70. As Simple as It Seems - Sarah Weeks

Laura Geringer Books, Harper Collins, 2010
HC $15.99
181 pages
for: Middle grades
Rating: 4

The summer between 5th and 6th grades becomes one unlike any other, a summer of missing her best friend, and the first summer full of free time that she must learn to live with something that she feels makes her an entirely different person. Months earlier, Verbena has discovered a secret that she's trying to wrap her head around. She, of course, has a difficult time figuring everything out (she's only eleven after all). Then a boy a few years younger than her moves into the abandoned house next door for the summer. This gives Verbie an opportunity to become someone else for awhile.

"Pooch" and Verbena spend time resurrecting and repairing an old wooden rowboat on the lake that's through the woods behind their houses. This allows them to get to know each other a bit, learning each others strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncracies. But because of this, unexpected danger comes very close to striking.

Told in the first person, Sarah Weeks does a pretty decent job of allowing us into Verbena's head. The last paragrah tells of the year to follow and how everything came together for her. I don't think that last paragraph was really needed. Weeks had more or less said that Verbie was moving in the right directions, that things would be okay, and the race through her 6th grade year didn't seems to end this otherwise smart book very well.

I like Verbena wearing her nightgown for two days, inside and out. I like that she's naturally curious. I like how much she loves her parents. I like the habit she has of pushing her glassses up and down her nose...and I like that she wears glasses. I like her relationship with her three-legged dog, Jack.

Sarah Weeks' website is here.
Her blog is here. It's only updated once in awhile, but worth a peek.

MOVIE - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

I LIKED this, even though it didn't get particularly great reviews....
Released 9-22-10
R (1:38)
10/31/10 (this year's Halloween movie) at Elcon, just me
RT: 48% cag: 86%
Director: Woody Allen

Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins
Two actresses that didn't get top billing and who I think stole the show: Gemma Jones (as the mother, Helena) and Lucy Punch (as Charmaine, the younger woman who married the father).

Talk about intricate personalities in a dysfunctional family! In one of the reviews I read before I went to see this, it said that the reviewer didn't like any of the main characters. Well, I don't think you were really supposed to! They weren't likable people. The mother, Helena, however, really began to grow on me, poor soul, she finally figured out what it was that would make her happy and allow her to continue her life. There were delicious, though predictable, twists and turns, I giggled quite a bit throughout the movie and quite enjoyed it.

One family, mother and father divorced after 40 years because the father (Hopkins) didn't want to get old. The mother, Helena (Jones) bereft. Their only daughter, Sally (Watts) was having plenty of trouble in her own marriage to Ron or Ray (Brolin, who was the weakest/worst actor in the whole ensemble) who is a failed author and peeping Tom. This bold peeping Tom ends up befriending his peepee, played by Frieda Pinto, while his wife lusts after her art gallery owner boss, played by Banderas.

Throughout the in and out, back and forth, first this then that scenarios, Allen weaves light-hearted musical trills and a voice-over explainig a bit about what's gone on. The setting is London, all the characters except for Brolin have British accents (I can't imagine that he'd be able to pull it off).

Good movie, Woody, old boy. Off-beat and funny, my favorite kind!

Grandma's Gloves - Cecil Castellucci

Illustrated by Julia Denos
Candlewick, 2010
$15.99, 24 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: a sponged-looking orangy rust

I was so drawn by the cover and title of this book. And as I began reading it I was particularly tickled - I love books with smart, savvy grandmothrs that have great relationships with their grandchildren.
Then, five pages in, "Sometimes she repeats things. But I am very patient with her." Uh Oh.

Grandma hits the downward spiral fast - hospital, does not know her daughter or granddaughter, then dies. Needless to say, I was quite perplexed. And very sad.

The second half of the book deals with keepsakes and memories, what we share and what we savor about a loved one. It was a beautifully crafted message to us all. And once I stopped thinking of myself as a (very young, vital, with-it) grandmother I moved on to memories of my own grandmother, who helped raise me. I remember her gardening gloves, too, her always-blooming African violets, her rose bushes in the yard.

So, mixed personal feelings for me about this book. I guess the decline and loss of the grandmother simply took me by surprise.

It's really a wonderful book. But sad. Kids, particularly sensitive kids, should be prepared for what's going to happen.

The illustrations seems to be pencil and watercolor, and they're pretty darn wonderful. There are a couple that I really like - the two of them sitting at the kitchen table together and later, the full-page illustration of the girl sadly watering her grandmother's plants, in particular.

(NOTE: I went to Lowe's and purchased a pink African Violet this afternoon. Let's see if I can keep it alive, at least for a little while....)

Cecil Castellucci writes about how she came to write this book, her first picture book here.
Here's an intersting blog review by Book Reviews and More and another by Jean Little Library.

Cecil Castellucci's blog.
Julia Denos' blog.

Don't you love it that you can get to know authors and illustrators "up close and personal" by reading a blog they've written?

Thumb Love - Elise Primavera

Robin Corey Books, 2010
$16.99
40 pages
Rating: A RIOT! 4.5
Endpapers: Blue & white head drawings of people congratulating (etc.) Lulu

There's actually a "blog tour" of this book that you can take. Two Writing Teachers tells about it and has links to all the blog.

First we meet Lulu and her thumb. The next 15-or-so pages are Lulu's "Thumb Sucker's Story." This is followed by her 12-Step Programs to break the habit of thumb sucking. NOT easy. I sucked my thumb until I was ten or eleven, my sister much later. So I could really relate. I was disappointed that the trick that finally cured me wasn't included. I used to fall asleep laying on my hands on my stomach. (Or should I say laying on my stomach on my hands?) It worked. However, that way of falling asleep became such a habit that I still find myself flopping onto my stomach when I can't fall asleep on my side. My back aches in the morning after sleeping like that now. It didn't when I was a kid. But I digress.....

This is a great fun read....at least it was for me. The thumb talks and has opinions, too. Some of the illustrations remind me of Dr. Seuss, fanciful and fun. And for some reason "little Lulu" kept popping into my mind. Again, from when I was a kid? I'll have to look that up. Many different fonts are used, as well as speaking clouds above the character's heads to show their speech.

Such ups and down come with breaking a bad habit! Poor Lulu. But she did it! Highly recommended.

