Flotsam

Flotsam	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Written and Illustrated by David Wiesner	2006
Fiction	40 pages
Reading Level age 5-8	Caldecott Award

Summary

This is another wordless picture book. The story is of a boy on a visit to the beach. He is with his parents. He wanders the beach looking for shells and at the crabs and creatures that crawl up the sand. He was examining a crab when a big wave came and knocked him off his feet. He looks out and finds a camera washed up onshore. He shows his parents then the lifeguard before running to the camera store to develop the film. He sat on the towel and looked at all the pictures. There were pictures of mechanical fish, aliens touring mermaid towns. The last picture makes him stop and stare harder. There was a girl holding a picture. The picture was of a boy holding another picture. He takes up his microscope, zooming in past 11 other children all clutching a picture. Finally the last was of a boy waving at the camera wearing clothes from past centuries. His parents pack up and start getting ready to go. The boy looks at the picture of all the children and sets up his camera on his green pail. He lines up with the camera holding the picture, and reaches for the button with his long handled spade. Just as he is snapping the picture, a wave washes over him. His picture is the most unique, with all the pictures in the air with the water and the children picture covering part of his face. He looks out to the pictures that were now floating away. He throws the camera into the ocean, waving and wishing it luck for the journey. It floats past sea horses, penguins, whales, dolphins and sea cucumbers before washing upon shore near a girl. She reaches toward it.

Response

I loved this book. I have many fond memories of going to the beach. I loved digging through the sand and finding abandoned shells and searching for hidden treasures. I loved having sand in between my toes and the salty brine of the water. I think the plot of all the children taking pictures are like the idea of throwing bottles with messages in them, waiting for someone to write back.

Possible Problems

I don’t think there are any problems with this book.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to any age. It would be a good book for those who have hard time keeping with the plot and dialogue. Parents could make up the gist of the plot to younger children, or have the children say the story the pictures tell.

How I Learned Geography

How I Learned Geography	Farrar Straus Grioux
Written and Illustrated by Uri Shulevitz	2008
Fiction	32 pages
Reading Level age 5-8	Caldecott Honor Book

Summary

A family of three fled their country because of war. They had nothing as they ran. They found another city, where it was hot and the houses were all brown and made of straw. They had to share a place with a couple who had food to eat, but did not share. The father went to the market to buy a loaf of bread. Instead of returning with the envious bread, he came walking home as it was growing dark. He was carrying as large roll of paper. He had bought a map. That night the couple seemed to be eating their food much louder than the night before. The little boy watched his father nail the map to the wall the next morning. The boy became captivated with the map and all the many places it showed. He traveled to freezing mountain tops, burning sands, cool ocean shores, mighty temples and ornate palaces. He sang the names of the distant places as a poem. He forgot his gnawing hunger all the hours he spent pouring over the map and touring the world with the imagination of my mind.

Response

I loved the book. I thought it was a great introduction to learning and using my imagination to dream of places that I’d never been before. As I looked at the pictures, I tried to think of places that the images were of. The pictures were vivid and colorful. The detail was intricate and focused on the emotion of the drawings. I could feel his absorption and joy was he traveled to all the different places while still on the dirt floor of his abode.

Potential Problems

It talks of hunger and how he escaped to the far reaches of his mind to not think of it day in and out. This might be upsetting to younger children or those who are sensitive.

Recommendation

I would recommend this to those who love to travel and learn more about the world. I think those who moved recently might benefit from reading this.

Jumanji

Jumanji	Houghton Mifflin Company
Written and Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg	1981
Fiction	32 pages
Reading Level age 6-10	Caldecott Award

Summary

Peter and Judy are home, bored. They have already played with all their toys and have to clean them up before their parents get home with company. Peter and Judy run to the park to play. Near the roots of a tree, they find a game board. They take it home to play. Peter begins to roll the dice; Judy stops him and reads the rules. The most important rule was that once started, the game must be finished. Peter goes first, losing a turn when a lion attacks. He wants to play another game when a lion jumps from off the piano and chases him. Peter runs upstairs and the lion follows. Peter dashes out, leaving the lion in the room. Next monkeys destroy the kitchen, opening up all the cupboards and spilling the flour. Peter roll again, a monsoon rain starts to flood the living room. They keep playing as a lost trail guide appears, a stampede of rhinoceroses trample through the house, tsetse fly bites causing sleep, and a volcano eruption. They were so close to finishing. Judy rolls a twelve, landing on the golden city. She cried, ‘Jumanji!’ The smoke clears and everything was as it should be. All the animals were gone and none of the furniture was damaged. They look at each other and throw all the pieces into the box. They ran to the park and left the game under the tree again. Walked slowly home, they then cleaned up their toys and started a puzzle. Exhausted, they fell asleep shortly after starting it. They awoke to their parents coming home. Peter tried to explain all the things that had happened, but were interrupted by the parent’s laughter. As the children washed up for dinner, they glanced out the window and spied two boys running out of the park with a game box under one’s arm.

