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Mommy Read it Again: Good Night, Baby Ruby

  • Apr 30, 2012
  • 1 min read

This week there was one clear winner among the seven books we checked out from the library.


Good Night, Baby Ruby by Rohan Henry

Rohan Henry’s deceptively simple line drawings are punctuated by a strategic use of soft, yet bright colors resulting in page after page of very lively, eye-catching illustrations that just dance off the page. Ruby herself is a spunky, curly-haired little toddler who keeps herself busy by trying on Mommy’s clothes, sitting on the plants, and looking at Daddy’s newspaper instead of going to bed (my daughter’s response to his drawing: “My Daddy reading newspaper, too!). My favorite illustrations are of Ruby’s adorable cat but I think the toddler truly loves Ruby herself and relates to her wanting to do things all by herself.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

  • Apr 23, 2012
  • 2 min read

I have noticed a trend in my recent reviews. If a book has serious themes in it, I often preface my review by saying “I thought I wouldn’t like this but…” or “I was scared to read it but..” But I’m beginning to realize that I don’t hate serious issues books, I’ve just wasted a lot of time reading the wrong ones.

I knew The Fault in Our Stars would be a great book just because it was by John Green, co-author of the amazingly fabulous Will Grayson^2 and I was NOT disappointed. I glanced at the first page as soon as I got it from the library, and I knew I’d have to wait until I had a large chunk of time to read it because the main character Hazel’s voice is so compelling.  Admittedly, Hazel and her friends are all very well-read and their conversations often seem a little too quippy and cool for normal people (teenaged or otherwise). But rather than this dialogue making the book feel contrived, I found it to be one of the things that made it all the more fresh and original. Yes, this book is a Cancer-with-a-capital-C book (it claims that it isn’t, but it really is), and you will be in tears at one point in the book or another, but this is a truly original Cancer book with quirky, non-cheesy characters and gut-churningly honest medical situations.

What writers can take away from this book: 

(I’m going to start trying to do this for my MG/YA book reviews because I’ve found that reading a lot of books–good and bad–can be a more valuable experience than reading books on craft. Lots of craft books will agree with this statement ;) )

-how to create original and engaging characters

-how to craft a “strong voice” (such a tricky thing for many of us!)

-how write about serious issues without turning off your audience and giving a book an obvious “moral” or “lesson” to be learned

-how to make a YA character’s parents’ involvement realistic and important, but not *too* important (can be so tricky, especially in middle grade)

-how to find the right details to make medical scenes in a story feel accurate

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© 2008-2024 by Amitha Jagannath Knight

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