Read to recommend

Jim Murphy: Blizzard!

2010-02-10T09:40:00.002-05:00

9+ | 144 pgs | 2006

This is the first non-fiction book I've listened to. It was both topical (today is a blessed snow day and all outside is coated in white and I am sitting here in my pyjamas and am absolutely content) and absolutely riveting! Jim Murphy tells history - "non-fiction" as a story -- which is truly one sure way of making history and non-fiction thoroughly enjoyable. The book sets the stage, depicting the time, the weather that year, and certain historical characters whose blizzard stories Murphy comes back to at various points. The book then guides you through the storm and the impact it had upon different areas in the tri-state area, focusing on New York City. The details of the city, the people living there, the social and physical conditions of New York in 1888 make this book come alive. You also gain an understanding that no level of government saw the care of people or care of the city to be its responsibility! People, by and large, were expected to dig themselves out of their homes! This is also a story of survival, heroism, and also the brutal and plain stupid things folks did in response to the blizzard (the most heart-breaking for me was listening to the way men drove their horses literally to death; the stupidest one being the 1500+ people who decided to cross from Brooklyn to Manhattan by jumping on huge ice floes that stretched across the East River). The role of whiskey in helping folks get warm is also explained clearly as a commmon medical practice -- it comes up so often that it always made me laugh: it seemed that a lot of folks were boozing up in order to help them face the blizzard. The ending chapter focuses on the reason why this blizzard, which wasn't as horrid as others had been in the past or since then, has captured people's imaginations and has been written about so much. Murphy explains that the likes of the devastation wrought by this blizzard had never before been seen; and that many policy changes were brought about because of the horrific impact this blizzard had on society, such as the building of an underground subway, which previously had no political support, and burying wires underground, which, during the blizzard, caused a great amount of danger to people on the streets . This is an intriguing read, and I can't wait to read more of Jim Murphy's books.

Angela Johnson: The first part last

2010-02-09T09:27:00.003-05:00

12+ | for boys or girls | 144 pgs | 2003

There's a bit of Benjamin Button at the very start of this book: "I figure if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They'd be all knowing in the beginning and all innocent in the end."

I think that's when I had decided that I would like this story. I listened to the book, and I'm sure that this made a big difference as well. There was something very sincere and very true about Khalipa Oldjohn's rendition of the story. He embodied the narrator and the story quite perfectly - with just the right pauses, just the right intonations, and a perfect empathy.

As for the storytelling itself - this short novel is somehow able to keep perfect balance between the tumult of a teen-aged father having to care for his newborn infant, named Feather, and the way things were, which begins with Bobby and Nia finding out that they are pregnant. That aspect of looking back feels a bit slower, feels a bit meditative, and yet there is no sentimentality - in the past or the present. There is a sense that despite Bobby's desperation and the ups and downs he feels, he will find a way to make things work. His and Feather's "happy endings" have to do with being together and living from one day to the next, making things work in an imperfect world. Some part of me wished that certain aspects of the story could have been fleshed out a little more - Bobby's relationship with teachers at school, or that of his friends or family. However, the brevity of this novel does focus your attention on Bobby's story, and the sharply new path his life has taken with Feather.

Salina Yoon: One weighs a ton

2010-01-22T17:39:00.003-05:00

2009

Lift the flap books work because of the intrigue and excitement they bring - what's behind this flap? But this book is clever and absorbing outside of its flap technology. There's a logic to the book - a counting book from one to ten - that very young children can anticipate and participate in. Thematically, the book stays together and true to its audience because of the familiarity of the animals - dogs, fish, cows, and pigs, amongst others. Best of all, this is also a touch-and-feel book, and it makes the entire experience of a lift-the-flap book all that much more complete. It's a lift-the-flap book taken to the next level, let's say. As for the illustrations, they leave plenty of white space to focus one completely on the strange, animal-like numbers. Each right hand sided page is bordered subtly by a color from the picture on the page. Just an added touch of care for this ultra-sensory and fun book.

Nicholas Oldland: Big bear hug

2010-01-20T13:37:00.002-05:00

2009

You know, sometimes a simple story can stand on its own two feet. I know I've got a penchant for less-is-more. I look for Wabi Sabi in children's books, sure. And this book is no exception: here's the story of bear who loves to hug all peoples - including tree peoples. He is a tree hugging bear. Yes, he is. And since I can totally see myself hugging trees, this story makes perfect sense. But then he comes across a man...with an axe... And I shan't say more about the plot. This is the perefect read-aloud for a 3 year old (or even an attentive 2 year old). The story is focused - and the illustrations rendered in Photoshop are just detailed enough to focus your attention on the large yet non-threatening black bear. The expressions on the faces of the animals who are hug recipients are funny and memorable (and precious). I do love this book. I'm going to use it at storytime. Very soon. For earth day? For Valentine's day? -- Really, and truly, for any day.

Cory Doctorow: Little Brother

2009-12-31T10:18:00.001-05:00

12+ | male protagonist | 384 pgs | 2008

Just finished listening to the audiobook version of Little Brother. It's not the sort of book I tend to be interested in -- action oriented, filled with tech babble, with a young, white, male protagonist -- but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. It was just the timeliness of the story, of what it's like to live in a police state of sorts that, on the outset, doesn't quite feel like a police state because police presence is justified under the guise of "protecting" citizenry against "terrorists." Thematically, what did it for me with this book was the idea that when liberty is at stake, ordinary people may and can do extraordinary things to break the bondage they're under. The fact that this happens to Joe American will hopefully make any reader realise that people who protest in similar ways in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, among other places, are not sick in the head, which is what many in our government and media would like us to believe. They're human beings having to live under extraordinary circumstances, who are coping in ways they know how to. The lines I most remember from the story are these, towards the end of the book, when Marcus, our hacking hero, learns that his captor, Severe Haircut Lady, was sent to Iraq:

"If they sent her to my town, I'd probably become a terrorist." To which his girlfriend responds, "You did become a terrorist when they sent her to your town." "So I did," Marcus says.

The story is plausible, and not really set far into the future at all. You could even argue that it is actually set somewhere around February 2002 (ie, not long after 9/11). I didn't get some of the techno babble, and allowed certain sections of the book to just wash over me without really listening. The narrator's voice was definitely endearing, and he did a great job of distinguishing different voices though he didn't play up the differences too noticeably. One faux-pas: giving Macus's friend JoLu (Jose Luis) a Spanish accent. It doesn't add up because JoLu speaks with ease and slang in the book. If he were a new American (an immigrant), he likely wouldn't. So why the accent? It felt misplaced and foreign, and narrator man shouldn't have used accent as a way to distinguish JoLu's speech from Marcus'. There's irony in this, considering the friendly, all-inclusive, all-American, multiracial vibe you get from Marcus and the story.

The other major highlight of the book for me was the afterword material, including the pages written by Bruce Schnier (here's his blog), and getting to know his work a little bit. I'm not entirely sure what he's about, but his writings are definitely intriguing, hands down. He urges us to look at the ways in which our lives are governed by security measures and systems - from door locks to tattle tape to security cameras. It's a really refreshing, different, way of looking at the world.

Rod Espinosa: The courageous princess

2009-12-29T10:36:00.004-05:00

8-10 | best suited for girls | female protagonist | 238 pgs | 2003

Just finished reading Espinosa's The Courageous Princess. Awesome! An interracial couple descended from folklore, a king and a queen like I've never seen before, whose daughter, Mabelrose, is the center of this story. The story draws a lot of its appeal from its fairy-tale roots and setting, but there is a good deal of humour and adventure, and sympathy for the characters that moves the story along at a brisk pace. What helps tremendously is the quality of the comic strip panels - the colors rendered are sharp and crisp, and the faces and settings expressive and emotive, pulling you right into the story. Espinosa also makes use of a great variety of paneling and placement - some panels are traditional, horizontal boxes. Others have no framing whatosever and feel full, falling off the page. The effect is noticeable, dramatic, and the entire story is memorable. The downside: the cliffhanger at the end of the story is SERIOUS! Especially considering that the sequel hasn't been published (but, 6 years later, I find that Rod Espinosa has finally finished this story...I'm waiting with bated breath).

Glenna Lang: Genius of common sense:

2009-12-10T20:04:00.001-05:00

10+ | 128 pgs | 2009

Honestly don't know how I came across this book but I loved it. It read decently as a story of Jane Jacob's life, and not as stodgy as a school-assignment biography book. Made me want to read the books that she wrote. Okay fine this biography wasn't all that inspiring in its own right. But I did like the pictures. And I do want to find out more about JJ.

Susan Gal: Night lights

2009-12-09T14:12:00.002-05:00

2009

Reading the pictures and reading the sparse words in this preschool, bedtime storybook was refreshing. Moreso than the text, the pictures tell a simple story, so ordinary that you can begin to stop and appreciate its beauty: from the little dog that waits in the window of the townhouse for mother and daughter to come biking in one evening, to their quiet birthday celebration in their backyard consisting of BBQing hotdogs, eating cake, and watching fireflies, to their turning in for the night brought about by some lightning and light rain, and all of the bedtime rituals of the little girl and her doggie. Only one word per page, each word ending in some sort of light. But again, the real story is in the collage illustrations, and though not strictly representational in terms of perspective and dimension, are still extremely endearing.

Michael Rosen: Red Ted and the lost things

2009-12-09T13:57:00.004-05:00

2009 | Illustrated by Joel Stewart

I love stories of lost and found. I particularly love the found part, and the journey in between lost and found. I don't much love the lost part, but usually, stories of lost and adventure and found are short on lost and longer on adventure and found. Which is just right.

And which is what this book is about, too. The very Red Ted finds himself, one of an unseen million, in a dreary, muddled, colorless train station lost and found storage room. He isn't quite alone though, because he's placed right next to an equally bright, green alligator, who solemnly informs him that he's in the "Place for Lost Things." The rest of this comic book tells of their plan to do something about their lost situation, borne of Ted's fierce desire to be reunited with his Stevie (who loves cheese). They make their way into the outside world, and by chance, find a cat who is able to...through her/his perceptive nose, lead the three of them to Stevie's own home. The mood of this book is calm and serene, not overly melodramatic, and just a little bit knowing and a just a little bit sad. There is a great deal of understated humor. The backgrounds of the story, whether inside the station or outside in the world, blur in sepia tones to the extent of being just a bit intrusive; almost as if the blurriness is drawing attention to itself. Red Ted, Alligator, and the few other main characters in the story always stand out in color and outline. The story comes to a very satisfying, found conclusion, and the penultimate page even breaks away from its comic-strip format to heighten the togetherness of Red Ted, Alligator, Stevie and Cat. I'm glad to have found this particular story myself.

Eric Rohmann: Clara and Asha

2009-11-19T13:03:00.002-05:00

3-6 | 2009

A smooth, quiet, bedtime story about Clara and her huge, quite-real and yet quite-not fish friend, Asha. When she can't get to bed, she waits...for Asha to arrive. Asha's always about when Clara would like a friend - when trick or treating, or giving her company in the bath. The paintings occupy a steady 2/3rds of each double spread of paper. There's a quality of richness about the (what appear to be) oil paintings - an evenness in tone, a fullness of effect that means that words are not always necessary - especially for the most magical parts of the book. The text is minimal, the story, captivating and surreal.

