"I received a free copy for review from the publisher. This (clearly!) does not affect my opinions.

Monkey, an orphan, is saved from death by the monks he used to call brothers by a smooth-talking merchant: he offers the monks various supplies in exchanges for Monkey's life, but equates them to six bolts of valuable silk. While grateful to be spared, Monkey has no respect for his new master, Samir, finding him an odious airbag and a liar. As they travel across the Silk Road, gaining and losing (mostly losing) various companions, Monkey is horrified to learn that seven ferocious killers are after Samir. If Samir is killed, Monkey will, once again, be alone. And so he vows to save the merchant he respects so little, hoping to win his freedom.

It's such a shame when you get a beautiful ARC and you don't like it... my main issue here is audience: who is this for? All the publicity/publication material says middle grade, but very few middle graders would be attracted to this without some hand-selling, and I would not want to do the work for that because those few kids who would be attracted would, justifiably, find it boring, slow, and confusing. The illustrations are nice (black-and-white rather than in color for the ARC, of course, which isn't an issue) and some are beautiful, but I'm not sure what they add to the story, and make it feel younger.

There is, theoretically, a lot of action here: a chase through a spice market, a frantic escape from a burning inn, lots of running for your life... but it's not exciting to read. The language is flowery and overwrought, except when there are jarring modern-day colloquialisms thrown in; Monkey is a hypocrite and reads much older (I think he's supposed to be 11/12 but you could tell me he's in his mid-20's and I wouldn't blink an eye); there's a lot of leaps of logic I couldn't follow even with careful re-reading; and events move much too fast for them to be impactful. Nayeri talks about his fascination with the Silk Road and goes over some of the research he's done in his author's note, and I don't doubt that, but there are some details that make me think he skimped on the research in other areas (particularly the Viking berserker).

There are some beautiful quotes and ideas and phrases in here, for sure, and Samir's character is beautifully revealed as the story progresses (his fast-talking and ability to get out of any situation is truly astounding and the only enjoyable parts of the book).

But, again, we come to the question of audience: very very few middle schoolers are reading novels purely for the pleasure of beautiful language, and even if there are, there are books with beautiful writing that are more exciting and/or relatable. There's something to be said for stories in settings and time periods that are not commonly seen (I can't believe there aren't more Silk Road adventure stories! What a ripe opportunity!), but they have to be engaging. Our library has Nayeri's debut, and in three years it's been checked out once (and the student didn't finish it!). I think he would have a lot more success if he aimed for a higher, more mature audience: upper high school or even new adult.

This feels like the kind of book that adults want middle schoolers to like: beautifully written books that introduce you to new concepts and ideas and ways of thinking, that encourage you to take your time. But that's not the reality. When you push these kinds of books on kids, that's when they start to think reading is boring, or hard, or a waste of time. If a kid comes across this naturally and manages to stick it through, they'll be rewarded, but the chances of that happening are so rare, and my library doesn't have the money to waste on a book that won't circulate, no matter how beautiful.

2 stars because there are some undeniable positives, but it's not enough as a whole.

EDIT: lol of course this won a Newberry Honor"

"Yesterday, I took a trip to the Library of Congress in DC and went to the Jefferson Library to see if I could read some of these Caldecott books that I’m not able to get through ILL. It was such a great day with many cool experiences. Security is pretty tight, but anyone can apply for a library card at the Library of Congress. I went online and filled out a pre request form and I made my photo ID today and I am considered a ‘Researcher’.

I got to go inside the Reading room that tourist can only see through one piece. I walked the stacks today. I also went up to the Rare books collections. That was a trip. You have to leave everything in a locker including pens. You fill out a request and they bring you this special tray to read the book with plus the heavy ropes to touch the books as little as possible and it will keep your pages open. I read two books there and this is one of them. It’s a 1938 Caldecott Honor book.

A very strange story that evokes mystery with a mysterious tone with dark jungles and pools. There is a boy about age 5 who is wise in his years and he looks like an angel. The stories are threads somewhat pulled loosely together. It is a most interesting story.

The colors of the art are rich and the faces are peaceful and quite beautiful. Diego with his hat looks like an angel with a halo. The text is very wordy and there is a lot of read. Typical of the 30s I have learned.

It starts out with Diego dreaming of asking hummingbirds how many hummingbirds did it take to make Montezuma’s robe. He is awoken before the answer is given and this causes him to want to sleep more. His friend Popo has him go looking for an iguana who knows all things but can’t speak all he knows. He has a pet Parrot Polly and there is a story about Polly. “Be kind to me, Pearls are in the Pool” is written on the piece of paper that came with Polly.