Response

I think this is an amazing book. I loved how everything was cleaned up and set back to right. I think that the board game would be the best activity to play with friends. The book is all black and white so it relies on shading and the reader’s imagination to add their own color. I didn’t remember this book had no color until I picked it up to reread. I had put in my own experience and influence to the pages that made them colorful to me.

Potential Problems

This has more text than most picture books, so wouldn’t be appropriate for younger ages. Also, it might be intense with all the dangerous things that happen to Peter and Judy.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to children with imagination and desire for a jungle adventure. It would be a fun book to act out or watch the movie afterwards.

No, David!

No, David!	Scholastic, Inc.
Written and Illustrated by David Shannon	1998
Fiction	32 pages
Reading Level age 3-5	Caldecott Honor Book

Summary

This is a book based on a book David Shannon wrote as a child. David is told ‘No’ all the time. He can’t color on the walls, eat cookies from the cookie jar, bring mud into the house, play ball inside, or use his bathtub as a battle ground. He isn’t supposed to run around naked, bang pots together, chew with his mouth open, bounce on his bed, pick his nose, or leave his toys out. He breaks a vase and his mother, impatiently yells again, ‘I said no, David!’ He sits on his stool in the corner. He is sad because all his mother says is no and how he can’t do all these fun things. His mother calls to him, yes I love you. She gathers him up in her arms and holds him close.

Response

This was great. I love how it explains that even if your parents say no and not allow you to do all these things, they still love and care for you. The drawings are pencil outlines with backgrounds in paint, and colored pencils. It is drawn in a child like style, but much better than I could create. I love the detail of the whole picture and not focusing on one aspect of the page. I could relate with David and remember all the things that I was told not to do.

Possible Problems

This is a book of curious and misbehaving David learning what he can’t do. It is important to stress that these aren’t ideas to try but things that aren’t acceptable to do. Caution: there is a scene where he is running down the street with no clothes on.

Recommendations

This would be a good book for a parent to read with their child, at the end they could stress that they too love their child. Even after all the frowned upon things the children do.

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are	Harper & Row, Publishing
Written and Illustrated by Maurice Sendak	1988
Fiction	48 pages
Reading Level age 4-8	Caldecott Award

Summary

Max is a boy who was sent to bed without supper. He was creating mischief until his mother called him Wild Thing and he said he’d eat her up. In his bedroom, he paces as his bed grew into a forest with vines crawling up the walls and along the ceiling. He came to a vast ocean and sailed for a year and a day. He reaches the shore where the wild things are. He tames them with his unblinking stare. They crown him the king of the wild things. They roared and howled at the moon and swung from trees. He paraded around waving his scepter. After all the adventures were over, he sends the wild things to bed without supper. He sat in his tent, lonely for someone to love him. On the slight breeze he could smell his supper. So he bids goodbye to the wild things, who roar and plead for him to stay, but he sails onward. He sails on the ocean back home where his mother had his supper waiting.

Response

I remember reading this book as a child and jumping and howling around my room being the queen of the wild things. I would have my dad be a wild thing and carry me around the house. I love this book. The pictures are amazing; they cover the entire page while Max is with the wild things. The colors are muted with greens and blues and the texture and depth coming from short pen strokes. It looks as if I could reach in and feel the fur and claws of the wild things and hear their ferocious roars.

Potential Problems

This could be too wild for younger children, but I think it would be alright is it was read by the parent. This is a unique children’s book in that it embraces the wild and crazy side of children’s imagination that many stories shy away from.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to all children, especially those who have big imaginations and full of wonderful adventures.

50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet

50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet	Lerner Publishing
Written by Dennis Denenberg and Lorriane Roscoe	2005
Non-Fiction, biographies	128 pages
Reading Level age 9-12

Summary

This is a compilation of 50 biographies of important people in our American history. There are presidents, first ladies, athletes, scientists, civil right activists and many others. It had the famous presidents and important science founders, but also included little known people or those not seen as heroes: Yo Yo Ma, Martha Graham, and Milton Hershey. Each individual has two pages written about their life and contribution to society. It was well laid out with background information and ‘Explore more’ opportunity with websites and places to visit. It is written as if the authors are talking to the reader instead of stating the facts of someone’s life. I learned a lot about those I knew of already and learned about more influential people I didn’t know as well.

Response

I thought this was a good read and interesting. I liked the layout, there was enough information for a summary and pictures of sketches, and the explore option to keep learning. I spent hours reading this book and loved learning new facts. One thing I didn’t like was that there didn’t seem to be any organization, they were not in chronological order or separated based on their influential field or accomplishment.