Updike: A child's calendar

2009-11-13T17:08:00.006-05:00

6+ | 1999

It's the pictures that make this collection of 12 poems for each month of the year that much more special. There is a mysterious gravity in each of Trina Schart Hyman's paintings, even in the ones that illustrate the height of summer. Each painting draws the eye inward with little details and facial expressions. As far as the poems go, they are short and meditative (a plus in my book), and catch you with words the way poems are supposed to. Example: The days are short/The sun a spark/Hung thin between/The dark and dark - the first verse of the first poem, "January." These twelve of Updike's poems were published originally in 1965; Trina Schart Hyman's 1999 pictorial rendition is based on the comings and goings of a bi-racial/blended family (hooray!) living in Vermont. Probably not what Updike had in mind considering his own cultural milieu, but I'm glad that this unlikely combination of poems and pictures came to be.

Sciescka: Truckery Rhymes (Sciesczka's Trucktown)

2009-11-12T15:11:00.002-05:00

Illustrated by Loren Long, David Shannon and David Gordon
2-6 | 2009

What a cool little book for truck fanatics young and old. Surreal illustrations by three masters give surprising unity to the book through their pictures of trucks with big eyes and smiles (the grates). Grown ups and children will appreciate the well-known nursery rhymes Sciesczka has parodied. Double the fun: nursery-rhymes-yet-not. I love the opener, Jack be nimble:

Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. Jack smash through the wall of brick.

I especially appreciate the truck-version of the horrid, horrid "Three blind mice," which I would never sing, no matter how catchy the tune. But now I have a reason to, as I can, instead, sing "Three loud trucks." Hurray!

Jenkins: Never smile at a monkey

2009-11-12T14:48:00.004-05:00

2009

This slim, informative, fascinating book tells you, in alliteration, to be wary of certain lesser-known animals that may, out of fear, react to your human-like, curious and ignorant ways by kicking, poking, barbing, or poisoning you. His cut/torn paper collages make the book, though once you find yourself staring at each carefully constructed, realistic-looking animal, your eye will inevitably wander towards the few sentences on each page that describe the reasons behind giving the 18 animals in this collection wide berth. Fun facts, supplemented by four pages of further information at the back of the book, together with a reading list.

All the world

2009-11-12T14:34:00.003-05:00

by Liz Garton Scanlon | Illustrated by Marla Frazee | 2009

I'm always, always looking for books with characters that look like me. This usually means characters other than Whites. Lately, this has also meant characters who are bi-racial, since that is what my family is: bi-racial (we are also a multi-species family with our 3 kitties and our 25 plants, but that's besides the point). So if there is one reason that I like this picture book, it's because it shows people who look like me. It shows children who might possibly look like mine, if I had any. I suppose the picture theme of uniting the races into one family goes right along well with the message of this non-storied book of peace-justice-universal-humanhood. What's cool about the drawings/paintings is that they all center around the activities of one, large, extended family whose individual homes are not too far from each other. You get close-ups of faces and bodies, and then vistas showing you ocean, church, plaza, restaurant and such. Towards the end of the book, you get a near bird's eye view of the community whose lives you have just been peeking into. The rhyming text retells the oft-heard theme of the oneness of the human family. Kind of a hippie's book, really. But there isn't much wrong with that. The pictures are what make this book's messages stand out. Now, I'd like to find a great picture book about revolution! Let me go look (I think I might be a while...)

Patent: When the wolves returned

2009-11-12T13:52:00.002-05:00

Restoring nature's balance in Yellowstone
7+ | 39 pgs | 2008

This non-fiction picture book describes the ecological impact that killing the original wolves of Yellowstone National Park in the late 1800s to early 1900s had on flora and fauna. It then describes what happened once the wolves were reintroduced into the park in 1996; how their presence restored balance to life in the park. The book's narrative functions on two levels: Each page contains an inset of single sentence, bold text that essentially summarizes the book's argument. On the opposite page is text which serves to elaborate on the inset. These dual texts allow the book to be read to much younger children. All pages are set against a black background, making the numerous top-quality photographs, most taken by Dan and Cassie Hartman, really stand out. Each set of double pages is dominated by one large photograph that takes up nearly 2/3rds of the space; smaller pictures occupy the remaining areas. The photographs show both closeups and vistas; of the faces and eyes of many creatures. This book is important, given Europeans' largely troublesome history with wolves and the persecution wolves have faced and continue to face.

Lauber: What you never knew about...

2009-11-12T12:26:00.004-05:00

...tubs, toilets and showers
7-10 | 2001

This painterly illustrated romp takes us through human beings' relationship with water - focusing on bathing and using the toilet. What's fascinating about the way this history is told is the assumption we all make today about having to take baths on a regular basis: this wasn't quite the case, at least in the West, until about 200 years ago. Kids will get a kick out of realizing that the daily bath was a fairly modern invention, as was indoor plumbing! References are made to Mohenjo-Daro, Babylon, ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. With only one other page dedicated to the world outside of Europe, this book suffers from its Eurocentric slant. The paintings are generally well-rendered and comical, although the picture underneath a caption on Native Americans, making specific reference to the Navajo, is misleadingly, stereotypically generic. Lauber, at least, cites her references at the back. All said, an entertaining book that encourages the reader to go and find others in the series, and to not take a flushing toilet for granted!

Nelson: We are the ship

2009-11-04T16:59:00.003-05:00

8+ | best suited for baseball enthusiasts! | 88 pgs | 2008

I know nothing about baseball. After reading this book I still don't know much about baseball - but I know what, to me, is important: That there were black players who loved the game so much that they would sacrifice safety, comfort and family in order to play. They had no other choice - baseball was it for them. This book introduces us to more than simply Jackie Robinson. Told from an 'everyman' perspective, in innings for chapters, you read history like it was meant to be read: as a story, with living, breathing, people with agency. The tone of the writing is personal (the everyman narrator often pulls you right in by giving his opinion, "Let me tell you..."), and the language used is rich and vivid and meaningful. Our narrator brings the stories of the Negro Leagues and the ordinary men who played in them alive, alive, alive. The stories are strong enough to hold up against the enormity of Kadir Nelson's paintings - they are tremendous in every sense: in detail, in scope, in weight. Many pictures pay such close attention to such easy-to-miss details as the veins in men's arms, the grain in the wood of the baseball bat, and they capture men's faces in portraits of great depth. Some action pictures of baseball games seem so real you feel like it's just the DVD plaer that's been paused - and you're waiting to see whether the player or the ball will reach the base first. Kadir Nelson spent a good 20 years on this project from start to finish, and it shows. It's a fine, fine book.

Curtis: The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963

2009-11-03T13:27:00.004-05:00

10+ | best suited for boys or girls | male protagonist | 224 pgs | 1995

Recently re-read this book for class. An intimate portrait of a close-knit family of five living in Flint, Michigan, in the early 60s. Our story is told from 9-year-old Kenny's point of view - Kenny, who has a lazy-eye, who sees things in a way that sets him apart from merely being the narrator of this story. He sees justice and injustice, all through the book. There's a recurring motif of angels and being saved throughout this book, and the story truly is one of redemption. The language used is reflective of both what our protagonist sees, as well as of his family: informal, humorous, personal. Racism is approached very obliquely, and is never addressed head on - the title of the book leads one to think that Birmingham is central to the story. It is. But the horrific nature of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963 subtly forces the story to focus only two chapters to the actual events in Birmingham. This had to be done, I suspect, in order to maintain the thematic integrity of the rest of the story: to showcase a family that didn't sweat the small things in life, for parents who were caring and protective of their children, for children who loved each other and their parents despite sibling rivalry, bullying and the clash of personalities. In a sense, one sees this family as a microcosm of society - with all of life's opportunities and pitfalls. The author's description of children's behaviours is spot on: some of it is understandable, like the need to rectify a wrong; and some of it, like the bullying that some of the children inflict upon one another, isn't. Christopher Paul Curtis clearly holds a lot of respect for his audience of children - it shows loud and clear in his writing.

Can you make a scary face?

2009-10-29T09:46:00.003-04:00

Illustrated & written by Jan Thomas | 2009

Holy Moly! It's a boldly outlined, black and colored bug, it's telling me to stand up... no, sit down... no, it's changed it's mind, I'll have to stand up again! And wait! Do the chicken dance?! Yes! And follow all of its instructions. This is an interactive book - it has no plot - but the self-referential lady bug is bold and compelling. The colors of our bossy bug and the backgrounds of the pages she inhabits are what provide - and complement - the intense energy and humor of this story. I'll try this out at storytime and see what happens.

My people

2009-10-29T09:14:00.003-04:00

by Langston Hughes | Photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr. | 2009

Photographer Charles R. Smith brings this short, meditative poem of Langston Hughes' to stunning life through his pictures of black children, grown-ups and elder folk. All faces and bodies, pictured against the constant black background, stand out superbly, in different shades of sepia. Certain spreads and double spreads also contain a small and unobtrusive column of faces, which add visual interest and balance to the dominance of the portraits. The serif text also changes in quality: the color of the typeface and the size of the words all change to provide emphasis and flow with the photographs. Smith has done a superb job of pairing the words of the poem with his photos: breaking up the poem into words or phrases for each of the pages of his book, he succeeds perfectly in giving readers the perfect setting and pace for contemplating the beauty of what I hope readers will see as their people, his people, all of people's people. And how beautiful they are! It's important for children - especially children who are not black - to be exposed to books like this. Highly recommended.

To the beach

2009-10-21T16:47:00.004-04:00

written & illustrated by Thomas Docherty | 2009

Our hero is all ready to go to the beach - equipped with all the accoutrement needed: goggles, a yellow inner tube. If only it were not for the rain! So, spying a plane in the sky, he figures that all he really needs now is...a plane... and each new vehicle he spies in his environment becomes his new medium of transportation to the beach, with his vehicle/friend camel, and then back home again. Kids will enjoy picking out what outlandish vehicle our hero is going to use next to get to and from his destination. The many double-page spreads rendered in watercolors and ink have a happy-go-lucky, action-packed feel to them. The size of the illustrations really draws you right into the story - not much white space needed here. This is the sort of short story that, from the get-go, you know things are going to work out just fine, with no hitches along the journey.

Lines that wiggle

2009-10-15T11:16:00.004-04:00

by Candace Whitman | Illus. by Steve Wilson | 2009

Oh what a playful way of drawing attention to lines in art and everyday life! The first thing that strikes you about this book is the tactile, glittery blue line that begins with our friendly front cover monster eating his wiggly spaghetti (perhaps), and this line continues (not unbroken) throughout the book. It's difficult to resist running your fingers right on top of these raised lines that permeate the story. The text itself is really quite sparse: in rhymes, the author tells us where we might look for lines - from commonplace hiding places like "lines in leaves that grow on trees," to ones that are not so obvious, as in the 'lines' contained in the tail of a horse: "lines that swish the flies away." As can be expected, there is plenty of movement and action in this book, peopled with characters children will be drawn to: animals of all sorts, as well as very friendly looking monsters. The bright, saturated colors match perfectly with the up-beat, happy-go-lucky mood of this unusual book, which reminds me a bit of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the purple crayon books in its focus on lines, and where one might look for them. Who can't appreciate the novelty of the gritty, sparkly, blue glitter? Speak now or forever hold your peace!