Tuesday Teasers 10-26-10

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along (and silly me, I decided to....)! Just do the following:

-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
-Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From pg. 4 of As Simple as It Seems by Sarah Weeks, a 2010 middle grade novel:

"I was in a terrible mood, but that was nothing new - I'd been in a bad mood since December, when I'd accidentally uncovered a secret my parents had been keeping from me. That secret caused my whole world to shift, like a sheet of tracing paper that no longer matched up with the drawing underneath."

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

Now this is a good one! One of the things I love MOST about living in a larger city (think: Tucson) is the library system. Lots and lots to visit all the time. And I visit them all. They all have their own wonderful and unique personality. And when I travel I love to stop into a library, check it out, sit down and read a new picture book...I've done that in Las Vegas, Novato, CA, and on my cross-country trip....it's also wonderful to visit and revisit the Northeast Harbor Library, the Ellsworth Public Library, the Bangor Public Library....and the library where I shelved books for 75 cents an hour when I was in high school, Wakefield Public Library. I'm usually well over my 25-book limit, using many in my classroom. But I'll take on the 100-book challenge as long as it can include picture books!

The challenge itself is found here.

Now, I could list all the books I borrowed and read, or I can keep track of the numbers, which would make more sense. I'm going to start from my last visit, because there's no way I'm going to spend the time backtracking. I'm doing this for me. If anyone else is reading this, it's sure to be boringl. So skip this post, okay?

Current total checked out AND read since 10/24/10: 7

10-24-10 Golf Links: Returned 5, checked out 10.
(6 are new middle grade novels, which I plan to share with my students, 4 are new picture books)
Read: Tashlich at Turtle Rock, The Weaver

10-30-10 Golf Links: Returned 7, checked out 7
then drove to Wilmot and checked out 5 more!
(More new books for my class to read, a crochet book, and lots of picture books.)
I returned Angelology after reading about 75 pages, it portrays angels as mean and selfish...who needs that (though the story was interesting, I don't think I'll ever get through it), a novel about Afghanistan that I was about halfway through but it had a reserve on it so I couldn't renew it, and lots of books about Mexico that I've been using in my classroom.
Read: Grandma's Gloves, Carmen Learns English

Read: As Simple as It Seems, Dotty, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Crochet Projects,

Okay, okay, it was stupid to think I'd keep up with this. I use the library...many times a week. So face it, Chris, this isn't a challenge at all. You suport your local library already!

Man Gave Names to All the Animals - Bob Dylan

Illustrated by Jim Arnosky
Sterling, 2010
$17.95 - with CD of Dylan singing the song
32 pages
Endpapers - a gorgeous green wash

The 170+ animals drawn in this magical book completely cover each page in spectacular color. Mr. Arnosky can certainly paint animals! Kids will spend hours pouring over every double-page spread. And they can do it while listening to the song.

"Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning,
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago."

Dylan wrote the song in 1979. Why don't I seem to know it?

There are lots of beautiful picture books being produced right now to accompany special songs. (My favorite is still It's a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong's song, illustrated by Ashley Bryan). Think Let There Be Peace on Earth, The Marvelous Toy, All God's Critters, and Forever Young.

Tashlich at Turtle Rock - Susan Schnur & Anna Schnur-Fishman

Illustrated by Alex Steele-Morgan
Kar-Ben Publishing, 2010
$17.95
TPPL
32 pages
Rating: 5
Endpapers: White

On one of the school days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, my whole school goes by bus to Reid Park. Here, in the middle of the desert, is a huge green, treed park, complete with streams, pond, and even trickling waterfall. This is where we celebrate Tashlich.

I am new to Judaism, learning as I go in the Hebrew day school where I teach secular studies. I so enjoy listening to the blowing of the shofars every morning during the month of the high holidays, and I throroughly enjoy throwing away my sins. I'd never ever heard of Tashlich before, and knew next-to-nothing about even the most important Jewish holidays. So when I saw this book I couldn't wait to read it -- it means something to me now. And perhaps if a book like this had been available when I was a kid, I wouldn't be in the dark about so many aspects of Jewish culture.

Susan Schnur, a rabbi, writes this story of a family spending Rosh Hashanah afternoon hiking through the woods to Turtle Creek to shed their sins. Each family member - mother, father, brother, sister, has something special to be thankful for, a promise they want to make for the year to come, and a bad habit they was to rid themselves of. It's an interesting story for a young child. And it makes me realize what a wonderful tradition this family has created.

Wouldn't it be great if we could take one special custom or celebrations from many different cultures, the ones that might have special meaning to us, to make them our own? I plan to add this one to my hoard....well, my hoard of one.....I do celebrate the Day of the Dead. Two cultures, to great traditions.

Alex Steele-Morgan's painting are simple, colorful, and lovely. Actually, it might even be pastels. I can see the texture of the canvas through the colors.

For every family that celebrates diversity!

The Weaver - Thacher Hurd

Illustrated by Elisa Kleven
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010
$16.99
32 pages
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Midnight blue

This is a lovely, gentle, very special book. Although the words and illustrations are rendered by two different people, they work beautifully...oh so beautifully...together.

A weaver sits above the earth, watching and weaving. She uses parts of the universe as the threads on her loom, she dyes them the colors of the morning. She weaves in friendship and family, happiness and sadness, anger and love. And as night approaches, her masterpiece complete, she spreads it across the sky and lets it gently fall and settle across the world - warming us, comforting us, and holding our memories.

"Looking down on the world,
the weaver sees
a smile on someone's face,
a hug between friends,
babies crying and then held warm
in their parents arms."

I've been an Elisa Kleven fan for a long time. I can remember reading and sharing Snowsong Whistling to my very first college class at COA. A few years ago at the Reading the World Conference at the University of San Francisco I participated in a workshop run by Elisa Kleven. I've read Ernst and Wish, Abuela and City by the Bay over and over and over. I wish the pages in her books were bigger so that I could closely examine every minute detail.

Poetry. Sheer poetry. Words and pictures alike. Every page is beautiful. This is the perfect gift for a newborn or toddler.

Thacher Hurd's website.
Elisa Kleven's website.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: interviews the author and illustrator.

Bookmans Bookstore Book Dominoes

One of the very best things about living in Tucson is the three (count 'em...three!) Bookman's used bookstores within the city limits. Here's a cool video they've make of book dominoes. I've sat on those floors hundreds of times, myself...and even done some of the flopping over that the books do!

And here's the store website.

BAXTER, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher - Laurel Snyder

Illustrated by David Goldin
Tricycle Press, 2010
$15.99
32 pages
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Kosher dill pickles, sliced lengthwise, on a white background

This book is funny. This book is clever. This book has a great message. Can you tell I really, really like this book?

