Maleni by Andrea Petrlik Huseinović

Maleni Reviews

• 
  Lisa Suchy

  I read this book in a digital format, f
  http://en.childrenslibrary.org/.
  
  Maleni is a fictional story about a boy named Maleni who lives on top of the hill in Neverland. In Neverland, everyone wore a hat in order to protect themselves from the Evil Witch. The Evil Witch would cast dark clouds on Neverland that would fill the inhabitants evil thoughts. However, if they wore a hat (even at night) they would not be filled with evil. One day, the Evil Witch blew a huge wind into Neverland and it blew everyone’s hats off, except for Maleni because he lived on top of the hill. When Maleni went to town, he heard fighting. He had never heard anyone fight before and realized that no one had their hats on and the townspeople had evil in their hearts. The people of Neverland soon banished Maleni from the town because evil was in their hearts and they saw Maleni as different since he was wearing a hat and none of them wore hats now. Maleni left, still with his heart full of kindness towards the townspeople, wanting to find their hats so the evil will leave them. Maleni’s journey takes him to different places in which his kindness is tested. Maleni walks into the Forest of Sadness and the Field of Truth. Through these places he is challenged. The hats blew back to Neverland, but the people did not want to put them back on.
  
  With a moral of acceptance and kindness, this book does a great job in telling a story of how evil can take over one’s heart. This book appears to have some deeper meanings as well, getting into some philsoclical points about searching for peace. I would recommend this book for a 4 or 5 grade class. The author states the moral at the end of the book, “Let your heart for remain open to people like Maleni”, however I would use it and have my students come up with the moral of the book before reading the last page. I also think this book can connect to students, especially in middle school. Have they ever felt left out or different like Maleni did? Have they ever been an inhabitant of Neverland and treated someone a certain way because they were different? This book can allow for deeper discussions with older students, but the pictures or whimsical and warming, using shades of maroon and gray only. I read this book in a digital format. I wish I could have held the book, as it was a little frustrating to read online because I needed to magnify the text while reading. I believe I would have felt more connected to the story as well, with it’s illustrations, if I had a hardcopy of the text.
• 
  Lorelei Westbrook

  Maleni written and illustrated by Andrea Petrlik Huseinovic 2006
  Categories/Genres for this class fulfilled by this book: ICDL Website
  
  Estimate of age level of interest: Grades 2-5
  
  Estimate of reading level: Grade 3
  
  Brief description: Maleni tries to bring peace and kindness back to the residents of Nevertown after the evil witch did her evil deed. Translated into English from Croatian.
  
  Identify at least 2 characteristics of this genre and subgenre and discuss how they appear in your book: This international picture book combines beautifully unique illustrations with a telling tale. The first characteristic evident in this picture book is Huseinovic’s use of the elements of design. The book itself is tall and narrow which magnifies the vertical shapes of the residents’ tall protective hats and the mountain abodes. Illustrations are also primarily done in shades of grays and reds which enhances the dark and mystical evil spell cast over Nevertown. Secondly, the use of language in this picture book is sophisticated and rich with meaning. Themes about kindness and compassion will resonate with young readers. Because this book has been translated to English, some of the syntax may confuse early readers, but overall the translation is well-done. A perk of this digital version is the ability to enlarge the text as you read and zoom in and out of page spreads. ICDL provides a user-friendly format for reading international books on a digital device.
  
  In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience?: Maleni is a beautifully written and illustrated picture book. Since the text is largely in paragraph form with some higher-level vocabulary, this book would be excellent for a read aloud for students in the upper elementary grades. Conversations about universal themes, translation, and cultural exploration could follow. Children will also enjoy being able to navigate the pages of this book through the ICDL website, and will gain an appreciation of international authors and their stories.
  
  Awards if any: None found.
  
  Links to published reviews from professional sources e.g. ALA, Booklist, Kirkus, SLJ, etc. if any: List of multiple reviews at this link:
  http://www.polyandria.ru/en/news/maleni
  
• 
  Sushma

  Beautiful illustrations. Beautiful story. Her other book, 'The Blue Sky,' brought me here which was equally beautiful.