Anderson: Handel, who knew what he liked

2009-10-14T13:53:00.004-04:00

7-11 | best suited for boys or girls | 42 pgs | 2003

M. T. Anderson's title is so descriptive of the sympathetic feel of this book. The story of Handel's life, from his childhood in Germany up until his death in England is 1759 is portrayed with warmth and rich, often humorous details. Kevin Hawkes' illustrations complement this mood to perfection: nearly all of his cosy paintings are double spreads, and he places much emphasis on light and darkness - whether illustrating the theater, light from windows, or the text boxes, some of which appear within gilded frames. The author portrays Handel as a person who, from early childhood, knew where his passions lay, and would stop at nothing once his mind was made up. For example, we are given delicious details such as how Handel ran after his father's coach, getting all muddy, becasue he desperately wanted to travel with his father to a duke's castle. In later life, while working on The Messiah, we once again find Handel working feverishly, without eating, and without much human contact- writing as if possessed, to finish his quintessential, revolutionary musical work. But there's a good deal of humor in the ridiculous stories scattered through Handel's life: dealing with divas, or duelling a good music colleague and then returning to their performance indoors. Explanations of words the reader might be unfamiliar with are sprinkled thorughout the book. The end of the book contains a chronology, discography, and a section for further reading. A valuable, sympathetic story of a very great, very stubborn man.

The super hungry dinosaur

2009-10-07T13:07:00.006-04:00

by Martin Waddell | 2009
Illustrated by Leonie Lord

The first thing that attracted me to The super hungry dinosaur (SHD) was the sound effects. He's not just any dinosaur with sharp teeth - he's SUPER hungry, at that. How will little Hal convince the SHD he really oughtn't to be eaten? Nor his mother, nor his father, nor his little dog Billy? Well, first, boy and dog outrun the dinosaur. Then, with a little aerodynamics and some unexpected turns, Hal and Billy overpower the SHD, literally riding him around like a horse. Hal repeatedly asks SHD if he gives in, through rain and through shine. SHD finally does, but he's still hungry. He's made amends, though, by repairing all the damage he caused on his super hungry rampage. Because of this, Hal is willing to help. Mother ultimately saves the day by preparing what looks to be a humongous and delicious super big bowl of pasta and sauce and good things to eat for SHD. And that's basically how the story ends. The story structure is sound, folkloric in its use of repetition. The (what look to be) crayon illustrations are soothing and inviting, even for the imposing SHD, as are the typeface and font effects used to tell the story, and both complement the quiet and gently predictable nature the story. And that's all. This is a light-hearted, friendly choice for young dinosaur fans, and would also make a fine, humorous read-aloud for storytime.

Johnny Boo: The best little ghost in the world!

2009-09-12T10:36:00.002-04:00

by James Kochalka | 2008

I don't know what it is about Johnny Boo and Squiggle that makes me want to return to this book over and over again. Well, actually I lie, I do know what brings me back: the friendship between Johnny Boo and Squiggle, for one thing (my husband and I have incorporated their "double extra sorries?" into our home vocabulary). Theirs is really a sound friendship: they play together, fight together, make amends together, look out for each other, and laugh. Then there's the naive-cartoon style illustrations that are uncomplicated, focusing one's attention on the text and foreground. The outdoorsy blue and greens are saturated, and stand out in high contrast to the very pale Johnny Boo and Squiggle. The friendship theme and plot are reminiscent of a perhaps more psychedelic version of Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad: Johnny Boo and Squiggle meet the ice cream monster, who first eats all of Johnny Boo's ice cream and then eats Squiggle as well (by mistake). It will take all of Johnny Boo's "Boo Power" to help his friend get out of this pickle. What follows is a satisfying and a burpaliciously appropriate ending.

Shape by shape

2009-09-11T14:13:00.003-04:00

by Suse Macdonald | 2009

This picture book approaches shapes through the mysterious creature who asks, at the beginning of the book, "Do you know what I am?" In a style reminiscent of Ed Emberley's "Go away, big green monster," page by page, we witness the creation of the mysterious creature who lived long, long ago, while learning about the different shapes that make up the final illustration. Sturdy, solid-colored pages contain cutouts which cumulatively create the shape at the end. The colors are bright, vivid, and provide high contrasts with one another, which makes this book visually appealing. Tactile, too -- I couldn't help but trace my fingers over the cut-outs in the pages. A bright and basic concept book.

Naifeh: Courtney Crumrin and the night things

2009-09-10T11:30:00.003-04:00

9-11 | best suited for hmm...girls or boys on this one, I think | girl protagonist | 2002

I had heard great things about this GN via an article I read a while back on good GNs to start with for newbie readers. Courtney Crumrin did live up to its high expectations.

Despite the fact that the illustrations are monochromatic, the draw of the (no pun intended) story, with its shadows, darkness, lurking creatures and zombie-like adults and children that Courtney has to contend with are more than enough to suck you right in - and you forget all else. One thing you'll immediately notice is that our heroine is the only one in the book who has pupils in her eyes. Everyone just has the whites. Well, except her Uncle who has tiny black pupils too. Courtney is a bit of a loner, someone who doesn't fit in and is little understood by her parents, or by kids at school. The one person she does feel she sees eye-to-eye with is her Uncle (or Great Uncle? or Great Great Uncle? no one quite knows for sure), known in the neighbourhood as a recluse, and a msytery to all. Her parents, extravagant spenders, jump at the chance to live rent-free with him, and Courtney must come along. Her life takes a turn for the better though when she discovers books of spells in her Uncle's library. And so she tries them out. Just to see what happens. If you're like me, and if you liked Coraline, you'll easily relate to this curious, independent-minded, brave, young girl who doesn't balk at the first sign of trouble and is rather matter-of-fact in handling tough situations. I wish I could be less of a cry-baby and more like Courtney Crumrin. Now I'm off to find the second volume in the series!

Fleischman: Seedfolks

2009-09-04T12:10:00.002-04:00

10+ | best suited for girls or boys | multiple voices | 70 pgs | 1999

Just finished listening to the audio version of Paul Fleischman's Seedfolks (got it from the digital audio center through our library's homepage, actually). I was really touched by this short and simple book. If you're looking for a fast read that gives you stories in many voices and lots to think about besides, this book is one way to go. The place: a down-trodden neighbourhood in Cleveland, OH. The time: present day. The plot: Through the monologue stories told by the inhabitants of this down-on-its-luck neighbourhood, we learn how people, seemingly so different from one another, find that they have lots in common, as they come upon and then start to develop a community garden in a once-abandoned city lot. You get to hear each of their stories, what they hope for, and the reasons behind their being involved in the garden. Some are humorous, plain ridiculous (like the forlorn taxi cab driver who takes advice from all his passengers and tries to plant lettuce to sell to expensive restaurants, or the buffed-up young man people call Tomato because he's trying to win back his girlfriend's heart by planting tomatoes right below her apartment window), some are touching, some are melancholy and sad -- but all of them, all are memorable. The stories feel real, like they could be happening to you, right in your own neighbourhood. You come away with the sense that it takes very little to make a big, huge difference for the better in someone's life. Paul Fleischman brings his artist's palette of words to this slim and profound volume that really packs a punch. This book could easily be shared with children as young as nine - and if you're looking for a book that can tell a really unique story of how something as simple as a garden can bring people to help understand one another, this is the one.

Milo's Special Words

2009-08-28T14:45:00.003-04:00

by Charise Mericle Harper | 2009

The cartoon illustrations are bright and subtle; the story is simple: What can Milo do to get his milk? At first, he doesn't quite know. His sister gives him a helping hand, while mother Bunny watches and pauses folding a large pile of collage print and painted laundry over on the other side of the page. Doggy sister also helps Kitty Milo (this is indeed a tri-species family!) remember what to do after he gets his milk. The simple, sturdy wheel-turning and lift-the-flap mechanisms add to the dynamism and humor of the book. Young children will want to experience Milo and his family's antics again and again.

J Marc Schmidt: Egg Story

2009-08-20T14:05:00.002-04:00

10+ | for boys or girls | boy protagonist (he's an egg) | 64 pgs | 2003

Hardly 60 pages long, this simple black and white novella in cartoon form drew me in right away with its storyline of sentient eggs. Being very fond of non-human animals, and amused and surprised by the humanity of chicken spawn, I was fascinated by the immediate story these eggs are swept up into. The dangerous and cruel world that the eggs find themselves in (being taken away from their mother hen, watching their inferior-shaped egg cousins become the farm dog's breakfast, being sold and refrigerated) is a dark one, and though the story of the brother-sister duo Feather and Five Spots is one of family sticking together, they really are orphans in a dangerous world with nothing but their wits (and an unsuspecting human's credit card) to guide them. The simplicity of the story's presentation, the humor and other emotions that come clearly across the page would make this a fascinating read for one old enough to be able to empathise with the plight of eggs, which, really, is our plight.

Pip in the Grand Hotel

2009-07-30T10:15:00.003-04:00

by Johannes Hucke | 2009

This delightful, action-packed story has more of a look-and-find quality to it than a story; the story itself, is quite simple: Mary has recently acquired - and lost - her beloved grey mouse, Pip. He just happens to escape into the bustling, exciting world of the Grand Hotel. The watercolor and ink illustrations are detailed, intricate, and vibrant. The hotel has an old-world, grand feel to it. All the pages are double spread illustrations. And in the midst of all the activity, because of the way the story is written, we are left at the turn of every page, looking for Pip. Be warned that this look-and-find aspect makes sharing this book with a large group of curious children a bit challenging! A Swiss import.

Moon rabbit

2009-07-30T09:57:00.003-04:00

by Natalie Russell | 2009

Rabbit is happy with her life in the city, though she sometimes looks out at the moon and wonders if there's anyone else in the world out there who's like her. She discovers, in her extended stay at the park, that there is! But after a long visit, she realises that she misses home - her favourite cafe, her window, her own space and place. So she goes back home -- and doesn't think about whether there's anyone out there who's like her....because....

The whimsical, gentle story, much of which is set against backdrops of blues, is matched quite perfectly by the muted colour palette of the illustrations. The techniques she uses combine printing and what look to be charcoal pencil drawings. This was the last book we read for storytime last night, and it left everyone very calm and quiet, it seemed.

