The Boy on Fairfield Street - Kathleen Krull

How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss
illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
Dragonfly Books, 2004
48 pages
paper $7.99 purchased
Endpapers: pale green with various Seuss drawings

1- This is a well-written, somewhat lengthy-for-a-picture-book biography, more like a short story.
2 - This is really interesting.
3 - This is very informative.
4 - The illustrations are expressive, with one bordered painting on each double-page spread.
5 - Included at the bottom of each page of text is an actual Dr. Seuss drawing.
6 - At the end of the book are four more full pages of additional biographical information and a bibliography of his books.

This is a topnotch book. Ted Geisel was a "goof off" who was told that he would never be an artist. Huh!

This will showcase a weeklong unit in my class, including some of his famous books. I bet the kids'll love it.

Growing Frogs - Vivian French

Illustrated by Alison Bartlett
Candlewick, 2000
Paper $6.99
32 pages
"Read and Wonder" series
ages 5-8
Excellent book

Ever since Brendan's ranger-led Acadia National Park frog adventure, I've been checking out books about frogs. In this book it is springtime and a little girl and her mother find frog spawn at the pond. They take it home to watch the amazing changes fron egg to tadpole to frog.

Not only is this a story, it's an excellent easy how-to guide so kids --- with their parent's help --- can watch these magical changes themselves.

How often do you change the pond water? What happens next? What should you do when they become frogs?

The illustrations are full-page, brightly colored acrylics. The large "Tapioca" font tells the story, smaller font gives the info.

Oh would I love to do this! But the book itself is all you need to easily learn LOTS of neat things about frogs.

The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig - Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Illustrated by Linda S. Wingerter
Houghton Mifflin, 2003
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: light blue

Set in Waldo County, Maine, this is the story of a girl named Isabel who lives with her grandparents. Her grandfather is a water man. He was a sailor until he married and settled down and is a gifted dowser. His divining rod is a Y-shaped stick. He finds more than water, he finds lost animals, too.

When he feels he has lost his touch, and when the family's pet pig goes missing, Isabel discovers that she, too, has the water gift.

Illustrations are framed with a thin black line and a white border. They are really lovely and depict rural Maine and the seacoast perfectly.

Bot the author and illustrator grew up in Maine. They've given this book the right feel.

MOVIE - Eat, Pray, Love

Gorgeous settings - Rome, India, Bali
Released 8-13-10
PG-13 (2:13)
Wed. 8-25-10 at El Con with great friends I haven't seen in awhile
RT: 38% cag: 70%
Director: Ryan Murphy
from the book by Elizabeth Gilbert (which I kept putting off reading)
Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem

This is the story of a woman searching for herself. She's unhappy in her marriage, leaves her husband, has a fling with a younger man, decides there's something missing there, so takes off for a year in search of herself. Imagine being able to do that! She goes to Italy to eat, India to pray, and in Bali she finds love - and supposedly learns to love herself. She cries her way through the story - lots of glistening tears, a few falling down her cheeks - and I found all I wanted to do was take her by the shoulders, shake her a bit, and say, "Enough, already!"

I loved, loved, loved the setting and the filming. It was the character of Liz that I just didn't like. I couldn't relate to her no matter how hard I tried. She lives her life feeling sorry for herself, always searching for more, more, more. And the casting of Julia Roberts in the main role didn't work for me. It was Julia Roberts playing a part, not Liz Gilbert searching for self.

My three friends all loved it. All had read the book. One liked the movie better. My daughter loved it. I was expecting to, too. I didn't hate it, but I'm sitting here, 12 hours later, disappointed. I wonder what I expected? Ah, life.....

The Boy Who Loved Words - Roni Schotter

Illustrated by Giselle Potter
Schwartz & Wade Books, 2006
32 pages
Rating: 4.5
Front endpapers: cut-out words on light green
Back endpapers: Glossary of the many scrumptious words italicized throughout the book

Selig was a collector of words. He wrote all the great words he heard on a piece of paper and stuffed it in a pocket, in his sock, under his collar. But when he heard one of his peers call him an "oddball," he had a strange dream that sent him out into the world to find his purpose.

While doing so, he also found love. So upon his return home, still a young man, his parents were terribly happy for him.

