The War that Saved My Life

Ada was born with a club foot and has been a virtual prisoner in her mam’s 3rd floor London flat for nine years.  Her younger brother Jamie gets to go to school and roam the neighborhood.  When children are sent from town to live in the country during the beginning of WWII, Mam is going to send Jamie but not Ada.  Ada leaves with Jamie but when arriving at the rural community, they are the last chosen to live with other families.  Miss Susan reluctantly takes them in, thus beginning a tentative new life of trust, love, and acceptance.  Ada is uneducated but extremely attentive.  She is both drawn to and repelled from their new life with Miss Susan.  She does not understand often and misreads cues.  Gradually she comes to trust Miss Susan’s friendship and love.  Then her abusive Mam reappears and threatens Ada’s hard-won security.  She yanks Ada and Jamie back to London.  One aches for Ada as she struggles with her own insecurities and quest for learning, her determined will to survive, and to be accepted for herself.  Many, including Ada’s Mam, have the preconceived opinion that a physical disability is accompanied with a mental defect.  As Ada eventually states, “My club foot is a long way from my head!”  This is a well told story from Ada’s voice and the authentic settings, to her courage and quest for self-respect.

Ollie and the Science of Treasure Hunting: a 14-Day Mystery

The FBI is encouraging 13 year old Ollie to keep a low profile after his last adventure with his best friend Moxie (Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking).  A little bit chubby and a lot asthmatic, Ollie joins a group at Wilderness Scout Camp, located on an island in Boston Harbor where legends of pirate treasures abound.  As he focuses on making friends, working on scout badges, and engaging in a ruthless game of tag, Ollie is approached by Ranger Johnson to help locate a lost treasure of pirate Ben Avery.  The chapters are short and flip between camp competitions, pirate clues, and Ollie’s interest in geocaching.  Ollie’s issues with asthma and the personalities of his tent-mates and fellow campers are realistic.   There are several references to Ollie’s adventure with Moxie in the first book.  While it is not necessary to read the books in order, it may help in understanding the whole picture of Ollie.  However, I found it a bit irritating to keep reading references to a book I have not read.  Readers will root for Ollie as he deals with bullies and his asthma, struggles with knowing who to trust with pirate booty, and develops into a leader.

Cold Calls

The opening chapter causes the reader’s stomach to flip with dread and anxiety as the teenaged boy Eric receives a series of mysterious and creepy phone calls, followed by an email with a photo of Eric’s bedroom. As Eric has the realization that “Whoever had taken the picture had been in his room”, the reader is hooked.

Told in the third person, the story centers around three teens, Eric, Shelly, and Fatima.   The three teens, from different high schools, meet while on suspension and are attending the same bullying intervention program. The three team up to discover the anonymous caller who threatens them with revealing photos or writings from their personal pasts.  The reader is kept in suspense as to WHAT the secrets are that the three kids are trying so desperately to keep secret.

This novel is full of suspense, mystery, blackmail, and bullying.  The three teens are unlikely bullies, and the reader feels empathy for them, as they do things they hate to do but don’t feel they have a choice about.

Two of the characters are somewhat stereotypical (Eric is a jock, Shelly is Goth), while the third character, Fatima is a Muslim-American girl, and seeing the situation from her cultural viewpoint adds diversity and interest.

For those readers who enjoy this book, it is likely that there will be a sequel: the final scene sets up that possibility.

Should Charlotte Share?

Product DetailsShould Charlotte Share is a nice character development book. It helps children define what effect their choices may have on others and for themselves. Twenty-four pages in length, each “chapter” addresses a different decision and consequence.  The first chapter explains that we make choices every day and that the choices we make have effects or consequences. The next four chapters target a specific behavior. Each behavior is given four pages; first is the scenario, the next two pages show the good and the bad outcome of the decision, the last page asks the reader “What would you do?” and delves deeper into the outcome of good and the bad consequence.

For example chapter two asks, “Should Henry help?” The first page sets the scenario: Henry’s sister’s shoe is untied. Page two shows that he could help, as we see him tying his sister’s shoe . The third page shows that he chose not to help her as they are getting ready to run a race with her shoe untied. The fourth page is the consequence and we see that when Henry chooses to help, he and his sister can play and have fun. But when he chooses not to help we see his sister has tripped on her shoelace and she can no longer join in the fun.

The chapters include: Should Charlotte share?, Should Henry help?, Should Wendy tease her teammate?, Should Theo tell the truth?  The end pages include a picture glossary, index and notes for teaching. Full color photographs are used. Diversity is present; bi-racial, white, Latino, Indian, Asian and perhaps Native American; however, African-American does not seem to be represented.

This book could easily become a lesson in itself. Due to it’s small size (7″ x 8″) small group sharing would be ideal or the use of a projector would be needed for whole class instruction.

Monkeys

Monkeys is one of six books in the Zoo Animals series published by Sandcastle.  The photographs are dazzling.  The simple text includes vocabulary that should be mostly accessible for early readers.  The book includes a contents page, Fast Facts summary, quick quiz and glossary.

The Night Parade

This rhyming bedtime story chronicles the adventures of children who participate in a Night Parade, “while mothers and fathers lie sleeping.”  The children dance around stars, skip around signposts and “make cakes for the moon with an old wooden spoon and get frosting all over their faces.”  The magical verse and vibrant illustrations will make this book a bedtime favorite.

 

Just One More

Sometimes Ruby needs just one more….one more minute to sleep, one more push on the swing, or one more scoop of ice cream on her cone.  This story, that every toddler and adult reader will relate to, is brought to life with GORGEOUS and engaging illustrations.

 

Big Machines Float!