Clements: Room one: a mystery or two

2009-07-29T12:17:00.004-04:00

9-11 | best suited for boys or girls | male protagonist | 192 pgs | 2006

So I guess I know why Andrew Clements' books are so popular. He writes honestly, for one thing; he has tremendous respect for children, and is somehow able to explain their own inner workings as if he were one of his characters. This book has a rather solitary feel about it, in keeping with the small-town, rural setting. You get a strong sense of what it might mean to live in such a place - where the one-room school house is threatened with extinction because there aren't enough children in town to justify having a school nearby. That's an aside; the heart of the story is told, in third person, through Ted Hammond's eyes. He's the only 6th grader in town, and through his story, we find that Ted is not only a hard working, responsible individual (formerly a Boy Scout member - until the group had to disband because there weren't enough kids living close by), who works a newspaper route, is always home in time for his chores at his family's farm, and is friendly and wants to help. Oh - and one important thing: he loves a good mystery. Which serves him well when he spies a girl's face in the window of a farm house he knows is deserted (we learn much more in this book about the drain of rural towns and what this does to a community). Ted Hammond feels like investigating, and when he finds out who's hiding out in the farmhouse, feels obligated to help.

The book was very thought provoking - Ted tries his best always to make the moral choice in all of his actions. There's a lot to talk about in this book. Be warned, though, that the ending, I felt, was very abrupt, and somewhat shocking, leaving me with more questions than answers. I wonder why Clements decided to end the book the way he did.

Spoon

2009-07-16T10:15:00.003-04:00

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal | 2009

An Amy Krouse Rosenthal classic - a simple story: we're introduced to Spoon, to his family, and then there's the plot: spoon wishes he were like fork, or knife, or chopsticks - but little does he know that they wish that they were like him. And then night time comes and spoon goes to bed. I guess there really isn't much of a story, it's more a vignette, and an imaginative way of looking at family and being happy in your own shoes.

Monkey with a tool belt

2009-07-16T10:04:00.002-04:00

by Chris Monroe | 2008

Chico Bon Bon is a monkey. A monkey with a tool belt. His tool belt has all sorts of tools on it (like a lemon squeezer, and zoozles and zoozle bits) that kids enjoy hearing or saying. Chico Bon Bon is an artisan - he builds things. He is creative. But there is a problem! He is caught by the Organ Grinder man from the circus! How will Chico Bon Bon escape? Lucky for him, though he's stuck in his box, he still has his tool belt...Whimsical, water-color and pen/ink illustrations lend this book a fix-it-up, everything will be okay feel. I think kids at storytime liked it. It is quite funny.

Good boy, Fergus!

2009-07-15T12:01:00.003-04:00

by David Shannon | 2006

This is Shannon's classic style - vibrant oil paints, sparse text, hand-written font/text, and that slightly odd-ball look to characters' faces. Fergus's father loves him dearly and pampers him so. This book takes us through a typical day with Fergus and dad. A good book to close storytime with.

Bee-wigged

2009-07-15T11:58:00.002-04:00

by Cece Bell | 2008

Jerry Bee loves people - but people do not love Jerry Bee! He's the most ginormous bee anyone's ever seen, and despite being friendly, generous, and helpful, folks are afraid of him. All that changes one day when he finds a wig lying on the sidewalk...he puts it on...and presto! Instant boy! Jerry Bee goes to school, makes friends, and hopes that nobody will find out his secret...

Danziger: The cat ate my gymsuit

2009-07-13T13:38:00.006-04:00

10-12 | best suited for girls | female protagonist | 174 pgs | 1974

I feel like I'm finally catching up with reading some of these classics. The cat ate my gymsuit could possibly even be classified under historical fiction by now (scary thought, that). I listened to this book on a playaway piece, and the full cast rendition of the book made it a very intense listening experience. Though it's important to read about, books that involve emotional and psychological abuse in families are not pleasant. Marcy Lewis suffers from a poor self image, and lives at home with a verbally abusive father and a timid mother. Marcy's life changes with her new English teacher in their middle school. The students take to her and her unconventional ways. Marcy feels like she is coming out of her shell because of her teacher, Ms. Finney, but the evil Mr. Stone, the principal, suspends Ms. Finney because - we learn later - she won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Just having finished Hoot, I was amazed that this is the second book in a row that was really rather rebellious towards adults and institutions. There's a part where the children who want Ms. Finney back in school get together and have an organising planning session! Amazing! In the end though, they opt to have their parents support Ms. Finney's freedom of speech cause. The story itself is rather deflating, because though Ms. Finney wins the battle against the school board and the principal who wants her out, she ends up quitting! Aargh! Ah well, quitting does happen. So I suppose the story is realistic. Some of the characters came across as being somewhat flat to the point of one-dimensional - the father (who is just a complete arse), and the principal, who seems belligerent and annoying for no good reason. These are easy enemies, and they don't always exist this way.

I suppose Marcy does learn how to stand up for herself just a little bit, and we leave her with her mother going back to school so that she can get a job and be out from under her awful husband's grip. This book could technically be YA.

One down, a gazillion more to go!

Carl Hiassen: Hoot

2009-07-06T17:30:00.003-04:00

9-12 | best suited for boys or girls | boy protagonist | 292 pgs | 2002

I'm glad that I finally got a chance to read this book. Now here's a book that shows and doesn't tell. Roy's recently been uprooted from beautiful, natural, wild Montana and been brought to the developers' haven state of Florida. He's trying to adjust to life there, trying to fit into school, make friends, and avoid bullies, like Dana Matherson, whose sole aim in life seems to be (besides smoking ciggies) beating up on Roy. While Roy's unfortunate encounters with Dana are taking place surreptitiously on the bus, he notices a very tanned boy running barefoot through the streets - and so begins Roy's search for this mysterious outsider.

Meanwhile...

Mother Paula's Pancake House is trying to break ground on property, property which turns out to be inhabited by burrowing owls. Numerous acts of vandalism are thwarting the foreman's (known most times by the name Curly) efforts to clear the ground. Survey stakes are pulled; an officer's patrol car windows are painted black (the unfortunate officer falls asleep inside); poisonous snakes with sparkly blue painted tails and taped mouths are released. So there's another mystery here: to find out the identity of the vandal(s).

I had a strong emotional connection to the book, having to do with humans encroaching upon land animals live upon. Roy comes upon a crisis in his life where he has to decide which side of the fence he's sitting upon. He has to, as Hiaasen writes, resolve the battle between what his brain is telling him (Follow the laws of the State) and what his heart is telling him (Do what's Right). It's a story about rebellion and about activism.

But it doesn't come off that way. It comes off as natural and funny and - a no-brainer. The climax and ending seemed to be a bit more lighthearted than the rest of the book; the resolution seemed very neatly wrapped up in fine paper with bows. All the same, I'm glad that the book was written, and I'm glad that it will be so accessible to children. Perhaps one day when they are faced with a crisis, they'll remember...

Buckley: The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives

2009-06-29T15:19:00.005-04:00

9-11 | best suited for girls | girl protagonists | 284 (smallish) pgs | 2005

This is really fantasy/realism. And Michael Buckley has successfully written 6 other follow-ups to this middle-grade series, all of which seem, for the most part, very well received (going by amazon.com reader reviews).

Sabrina and Daphne's parents have gone missing and for a year or more, they have been moving from one foster home to another. The story begins with their coming to their newest foster home - to a woman who claims to be their Grandmother! 12 year old Sabrina doesn't believe this for a long time - until their Grandmother, Relda Grimm, who is the magical keeper of all the fairy-tale characters who immigrated to the New World with the help of one of the Grimm brothers (yes, I know this is a mouthful), until Granny Relda gets kidnapped. Then, it's up to the sisters, and whomsoever they can call upon for help, to figure out why Granny Relda's been taken, and by whom.

The book is fast-paced, action-packed, humorous at times, and children will probably enjoy identifying with well-known characters (Prince Charming is the mayor, and is rather vain and greedy; the three little pigs are cops; Snow White is a teacher). The story itself seems to climax in a rather forced manner, and the several descriptions of battles, chases, and other such action-infused events makes the book feel rather stilted and boring.

But what do I know? I'm only a grown-up.

Fancy Nancy

2009-06-11T10:54:00.004-04:00

by Jane O'Connor | 2006

I'm finally catching on to Fancy Nancy. When folks had first started asking for this series, I thought Fancy Nancy looked rather too prissy for liking. This reminds me to not judge a book by its cover! She's really rather endearing, that Fancy Nancy, curious about the world and life and fashion, and loves learning new words. A girl after my own heart, actually. Glamour and brains! There are many titles to choose from. I'm a fan more of the picture books than I am of the early reader titles though - they are quite different in style and spirit from the picture books.

Peter S. Beagle: Tamsin

2009-06-09T14:10:00.003-04:00

15+ | best suited for lasses | female protagonists | 288 pgs | 1999

I don't remember just how I came across this book - I listened to it via CD. This somehow adds to the delicious mystery the book. It somehow explains to me why the book was so good - it just appeared out of nowhere, it was meant to get into my hands, just meant to, and of course, it had a message, especially for me, so it had to be worth reading. It just had to.

Peter S. Beagle's writing reads strong, true - poetry in prose, really; you're caught right up into the story of Jenny Gluckstein before you even know it, before you can even protest, before you can even decide whether you like her very much or not. Yes, I suppose it helped that she had a cat: Mr. Cat, and yes, I suppose it was helpful that she was rather a bit of a loner, an awkward teenager, perhaps a bit confused, a bit manipulative; a rather difficult teen, even by her own admission - and much of Jenny Gluckstein reminded me of myself. The book is a work of fantasy, involving as it does a ghost, but it takes place in our time (well, to be precise, I suppose it takes place in the 80s, which - Heavens! is nearly 30 years ago!). And yet the commonplace-ness of the setting and of most of the events blend so fluidly with the fantastic aspect of the novel: of Jenny meeting Tamsin, a 20-year old woman who's been roaming her home and grounds for 300 years - together with her cat, Miss Sophia Brown (more cats = more fun).

So much is going on in Jenny's life: moving from NYC to a run-down farm in Dorset, Thomas Hardy's England; having to be separated from Mr. Cat for 6 months, adjusting to her new, blended family - a step-father and two brothers, and a new relationship with her mother (whom she calls Susan). And then there's the mystery of why Tamsin is hanging around at all...she doesn't seem to know why she's stuck on earth herself. And that's the other half of the story.

I would recommend this book to a mature reader - probably a young woman, at least 13 years old. It's detailed and takes its time, and isn't for someone looking for a snappy thrill.

Avi: The true confessions of Charlotte Doyle

2009-06-09T12:10:00.004-04:00

10-12 | best suited for probably girls | female protagonist | 240 pgs | 1990

I recently re-read (via Playaway) True Confessions. It had been several years and I couldn't quite remember what happened. This was refreshing. Yes, it is a rather unlikely story - especially given that Charlotte is posed as a seemingly prissy, uptight, middle-class girl with not a thread of an independent spirit within her. I suppose the unsatisfying part of the story is this transition that she makes from her old self to her true, free one.