Words are "cut" and dropped all over the pages. Lots of great words are italicized throughout the story.

I can think of oodles and oodles of activities to do with this including: class list of LUSCIOUS WORDS, laminate great words and tie by strings to trees around town, word mobiles, make a word potpouri - choose and use....

There's a Teacher's Guide at the Teachers at Random website.

MOVIE - The Girl Who Played With Fire

Mesmerizing - but not as good as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Released 7-9-10
R (2:09)
Sunday 8/22/10 with Shane at the Loft
RT: 66 cag: 88
Director: Daniel Alfredson
in Swedish with subtitles
from the book by Stieg Larsson
Noomi Rapace & Michael Nyqvist

Lisbeth Salander is implicated in three murders. She tries to figure out what's going on without any help, but slowly her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, puts clues together as well. She's such a loner....and for good reason. This story is entirely linked to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and I can't imagine you'd know what was going on if you hadn't seen that first installment. It's exciting, interesting, and easy to follow. However, it didn't grab me up quite as much as the first one did. Still good, though.

There were several places that the subtitles were in white on such a light background that they couldn't be read. This was frustrating, and made you come out of your own mind to realize that you were reading along while watching a movie....you weren't part of it. Disconcerting.

MOVIE - Mother and Child

A beautifully woven beautiful story..."not the soppy melodrama you might expect"
Released 5-7-10
R (2:05)
Sat. Aug. 14, 2010 at Cheapie on Kolb, by myself
RT: 79 cag: 89
Director: Rodrigo Garcia
Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Jimmy Smits

This was good. Totally held my attention. Three different stories that are really all entwined and come completely together long before the end. A mother who gives up her baby at 14; a daughter who never knew her mother and is now, in her 30's, alone, by choice, and pregnant herself; and a woman who desperately wants a baby and is trying to adopt. Great acting. Wonderful storytelling.

Getting Involved, Making a Difference

Making a Difference in Our World. There are so many well-run, helpful nonprofits out there, and I've been trying to do my bit to make the world a teeny tiny better place. Some of these have even come to my attention from reading picture books. So I thought I'd highlight a few of the thousands of worthwhile agencies that have caught my attention in the past year or two. Yes, monetary donations are what most are looking for, but some are looking for other things....including an understaning of the the problem that created the need for their organization in the first place!

Heifer Project International is the organization I've known about since I was a kid. My own kids, when they were in middle school, spent part of a week volunteering at the Heifer Project farm near Worcester, Mass. This is one fantastic organization. They help families around the world by giving them the gift of sustainable animals - heifers, chickens, pigs, goats, rabbits. You can help in many ways - physically, monetarily, educationally - and it's been around for over 65 years. The picture book Beatrice's Goat (Atheneum: Page McBrier, 2001) tells HPI's story well.

World Vision, which is the recipient of proceeds from Just Like You (Zonderkidz: Marla Stewart Konrad, 2010) is a Christian humanitarian organization that has been active since 1950. Very creditable. I remember adopting a child with my Sunday School class a million years ago.

Souls4Soles has given away more than 10 MILLION pairs of unwanted or gently-use shoes since it began in 2005. Their motto - "Changing the World, One Pair at a Time" is epitomized in the picture book New Old Shoes (Pleasant Street Press: Charlotte Blessing, 2009). A one dollar donation will purchase a pair of shoes, but there are also drop-offs all over the country where you can DONATE your used shoes!. Just go to their website, enter your zip code, and it'll tell you where to go. I just gathered a bag together and am heading out for a three mile trip to donate!

FINCA (Foundation for International Communiity Assistance) puts small...minute...loans into the hands of women. We're talking $25 here, but it's enough to have empowered thousands of women around the world to make a better life for themselves and their children. "The results are life-changing." I just got a brochure in the mail, and it reminded me of the picture book One Hen (Kids Can Press: Katie Smith Milway, 2008) which I read about a year ago.

