Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying!

The author retells the Cinderella tale as told by the Wicked Stepmother.  In this version, Cinderella is a very talkative child.  She must miss the Prince’s Ball because she has lost her voice, and must stay at home to rest.  The stepmother and her two daughters attend the ball and witness a beautiful princess who catches the prince’s attention.  After the ball, the prince must find the girl he danced with who lost her glass slipper.  In the end, the shoe fits Cinderella, she marries the prince and lives happily ever after.

I enjoyed this quick story of Cinderella from the Stepmother’s point-of-view.  This story will help readers to think about how the other characters view this tale.  It allows the reader to compare the original classic story to this version.  As a matter-of-fact, there is a “Think About It” section which challenges the reader to compare and contrast other versions of the story;  perfect for all students in the intermediate grades, middle school, and even high school.   This book includes a glossary, a “Read More” section, and gives internet sites.

— K. Soderberg

Getting Around in the Past, Present, and Future

Cars, airplanes, motorcycles, trains, bicycles, ships, trucks, and buses are each given a two-page spread. The left side contains a photo from the early 1910s or 1920s labeled “Yesterday” and a photo of a 2010s vehicle labeled “Today”, while the right side contains a  ‘ George Jetson-style’ cartoon illustration labeled “Tomorrow”. The first two time frames ( yesterday & today) are given two to three sentences tops. While the third time frame (tomorrow) is given 4 questions usually along the lines, “What if…”  This ends with ” The world we live in is always changing. No one really knows what will happen in the future. We can only imagine!” on page 21.

The Morgan Horse

Horse lovers will enjoy reading about this original American horse breed.  Known for their calm temperament, strength, speed and endurance, these horses descended from a horse owned by Justin Morgan in the 1790s.  The book tells of a variety of places where owners are proud to show their Morgans.  Full color photographs are pleasingly placed within the text.  Small additional information sections are included on almost every page.  A glossary, suggested books for further reading, a factsurfer internet site, and an index are located in the back.  A good additional resource to add to one’s collection.

Pythons

Pythons are constrictors and can be among the largest of all snakes.  This book shares where they are commonly found, their physical features, their preferred habitat, and how they locate prey.  Eating, moving, and reproduction are discussed next.  Finally, one can read information about pros and cons of choosing a python for a pet.  Problems can occur when people release pythons when they are no longer desired as pets.  Pythons are protected as thousands are illegally trapped for their skins or to be sold as pets.  They are important to the ecosystem as they help control rodents.  This book is visually appealing and the photographs are large and well chosen to accompany the text.  One interesting feature of this series is that the vocabulary found in the glossary is also defined on the page where it is first  used.  The glossary repeats the word but also includes the pronunciation.  Related books, a facthound internet site, and a glossary are included in the back.  This is a good resource for all elementary libraries.

Charlie and Kiwi: an Evolutionary Adventure

Charlie needs to do a report and chooses to do it on a kiwi.  His classmates laugh and tease so Charlie does more research.  His kiwi stuffed animal encourages him to seek help from his great, great… Grandpa Charles (Darwin).  In the kiwi’s box, they zoom into the past to 1860.  Grandpa Charles explains why kiwis don’t fly, have whiskers, and are active at night.  They decide to go further into the past (30 million years ago) to see how kiwis adapted to the life they lead today.  But, to find out how birds first came to be, they travel even further into the past (150 million years ago) to discover how birds developed from the dinosaurs. Terrific resource for younger readers to go with units on evolution.

There is an excellent link (address on back jacket flap for an online exhibit) which gives other resources and information, interactive games, and an animated version of the story.  Unfortunately, if the jacket is missing, there is no other reference to this site.   nysci.org/explore/ontour/charlieandkiwi

South Africa

South Africa — next to the United States, it probably has the biggest mix of people than any other country.  As pointed out, there are 11 official languages, nine of which are African, at least seven different tribes, a variety of racial backgrounds, resulting in a variety of spiritual beliefs, forms of art, food, music, dance, and traditions, earning it the nickname, the “rainbow nation.”  Even the government is structured in a variety of ways, with three levels of government, national, provincial, and local, and elections are held for offices at each level.  I’m glad to have such a current book on a country which has seen a lot of change over the years, as citizens stood up against the Whites who controlled their government for so many years, and peacefully took control over their own country.

