On the run from her brutal ex-fiancé, his business partner, she leaves a cross-country train in Montana to remake herself as the widow Nash. THE UNDERGROUND RIVER, by Martha Conway. (Touchstone, $26.99.) In this suspenseful novel, a young seamstress for a theater company that travels the Ohio River on a flatboat becomes involved in ferrying infants born into bondage from one side of the river to the other. SCANDINAVIANS: In Search of the Soul of the North, by Robert Ferguson. (Overlook, $35.) Ferguson, a British expatriate who has lived for 30 years in Norway, has written a delightfully freeroaming exploration of the myth of the brooding Scandinavian. He provides an engaging, layered look into a complex culture. JANE AUSTEN AT HOME, by Lucy Worsley. (St. Martin's, $29.99.) A BBC presenter ebulliently describes Austen's many homes and residences, and speculates on her motives and emotions. Her thesis is that the thread that runs through Austen's novels is a longing for a safe haven, a place of her own. WELCOME: A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Hyperion, $15.99; all ages.) Designed as a gag instruction manual for the ride a baby is about to take through life, this book appeals to pre-verbal infants at the same time as it offers wise and reassuring words to parents. The witty graphic icons help. QUESTIONS ASKED, by Jostein Gaarder. Illustrated by Akin Duzakin. Translated by Don Bartlett. (Elsewhere, $14; ages 5 and up.) This gem by a Norwegian novelist, illustrated with sweet, spectral art, is a simple list of big questions all of us should ask about life and how best to live it. JUST FLY AWAY, by Andrew McCarthy. (Algonquin, $17.95; ages 12 and up.) A 15-year-old girl is outraged to learn that she has a half brother living in the same town, the result of her father's brief affair. The story takes unexpected turns, and displays real insight into the way adolescents withdraw emotionally. MIGHTIER THAN THESWORD, by K. J. Parker. (Subterranean; e-book, $4.99; limited-edition cloth, $40.) Afantasy empire is under attack by mysterious pirates in this intricate whodunit, full of rich characters. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 30, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In a board book kitted out with big, bright, very simple images (plus large foil mirrors inside both front and rear covers), Willems clues in newborns and perhaps their inexperienced parents about what they can expect to see, do, and meet in their near futures. Highlights range from sleeping and waking, eating and burping, pooping and more pooping to music, cats, stories, and warm embraces. And though there will also (Sorry) be ice cream disasters, along with some sadness and hurt, unexpected events, and human error, we are happy to provide you love. At no extra cost. Furthermore, that offer extends to children who toddle or big-kid or teenage or grow-up. The repeated observation that all of this is coming while we read this book together runs as a sonorous refrain throughout, adding extra measures of intimacy to an affirmation of parental love that comes across as sincere without crossing over into the goopy sentimentality that afflicts so much of the I love you more than anything genre. Along with being a shoe-in for inclusion in every maternity ward's gift bag, this loving heads-up will continue to resonate with all offspring as they go on to toddle, big-kid, and beyond. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Willems is a reliable best-seller, and love letters from parents to children are always in demand.--Peters, John Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Willems (the Elephant and Piggie series) rolls out the red carpet for a new baby, writing in a voice that's part preflight safety demonstration ("There will be turbulence"), part waiter's spiel ("Of our current offerings, I can personally recommend your being right here with me"), and part customer service hotline ("Someone is standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week"). Iconographic, high-contrast drawings, rendered in the style of road signage, should hold the attention of very young eyes (as will embedded Mylar mirrors), even if the actual content eludes them. The real audience is new parents, who will revel in having their devotion mirrored back to them and chuckle at the many knowing jokes ("If you have any further questions/ Do not hesitate to call or flail about or scream like a banshee"). And they'll be grateful that Willems offers a modicum of hope regarding the world that the newborn will inherit: "We are happy to report there are people working day and night on making this a better place to be." Up to age 2. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Make way for a new baby-shower hit. Bold, digital graphics and sans-serif type define the design aesthetic of this sturdy book, with its heavy cover boards (each with a mirror on the inside) and cardstock pages. Its construction and design make it accessible to the babies it seeks to welcome to the world and to shared reading, while its textual content will affirm the feelings and aspirations of new parents besotted with their babies and awed by the responsibility of welcoming them and guiding them through life. Willems' characteristic humor comes through in such instructions as "PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY," which details a plethora of enjoyable activities: "SLEEPING and WAKING, / EATING and BURPING, / POOPING and MORE POOPING." And compassionate honesty shines through on the page reading "WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU / Not everything is as it should be. / There is unkindness and fighting and wastefulness and soggy toast." Throughout, the refrain "while we read this book together" affirms the value of shared reading and the bonding it affords between child and adult. Is the text aimed more at adults than children in this reading transaction? Yes, but the book as a whole is about the relationship between child and parent, exemplified by the synergy of child-friendly design and adult-affirming text. Welcome yourself, little book. (Picture book. 0-3) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
