Book Reviews

Robot Zot!

| Tasha

Robot Zot! by Jon Scieszka and David Shannon

Robot Zot is here to conquer the earth.  His battle cry rings out:  “Robot Zot – never fall.  Robot Zot – conquer all!”  He finds himself in a house and destroys a blender with his blaster.  He then wrestles a vacuum cleaner tube on his way to blast his enemy, which happens to be a TV.  But something surprising is waiting for Robot Zot!  His Queen!  He can only reach his ship if he makes it past the Commander General who is in his way and insists on licking his queen.

Robot Zot is a delightful romp of a book.  The combination of Scieszka’s text with Shannon’s art is irresistible.  Combine it with robots and outer space, and this is one book that you can expect to be read to tatters.  Scieszka’s text is humorous, fast-paced, and surprising.  The reveal of Robot Zot’s small size is done with such style in Shannon’s art as are other great humorous touches.  The two work together seamlessly, sharing punchlines and big laughs smoothly.

A must-read for children who love robots and space, this book could be purchased just for the explosion of the television set.   If read to a class, expect lots of blaster and explosive play.  Inventive, funny and a great joy, this book is appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Fuse #8.

African Acrostics

| Tasha

African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways by Avis Harley, photographs by Deborah Noyes

Acrostic poems are very popular, especially for children to write on their own.  But you haven’t seen anything like the acrostics in this book.  Harley creates acrostics that have words not only in their first letters but both the first and last letters.  She has one poem with five hidden words and others that use letters in patterns rather than the first letter.  But her real achievement is in making acrostics that are such good poetry that one forgets they are reading acrostics at all and just enjoys the flow and
rhythm of the poems. 

So many acrostics are stodgy and dull due to the constraints of the form.  Harley seemed to take that as a challenge to overcome.  She certainly did just that.  The book is very welcoming and children will relate immediately to the form of the poems.  Noyes photographs are clear and crisp, working well with the poems.  She took them primarily in Namibia and offers her perspective in a note at the end of the book.  The book also has information on acrostics, showing readers the more complicated forms that were used in the book.  There are also nature notes with more information on the animals in the book.

Pair children, animals and good poetry and you have a real winning book.  This book elevates a poetic form to new heights.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by The Miss Rumphius Effect and Becky’s Book Reviews.

The Day of the Pelican

| Tasha

 
The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson

Meli and her family are Albanians living in Kosovo.  They are in grave danger.  Her older brother, Mehmet is detained after leaving school one day.  He is finally returned home to his family.  So many people are being killed by Serbs that they are forced to flee their home, leaving their store and almost everything else behind.  The family is forced first into tents in the mountains where they are safe for a short time, sleeping in a single shared tent and living without running water or electricity.  Mehmet expresses interest in joining the Kosovo Liberation Party and the family leaves the mountains to keep him safe.  They then live with their uncle in the family’s small farm with many people living under one roof.  They live in constant fear of being discovered and turned out of their home with the tiny babies, elderly grandmother, and small children.  Eventually they are forced to become refugees and the family is forced to separate with Meli and her immediate family going to the United States.

Paterson tells a gripping story of heroism, courage and family ties in this brief novel.  As readers experience the fear and uncertainty through Meli’s eyes they will be moved by her story.  This book captures the emotions of war without allowing them to overtake the storyline.  Instead the book is about everyday people becoming heroes, small choices that mean living one more day, and endurance in the face of such hatred.  Paterson rights with an honesty and a tautness that makes the book easy to read but difficult to digest. 

This is an important book that is not just about the Albanians in Kosovo, but about all wars, all displaced people, and their courage and strength.  Paterson takes a single incident among many and makes it universal and true.  Highly recommended, this is a great book for classroom exploration and discussion.   Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from ARC received at the ALA Conference. 

The Lion and the Mouse

| Tasha

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

In this almost wordless book, readers revisit Aesop’s tale of the lion who spares the life of a mouse only in turn to be rescued by the mouse.  The only words on the page are animal noises that bring the African setting to life.  Readers follow the mouse right into the lion’s paws, sigh in relief at the release, and will be riveted as the capture of the lion plays out. 

Pinkney shows readers the world in focused images, revealing the view of the land the mouse has, the perspective of the lion, and foreshadowing the capture of the lion in the poacher’s net.  Each image is beautifully done, filled with details that bring the story to life and invite you to linger over them.  His pacing is done with such skill that he can create suspense with a single page turn.  From the moment of opening the cover, readers are in the hands of a master story teller who speaks through his art.

One of the best wordless picture books I have ever read, this book should be on every library’s shelf.  And with that cover, it is not going to sit there long!  Make sure you face this one out!

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.  Copy will be placed in library collection.

Also reviewed by Collecting Children’s Books, 100 Scope Notes, A Patchwork of Books, Pink Me, and Fuse #8.