Baxter the pig is waiting at a bus stop when the bearded, kippah-wearing gentleman sitting beside him says he can't wait for sundown and the Shabbat meal, which includes gleaming candles, singing, and the people that he loves most. Well, Baxter thinks this sounds wonderful and wants to be part of it. But he is told that since he's a pig - he can't be part of a Shabbat meal! He's not kosher! So through a series of misunderstandings and how-do-you-become-kosher inquiries, we follow Baxter through ups and downs to a Shabbat meal.

What fun! This is delightful. And the illustrations are great - whimsical and different. David Goldin uses collage and hand drawing. Fabrics, pickle bottles, foods, candlesticks, piano...are photos, collaged in. It's fun just to look for what's collaged and what's drawn. The piece de resistance, though, is Baxter. His facial expressions are superb!

This is a new favorite. I'm reading a library copy, but this one I must get for myself....and for my school library.

Laurel Snyder's website. (I enjoyed this. She sounds pretty cool.)
I can't get David Goldin's website to work. Well, I THINK it's his website, it's hard to tell for 100% certainty. But I'll keep checking on it.

She is Too Fond of Books review.
Jewish Books for Children's short interview with Laurel Snyder
And here's a longer inverview with Laurel Snyder

Me, Frida - Amy Novesky

Illustrated by David Diaz
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 2.5
Endpapers: Purple
Read 10-10-10. Great date, huh?)

First time reading this book was disappointing. So I reread it and examined it more closely. I think I see what the author is trying to do, but this is a book for kids and it's not clear enough.

In 1930, Frida Kahlo was newly married to Diego Rivera, who was famous and well-loved. He was hired to create a mural in San Francisco, so , of course, Frida accompanies him. She's never been out of Mexico before, and the author gives the feeling she's quite young.

Frida was lonely, friendless, and bored. She watched her husband work, accompanied him around the city and to numerous parties, where he was the star and she was on the outskirts. And it sounds like she didn't enjoy San Francisco - or not being in the limelight, at all.

Aftrer awhile, Frida felt bolder and began exploring on her own. And then she began to paint her own small paintings, creating her own style. And in April of 1931 she painted one of her most famous paintings - a colorful wedding portrait of herself and her husband. (It is still at the SFMOMA.) And it sounds like she ended up liking San Francisco....

I guess what Ms. Novesky is trying to do is show Frida Kahlo's growth from a shy young bride to an outgoing , confident painter? She certainly wants to showcase San Francisco, which is her home. I've read a bit about Frida, and this doesn't follow any pre-established ideas I have about her. And what I actually took away from the story I had to think about and figure out. And I didn't really like the Frida that Ms. Novesky portrays. I don't think it'll be clear to kids. But maybe my mind is too cluttered with other facts about Frida....

This is a longish review for me. But it felt good to work through my thinking about the writing and reread the book a number of times. I hate to say something bad about a writer - and greater minds than mine have okayed and edited and produced this book, but....I really feel the story is weak.

Diaz's illustrations are colorful and set the mood. But I think there are better books about Frida Kahlo available for kids.

Amy Novesky's website.
I can't seem to find an actual website for David Diaz. I'll look further later. I love his illustrations.

Never Say Boo - Robin Pulver

Illustrated by Deb Lucke
Holiday House, 2009
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 2.5
Endpapers: black with dancing skeletons (there are no skeletons in the story, only human kids and one ghost....)

This book has a silly premise - that ghosts walk around like humans, living in haunted houses and going to school. In this story, Gordon, a ghost, has moved with his parents across town and must now go to a closer school. He is certain that kids will be scared of him because he will be the only ghost at this new school. At his old school, all the kids had been ghosts. And he knew how hard it was to make friends.

The first thing that happens is that his teacher, although she is expecting him, is still so frightened that she passes out. When she comes to she tries to assure all the kids that everything is all right - but the day continues badly for Gordon. All the questions the teacher asks have BOO somewhere in the answer, and he knows that his BOO is really scary, so even though he knows the answers, he doesn't dare contribute. Then at lunch his mom has packed scary surprises in his lunchbox, so the kids are all weirded out. But then something happens that makes him a hero and he instantly becomes everyone's best friend.

Okay. I don't know. Just didn't do it for me, although there are some great words used in the book. And some fun word play.

I also like the illustrations and the endpapers. Lots of black - where white would normally be. Although the story has nothing to do with Halloween (nothing to do with trick-or-treating, witches, pumpkins, etc) this would be the time to share it. So it has it's place as a not-so-scary story about not-scary-at-all ghosts. I guess.

Robin Pulver's website.
It doesn't look like Deb Lucke has her own website, but see some of her artwork here.

Flora's Very Windy Day - Jeanne Birdsall

Illustrated by Matt Phelan
Clarion Books, 2010
$16.00
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: a great lavender/lilac

These are great illustrations. Outlined minimally in ink, then watercolored and pasteled, Matt Phelan puts such movement into his pictures. I love Crispin's hat, its long tassel flying out behind him. It amazes me how an artist can flick a line of black onto paper and create expression on a face, a movement of the wind...

Flora's little brother Crispin is driving her crazy. It's a windy autumn day, and their mother shoos them outside for some fresh air. Although Crispin's driving her crazy she doesn't complain , but she is glad her mother puts on his regular boots while she has her "super-special heavy-duty red boots" which will keep her safely anchored to the ground. But when a great gust of wind scoops us Crispin, Flora kicks off her boots to go after him - to save him.

This is a cute story about young siblings and the idea that no matter how crazy they might drive one another, they're still brother and sister. A I read, I thought about sharing the story with Ella who now has a baby brother. I wonder if the idea of the wind picking her up and flying her into the sky - through the clouds and all the way to the moon - might scare her just a bit. I've looked for a mention of this possibility in other reviews, and found some really interesting ones. (Boy, there are some great blogs and bloggers out there.)

Here are a few of those reviews: Kids Lit, The Washington Post, Katie's Literature Lounge (includes an activity), Brimful Curiosities (includes a spinning flyer and other books about the wind!), and Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, which includes an interview with Jeanne Birdsall.

Matt Phelan's Website
Jeanne Birdsall's Website
(I copied this idea from a blog I read today. It's a good one. I'm bad.)