Potential Problems

The individuals written in the book were the authors’ choice. There might be some people who think the heroes described aren’t the best of this country. It is skewed on a more political aspect than a scientific or athletic view.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about the influential people of America. It would be good for those who love reading interesting facts and doing reports on American heroes.

Sector 7

Sector 7	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Written and Illustrated by David Wiesner	1999
Fiction	48 pages
Reading Level age 5-9	Caldecott Honor Book

Summary

This is a wordless book telling of a boy who goes on a school field trip to the Empire State Building. It’s foggy at the top, there’s hardly anything he can see. A cloud forms in front of him, taking his hat. The cloud shows the boy his friends and floats him above the city, far into the sky, arriving at sector 7. Sector 7 is the cloud dispatch center. The cloud shows how all clouds are tired of being boring shapes. The boy draws up new plans for them, all sea creatures, including a lion fish, puffer fish, an octopus and tons of spotted and striped fish. The command center sees the commotion and has the cloud send the boy home. The boy floats down, just catching the bus. On the ride home, he watches out the window at all the amazing sea creatures the clouds formed. Everyone is amazed and points up to the clouds. The small cloud follows the boy’s bus home and stay’s with him. The last picture is of the boy asleep on the cloud, floating at the ceiling, and out the window a school of cloud fish gliding past.

Response

I really enjoyed this picture book. I loved that there were no words. I had to rely on the facial expressions and gestures of the characters. The plot was great, who hasn’t at one point in their lives watched the clouds roll by and finding abstract shapes and creatures there in.

Potential Problems

I think that there were no problems to be concerned about in this book.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to those who love watching clouds and with a big imagination. This would be a good introduction to a weather and cloud formation unit.

Ida B

Ida B	Harper Collins Publishing
Written by Kathering Hannigan	2007
Fiction	256 pages
Reading Level age 9-12

Summary

Ida B is an energetic girl who lives with her parents outside of town. She loves talking to the apple trees, babbling brook and the wise gnarled tree. Most people say that’s silly, they don’t talk. Ida B learned how to listen to their conversations. She loves having a plan and filling her day to the fullest. She has oatmeal with raisins every morning; it’s too early to think of variety. She has a sandwich for lunch, there’s too many things to do to think of what lunch will be. She loves life until she has to go to school. There, the teacher doesn’t say at what time they are going to play outside, read or do anything, and gets impatient when Ida asks when it was time. She hated it. She convinced her mother that school was horrible and home school was better. This continues until her mother comes from a checkup saying she has cancer. Her treatments will make her weak and sick, unable to teach Ida B. So Ida must go to school. Ida is upset because her mother broke her promise and her father agrees she can’t stay at home to help him. She decides to not like school and spends most of her time in her room, avoiding her parents. They have to sell part of the apple orchard to pay for the doctor appointments and treatments. Ida B feels betrayed, those were her friends, and her father always said they had to take care of the land so it could take care of them. She withdraws further and ignores the attempts of her teacher and classmates to befriend her. The land is bought and the beloved trees torn down and a house was built. Ida drew warning signs of the dangerous tornados and poisonous spiders. A girl from her class moved in with her family to the new house. Ida yells and tries to scare them away. At school, she avoids the girl and finally tells her teacher how she felt. She stalks the girl to try ad apologize. Ida B says she is sorry and feels much better. She goes home and forgives her parents. Everything is right, Ida is forgiven and school’s not so bad after all.

Response

I loved this book. Ida B had a whole spectrum of emotions. Her personalities are so relatable. I felt the joy she had running through her orchards, resentment of having to go back to school, and lonely angry shell she wrapped her heart in, and the relief and happiness of resolving problems. This book is a roller coaster ride of adventure and emotion. Ida B grows to understand sacrifice and having to cope with school and having her mother sick. I thought it was well written and had great supporting characters that balanced Ida B’s strong personality.

Potential Problems

I had a hard time finding problems with this book. I thought it was well written and was age appropriate.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to girls who are dreamers and love nature and to children who are angry. The moral might help them see that it can be overcome.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret	HarperCollins Publishers
Written and Illustrated by Brian Selznick	2007
Fiction	544 pages
Reading Level age 8-11	Caldecott Award