Hannah’s Way

During the Depression, Hannah’s family moved to a small mining town in northern Minnesota to find work.  Her class at school was having a picnic on Saturday, but being Jewish, Hannah was not allowed to travel on the Sabbath, the Orthodox Jewish day of rest.  Being new, Hannah did not know how, or who, to tell she could not go.  When Hannah finally confided her dilemma to her teacher, she was heartened to find every classmate agreed to walk to the picnic with her.  This story was inspired by an account author Linda Glaser read about Minnesota history.  Adam Gustavson’s detailed oil paintings beautifully depict this time in history as well as fashions and styles in a rural mid-west town.  This is a touching story about unexpected kindness as well as a snapshot of life during a difficult era.

Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles

Jacob’s older brother, Nathan, is autistic and his continual repetitions and sometimes unusual behaviors irritate Jacob.  When new neighbors move in, Jacob looks forward to making a new friend.  As Jacob’s family begins to celebrate Hanukkah, he is embarrassed when Nathan blows out the candles.  But when his new friend teases about Nathan, Jacob quickly comes to his defense.  This story is less about the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah than it is about how the caring adults support a child with autism.  The illustrations are large and colorful.  The story does not say so, but Jeremy Tugeau’s paintings indicate both families are Jewish.  The reader learns about both the Jewish traditional celebration as well as characteristics of autism.  There is one typo (You’re brother…) which may go unnoticed, but was a surprise to see.

The Three Trees: a Traditional Folktale

As three young trees grow, each has dreams for its future.  One dreams to be a chest to hold the finest treasure, one wishes to be a ship that will carry a mighty king, and the last hopes to just remain and point the way to heaven.  The one who dreamed to be a chest became a straw trough that held a newborn babe.  The tree that wished to become a ship became a fishing boat that carried a man who calmed the sea.  The third tree was forgotten until quickly gathered to make a cross.  Some will recognize the story of Jesus although it is not expressly mentioned.  The title states it is a traditional folktale but there is no reference as to its origin.  The book is beautifully illustrated by Sophie Windham.

Rain

“Rain” is a visually appealing book.  The photographs beautifully illustrate the text.  Erin Edison describes the water cycle in simple sentences for young readers.  The vocabulary includes specific terms related to the water cycle – evaporation, condensation, precipitation – with which young readers may need support.  The book goes on to explain floods and droughts.  Information is complete and supports national science standards for earth sciences at a level beginning readers can understand.  Also included are a glossary, index, a Facthound internet site, and books for further reading.  The listed books are written for young readers as well.  This is a good resource for this nonfiction topic.

Spiders on the Case

The Deadlies, a family of brown recluse spiders, have found a home in the rare book section of the Boston Public Library.  Kathryn Lasky is known for her series about owls, Guardians of Ga’Hoole, her series about wolves, Wolves of Beyond, and her contributions to the Dear America series with biographies of people in history.  She has expanded her research to begin a new fiction series including facts about spiders.

Buster, a brown walnut spider, meets Jo Bell and her brown recluse family.  Tom, the human curator, welcomes them because he knows they eat silverfish, cockroaches, and other bugs that damage books.  Jo Bell and Buster discover thieves cutting pages from the rare books.  With the family, they weave a plan to inform Tom so he can stop the destruction.  Readers will learn about spiders as well as a bit about the Dewey decimal system.  Kathryn Lasky includes pages of notes in the back about things that are true, things that are not, and things in-between.  One is a warning about handling brown recluse spiders.

Ogres

In this informative book about ogres, Rachel Lynette begins with a German fairy tale.  The origin of the word “ogre” is unknown, but can be found in tales dating back to Beowulf.  What they look like, where they live, what they eat, and intelligence/behavior vary from story to story although the one thing in common is the desire for human flesh.  Lynette mentions several fairy and folk tales from around the world in which ogres can be found and provides a short summary of the tale.  The book concludes with information about the transition of ogres from a written tale to film.  Computer generated animation allows designers free-reign over their creations.  Each chapter has notes naming resources and tales mentioned.  Also in the back is a glossary, books for further reading, websites and an extensive index.  This would be a good addition to elementary libraries.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

This is the special edition 2012, complete with 3-D cover with moving eyeballs.  Yes, another visually attractive, eye catching cover.   This edition is following in the footsteps of previous for amazing visuals with each page drawing you in and around.The coloring seems a little brighter and lighter than in the past, which is a nice reprieve.  This would make a nice addition to a library or book collection.