Ghost Wings - Barbara M. Joosse

Illustrated by Giselle Potter
Chronicle Books, 2001
$15.95
32 pages
Rating: 4.5*
Endpapers: pale yellow with 1 " to 3" monarch butterflies

Written in the first person by a young girl, she tells of her grandmother, who is also her best friend, the tortillas they make together, the Magic Circle they visit (where millions of monarch butterflies arrive and gather every fall), her grandmother's death, and the Day of the Dead celebration that helps keep her grandmother's memory alive.

Illustrations cover the whole page and accentuate the text without overwhelming. They would be what one of my students describe as "cartoonish." *And although I really like them, that is why I didn't give the book a 5 rating. I guess I would have preferred - for this book - more realism. The story is appears deceivingly simple, but is actually quite complex and multi-layered.

Four pages of "afterword" give more information on monarchs, Day of the Dead, and questions about the book along with activities related to the book. I love the idea ofd decorating frames to hold pictures of loved ones. I'm off to JoAnnes and Michaels!

The Pirate of Kindergarten - George Ella Lyon

Illustrated by Lynne Avril
Atheneum, A Richard Jackson Book, 2010
$16.99
40 pages
Rating: 5
Endpapers: orange

Ginny loves books, reading and reading circle. But Ginny's eyes play tricks on her - she has double vision. She never says anything about it because she thinks everyone sees this way. She sees better when she closes one eye or gets really close, but her teacher discourages her from this.

When it's time for the class to get their vision tested, Ginny is finally diagnosed. She gets glasses and an eye patch and can finally see to read and walk, cut and color!

I sure know the feeling of not being able to see. I read this book with my glasses sitting on the table and the pages about two inches from my nose. I had a glasses since I was a really little kid. Love this book!

The illustrations are great - they show the double vision "thing" perfectly.

The Can Man - Laura E. Williams

Illustrated by Craig Orback
Lee & Low Books, 2010
$18.95 (they keep going up!)
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: clay-colored wash over linen/board

Mr. Peters used to live in the same apartment building as Tim, but with the loss of his job and income he is now homeless. He spends his days digging through trash cans to find empty soda cans he can redeem for a nickel apiece. He's now called "the Can Man" by everyone.

Tim badly wants a skateboard, but even with his birthday coming, his parents can't afford one. After watching the Can Man, he decides he'll earn money for a skateboard in the same way.

I wonder if young readers will figure out that what Tim's doing is unfair to the Can Man. I was getting more and more bothered - as I know I was supposed to. Mr. Peters is a lovely man who even helps Tim transport his bags of cans to the redemption center.

Well, of course Time comes through - he ends up giving all his can earnings to the Can Man, who badly needs a winter jacket as the cold season approaches. And (final SPOILER) on his birthday, Tim finds a used but newly painted skateboard on his front step.

Most of the illustrations cover 3/4 of the 2-page spread, edge to edge, with a vertical edge of white where the words are printed.

A great book to talk about!

69. Anything but Typical - Nora Raleigh Baskin

Audio Read by Tom Parks - beautifully
Brilliance Audio, 2009
3 unabridged cds
4 hours
208 pages
Many places I've visited say "YA". I go with the ages 9-12, grades 4+
Rating: 5

I started reading this last year, but I couldn't renew it because there were other holds on it, so I didn't get very far. When I ran across this audio form I jumped at the chance to listen. Tom Parks gave the protagonist so much character - this was an excellent read/listen.

Jason Blake is autistic. He flaps, he can't look anyone in the eye, he feels safest looking down or standing toward a wall. He rarely speaks directly to someone other than repeating the last words they said. He has no friends - of course everyone thinks he's "weird." He tells his story in the first person, we get INSIDE HIS HEAD. Wow. Like Out of My Mind, every teacher in the world should read this book!

Jason is a writer, writing on the computer on a STORYBOARD site where others can read his stories and respond to them. He makes a friend in this way, but when he finds they will both be attending a storyboard convention in Dallas he tries to sabotage his attending, because he knows that once Rebecca sees him they'll not be friends anymore. Reality. A happy ending would be great, right? Reality......

I also really enjoyed the way that Baskin included Jason's parents in the story.....how Jason interacts with them, how he knows what they're feeling by the way they act and the looks on their faces, how he relates to each one of them individually. Outstanding on every level, with my parent hat on, with my teacher hat on, with my reader hat on.

I recommended this book to all my colleagues at Wednesday's staff meeting. To get inside Jason's head was magical to me. Everyone's brain works differently, and some work REALLY differently. We all need to not only remember that, but see it and feel it and live it through the pages of an exceptional book like this.

Dizzy - Jonah Winter

Illustrated by Sean Qualls
Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2006
HC $16.99
48 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Chocolate brown
Cover: pinks and brown
Quite eye-appealing

Dizzy Gillespie invented Bepop. And Jonah Winter tells his story creating bepop with his words!

"On certain nights
he'd elbow the piano man
off the bench
and play the keyboard with his left hand
and the trumpet with his right

The older musicians --
they soon got tired
of these shenanigans --
they wanted him fired!

'Not a chance," said the boss,
"this kid's a WIZ -- '"

What a great read-aloud! Follow along on a map - South Carolina to Philadelphia to Ney York, then, listen to a piece of his music! It'll stay with kids a long time.

The illustrations flow across the pages like the music, like the words.

(Winter wrote this book while snapping along to "Night in Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts") There's additional biographical information in the author's note at the end of the book.)

The Boss Baby - Marla Frazee

Beach Lane Books, 2010
$16.99
32 pages
ages 4-8
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Pink with plue and pink rattles and jumping toys racing around the page

Cute cute cute...the perfect gift for any pregnant couple.

Boss Baby runs the show, demanding immediate action at all times. The illustrations, showing the exhausted parents and the demanding baby - and activities like "spa time" (in a bubble bath) are all hysterical.

This is not a cutesie baby, this is the bossman. (I actually wish he weren't quite so homely. Oh well.) And the way she's done the illustrations - showing lots and lots of lines, giving tetures and depth and added interest to the drawings - is delightful. (It says they were "rendered in black Prismacolor pencils and gouache on a 2-ply cold press paper." )

This is a super book.

Novel List

I need a list for easier reference, when I'm looking up something quickly, that's what this is......