One of six books in the Big Machines series, this book describes a number of big floating machines and provides a few interesting facts about each.  Each “big” machine is rated Big, Super or Mighty!!!  Photographs are set off by illustrated text and sidebar information.  The book includes a table of contents, brief quiz, glossary and index.

Brachiosaurus

 

Brachiosaurus is one of six books in this series.  It describes the dinosaur in relative terms–as tall as a four-story building and as heavy as 12 elephants.  His head was “small,” he ate “plants,” and the dinosaurs died “long ago.”  There are interesting illustrations, a table of contents and a glossary.

I am Cow, Hear me Moo!

This is a lively tale about Nadine, a boastful cow who claims she isn’t afraid of anything.  Her skeptical friends ask if she might be afraid of lightning, or the woods?  “Not me,” bragged Nadine and she heads for the woods to prove her point.  The book, written in rhyme, describes Nadine’s adventures (and misadventures) in the woods; as darkness draws near, Nadine dashes for home to a hero’s welcome.

 

Thank you, Octopus

This whimsical bedtime story follows the antics of an octopus as he helps a boy get read for bed with a bath (in egg salad), teeth brushing (with paint), and monsters in the closet.  This quick and silly book will be enjoyed by young children, as well as the adult reading the story!

Ankylosaurus

Ankylosurus is one of six book’s in Smithsonian’s Little Explorer Series.  The book provides a thorough description of the dinosaur, its behavior, and its historical significance.  Lively illustrations will captivate young aspiring paleontologists.  The book includes an index, glossary and recommendations for additional reading and internet resources.

Dino-Mike and the T.Rex Attack

Mike Evans, AKA Dino-Mike,  is the young son of world renown paleontologist Stanley Evans who are currently on a dig in Montana. When Mike finds the actual work involved in the dig tedious and boring his father suggests, ” Why don’t you go explore the other dig sites…but be back before dark…” (p. 19) Soon Mike is off in the nearby forest chasing down a mysterious girl. The girl, Shannon, is out hunting a real T.Rex, which Mike is having trouble understanding since, “they went extinct more than 65 million years ago!” (p. 31)Shannon reveals a boy, Jeff, has brought the T.Rex to this time. ” ‘ He thinks dinos should never have gone extinct. He’s trying to save them by introducing them into different time periods. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize how much damage he’s doing or how many people he’s putting in danger. That’s why I’ve come back here to stop him…’ “ (p. 76) Shannon and Mike come up with a plan tricking both Jeff and the T.Rex into one of Shannon’s high tech gadgets capturing them both.  After Shannon slips off with Jeff and the T.Rex, Mike comes across a nest of dinosaur eggs just as his father is looking for Mike for dinner. It seems the T.Rex was storming around the area looking for her long lost eggs.

The story line is fast-paced and clever. Franco leads the reader along willingly, just like Shannon does Mike. There is just enough dinosaur information to make the young would-be dinosaur aficionado think he is in the know, mixed in with new dinosaur trivia to grab and ‘wow’ the reader. The dinosaur jacket Mike’s  father gave him is pretty amazing, as well, with its high tech gadgets. Add all this together with Franco’s numerous black and white story sketches and this new series should sprout wings and take off!

Includes a sewn binding, glossary, and Dino Facts about T. Rex.

 

Ocean Secrets

A few years ago, building secret fairy houses was quite the rage.  Little girls loved using natural materials to build these hideaways outside.  However, I haven’t seen the interest in this for quite some time.  In Ocean Secrets, fairy houses built on or near the beach are part of the story, but not to the point of having a series named for them.  This book has a big variety of subplots:  friendship between two tweens, a much-loved older home’s questionable future, lobster pots being stolen, mysterious lights in a closed-down hotel on an island, underwater fairy houses, taking care of wildlife, and working together to beat the thieves.  The storyline itself is interesting but the audience it is written for is confusing.   The vocabulary is at about a fourth grade reading level and the fairy house bit is interesting to second graders, many of the subplots are appropriate for second-graders but the thieves have guns and are not so appropriate.  It’s just kind of a conundrum as to who this story is meant for.

 

Tree Frogs

Tree Frogs is one of  the 50 books in the Animal Safari series of non fiction books for emergent readers. The cover photograph reels the reader in with its big red-eyed, larger than life tree frog.  Once inside the book, the two-page spreads contain two large font sentences on white, opposite the larger than life  photo on the right. The book is divided into  four sections: What are Tree Frogs?; Climbers; Hunting and Hiding; and Males, Females, and Babies.

The nine bold type vocabulary words included in the book’s text and defined in the glossary include: amphibians, gills, pads, and predators. Three different habitats are pictured in small insets when the rain forests are mentioned. The tree frogs’ prey of moths, crickets, and flies are also given small insets.  A very brief mention the life cycle from egg to tadpole to adult living in trees is mentioned without using the term life cycle in the last section of the book.

Includes an index and www.factsurfer.com web address for further information and pictures.

Baby Orangutans

The series title: Super Cute! nails it! Baby Orangutans is one of  the 25 books in this series of non fiction books for emergent readers. The cover photograph reels the reader in with its big eyed (life-sized) baby orangutan face. The baby might be smiling, too.  Once inside the book, the two-page spreads contain two large font sentences on a patch of white, overlay the photo.

There are three, four page sections in the book: Orangutan Infant!, Life with Mom, and Learning from Mom. The seven vocabulary words  in bold type can be found with their definitions in the glossary at the back of the book. These include: ” bond – a close connection”,  comfort, grooms, and rain forest. Page 6 states, ” The infant acts a lot like a human baby. It sucks its thumb for comfort.”

Though this book is more picture than words, it does inform the reader the mother orangutan shows the baby how to build a nest for sleeping and how to find food, among other activities.

Includes an Index.