Summary

Hugo is a boy who went to live with his uncle and helps wind the clock in a Paris train station. His uncle is missing so Hugo keeps the clocks running, winding them regularly. He steals food to eat and gears from the old man’s toy shop. The man catches him and has him work off all the things he has stolen. The old man snatched Hugo’s notebook and keeps it, threatening to burn it. Hugo cries and begs him not to. He follows the man and finds a girl at his house who promises that she will get the book back if she can look what is in it. Hugo runs off back to the station. He twists through the secret passages in the walls and ends at his hidden room. He takes out a section of the walls and takes out the machine that his father had been working to fix when he died in a museum fire. Those were the drawings in his notebook which he needed if he was to fix the mechanized man. He returns the next day to the toy shop for his precious notebook. The old man holds out a handful of ashes. Hugo is bereft and goes about his work. He finds a note from the girl saying his notebook wasn’t burned and to meet her, Isabelle at the book shop. He runs back to his room with his notebook, Isabelle follows him. She demands to see what the drawings showed. He tells about the automaton but gets her to leave. He keeps working at the toy shop taking gears and parts for the man. Finally he finished it. All he needed was a key. Isabelle takes him to the movies, afterward in the station again, he sees the inspector. Worried they found his uncle has been missing, he starts weaving thought people. Isabelle tried to follow him but fell; Hugo looks back and sees it. At the end of her necklace, the key! He helps her to her feet and gives her a hug, untying the necklace. He runs to his room clutching the last piece of the puzzle, finally able to see what the automaton would write through his pen. Isabelle bursts in and demands to watch since Hugo took her key. She turns the key and the man begins to draw. The image is a rocket crashed into the moon. The name signed is Georges Méliès. That was the old man’s name! Isabelle is stunned the name of the old toy maker she had been living with! Hugo couldn’t understand how he could have created this man. Hugo follows Isabelle home; still angry at him she slams the door catching his hand. Isabelle’s adoptive mother wraps his hand and deflects their questions. She doesn’t tell them anything but to leave well alone. Isabelle remembers a box that has been on a closet shelf and they work together to get it down. The box falls on Isabelle’s foot, spilling out papers all with intricate drawings all signed Georges Melies. Hugo grabs them and takes them home to the station. He searches the library and museum about Georges Méliès, all about his inventions and movies. Isabelle comes to tell Hugo Georges Méliès was sick and the toy shop couldn’t open. Hugo agrees to help Isabelle run the store. Two friends from the museum follow them home to see George and talk to Mama Jeanne about his movies. As they all watch the old movies, Georges Méliès, himself comes and asks how they found out. Hugo explains about the automaton, which Georges asks him to get. Hugo runs to his room, but is arrested by the Station Inspector. The mechanical man that he took so many hours fixing fell, breaking into thousands of parts. Georges Méliès arrives with Isabelle and takes Hugo home explaining how Hugo wasn’t stealing but returning the automaton to his owner. Six months later, there was a great celebration for Georges Méliès , showing all his recovered movies. Hugo is adopted by the Méliès family with his own workbench. At the gala, Georges titles Hugo as Professor Alcofrisbas, a character in his many movies mostly portrayed as a magician.

Response

This book is so interesting and unique. I love the pictures, drawn with pencil and the fact that the pages are black. It had characters that I related to and wanted to figure out. The story was engaging and had something happening all the time without seeming to detract from the main storyline. The best part of the book is the pictures. The pictures take the role of words for many of the pages. The scenes are so intricate that you can tell what the character is doing, show and emotion or action. There are pages with words that pick up the story here and there, conveying dialogue and descriptions that would be difficult to express through pictures, but for the most part the pictures are the main focus. I loved the twist at the end where you find that the entire book was written and drawn by his incredible automaton. I loved the character of Hugo and the odd job he had to wind all the station’s clocks. I enjoyed puzzling out and predicting how the story would unfold. Even at the end, I was surprised at the last twist that Professor H. Alcofrisbas was actually Hugo and created an automaton to write and draw out the collective story that is this book. I loved reading this book and think that it is a worthy addition to any library.

Possible Problems

There are many parts to the plot and may be confusing for real young children. Also Hugo must steal in order to feed himself, it wouldn't be a good example for younger children.

Recommendations

It would be a great book to read with younger children so they could interpret the story and tell you what is being described. This book is great for all ages and can be shared with anyone.

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time	Yearling Publishers
Written by Madeleine L’Engle	1973
Fantasy	256 pages
Reading Level age 12+	Newberry Award