Books read since mid-2008:

3 Willows - Ann Brashares, 2009 (3.5)
11 Birthdays - Wendy Mass, 2009 (4)

A
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The - Sherman Alexie, 2007 (5)
Abstinence Teacher, The - Tom Perrotta, 2007 (3.5)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain, 1884 (1.5)
All the Wrong Moves - Merline Lovelace (2)
Amazing Life of Birds, The - Gary Paulsen, 2006 (3.5)
Angel's Flight - Michael Connelly, 1999 (5)
Another Thing to Fall - Laura Lippman, 2008 (4)
Anything But Typical - Nora Raleigh Baskin, 2009 (5)
Art of Mending - Elizabeth Berg (3.5)
As Simple as it Seems - Sarah Weeks, 2010 (4)
At Ease With the Dead - Walter Satterthwaite, 1990 (5)
Attracting Birds to Your Backyard - Sally Roth, 1998
Austenland - Shannon Hale, 2007 (2)

B
Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, A - Tanya Lee Stone, 2006 (4)
Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher #11) - Lee Child, 2007 (3.5)
Beach House, The - Jane Green, 2008 (4)
Beastly - Alex Flinn, 2007 (4/5)
Beauty Queens - Libba Bray, 2011 DNF
Beige - Cecil Castellucci, 2007 (4)
Best Friends Forever, A World War II Scrapbook - Beverly Patt, 2010 (5)
Betrayed (House of Night #2) - P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast, 2007 (2)
Big Red Tequila (Tres Navarre #1) 1997- Rick Riordan (4.5)
Big Swim, The - Cary Fagan, 2010 (2)
Big Whopper - Patricia Reilly Giff, 2010 (3)
Birthday Ball, The - Lois Lowry, 2010 (4)
Biting the Moon - Martha Grimes, 1999 (2.5)
Blood Work - Michael Connelly, 1998 (5)
Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1) 2006 (2.5)
Bloody Mary- J. A. Konrath ("Jack" Daniels #2) 2005 (2)
Bones of Faerie - Janni Lee Simner, 2009 (3.5)
Book of Air and Shadows, The - Micahel Gruber, 2007 (3)
Book of Lies, The - Brad Meltzer, 2008 (2)
Book of Names, The - Jill Gregory & Karen Tintori, 2007 (3)
Bottle in the Gaza Sea, A - Valerie Zenatti, 2005/2008 (5)
Boy Book, The - E. Lockhart, 2006 (4)
Boyfriend List, The - E. Lockhart, 2005 (3.5)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight #4) - Stephenie Meyer, 2008 (3.5)
Breaking Silence - Linda Castillo, 2011 (5)
Bronte's Book Club - Kristiana Gregory, 2008 (3.5)
Brooklyn Bridge - Karen Hesse, 2008 (5)
Burned - Ellen Hopkins, 2006 (3)

C
Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball (Cam Jansen #6) - David Adler, 1982 (3.5)
Captivate (#2 in a series) - Carrie Jones, 2010 (4.5)
Cardturner, The - Louis Sachar, 2010 (5)
Carpe Diem - Autumn Cornwell, 2007 (4)
Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes Mystery #1) - Nancy Springer, 2006 (4)
Chains - Laurie Halse Anderson, 2008 (4)
Charm City -Laura Lippman (DNF)
Chasing the Dime - Michael Connelly, 2002 (3.5)
Chicks With Sticks, It's a Purl Thing - Elizabeth Lenhard (DNF)
Chill of Fear (Bishop/Special Crime Unit #8) - Kay Hooper, 2005 (2)
Chime - Franny Billingsley, 2011 (2.5)
City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau, 2003 (3.5)
Confetti Girl - Diana Lopez, 2009 (4)
Corn Grows Ripe, The - Dorothy Rhoads, 1956
Cowboy Rides Away, The (#1 Chloe Newcombe) - Betsy Thornton, 1996 (5)
Cycler - Lauren McLaughlin, 2008 (5)

D
Dark of Day, The - Barbara Parker, 2008 (5)
Dark of the Moon (#1 Virgil Flowers) - John Sandford, 2007 (5)
Darkness Becomes Her (#1 in unnamed series) - Kelly Keaton, 2011 (4.5)
Dark Tide, The - Andrew Gross, 2008 (2.5)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Lani Taylor, 2011 (5)
Day of the Pelican, The - Katherine Paterson, 2009 (3)
Dead for the Winter (Chloe Newcombe #4) - Betsy Thornton, 2004 (4.5)
Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1)- Charlaine Harris, 2001 (3.5+)
Deal Breaker (Myron Bolitar #1) 1995 (5)
Death Assemblage (Frankie MacFarlane #1) - Susan Cummins Miller, 2002 (3.5)
Devil's Kiss - Sarwat Chadda, 2009 (DDNF)
Discovery of Witches, A - Deborah Harkness, 2011 (5)
Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart, 2008 (4)
Divergent - Veronica Roth, 2011 (4)
Dogtag Summer - Elizabeth Partridge, 2011 (4.5)
Don't Look Back - Karin Fossum, 2002 (4.5)
Dream Stealer, The - Sid Fleischman, 2009 (3.5+)
Drink the Tea - Thomas Kaufman, 2010 (5)
Dying to Meet You (43 Old Cemetery Road #1) - Kate Klise, 2009 (4)

E
Eclipse (Twilight #3) - Stephenie Meyer, 2007 (2)
Eggs - Jerry Spinelli, 2007 (3.5)
Eight, The - Katherine Neville (DNF)
Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1) 2007 (3)
Eleven - Patricia Reilly Giff, 2008 (4.5)
Emmaline and the Bunny - Katherine Hannigan, 2009 (1)
Escape Under the Forever Sky - Eve Yohalem, 2009 (4.5)
Evermore - Alyson Noel, 2009 (3)
Every Soul a Star - Wendy Mass, 2008 (5)
Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature - Robin Brande, 2007 (4.5)

F
Faces of the Gone (Carter Ross #1) - Brad Parks, 2009 (4)
Fat Cat - Robin Brande, 2009 (4+)
Firefly Letters, The - Margarita Engle, 2010 (4)
Fly on the Wall - E. Lockhart, 2006 (3.5)
Forced Out - Stephen Frey, 2008 (2)
Forever - Maggie Stiefvater, 2011 (5)
Forgotten Garden, The - Kate Morton, 2008 (5)
Fragile - Lisa Unger, 2010 (2)

G
Ghost Towns (Chloe Newcombe #3) - Betsy Thornton, 2002 (5)
Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea, 2005 Translated 2007 (4)
Gods in Alabama - Joshilyn Jackson, 2005 (4.5)
Good Guy, The - Dean Koontz (DNF)
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! - Laura Amy Schlitz, 2007 (5)
Gray Ghost (Stoney Calhoun #2) - William G. Tapply, 2007 (4)
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, 2008 (5)