The Manzanar Project/Plant a Tree, Feed A Family helps support the growth of Mangrove Trees on the edges of salty seas.  The Mangroves are cared for by the women of nearby villages (it began in Eritrea, Africa), the leaves are eaten by goats and sheep, who have begun to thrive, giving more milk and meat to the families.  It's a win-win situation.  I first read about this in The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families (Roth & Trumbore, 2011), which I borrowed from the Amelia S. Givin Library in Mt. Holly Springs while visiting there with Ella.  (The name "Manzanar Project" came from the relocation camp in California where Japanese-Americans were sent during World War II - Dr. Gordon Sato is the scientist creator of this project and was sent to Manzanar in the 1940's.)

Water for Southern Sudan (Drilling Wells, Transforming Lives) - After reading A Long Walk to Water during my 4th grade study of Africa and Sudan, I learned about this fantastic organization created by the protagonist of the novel, Salva Dut.  Included at this website are numerous ways that anyone can help, including an inspired program called the H20 Project Challenge.  There's all sorts of materials available for teacher and even families and individuals.  This is a WONDERFUL organization!

Just Like You - Marla Stewart Konrad

Illustrated by Lin Wang
Zonderkidz, 2010
$15.99
24 pages
For: Parents of new babies and all young children
Rating: 4.9
Endpapers: Gentle pale drawing of the world with different types of homes - it's almost foggy, and looks like it's a scroll unrolling....

"On the day you were born, I looked in your eyes, cuddled you close, and knew the world would never be the same. I counted your fingers and toes, whispered in your ear, and sang you a lullaby."

"On the day you were born, baby Mei Ling was born in China. Her mommy looked in her eyes and cuddled her close. She counted her fingers and toes, whispered in her ear, and sang her a lullaby."

We visit newborns in the Amazon, in Russia, in the Arctic and in Egypt, in southern Africa, India, and Australia. We see who comes to visit, what they bring, and what the world outside their doorstep looks like.

The illustrations are absolutely lovely. Lin Wang is a native of China who now lives in California. She is an illustrator to watch. Her full-page paintings are just perfect for this book. Mmmmmm.

The last two pages bring in the concept of God. This is wonderful for all the families in the world that believe in God, but would not be entirely welcomed by those who do not share those beliefs. I have just ordered three copies of this book to give to three pregnant couples I know. I plan to glue together these last two pages on one of the copies, because I know that particular couple will feel more comfortable with the book. This is why I haven't given this book a 5. It's a tiny drawback, but one I feel I must tune in to.

"Zonderkidz is a proud supporter of World Vision, dedicated to helping children in poverty worldwide.....In celebration of the publication of Just Like You, Zonderkitz is donating $10,000 to World Vision...."

Note: Another book I read recently that deals with a newborn arriving and how very special that makes everyone feel is All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan.

60. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

Audio read by Ilyana Kadushin (Bella) and Matt Walters (Jacob)
Random House Audio, 2008
16 unabridged cds
20 hrs. 29 minutes
768 pages
Rating: 3.5

Finally. I've finished the saga. 768 pages worth - 768 pages that should have and could have been written in about 350. Oh well. It had a happy ending, which is a good thing.....I.....guess.......

At least Meyers didn't mamby-pamby around. Throughout the three first installments, I was quite sure that she wouldn't turn Bella into a vampire. Her twist, the catalyst for all the events in this book, was quite unexpected, and quite interesting. However, I had a fourth grader that read the series last year. I had read the first three installments, but not this one, and felt the sexuality was hazy enough to keep the book appropriate for a sophisticated tne-year-old reader. Part of the time I was reading this fourth installment, I was thinking that it was probably a bit much for her. When I saw here a couple of days ago at Back-to-School Night, she told me she LOVED Breaking Dawn. Okeedokeee.

I didn't love it. But it was certainly entertaining. It was very exciting in places. It D R A G G E D in places. The movie is going to be made in two parts (groan). I will be in line to see it, I must admit.....

Lin Yi's Lantern - Brenda Williams

A Moon Festival Tale
Illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe
Barefoot Books, 2009
32 pages
For: young kids
Rating: 3+
Endpapers: Red with stenciled Chinese designs

Lin Yi's mother sends him to the market to bargain for five items for their Moon Festival trek up the mountain that night. If he has enough money left over, he can purchase the red rabbit lantern that he so dearly wants.

