Elementary School

Review: Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring the Bell by Cynthia Rylant

| Tasha

ring the bell

Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring the Bell by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Arthur Howard

When autumn arrives with apples, falling leaves and cool wind, Mr. Putter finds that he is missing school.  He wishes that he could return if only for one day.  Then he comes up with a solution:  visit a classroom along with Mrs. Teaberry and have Tabby and Zeke do tricks!  The only problem is that Tabby and Zeke really don’t do tricks.  But Mr. Putter is sure that they can be taught in time.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t all work out as Mr. Putter thinks it will.  It’s a complete disaster: but also completely funny. 

I have been a fan of Mr. Putter and Tabby for years.  They are at that reading level that is so hard, where the children are reaching towards chapter books but not quite there yet.  Rylant has taken a very unlikely character in Mr. Putter and turned him into a man that children will happily relate to.  Tabby on the other hand is easily beloved by young readers.

Howard’s illustrations are equally appealing, filled with plenty of color, lots of action, and more than a touch of silliness.  Readers from a broad range of ages will enjoy this new edition to the popular series. 

A great pick for when children are back at school, this book reads aloud well but works best when young readers tackle it themselves.  Look for the whole series and enjoy them all!  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Big Wig by Kathleen Krull

| Tasha

big wig

Big Wig: A Little History of Hair by Kathleen Krull, illlustrated by Peter Malone

I am a huge fan of Krull’s nonfiction books for children.  Just as her earlier books, this one has a wry sense of humor and contains fascinating facts.  Here the subject is the history of hairdos.  Krull starts with prehistory in Africa and then travels forward until 2007 where the most expensive haircut in history is purchased for $16,300.  In between, readers will learn about different trends in color, styles, lengths and curls.  The book takes an already interesting topic and through details and facts makes it even more compelling. 

Krull’s writing is skillful as always, bundling intriguing facts together into small stories that capture a moment in time.  Her tone of wonder and interest makes for an inviting read, encouraging readers to be excited about the information as well.  Make sure you head all the way to the end and read about the history of hair extensions too.

Malone’s illustrations are fine lined and work well to both depict historical figures and to place them in unique and hair-raising situations.   He changes his style of illustration to match the time period and culture at times, such as the Japanese samurai warrior page.  His colors are just as fine and carefully selected as his lines are.

No snarls in this book.  In fact, it goes to great lengths to avoid tangles.  One might say, this is a top-knot book.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Arthur A. Levine Books.

Review: Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker

| Tasha

clementine and the family meeting

Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee

This is the fifth book in the wonderful Clementine series.  In this book, Clementine is very worried because the Family Meeting sign is hung up at home.  She just knows that she has done something wrong again.  So she goes out of her way to demonstrate how kind she is to her little brother, how neat she can be, and how she eats healthy foods.  Clementine is surprised to find out that none of those things are on the agenda, instead their family will have a new addition.  And it’s not the gorilla that Clementine has been asking for.  It’s a new baby!  Clementine knows how she feels about that.  She is not happy at all.  How in the world will their family ever be able to change from the perfection of four people into the odd number of five?

Pennypacker writes Clementine with such a surety and steadiness that readers who have enjoyed the previous books will immediately feel at home between the covers.  Clementine’s family may be changing in numbers, but readers who enjoy the deft parenting, the clever comments, and Clementine herself will be thrilled to know that those things have not changed at all.  In this book, Clementine’s relationship with her younger brother is shown as one of the growth points.  She continues to call him by vegetable names, but their relationship changes and matures too.

Frazee continues to depict a warm and wonderful family that embraces the quirkiness of one another.  From the springing curls on Clementine’s head to the ferocious scowl she gets on her face, Clementine is a vivacious and wonderful character.  My favorite image from the book is where Clementine’s mother and brother are asleep together on the couch with all of his trucks parked around them.  Perfection.

Another stellar addition to the Clementine series.  This is one series that you will want to read in its entirety, because everyone needs a Clementine in their lives.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Review: Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Velchin

| Tasha

breaking stalins nose

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Velchin

Released September 27, 2011.