Summary

Meg is worried about her father. He is a government physicist and is on a secret mission. Her younger brother, Charles tells her not to worry because Mrs. Witch, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit will help them rescue father. Calvin find them walking in the woods and agrees to go with them because of the feeling he had to help. Charles explains that the three women could tesseract which is to travel faster than the speed of light and to distant planets. They travel to the women’s home where they explain how they used to be stars fighting the black cloud of evil darkness. It is up the three children to rescue Father and defeat the IT. At the central tower in the middle of the town where everyone follows the exact rhythm of IT, Charles gives in to IT to allow Calvin and Meg to escape and be able to rescue Father. Meg uses the glasses to open the wall finding her father ragged but safe. He takes Meg and Calvin to a further planet to get past the influence of IT and recover. Meg is furious that her father left Charles in the clutches of IT and demands for him to go save Charles. The three witches appear and explain how Father in inexperienced with traveling the fifth dimension. Meg decides to go. She is transported back to IT’s planet. She is almost about to give into IT’s rhythm and influence. She discovers the one thing IT does not have power over was love. She thinks of her love for Charles and breaks free from the trance. She grabs Charles and reminds him of her love and all the things she loves. Charles becomes himself and they escape to join Father and Calvin on the journey home. There is a joyous reunion of Father and Mother and the two older sons. They had defeated IT and Father was safely home at last.

Response

I liked the idea of the travel theory and the different dimensions they felt on their journey. I felt that something was missing or that there were parts that didn’t fit together. Like The three women used to be stars but has almost horse like figures. I felt that Meg’s character was too angry and quick to accuse and use hurtful words than to think about the consequences and think logically.

Possible Problems

There are some parts that may be to intense for younger ages. There is a more science and English background, such as the travel method and all the quotes used by Mrs. Who.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to those interested in space travel and conquering villains. It would also be good for those who feel that they don’t fit in, this has a good moral that some qualities that make you different are important.

The Underneath

The Underneath	Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Written by Kathi Appelt, Illustrated by David Small	2010
Fiction	311 pages
Reading Level age 9-12	Newberry Award

Summary

There are three overlapping plots to this book. The first is of a cat, left on the road side expecting kittens. She hears a bloodhound’s lonely song and stays with him underneath the porch of a leaning house, lived in by a man named Gar Face. She delivers her kittens, named Puck and Sabine. She and the dog, Ranger watch over the kittens and warn them to stay underneath where it is safe and not to go from that safety. Gar Face, the man would rarely feed Ranger, who had been beaten as a child and left with a garish deformed face, would use the kittens for alligator bait if he knew. He had found where a 100 foot alligator lived in the swamp and spent his days trolling the swamp for a glimpse of the ancient foe and his evenings at the local tavern. The cat soon hunted for her kittens’ meals and brought back small morsels for Ranger. One day Puck decided to venture out into the sun. He is caught by Gar Face, his mother attempts to free him, but eventually being caught as well. Gar Face tosses the cats into a sack and tosses them into the murky swamp water. The mother is able to untangle the sting and let Puck escape. The laces entwine the mother’s paws and she sinks to the bottom, seeing the flitting body of a hummingbird. Puck remembers his promise to his mother to rescue Sabine and Ranger from the man. He learns how to hunt and take care of himself. He attempts numerous times to cross the swamp to return to the Underneath. Close by, Sabine ventures out at night to hunt for herself and Ranger. Ranger is chained to the porch and though he loves Sabine; he is saddened for the loss of his cat friend and Puck. He tries to break the chain but is unable to. Deep under the hollow tree where Puck finds shelter, old Grandmother Moccasin has been trapped in a jar for 100 years for tricking her daughter to return to her former snake shape. She waits to be set free to find her granddaughter, who went looking for answers after her mother disappeared. Old Grandmother is full of hatred of her daughter’s betrayal and her choice to live with the human who lived in the swamp. She waits for the dying to topple in the stormy winds that will uproot her prison jar. Old Grandmother is friends with the ancient Alligator King that plays with the ugly human, Gar Face, waiting for him to make a mistake. Gar Face is obsessed with the Alligator King and remembers the two kittens he threw in the water. He watches out the window and sure enough he sees little Sabine run from the dark Underneath at dusk for dinner. He decides she will be the perfect bait. Sabine, unaware of the man’s plan, runs from the Underneath the next night. Caught! Ranger attacks Gar Face, sinking his teeth deeply into his leg. Gar Face, shocked and badly hurt, drops Sabine and hits Ranger repeatedly with a board. He unchains Ranger and drags him into the shadowy swamp. Sabine follows, hoping for a chance to help Ranger. Across the swamp the tree finally falls; Grandmother is free and Puck has a bridge across the deep water. Grandmother slithers to see the Alligator King as Puck crosses the waters and dashes home. Once there, he can’t find Sabine, Ranger or even the mean man. He steps into puddles of blood, something was wrong. He quickly follows the scent and the dark red stains. He catches up to the trio, and climbs a tree to get a better vantage point, little did he know that Grandmother had returned and was just above him, hidden by the branches. Puck watches in horror as Gar Face drops Ranger’s chain and draws his gun at Sabine, who had been creeping closer. Puck screeches as loud as he could, startling the man and shot towards the sound. Puck fearlessly drops onto the man’s face, digging in his sharp polished claws. The man, staggering towards the swamp threw Puck in, while scooping water to clean his cuts. He looks up to see the gigantic mouth of the Alligator King gaping towards him. The man had made a mistake and paid as a meal to the Alligator King. Puck swam ashore and curled up exhausted next to Ranger with Sabine close by. They all fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke, the two kittens set about cleaning the blood of Ranger’s tender, bruised body. Ranger sleepily opened his eyes, glancing at the shimmering hummingbird. They were finally free of the horrible man, but the chain was now attached to the tree, anchoring Ranger still. Some leaves stirred, right in front of them was Grandmother Moccasin. She had watched the unlikely trio and felt the loss of love in her life; she had let hated fester and grow inside of her instead of seeing her daughter’s love. She rose above the three and struck, snapping the rusty hated chain from Ranger’s neck. She died, having been shot by the man’s rifle when Puck yowled. As she faded, she saw the small body of the hummingbird; it was her granddaughter, finally there to the other side. Sabine, Ranger and Puck gathered themselves and walked through the swamp, finding a new home among the overhanging trees here.