Briefly: Charlotte has to make the long voyage home from her boarding school in England (Liverpool, I think) to Rhode Island, to be reunited with her family there. The two other families she is to travel with somehow mysteriously fail to show up, and there is an aura of mystery surrounding the Captain and the crew. Little does she know that the crew is planning a mutiny on this voyage that she's taking. Charlotte gets caught in the middle - first as an informer, a spy (it's to her credit that the mutiny fails); and later, after winning the trust of the sailors, she is accused of murdering the First Mate. She's innocent, and together with the rather faithful sailors, they have to figure out how to get out of the clutches of the mad Captain Jaggery.

Jeff Kinney: Diary of a wimpy kid

2009-06-09T12:03:00.003-04:00

10-12 | best suited for lads or lasses | boy protagonist | 217 pgs | 2007

I finally read the book! Finally! It's about time, isn't it? A quick, very enjoyable read. There's something about the simplicity of the drawings, the pithy life view of Greg and the way he describes the world he lives in that makes you remember being there - right there in that school - when all those things happen. Because we all could tell our versions of The Cheese Touch; we all know what it's like to hang out with kids who we aren't so sure about but hang out with them anyway; we all know what it's like to be bullied, to want to go trick or treating, to have to "take one for the team," and to get presents we really don't quite know what to do with. The cartoon illustrations complement this way of looking at the world rather perfectly. The writing is simple, to the point, and Godawfully funny. Hallelujah. I can't wait to read the 2nd book. Oops...I think I'll just have to add my name to the very long list of requests now...(sigh)

Are you a horse?

2009-05-06T16:54:00.002-04:00

by Andy Rash | 2009

So Roy gets a saddle for his birthday and doesn't know what to do with it. His friends suggest that he go out into the world and find a horse. But he hasn't ever seen a horse - so begins to ask various creatures whether they are horses. They each give him clues as to what a horse looks like or does, and he finally ends up meeting a creature he thinks is a horse - and they go for a ride. The end. Very funny stuff.

Hurry up and slow down

2009-05-05T14:17:00.000-04:00

by Layn Marlow

A simple story with lots of pictures of animals and bugs and grass and trees and dandelions - just charming to look at - and a story of the rabbit who does everything too fast and the tortoise who does everything too slowly, except when it comes to reading a book: tortoise goes way too fast, and rabbit tells him to...

Chicken cheeks

2009-05-05T14:13:00.001-04:00

by Michael Ian Black | 2008

This is really just a fun book to laugh at - to laugh at the different ways we may refer to our rear ends. There is a story, told in pictures; all the animals with all their rear ends are trying to form a very tall animal pole to get up to some tasty honey. But what happens when they discover the bumblebees' bums?

Safari animals

2009-03-25T16:59:00.000-04:00

by Simms Taback | 2008

Ooooh! Short, mysterious and lively.

Birds

2009-03-23T14:31:00.003-04:00

by Kevin Henkes | 2009

An imaginative, simple book in the classic Kevin-Henkes style that really takes its own time with the story - I mean, the story takes its own time being a story. Great for spring, for colours, and for appreciating the beauty all around us.

Orange pear apple bear

2009-03-23T14:22:00.005-04:00

by Emily Gravett | 2007

Just 4 words can make up a story. Sarah said how one might read this book over and over, faster and faster, to great hilarity amongst children.

Hale, Shannon, Dean and Nathan Rapunzel's Revenge

2009-03-06T08:46:00.008-05:00

10+ | best suited for girls | girl main character | 144 pgs | 2009

Graphic novels are not my favorite format but this one pulled me right in. Starting off with a fairly standard version of the Rapunzel story it quickly takes a turn when Rupunzel discovers the world that Mother Gathel has created (or destroyed) outside the villa walls. After 4 years in the tower, which in this version is a magically enhanced tree Rupaunzel takes matters into her own hands and hair. Rescuing herself from the tree and setting off to teach Mother Gothel a lesson she runs into Jack a young man with a goose, a bean and a whole lot of people after him. Together they team up to help the towns folk take care of all the weird creatures that are growing out of control due to Mother Gothel's interference. The picture of Rapunzel decked out in a cowgirl outfit with her 20 foot braids in hoslters ready to take on the world is great. Indiana Jones and his whip have nothing on "Punzie" and her braids. I am already looking forward to the sequel. Just a note, Newbery winning author Shannon Hale and her husband Dean are the authors of this book and her ability to create a fleshed out world from the bare bones of a fairytale is very evident. Illustrator Nathan Hale (no relation) does an amazing job creating details, characters and a layout that changes from page to page without ever getting confusing or difficult to follow. JR

David and Ruth Ellwand: The Mystery of the Fool and the Vanisher

2009-02-27T09:10:00.008-05:00

10+ | best suited for m/f | main character is male | 100 pgs | 2008

Subtitled "being an investigation into the life and disappearence of Isaac Wilde, artist and fairy seeker" this is an amazingly imaginative book. The premise is that photographer David Ellwand on a walk through an old forest looks through the hole in a flint pixie stone (known to the readers of Spiderwick as a seeing stone) and sees a ball of light that leads him down a disused path to an old falling down house. In an outbuilding he finds a box which he drags home. nside the box are various odd "things," 3 wax soundrecording cylinders and some old 19th century photographs and equipment. The cylinders along with the artifacts tell the story of Isaac Wilde a photographer hired to work on a 19th century archaeological dig of a hill or barrow believed to be a Neolithic flint mine but known to the locals as a home to fairies. The whole package of this book from the layout using different colored pages to tell Isaac and David's stories to the photographs that combine original 19th century items and fantastic creations of Ellwand's is amazing. Graduates of the Spiderwick books will be on familiar terrian here but be warned the images are so realistic they may need to be reminded of the note in the CIP "This is a work of fiction" JR

The tale of two mice

2009-02-26T17:20:00.003-05:00

by Ruth Brown | 2008

I lub Ruth Brown. LUB! Her books - her kitties. This one not only has lift-the-flaps (and who can resist those? who? who?), but it also has a kitty cat in almost every page which observant preschoolers/kindergartners may wish to find.

Old devil wind

2009-02-19T14:58:00.003-05:00

by Bill Martin Jr. | 1971

It all starts one dark and stormy night, with a ghost who floats out of the wall and begins to wail. Stool asks Ghost why Ghost is wailing -- "It is a dark and stormy night and so I wail." Perfectly reasonable. So, to be a good friend, Stool begins to thump...And so it goes, with Ghost and Stool and Broom and Candle and Fire and Window, Floor, Door, Owl and Witch all doing something...until the wind blows, blows, blows everything out of that house...and they don't come back until Halloween night.

Yellow moon, apple moon

2009-02-19T12:15:00.004-05:00

by Pamela Porter | 2008

Short bedtime story with very whimsical, earthy illustrations done in what look like oil paints, outlines in pen and ink. I particularly like the lullaby (A la puerta del cielo / At the gate of heaven) that the author incorporates seamlessly into the story - such as the story is - really the book is more of a contemplation of bedtime and objects and people and rituals that provide meaning to a child's life. I like this. I used it last night for bedtime storytime with children 2.5 and older (some older siblings), and they were engrossed in taking turns pointing to the different objects that the girl in the story shows us: "There's my window, swing and tree. My cat waits there by the door for me." The tree and the house have eyes, noses and mouths. There's something familiar about the book that I love.

Neil Gaiman: The graveyard book

2009-02-05T15:09:00.007-05:00

10-15 | best suited for boys or girls | male protagonist | 312 pgs | 2008

It's cool to think that Neil Gaiman spent 20-odd years writing this book, after he chanced upon its birth while walking through a graveyard, watching his 2 year old cycle between gravestones. It reads like it's been 20 years in the making.

I'm glad it won the Newbery. It's actually a Newbery I wanted to read. All the characters are White...unfortunately... but that's the only down point to the book that I can think of.

Besides this, the book is fantastically told, fantastically paced and sympathetically written. A more humane book about the dead I haven't read. Despite the fact that the book begins with the gory murders of a mother, a father and a young girl, this book really is about love, family, and the loss that is so truly part of life (and I don't just mean loss of life as in death). The murders themselves are handled very smoothly, no goriness and all class.

I found myself just aching to find out - in the beginning - why Bod Owens (short form for: Nobody Owens) was wanted dead, and what would happen to him, and would he ever leave the graveyard and step out into the wider world, where his family - his parents, the Owenses, and his various teachers, and his guardian, the mysterious Silas, couldn't protect him from whatever it was that was trying to get at him? The ending was most satisfying, and happy, though he loses the only real tie to a childhood friend (in Scarlett). Yet, he's off to see the world: excited, nervous, with his heart open.

What a unique book.

Looking for moose

2009-01-29T17:56:00.003-05:00

by Phyllis Root | 2006

"Have you ever seen a moose-
a long-leggy moose-
a branchy-antler,
dinner-diving,
bulgy-nose
moose?"

"No! We've never, ever, ever, ever, ever seen a moose. And we really, really, really, really want to see a moose."

And so the adventure of four friends begins. Hallelujah! Not all of these kids are white! Thank the Lords.

This book has a "Going on a bear hunt" feel to it - they put on hats and boots, they stomp through the treesy-breezy, tilty-stilty, wobbly-knobbly woods."

And what happens in the end? Well you'll have to read it to find out then won't you?

Chickens to the rescue

2009-01-29T12:11:00.005-05:00

by John Himmelman | 2006

Oh those hard-working chickens certainly earn their keep, every day of the week but Sunday. Give them a break - they need to rest, too! The book is short, repetitive, absurdly funny, whimsical... just the perfectly light-hearted.

Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan was her name

2009-01-29T11:51:00.002-05:00

by Tedd Arnold | 2004

I love songs, and I love songs turned into books. Tedd Arnold cannot fail to move you to laugh. The song and the illustrations lend themselves well to all ages - rhythm and music especially for the younger children, meaning and absurdity for the older ones. A great read-aloud for parents visiting their children's classrooms.

Two Bobbies: a true story of Hurricane Katrina, friendship, and survival

2009-01-26T15:34:00.002-05:00

by Kirby Larson & Mary Nethery | 2008

Oh this one's a real tear jerker, let me tell you right off the bat! A dog and a cat make their way through the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina (oh - and the devastation caused by improper government management over decades). I don't want to give the plot away... suffice it to say that there's a happy ending to this story; even the Paris Hilton of journalism, Anderson Cooper, makes an appearance in the text. A great read-aloud for an older grade class. -kapilalove

Mary Downing Hahn: All the Lovely Bad Ones

2009-01-12T13:48:00.005-05:00

11-13 | best suited for boys or girls | male protagonist | 182 pgs | 2008

Hahn does it again with a wonderfully shivery ghost story. Travis and Corey, 2 pranksters or "bad ones" as they have been called, come to spend the summer at their grandmother's Vermont inn. A thoughtless prank to show some guests a ghost at the, supposedly, haunted inn wakes up the real ghosts. Some of the ghosts have very distinct personalities some mischievous and one a truly scary and nasty woman as unrepentant in death as in life. Some pretty scary scenes and the opening of a grave put this firmly in the older end of the children's room. Great cover art, short length and compelling text (I stayed up until 1:00 am finishing it in one sitting), make it perfect for reluctant readers or last minute book reports.