Star of the Week

| Tasha

Star of the Week: a story of love, adoption, and brownies with sprinkles by Darlene Friedman, illustrated by Roger Roth

It is Cassidy-Li’s turn to be star of the week in her Kindergarten class.  She and her mom are making brownies with sprinkles and she also has to make a poster about herself.  As she looks through photographs, Cassidy-Li’s history as an adopted baby from China is told.  Her parents holding her in China, the first person to meet her at the airport, her cousins, her best friends, and her pets.  But she doesn’t have any pictures of her birth parents, so there is a hole in her poster.  She fixes it by drawing a picture of these people she has never met.  She is nervous about her poster and about answering questions about her adoption.  But by the end of the day, she realizes that she really is a star.

The beauty of this book is that Cassidy-Li is a wonderfully normal kid with the same sort of worries that others have about their star week.  And yet she has a unique background, multicultural friends, connections to China, and a more complicated story to tell.  Friedman does a great job in balancing the two, creating a character who is unique but universal.  The story is told in very brief prose, with the illustrations telling a lot of the tale too.  Roth’s pictures also create a bridge between Cassidy-Li’s special background and her being a regular American kid. 

Recommended for all families, this book is about connections, understanding, and being special.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading and A Patchwork of Books.

Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer

| Tasha

Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler, illustrated by Ard Hoyt

Winnie loves earthworms.  She knows all sorts of facts about them, pulls them around in her wagon, and even races them.  But when the county fair rolls around, she realizes that there is no category for her beloved worms to compete in.  She speaks with three neighbors.  One is growing corn for the fair and needs a good fertilizer.  Another is raising chickens and needs the right feed to make them the best egg layers.  And the third is raising puppies and needs something to get their coats shining.  She makes a deal with each of them that if she finds the answer to their needs they will share the prize with her.  Then she uses her worms to help with the corn, the corn to help with the eggs, and the eggs to help with the shiny coats.  It’s a clever solution from a bright, scientific girl.

I love any book that breaks with the stereotype of girls not liking worms, dirt or animals.  Winnie is a great protagonist for a picture book because she shatters that myth.  She holds and hugs worms with delight.  I also appreciate how intelligent she is and how she solves her own problems by using her brain. 

Brendler’s text is fun to read aloud.  She has taken a traditional tale format and modernized it.  Readers will find themselves in a traditional format and be surprised, which is delightful.  Hoyt’s illustrations are funny, sometimes frenzied, and wiggly with worms.  Any worm haters out there will love the reaction of Winnie’s cat as it grimaces about the worms she loves.

A strong heroine in a modern picture book, this wiggly mass of worms is loads of fun.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from library copy.

Happy Belly, Happy Smile

| Tasha

Happy Belly, Happy Smile by Rachel Isadora

Every Friday night, Louie has dinner at his Grandpa Sam’s restaurant in Chinatown.  He watches the fish in the tank, visits with the chefs in the kitchen, and listens to the waiters calling to each other.  Then it is time to eat.  Louie and his grandfather use chopsticks to eat their rice, dumplings, egg rolls, and chow mein.  The dinner finishes with a fortune cookie.

Children of all races and ages will see some of their favorite things about eating out at a Chinese restaurant.  They will also be thrilled to glimpse the hidden, steamy world of the kitchen.  Isadora tells a simple story in only a few words on each page.  The book is very visual with her illustrations in collage and oils.  Her interesting use of lines and texture are most impressive when dinner is served.  The paper becomes mouthwateringly edible.

Recommended for story times on food, this book will have everyone sharing their own favorite Chinese meal.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller.

Creature ABC

| Tasha

Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman

See the cracks in the toenails of an elephant.  Marvel at the scarlet of a rooster’s head.  Sink into the fur of a wolf.  From A to Z, Andew Zuckerman has created photographs that are so detailed, so close and so astounding that you will find yourself bumping your head on the page as you lean in to get a better look.  The photographs are so well done that you can see the texture of skin, count individual hairs, and realize the difference between different types of fur. 

This is an ABC book, but for me that is little more than an order to put the photographs in.  Readers much older than the ABC crowd will be fascinated by the images.  Children who love animals will adore this book.  Expect to see many smudges as fingers big and small try to feel the fur or pet the animals through the page. 

One of the problems for libraries will be where to shelve this.  Yes, it is an alphabet book, but it just might be better loved in the animal nonfiction section.  Either way, this is a great purchase for libraries and one that children will read again and again.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Pink Me, A Year of Reading, and Fuse #8.

Apples and Pumpkins

| Tasha

Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

Celebrate the fall season with this pair of book from National Geographic Kids.  Both book have simple text just right for beginning readers combined with vivid photographs.  In Apples, readers follow apples from blossom to harvest to different uses.  Mouths will be watering at the caramel apples, applesauce and cider.  In Pumpkin, readers get to see the pumpkins grow on the vine, turn orange, and be made into pies, jack-o-lanterns, and even boats.  Yes, boats.  The photographs feature children of different ethnicities, which is wonderful to see in nonfiction titles.

Esbaum’s photographs steal the show here with their crisp focus, bright colors and interesting compositions.  But her text is not to be ignored.  Her words add context and detailed information that make the photographs even more interesting.

Perfect to expand your fall seasonal shelves, these books come paperback bound so buy a bushel.

Reviewed from copies received from publisher.

Also reviewed by The Well-Read Child.