Response

I loved this book. The chapters were short and switched back and forth to the different threads. It kept me interested and thinking about how they would change the next character’s chapter and actions. I thought it was well written and enjoyed all the overlapping of the stories; I especially liked the ending where everything was resolved. The characters all had qualities that are prevalent: hatred, greed, love, courage, trustworthy, protector and friendship.

Potential Problems

This has many descriptive violent scenes, that aren’t appropriate for younger ages and those who are sensitive. This is an intense book but has a great ending where the evil is vanquished and the good triumph.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to a much older audience than what is suggested. It could be good for those who could relate to the inquisitive kittens who go in trouble or to Ranger who was not appreciated and abused.

Animalia

Animalia	Harry N. Adams, Inc. Publishing
Written and Illustrated by Graeme Base	1987
Fiction	31 pages
Reading Level age 4-8,+

Summary

This is an ABC book that is so unique. Each page is covered with details that all begin with that letter. The slogans are funny and creative: crafty crimson cats carefully catching crusty crayfish, horrible hairy hogs hurrying homeward on heavily harnessed horses. There is hardly a spot on the page that isn’t intricately drawn and includes an animal or object starting with that letter. The texture is amazing and not one page looks or feels the same. One of my favorite pages is G. Great green gorillas growing grapes in a gorgeous glass greenhouse. There are three green gorillas holding grapes with a gnome looking from the side of the page and a giraffe looking thought the glass windows. There is also a goat wearing glasses, a guitar, globe, guard, ghost, gingerbread man, and gargoyle and so many other great sounding letter ‘G’words.

Response

I love the detail of this book. I could spend hours pouring over each page and looking for all the objects hiding throughout the main picture. In the front of the book, there is a poem telling the reader to look for a thousand things on every page and to also look for the self portrait of Graeme wearing a red striped shirt and blue jeans. His illustrations are of a number of mediums, including watercolor, colored pencil, ink and airbrush. He correctly depicts the animals but have them wearing clothes or holding objects. For example, the zebras are black and white but are flying in zinc zeppelins and wearing aviator goggles and leather hats.

Potential Problems

I don’t think there are any prevalent problems in this book. It is fun and interesting and has so much detail to explore.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to anyone. I think that it would be fun for younger ages to indentify the main animals and for older ages to keep count of all the thousand things they can find and search for Graeme Base.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Mr. Popper’s Penguins	Little, Brown and Company
Written by Richard and Florence Atwater Illustrated by Robert Lawson	1992 139 pages
Fiction	Newberry Award
Reading Level age 9-11