Sheila Burnford: The incredible journey: A tale of three animals

2009-01-12T13:07:00.006-05:00

best suited for lads and lasses | animal protagonists | 148 pgs | 1960

I'd heard so much about this book (and had even recommended it w/o reading!!! shh - don't tell!) that I just had to get to it. Never mind the oh...three dozen books lying in various places around my desk and at home waiting for me to get to... the long-overdue ones...

This was a quick read - the text is large - and the story is rather a simple one. The text itself I found quite dense...and subtle...and serious. Not a lot of conversation; much of the book is descriptive, and the descriptions themselves are fitting and lyrical and nearly perfect, whether the author writes of the most minute behaviors of the cat, Tao, or describes the Canadian wilderness.

The story is this: the 3 animal companions have been separated from their family, the Hunters, because these humans had accepted a long stay overseas (the father, rather, accepts a post as a guest lecturer at a college in England); the animals have been living, for the last several months, with a lonely bachelor named Longridge, some 300 miles west of their home. The Labrador, Luath, decides that it's high time he searched for home - his real home - and he takes his two animal friends with him. This is where the story begins.

Andy Griffiths: The cat on the mat is flat

2008-12-30T15:25:00.004-05:00

166 pgs | 2006

Okay so I didn't like the story of the bad bee who gets trapped in a teapot and is made into tea for being bad. There's too much of that sort of attitude in the world. But the rest of the stories were silly, goofy, almost asinine...and quite funny.

Some of the words - besides 3 letter rhyming ones - can be gleaned from context. And others, like "swill" are ones that provide opportunities for children to ask about (or look up) word meanings. Now that my interest in Andy Griffiths has been piqued, I am going to have to read The day my butt went psycho. I'll just have to. There's no going back.

In a dark, dark wood: an old tale with a new twist

2008-12-26T12:47:00.002-05:00

by David Carter | 2002

Oh this is one of my favourite chants/books for younger children - just suspenseful enough, and not too frightening. The big surprise at the end of this one is a pop-up ghost!

A great book for chanting in call and response fashion. Even with older kids, there is much to talk about in the illustrations. One thing to do: look for the "eyes" in each and every single page...spooky! Marvellous! Goes without saying, great for halloween.

What does bunny see? - a book of colors and flowers

2008-12-26T12:39:00.004-05:00

by Linda Sue Park | 2005

I came across this book while searching for books on colours to share with preschoolers. I love this one! Even though the rhymes and the poetry is a little strange at times. More than the text, the illustrations are particularly captivating: the flowers almost come alive through their vibrant representations. Colours, flowers, warm, spring-summer illustrations done in watercolours and pencil, animal life, what more could you ask for from a book?

I like colors

2008-12-26T12:34:00.001-05:00

by Barbara Jean Hicks | 2005

Bold colours on black pages, just one or two words per page - a short, small, vibrant book for sharing.

Kitty cat, kitty cat, are you waking up?

2008-12-26T12:22:00.002-05:00

by Bill Martin Jr. & Michael Sampson | 2008

The cat replies, "Not yet mother, I'm a sleepy buttercup."

Okay so it's saccharine, and so it rhymes. But it's short, and it's sweet, and every parent who has a schedule to keep will instantly recognise their own ritual dilemmas in getting their children through routines throughout the day - most especially, getting them ready for school.

The little rabbit who liked to say moo

2008-12-26T12:11:00.004-05:00

by Jonathan Allen | 2008

It's true: rabbit's don't have big noises. Whenever we get to the rabbit puppet in our music circle while singing Ole McDonald...nobody knows what to do. Poor rabbits always go "hop hop hop," but they don't even do that - we just think they do...

This little rabbit likes to say "moo" for the very reason that he comes from a race of quiet-noised creatures. And he finds, in his travels through the farm, that his baby animal friends are also willing to experiment noising out sounds that are not native to them. In the end, however...the calf likes mooing best, the chick likes quacking best, the donkey likes hee-hawing best, and rabbit...

Rabbit likes barking.

Plenty of chances for audience participation in this one. An interactive winner.

Ten little fingers and ten little toes

2008-12-26T12:08:00.003-05:00

by Mem Fox | 2008

I can't resist Helen Oxenbury's illustrations...and the smooth, gentle text that goes right along with it in this book that's perfect for parents of new (or older) babies. The text does rhyme, which sometimes I find to be extremely annoying - but the babies are so darned cute that you just don't mind about the rhyming text soo much. What can I say? Irresistible to read and look at. Just baby eye-candy, plain and simple.

David Lubar: Invasion of the road weenies and other warped and creepy tales

2008-12-17T12:24:00.006-05:00

10-12 | best suited for boys or girls | short stories with boy & girl protagonists | 181 pgs | 2005

I don't know what it is with me and short stories and creepy stories recently - I've been gobbling them up, and there's, of course, more to read...

The only reason I picked this book up was the cover. Yes, I judged a book by it's cover and it made me want to read it. I mean, take a look... aren't you the least bit curious? From the standpoint of weirdness alone.

This is the first collection in a series of short stories by David Lubar (the subsequent, companion novels are titled: In the land of the lawn weenies, and, The curse of the campfire weenies). They are weird stories. Weird, creepy, horrid, funny, disgusting. Warped.

But they're short - 35 stories at only a couple of pages a story. I kept going. I wanted to finish. Some stories felt a little flaky - which has more to do with the type of story it is, I would think, rather than David Lubar's writing: how much can you possibly do in 2 pages? Most of the time, David Lubar manages to pull things together perfectly.

My favourites: "The last Halloween," about a girl who puts on these special, magic gloves that enable her to fight off candy bullies, which she turns around and uses to protect other defenseless trick or treaters; "Mr. Lambini's haunted house," the story of a girl who prides herself haughtily on not being afraid of a neighborhood haunted house - until she realises that the house she went through was just the prelude to the real thing; "The dead won't hurt you," about a boy who finds himself, on a dare, in the middle of a cemetery, being accosted by a strange man; and, "Ten pounds of chocolate," the story of an old woman who lives at the bottom of a hill in a neighbourhood and gives away gigantic chocolate bars only to set her "cat" after the kids as they're walking away, so that she can not only have the kids think well of her, but recycle her mammoth candy bars. Fun. And, did I mention, creepy?

Neil Gaiman: Coraline

2008-12-17T11:59:00.007-05:00

10+ | best suited for boys or girls | girl protagonist | 162 pgs | 2002

I recently re-read Neil Gaiman's creeeeeepy, creeepy masterpiece of a novel, Coraline. What a book! The tone, pacing and discomfort produced when one reads this novel is highly reminiscent of John Bellair's dark, gothic novels. This isn't a book for the faint of heart.

One of the reasons that this book was so appealing to me is that Coraline reminded me very much of myself, as a child - a bit lonely, very curious, taking great satisfaction in sticking her nose into anything she could possibly stick it into. So, Coraline, living in her new home with largely absent parents, explores the large grounds upon which their old house (broken into flats) sits: the old tennis court, the boarded-up and covered well, the toadstool garden, the rose garden. The writing is straightforward, simple yet descriptive enough to give you a near perfect vision of the places Coraline wanders through. Her own character is, at least in the beginning, rather understated: you sometimes don't get clear explanations as to how she's feeling, or what she's thinking, or what sort of person she really is.

All this comes later, when she's faced with having to rescue her parents from the "other" mother, in the "other" apartment which Coraline enters, through the door in the living room that was bricked up the first time she saw it...

Neil Gaiman holds the resolution you want to see, as well as the continuing horror of this tale masterfully, throughout the climax and the denoument that comes afterwards. A first class thriller.

Ghosts in the house

2008-12-13T11:19:00.003-05:00

by Kazuno Kohara | 2008

A sweet, simple, very ghost-friendly, not spooky story, about a girl who knows how to make peace with ghosts and live happily ever after. I didn't think I could stand a book illustrated in only 3 colours (and who would have thought such a thing possible?) but it works beautifully. The combination of block prints and tissue paper cut out ghosts is striking, classy, and works so, so well. A winner for Halloween, of course. -kapila

The little yellow leaf

2008-12-13T11:08:00.004-05:00

by Carin Berger | 2008

A sweet, simple, poetic book about a little yellow leaf who is waiting for juuuust the right time to fall in the autumn...and he finds the perfect time to fall: with a friend, and they bravely float away from their tree together. I love the illustrations in this book - they're a combination of (as far as I can see) paper collage, print (of leaves), as well as newsprint, graph paper, and paintings. Fantastico! -kapila

Gary Schmidt: Straw into Gold

2008-12-01T14:49:00.005-05:00

11+ | best suited for lads or lasses | boy protagonists | 172 pgs | 2001

Picked cleanly from SLJ: (sorry, I just don't know where to begin with this one, other than to say that it was a very enjoyable and touching tale of adventure and friendship and love, and a bit of humour, told in that stylish and fanciful way that Gary Schmidt has. Thoroughly enjoyable :-)

What would have happened if the queen had failed to guess Rumpelstiltskin's name and the odd little man had taken her child? Why did he want the young prince? Was his motivation selfish, or could he have been protecting the child from life-threatening danger? Imaginative answers to these questions skillfully blossom into a fantasy-flavored quest that begins when young Tousle leaves the secluded forest cottage he shares with his diminutive, magical, adoptive father Da, a spinner, and travels for the very first time to the city to view the king's procession. In Wolverham,Tousle becomes separated from Da and is surprised to find himself joining the queen in a plea for mercy for rebels facing execution. The king, acting against the wishes of his Twelve Great Lords, sets Tousle a riddle-"What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold?"-and promises that the right answer will save the rebels' lives. Accompanied by a blind boy, Innes, Tousle seeks the riddle's solution on an adventure-filled journey to the Saint Eynsham Abbey, where the boys feel certain that the queen, who spends most of her time there in exile, will aid them. The youngsters find the solution to more than just the riddle as they learn the truth about the mysteries surrounding their own births, Rumpelstiltskin's identity, and the reason the child was taken from his parents. A good book to recommend to fans of Lloyd Alexander, Diana Wynne Jones, and J. R. R. Tolkien.

Barakat: Tasting the sky: A Palestinian Childhood

2008-11-18T14:47:00.003-05:00

at least 13+ | best suited for lasses | female protagonist | 166 pgs | 2007

Ah, but what a sad, unfinished story this is. Ibtisam Barakat speaks her memories fluidly. And truly, some of these memories of childhood are just plain funny, because children are children even if they are occupied children. But the overall setting, of a family living under Israeli occupation always haunts the reader. The longing for a safety and happiness, freedom from occupation and poverty and - most basically, freedom from fear is so apparent. The question Ibtisam's father asks in the book, when he is pleading with God -- what did I do to deserve this? I don't drink, I don't gamble, I don't even smoke... why, then? Why do they suffer so? -- this question remains unanswered, just as unanswered as Ibtisam's leaving her treasured home feels. Sometimes, when you leave, you get somewhere else; othertimes, when you leave, all there is is the feeling of leaving. I hope Ibtisam and all Palestinians will be able to return home again, freely and happily, one day.

