Sunday, April 4, 2010

Pirate's Treasure


written by Carol Moore
Illustrated by Aura Moser
Children's Storybooks Online, 2004
Genre: Children's fiction picture book; adventure
Reading Level: Ages 4-6
6 pages

One night Jimmy has a dream that a pirate tells him treasure is buried in his backyard. The next day he digs a lot but all he finds is a bone that belongs to his dog, he gets very upset until his mother gives him $5.oo because she's always wanted to dig a hole to put a plant in.

I would recommend this to any young child learning to read.

I can think of no controversy that would come from this book.

I really like this website, it gives opportunities for authors and illustrators to collaborate on projects for children online. This book was simple, but creative and the pictures were very attractive. Children like being on the computer, they like learning to read. It's a great combination.

My rating: 4 out of 5

Ancient Medicine


From Sorcery to Surgery
written by Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods
Runestone Press, 2000
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Reading Level: Ages 12+
96 pages

This interesting book goes through the different medical practices of the Stone Age, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. I don't want to explain every topic, but I'll give a few of my favorites. One of the medical procedures from the Stone Age was called trepanation. This is when physicians would drill holes in people's skulls to reduce pressure or stop internal bleeding, while this could lead to infection and eventually death, based on some skulls from that time is is obvious that some people survived and actually starting healing. Something that I found interesting about the Ancient Egyptians was that they only performed minor surgeries because they believed that when a person died, for them to get into the afterlife their body had to be fully intact. In Ancient India when a physician operated on someone's intestines after war, or being gored by an animal, they would get weaver ants and hold ants along the incisions to clamp down and then cut off their bodies, these supplied stitches that didn't let any bacteria out. The Last thing i found really interesting was that in Ancient Rome a physician named Galen developed the test of taking the patient's pulse.

I would recommend this to any child interested in history or medicine

I think that some parents would be a little wary of their children reading this because some of it seems a bit graphic.

I thought this book was well put together but somewhat boring. I found the facts interesting but had too much information about it that I didn't really care about.

My rating 2 out of 5

Tangerine


written by Edward Bloor
Harcourt Inc., 2005
Genre: Children's contemporary fiction
Reading Level: Ages 10 and up
309 pages

Tangerine starts out with Paul Fisher and his family moving to Tangerine Florida because of his father's new job. Erik quickly learns that this area of the Florida has muck fires that are constantly burning because of the reoccurring lightening in the everyday storms hitting it after him and his mom think their house is on fire. The reader quickly learns that Paul's parents, mostly his father, are obsessed with paul's brother, Erik's football dream. The book introduces Antoine Thomas, Erik's new best friend, and Mike Costello, another player on Erik's team. Paul and his mother head to the middle school to enroll Paul and he is quickly frustrated with his mom for telling the principal that he is legally blind. Paul doesn't feel blind, at least with his glasses. He doesn't remember the incident but his parents tell him that he stared into an eclipse too long and ruined his eyes. On his first day of school, he makes a friend, Joey Costello, Mike's little brother and Paul's fellow soccer player as planned. The reader soon recognizes Paul's mother a little over obsessive about the state of the neighborhood and does everything she can to "improve" situations including requesting that the lightening rods on top of one house that has been struck multiple times be removed because they were unattractive. Paul attends soccer tryouts and is sure that he will be made goalie, his regular position. He goes home to find that Mike Costello is dead, struck by lightening during football practice. Paul is disgusted at Erik and his friends as they laugh at the situation. Pauls mother starts fighting for football practice to be moved to a different time of day that isn't bound to rain everyday. Paul is even more disappointed the next day at school as he is informed that he cannot play soccer because of his disability. He is furious with his mom, but there is nothing to be done. After the weekend and after constant rain as Paul is in class in one of the school outdoor trailers a sinkhole starts to collapse under the trailers, Paul and Joey get out and start helping out other children. After a meeting at the school it is decided that half the students will do a half day and the other students will go to Tangerine middle, the other middle school. The heavens open for Paul as he realizes that if he goes to the other middle school he has a chance of playing goalie. Paul goes to his new school, really excited, he learns that there are girls on this team too, and after some showing off he is added as an extra goalie. Paul plays his first soccer game as a Tangerine Middle war eagle, and as one of the head players, Victor, gets in a fight Paul goes in and helps the team win. Joey transfers to Tangerine, but doesn't get an in with the soccer players. The next soccer game comes and Paul gets put in again, he shoots a goal, and wins the game, he is now officially accepted. Joey however turns out to be a horrible player. In his science class Paul is assigned a project and decides to hook up with the fellow soccer players and Theresea and Tino say that their brother invented a new kind of fruit and they can help him out and study how he did it as the project. Joey however joined a different group, clearly feeling alienated. Paul and his friends go to Tino's house and meet his older brother Luis and are introduced to the new fruit and the grove that Luis works hard to keep alive. Paul really likes it at Luis' home and family. Paul and his team keep winning his soccer games and Paul goes back to help Luis with the grove. At their last game against paul's old school they win be a sliver, but Paul finally feels part of the group and is completely enjoying his friends and the victory of being one of the best in the state. The science group comes over to Pauls house to work on the presentation and Tino gets in a fight with Erik, Erik wins. Luis, standing up for his younger brother confronts Erik, and ends up getting hit in the head with a blackjack, Paul sees it all but keeps his mouth shut. The first frost hits and many of the soccer players are missing because they are helping Luis protect the fruit groves. Paul decides to help out and gets really sick, but the group becomes closer. Paul comes to school a couple days later to hear that Luis is dead, because of a brain hemorrhage, Paul knows it is Eriks fault but says nothing. Paul after several flashbacks realizes that his eyes are bad because Erik sprayed paint in his eyes, he confronts his parents and they break down. paul now officially hates his brother. By the end of the book Erik and his friends are arrested for murder, and several robberies around town. Paul is relieved that his parents finally see how messed up Erik is. Paul is ready for the next soccer season and even the new school year.

I would recommend this book to any child; especially sport players.

I think that some parents would be concerned with the actions of Erik Fisher and how it would effect their children to read about them.

I've loved this book since i was probably ten years old. i don't know what it is about it; I love the writing, the descriptions, the plot that is so unique or that it seems so real. It is definitely one of my favorite books of all time.

My rating: 5 out of 5

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Japan

Cover Image

A Kaleidoscope Kids Book
written by Debbi Michiko Florence
illustrated by James Caputo
Ideals Publications, 2009
Genre: Children's nonfiction; activity book
Reading Level: Ages 12 and up
96 pages

This book about Japan is a really cool book, but a little hard to explain. On each page there is a little information about Japan and then a really cool activity to go along with it, but so I don't have to take up all of this blog with an explanation of each of these pages, I'll just list out a few of my favorites. On one of the pages is some information about Mount Fuji that is located a little over 60 miles SW of Tokyo, and is 12,385 feet. On the next section of the page it shows kids how to make their own volcano, and then how to make it erupt! Now what kid wouldn't love that? On another page, entitled "Castles of Wood" it talks about all the Japanese castles that have been built during times of peace and what they symbolize and on the next section of the page it talks about how to design your own fortress. Probably my last favorite one was the page on the art of paper folding, or origami which is the art of folding papers into shapes. Then obviously the next part of the page teaches how to make a paper goldfish. It's so cool.

I would recommend this to any child who likes mixing learning and activities.

I can think of no controversy that would come from this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Reading about Japan and even trying out some of the activities, I learned things I had never learned and was extremely entertained. I can just imagine a young kid having a lot of fun and learning a lot.

My rating: 5 out of 5

Mary McLeod Bethune: Educator


Black Americans of Achievement
written by Malu Halasa
Chelsea House Publications, 1993
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Reading Level: ages 9-12
111 pages

This biography of the incredible Mary McLeod Bethune tells of her courageous life. She was born in South Caroline on July 10. She attended a Presbyterian Mission school in her early years and moved on into a Seminary in North Carolina. She becomes a teacher after finishing school, and starts the fight for Negro girls. She founds the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, FL. She becomes president of the Florida Federation of Colored women and founds several other federations. All the while fighting for the black woman's right to fight and schooling. She even worked for Presidents Hoover, and Truman. And eventually became the vice president of the NAACP. She fought her entire life for more rights. She inspired thousands and gave rights to even more. This book accurately and thoroughly describes her life up until her death in 1955.