Cat Found

From the author who wrote the book Dog Lost, this story is similar in theme.  It will appeal to cat loving young people, as Dog Lost was enjoyed by kid’s who love dogs.  This story takes place in a rural community that has a problem of being over run by feral cats.  The community is divided about what to do with the problem.  One group wants to build a shelter for the animals, but the other group doesn’t want to spend the money and would rather solve the problem by paying someone to shoot them.  The main character of the story finds a young cat and hides her under the church while his father is advocating for the shooting of the animals.  He hides his secret as his father gives him a rifle for his birthday with the expectation that they can get rid of the cats.  This story progresses with themes of political divide, family expectations, honestly, and of course love for animals.  Well written and will appeal to young readers who love pets.

What’s Up With Jo?: Medikidz Explain Brain Tumors

In this graphic non-fiction, the Medikidz zoom to Earth to get Jo, a girl with a brain tumor.  They bring her back to Mediland with them and similar to the Magic School Bus, they shrink and travel into a brain to see how brains grow and function.  Jo learns that when cells start to multiply and behave badly, they lump together to form a tumor which can display symptoms and can be either benign or malignant.  Treatment and after effects of such are also explained.  Graphics are interesting, the information is great without any emotional attachment, and there is nothing gloomy about it.  I enjoyed learning about brain tumors.

What’s Up With Lyndon? Medikidz Explain Osteosarcoma

The American Cancer Society has gotten into the publishing business by introducing a series of graphic novels which explain different forms of cancer and how they grow and effect the body.  In this book, Lyndon woke up with a sore knee that’s swollen.  His mom decides he needs to go to the doctor.  During the same time, the Medikidz on Planet Mediland (science fiction gets involved) are able to see him via their link (how they do this is just a given).  They hurry and burst into Lyndon’s house, put his parents to sleep, and take him on a trip to Mediland, where they then shrink in size and warp through the skin to the knee.  Here it is explained how the sarcoma grows out of control and causes pain.  Lyndon finds out that he’ll need an operation to remove the growth and then will take chemo to stop the growth.  The whole thing is very well explained and interesting.  I really enjoyed learning how the human body works.  The only part I didn’t enjoy was the lame flatuence jokes; they could have omitted that part.

Australia

Whenever I can get my hands on an “Enchantment of the World” series country book, I’m a happy librarian!  As with others I own, this book is thorough in content, and loaded with colorful snapshots, maps, and drawings to help you feel like you just visited the country.  It’s those facts that students need for reports: climate, population, natural resources, native animals, education, religion, government, etc. that are covered.  A Fast Facts section at the back, along with a timeline, a list of common words & phrases, a list of notable Australians, and an index will aid the researcher in finding what they need.

Bleeding Violet

In this fantasy/science fiction novel, Hanna lived with her aunt Ulla in Finland her whole life then runs away to Portero, Texas to find her mother.  Hanna is manic-depressive which triggers hallucinations of her dead father.  Hanna’s mother does not want her around; she eventually gives Hanna two weeks to prove herself to the people of Portero.  Hanna meets a boy named Wyatt; a Mortmaine – a monster hunter for the town.  He helps Hanna make a name for herself and her mother allows her to stay.  Hanna soon realizes that her mother is possessed by Runyon, an evil Mortmaine of the past.  Hanna and Wyatt find a way to conquer the evil spirit and Hanna gains the affection of her mother.

The beauty of this twisted story is in its flow; the writing style is simplistic and does not busy the reader with decoding the plot.   The author clearly conveys to the reader that even the most twisted minds will put themselves in danger for the affection of a loved one.  The surprises in the story keeps the reader turning the pages.  A satisfying tale for young adults who can identify with weird thoughts.

— Tyler Z.

I Want to Win!

In this instance, the Little Princess wants to win–everything.  And does schemes and figures out ways to make everything to her advantage.  At school, however, there are trophies to win for being the best, and try as she may, she’s not the best.  She does, however, win a trophy for trying the hardest.  This is the lesson to be learned here.  Trying hard and doing your best will be rewarded.  The story and message is fine but meant more for preschoolers than for elementary students.  Ross does a fine job with the illustrations and he is a master in the use of shading.