Summary

Mr. Popper is a house painter. In the summers, he paints and re-papers all the houses in the town. In the winter, he stays home and reads. He reads everything about travel and explorations. His favorite topic was the Poles. He could name all the explorers and the reason for the explorations. He was sitting in his living room with his latest book with his globe, when he realized the time. He hurriedly turned on the radio. Admiral Drake from the South Pole was broadcasting home. His voice came through the speakers addressing Mr. Popper and thanking his for his letter. Admiral Drake promised an answer was on its way back and to expect it soon. Mrs. Popper was shocked Mr. Popper wrote the Admiral. He said he wrote about how funny the penguins were. The next day a package arrived from Antarctica with instructions to open immediately and keep cool. Mr. Popper signed for it and opened it. Inside was a penguin! The penguin hopped out and started exploring the house with Mr. Popper following him. He filled the bathtub and watched the penguin marching back and forth in the water. Just then the children, Janie and Bill came home from school. They were thrilled and decide to call him Captain Cook. When Mrs. Popper arrives, they emptied out the freezer for Captain Cook to sleep in. The next day Mr. Popper hires a service man to make holes in the freezer and to install a handle on the inside of the freezer. Captain Cook is shown his new home and carries odds and ends to create a nest to sleep in. Mr. Popper dresses in his finest suit and takes Captain Cook for a walk; this is upsetting to others as they are tangled in the leash of the inquisitive penguin. Mr. Popper escapes out the barbershop backdoor only for Captain Cook to waddle up the fire escape stairs just to toboggan down again. Mr. Popper returns home in a taxi, less put together than he was at the start of their adventure. Captain Cook didn’t look so good the next day, he would sit in his icebox and had a temperature of 105`. Mr. Popper called the veterinary; there wasn’t anything he could do. Mr. Popper wrote a letter to the Aquarium curator, suggesting loneliness. An answer came in another penguin, Greta. To tell them apart, Mr. Popper wrote their names on their back with white paint. To keep the penguins comfortable, they kept the windows open that night. In the morning, great drifts of snow had blown into the windows. The children and penguins had a day sliding down the slopes of snow. The next day when the snow inside all melted, Mr. Popper had a freezer installed in the basement and dug out part of the floor for a swimming pool. Soon there were eggs in the nest. Mr. Popper expected there to be two but there ended up being ten. When the chicks hatched, there were even more fish to buy and names to assign. Mr. Popper’s favorite place to be now was in the basement, watching his twelve penguins run up the basement stairs and slide down. Mrs. Popper, worried about money and the future costs of the penguins in summer, asked Mr. Popper what they were to do. They came up with a plan of training the penguins. They already knew the act, it was just the timing. Mrs. Popper played different songs to cue when the penguins were to march, argue and slide down ladders. They show their act to a theater owner and are an instant success! They toured all the major cities with a ten week contract that took care of their money problems. They rode taxis, stayed in fancy hotels and entertained crowds everywhere. The hotels were at first against the idea of penguins staying there, but it was good for business since everyone wanted a glimpse of the famous penguins. It was very expensive to stay in fancy hotels and even more to order blocks of ice to keep the penguins cool. The food wasn’t for they were sponsored by the canned shrimp company, who gave them free cans of shrimp. Over the course of the tour, it became progressively hotter. Mr. Popper stayed up most nights cooling the penguins off with cold water from the shower. The next day he mistakenly asked the taxi to take them to the Royal instead of the Regal. At the Royal, a troupe of seals was performing. This created quite an upheaval, the policemen and firefighters were called to keep the peace. The firefighters put their hats on the penguins and the policemen set their hats on the seals. Naturally everything was straightened out, until the manager had Mr. Popper and his penguins arrested for disturbing the peace and breaking into his theatre. The patrol set the bail exorbitantly high, so Mr. Popper and his penguins could not get out until they were paid at the end of the week. They could not get a hold of the manager to bail them out, he was in Hollywood. So the penguins sat in jail, drooping and becoming quieter as the week progressed. On Saturday, the patrolman unlocked the jail and let Mr. Popper out. Expecting the manager, he started to thank him but it was Admiral Drake that set them free! He had just returned from the South Pole and heard the news of their arrest. Mr. Popper explained about Greta and their performing tour. Admiral suggested that Mr. Popper let his penguins be sent with him to the North Pole to start a colony of North Pole penguins. Just then, the manager appears with a film director, describing the deal that was written up for the penguins, making them rich with a house all their own. Mr. Popper talked it over with Mrs. Popper and the next day he had his answer. He would allow Admiral Drake to take the penguins with him to the North Pole, with the film crew creating a short film about their performances and their future home in the Arctic. The Admiral’s ship was loaded and the penguins were busy exploring the ship. It was time to say goodbye. It was hard for Mr. Popper to part with the young penguins and Greta, but the hardest was Captain Cook. He left the penguins in their quarters and stepped on deck to wish Admiral Drake a safe trip. Admiral confused asked if Mr. Popper wasn’t going with them, to care for the penguins. Mr. Popper hadn’t thought of it, he was only a house painter; but as Admiral said he was the penguin’s keeper. Mr. Popper asked Mrs. Popper if it was alright. She said she would miss him but he could have his adventure. So Mr. Popper and his Performing Penguins waved goodbye and headed to the North Pole.

Reaction

I think this was a well written book and loved the funny story. I thought it was unique and a great book. I loved the penguins and their individual characters. Mr. Popper was interesting, a house painter and dreamer.