I would recommend this book to any child who enjoys history.

I think that some parents might not want their children to read this book because they want to keep their kids from knowing the hardships of life.

I really liked this book. It was interesting and full of tons of information, I didn't even know how to summarize it all without rewriting the book. It really portrays Mary Bethune as a leader of her people and an inspiration to everyone who knows her story.

My rating 4 out of 5

Alice: The Agony of Alice


written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Simon Schuster Children's Publishing, 2007
Genre: Children's contemporary fiction
Reading Level: ages 12 and up
144 pages

The Agony of Alice is the story of a motherless girl who just moved to a new town and is getting ready to start the sixth grade. The book starts with an explanation of Alice and how she is scared of growing backwards and realizing that she is immature when she is older. She is easily embarrassed and desperately wants a mother, and decides that she will adopt one. Another important character in the book is a card with the Saint Agnes on it who Alice looks to when she needs help or reassurance she is kind of Alice's good luck charm. Alice lives with her father and older brother, Lester. Lester and her don't get along. The first day of school, Alice shows up as they're sorting out the classes, she really wants to be with Miss Cole, who she decides is perfect for her adoptive mother. However, she ends up in "homely" Mrs. Plotkins' class. On the first day Alice is very rude to Mrs. Plotkin but soon regrets it, and tells herself she needs to be nice to her but still look for ways to get into Miss Cole's class. Luckily the safety squad is run by Miss Cole and Mrs. Plotkin asks Alice if she wants to be a substitute, Alice says yes and eats lunch in Miss Cole's classroom every Wednesday. Alice has several unfortunate events at school, from hearing her friends talk about how great Miss Cole, to wearing too much perfume and everyone making fun of her, and several other embarrassing moments. Mrs. Plotkin starts having her students keep journals and Alice really runs with the idea. Halloween soon comes and she agrees to dress up like a horse with one of her friends, and during the parade, accidentally kicks Miss Cole, she is of course mortified and runs home and hides out in her room. Mrs. Plotkin and Alice become closer as she helps her after class, participates in her play, and cries to her about how life is unfair. Over Valentine's day Alice gets a valentine that says i like you and she soon discovers that it's from a boy in her class, named Patrick. After they've "gone steady" for awhile Alice feels inadequate because Patrick speaks two languages and has done lots of travelling. Alice's kind of father sends her on her first train ride to Chicago to spend some time with her Aunt Sally and family. She starts her period on her trip and really feels loved by Aunt Sally and her daughter Carol. She returns with tons of stories to tell Patrick. Near the end of the school year as the safety squad throws Miss Cole and Alice a birthday party, Alice finally gets a hug from Miss Cole and it's not what she expected. She realizes she's grown closer to Mrs. Plotkin than she would have thought and gives her a piece of cake. As she says goodbye to Mrs. Plotkin at the end of they year, Mrs. Plotkin gives her a special ring, and Alice has never been happier; until of course she gets her first kiss from Patrick.

I would recommend this book to a young girl about to be a teenager.

As far as controversy coming from this book I think that parents might think some of the material would make their children take on some of the habits of Alice.

I really enjoyed this book, even as a 20 year old. I know that if i had read it when i was 11 or 12 i would have absolutely loved it and all the other Alice books. THey are ones that young girls can really relate to, and find entertaining.

My rating: 4 out of 5

A Year Down Yonder


written by Richard Peck
Penguin Group, 2002
Genre: Children's contemporary fiction
Reading Level: ages 12 and up
144 pages

A Year Down Yonder is the story of Mary Alice a young girl from Chicago sent to stay with her quirky grandmother because of the recession of 1937. Mary Alice shows up at the train station with her radio and her cat greeted by her grandmother who proceeds to take her to school, which turns out to be very small and all the grades are somewhat mixed together. Mary Alice soon makes an enemy in Mildred Burdock who tells her that she owe's her a dollar mostly because she is "a rich Chicago girl". Mildred follows Mary Alice home on her horse and up to the porch where she tells her grandmother that Mildred says she owes her a dollar. Grandmother invites her in for some buttermilk after making Mildred take off her boots. As Mildred is eating Grandmother ties Mildred's boots to her horse and sends it running. Mildred realizing what happened runs after it. Grandmother explains that Mildred's family is known for stealing horses. Halloween quickly rolls around and to prevent the neighborhood boys from knocking over her privy grandmother sets a trap and ends up breaking one of the boy's noses and covering his head in her homemade glue. She also goes around stealing what she needs for pies and makes pies for the Halloween party to the embarrassment of Mary Alice. Then comes Armistice day and the turkey shoot at the Abernathy's. Though it is cold Mary Alice and grandmother head over to the excitement where Alice observes and grandmother volunteers to serve the burgoo raising money to help Mrs. Abernathy and her injured son to make it through the year, making more money by cheating some of the richer folk out of the originally charged dime for the soup. Then during Christmastime Mary Alice sees grandma show her true colors; she buys her a new pair of shoes, makes her a pretty headpiece and shows up for the pageant. She also pays for Mary Alice's brother to come visit. The comes Valentines day time and the time for the DAR party which is to be held at grandmother's house where she says is the only place where she'll make the tarts for the DAR party. We are also introduced to Mary Alice as a writer, and she is very witty. At school on Valentines day Mary Alice helps her only somewhat friend, Ina-rae fake the fact that she got valentines from several boys in school, including the new student, Royce making Colleen very jealous. And not surprisingly the DAR meeting is ruined. In the next part of the book Grandmother takes on a new resident, Arnold Green who agrees to pay rent to stay in her extra bedroom. He's a painter and causes quite a stir on the same day that Royce comes over to do homework with Mary ALice and a very naked Maxine with a big snake, and only a big snake covering her, runs down the stairs and out the door. Needless to say Grandmother cautions Arnold that he is no longer to paint naked pictures in her house. Arnold soon forgets Maxine however as Grandmother introduces him to Mary Alice's teacher and they are soon engaged. A tornado hits the small hick town while Mary Alice is at school and she runs home to check on grandma. The end of the school year comes and there is a big party where Mary Alice and Royce come together as a little more than friends. Mary Alice tells her grandmother she doesn't want to go back to Chicago but Grandmother insists that she goes home but they can stay in touch. The book ends several years later with Mary Alice marrying Royce in her grandmother's house.

I would recommend this book to any child.

The controversy i see coming from this book is that parents might worry their kids will start acting like Mary Alice's grandmother.

I really liked this book. It was well written and fast paced, and extremely entertaining and funny. The grandmother's character is right down hilarious and what any kid would want for a grandmother. This is a great book for parents and children alike.