Catling: The Chocolate Touch

2008-11-13T13:06:00.005-05:00

8-10 | best suited for lads or lasses | boy protagonist| 126 pgs | 1952

For some reason, I was really into this book. I think just the premise was what got me interested. It has not only a fascinating plot - I mean, how does the story of of a boy who is able to turn everything he touches into chocolate end? Well, I won't tell - but the book was lighthearted without being too heavy on the ills of being selfish and greedy (which is what gets poor John into trouble in the first place), and is rather funny in parts. The story brings home really how horrible it would be if all we could ever eat or drink was chocolate. Yuck! Though the book was first written in 1952, it doesn't feel outdated or foreign - except perhaps where John's mother asks him to take his "tonic." I'm glad I finally read this one. It's been on my list for a long time.

Barrows: Ivy + Bean and the ghost that had to go

2008-10-22T12:35:00.009-04:00

7-9 | best suited for lasses | female protagonist | 125 pgs | 2006

Yet another fun, school - friendship - girlfriend - getting - into - adventures series. I just couldn't quite bear to read the whole thing, but I'm sure it will do well for young girls who like big print and fun grrrrlfriend stories. Plus points: larger print, great for those with vision problems or those who are intimidated by fine print; and it has attractive pictures of girls getting into and getting out of trouble. Cons: Okay I pretty much didn't like the book, thought the writing was insipid and required a reader to make connections between what was written and what was not, which for a 7 or 8 year old I think is asking a bit much, but what do I know - it ain't my name on the cover of this book! And I know that kids will like it, so that's about as good enough for me as it's going to get :-) End of story. -kapila

Allan Sherman & Lou Busch: Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

2008-10-15T13:35:00.003-04:00

by Allan Sherman & Lou Busch | 2004

And so begins the ultimate camp song that has been cracking kids up for 40+ years. I just had to remember that this is part of our collection, for those kids who can't get enough of the funnies... especially, this book would appeal to littler kids who have a more grown-up sense of humour. -kapila

Meghan McCarthy: City Hawk: The story of pale male

2008-10-15T13:02:00.005-04:00

by Meghan McCarthy | 2007

This book is waaay cute. Okay, I know that's not a revealing thing to say as far as reviews go, but especially for a younger audience, this is a great book that combines just the right amount of read-aloud, factual information and story. And, like I said, the hawks are super cute. Just look at those big circle eyes... So the story introduces us to the mega metropolis of New York City, and then tells us all about a very special certain red-tailed hawk flying over Fifth Avenue, easily spotted by park-goers in Central Park. It's a love story too! Pale Male meets Lola, and the "regulars"track the lives of the hawks through telescopes and binoculars in Central Park: the building of their nest, the hatching of Handsome and Gretel, but leaves out the subsequent controversy and relocation of the nest. It's an introduction that's very suitable for young, primary grade children.

Anderson: Standard Hero Behavior

2008-10-15T11:39:00.004-04:00

15+ | best suited for lads and lasses | boy protagonist | 273 pgs | 2007

15 year old Mason is a struggling bard who dreams of going on real adventures even while he has to work hard to pay off his Protection Tax. You see, the town of Darlington (formerly Highsmith) no longer has its own heroes. Instead, the entire town pays their taxes to Duke Darlington in return for him keeping them safe from orcs, goblins, trolls, and whatever else may attack. But Duke Darlington isn't the hero he says he is; he, in turn, has been paying off the orcs, goblins, etc, to NOT attack their town... Mason unwittingly finds all this out, and is sent on a desperate and secret quest to go and find a few good heroes who will save the town once again - for Darling Duke Darlington is broke, and the orcs and co. are coming. So, he sets off with his best friend Cowel, armed only with one fantastic - but rarely used - sword and a horse named Steed, who is not as fast as the legendary stories would have you believe.

The story has great tongue-in-cheek humor, and though set in the fantasy world of pokes fun at parallels in life (e.g. The town of Darlington has a terror threat level...). Anderson similarly pokes fun at the genre -- for example, when Mason wants his fortune told, "Madame Pirogue" ends up being some old guy named Joe who just uses the cards for show. The story is a little predictable, but it's a fun, light read that feels like a sunny, summer day smack in the middle of July. -kapila

Jack Gantos: Joey Pigza swallowed the key

2008-10-03T09:54:00.003-04:00

9-11 | best suited for boys | male protagonist | 153 pgs | 1998

The first in a series of Joey Pigza books, this one introduces us to the really wired Joey Pigza, who, for most of his life, has been living with his "wired" grandmother, that is, until his mother decides to be a mother to him again, and returns home. We find out later that his father is a drunk, his mother does have a drinking problem, and this being "wired" in the brain (having ADHD) seems to have run in Joey's family. Truly, the book is funny, and sad, and sincere ( - even if at times you know that the protagonist speaking is not a 10 year old but an adult author). The story isn't as huge a part of it as are the little details... well... there is the part where he mistakenly causes a classmate's nose-tip to be cut off... and is sent to a special school, which is the beginning of new medical treatments for him, which do seem to help. But the story is really about how much he struggles, about his relationship with his mother (though Gantos doesn't beat you over the head with it), and the reality of what it means to be poor, raised by one adult and no more, and have ADHD are conveyed very subtly and beautifully. -kapilaslove

Gannett: My Father's Dragon

2008-10-02T12:41:00.002-04:00

6-8 | best suited for m/f | male protagonist | 86 pgs | 1944

An oldie but goodie - a simple, light-hearted tale of a young boy who is tipped off onto an adventure by an alley cat he takes pity on and feeds, then sets off on his adventure to save the dragon whose back is being used as a bridge for animals to cross between two islands. Short chapters star his encounters with the different creatures he meets. The book does have an old world, Norman Juster Phantom Tollbooth feeling of adventure and whimsy.

cowley: chicken feathers

2008-09-11T11:24:00.006-04:00

10 | best suited for m/f | gender of protagonist m | 149 pgs | 2008

I really dug this book. Its red cover, the font it was printed in, the black and white illustrations, the story, and the lyrical language it was written in. Some of the language was quaint, and there was an odd timeless sort of feeling about the book - not timeless like Tuck Everlasting, but timeless like: "I can't quite figure out when this book is set." The cars do have automatic windows, and one of the supporting characters does wear a shirt with something glitzy and glamorous painted on it - but without such teeny tiny clues, you wouldn't know when the book took place, or even where.

The story itself is sweet, but really doesn't lend itself for reading to very young children. Some of the writing is more "grown up" at times (e.g. Josh reads what Annabelle's shirt says and stares at her shirt for longer than he needs to). Little things like this made the book a little weird...

But the idea of a grumpy, sassy hen named Semolina who loves "brew" (Puritans, beware) and only talks to the main character, Josh, and the reality of his mother's difficult pregnancy that makes Josh's idyllic farm life just a little bit more real to us - all this makes for a great story.

And what is this story? Josh inherits Semolina; she's been around, but never been a good layer. She tells him things in exchange for his grandmother's brew, such as the habits of a fox which is stealing eggs from Josh's father, Tucker's hen house #3. She only speaks to Josh, and nobody believes him. Meanwhile, his mother is on bed rest at the hospital, because she isn't a very good layer either, and miscarriages loom heavily over the family. -kapila

banks: king of the creeps

2008-09-09T14:04:00.003-04:00

13+ | best suited for m/f | gender of protagonist m | 169 pgs | 2006

17 year old Tom from Jersey is an undersized nerd with an oversized nose. He has no girlfriend, no girls will talk to him - you know the story. But then he discovers that he bears a striking resemblance to Bob Dylan! Only difference being Tom doesn't have a guitar, and BD does. So Tom sets out to get one - and ventures into Greenwich village's folksy, beatnik scene of the 60s. He gets this guitar from a shady guy, learns one chord, and then the guitar is stolen - but then he meets Angelina... and his life is changed FOH-EVAH!

This is just a funny, fast-paced book, a light read, and yet, not fluffy somehow. It's great! I wish Steven Banks would write more novels and less Spongebob - although I am so glad for his humour. -kapila

abelove: go and come back

2008-08-25T11:59:00.004-04:00

13+ | best suited for f | gender of protagonist: f | 177 pgs | 1998

Joan Abelove has taken the idea of the anthropologist studying "primitive" cultures and turned it on its head - in this story, Alicia, a 13 or 14 year old young woman living in a small village in the Amazon jungle in Peru watches and observes two "old" nawa, white ladies, who come to live with them for a few months, to "work," which means writing and talking and asking questions - lots of questions. Much of the book centers around the idea that what is normal is determined by where you're from, and that when people from different regions meet, it takes time for them to understand one another. The book is funny, a fast read, poignant, but less compelling than Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. The two books could go together, though, and I for one am glad to be reading a book told from a refreshing, non-white point of view, despite the irony that the book was written by a (white) cultural anthropologist. -ks

lowry: the giver

2008-08-13T19:40:00.008-04:00

13+ | best suited for m/f | male protagonist | 179 pgs | 1993

Jonas lives in a distopia and doesn't know it. Everyone and everything in his community is the same, there is no emotion (although I find that aspect of the book a bit more spurious and unconvincing), and runtish babies, the elderly and miscreants are routinely killed in a ceremony called The Release.

Jonas is assigned the rare honour of being the next Receiver of Memories for his community. From "The Giver," he receives thousands and thousands of memories (the feeling of sunshine, the rain, riding in a sled, the feeling of snow, the suffering of humans warring against each other), and rebels against his community's structure that is trying to make him the keeper of all these emotions and memories that the community has, over time, chosen not to bother themselves with. But Jonas doesn't want his community to live like this, and runs away, with the knowledge of The Giver, so that they may perhaps begin to change the half-death they have all gotten so used to. It's a thought-provoking book, and would be even better discussed in a group.

It is also heavy, abstract, and depressing. I remember being very taken with it the first time I read it - but am less so now, and I can't say why just yet. -ks

alexie: the absolutely true dary of a part-time indian

2008-08-09T12:53:00.006-04:00

13+ (or so) | best suited for m/f | gender of protagonist m | 229 pgs | 2007

I'm so overwhelmed after reading this book that I don't quite know what to say about it, except perhaps that it's hit me and I feel like I just can't get enough air into my lungs to calm down. I don't think I've ever read a book where I was laughing as hard as I was feeling torn up inside.

Emotions aside, this really is an awesome book. First of all, it's refreshingly about a Native American boy - not another whitey, which I am sorry, I am rather sick of reading about just now. It'll pass. Someday.

Secondly, it's funny. I mean, FUNNY. I mean, if you read this book in a public place people will think you are crazy because you are laughing so hard.

Thirdly, it rings true. It's a work of fiction, based partly on some of Alexie's experiences growing up, but there's truth to this work of fiction. There's truth in this story - and it touches you deeply (if it doesn't, I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but it must mean that you're dead).

