Month: July 2010

One Pup’s Up

| Tasha

One Pup’s Up by Marsha Wilson Chall, illustrated by Henry Cole

Count along to ten with adorable puppies in this picture book.  It all starts when one puppy wakes up, then more puppies join in on the fun.  They tumble, roll, drink, piddle, chase, and much more.  Another puppy joins in the fray with each new activity until dinner time.  Then they slowly head to sleep, one at a time, counting down until they are all asleep.  Of course, then it starts again the second one pup is up.

A very simple premise and simply told story, this book is filled with toddler appeal.  The ease of the story along with its galloping rhyme and rhythm make it irresistible.  Chall’s grace with so few words is evident on each page, allowing the images to tell the story.  Cole’s puppies are playful balls of fun, that young readers will be drawn to and relate to.  The illustrations are wonderfully large and bright with plenty of white space, making them ideal for use with a group.

Get those toddlers counting with these puppies and be ready for giggles when the piddle line appears.  A delightful, light-hearted counting book appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from McElderry Books.

Wendell’s Workshop

| Tasha

Wendell’s Workshop by Chris Riddell

Wendell was very busy inventing things, so he didn’t have time to clean up his workshop.  When it finally became too untidy to bear, Wendell invented a robot named Clunk to help him.  Clunk did the housework, but in such a way that it made an even larger mess.  So Wendell threw him down the rubbish chute.  Wendell created a second robot to help clean.  This robot looked a lot like him, so he called him Wendelbot.  Wendelbot was great at cleaning, but too great.  Finally Wendel himself was the only untidy thing left, until Wendelbot threw him down the chute.  Wendel found Clunk there and they devised a plan to stop Wendelbot in his quest to tidy the world.

Riddell has created a robot picture book that has a great story yet resists being too wordy or complex for young children.  The book reads aloud very well, filled with great sound effects, wonderful big booms, and plenty of clutter.  It is a story that all children will relate to happily whether they love robots or not.  Riddell also laces his story with plenty of humor, which is carried directly into the illustrations.  Wendel himself is very cute and fuzzy, a wonderful contrast to the hard surfaces of the robots.  The detail of the illustrations is delightful, from the rolling screws to the intriguing depths of the rubbish pile. 

This is a picture book with lots to love plus robots!  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

You can also check out a video of the book being read aloud on YouTube.  It’s a bit blurry, but still offers great glimpses of the illustrations:

Impact of Summer Reading

| Tasha

Librarians have depended on anecdotal evidence when speaking about the positive impact of summer reading programs.  Now Dominican University with a grant from IMLS has proven that summer reading has a very positive impact for children who participate.  Here are some of the facts from the study about students who participated in the public library summer reading program:

  • Scored higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year.
  • Had better reading skills at the end of third grade.
  • Scored higher on the standards test given during third grade.
  • Included more females, Caucasians, and lived at a higher socioeconomic level.
  • Had more books in their homes.

So after applauding and crowing about what we have always known, here’s what we can do to improve:

  • Engage families in public library programs.
  • Invest more money in summer reading programs – especially in communities where families are economically depressed.
  • Market and promote much better.
  • Provide more books and materials.
  • Work with schools to reach out specifically to students who are in need and under performing.
  • Reach out to more boys.
  • Help children in lower-income families build home libraries.

Check out the full report here.  I salute each and every children’s librarian out there who has such an important role in their community.  Well done!

Wonder Horse

| Tasha

 

Wonder Horse: the True Story of the World’s Smartest Horse by Emily Arnold McCully

“Doc” Bill Key was born a slave and always had a knack with animals.  When Emancipation came, he became a veterinarian and a businessman.  After purchasing an Arabian mare from a circus, Doc bred her hoping to have a fast racehorse.  But the foal was born with twisted legs and worse, the mare died after giving birth.  It was a bit before Doc realized how intelligent the foal, Jim, was.  Soon Jim had moved into the house to sleep and had learned to open the paddock lock and also find where Doc kept the apples.  Doc wondered what else Jim could learn to do.  Slowly, Jim learned the alphabet and colors.  Doc and Jim performed for audiences until their act was questioned as a fraud.  An independent panel came in and tested Jim without Doc in the room, proving that Jim indeed was able to read, spell, do arithmetic, and knew his colors.  The two continued to travel together and perform, demonstrating the intelligence of animals and that kindness is the key to learning.

This book is ideal for animal lovers who will root for Doc and Jim from the beginning.  The fact that it is a true story makes it a far more interesting read.  McCully manages to offer a vast amount of information and insight in a picture book format without losing the ease of phrase that is necessary for this age group.  Young readers will delight in how and what Jim learned as well as the relationship between trainer and animal.  The book does not turn away from the racism leveled at Doc.  McCully addresses it with frankness and subtlety, allowing the book to be read and understood at different levels.

McCully’s paintings capture the connection and relationship of Doc and Jim as well as the beauty of the horse.  The author’s note at the end is also of interest.  It offers a photograph of Doc and Jim where readers will be pleased to see how close a resemblance they have to the illustrations in the book.

A celebration of trainer and animal as well as kindness and perseverance, this book will delight young horse fans.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner

| Tasha

Fire by Kristin Cashore has won the 2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.  This award is given to a book for teens as “demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.”