My rating 5 out of 5

Friday, April 2, 2010

Loser

Written by Jerry Spinelli
Scholastic, 2002
Genre: Children's contemporary fiction
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
224 pages

Loser is the story of a rambunctious young boy and his love of school. The book starts out with Donald Zinkoff's first day of school. He is so excited he runs there all by himself in his giraffe hat. He really likes his teacher, and he really likes the kids at school, even the ones that are mean to him. Though he is hyper and has horrible penmanship his teacher seems to like him too. The book introduces Zinkoff's family, his loving mother, and father who likes used cars because they are cheap. His father is a mailman and Zinkoff wants to be one too. One day at school Zinkoff's teacher makes up a word and Zinkoff cannot stop laughing he gets in trouble, but he is still happy, optimistic, and giggly. By the end of chapter seven Zinkoff has finished first grade.In the next section of his book it talks about Zinkoff's time in the summer before his second grade year. He gets a new baby sister, and a new friend, Andrew. Who doesn't say much and is upset he had to move to this new home, but Zinkhoff does what he can to be nice to Andrew. The author also tells about Zinkoff's soccer games and how he doesn't know how to react when they lose and is disliked by his teammates until he accidentally scores the winning goal. Zinkoff's second grade teacher doesn't like him very much because of his horrible penmanship, rowdiness, and his constant throwing up. In the next section of the book it is take you child to work day but since Zinkoff's father is a mailman he's not allowed to take passengers. So he helps Zinkoff write 100 letters and they pretend to be mailmen and deliver them all around the neighborhood. He meets a nice old lady, and his dad tells him about the "waiting man" who stands in his window and stares out of it all day waiting for his brother to come back from the war after he has been declared MIA. Soon after Zinkoff has surgery to fix his throwing up and is stuck home from school. He decides to give himself a test and not be scared of the cellar. He goes a little farther down into it each day darker and darker until he can stay for x amount of minutes, he gets scared and can't stay very long and believes he has failed, but at least he wasn't as bored. In the fourth grade Zinkoff is "discovered" at school. His teacher likes him but the students start to notice all his faults and decide that he is weird. It all goes down hill at field day where there is a bunch of competitive games and Zinkoff keeps his team from winning, he is now known to his classmates to be a loser, and it hurts his feelings. Then it jumps to fifth grade, Zinkoff doesn't believe in a lot of childish things, such as Santa Claus, he can basically ride his bike where he pleases and he meets new friends in doing so. And one day during a test he decides that a boy in his class is his best friend, and does everything he can to be his best friend. But the other kid isn't very willing and they soon grow apart. Then all too soon field day comes again and Zinkoff is despised by his classmates, he is so upset he skips that day of school and spends it with his old lady friend. Then the author jumps forward to Zinkoff's graduation day. He graduates from fifth grade and starts sixth grade in a new school, no one recognizes his existence and he is never picked to play basketball with the other boys. One day when it was snowing a lot Zinkoff hears that his friend, a little girl down the street is missing, he goes out to help look and ends up being lost and found again by a snow plow man at 1 in the morning. His parents were very worried and tell him that the girl was found soon after she went missing. Zinkoff is grounded but the next day at school some new boys learn his name and seeing that he is a boy that won't give up tells him to play basketball with them, seeing no other option.

I would recommend this book to any kids, especially those who feel like outcasts in their school.

I think that the only controversy that could come from this book would be parents worrying about their children acting like Zinkhoff did.

I liked this book ok, i thought it was well written and entertaining but it went a little slow. Though i'm sure any child could relate to it, and enjoy it a lot from that standpoint.

My rating 3 out of 5

Coraline


written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrations by McKean
Harper Collins, 2002
Genre: Children's fiction; fantasy; horror
Reading Level: ages 9 to 12
192 pages

Coraline is the story of a young girl who is bored with her life and feels ignored by her parents. The book starts out with an introduction to Coraline's family and their new house. It talks about the quirky neighbors; Misses Forcible and Spink, the retired performers, and the old man upstairs that used to work with the circus. Then the reader learns that Coraline is an explorer and on the warm sunny days she would explore outside, but one day it was raining and Coraline decided to explore the house. She found a small door that led to a brick wall. That same night Coraline woke to a scurrying sound that she followed to the little door, but again it was just a wall of brick. The next day Coraline goes to visit the women next door and they read her tea leaves and tell her that she is in danger and give her a small rock with a hole in it and tell her it will protect her. Later that day Coraline's mother leaves for the store and Coraline gets very bored and decides to open the little door, this time however there are no bricks just a small passageway. As Coraline enters the next room she realizes it is her own apartment and she is introduced to her "other" mother and "other father who look similar to her real mother and father except they have black buttons for eyes, so does every other living thing in the new world. Her other life seems perfect, she gets the food she likes and the toy she likes, and gets to explore as much as she wants. She meets a cat, sees a bunch of rats and visits her quirky neighbors in their creepy forms. The other mother and father want her to stay and tell her all that she has to do is stay is trade her eyes for black buttons. Coraline says no and decides to go back to her home. But Coraline's parents never came back and she see's them in a mirror where they say, "help us". So Coraline goes back though the little door and tells the other mother that she wants her parents back. The other mother tries to convince Coraline that they left her on purpose and tells her she's going back to bed. Coraline after talking to the helpful cat decides to challenge the other mother because she likes games. But before Coraline decides how to challenge the other mother she makes her mad and she locks Coraline behind the mirror where Coraline meets the ghosts of three children who say that the other mother took their souls and she will do the same to Coraline. Once Coraline is let out of the mirror, she challenges the other mother telling her that if Coraline can find the three children's souls and her parents than the other mother has to let her go, and if she doesn't she will stay with the other mother forever. The other mother agrees and Coraline begins searching. She finds the first child's soul in her other bedroom by looking through the rock with a whole in it and the soul is a glowing marble. The next one she finds in the Misses Forcible and Spink's theater and has to pry it from their hands. Because the other mother is upset with Coraline for finding two she tricks her into looking into a room that hid the other father, deformed and tortured by the other mother, he tries to attack her but Coraline escapes. She finds the last soul in the old man's apartment who turns out to be made of rats. Coraline notices that this other world is starting to lose form, and shape and seems even more unreal. Coraline knows, because of help from the cat that the other mother won't stick to her word so she takes the cat, finds that her parents are in a snow globe and tricks the other mother into letting her in the little door with her parents in the snow globe and the cat. When she gets on the other side, everything seems normal but in a dream the three children tell her that it's not over. The other mother's hand is in her world and is trying to get the key to the little door so she can get in. Coraline comes up with a plan and the other mother's hand and the key end up in the bottom of a very deep well, which Coraline blocks with big planks. She now goes completely back to normal, happy and ever appreciative of her life.

I would recommend this book to children who enjoy scary books and adventures.

I think that this book could be controversial because it is written for younger children but is pretty creepy and has some terrifying moments.

I actually really liked this book, i didn't think i would because of the movie, but i thought the book added a lot to the story. I liked the writing style and the unique and fantastical ideas. I also liked the pictures, though some of them creeped me out.

My rating: 4 out of 5

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lincoln: A Photobiography


by Russell Freedman

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1989

Genre: Children's nonfiction; biography

Reading Level: Ages 8-12

160 pages

This biography about President Lincoln is a really eye opening read about our historical president. The book starts with his childhood in Kentucky with harsh winters, farming, and very little schooling. It talks about how Lincoln was well liked and known to be comical. At the age of 23 he decided to run for Illinois state legislature. His first political run, and he lost. In the next section of the book it talks about Lincoln teaching himself how to practice law and the many other elections he ran for, some he got, most he didn't. It also talks about his marriage to Mary Todd on November 4, 1842. It goes on to talk about his children, all boys who weren't disciplined because is Lincoln's eyes they were perfect. The next section of the book talks about the slavery conflict, North versus South, and Lincoln's stance to not halt it but do what he can to keep it from spreading. Lincoln is elected president and enacts the emancipation proclamation. The next section talks about the Civil War after the South breaks off. It talks about how Lincoln participated and reacted to all the different battles. The book ends with the story about Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865 in the Ford's theater. Then there are a bunch of interesting quotes from Lincoln that really show his character.

I would recommend this book to a child interested in history.

I feel that the only controversy that could come from this book would be parents complaining about the graphic pictures of the war scenes.

I really liked this book, i don't usually like history books, but this one really enticed me. It was really nice to know that Lincoln was human, and definitely didn't succeed at everything he attempted to do.

My rating 4 out of 5

Love That Dog


written by Sharon Creech
Harper Collins, 2003
Genre: Children's fiction; poetry
Reading Level: Ages 8-12
128 pages

Love That Dog is about a young boy named Jack who in his classroom was assigned to write poetry and responses to poems read in class. Jack starts out not liking poetry saying that it's for girls, but after getting inspiration from other poets starts writing poems. Most of the poems he writes about are about his yellow dog named Sky that was killed by a blue car covered in mud. The different pages are Jack's poems, his interactions with his teacher, and also a letter to his favorite poet, Walter Dean Myers, who he writes and asks to come to his class. Myers does come and Jack is overjoyed. The book ends with all the poems that Jack describes that they learned about in class.