H
Hate That Cat - Sharon Creech, 2008 (5)
Hawkes Harbor - S. E. Hinton, 2004 (3.5)
Heartsick (Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell #1)- Chelsea Cain, 2007 (5)
Heaven Shop, The - Deborah Ellis, 2004 (4)
Hereville - Barry Deutsch, 2010 (5)
High Lonesome Road (Chloe Newcomb #2)- Betsy Thornton, 2001 (4)
Home of the Brave - Katherine Applegate, 2007 (4.5)
Homeboyz - Alan Lawrence Sitomer, 2007 (4.5)
House of Dolls - Francesca Lia Block, 2010 (4)
How Oliver Olson Changed the World - Claudia Mills, 2009 (5)
How To Take the Ex Out of Ex-boyfriend - Janette Rallison, 2007 (2.5)
Hunger Games, The - Suzanne Collins, 2008 (5)
Hurricane Song - Paul Volponi, 2008 (4)
Hush - Eishes Chayil, 2010 (4)

I
I Am J - Cris Beam, 2011 (4/Excellent)
I Am Number 4 - Pittacus Lore, 2010 (4)
Ice Queen, The - Alice Hoffman, 2005 (4)
If I Stay - Gayle Forman, 2009 (4.5)
Incredible Shrinking Kid, The (Stink #1) - Megan McDonald, 2005 (5)
Indigo Slam - Robert Crais, 1997 (4.5)
In Search of Mercy - Michael Ayoob (3)
Invisible I: The Amanda Project Book 1 - Melissa Kantor, 2009 (4)
Ivy & Bean (Bk #1) - Annie Barrowsk 2006 (5)

J
Jacket, The - Andrew Clements, 2002, 4
Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow - James Rollins, 2009 (4)
Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattillo, 2009 (2)
Jasmine Trade, The - Denise Hamilton, 2001 (5)
Jekel Loves Hyde - Beth Fantaskey, 2010 (3)
Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta, 2006 (5/Awesome!)
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side - Beth Fantaskey, 2009 (5)
Judy Moody was in a bad mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood. (Judy Moody #1) - Megan McDonald, 2000 (5)
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (Junie B. Jones #1) - Barbara Park, 1992 (4.5)

K
Killer Smile - Lisa Scottoline, 2004 (3)
Killer View - Ridley Pearson (3.5)
Knitting for Peace - Betty Christiansen, 2006

L Lace Reader, The - Brunonia Barry, 2008 (4.5)
Lakeshore Limited - Sue Miller, 2010 (1)
Last Coyote, The - Michael Connelly, 1995 (5)
Last Little Blue Envelope, The - Maureen Johnson, 2011 (5)
Last Witness - Jilliane Hoffman, 2005 (4)
Lawn Boy - Gary Paulsen, 2007 (4.5)
Leap - Jane Breskin Zalben, 2007 (4)
Leaving Gee's Bend - Irene Latham, 2010 (4)
Life Sentences - Laura Lippman, 2009 (2.5)
Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) - Maggie Stiefvater, 2010 (4)
Listening for Lions - Gloria Whelan, 2005 (3.5+)
Little Brother - Cory Doctorow, 2008 (3.5)
Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott, 2008 (unrateable)
The Lock Artist - Steve Hamilton, 2009 (4)
Loud Silence of Francine Green, The - Karen Cushman, 2006 (5)
Love That Dog - Sharon Creech, 2001 (5)

M
Marcelo in the Real World - Francisco X. Stork, 2009 (5)
Marked (House of Night #1) - P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast, 2007 (4)
Masked (Blue Bloods #2) - Melissa de la Cruz, 2007 (4)
Matched - Allie Condie, 2010 (4)
May B. a Novel - Caroline Starr Rose, 2012 (3/Liked it)
Maybe - Brent Runyon, 2006 (4)
Maze of Bones (39 Clues #1) - Rick Riordan (2)
Maze Runner - James Dasher, 2009 (4)
Merchant of Venice - Gareth Hinds, 2008 (2.5)
Mercy Kill - Lori Armstrong (4.5)
Messenger, The - Jan Burke, 2009 (5)
Mexican Hat - Michael McGarrity, 1997 (4)
Million Miles from Boston, A - Karen Day, 2011 (4)
Miss Daisy is Crazy (My Weird School #1) - Dan Gutman, 2004 (4.5)
Mission to Sonora (Linda Bluenight #1) - Rebecca Cramer, 1998 (2)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs, 2011 DNF
Mockingbird - Kathryn Erskine, 2010 (5)
Month of Sundays, A - Ruth White, 2011 (4+)
Moses Expedition, The - Jose Gomez-Jurado, 2007/trans. 2010 (2)
Most Beautiful Place in The World, The - Ann Cameron, 1988 (3.5)
Mostly True Story of Jack - Kelly Barnhill, 2011 (2)
My Lost and Found Life - Melodie Bowsher, 2006 (4)

N
Need - Carrie Jones, 2009 (3.5 or 4)
New Moon (Twilight #2) - Stephanie Meyer, 2006 (2)
Night Fairy, The - Laura Amy Schlitz, 2010 (5)
Night Stalker, The (Jack Carpenter #2)- James Swain, 2008 (4.5)
Ninth Ward - Jewell Parker Rhodes, 2010 (3)
No Ordinary Day - Deborah Ellis, 2011 (4)
No Talking - Andrew Clements, 2007 (4)
No Time for Goodbye - Linwood Barclay, 2007 (3.5)
Nothing to Lose - Lee Child, 2008 (3.5)
Now You See Her - Cecelia Tishy, 2005 (3.5)
Numbers - Rachel Ward, 2010 (2)

O O' Artful Death - Sarah Stewart, 2003 (1.5/4)
One Crazy Summer -Rita Williams Garcia, 2010 (3.5)
Operation Yes - Sara Lewis Holmes, 2009 (DNF)
Opposite of Invisible - Liz Gallagher, 2009 (3.5)
Out of My Mind - Sharon M. Draper, 2010 (5)

P
Painted Ladies - Robert B. Parker, 22010 (5)
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks, 2008 (5)
Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe, 2009 (4-Liked a lot)
Pieces of Georgia - Jen Bryant, 2006 (4)
Pink - Lili Wilkinson, 2011 (4)
Piper Reed, Navy Brat - Kimberly Willis Holt, (4)
Pray for Silence - Linda Castillo, 2010 (4)
Punished - David Lubar, 2006 (4)