After the story itself we learn about the markets in rural Chinese villages, there's directions for making a simple Chinese paper lantern, and there's even a two-page story "The Legend of the Moon Fairy." But there's no explanation anywhere about the Moon Festival or information about the beautfiul red lanterns that are used. Unfortunately, I find this a weakness. The story uses repetition, which is great for young kids, but makes it a little "young" for my fourth graders. And how Uncle Hui "magically" has a lantern gift, and it's okay that we don't know how he got it or where it came from, it's too abrupt and leaves too much to wonder about. However, the book beautfiully depicts what happens in a market AND the illustrations are just wonderful. So a few pluses, and few minuses.

MOVIE - The Other Guys

Very Funny - it's meant to be stupid, so you don't mind that it is
Released Aug. 6, 2010
PG-13 (1:47)
8-13-10 at El Con with Jen & Jennifer
RT 75% cag
Director: Adam McKay

Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Micahel Keaton!

They must have needed several thousand retakes, because to deliver these lines in a deadpan way must have been nearly impossible!

Two cops. Laughing-stocks of the detective division. Bickering partners that are as unalike as any two could be. Clever and silly - average-looking boring guy has hot-hot wife, macho supercop knows ballet moves. They're not stupid. Just silly. So when they stumble into what becomes their "big case," it swerves this way and that way...and you just laugh along and enjoy the ride.

59. I Am Number 4 - Pittacus Lore (actually, James Frey, I think)

I've got a strong feeling this will be #1 in what might be called "The Lorien Legacies"
Harper, 2010
HC 17.99
for: YA
440 pages
Rating: mmmm...4? (there seems to be a theme going here)

There are a number of planets that sustain life in a smilar way as Earth - Lorien and Mogadore are two of them. Unfortunately, the very bad people of Mogadore sapped their planet of anything and everything they needed, so they attacked - and conquered - nearby peaceful Lorien. But nine young children and their guardians were able to escape. They escaped to the closest place that could sustain their life - Earth. Unfortunately, the Mogadorians are hunting each and every one of the nine. But because of a Lorien charm, they may only be killed in a specific order.

Number 4 is our protagonist. He is going by the name of John Smith. His guardian's name is Henri. They have never lived in one place very long, they flip around the country from one small town to another. "John" is now fifteen. They know that Number 3 has been killed, and that Number 3 will be the next target. So they leave Florida for a tiny town in Ohio; Paradise.

In all outward ways, Number 4 is your average American boy. But he has special powers, his legacies, that don't appear until after puberty. John's have begun to appear. And this boy, who has never been able to have friends, finds both a best bud and a girlfriend, while being antagonized by a local bully.

Science fiction, teen romance, interesting settings and characterization, a good dose of man't best friend, and a spectacular battle scene all combine to make this story a satisfying one for lovers of Harry Potter and the Hunger Games.

There's a movie coming out on February 18 (2011)! One of my newest favorite actor/hunks will be in it - Timothy Olyphant (who will play Henri), along with some interesting names - the young man, Alex Pettyfer, who will star in Beastly, Quinn from Glee, and the guy who played mercenary Martin Kearney in Lost. I'll be the first in line for this one!

Fire Up With Reading - Toni Buzzeo

Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa
Upstart Books, 2007
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: White

Mrs. Skorupski, the Liberty School librarian, has come up with a great idea to get the whole school reading - a 6-month competition to end on March 2nd, Read Across America Day. Her theme is based on fire-spouting dragons. Kids earn a dragon scale for every 30 minutes of reading...and the whole school starts to read, read, read, including Patty Lee and her 4th grade class.

Colorful, fanciful, simple illustrations cover the entire page. But do you like the cover? I don't.

Sunday Love - Alison Paul

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010
HC $16.99
32 pages
Rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Red

The cover grabbed me instantly.

This is a great wordless book for older kids to follow and figure out. Illustrated entirely in red, black, and white, Bruno the Burglar breaks out of "the big house" to go after the love of his life. He is, of course, followed the entire way with a gaggle of officers trying to apprehend him. His surprise love is found - ecstasy! - but just before he can fulfill his longed-for embrace, he is captured. This all takes place on Valentine's Day, with Cupid trying to help him out along the way....and with one last helpful incident at the very end, he actually wins. I'm being careful in my wording so I won't give any of the fun stuff away....

Because of a spelling "thing" I puzzled over the title for a second or two....then it hit me.....