The Secret Subway
Shana Corey, illustrations and figurines and concepts by Red Nose Studio
ISBN: 9780375870712
Stop-motion puppets and silhouettes and still-life scenes make this look like a movie storybook.
Alfred Ely Beach invented the first subway in New York, but unfortunately he ran afoul of the mafia (Boss Tweed himself) and of the government (didn't grease enough palms, most likely) and his project was literally buried. If you love weird history and underdogs, and don't mind a fairly sad ending, check this out for the beautiful puppets/sculptures and the intricate backgrounds with a faint steampunk vibe and plenty of character. If they're angling to make a movie, they've got a fan here already - I think it would be beautiful, but Corey's words do a fine job of carrying the story while the illustrations spark the imagination.
Showing posts with label puppets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puppets. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Graphic Novels: Hinges (Books 1&2). Meredith McClaren
Hinges Book 1: Clockwork City
Meredith McClaren
ISBN: 9781632152534
Hinges Book II: Paper Tigers
Meredith McClaren
ISBN: 9781632155245
Read April 11, 2016
I wish I had known that book two ended on a cliffhanger. I would have stopped with Book One until there was an actual ending. Personal niggles aside, this is an interesting series with good potential for young adult or tween reading programs. Orio is an independently-animated puppet (?) clockwork (?) mechanical person (?) who is suddenly integrated into a small society of similar people in a small isolated city bounded by a great wall. Each person has an assigned mechanical companion in the form of an animal called an "odd" (shades of daemons and Golden Compass) but the reader notices what Orio does not - that her chosen "odd" is in fact an interloper. Before the first slim book is over, this mistake will cost Orio her whole world. The second book takes place in the great wild outside the city, and reminded me greatly (in a good way, I swear) of the very bad, and very short-lived TV show that built on the premise of the movie Logan's Run. (which I feel obligated to inform readers, has nearly nothing to do with the premise of the BOOK Logan's Run, or the many sequelae). The "villains" of the two books remind me of yet another foe: the chalklings of Brandon Sanderson's Rithmatist. In Book Two, Orio and her odd (named Bauble) quickly find a companion - a feckless runaway from yet another city that claimed to be the only civilized place in the world. The two (three?) explore an underground city that seems to have been abandoned or destroyed, and Book Two leaves the reader (viewer?) on a literal cliffhanger. The author/artist's blog estimates that Book Three will be out in February/March 2017.
It's beautiful and wild and atmospheric, and a very slight story. Very mythical and fairy-tale-ish. Lots of questions raised and not directly answered.
Meredith McClaren
ISBN: 9781632152534
Hinges Book II: Paper Tigers
Meredith McClaren
ISBN: 9781632155245
Read April 11, 2016
I wish I had known that book two ended on a cliffhanger. I would have stopped with Book One until there was an actual ending. Personal niggles aside, this is an interesting series with good potential for young adult or tween reading programs. Orio is an independently-animated puppet (?) clockwork (?) mechanical person (?) who is suddenly integrated into a small society of similar people in a small isolated city bounded by a great wall. Each person has an assigned mechanical companion in the form of an animal called an "odd" (shades of daemons and Golden Compass) but the reader notices what Orio does not - that her chosen "odd" is in fact an interloper. Before the first slim book is over, this mistake will cost Orio her whole world. The second book takes place in the great wild outside the city, and reminded me greatly (in a good way, I swear) of the very bad, and very short-lived TV show that built on the premise of the movie Logan's Run. (which I feel obligated to inform readers, has nearly nothing to do with the premise of the BOOK Logan's Run, or the many sequelae). The "villains" of the two books remind me of yet another foe: the chalklings of Brandon Sanderson's Rithmatist. In Book Two, Orio and her odd (named Bauble) quickly find a companion - a feckless runaway from yet another city that claimed to be the only civilized place in the world. The two (three?) explore an underground city that seems to have been abandoned or destroyed, and Book Two leaves the reader (viewer?) on a literal cliffhanger. The author/artist's blog estimates that Book Three will be out in February/March 2017.
It's beautiful and wild and atmospheric, and a very slight story. Very mythical and fairy-tale-ish. Lots of questions raised and not directly answered.
Friday, December 5, 2014
New Arrivals: Juv Nonfiction: Ashley Bryan's Puppets, Ashley Bryan & Rich Entel
Ashley Bryan's Puppets
Ashley Bryan, photographs by Rich Entel
ISBN: 9781442487284
Poems and close-up photographs of "found-object" puppets and dolls.
As an adult, and someone who is overly invested in the re-use portion of steampunk creative philosophy, and someone who really enjoys puppetry and strange objects of art and play, this is a really interesting book.
As a child, I would have been freaked right out. These puppets are some creepy creatures. Many of them are made with old bones or shells or antlers or strangely twisted organic shapes of driftwood, with strange eyes (often pupil-less) and oddly distorted features. They all have names and stories (which are also often odd), and come in groups organized by some underlying theme or through-line that I'm not able to discern.
I spent a good while poring over the creatures, and I really do like them. They remind me strongly of the creatures built to inhabit the world of the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth movies, or of del Toro's strange imaginations. For some, that might be a warning, for others, an invitation.
I don't know that I'd keep it from a kid if they were interested, but I think I would be prepared to deal with nightmares afterwards.
Very odd, very peculiar.
Ashley Bryan, photographs by Rich Entel
ISBN: 9781442487284
Poems and close-up photographs of "found-object" puppets and dolls.
As an adult, and someone who is overly invested in the re-use portion of steampunk creative philosophy, and someone who really enjoys puppetry and strange objects of art and play, this is a really interesting book.
As a child, I would have been freaked right out. These puppets are some creepy creatures. Many of them are made with old bones or shells or antlers or strangely twisted organic shapes of driftwood, with strange eyes (often pupil-less) and oddly distorted features. They all have names and stories (which are also often odd), and come in groups organized by some underlying theme or through-line that I'm not able to discern.
I spent a good while poring over the creatures, and I really do like them. They remind me strongly of the creatures built to inhabit the world of the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth movies, or of del Toro's strange imaginations. For some, that might be a warning, for others, an invitation.
I don't know that I'd keep it from a kid if they were interested, but I think I would be prepared to deal with nightmares afterwards.
Very odd, very peculiar.
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