Q R
Reaching for Sun - Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, 2007 (4)
The Other Rembrandt - Alex Connor, 2011 (4)
Revelations (Blue Bloods #3) - Melissa De La Cruz, 2008 (3)
Right Behind You - Gail Giles, 2007 (4.5)
Robin's Country - Monica Furlong, 1995 (3)
Rough Weather (Spenser #36) - Robert B. Parker, 2008 (3)
Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier, 2011 (4)
Rug Merchant, The - Meg Mullins, 2006
Rule of Four, The - Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomasin, 2005 (DNF)
Rule of Won, The - Stefan Petrucha, 2008 (5)
Rules of Survival - Nancy Werlin, 2006 (5)

S
S is for Silence - Sue Grafton, 2006 (3)
Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay, 2007 (3)
Satchel Paige - James Sturm, 2007 (4)
Savvy - Ingrid Law, 2008 (4)
Say Goodbye - Lisa Gardner, 2008 (5)
Scent of Rain and Lightning, The - Nancy Pickard, 2010 (5)
School Days - Robert B. Parker, 2005 (4.5)
Schooled - Gordon Korman, 2007 (4)
Serpent Gate (Kevin Kerney #3) - Michael McGarrity, 1998 (4)
Shadows of Ghadames, The - Joelle Stolz, 1999/2004 (5)
Shiver - Lisa Jackson, 2006 (3)
Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) - Maggie Stievater, 2009 (4.5)
Sisterhood Everlasting - Ann Brashares, 2011 (1.5)
Sister Mine - Tawni O'Dell, 2007 (4)
Small Acts of Amazing Courage - Gloria Whelan, 2011 (3.5)
Small as an Elephant - Jennifer Richard Jacobson, 2011 (3)
Solomon's Oak - Jo-Ann Mapson, 2010 (4)
Song for You, A - Betsy Thornton (5)
Song of the Whales - Uri Orlev, 2010 (1)
Spanking Shakespeare - Jake Wizner, 2007 (5)
State of Wonder - Ann Patchett, 2011 (5)
Stranger in Paradise - Robert B. Parker, 2008 (3.5)
Sullivan's Law - Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, 2004 (1.5)
Sweethearts - Sarah Zarr, 2008 (4)
Sworn to Silence - Linda Castillo, 2009 (4)

T
 T is for Trespass - Sue Grafton, 2007 (4)
Tale of Halcyon Crane, The - Wendy Webb, 2010 (It was okay/2)
Tales from Outer Suburbia - Shaun Tan, 2008/2009 (4)
Talk - Kathe Koja, 2005 (4)
Third Angel, The - Alice Hoffman, 2008 (5)
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher, 2007 (5)
Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, The - Erin Dionne, 2010 (3.5)
Touch Blue - Cynthia Lord, 2010 (4.5)
True (...sort of) - Katherine Hannigan, 2011 DNF
Trunk Music - Michael Connelly, 1997 (5)
Tularosa - Michael McGarrity, 1996 (4)
Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich, 2006 (4)

U
Under the Persimmon Tree - Suzanne Fisher Staples, 2005 (4)
Unlucky in Law - Perri O'Shaughnessy, 2004 (3.5)

V
Van Alen Legacy, The (Blue Bloods #4) - Melissa de la Cruz, 2009 (4)
Venetian Betrayal, The - Steve Berry, 2007 (DNF)
Virgin's Knot, The - Holly Payne, 2002 (DNF)

W
Waiting for Normal - Leslie Connor, 2008 (5)
Waiting for the Magic - Patricia MacLachlan (5)
Warrior Heir, The (Heir #1) - Cinda Williams Chima, 2006 (4)
Watchman, The - Robert Crais, 2007 (5)
Weird Sisters, The - Eleanor Brown, 2011 (4)
What Happened to Cass McBride - Gail Giles, 2006 (4)
What My Mother Doesn't Know - Sonia Sones, 2001 (4)
What Would Emma Do? - Eileen Cook, 2009 (4)
When It Happens - Susan Colasanti, 2006 (3.5)
When the Killing's Done - T. C. Boyle, 2011 (DNF)
When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead, 2009 (4)
Where Do You Stay? - Andrea Cheng, 2011 (4)
Where I'd Like to Be - Frances O'Roark Dowell, 2003 (4.5)
Whiskey Sour ("Jack" Daniels #1) - J. A. Konrath, 2004 (4)
White Mary, The - Kira Salak, 2008 (4)
White Picket Fences - Susan Meissner (DNF)
Who Was Albert Einstein? - Jess Brallier, 2002
Wild Things - Clay Carmichael, 2009 (5)
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan, 2010 (5)
Winter Sea, The - Susanna Kearsley, 2010 DNF
Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick, 2011 (3 - Liked it)
Word After Word After Word - Patricia MacLachlan, 2010 (4)

XYZ
Yarn Bombing - Mandy Moore & Leanne Prain, 2009
Year of No Rain - Alice Mead, 2003 (4)
Year the Swallows Came Early, The - Kathryn Fitzmaurice, 2009 (5)
You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) - Ruth White, 2011 (4)

68. Eggs - Jerry Spinelli

Audio read by Suzanne Toren & Cassandra Morris (excellent)
Recorded Books/Hachette, 2007
Jerry Spinelli, 2007
4 unabridged cds
4.5 hours
253 pages
Rating: 3.5

David’s mother has died in a “freak accident.” That’s putting it mildly – she slipped on a wet floor and fell down a flight of stairs. But David’s only 9, and he and his bereaved dad move from Minnesota to the east coast so that David’s grandmother can care for him while David’s father works. David is a mess. He resents his grandmother. His father is only home on weekends. He knows not a soul.

But then he meets Primrose, a 13-year-old free spirit who lives with (and resents) her psychic mother in a teeny tiny house on the end of a road. There’s an old van out in the yard that Primrose takes over for her bedroom. She paints. She decorates. She drags in mismatched furniture.

David and Primrose have an extremely odd relationship, but it works for them. They spend the nights roaming the town – trash-picking, hanging out in the all-night quick stops, visiting with their friend Refrigerator John. This part was a little unbelievable to me. A nine year old sneaks out of his bedroom each and every night and his grandmother, who loves him and worries about him, never discovers this? And they hang out in the home of Refrigerator John and he never questions it, or worries about what will happen to him if he’s found out? Yes, he’s their friend…that’s wonderful, and special. But in this day and age, this sort of arrangement between adults and kids would NOT look good……

The story was very well read in two voices, a young girl doing David and Primrose, and “older” female voice doing the narrator and grandmother. Easy and enjoyable to listen to. I didn’t think I’d continue on much past the beginning, but it hooked me and I listened happily all the way through. But it was just a bit too unbelievable. I have a student who’s listening to it right now. It’ll be interesting to see what she has to say about it….she’s enjoying it so far.

