Author: Tasha

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.

Chavela and the Magic Bubble

| Tasha

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Chavela and the Magic Bubble by Monica Brown, illustrated by Magaly Morales

Chavela loves chewing gum and blowing bubbles.  One day she finds a kind of gum in the store that she has never seen before: Magic Chicle.  Her mother explains that gum is made from the sap of the sapodilla tree, called chicle.  Her mother’s father was a Chiclero who harvest the chicle and care for the trees.  When Chavela popped the gum in her mouth, she was able to blow a huge bubble that carried her out of her room and from California into Mexico to Playa del Carmen.  There she got to see the sapodilla trees and met a little girl with a special doll who greeted her warmly.  The two girls played until dark when Chavela had to chew chicle to return home again.  Once she got home, her mother told her that she too knew of the magic, and showed her daughter the special doll she had had when she was a girl.

Brown’s prose reads aloud nicely and the story has plenty of action and interest to carry it along.  Children will love seeing where gum came from and will also enjoy the magic of the gum.  The real star of the book is the illustrations, done in candy-bright colors that also have a great depth to them.  The author’s note at the back offers more in-depth information on chicle and gum. 

A treat of a book that is nicely seasoned with Spanish, this book will appeal to candy-lovers of any language or background.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller.

Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?

| Tasha

Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Daniel Jennewein

If your buffalo has a backpack, then he is certainly ready for Kindergarten!  This book takes a silly look at first-day Kindergarten jitters through the eyes of a student who is sure to be unique.  Buffalos may have trouble with certain rules, like No Grazing at recess, but your buffalo will also be great at hide-and-seek and serve as a comfy place to snuggle in to listen to stories.  He will also learn about sharing with others and not losing his temper and butting them with his head.  There’s a lot to learn in Kindergarten, especially if you are a buffalo!

This is a hilarious look at Kindergarten that is sure to have children giggling.  Ideal to share with Kindergarteners on that first day, or with your preschooler who is headed to Kindergarten.  Vernick has written the book with an eye towards laughter, but also shows the daily routines of Kindergarten and the various issues that can arise.  It is a very balanced look at Kindergarten done with a lot of humor.  Jennewein’s illustrations are comic and wonderful.  He captures the pure silliness of the huge buffalo at school using simple lines and nice strong colors.  The illustrations will work well with a group.

Highly recommended for all Kindergarteners and their parents, this is a great book to read in August to get your buffalo ready for school.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Big Night for Salamanders

| Tasha

Big Night for Salamanders by Sarah Marwil Lamstein, illustrated by Carol Benioff

On a rainy spring day, a young boy comes home hoping that this will be the Big Night.  After dinner, the boy gets his raincoat on and a flashlight covered in pink plastic to lessen the glare.  He and his parents head out to the wet road in the dark.  In the dark and the rain, the family help salamanders cross the road safely as they move from forest to pond to lay their eggs.  But some of the cars are going so fast that it is dangerous not only for the salamanders.  So the boy creates a sign that says “Go Slow, Salamander Crossing!”  It is indeed a Big Night.

The story of the boy is presented side-by-side with information on what the salamanders are doing.  Readers get insight into the animals, told in a much more poetic and flowing way than the human story.  It makes for a lovely contrast with one another where not just the font and the content tell the different stories but also the tone and writing style.

Benioff’s illustrations are equally at home with the humans and the salamanders.  It is a pleasure seeing a child of color in a story where there is no mention of it at all.  Her art is bold enough to work with groups, and this book as a whole is ideal for reading aloud in storytimes about spring or salamanders.  All children will reach the end of the book wishing that they too could shepherd salamanders across a road at night.

A lovely science story book, this book successfully marries science into a picture book story.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Crossing the Tracks

| Tasha

midwest train tracks

Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber

After Iris’ mother died, her father no longer has time for her, immersed in his growing shoe business.  When the business is about to expand to Kansas City, her father hires her out to a farm family without informing her first much less asking her opinion.  So Iris is sent to care for an elderly woman and her doctor son in rural Missouri.  She leaves behind her best friend Leroy and any illusions about her father caring about her.  The move to the country turns out to be the best thing that could have happened to Iris.  The family is warm and friendly to Iris, who slowly learns a lot about herself, her courage, and her connection to her mother.  But all is not perfect in the countryside, they live far too close to an angry man who drove off his wife and is now doing unspeakable things to his daughter.  Iris has to find a cunning way to help a girl who has only ever hated her.  In the end, Iris may be a hobo, but so are we all.

A virtuoso of a debut performance, this book is written with strength and conviction.  Stuber’s writing is beautifully constructed, each small detail meant to lead somewhere in the story or mean something more to the reader.  She uses several important themes that tie the entire novel together: homelessness and hobos being the most significant.  Yet she never allows these themes to drive the story, rather they are part of it, a twining of theme around the plot.  It is beautifully done.

Set in the 1920s, the book never gets bogged down with period details, rather the time period is portrayed through the story.  It is woven in and helps tell the story itself.  Doctors make housecalls, cars are fairly new machines, and there are no cell phones and only party lines. 

Iris is a marvelous protagonist with her hard exterior from years with her father neglecting her and yet her yearning for connection and family.  Iris grows as the story progresses and kindness is shown her.  Stuber has written her growth in a natural and organic way that really rings true.  There are no unbelievable leaps forward, but a slow movement with steps backwards.  The supporting cast is also very well rendered right down to Marie, the dog.  Mrs. Nesbitt, the fiesty woman whom Iris cares for, does just as much caring for Iris.  Mrs. Nesbitt is one of the reasons this book is so successful, she is hardly the stereotypical elderly woman, far from it. 

Highly recommended, this book is historical fiction with a touch of romance and danger.  It is an intoxicating mix that readers will find difficult to put down.  I happily await her next novel!  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Check out Barbara’s website here and the trailer for the book below:

Also reviewed by: