Month: August 2010

Funny Lunch

| Tasha

Funny Lunch by David Catrow

This second Max Spaniel book offers mayhem and fun with a pizza theme.  Max is not a dog, he is a chef!  He and his cat friend have a restaurant where they serve pizzas.  When one customer refuses the special and orders chili instead, he is given a scarf, hat and mittens.  When another orders a hot dog, a panting dog with a fan is served.  Trouble arrives by bus with an order of 100 pizzas with everything!  Max cannot make pizzas that fast and ends up with a mess instead.  Luckily great pizza is only a phone call away.  Even better, Max got to enjoy the pizza too.

Catrow successfully mixes very simple beginner reader words with pictured filled with funny details and merriment.  The jokes are classic and there are some that only those looking at the pictures will find.  Catrow’s watercolor illustrations ooze giggles and laughs as well as pizza sauce and cheese.  They add another dimension of fun to the book.  The relationship between Max and his cat friend is a good one that plays out primarily in the illustrations. 

A frolic of an easy reader, this book will be enjoyed by young pizza and dog lovers.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

The Sandwich Swap

| Tasha

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Raina of Jordan and Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Tricia Tusa

Lily and Salma are best friends.  They do a lot of things together very happily.  But one thing they did’t agree on was the sandwiches they had for lunch.  Lily brought peanut butter and jelly on white bread every day.  Salma brought hummus on pita bread every day.  Each girl thought that the other girl must be suffering eating that icky looking sandwich every day.  One day, Lily blurted out what she thought of Salma’s sandwich and then, feeling very angry, Salma told Lily that her sandwich looked gross and smelled bad.  The two girls didn’t play together that day.  Their argument started a larger one in their school and then a food fight!  The next day, they sat together and each offered the other a taste of their sandwich which once again led to the whole school getting involved.

The writing in the book has a delightful rhythm to it, using nicely subtle repetition to underline how similar the girls are even in their differences.  The glimpses of their home life as each girl thinks about how their sandwich is made by loving hands adds a lot to the story as well.  Tusa’s illustrations are done in her signature style with plenty of emotion.  They also have a lovely interplay of white space and color washes that make them eye catching and work well when placed with little text or a page filled with text. 

Highly recommended, this book is ideal to start a discussion of differences in a classroom, especially cultural ones.  I love that the book uses food to bring children together, because it can be such an ambassador for different cultures and even different families in the same culture.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Check out the book trailer below:

Also reviewed by:

Bruiser

| Tasha

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

Bruiser was voted “Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty” by the kids at school.  So when Tennyson’s twin sister Bronte starts dating Bruiser, he is very concerned.  Bruiser is a real loner, involved in almost nothing at school, just heading home directly after classes end.  When Tennyson follows him home, he discovers that Bruiser lives with his abusive uncle and his half-brother.  Tennyson never backs away from confrontations with others, so he is surprised to find himself shaking Bruiser’s hand in friendship and even helping to dispose of a dead bull carcass.  As the relationship between Bruiser and Bronte deepens, Tennyson becomes closer to Bruiser too.  That’s when strange things begin to happen that show them just why Bruiser is a loner and why his uncle is desperate to keep him home.  Written from the perspectives of Tennyson, Bronte, Bruiser, and Bruiser’s brother, this book transports the reader to a powerful place where love and friendship carry a unique pain.

I have been a fan of Shusterman ever since reading The Eyes of Kid Midas back in the 1990s.  I love that he writes of magic in the real world, yet never shies away from what the magic brings to life.  No one wakes up from a dream in these books or loses their powers.  Instead they have to learn to live with what they have.  Shusterman’s novels are also allegories for real life without magic.  Here readers will find a physical manifestation of the pain and power of love and friendship.  Bruiser and his flesh are tangible examples of the torment of life.

Shusterman’s writing here is well done.  His characters are multi-dimensional and interesting.  The twins are more than simply two sides of a coin, showing great depth of character.  When Bruiser takes his first turn as narrator, Shusterman’s writing soars.  Bruiser’s sections are in verse, unlike the others.  His pain and torment is right there, shouting to the reader about the frustration and loneliness of his life.  It is gorgeous and extraordinary.

Highly recommended, this book takes readers on a journey that will be difficult to forget.  If you enjoy this book, make sure to check out others by Shusterman.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

One Drowsy Dragon

| Tasha

One Drowsy Dragon by Ethan Long

One sleepy dragon wants to get some sleep, but his little dragons are making too much noise.  In this rhyming counting book, readers will find one dragon after another making all sorts of noises.  There is marching, dancing, screaming, jamming in a band, and much more.  Throughout, the adult dragon becomes more and more frazzled and exhausted until the end of the book when the ten little dragons are tired too and ready for bed.  But then the adult dragon is making so much noise snoring that they can’t get to sleep!