Sasha Zaichek has always wanted to be a Young Pioneer and demonstrate his dedication to Communism and Stalin himself.  At age ten, he has known the laws of the Pioneers for 4 years.  So when his father is suddenly arrested, Sasha has to decide what to do.  He knows that there has been some mistake, that his father has done nothing wrong and that an error was made.  Thrown out of his home, he tries to find a place to spend the night with his aunt, but his uncle will not let him stay.  The next day at school, he pretends all is normal.  But as his day progresses, more and more of the truths behind Stalin Russia are revealed to him and his own truths are tested.

Velchin, who was born and educated in Russia, writes with a simple voice here that belies the darkness hidden just below the surface.  He has created a very naïve protagonist in Sasha, a boy who truly believes in Communism and Stalin.  Told in two days, the story shows how quickly naiveté can crack, crumble and fall away.  Velchin captures the fear that people lived in under the Stalin regime, yet he also shows the resiliency of the human spirit at the same time.

Velchin manages to create a book about a violent regime where the cruelty and fear is foremost, but the violence that would not be appropriate for young readers happens off the page.  This is a book that allows young readers to understand a situation in an intimate way without flinching away from the darkness that is so much a part of it.

This is a powerful book about freedom, Russia, and one young boy’s path to knowledge.  Appropriate for ages 10-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt & Company.

Review: Celebritrees by Margi Preus

| Tasha

celebritrees

Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World by Margi Preus, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

This book carries readers through the stories of fourteen “celebritrees” which have made a name for themselves.  Many of the tress are very old, some are special in different ways, and all are fascinating.  Here you will visit Methuselah, the oldest known single living organism on earth, and General Sherman, the biggest living inhabitant of earth, and Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world.  There are trees famous for events around them, trees that have objects stuck in them, and even a tree that owns itself.  This is an inviting book of trees that is a pleasure to spend time in.

Preus paints pictures of moments in history to help tell the amazing stories of these trees.  From the events they witnessed to the events they were at the heart of, the trees are much more than simply largest, oldest, and tallest.  Here they have stories that bring them fully to life. 

Gibbon’s art has a simplicity that is almost that of folk art.  There is a richness to the color palette and a flatness to the perspective.  The trees are central to the art, as they should be, and the book celebrates them in browns and greens.

It is great fun to wander through this a veritable forest of famous trees.  Enjoy the journey, I certainly did!  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston

| Tasha

butterfly is patient

A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

This third book in their series together continues the beautiful detail and natural information of A Seed Is Sleepy and An Egg Is Quiet.  Here the subject is butterflies and the book begins with the egg and caterpillars, moving quickly into metamorphosis with the clear knowledge of where exactly children will be intrigued.  The book speaks to butterflies’ roles in pollination as well as their camouflage, drinking, and poisonous capabilities.  Readers will be intrigued with the scaly close-up of a butterfly wing and with the long-travels of the migrating monarch.  This book is full of great details that will have everyone understanding that butterflies are many things as well as lovely to look at.

Aston and Long create books that have readers lingering.  When I share them with my son, we take our time on the pages, talking about our favorite names of the butterflies, our favorite caterpillars, the most lovely butterflies.  He has used the fact about butterfly scales on their wings at least twice in conversations I have overheard since we read this.  When we found a dead monarch in our driveway, he was elated to be able to touch the wing and talked about how it felt “as soft as air” for a long time afterwards.

These are gateway to science books, offering just the right tone and perfectly selected facts.  Add the illustrations that are large, interesting and filled with details.  You now have the ideal package to get children interested in the nature right in their own backyards.