The 2010 finalists are:

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander

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The Cow Loves Cookies

| Tasha

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Marcellus Hall

Told in a jaunty rhyme, this book shows life on a farm through a funny, quirky lens.  Farmer feeds each animal every day.  The horse eats hay.  The chickens eat chicken feed.  The geese eat corn.  The pig eats slop.  The dog loves doggie treats.  As each animal is introduced along with the food it eats, the chorus chimes in with “the cow loves cookies.”  Then with each new animal, the previous ones are added to the rhyme, forming a fun, cumulative tale.  In the end, the reader will be pleased to find out exactly how the cow got a taste for cookies. 

This book is made to read aloud with its great rhymes that never grow stale and the wonderful rhythm that is built into them.  Even better, there is that chorus line that children will love to help repeat.  Hall’s illustrations echo the light-hearted tone of the text with their free flowing style and friendliness.  They are also large enough to work well with a group of children.

Add this one to your storytime reads for barnyard books.  Perhaps even concluding the stories with some cookies, you know that the children love cookies!  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from McElderry Books.

Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards

| Tasha

The 2010 finalists for the awards given out by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre have been announced.  The winners will be revealed on November 9, 2010 in Toronto.

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

Dragon Seer by Janet McNaughton

Home Free by Sharon Jennings

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

 

A Thousand Years of Pirates by William Gilkerson

Watching Jimmy by Nancy Hartry

 

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

The Delicious Bug by Janet Perlman

Me and You by Geneviève Côté

Our Corner Grocery Store by Joanne Schwartz

Timmerman Was Here by Colleen Sydor

You’re Mean, Lily Jean by Frieda Wishinsky

 

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road by Priscilla Galloway

Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors by Charis Cotter

Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills by Scot Ritchie

A Thousand Years of Pirates by William Gilkerson

Whispers from the Ghettos by Kathy Kacer

 

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

Bitter, Sweet by Laura Best

Crusade by John Wilson

Haunted by Barbara Haworth-Attard

  

Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacock

Watching Jimmy by Nancy Hartry

 

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Scars

| Tasha

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

Kendra has started to remember her abuse as a child, but she is unable to see her abuser’s face in her memories.  She believes she is being followed by her abuser, so she lives in fear that even as she works to remember, he is stalking her.  To cope with the pressure of the memories, Kendra cuts her arm, releasing all of her stress, anguish and pain and making it something she can handle.  Kendra also does amazing art work that reveals the pain of her abuse and the emotional toll it is taking on her.  Her mother, a professional artist, has been critical of the raw emotion of Kendra’s work, so Kendra hides her work from her.  Her father has become emotionally distant after Kendra told her parents about the abuse, so Kendra turns to her therapist, her art teacher, and her new girlfriend for support.  As Kendra’s memories build, readers will be unable to put the book down until all is revealed.

Rainfield, herself a survivor of abuse and cutting, has captured the situation with such power and ferocity that it can be painful to read.  Readers will find themselves in a vise of tension and menace that mirrors Kendra’s.  Rainfield has written a powerhouse of a book that is astoundingly honest and burningly real.  The character of Kendra is written with empathy and skill.  She never reads as a victim but as a heroine, seeking the truth about what happened to her.  The use of her art in the book to connect her to other people, speak when she cannot say the words, and scream for her pain is hauntingly real.

Get this into the hands of readers who enjoy tense, realistic reads.  The cover is beautifully done, capturing the cutting and the tension in a single image.  A brilliant book written in nervy honesty.  Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Scumble

| Tasha

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Released August 24, 2010.

This companion book to Savvy features another member of their extended family who has a savvy of his own to try to deal with.  Ledger Kale just turned 13.  He had been dreaming of getting a savvy that would enable him to run faster than anyone, because his father was a runner.  But instead he gets a rather alarming savvy: he is able to demolish things with a thought.  Small items like watches stand no chance, nor does the motorcycle he busts into bits.  Unfortunately, a nosy would-be reporter Sarah Jane saw him destroy the cycle, so now Ledger has to worry about his entire family being exposed.   When Sarah Jane threatens him, people have to really watch out as his savvy grows bigger and bigger until he manages to flatten an entire barn.  Now Ledger is stuck at his uncle’s ranch because it would be too dangerous for him to travel by car and it’s much safer for him to practice control in open spaces.  In a story filled with great characters and plenty of action, this book extends the world of Savvy in a delightful way.

The cast of characters features those from the previous book as well as new characters for readers to enjoy.  It is an adroit melding of new and old together into a cohesive and interesting story.  Ledger, the main character, learns so much about himself in the novel.  His growth is believable and steady throughout the book, learning that his father’s dreams and his own may not be the same.   The character of Rocket was another of my favorites in the book, a young man who is unable to leave the ranch much at all because of his electrical savvy and lack of control.  He is the ideal character to pair with Ledger, a warning of what could happen, yet also a vibrant and fascinating character himself.

The setting on the ranch is richly drawn, with the marriage glade, the second barn just for insects, and Rocket’s small home where Ledger is sent to stay to minimize his damage.  The ranch almost becomes a character itself as it is so pivotal to the story and such a part of everything. 

It is nearly impossible to meet the expectations following such a successful first book as Savvy.  Law does it with grace, style and a lot of savvy.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Dial Books.

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