Fourthly, it's lyrical - the writing reads well, it reads naturally, and is interspersed with short comic strips or drawings, and the words and pictures go together like chocolate and basil (which means, very well).

Okay so it is a little fantasic - like, nobody walks 22 miles to school everyday; and the chances of this weird looking kid dating the hottest white girl in the white school are, well, slim. But I really don't think these literal facts are what Alexie is wanting us to focus on.

It's a fast read. It's about a boy with problems and how he can't solve all of them but he struggles to do whatever he can to make his life better. Could there be a better book than this? Now I'm going to have to read all of Sherman Alexie's other books. I'm off to go find them... -ks

good-night, owl!

2008-07-02T12:23:00.004-04:00

by Pat Hutchins | 1972

An oldie but a definite goodie. The premise is simple: it's daytime and Owl is trying to sleep. But he can't because all sorts of birds and animals are landing on his tree and making a racket: chirping, pecking, jaying, cheeping, crunching. So, night time comes. And owl wakes up, and he....

pennypacker: clementine's letter

2008-06-30T14:52:00.003-04:00

7-9 | best suited for f | gender of protagonist f | 150 pgs | 2008

Okay so I know that it's not necessary to read all the sequels - especially when there is no continuing story arc. But I couldn't resist finding out what Clementine was up to in this book. The story is a bit convoluted actually, and not as concentrated and compelling as the first two were. What is clear though is that it's difficult for a little girl to deal with a whole lot of change - like a teacher potentially leaving to go on a research adventure trip to Egypt to study Egyptology. In between, she has herself a tag sale to buy her mother a gift, and manages unwittingly to get into tiny bits of trouble with the substitute teacher. Okay I didn't like it that much but I read it anyway. -kapila

Schmidt: The Wednesday Wars

2008-06-27T08:58:00.007-04:00

11-13 | best suited for m/f | gender of protagonist m | 264 pgs | 2007

Halfway through the roll call on the very first day of seventh grade Holling Hoodhood knows that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts and it isn't even his fault! Holling is the only Presbyterian in class which means that on Wednesday afternoons when everyone else attends Hebrew School or Catechism he is Mrs. Baker's only student for the last hour and a half of the school day. As you would expect Holling and Mrs. Baker come to understand and respect each other during this time, partly because for the first time in his life Holling realizes that teachers have lives outside of school. The comedies and tragedies of life in the seventh grade play out against the larger world and the Vietnam War which intrudes closely when Mrs. Bigio's husband is killed and Mrs. Baker's husband goes missing in action. A throughly enjoyable read with the heavier points lightened with humor and Holling's amusing comparisons of the Shakespeare plays Mrs. Baker has him reading and situations in his own life. A 2008 Newbery Honor book. JR 6/08

bruchac: the return of skeleton man

2008-06-24T11:38:00.006-04:00

11-13 | best suited for m/f | gender of protagonist f | 136 pgs | 2006

This story is the sequel to Joseph Bruchac's Skeleton Man, and really is quite as morbid. Although Molly does well to explain (without being too onerous) what happened to her (in the first book) and her family, this book is a true sequel, and can't quite stand on its own.

So this time around, Molly and her mother are accompanying her father on a business conference that's taking place at Mohonk Mountain Resort -- kids growing up around the Hudson Valley may recognize the place and the setting, which is cool. In reading this book, I found that I just wanted to get to how it all ended. So they're at this resort, and Molly is convinced that the skeleton man is after her and her family again. It doesn't matter how he got there, or what he wants, or who he is - he just wants to GET them, and that's all there is to it. So there's always going to be something slightly unbelievable about such stories, but the logistics of who, what, and why don't matter as much as the emotional intent of the author: to give you the chills, the creeps, the hoo-has, and the like. Kind of like Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear. Great read, quick and easy and did I mention creepy? -kapila

Riordan: Battle of the Labyrinth

2008-06-20T12:10:00.008-04:00

age 12+ | best suited for m/f | gender of protagonist m | 361 pgs | 2008

The 4th in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series continues the saga in fine style. Percy and his friends continue to battle against the return of Kronos and the elder gods. While there are moments of lightness and the verbal banter continues the situation is getting more serious as Kronos continues to gain strength and recruits more and more of the minor gods and monsters of mythology to his cause. Readers will be looking for a good mythology book to check out some of these character, I found myself readhing for my trusty Hamilton's Mythology to check out a few of them myself. This is a great book for both adventure and fantasy fans, the fast moving action will keep reluctant readers involved and the last line "It sounds like we've got a lot to talk about." is sure to have series fans asking for the next book right away. JR 6/08

james: days like this

2008-06-02T11:08:00.002-04:00

3-7 | best suited for m/f | 32 pgs | 1999

Ah, me, for days like this. Short poems, filled with whimsy and wonder, very, very readable: readaloudable. The book is a compilation with illustrations by Simon James, as well as a couple of poems by him. Here are a couple of my favourite ones:

On My Little Guitar

On my little guitar
With only one string
I play in the moonlight
Any old thing
-C. Louis Leipoldt

Sleeping Outdoors

Under the dark
is a star,
Under the star
is a tree,
Under the tree
is a blanket,
And under the blanket
is me.
-Marchette Chute

The Adventurers

We love adventures,
Where we live is
anybody's guess.

We love the open land
and the open land
is our address.
-Simon James

Ah, me. -kapilaslove

the fortune-tellers

2008-05-29T16:37:00.003-04:00

by Lloyd Alexander | 1992

It's unusual to find books that portray characters that are from a non-white part of the world. From the more "coloured" parts of the world. I often find that books with South Asians in them are more interested in conveying some piece of cultural knowledge (e.g. My Mother's Sari by Sandhya Rao) than they are about just having South Asian characters for the sake of having South Asian characters who go about their lives in much the same way as others (read: white characters) do.

That's why this book is awesome. It's a magical story that could take place anywhere, and which the illustrator has chosen to take place in Cameroon (illustrator Trina Schart Hyman's son-in-law, it appears, is from Cameroun). Now it does have its own "Africa" issues: the book is set in a small town nestled comfortably in a serene, natural landscape; as with much that is published about "Africa," there are no skyscrapers, concrete, or motorcycles, no garbage trucks, computers, or televisions -- or even electricity; there are only open-air markets, bullock carts, colourful Camerounian printed cloths, as well as monkeys, cattle, and various other domestic and wild fauna milling about.

This enrages me, but I still love the story. TSH's illustrations always seem to capture human emotion and expression so well, and are so detailed you feel like you're looking into three dimensions.

Here's the story: a carpenter doesn't want to live his entire life hammering and pounding. So he decides to visit a fortune-teller, who tells him exactly what he wants to hear. E.g. "You will be rich, provided you earn lots of money..." The carpenter leaves the charlatan, very happy, but races back wanting to ask more questions - and unwittingly finds himself taking the place of the fortune-teller, who has mysteriously vanished. But he does well for himself, and doesn't seem to harm anyone with his brand of fortune-telling.

It's a funny story, and it certainly has plenty by way of colourful characters. Just next time I hope someone thinks to include the electric light... -kapilaslove

meet wild boars

2008-05-28T11:00:00.002-04:00

by Meg Rosoff | 2005

Meet Boris, Morris, Horace & Doris. They are wild boars. You won't like their rude, bad-tempered and unhygienic ways, but don't worry: they don't like you either, so there. There isn't really a plot to this story, it's more... this is them, this is how they are, har har har, goodbye. I just like the picture of Doris with green wafts of who-knows-what emanating from every part of her body. Kids who like to laugh and make fun of etiquette (and who doesn't?) will love this one. You can almost smell the stink. -kapilaslove

ruby's wish

2008-05-27T10:25:00.005-04:00

by Shirin Yim Bridges | 2002

Ruby, a young girl living in turn of the century China, loves the color red as much as she wants to be well...read (sorry). But she knows that while she may learn, together with her several brothers, sisters and cousins, how to read and write from the teacher who visits her large household, her fate will most likely be to grow up and marry. But Ruby's grandfather knows what is in her heart, and won't let her be unhappy. And how does the author know all this? Ruby was Shirin Yim Bridges's grandma -- and Ruby still wears a little bit of red. The illustrations draw you in; there is so much detail and texture in the paintings. Not too wordy - just right. -kapilaslove

babbitt: tuck everlasting

2008-05-27T10:09:00.008-04:00

11+ | best suited for f | gender of protagonist f | 139 pgs | 1975

Winnie isn't allowed to do much anything, go much anywhere. She leads a clean, quiet life, and is being groomed by the womenfolk in her household to be a formidable matriarch - like they are. All this changes when she unwittingly asks 17-year old Jesse if she can drink from the little spring by the big tree in the middle of her family's wood. Jesse says no, Winnie persists, and instead of getting her way, gets kidnapped instead. Which is all right, considering that she had made plans that very day to run away. Can she of all people be convinced that there is such a thing as drinking from a fountain of immortality? That there is such a thing as the Tree of Life? And so begins the sweet story of friendship and sorry immortality. -kapilaslove

mind your manners, b. b. wolf

2008-05-22T12:02:00.005-04:00

by Judy Sierra | 2007

I'll be brief: the moment I read the little poem that ties this loose story about a wolf who's nervous about etiquette when he visits a library tea party, I was sold. Here it is, and enough said:

Sip your tea and never slurp, say "excuse me" if you burp
Smile and have a lot of fun, but don't go biting anyone!

The End.

are you a butterfly?

2008-05-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

by Judy Allen & Tudor Humphries | 2000

My mother recommended that I read this book. She said that you'd have a much better understanding of what it could be like to be a butterfly. That it helps you empathise. She was right (like most times!). It's a very simple book, easy enough to read out to a group of children -- not too wordy -- and it doesn't dumb down the information for a young audience. It begins: "Are you a butterfly? If you are, your parents look like this." The book sees us through the metamorphosis of a butterfly. -kapilaslove

bruchac: skeleton man

2008-05-13T13:14:00.005-04:00

10+ | best suited for m/f | f protagonist | 114 pgs | 2001

Molly wakes up on a Sunday morning and finds that her parents are gone. Well, she knew they went out, but they were supposed to have come back, and they never did. She spends a terrifying two days by herself (skipping school on Monday), but finally she is found out by adults in school, and is placed in the charge of social services...that is, until a mysterious man who calls himself her uncle takes charge of her. So she goes to stay with him. He locks her in her room every night, and she thinks, is drugging her food as well. Molly is the only one who knows that something is really, really wrong, despite trying to convince people at school otherwise. The question is, what is she going to do about it? All along the way, her dreams are telling her something - she's dreaming she's in that Mohawk story about the lazy uncle who turns into a living skeleton because, being too lazy to hunt, he roasts himself up, limb by limb... and turns into a zombie. Yuck!

This is a quick read, fast paced, thrilling. The denoument and wrap-up of the story come a bit too quickly, but for 114 pages, and for a reluctant reader, this is a great find. I love the way the old folktale is integrated so seamlessly into this modern-day story. And I can't wait to read the sequel (The Return of Skeleton Man). -kapilaslove