I would recommend this book to any child; especially those interested in poetry.

I can think of no controversy that could come from this book.

I really liked this book, it was very unique and entertaining. There are very few books that are about poetry and honestly tell a story. I also really liked that it felt like I really was reading a child's writing.

My rating 4 out of 5


The Greatest War Stories Never Told




100 tales from military history to astonish, bewilder, & stupefy
written by Rick Beyer
Harper Collins, 2005
Genre: Children's/YA nonfiction
Reading Level: ages 12-15
224 pages

The Greatest War Stories Never Told is a very interesting book for all the history buffs out there. It is a collection of war stories that you may or may not have heard of. From the story behind The Star Spangled Banner to secret stories of the Spartans, and many more. My personal favorite was in 1859 when the U.S. and Great Britain were at odds about the San Juan Island Chain and who it belonged to. At one point a man named Lyman Cutlar, and American living on San Juan Island shot a pig that was squatting in his yard. It turned out to be a British pig, oops. The British authorities threatened to arrest Lyman if he didn't pay for the loss. He refused and the Americans on the island requested help from the U.S. army. The governor of British Columbia did his part and sent a warship to the island. Both sides were very upset, and were on the brink of war when finally General Scott, the commander of the US army came and calmed things down bringing an end to a military argument in which there was only 1 casualty, the pig.

I would recommend this book to any older child that enjoys history and especially war stories. I suggest an older age because it is about war though my brother loved it when he was nine.

I'm sure there are several controversies that could come from reading this book. I'm sure some people will question the truth of these stories. However the author wrote that he didn't write any stories down that couldn't be authenticated.

I really liked this book, it was entertaining, interesting, and because of the way it was portrayed, very enticing. I've never really liked history books but this made history, a least the history of wars, fun.

My rating 4 out of 5

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Littles Go Exploring


written by John Peterson
Interior illustrations by Roberta Carter Clark
Scholastic, 1978
Genre: Children's fiction; adventure
Reading level: ages 6-9
96 pages

The Littles Go Exploring is a children's adventure book that follows the Little family in their search for their long lost grandfather. It starts out with the two children, Tom and Lucy, who watch as their mail accidentally falls into the chimney. The Little family are tiny people who live in the walls of the Bigg's house. They go to retrieve it and in doing so find a secret room. They find some old papers that were their grandfathers. They take it up to their family's "apartment" where Mr. and Mrs. Little along with Tom and Lucy's two uncles read through the pages and decide that their disappeared grandfather built a raft and sailed down the brook. After some research they decide to tell Granny and all go to look for him. Their first attempt to leave on Henry Bigg's toy boat is a failure as big kids start playing with the boat and they have to escape. So they try again with a boat found by their friend who is a pilot and they start on their journey, Tom and one of the uncles decide to try and build the raft that grandpa had left a diagram of, to try and replicate his journey exactly. But they are soon separated from the group and reunite with them as they all run into another tiny family that lives on the edge of the brook in caves. The Brook family tells them that they met their grandfather but he continued down the stream. The Littles stay for lunch and head out to search farther down. The brook quickly becomes a river, and it starts raining. They crash into a small island and their boat is ruined. However, they find their grandpa! plus a few other tiny people that had also been stranded. Luckily just before they crashed they radioed to their pilot friend and he comes to save them all.

I would recommend this book to any child who enjoys adventure stories.

I can think of no controversies that could come from reading this book.

I thought this book was very entertaining. It was fast and funny. It was a sweet children's book that i'm sure any child with an imagination will enjoy

My rating 4 out of 5

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Why Didn't I Think of That? From Alarm Clocks to Zippers


Written by Webb Garrison
Pictures by Ray Abel
Prentice Hall, 1977
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Reading Level: ages 8-12
112 pages

Why Didn't I think of That, is a fun nonfiction children's book about a bunch of different everyday inventions. It talks about everything from alarm clocks to band aids, to elevators and erasers. Just to share a few of my favorites: the bikini swimsuit was invented in 1946 by Jacques Heim, he originally called it "the worlds smallest bathing suit" but it was soon changed to a bikini when at the same time the American government exploded a set of atomic bombs on a small island called Bikini. Another favorite of mine is the page on Jello. It was invented in 1900 by P.B. Wait. Many people had tried to make gelatin before but it wasn't very tasty, so Wait tried adding fruit syrup at first it wasn't very popular and Wait sold it to other cooking experts who put it into fancy dinners and now it's a favorite American food. My last favorite was the teddy bear. It was invented sometime between 1901-1909 during Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt's presidency. Roosevelt enjoyed hunting and one day while he was hunting a small cub came out of the woods, and Roosevelt couldn't shoot it. A cartoonist drew a cartoon of the president sparing the life of the nicknamed "Teddy bear". Toymakers ran with the idea and made teddy bears.

I would recommend this to any child; particularly children interested in inventing and engineering etc.

I can think of no controversy that could come with reading this book.

I really liked this book. I thought it was funny and portrayed things that aren't necessarily interesting in a very entertaining way. I think any child will love it. And it's funny because i learned a lot, and wasn't expecting to.

My rating 4 out of 5

The Wizard of Oz


written by L. Frank Baum
Illustrated by Charles Santore
Sterling Publishing, 2009
Genre: Children's picture book; fantasy
Reading Level: ages 6-9
96 pages

The Wizard of Oz is the well known children's story of a young country girl caught in a cyclone and carried to a fantastical land. Dorothy lives with her aunt, uncle, and dog Toto on a farm. One day Dorothy is in the farmhouse and a cyclone pics it up and drops her in the land of the munchkins in the land of Oz. Unfortunately the house falls on the ruler of the Munchkins aka the wicked witch of the west. Dorothy, along with the munchkins meets the good witch of the North who gives her the silver (not ruby red) slippers that the wicked witch of the west had been wearing as a thank you for saving the munchkins from their rule. The good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way to get back to her home is to go to the Emerald City and ask the Wizard of Oz for help. Dorothy follows the yellow brick road and meets a scarecrow, and Tin Woodman, and a cowardly lion who all go with her and her dog, Toto to the the Emerald City. The Scarecrow watns to ask the Wizard for a brain the Tin woodman wants a heart and the Cowardly lion wants courage. As they travel they overcome several traps including narrow roads a river, and deadly poppies. When they arrive at the Emerald city they are told to wear green spectacles. When each one of them meet with the Wizard they see some different form. To Dorothy the wizard is a giant head for example. The Wizard agrees to help them but first they must kill the Wicked witch of the west who rules the Winkie Country. They decide to all go together and as they travel the wicked witch sends all kinds of things to attack them. Finally sending the winged monkeys to capture them all. When the wicked witch finally gets ahold of them and takes one of Dorothy's slippers Dorothy gets angry and throws water on the witch who in turn begins to melt. The Winkies are so happy and they help to recharge the three friends. The Winkies especially love the Tin Woodman and he agrees to become their ruler after he helps Dorothy get home. Dorothy uses a golden cap to have the winged monkeys carry them all back to Emerald City where they meet up with the Wizard again. He tries to avoid his promises and Toto accidentally tips over the screen in the room showing that the Wizard was actually an old man who had come to Oz on a hot air balloon. The Wizard gives them all what he promised. He says that he will take Dorothy home on his balloon, leaving the Scarecrow in charge, but the ropes break and he floats away without Dorothy. A soldier advises that Dorothy go to Glinda, the Good witch of the South who lives in Quadling County. Again the companions overcome quite a few creatures and obstacles like fighting tress and hammer heads. The Lion even kills a great spider who is hurting the forest animals, and they make him their ruler. When they finally read Glinda's home they are welcomed and Glinda tells Dorothy that she has had the power to go home all along. That the silver shoes can take her anywhere. Dorothy says goodbye to all her friends and returns home and the shoes are lost during the flight and never seen again.

I would recommend this book to any and all children.

I can think of no real controversy from this book.