The Boxcar Children: The Lighthouse Mystery

I really think that the Boxcar Children is one of the best series for beginning readers of chapter books.  From my experience, kids love them once they discover them.  The four Alden children are relatable to today’s kids, even decades after they first originated.  This graphic novelization of the series is the second one I’ve seen, the first illustrated by Mike Dubisch.  This other series was also published by ABDO and the set up is much the same:  same style for table of contents, same picture identification of the main characters at the beginning of the book, same type, and even same color pages.  The main difference is that this version illustrated by Ben Dunn has ‘Manga’ overtones to it.  The peoples’ faces all resemble each other.  In this story there is a boy who wants to go to college, and he looks the same age as Benny, who is six.  This same boy’s mother also looks about six  years old.  The story and adaptation is fine, but it’s the illustrations that don’t fit.  In the first version illustrated by Dubisch, the people look their age and not everyone looks alike, which makes it much more appealing.  I’ll stick with the first one.

Dealing With Stress

This is one of those books that may never be checked out — not that students don’t need it, but because they may be embarrassed to check it out.  Enslow did a decent job covering the topics of what stresses young people out, what happens to your body if you don’t cope well with stress,and offered tips for managing stress.  The author also pointed out that some stress is good, as it challenges us and pushes us to perform at our optimum level. Unhealthy coping skills vs healthy coping skills are compared.  Managing stress through regular exercise, good nutrition, and proper sleep are covered, along with the scientific reasons why proper care of your body battles stress (lowering cholesterol, the release of endorphins which acts as a natural anti-depressant, the slowing down of digestion, and the release of adrenaline).  Presented in this way, with medical explanations sounds less preachy than a parent telling their child to eat well, get exercise, and get plenty of sleep. Stretching techniques, food suggestions, and time management tips leave the reader with sound advice to take away with them.

United States Air Force

This is a great book about the US Air Force.  The pictures are fabulous and the information is very good.  There is a lot of good information on the history of the Air Force and what was used in each war. It tell a little bit about how the pilots are so highly trained.  There is information on several of the aircraft used today.

A great book for students.

My Beauty: a guide to looking and feeling great

My Beauty is a great book to help girls look their best.  The book listed many beauty secrets to shine from the inside out.  I was glad to finally learn how to determine different face shapes based on measurements.  The illustrations and page layouts were interesting and colorful.  I especially liked the page a girl could photocopy in order to keep a log of makeup looks she creates.

The author, Marlene Wallach, is founder and president of Wilhelmina Kids and Teens modeling agency.  It is obvious she cares about the well-being of kids as this is not a fluffy, how-to-be-a- model book, but a solid book of information for anyone seeking to look their best.  (By Jamie Kenny)

Beep and Bah

What an unexpected delight!  I almost didn’t pick this book up because I thought the title and cover art were too silly, but I reluctantly did, and I am so glad I did.  The format is somewhat of a graphic novel for the very young, some pages are whole pictures, some are halved, some are quartered, just enough to keep it interesting and not too busy.    ‘Bah’ is a goat who found a sock, who immediately takes it to ‘Beep’, a robot.  Beep decides they must find it’s match and off they go on an adventure to find the missing sock.  They traipse all over hill and dale asking every animal they come across if the sock belongs to them.  After they’ve been everywhere, including underwater, they finally reach the end of the road, where there is a sign pointing ‘Go Back.’  So….Beep decides they’ll never find the matching sock and they’ve reached the proverbial ‘end of the road.’  They  turn around to go back, and there’s the sock, stuck to the side of Bah, the goat.  We’ve just never seen it because it’s on the wrong side, and they’ve been going in one direction.  It’s so unexpected and funny and kids get it!  It has simple language and crazy colors, and the boxed pictures tell the story well.  What a treasure!

Monkey: A Trickster Tale From India

Without seeing his name on the cover, McDermott’s books are recognizable.  His use of bright, vivid colors, texture, pattern and design make his books eye-catching.  The voice as heard through the playful monkey and deadly crocodile are easily identified as McDermott’s.  This ‘Monkey’ tale originates from India and is the last of six books in this series.  The art is a collage of cut and torn paper from the area.  Although this isn’t my favorite book of the six, I would recommend adding this to your McDermott collection.  Students love his storytelling style and will enjoy this book.