Brewer's Book Reviews

  1. Bibliography.   Wei, Tang. Grandma’s Roof Garden. Translated by Kelly Zhang, Levine Querido, 2023. ISBN 9781646147014. 2. Plot Summary This story is told from the perspective of a child who clearly loves their grandma very much, and we get this peek into her everyday life in southwest China. Grandma lives at the top of an apartment building, and she has this amazing garden on the roof. Not just a few plants here and there, but a full garden that she’s grown over time with so much care. The book takes its time showing us all the little things Grandma does. She goes out into the city each day pulling her cart behind her, collecting scraps, checking on vegetables making to go baggies of food for people who come to her table. She’s in constant motion, always doing something. And while none of it is flashy or dramatic, it paints this picture of a woman who is deeply connected to her place, her routine, and the garden she’s built with her hands, all of which are traditional v...

  1. Bibliography: Fox, Mem. Possum Magic. Illustrated by Julie Vivas, Harcourt, 1983. 2. Plot Summary: In Possum Magic, Grandma Poss is a bush magic-wielding possum living in the Australian outback. She uses her powers to protect her granddaughter, Hush, by making her invisible, with her main goal of keeping her safe from the dangers of the world, specifically snakes. It has other unintended outcomes, allowing Hush to play unseen among her bush friends. At first, invisible life is fun and carefree, but as Hush gets older, she wants to know what she looks like, so she asks her grandma to make her seen again. Grandma Poss is happy to oblige, but quickly realizes that she doesn’t have the spell in her books to turn Hush visible again. One evening, she remembers that the visible spell has something to do with eating HUMAN food, not possum food, and so begins their journey across varying cities in Australia. The grandma and granddaughter possum search for the magical foods that will...

  1. Bibliography Gomi, Tarō. 1993. Everyone Poops. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780916291457. 2. Plot Summary Let’s not beat around the bush: Everyone Poops is EXACTLY what the title says. No metaphors here!!!! It literally goes from the tiniest of bugs to the biggest elephants, all the way through to humans. This classic Japanese picture book puts it ALL out there; if something eats, it poops. (Which I mean biologically, we know. It’s science. But definitely not something that is talked about so frankly, and with added pictures usually in our culture). With matter-of-fact text and simple illustrations, Tarō Gomi strips away the taboo and gets kids and young readers thinking about the one thing nobody really talks about but everybody does. Yes, I do mean EVERYBODY. It goes into detail describing how different animals have different size poops, different smelling poops, and even so far as to say that while some animals poop on the go and don’t’ care WHERE they go...