Wednesday, June 30, 2010

New Series

I recently finished the first books in 2 new series I think will be popular. One is a mystery by Andrew Clements, one of my favorite middle grade authors. The series title is Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School, and the first book is We the Children. Benjamin Pratt receives some mysterious clues regarding how he can save the school in his town, which will soon be torn down to build an amusement park. He and his sidekick work to save the school; this first book had a plot twist I wasn't expecting and didn't really end the way I thought it would, but it left me intrigued and waiting on the next one.
The Very Little Princess by Marion Dane Bauer is about Zoey, a young girl with some family issues, and Princess Regina, a doll she finds in her grandmother's house. Princess Regina only comes to life with Zoey's tears. After Zoey's mother leaves her, there are lots of tears! Can't wait for the next one of these to see what adventures Zoey and Regina get into next.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Monarch Award books, part 2

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy. Martina is 21 days old and must find a husband. Her grandmother advises the coffee test to check the personality of prospective mates. This test eliminates all the obvious candidates, but Grandma knows best and Martina ends up with her perfect mate. This book has beautiful illustrations and repetitive phrases that will draw listeners and readers in.
Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton. Splat is nervous about his first day of school, so he takes his best friend Seymour with him. This leads to a problem when Seymour (a mouse) escapes from the lunchbox and the other cats chase him. The wise teacher tries to distract the students with milk, and Seymour saves the day when the milk cabinet is stuck. Younger readers will like this one.
Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa. This is a wonderfully illustrated folktale about a respected elder who sacrifices his rice fields to save the lives of his fellow villagers during a tsunami.
Too Many Toys by David Shannon. Shannon's No David series is a favorite and this will be too. The illustrations are very similar. Spencer has too many toys and his fed-up parents finally make him get rid of a few. Along the way, Spencer finds a surprising new favorite toy.
The Squeaky Door retold by Margaret Read MacDonald. This is a repetitive story that will make a great read-aloud. Grandma tries to help her grandson Little Boy when he is afraid of the squeaky door. At the end, the simplest solution saves the day.
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas. This is the story of 4 dust bunnies: Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob. As you might expect, Bob has trouble coming up with words for their rhyming game. Luckily the other dust bunnies finally pay attention because Bob has some important information that just might save them! This is probably the only book I've ever heard of about dust bunnies and I wasn't sure what to expect; what I got was a cute story.
Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurrican Katrina, Friendship and Survival by Kirby Larsona nd Mary Nethery. The two Bobbies are a cat and dog that escape from New Orleans together after Hurricane Katrina. When they finally make it to a shelter, it is discovered that the feline Bobbie is blind and wouldn't have survived without her canine friend. This is based on a true story and will appeal to the older Monarch Award readers.
Oh, Theodore! Guinea Pig Poems by Susan Katz. I am usually not a fan of the poetry selections, but this reads like a story. All the poems are about a boy and his pet guinea pig and are told sequentially from the time the boy gets Theodore.
When Dinosaurs Came With Everything by Elise Broach. So cute! A young boy runs boring errands with his mom every Friday. But one Friday everywhere he goes they are giving away dinosaurs. He ends up with 4, which doesn't make his mom very happy until she realizes they are good for doing chores.
Mudball by Matt Tavares. This tells the true story of the shortest home run in baseball history, which occurred during a very rainy, muddy game. This will be appealing to most younger kids, and a few older baseball fans.

Monarch Award books-Part 1

I always like to read the Monarch Award books ahead of time. Just read 7 of them; there are some crowd-pleasers in this group!
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel. A chapter book featuring Bad Kitty from the picture book on the Monarch list a couple years ago. This is a hilarious how-to guide on how to give a cat a bath. At 125 pages, it's not necessarily a one-sitting book, but you will want to keep reading. The humor is tongue-in-cheek and will keep adults entertained while reading to their little ones also.
Fred Stays With Me! by Nancy Coffelt. A very short picture book about a young girl and her dog Fred. When the girl goes back and forth between the 2 households of her divorced parents, Fred is the one constant. When the parents are fed up with Fred's antics and want to get rid of them, the young girl stands up for herself and a plan is formulated that keeps everyone happy. This one won't appeal to everyone, but is perfect for the young child in the same situation as the narrator.
Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-up by Melissa Thomson. When Keena starts second grade, she is very upset at first to be separated from her best friend Eric. She quickly falls in love with her teacher and makes new friends. Keena is very similar to Junie B. Jones so although she has the best of intentions she gets herself in a couple sticky situations. She is guided by wise adults and the problems are resolved. This is one in a series of short chapter books featuring Keena; this will appeal to fans of Judy Moody and Junie B. Jones.
Dog and Bear: Two Friends Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. The two title characters are a dachsund and a stuffed bear who are best friends. Three short stories focus on their adventures; the illustrations are colorful and young kids will like this one. For the "older" Monarch readers it will probably seem a little babyish.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. Mo Willems is the very popular author of the Gerald and Piggie books and this book is just as fun. Leonardo is terrible at being a monster; he can't scare anyone! He finally thinks he succeeds at scaring one young boy, but when he realizes how wrong he was decides to become friends with the boy.
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by Deborah Hopkinson. This tells a story from Lincoln's boyhood when he almost drowned and was saved by a boyhood friend named Austin Gollaher. I found this appealing due to the previously unknown story, but had to check to see if this really happened. Austin Gollaher was in fact a boyhood friend but sources are divided on whether this event actually happened.
Abe's Honest Words by Doreen Rappaport. This is similar in format to Martin's Big Words about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Each page contains some historical information about Lincoln's life as well as a Lincoln quote. A good introduction for young readers just beginning to learn about our 16th president. There is a timeline of Lincoln's life at the back of the book.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Cardturner

Written by Louis Sachar, the author of Holes, The Cardturner features another teenage boy with problems. Alton Richards is recruited by his eccentric great-uncle to be his assistant at playing bridge. While learning about the game, Alton corrects some misconceptions about his family and falls in love! There is even a little bit of a ghost story thrown in at the end. I couldn't put this one down.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

This World We Live In

When I picked up the first book in this series last year, I couldn't put it down. I felt exactly the same about this one- it is one of those books I stayed up late to read. Miranda and her family are still surviving in the aftermath of moon being knocked out of orbit. Miranda journals about the hardships her family faces from lack of food, water, electricity, etc. As this book opens, it is almost one year after the meteor hit the moon. Several characters from the first book return and we also see characters from the second book become part of this storyline. It is definitely a nail-biter; Susan Beth Pfeffer closes by having Miranda say she is done writing in her journal, but I am holding out hope that there is another story to come.