I love this book, it's been one of my favorites since i was young, and the movie one of my favorite movies! I especially liked this version because of the beautifully and unique pictures that fit the story perfectly.

My rating: 5 out of 5

William Kidd and the Pirates of the Indian Ocean


written and illustrated by John Malam
Black Rabbit Books, 2008
Genre: Children's nonfiction; picture book
Reading Level: Ages 7-9
32 pages

This pirate picture book is a book about different famous pirates and the life of a pirate. The first page talks about William Kidd, man who went out to hunt pirates and became a pirate himself and in 1698 after attacking the Quedah Merchant ship seized the greatest prize of his career, $13000 and the ship. On page two it talks about the Pirates of the Indian Ocean from 1690-1720. Pirates sailed this particular ocean because it offered them many chances of getting rich by attacking merchant ships who crossed it to get to Europe. It goes on to say that pirates who sailed the Indian Ocean made $2000 after an attack, while pirates in other places only got about $40. On the next page this topic continues explaining that the most attacked ship was the East Indiaman ships on their way home because they were heavy and slow moving full of goods worth as much as $100,000 (today's money=1million) The next page talks about the story of William Kidd and his conversion to a pirate and his end in 1701 when he was arrested and sentenced to death. On the next page we learn about William Kidd's ship that had sails for sailing but if their was no wind there was also oars to keep it going. It weighed 285 tons, was 125 feet and had 34 cannons. However it was leaky and William Kidd removed all the cargo and lit it on fire and let it sink. On the next page the author talks about what happens when someone becomes a pirate. They have to sign their name to a list of rules they have to follow and if they don't they're killed. The next few pages talk about some famous specific pirates; Thomas Cew from Rhode Island, Henry Every a very successful pirate, The Angrias a family of pirates, and Edward England a kind-hearted pirate. Finally, the last page talked about how most pirates came to terrible ends. Either murdered for breaking the law, murdered by other pirates or lost at sea.

I would recommend this to any young child; especially those interested in pirates.

The only controversy i can think of is parents getting upset by all the horrible deaths that are talked about, particularly the drownings.

I thought this book was creative, and well put together to intrigue a child. WHile it was enjoyable and unique i wasn't hugely impressed, and really didn't see too many differences between this pirate book and any others.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Monday, March 29, 2010

Cinderhazel


Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween
written and illustrated by Deborah Nourse Lattimore
Scholastic Inc., 2002
Genre: Children's picture book; fantasy
Reading Level: Ages 5-8
32 pages

Cinderhazel is the story of a witch that is badly treated by her step sisters and step mother, she is very dirty, and loves it. She loves all kinds of filthiness, and as she "cleans" the house by moving around and piling up the dirt one day, her step sisters and step mother got all dressed up and announced they were going to the Halloween ball where the prince would finally come out of hiding. Cinderhazel was very upset that she couldn't go because her broom was broken. But as she yelled and stamped around her fairy witch godmother shows up and turns her broom into a vacuum and tells her she better go, that she'll like the prince, because he is the prince of filth. So Cinderhazel goes to the ball and drops down the chimney and comes out covered in soot. Everyone gets mad at her and she casts a spell that covers them all in dirt which only makes them angrier. Cinderhazel feeling bad uses the vacuum to suck up the dirt, but it also sucks up their shoes, and clothes, and other party items like punch and decorations. Then the clock strikes midnight and the godmother's magic wears off, everyone's things are scattered everywhere and as everyone runs to get their stuff, the biggest dirtball that Cinderhazel has ever seen comes up and introduces himself as the prince to Cinderhazel after proving they can get really dirty together, they agree they like each other and they live "filthily ever after."

I would recommend this book to any child; especially those that like retelling of classic fairy tales and Halloween.

I can think of only a minor controversy that could come from this book being parent's worrying that their children will decide that it's ok to be very dirty. :)

I thought this book was kind of gross, but entertaining. I really liked the unique style of the pictures and what they add to the story.

My rating 4 out of 5

The Foggy Foggy Forest


written and illustrated by Nick Sharratt
Candlewick Press, 2008
Genre: Children's picture book;fiction
Reading Level: ages 3-8
24 pages

The Foggy Foggy Forest is a picture book about some fantastic characters "lurking" in the forest. Each page first asks "What can this be in a foggy, foggy forest?" and thanks to the semi transparent paper, the reader can see the outline of the character and what they're doing, so they can make a guess. Then turn the page and there's a line about the character and what it is doing. For example the first page says, ""A little elf all by himself." The creatures range from Cinderella to an ogre, to "Three brown bears in picnic chairs." The story ends with the last page which has travelling fair, and it says "hooray!"

I would recommend this for any young child.

I can think of no controversy that would come from this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The semi transparent paper really added a cool and unique element. The words were rhyming and creative and I can really see how a child would have reading them, and listen to them being read.

My rating: 5 out of 5

Our Song, Our Toil


The Story of American Slavery As Told By Slaves
compiled and edited by Michele Stepto
Millbrook press, 1994
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Reading Level: Ages 9-11
95 pages

Our Song, Our Toil is a captivating book about the lives of American slaves throughout history. IN the different chapters it describes different aspects of a slave's life, and then shares at least one story told by an actual slave. The first chapter, "Into Captivity" is about captives being taken from West Africa and sold into slavery and the miserable journey they made to get to America, if they survived. In this chapter the reader learns about Olaudah Equiano a boy born in Nigeria that was captured and sold into slavery along with his family. He talks about getting split up from his family, the horrible trip in the ship to his new home as a slave of a British Naval Officer who took him to England and later sold him to a Philadelphia Quaker, from whom Olaudah bought his freedom when he was twenty one, and lived the rest of his life as a free man in London. In the second chapter, "Born a Slave" the author talks about how children were considered slaves if their mother was a slave, and the master who owned the mother in turn owned all her children; born and unborn. The chapter also talks about how children were usually separated from their parents at an early age, and rarely ever saw them again. This chapter has a couple of personal stories, the most well known from Frederick Douglas who talks about how he only saw his mother four or five times in his life, and actually had been sent to live with his grandparents and their master who was very fearsome. Chapter three, "the Enslaved Family", is a chapter about how as slavery progressed after the American revolution more and more slave families were ripped apart. If you could even call them families. Enslaved people weren't allowed to be legally married, had no rights to their children, and many were punished if they even recognized their kin by calling them brother, sister, etc. The families could not have their own surnames, and usually took the name of their masters, though they often had secret surnames to keep track of their ancestry orally. This chapter has the story of a slave named Elizabeth who when separated from her family clung to her religion to get her through until she was freed at the age of thirty. Chapter four, "The Work of Slavery" discusses the different work that the slaves were in charge of based on their region. In the North slaves fulfilled several different tasks; from helping on a farm, in a house, also helping to build roads and cities . They also labored in the growing industries like shipbuilding, lumbering, mining, etc. In the South, slaves mostly worked on farms, clearing the land, tending the crops, and harvesting. The Southern owners started to rely on the slaves for everything that needed to be done, that's why it became so important to them. Solomon Northup's story is in this chapter. He was born and raise free in upstate New York but when he was thirty-two years old he was kidnapped and sold into slavery and worked on a cotton farm for the next twelve years. In chapter five, "The Resistance" the reader learns about how slaves who were unable to escape rebelled in ways big and small. As far as big, many groups took up arms against their masters, though their attempts failed their actions gave courage to other slaves for future fights. however this blunt resistance was rare and more common was the day to day rebellion. This ranged from running away to rest before returning, breaking equipment, burning buildings, pretending to be ill, and many other antics. In this chapter we learn about a slave woman named Fannie who was a slave in Tennessee. She was a field hand and, as we read, had quite a temper. Her story is about one day when she got really angry when her master hit her with a stick and she hit back. Chapter six, "Literacy", is about another resistance the slaves took hold of. There were several anti-literacy laws that banned slaves from learning to read or write. But many slaves found ways around these laws, learning from their free friends and surrounding people's information. The slaves knew that literacy and freedom went hand in hand so they struggled to learn everything they could to read and write. in this chapter we learn more about Frederick Douglass, and his experience as slave. When Douglass was a slave in Baltimore his mistress Sophia gave him reading lessons, however when his master found out he put an immediate halt to it. But Douglass never forgot what he learned and did everything he could to build on his knowledge. "Escaping Slavery" is chapter seven and it is about those slaves that attempted, and succeeded in escaping their condition. It talks about the underground railroad aiding in escape, where the ex slaves went when they ran (usually to the Northwest). However in 1850 many of the escapes were halted when the fugitive slave law was passed which made it against the law to know about a slave that had escaped and not reported it, taking away free soil for the slaves. In this chapter we read about Andrew Jackson who was born into slavery into Kentucky and escaped at the age of twenty five and his fight against the men who tried to force him back into slavery. The final chapter of the book, "On to Freedom" talks about how slavery changed due to the Civil War, Westward Expansion, and finally the Emancipation Proclamation which halted slavery in many states and halted its expansion. in this final chapter we learn about Annie L. Burton who had been separated from her family but as the war ended they were freed and reunited.