One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordianry Advntures of Charles Darwin - Kathryn Lasky

Illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Candlewick, 2009
$17.99
40 pages
for: grades 3+
Rating: 5
Endpapers: green with lighter green ferny leaves twining around

Dedication from KL: "In celebration of children, whose boundless curiousity gives thme a right to know their history on Earth." Don't ya love it?

I've been trying to get my hands on this book for over a year. Thank you, Tucson Library for coming through. It only took a year!

This is a super biography of Charles Darwin - making him a real person. You can feel his curiosity, see his peering and examining and thinking. You can totally visualize the rain forests of South American...Patagonia...the Galapagos. Following his five-year journey on a map would be great - wish one were included in the book.

Kathryn Lasky discusses the controversy - and such a major controversy it is - between creationism and evolution. Theology vs. science? Hmmm.....

She tells how Darwin's father despaired over his son's lack of ambition with his studies, over his inability to find a career he deemed suitable. Even Charles' loving wife, Emma - who provided ten (TEN!) children for him - was not comfortable with his theories of evolution.

This is a wonderful, fascinating biography for 4th - 5th - 6th graders. Lots to think about, and lots to learn. A must-have for a biography unit.

Most of the illustrations are just great. A couple, of mountains and snow and the sea, are a little too barren for me - but I guess they're trying to depict the setting, huh? The illustrations in What Darwin Saw by Rosalyn Schanzer would go so beautifully with this - I'd use the two books together. Compare and contrast. Higher level thinking skills. Mmm hmm.

Top Ten Tuesday - Authors

So it's not Tuesday. It's not even Wednesday....I'm a bit late. But I just discovered this, and thought I'd take a stab. (I do find I'm on the computer more than I'm into a book anymore. There's so much cool stuff going on in the blogging world!)

I know I'm going to want to come back and change this, but here goes:
Michael Connelly
Barbara Kingsolver (she's the reason I first set foot in Tucson!)
Betsy Thornton
Robert Crais
Michael McGarrity
Patricia Polacco (she's an awesome illustrator, too)
Wendy Mass (my most recent favorite children's author)
Lois Lowry (love everything she writes...and they're all so different from one another!)
Joyce Sidman
Naomi Shihab Nye (no one can put words together like she can)

What a collection...children's writers, poets, mystery authors. And Barbara Kingsolver. Hmm....I really love Cynthia Voigt, too.... And I musn't forget Linda Ashman..... Oh what about......

Tree Ring Circus - Adam Rex

Harcourt Inc., 2006
"the first book he's written"
$16.00
32 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Thick, vertical two-tone yellow stripes

"One seed in the ground,
three miles out of town.
One dark little rain cloud,
then two clouds,
then three.
One fast-growing trteet where the seed used to be."

And ok, what a tree. As more and more animals -- and a clown -- perch in the tree, we see a traveling circus arrive. Now eight cages of circus animals get loose and join the tree-sitters. What happens next made me snicker out loud.

The way that Adam Rex illustrated the chanting, rhyming verse of all the animals together is a sight to behold.

"a cat who climbed up but can't find her way down,
3 chipmunks,
two sparrows,
a whopping big bee,
five mice and a raven
all live in the tree."

How Rocket Learned to Read - Tad Hills

Schwartz & Wade Books, 2010
$17.99
Ages 3-7
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Pale blue with sleeping Rocket (front) and pale green (back)

The title page is cute - Rocket's sitting in a field, holding a copy of the book (THIS book) in his mouth.

Even though Rocket loves to play, run, and nap, a little yellow bird coerces him to learn the alphabet and enjoy listening to stories. When his "teacher" heads south for the winter, Rocket practices spelling and sounding out simple words. So when the little yellow bird returns in the spring, Rocket is primed and ready to learn to read.

This is an adorable story with lovely illustrations - some cover the complete page, some are in large oval shapes on the white page. Lots of green. A happy book.

67. Dead for the Winter - Betsy Thornton

#4 Chloe Newcombe/Bisbee, Arizona
For: Adults
Worldwide Mystery & St. Martin's Press, 2004
285 pages
Rating: 4.5 (I was able to figure out a tiny bit too much a little too early)

Good story. Great setting. Well defined characters. This would made a great movie.

When Craig, Chloe's "love interest" from the previous book, leaves for South America, she is once again unattached. She hires Terry Barnett, a local custom furniture maker, to make a bookshelf for her. From the instant he enters her home to take measurements they are attracted to each other, and she accompanies him to Mexico for dinner one evening. Well, lo and behold, the guy's married, so she cuts it off immediately. But they are spotted together. And she still likes him a lot.

But then, Terry is murdered and his workshop is set aflame. Chole is sent as the victim advocate to help and console Terry's wife, Heather. And of course, she is pulled into the sleuthing of the murder. She is even hired by Terry's brother-from-Ohio to continue investigating the case, which she does, because she's been put on a leave of absence - because she was known to have been seeing the dead man, she is a suspect!

Back and forth to Tucson, to Sierra Vista, to the tiny hamlet of Prophecy. I love all the traveling around Cochise County. My trip to Bisbee two weeks ago made the area really come alive for me. I really enjoy this series. Number five takes place in Bisbee, then the newest, just out, is a prequel that takes Chloe back to her pre-Arizona life, to the two brothers; one dead, one in a Buddhist colony in Vermont, that are always on her mind, woven into all the books.

Emma's Poem - Linda Glaser

The Voice of the Statue of Liberty
Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010
$17.00
32 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Dark blue with facsimile of "The New Colossus" written in Emma Lazarus's hand.

In simple verse, this book tells the story of affluent Emma Lazarus, raised in NYC in the latter part of the 19th century, a "fervent humanitarian" who helped and cared about the immigrants passing through Ward's Island in New York Harbor.

When France gave American the gift of the Statue of Liberty, Emma wrote her famous poem "The New Colossus" to help pay for the base of the huge memorial. ***NOTE: Apparently, the Statue of Liberty weas never intended as a beacon for new immigrants - it was Emma Lazarus's poem that ignited that particular flame!

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

An excellent book with lovely illustrations. For any and all families interested in American history and human kindness.