Book Reviews

Thunder-Boomer!

| Tasha

Thunder-Boomer by Shutta Crum, illustrated by Carol Thompson.

This picture book starts with a hot summer day, filled with tractors plowing, no breeze, and a panting dog.  Then a small breeze comes, bringing with it dark threatening clouds.  The family runs to get the laundry off the line and the chickens in the hen house.  Then with a rumble of thunder, the rain comes. Dad is forced back into the storm to rescue one wayward chicken.  As the storm worsens, the wind blows, the lightning crackles and the thunder – Booms!  Everyone in the house, including the chicken.  After a bout of hail, the sun returns and Maizie, the chicken, heads off alone again.  When the little girl checks on her, she gets a surprise.

This picture book perfectly captures the power of a big thunderstorm, the wonder of the wind, the dance of hail, and then that amazing clearing afterwards.  One can almost hear the tentative birdsong and the dripping afterwards.  Filled with sound words, young readers will enjoy making noises but soon will be caught up in the drama of the storm.  Thompson’s illustrations are lively and dramatic, offering both smaller detailed pictures and larger images that capture the action.  The engaging inclusion of a lost pair of Dad’s underwear in the storm helps to keep the storm from being too powerful for young children. 

Appropriate for ages 4-6, this book is a great summer book to share.  It reads aloud well, just make sure to leave time for plenty of putt-putting tractors, booms of thunder, and clucking chickens in the audience.

Faith, Hope and Ivy June

| Tasha

Faith, Hope and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Even though they both live in Kentucy, Ivy June and Catherine live very different lives.  Through a school student exchange program, now they each have a chance to see how other people live.  Ivy June lives in a small cabin in the hills by Thunder Creek with her grandparents because her parents’ home was too crowded.  They don’t have an indoor bathroom but they do have an incredible view of the entire mountain just a short walk away.  Catherine lives with her family in Lexington.  She attends a private school, wears designer clothes, and has more than one indoor bathroom.  On the surface the two girls will have nothing in common but when tragedy strikes, all differences are forgotten.

Naylor has created a story of two girls who have a chance to be friends but may not be able to see past their differences to reach that point.  There are twists and turns in their relationship with one another that refreshingly have nothing to do with their economic status.  Naylor also does an admirable job of making the harrowing job of coal mining real to young readers.  It is a joy to read a book with a heroine like Ivy June who is complicated and refreshingly unashamed of her poor upbringing.  It is equally wonderful to find a wealthy girl like Catherine who faces challenges when staying with Ivy June but remains eager to see what her life is really like.  Naylor never strays near stereotypes, instead focusing on the similarities of the two girls even when they can’t see it themselves. 

A complex tale of friendship and connection, this book will have readers questioning what stereotypes they believe in.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

The Hermit Crab

| Tasha

The Hermit Crab by Carter Goodrich

The hermit crab was very shy and enjoyed being just out of sight rather than part of a group.  So he was an unlikely hero!  One morning a wooden trap descends from above and the fish, crabs and lobster debate about what it is.  The hermit crab was off by himself when it arrived and was unaware of the stir.  As he looked for food, the hermit crab found the most amazing shell!  It had pieces that moved and a torso and a head and a lightning bolt too.  Back with the others, the flounder was caught under the trap, but no one would help him because they could get caught too.  The hermit crab with his new “shell” in place arrived and remembered he was hungry.  He shoved the trap, trying to reach the good smells.  All the others could see though was the head and shoulders of the shell he was wearing.  They cheered.  Suddenly the trap ascended to the top again. Everyone came to congratulate their new hero.  What is a shy crab to do when the spotlight is focused on him?

So often we read books about characters who like to be the center of attention or are bossy, pushy, or vain.  This book offers the other side of the shell, giving readers a lead character who is shy, reserved and quiet.  Even better, the hermit crab doesn’t dream of being the center of attention.  He isn’t constrained by his shyness.  He is just himself. 