Possible Problems

There was a definite focus on money and finances. This could detract from the story for younger audiences.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to children with big dreams to travel and admire those explorers. Also, those who want a pet and see the difficulties taking care of one but also the positive side.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall	HarperCollins Publishers
Written by Patricia MacLachlan	1985
Historical Fiction	58 pages
Reading Level age 9-11	Newberry Award

Summary

Anna and Caleb live on the plains with their father. Their mother died the day after giving birth to Caleb. Anna says that Mama sang everyday and Papa did too. He doesn’t sing anymore. After the work is done one day, Papa says he put an ad in the paper for help, for a wife. He shows the letter he received in answer. Her name is Sarah, she lives by the sea and has a cat named Seal. Anna and Caleb send her letters with questions about the sea and important questions: if she could cook and did she snore. Soon it came time for her to visit. She agreed to stay for a month and give her decision after that. She would be arriving by train wearing a yellow bonnet. She came and brought shells that sounded like the sea. She made dinner and cut their hair, and she sang. Papa made her a dune from hay like those by the sea. She drew pictures to send to her family, something was missing. She learned how to plow, plant roses, and play with the lambs, naming them for her three aunts. She was devastated when one was killed by wolves. She helped Papa fix the roof, just in time for a big hail storm. She asked to learn how to drive the cart into town. Caleb starts to cry, she was leaving because their house was too small and she wanted to go back to the sea. Anna was sad, she didn’t like them enough. Papa went out to work. Caleb saw someone in the cart wearing a yellow bonnet. She came back! She showed what was carefully wrapped in brown paper, colored pencils. She brought back the sea.

Reaction

I loved the book. It was short and simple but had a lot of larger concepts brought down so a child could understand them. I loved the character of Sarah how she traveled across the country to be a wife to a man she had only written letters to. I liked the quote she said to the children, I would miss you more. You always miss something no matter where you go.

Possible Problems

One of the lambs was killed by wolves and there was a storm that destroyed a crop, these scenes might be scary for younger children.

Recommendations

This could be read to introduce a pioneer unit in class. I would recommend this book to girls interested in life on the plains, it would give a hint without the major difficulties of that life.

The King in the Window

The King in the Window	Hyperion Books for Children
Written by Adam Gopnik	2005
Fantasy	410 pages
	Reading Level grade 5-9

Summary

Oliver is an American living in Paris. He kicks a stone home after school, at the end kicking it to the river, but it bounces out. On Epiphany holiday, he finds the prize in his cake, a key. He wears the paper crown and declares himself king. His reflection in his window morphs into a boy in a blue doublet and waves to him. He is puzzled but goes to sleep. The next day he tries to talk to his friend but she gives him a riddle of a king in the window and a glass sword. At school he is warned to not got to the Hall of Mirrors. He goes to the Louvre to look for a glass sword, when he finds it all the windows shatter and a great hum echoes the hallways. He grabs the sword as it falls, and the humming stops. He runs off with the sword, escaping the pursuing guards. He takes the sword to Versailles and finds the wraiths in the windows, including Duc de Richelieu, Moliere, and Racine. They explain that the king must defeat the Master of the Mirrors. The Master has been stealing the souls of people who looked too long through mirrors. They proclaim Oliver as King, and tell him to find the witty woman for more explanations. He requests as interview with Mrs. Pearson, a notorious critic. She explains more of the story and his part in it. He returns home to find his friend Charlie came to visit from America. They set out to find a true mirror that will help them enter the mirror world and defeat the Master. Charlie is abducted and Oliver explains to his neighbor Neige what he is looking for to save Charlie and all that the wraiths told him. Neige shows him the true mirror that she has been protecting, for she is a crystal mage. Together the two of them enter the mirror realm and rescue Charlie. The true mirror is broken and Oliver has open the realm through the stain glass windows in a cathedral. While in the mirror realm, they overhear minions of the Master talking about the quantum equipment that had been attached to the Eifel Tower. Oliver figures out that the Master has been trying to steal souls from computer users, and succeeding. The quantum equipment would allow him to travel across the universe! He must find a way to set the window wraiths free to fight the minions of the Master before the equipment was turned on. He solves a riddle about the right medium between the mirrors and windows. He manipulates the weather to snow, the perfect medium. The wraiths and the watchers that are shadows, all converge on the Eifel Tower. The Master is defeated and captured in the wine spoon of Mrs. Pearson. Oliver returns to live in America and no one really believes what happened a few years ago.

Reaction

I enjoyed reading the book, but felt that there was too much going on. There was too may twists that it was hard to follow the storyline at some parts. I liked that there were metaphors and similes that the wraiths spoke in. I did like the different types of lies described, but didn’t think them appropriate in a children’s level reading.

Possible Problems

There was a villain that was stealing the souls through mirrors which might be too intense for younger audience. There also adult drinking, stealing and lying. Oliver lied to his mother in order to go to Versailles and the Louvre, and stole the glass sword once there.

Recommendations

I think this would be good for older boys to read that have low self esteem. Also, those who like battling a villain and coming out victorious.