I would recommend this book to any child interested in history, particularly those learning about slavery in school or from their parents.

As far as controversy from this book, I think it will be hard for some people to share a story with their children that is uplifting and happily ever after, it's the truth and it is what it is.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written, captivating, and I felt the personal accounts really helped me to get into the mindset of a slave and share their pain and suffering and turmoil.

My rating: 4 out of 5

The Giver


written by Lois Lowry
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1993
Genre: Children/Young Adult Science fiction; fantasy
Reading Level: Ages 11+
178 pages

Honestly this book is very hard to explain completely, so i hope you get the idea. At the beginning of the book Jonas, the main character, is upset about the upcoming December ceremony. He decides that it is a different fear than he has felt in the past and that it is mixed with eagerness, and decides he is really apprehensive. Later that night Jonas and his family share their feelings, as is tradition, and everyone has to be completely honest, according to the rules of the town. Lily, Jonas' sister talks about her anger at another group of children. Jonas' father shares that he is worried about a newchild (a baby) at his work who may be "released". He explains that he must bring the newchild home to care for it. Lily gets excited and says they should keep it but is reminded that each family is only allowed two children, one male and one female. Jonas' mother shares that she is scared of having to punish a man for the third time, she works at the Department of Justice, and that he will have to be "released". Jonas goes lasts and talks about the fear he had felt earlier that day. After sharing his fears Lily is sent to bed and Jonas' parents try and ease his concerns and remind him that the ceremony is a time of celebration for the transition from his childhood to his training to be adult. The next day, Jonas' father brings home the newchild, Gabriel and they all have to adjust. Jonas later goes with his friends to do some of his volunteer hours in the house of the old. They talk to an older person about a celebration of release of a friend in the Releasing Room. However, when Jonas asks her what happens in the Releasing Room she doesn't know. The next morning as the family shares their dreams, Jonas talks about having a dream about his friend, Fiona and the weird "stirrings" he had. His mother gives him a pill and tells him that they will make the feelings go away. Finally the ceremony that Jonas has been dreading arrives. Each child (11 year old) is given their job/training assignment, like a laborer, a birthmother, judge, doctor, etc. Jonas was initially skipped over and as he is freaking out the Chief Elder, the leader, announces that Jonas is called to be a Receiver. The community celebrates and honors him. Jonas is very nervous and doesn't really understand but his parents explain that it is the most important position in the community. However he hears that someone had been called as a receiver before but had failed, though no one knew more than that. Jonas the next day meets with the current Receiver of Memory and the old man explains that his training basically involves giving Jonas all his memories. As Jonas lies on a bed in the old man's office he is given memories, from snow to a sled, to the sun, and many others. The reader learns that Jonas' hometown has a state of sameness where weather doesn't exist and everything and everyone is the same. Jonas now calls his trainer the Giver. Jonas isn't able to tell anyone about his training but strange things start happening. He starts to see colors for example, he can see through the sameness. The Giver explains that without Sameness people would be forced to make choices, and they might make wrong ones. The Giver also explains that Jonas' job is to have his life become his memories and that he will be called upon to give advice to the Elders. He explains the story of the failed receiver who's memories were "re-assimulated" and people had some of the memories and it was chaos. Soon after the Giver starts giving Jonas some of his painful memories. Along with the painful memories, occasionally Jonas gets good memories and learns bout love and wishes he had it in his life. Jonas learns more about the failed receiver, and apparently she asked to be released and that's what released the memories into the people's minds. The Giver and Jonas talked about what would happen if Jonas were to be released, and the Giver says that he could probably help the community cope with the memories, and explain them. One day the Giver has Jonas watch a recording of his father releasing one newchild from a set of identical twins. Jonas watches horrified as his father kills the newchild by injection and puts it down a chute. The realization hits Jonas really hard, now seeing his father as a murderer. Jonas very distraught comes up with a plan with the Giver to leave the community and thus release all of his memories, and the Giver will stay and help the Community cope. However the careful planning falls apart when Jonas father one night announces that Gabriel is to be released the next morning. jonas knows he has to save him. So Jonas enacts the plan immediately. He takes Gabriel, some food, and a bike and leaves the community. After escaping sameness Jonas finds himself in a wilderness, and dwindling food supplies. Jonas no longer cares about himself, but is worried for Gabriel's life. As Jonas feels he's getting closer to a destination snow starts falling and he finds the sled from his memories. Jonas and Gabriel get on and start sledding. Jonas sees lights from somewhere and starts to hear music. And the book ends.

I would recommend this book to an older child interested in civilizations different from their own.

I think there are several controversies that could come from reading this book dealing with the issues of socialism, murder, euthanasia, and several others.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written and very descriptive. It was a unique idea with an intriguing plot, and intriguing characters.

My rating: 5 out of 5

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Invention of Hugo Cabret


Written and Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press, 2007
Genre: Historical Fiction; picture book
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
533 pages