Goodrich has written a great character in the hermit crab and surrounded him with a cast of loud, friendly characters to play off of.  The writing here is lovely to read aloud with great phrasing and pacing.  Goodrich’s illustrations are even more successful as they reveal the open vastness of the sea, the varied colors of underwater, and interesting perspectives on scenes.  I particularly enjoy the deep colored emptiness surrounding hermit crab as he looks for food.  Not dangerous, not lonely, just alone.  Lovely.

Appropriate for ages 4-6, this book is a great addition to any story time about the sea.  It could also be nice as a compare/contrast with a louder character-based book.  Children should be able to see themselves in both types of character.

Dragonbreath

| Tasha

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon

Danny the dragon wants to please his father and breathe fire, but he just can’t seem to do it.  His father advises him to “think hot thoughts” but that doesn’t work.  Delayed by his father’s fire-breathing lesson, Danny has to write his report about the sea on the bus.  Though he comes up with a clever but imaginary sea creature, he ends up getting an F but has a chance to redo the assignment.  So he and his best friend Wendell, an iguana, head to the Sargasso Sea (which happens to be on the bus route) and meet up with Danny’s cousin Edward, a sea serpent, who takes them on a great tour of the sea complete with adventure, danger and laughs. 

This book is a great mix of comic and novel with panels inserted regularly that carry the story forward via cartoons.  The story is then picked up again in prose form interspersed with illustrations.  This makes it very child-friendly and welcoming for children who enjoy reading on their own but may not be ready for a picture-free book yet.  The style of the book also works well with the comics, filled with jokes, humor and lots of laughs.  There is a great sarcasm about the dialogue that makes this a book that children throughout elementary school will enjoy. 

Danny and Wendell are a great pair of friends.  Danny always upbeat and ready for anything (with the exception of breathing fire.)  Wendell rather morose and cautious, often the butt of the jokes, but also intelligent.  The characterization throughout is nice, never being lost at the expense of the humor or short length of the novel.

Appropriate for ages 7-10, this book makes a great read aloud too.  The voices are distinct and lots of fun to portray when reading aloud.  That said, this is also a good book to give to reluctant readers.   I’m looking forward to the next book in the series with its promise of ninja frogs! 

You Are the First Kid on Mars

| Tasha

You Are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O’Brien

What would it be like to be the first kid on Mars?  This picture book takes readers on a journey to the red planet, offering intriguing details along the way.  First, readers learn a bit about the planet itself, then there is docking with the space station and the four month trip to get to Mars.  Landing on the dusty planet surface, plus a look at the station on Mars are highlights of the book.  Also intriguing is the question of life on Mars, answered without sensationalism. 

The entire book exudes a feeling of reality, which makes the reading all that more immediate and satisfying.  Children will find new questions as they read, intrigued by false gravity aboard the ship, inflated green houses, and robots used to explore the planets.  O’Brien’s text is like that of a nonfiction book for children, offering captions and a mix of close-ups and smaller images.  His illustrations are clearly paintings, but such lifelike ones that readers may just forget they aren’t looking at a photograph.

Sure to rocket right off the shelves, this book will satisfy space-loving kids.  Appropriate for ages 5-8. 

Check out O’Brien’s website for some gorgeous images from the book.

Children interested in Mars exploration will enjoy the Mars Rover Documentary that can be found on YouTube:

Being a Pig Is Nice

| Tasha

Being a Pig Is Nice: a child’s-eye view of manners by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrations by Dan Krall

It’s tough to be a kid!  You have to be polite and clean.  But what if you were another kind of animal?  If you were a pig, you could be just as dirty as you want.  If you were a monkey there would be no such thing as table manners.  If you were an owl, you could make noise at night.   A little girl explores the freedom of being different kinds of animals instead of herself.  Of course with each animal comes some additional rules that make it not quite such a great thing to be.  This is a humorous and clever look at manners through the eyes of a child.

Lloyd-Jones has a great ear for what will make children giggle and groan with delight.  Her text is humorous and has a great romping rhythm without being really structured.  Krall’s art adds a lot to the book, offering plenty of parental glares of all shapes and sizes as well as lots of delightfully googly eyes too.