Filled with great sounds to make when reading aloud, this book is ideal for a pajama party.  It has a jaunty rhyme with plenty of shouting from the frustrated dragon adding to the frenzy.  The illustrations add even more appeal to the book with their bright colors and humor.  Just the look on the adult dragon’s face will having readers giggling as well as how oblivious the young dragons are to the situation. 

Bright and funny, this is a great counting book combined with dragon appeal and a bedtime theme.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

All Star!

| Tasha

All Star!: Honus Wagner and the Most Famous Baseball Card Ever by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jim Burke

This is the story behind the most valuable baseball card in the world.  Honus Wagner was born to a poor coal mining family and began working in the mines himself at age 12.  He had Sundays off and would play baseball after church.  He was strong from working in the mines, very fast despite his bowed legs, and could snag balls with his long arms.  At 16, Horus joined the semipros.  His brother was already playing professional ball.  As his career progressed, he became one of the most unforgettable players in history.  But even that is not what made his baseball card so valuable.  You will just have to read the book to find that out!

Yolen uses beautiful, evocative language in her verses.  At the same time, her verse reads in a frank, honest way.  The language is not flowery, but lends depth to the book as a whole.  Burke’s illustrations are done in oil on board.  He has captured the time period with grace and style.  His paintings often show unique perspectives that make the book very interesting visually.

The book touches on many issues, including child labor in the coal mines and the power and importance of sports.  Yolen is especially fine when speaking about the power of sports.  This is a fine book about a legend in baseball but it offers more appeal and interest than that thanks to its fine execution.

A book for baseball fans, certainly, but others will enjoy the story of a legend too.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Philomel.

Also reviewed by The Booknosher.

Wait for It… Wait for It…

| Tasha

Summit has officially announced that Breaking Dawn Part 2 will be released a full year after Part 1. 

Part 1 is due out November 2011, and now Part 2 is scheduled for a November 2012 release.  You can read the rationale for the scheduling at the MTV News site.

Where Is Tippy Toes?

| Tasha

Where Is Tippy Toes? by Betsy Lewin

In the morning, everyone knows where Tippy Toes the cat is.  Even the mouse is aware Tippy Toes is right outside his mouse hole.  But once night falls, Tippy Toes sneaks around, blending in.  In fact, only one person knows where Tippy Toes disappears to late at night, but readers are invited to find out!  A very child-friendly format with cut-outs on the heavy pages that will have children engaged immediately, this book is sure to be enjoyed by fans of Spot.

Lewin keeps the words to a minimum here, using just enough rhyme to be enjoyable and just enough verse to keep the story moving.  It is an ideal amount of text for toddlers who will love the rhythm of the verse, they rhymes, and the game of turning the pages to find Tippy Toes.  Lewin’s illustrations are done in strong lines and bright colors that will work well with a group of children.  The pages are heavy enough and sturdy enough to withstand checkouts at a public library too.

Add this one to your collection of books to pull out when the toddlers get squirmy.  It is sure to get them settled again and ready to listen.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Atheneum.

The Village Garage

| Tasha

 

The Village Garage by G. Brian Karas

Follow the activities of the workers from the village garage as the seasons change.  In spring, the workers are cleaning up sticks, creating mulch, and washing the trucks.  In summer, they are fixing the roads, picking up garbage, and mowing the grass.  They even deal with the effects of a summer thunderstorm that takes out a bridge.  In autumn, they suck up the leaves.  In winter, work is slower until the snow starts and then they wish for spring to come again.  The book mixes the interesting tools and machines the workers use into the story.  Readers will learn what the machines are called and what they do.  This is a rare book that reads beautifully but also has lots of machinery for children to learn about.  Too often they read like lists of tools rather than stories.

Karas perfectly captures small town life along with garage work.  The use of the seasons to frame the story works particularly well with the seasonal nature of their work.  Karas’ art is friendly and also has that same small town feel and a genuine enjoyment for the machines themselves.  Karas incorporates women and people of color throughout his illustrations.  The book offers great sound effects to read aloud, which children will happily help with.  Chains rattle, the leaf truck sucks noisily.  He also weaves a nice sense of humor throughout the book with small touches. 

Ideal for machine story times, this book will also be a great addition to seasonal stories.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from book received from Henry Holt.

Also reviewed by 100 Scope Notes.

I Am Seven!

| Tasha

Today is the seventh anniversary of when this blog started!  Unbelievable that I’ve been doing this since my 9 year old was a toddler and since my 13 year old was in first grade.  The years fly by not only when looking at my children but when blogging.  I think it’s because I love both so very much.

Thank you for continuing to read, for commenting about the recommendations I make, for taking this journey of reading and books with me. 

You all are the reason I do this.  Once I thought that blogging was a lonely pursuit, but no, it is a community pursuit and I am so happy to be part of the vibrant blogging community that is the kidlitosphere. The only problem is I can’t have you all over for cake.