The book starts out with an introduction from Professor H. Alcofrisbas who says the story takes place in 1931 in Paris and it's about a boy named Hugo who discovered a mysterious drawing that changed his life. Then the story really starts, and we see a young boy, Hugo run through a crowd and climb into a crevice behind a clock tower. He watches an old man who runs a toy stand across the street. When the old man falls asleep Hugo quietly crosses the street, but as he gets close to the toy stand the old man wakes up and accuses him of stealing, he grabs Hugo and a notebook falls out. The old man picks it up and sees some mysterious sketches of what appears to be a mechanical man. The old man questions Hugo about the pictures and when Hugo doesn't answer the old man keeps the notebook and shoos Hugo away. Hugo runs back to the clocks in the station, and his small apartment behind them, he does his job winding the clocks, just like his uncle had taught him to do. Hugo returns to the toy shop as the old man is closing up and demands his notebook, the old man refuses and says he's going to burn it and report Hugo to the inspector. The old man starts walking away, and Hugo follows him all the way to an old apartment, where the old man slams the door in his face. Hugo throws a small rock at a window of the apartment and a young girl appears, she comes outside and asks Hugo what he wants, he tells her that he wants his notebook, she tells him that she will try and get it for him, and that He is to ask the old man for it back tomorrow. Hugo returns to his little apartment and uncovers the mechanical man. There is a short flashback of Hugo and his father. His father is telling him about the automaton he found in the top floor of the museum where he works as a clockmaker and no one knows where it came from, and it's broken but it looks like it could write. Hugo's father due to Hugo's pushing and his own fascination decides to try and fix it. Sadly, one night as Hugo's dad is working on the machine he gets locked in by the guard and the place catches on fire, no one knows how the fire started. Hugo's uncle comes to get him and take him to live with him fixing the clocks in the station. Hugo, after looking at the wreckage of the fire, sees the mechanical man, and decides to take it and his father's notebook and try to finish it. Hugo's uncle disappeared and Hugo was left in charge of keeping the station clocks going. The book jumps back to Hugo in the present, and he returns to the old man toy's shop, who hands him a pile of ashes, Hugo is crushed, and crawls back into bed. Going to get coffee later he runs into the girl he met the night before and she tells him the book wasn't burned. He returns to the toy shop and confronts the old man, who gives Hugo a job at the toy store, it's a start. Hugo and Isabelle meet up again and she wants to know more about Hugo and the notebook. He refuses and ends up running. As she falls trying to chase him a key comes out of her shirt around her neck, and he asks where she got it. She refuses to answer because Hugo won't answer her questions and they part ways. The next day Hugo returns to the toy shop and the old man accuses him of taking the notebook and Isabelle shows up holding the notebook. Hugo hugs her and runs away. He returns to his apartment and pulls out the necklace he had grabbed off of Isabelle, and he turns the mechanical man around and just before he turns, Isabelle shows up and yells at him. He turns the key and the gears start turning and the man starts drawing. He draws a picture of a moon with a face and a telescope coming out of his eye. So part two begins, the kids realize that the man signed a name, and Isabelle runs home to ask the woman she lives with, the old man's husband about it all. Hugo follows her. mama Jeanne who is completely freaked out by the picture, the story that went along with it, and the necklace that was hers. She refuses to talk any more about it. The children search the room as Mama Jeanne leaves to distract her husband. They find a box of drawings and just as they look through them Georges, the old man, runs into the room and rips up the pictures, yelling frantically. Hugo leaves the house and returns to his apartment to sleep. The next morning Hugo goes to the film academy library to look for clues to the picture, thinking that it reminded him of one his father's old favorite movies. Hugo finds what he's looking for, it's the same picture from a movie called "A Trip to the Moon" by the filmmaker Georges Melies who was the first to realize the movies didn't have to depict only real life. The biography along with the movie card however said that Georges was dead, but Hugo knew he was not. Hugo writes the author of the book about the movie and tells him to come to Georges apartment, but that was a week away. Finally the day arrives and Monsieur Tabard shows up at the apartment, he pulls out a projector and they watch the old movies, but Georges takes the slideshow into a locked room. Isabelle picks the lock because everyone is worried. Georges is drawing at his desk, and the story comes out about him building the automaton and putting together movies. He asks where the automaton is, and Hugo says he'll go get it. Unfortunately on his way back to the apartment, Hugo is caught stealing by the inspector and was being taken to prison, he tried to run and ended up in front of a speeding train, the inspector grabs him, and Hugo passed out. When he woke up Georges was holding him and they saved him from the inspector and took him home. They found the broken automaton that Hugo dropped. The book jumps forward six months to a night at the French film academy honoring Georges. Hugo was dubbed, Professor Alcofrisbas, one of Georges characters, and it ends with the explanation that Hugo in fact wrote the book.

I would recommend this to any child with an imagination.

I think the only controversy along with this book would be related to the length, though it's not really a problem.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It was soo creative and well done. The drawn pictures combined with the actual pictures are excellent and add so much to the story. It was well written, exciting, and I couldn't put it down.

My rating 6 out of 5

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of the Beauty and the Beast


written by Robin McKinley
Harper Collins Publishers, 1993
Genre: Childrens fiction; fairy tale, fantasy
Reading Level: ages 9 to 12
256 pages

Beauty starts out with an introduction to Beauty's family; her father and her two sisters Grace and Hope, and their life. Beauty is mis named in that she grows to be far less pretty than her elder sisters. Beauty's mother died when she was very young Beauty's father is a merchant and very wealthy so the girls live very well. Grace is engaged to one of their fathers workers, Robbie who leaves on a ship to prove himself and make enough money for a wonderful start with Grace. Unfortunately Beauty's father's ships crash and he loses basically all his money and Robbie is lost at sea. The family is forced to leave the city and move into the country where the could live cheaply and where Hope's fiancee has offered to work with their father for a living. After adjusting to the country life after some time, and making new friends they hear news of one of the lost ships coming back into part. Beauty's father returns to town to see what's going on and to sell the ship's cargo. He asks his daughters if there is any gifts that he can bring them. Grace and Hope both ask for pearls and jewels and gowns, but Beauty only asks for rose seeds to plant in her garden. Beauty's father makes it to town sells the cargo, and learns that unfortunately it was not Robert's ship. As he returns home he gets caught in a storm and comes across a big creepy castle he is helped and taken care of by invisible servants, and he is very grateful. He leaves to return home the next morning and thinking of Beauty picks one of the beautiful roses in the garden, a beast appears from nowhere and threatens to kill him calling him ungrateful. Beauty's father begs for his life saying that he had daughters he needed to return to. The Beast agrees to let him go as long as he returned in one month with one of his daughters. The father is horrified but agrees and is let free. He returns home, but seems sick and exhausted. He tells the story to his daughters and they are horrified but Beauty agrees to go. The rose that the father took lives for one month and the seeds that Beauty plants grow fast and stay beautiful for longer than most other roses. The family also quickly realizes that the Beast sent some jewels and pearls and dresses for the daughters that Beauty's father was unable to get for them. When the time came, Beauty and her father left for the castle, all the while her sisters begging her not to go. They reach the castle and Beauty enters with her treasured horse. She wastes as much time as she could taking care of her horse, and occupying herself before it finally hits dark and she enters the castle. She is greeted by the invisible servants, fed good food, and shown a grand selection of books which gives her some comfort. She is finally introduced to the Beast who is excited for her companionship, he ends their introduction asking her to marry him, she says no, quite taken aback and she is led to her room. As time went on she grew to think the beast was kind, and spent time with him at meals, outside, but most of all reading and discussing books. Beauty grew to better understand the enchantment on the castle and sometimes could even hear the servants speaking about her being the last hope, but she couldn't figure out what it all meant. Though she was still heavy hearted because she missed her family and every night the Beast asked her to marry him, and every night she said no. Then one night, when she was desperately missing her family she had a dream about her family that was very vivid and was really upset by this. The Beast recognized her sadness and explained that he had given her that dream and agrees to show her more. Beauty sees that Grace is leaning towards marrying another man in the country, a local minister, and Hope is pushing her in that direction. Then a new vision comes in and she sees Robbie, alive. Beauty knows that she must return home and tel Grace that Robbie is alive. She begs the Beast to go and he reluctantly lets her go, for one week telling her that she must return within the week or he will die. Beauty was so excited to get home and see her family and tell Grace the news. She was so excited she ended up staying over a week. During the week Beauty realizes she loves the beast, and soon after she has a dream about the Beast dying. She hurries back to the castle and finds the Beast dying; she quickly confesses her love to him and says she will marry him. Without knowing it she breaks the enchantment and the Beast returns to his handsome human form. Beauty insists that she cannot marry him because she is not beautiful enough for him. The now human beast shows Beauty her reflection and she realizes that in her time at the castle she has grown into a beautiful woman. Beauty and the Beast are married in a triple wedding with Grace and Robert, and Beauty's father and Melinda, a woman they met in the country. And they all lived happily ever after.

I would recommend this book particularly to young girls who love fairy tales with a new spin.

I can't really think of any controversy that could come from reading this book.

I thought this was a really good book. It was a great retelling that really engaged the reader. I also really liked the message, it was positive and self esteem boosting.

My rating: 4 out of 5

The Great Gilly Hopkins


Written by Katherine Paterson
Harper Collins Publishers, 1978
Genre: Children's Contemporary Fiction
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
192 pages

Gilly is introduced into her new foster home of Maime Trotter and her other foster son William Ernest.