If you haven’t read any of these books, run to your library and get them!  This is one gorgeous and inviting look at butterflies.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Review: The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy

| Tasha

cheshire cheese cat

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright, illustrated by Barry Moser

Skilley is an alley cat who is down on his luck, he has a broken tail, tattered ears, and has grown used to dodging brooms and wheels.  So when he hears that Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a local inn, needs a mouser, he concocts a plan to become that cat.  But Skilley has a horrible, shameful secret that he carries with him: he doesn’t eat mice.  Instead he prefers a good nibble of cheese.  Discovering this, a mouse named Pip strikes up a deal.  The mice of The Cheese will provide Skilley with the cheese he needs in exchange for him pretending to nab them and eat them.  The plan is perfection for a short time, until an evil cat named Pinch enters the inn and more secrets start coming out.  Add some historical British figures and you have an engaging romp of a novel for middle readers.

The authors have created a historical fiction novel that is also an animal novel.  It has figures like Charles Dickens and Thackeray, but mostly focuses on the animals themselves.  It is a novel that explores friendship and accepting yourself even if there are things that you might be ashamed of.  These messages are woven skillfully throughout the story and never become overbearing.

The pacing of the novel is also skillfully done.  There are quieter moments in the novel, but the foreshadowing makes even those uneasy ones.  Once the story really gets going, it reads quickly.  I couldn’t put it down in the last few chapters because I was so caught up in the story.

I’m not a huge animal story fan.  It seems that they tend to be tearful, overly emotive, and generally tragic.  That is not the case here.  Instead readers will cheer on the heroes, worry for their safety, and find themselves in the midst of a grand adventure in Elizabethan England.

Highly recommended, this book is one delicious read with a pleasing mix of sweet and savory.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Also reviewed by:

Review: A Stranger at Home by Christy Jordan-Fenton

| Tasha

stranger at home

A Stranger at Home: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes

This sequel to Fatty Legs takes place after Margaret has spent two years at a residential school.  As Margaret finally returns home to her family, she does not expect her mother not to recognize her or for her transition back into the family to be so difficult.  She can’t eat the food her family eats because her stomach rejects it.  She has forgotten how to speak their language and can only talk in English.  The mukluks hurt her feet and she returns to wearing the canvas shoes she was given at school.  Slowly, she begins learn once again the culture that she had lost.  But then she faces the heartrending choice of whether to return to school with her little sisters or allow them to go alone.  This true story speaks to the tragedy of residential schools on Native peoples, an impact they are still recovering from.

A large part of the success of these books comes in their writing.  It is simply written with large, welcoming print.  The writing is matter-of-fact, not laden with imagery.  It is that straight honest writing that truly captures the loss and the pain.  It doesn’t allow a reader anywhere to hide, nowhere to duck away from the truth. 

The book does deal with subjects that are large and complex.  Yet the writing makes them infinitely readable and relatable.  Seeing the situation through Margaret’s eyes allows it to be personal and very effective.

The illustrations are an intriguing combination of historical photographs and drawings.  Where the photos are often in black and white, the illustrations themselves are done in deep colors that show the beauty of the landscape as well as the conflict within Margaret’s family. 

A strong sequel to the original, this book shows very clearly the lasting damage created by residential schools.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Annick Press.

Review: Binky under Pressure by Ashley Spires

| Tasha

binky under pressure

Binky under Pressure by Ashley Spires

Released September 1, 2011.

Binky is still a space cat and still protecting his humans from the alien invaders.  His life has become rather dull.  Then one morning, Gracie arrives.  She’s a new kitty his humans have adopted.  Binky tries to explain that this is HIS space station and these are HIS humans.  But Gracie doesn’t seem interested in giving up her new home or even Binky’s favorite toys.  It’s not until Binky spots Gracie defeat an alien with incredible finesse that he starts to wonder if maybe she isn’t what she seems to be.  This new Binky book will thrill fans of the series as Binky faces his biggest challenge yet.

Spires has created a series of books that have a strong sense of humor and great storylines.  She writes with dexterity and ease that readers will enjoy.   The illustrations in this graphic novel use many interesting perspectives and incorporate plenty of humor visually as well.  The palette for the books is subdued, giving it a signature look.

Highly recommended for fans of the series.  If you haven’t enjoyed the Binky series yet, start at the beginning.   I envy those lucky enough to read all three of the books in quick succession.  They are such fun!  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.