Polly finds the iguana. It is said that the iguana lived before man came to the forest. They found Polly’s pearls while his hummingbird question went unanswered. That is the best I can do with the plot.

Here are some quotes I enjoyed:
“Tzin-Tzun-Tzan is the city of hummingbirds”. I love that. It simply sounds magical. I want to go.
“It takes a wise one to catch a wise one.” Diego speaks this about his dad and the iguana and I think it shows his wisdom beyond his years.
“Everything must be free to live in its own home in its own way.” Mom says this to Diego when he loses the iguana.

I don’t know what to really make of the story accept I love the mystery it whips up and the angelic look of Diego and his guru presence. He captivates me. I did enjoy this book. If you can get if from a library, you should.
"

"Although I do have to admit that Wanda Gág's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is probably one of the best and most true to the Brothers Grimm's (1857 edition) original German language text English renditions of Schneewittchen (of the Grimms' Snow White) I have read to date (and yes, it is indeed in all ways absolutely superior to that cloyingly sweetly saccharine and often just annoyingly silly Walt Disney movie adaptation, which I have in fact despised since childhood and which Wanda Gág obviously equally hated, as supposedly, she both penned and illustrated her for the most part literal German to English translation of the Grimms' Schneewitchen in disgusted response to the Disney movie version of said tale), I also must say that no matter how good, no matter in fact how wonderful and even amazing ANY version of Schneewittchen might be (and in whatever language, whether German, French, Italian whatever), it is simply not a story, which thematics and contents I like or even can appreciate all that much as a folktale in and of itself. And no, it is not really, it is not so much the rather standard sexism and gender/social stratifications of the Snow White types of folktales that make me cringe and groan (although the fact that Snow White basically becomes an unpaid servant to the seven dwarves does at least at times annoy me rather stridently), but more that both Snow White and also to a certain extent even the seven dwarves are usually, are generally depicted and presented as naive and actually as pretty darn STUPID in fact. I mean, it is understandable and even acceptable that Snow White falls for the evil tricks of her murderous stepmother once, but that exactly the same thing then happens two more times and even after the dwarves have repeatedly warned Snow White is pretty annoying and makes her totally appear as just so incredibly ditzy and ignorant. And while I guess this here scenario could also be considered as being inherently sexist (you know, the typical thoughtless and giddy female), actually the seven dwarves themselves (at least in my humble opinion) behave not all that intelligently with regard to protecting Snow White from her evil stepmother either (as I personally do find it rather strange that they only start to consider keeping one of the dwarves at home after Snow White has died for the third time from that poisoned apple and in order to guard her coffin when realistically, it would at least in my humble opinion have made considerably more common sense for one of the dwarves to remain as Snow White's guardian and protector whilst she was still alive and due to her obvious naiveté and trusting nature such a perfect target for her stepmother's murderous machinations). And therefore, while I do indeed find and consider Wanda Gág's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves a truly successful and authentic reading and feeling translation of the Grimms' original Schneewittchen tale (with lovely black and white accompanying illustrations that provide a glowing complement to and for the presented translation but thankfully without ever overpowering or overshadowing the printed words, the storyline self), from a personal reading pleasure point of departure, I just do not enjoy and yes have never enjoyed the Brothers Grimms' Schneewittchen enough theme and content wise to consider it as more than a three star ranking story at best (albeit truth be told, if I were actually simply analysing how Wanda Gág has rendered, how she has penned her Snow White and the Seven Dwarves on a strictly structural and translative level, I would more than likely consider four if not perhaps even five stars)."

"This book was written from the fairy tales. This book came out in 1938 which is at the end of the Great Depression so it’s amazing anyone was publishing a book in that day few could afford to buy. I have learned that I really enjoy Wanda Gag’s stories, but besides the ones that won a book award she is hard to find around nowadays. Walt Disney’s Snow White came out in 1939, so this is before that time period. This is first.

The interesting thing about this is that the Evil Queen tries to kill Snow White 3 times: once with tying her corset to tight, once with a poison comb and then the apple we all know. In this story, the prince does not wake Snow White with a kiss, he has his servants carry her off to his kingdom and as they jostle the crystal casket the apple lodged in her throat comes lose and she wakes on her own. They go off to be married and the Evil Queen in invited to the wedding and she finds out who is to be married and is in a rage. she has to go to the wedding.

The little differences are interesting. The illustrations were quaint. This was a little too long for the kids as they go squirmy. I enjoyed this.
"