MaimeTrotter does everything she can to make Gilly happy and feel at home but Gilly rebels, is rude, and angry. Gilly dreams of her mother coming to save her from this miserable place as she stares at the only picture she has from her mom. Trotter turns out to be very religious and doesn’t tolerate some of Gilly’s language, or her making fun of William Ernest. Mr. Randolph, the black blind neighbor comes over for dinner, and Gilly acts very prejudice towards him saying she has never touched one of “those” people and doesn’t want to help him walk. Gilly does everything she can to attempt to take control of the house, through manipulation and deceit. Gilly starts school, her teacher is black and Gilly starts hatching the same plan as she has in previous schools, to do her very best and impress the teachers then stop trying and really frustrates everyone. One day Gilly gets a postcard from her mom and dreams even more about her mom coming to get her, or getting enough money to get to her other herself

One day Gilly is asked to go get a book from Mr. Randolphs house to read to everyone and she stumbles across some money and begins to hatch a plan to get the rest. Gilly ends up using William Ernest to get into Mr. Randolphs to get more of the money, which doesn’t turn out to be very much. Gilly starts to notice looks of caring from Trotter, and she doesn’t know how she feels about it and continues to daydream about her mother. Gilly continues to harass her teacher even going as far as making a card that was very insulting, but the teacher being very witty thanks GIlly for finally making her anger come to the surface. Gilly also continues with her plan to find more money in Mr. Randolph’s house, by offering to clean it for him, and since he can’t see her she searches for the money. Out of frustration of not finding any more money she writes her mother complaining about the horrible situation she is in, she exaggerates quite a bit hoping her mother will come save her. Gilly gets desperate and steals money from Trotter and runs away to buy a ticket to go see her mother, unfortunately she gets caught and taken to the police station where Trotter and W.E. pick her up and GIlly only agrees to come with Trotter as W.E. begs and screams and cries for her to come home. After the incident Miss Ellis, a social worker, fights with Trotter about taking Gilly away but Trotter refuses. Trotter makes GIlly return the money and work off the money she gave away, Gilly seems to gain more respect for Trotter and W.E. and Gilly start bonding as Gilly starts teaching him to box and stand up for himself. Trotter, W.E. and Mr. Randolph all get sick and Gilly tends to them, unfortunately around this same time Gilly’s grandmother, who she’s never before met, stops by to check on her because of the letter that Gilly sent to her mom, she leaves promising Gilly that she’ll get her out of there, and Gilly realizes she doesn’t want to leave. Soon after, Gilly is forced to go live with her grandmother, and she finally meets her mom and realizes that her mom doesn’t want her and doesn’t care about her. She continues to stay in contact with Trotter and W.E. and makes the most out of her new life telling them that she is really happy.

I would recommend this to all children.

I'm sure this book is very controversial because of Gilly's behavior, language, prejudice, and other vices.

Part of me really enjoyed this book, and the other wasn't impressed. I thought it was well written and entertaining, but I've liked other books more in the past dealing with the same topics.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Voyager:An Adventure through Space


Written by John Gustafson
Illustrated by: Edie Weinberg and Tanya Maiboroda
Scholastic Inc., 1994
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
31 pages

Voyager:An Adventure through Space starts out explaining that the Voyager was created by Scientists to be able to see parts of space that telescopes can't see. It then goes on to tell about the solar system and the planets that the Voyager would be able to show to scientists. Specifically Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The book then goes into how the spacecraft was built and what it was equipped with to withstand space conditions, such as bitter cold and harsh radiation. After the Voyager was built and ready to go, on August 20, 1977 a rocket took off from Florida carrying the Voyager into space. It took 12 years for the Voyager to get to the outer planets. Then the book gets really interesting. It goes through and describes the different pictures that the Voyager took. Starting with Jupiter. It gives some facts about Jupiter, comparing it to Earth's composition, telling about Jupiter's moons and climate. Then the author describes the next planet the Voyager reaches, Saturn. Which is obviously most famous for its rings. Then Voyager reached Uranus, after 8 1/2 years of travel across 2 billion miles of space. Lastly and finally the Voyager reached Neptune, the pictures show that the planet is blue because of methane gas. It ends by explaining that the Voyager is still traveling today, outside of our solar system and into others.

I would recommend this book to any child with an interest in space and satellites.

I feel there are no controversies that could come from this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written with a lot of interesting information and absolutely beautiful and astonishing pictures. I have no doubt that every child that picks it up will be fascinated at least by the pictures, but i can see how if a child isn't interested in space they could find it pretty boring.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Are You My Rabbit?


Written by Julie Vogel
Illustrated by Matthew Williams
ABDO Publishing Group: Magic Wagon, 2009
Genre: Children's Nonfiction
Reading Level: ages 4-8
32 pages

Are You My Rabbit is a children's book about rabbits as pets. Each page has a question, an answer, a picture depicting the writing, and an interesting fact. It starts out asking the question, "Is a rabbit the right pet for me?" It describes a rabbit and says that if it sounds appealing to the reader then a rabbit is the pet for them. Then it answers several questions about choosing a rabbit; should it be big or small, what kind of rabbit is best, and how old should it be? Then it moves into answering questions about what a rabbit needs, food wise, care wise, how to teach it, and how to keep it safe. Lastly it answers the question, "How do I stay safe?"

I would recommend this book to any child who is ready for a pet and trying to decide which kind to get, especially if they're seriously considering a rabbit.

I can see no controversy that could come from this book.

I thought this book was entertaining for children, and informational. It's easy to understand and really teaches the reader a lot. It is very simple, but definitely perfect for a child wanting a rabbit.

My rating: 4 out of 5

Children Just Like Me




Full Title: Children Just Like Me-A Unique Celebration of Children Around the World.
Written by: Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley
DK Publishing, 1995
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Reading Level: 6-11
80 pages

This encyclopedia type book is a nonfiction book that shares the stories of children all around. It tells of different children's daily life; their clothing, schooling, food, family, and other interesting facts that make them different. It starts out with a short introduction about the Americas as an intro to the different places all the children come from. Then it jumps right in to telling the children's stories. It covers children from many different places, like Oscar from Bolivia, to Taylor from New York and all the way to Erdene to Mongolia. It gives several interesting details of the children's lives. For example one of my favorites was Esta from Tanzania. Her page tells about her family, their tribes traditions, her school and favorite subjects, all the way down to a description of her sneakers that she wears to school and church.

I would recommend this to any and all children who seem interested in how they are different from other children, who are interested in the world, and any other child who enjoys learning.

I believe that in no way could this be a controversial book.

I really enjoyed this book, i thought that it was brilliantly put together, and can really be something that children will love. I loved the personal stories and connections, and the pictures.
The only thing i wasn't crazy about was the amount of information on each page, i think that for some children it would be quite a bit overwhelming.

My rating: 4 out of 5

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Story of Ruby Bridges


Written by Robert Coles
Illustrated by George Ford
Scholastic Books, 1995
Genre: Children's Nonfiction
Reading Level: Ages 7-10
32 pages

This wonderfully written children's book is the true story of the courageous Ruby Bridges. The story starts with a brief background of Ruby and her family and their move to New Orleans in 1957. It describes the family's Christian spirit and dedication to each other. Then Coles goes into an explanation of the times and the concept of segregation in schools, and how in 1960 a judge ordered four black girls to go to two white elementary schools. Ruby was one of the girls chosen to go to a white school, her parents were very proud of their daughter. Unfortunately Ruby was the only one to go to one of the schools, while the other three girls went to the other chosen elementary school. The story then jumps ahead to Ruby's first day at the school. It is surrounded by a mob of angry white people who threatened Ruby and called her names. While the city and state police did not help protect Ruby the president of the US ordered marshals to walk with Ruby into the building. This continued for months, but still Ruby went to school. To a school where she was the only student with only one teacher, Mrs. Henry as the white families refused to work there or send their kids. The author portrays one tender moment where Mrs. Henry one day looked out the window and saw Ruby, surrounded by the hateful mob, stop and say something. Later when asked what she had said Ruby answered that she had been praying for them.

I would recommend this book to any child interested in history, looking for a hero, or that need to know that even children have a huge impact.

I believe that this could be a controversial book, many people feel that we should censor children's reading so that it doesn't include anything uncomfortable, or that portrays people in a bad way. They want their kids to think the world is a wonderful accepting place.

I really loved how the author portrayed Ruby's story. He helped the reader connect with Ruby in a new way, and made it interesting and entertaining for children. The pictures are beautiful, and the story correct and well written.

My rating: 5 out of 5