A funny look at manners yes, but make sure you don’t save this book for a discussion of manners!  It is worth sharing at any time.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

For a feel of the text and illustrations you can take a peek at the book trailer below.

A Book

| Tasha

A Book by Mordicai Gerstein

Deeee-lightful!  I found this book to be fresh, clever, surprising, and great fun.

When the book opens, the lights inside go on and the family in the book wake up.  One day, the little girl asks a question that she has been thinking about for some time.  “What is our story?”  Each of her family members (including the pets) think that the book is about them and head off the page.  The readers are eventually left with the little girl alone.  She heads to the next page where she discovers a big goose who thinks that the girl is from a fairy tale.  Nope.  Perhaps a mystery?  Alice in Wonderland?  A pirate tale?  Historical fiction?  Outer space?  Nope, none of them.  But the little girl has decided what to do about the situation.

I love the perspective of this book, peering down to the page from above as the characters live their lives.  Gerstein uses humor, wonderful bits of stories, and themed art work to make sure that readers know just where they are.  My favorite genre page is the historical novel.  I guffawed out loud.  Yes, guffawed.  Truly.

Children who know how books are supposed to work (which means almost everyone) will get the joke right away and love laughing along.  This book has the feel of The Monster At the End of this Book where that fourth wall is removed and the reader becomes a participant in the tale.  If I had a class of children to read to, this would be my clincher at the end.  Appropriate for ages 4-6 – older for reading aloud since they too will enjoy the humor.

Adios Oscar!

| Tasha

Adios Oscar!: a butterfly fable by Peter Elwell

Oscar is a caterpillar with big plans to turn into a butterfly and head to Mexico.  His caterpillar friends don’t believe that they will ever turn into butterflies, but Edna the bookworm takes him to a library for bugs where he learns about butterflies and caterpillars.  Oscar also learns that they speak Spanish in Mexico, so he sets out to learn the language.  Soon Oscar is ready to build his cocoon and transform.  He has dreams of monarch butterflies but when he emerges he finds that he is a moth instead!  He is expected to fly around lightbulbs and eat socks, not fly to Mexico.  What is a small gray moth supposed to do with his bright sunny Mexico dreams?

This book is a great blend of factual information on butterflies and caterpillars and a story about one’s dreams and reality.  Elwell has married the two divergent subjects into a nicely cohesive book.  His illustrations are a large part of the book’s success, offering a silly, fresh feel.  As a reader, I was pleasantly surprised by the twist of Oscar being a moth and the choice that he faces about expectations for moths and his own dreams. 

Appropriate for ages 3-6, this book is a great addition to a butterfly unit or story time and will offer a discussion opportunity about everyone’s dreams. 

Dessert First

| Tasha

Dessert First by Hallie Durand

Dessert is a third-grader who has a strange but wonderful new teacher who tells them to march to the beat of their own drum.   But when Dessert tries to do something as simple as having her family eat dessert first at supper, her parents do not appreciate the suggestion.  With a little finesse, Dessert does persuade them to give it a try with great results.  But this mischievous girl finds herself unable to say no when her mother leaves a box of her grandmother’s famous Double-Decker Chocolate Bars in the refrigerator and declares them off limits.  Meanwhile, there is a fundraiser for her teacher’s anniversary at the school that calls for the children to give something up.  Dessert has no idea what to give up, but her enemy is waiting with a special suggestion.  Spend a delightful time with Dessert and her very active family of foodies.

Durand has set the perfect tone here.  One that children will relate to effortlessly.  There is a great sense of humor, a nuanced approach to naughtiness, and examples of frenzied but quality parenting.  Dessert is a character who is interesting, conflicted and great fun.  The supporting characters are equally interesting from her parents to her teacher to the people who work at her parents’ restaurant.   Durand’s pacing is also well done, with the book speeding right along like a sweet sugar rush. 

A life-long fan of dessert, I am happy to say that it continues to hold true with this title.  I’m looking forward to Dessert’s next adventure, one just knows it will be sweet but never saccharine. Appropriate for ages 7-10.