Author Archives: Candy Ranney

About Candy Ranney

Candy is an elementary school librarian in Shelton, WA at the school where she was a student (so many years ago!). Her library is unique in that she brings her background and love of biology to her students in many ways. Not only does she have an awesome selection of science books; she also has a beaver, bobcat and mink sitting on her shelves and a variety of jarred specimens for her students to study. When she's not in the library, she is taking care of her baby trees on her tree farm and hanging out with her family and many pets. * 2025 WA Library Association School Librarian of the Year

Swimming

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This nonfiction book gives a good overview of swimming, including four basic strokes. equipment and safety. labeled photos accompany the simple text, with bolded words that might be unfamiliar. Those words are then defined in the glossary at the end of the book. Typical nonfiction features (table of contents, index, resource list, text boxes, labels) are present. An additional feature, which makes this book stand out over others is the number of QR codes, which link to extra resources. Once accessed, there are activity pages to print, videos and many other extras that take this book a step above the rest. While it is a fine introduction to the sport of swimming for young readers, the extra features will engage students and the adults around them. Highly recommended.

The Piano Recital

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Momo is nervously awaiting her turn on stage at her first piano recital. As she repeats to herself “I’ll be ok”, she looks down and sees a small mouse saying the same words. The mouse tells Momo that she has a recital as well and invites her new friend to come watch. Momo follows the mouse to a wonderful concert hall filled with an audience of attentive mice and an incredible array of performers. There are mouse magicians, dancers, singers and an orchestra. They fill the concert hall with color and excitement. Finally, it is the mouse’s turn to perform and Momo offers to accompany her on the piano. They finish the piece and as Momo stands to take a bow, she looks out and realizes that she has just performed at her own recital!

What a beautiful book that is filled with imagination! Momo expresses the nervousness that many children feel at some point in their lives and that nervousness is alleviated in a sweet, magical way. Charcoal and pencil illustrations with a hint of color in the right places are a beautiful accompaniment to a sweet story. Recommended.

Good Guys, Bad Guys

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A pair of siblings that seem so different start their day – one grouchy and messy, the other happy and squeaky clean. They play with their respective groups, the “good guys’ and “bad guys”, throughout a day filled with imagination and fun. Near the end of the day, their paths converge and they retreat to their respective homes, tired and happy. The siblings wave goodbye to their friends and head to bed, agreeing to switch places tomorrow for a new day of fun and imagination.

This book is brimming with joy and play as a wonderful mixture of kids use their imagination to make the day so fun. Characters are diverse and the play is full of action and dramatic play. Colors are vivid and there is movement in the illustrations that enhances the short, rhyming text. Young readers will see themselves in the story. Or, at the very least, glean some awesome ideas for their own playtime! Recommended.

A Stopwatch from Grampa

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This is a sweet, heartfelt story about a child, who feels very deeply the loss of his grandfather. They were buddies and a stopwatch that he is holding (his grandfather’s) is a symbol of their shared memories. The child is honest, though and says, “I don’t want his stopwatch. I want him.” He tosses the item into a drawer and time seems to drag on, dark and lonely. Seasons pass and he finds his grandpa’s watch again. Now, it brings him happy memories, about which he can begin to smile. He starts to use it again and includes his younger sibling in timing some of the same things he did with grandpa.

The story is lovely and a realistic portrayal of the grief that a child feels about the passing of a loved one. Soft, gentle illustrations add to the melancholic tone of the words, with just the right amount of color. The child’s face is expressive and matches the feelings that he expresses. Highly recommended. This will lead to very meaningful discussions when needed.

The Perfectly Perfect Wish

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The girl finds a golden coin, with the words NO WISHING FOR MORE WISHES engraved on it. She spends the day at school dreaming about the one wish she has. Asking friends what they would wish for makes her realize that she already has everything she really wants and the extras can be earned through hard work or time. She then makes a truly wonderful wish – a wish that everyone else’s wish would come true. And, in the end, we see that everyone she asks receives their special wishes. Her teacher get the house she wishes for, her wheelchair bound friend gets a dog and her friend, Mark, has his military dad come home.

This warm, sweet story is a testament to generosity and empathy and will make kids really think hard about what their wishes might be. Soft grey colors with vivid shots of color at the right moments in the story move it along and give importance to important parts of the story.

Characters are diverse and the illustrations work into the story beautifully. This is definitely a book to purchase!

Castle of Books

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Castle of Books explores all the answers to the question “Why do we need books?”. Spare text and flowing, colorful illustrations give reasons from the realistic “to observe” to the more esoteric “to grow” and “to lose ourselves”. Everything about this book encourages the reader to think to himself “Why do I need books?” and proceed to the many answers he will have!

You Loves Ewe!

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Dim-witted Donkey has so much difficulty with homonyms! And, there are plenty in this book, which is a follow-up to I Yam a Donkey! by Cece Bell.

Donkey comes up to two characters and greets them as fellow donkeys. Yam corrects him and introduces new friend, Ewe, to Donkey, who replies “That is ME? I yam so cute and fluffy!” And, the comical repartee ensues. Yam tries to be helpful. But, he tends to make things more difficult by showing Donkey signs and examples of Doe/Dough, Moose/Mousse and Hare/Hair. The story ends with Ewe professing her love for Ram over Yam (“Eye Dew”) and a tearful Yam being consoled by his buddy, Donkey. Oh, My!

Bright illustrations organized in blocky comic book style accompany text in word bubbles. Young readers may not understand all the comical missteps on their own. But, this is a great introduction to homonyms and can be useful as a teaching tool as well.

The Three Billy Goats Buenos

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This is a sweet, fresh, bilingual version of the classic Three Billy Goats Gruff. In this story, three brother goats put their heads together to come up with a plan to get past the grumpy troll, where just over the bridge is the most delicious grass. One by one, they pass by the troll, extolling the superior flavor of the next goat in line. The last goat, though, wonders why the troll is so grumpy. That is when he notices the troll’s sore toe with a thorn in it. He mobilizes his brother goats and he pulls out the thorn while they prepare a poultice of herbs to soothe the offending toe. The troll is so happy that she allows them free access the the bridge and declares them all amigos.

Susan Middleton Elya (author) and Miguel Ordonez (illustrator) have taken the story to new heights with a mix of Spanish and English and a dose of cuteness in the three billy goats, with their big eyes and adorable horns. The troll is a big, blue and cartoon-like. So, she’s not really scary, even though she wants to eat the goats. The colors are bright and the story flows rather lyrically.

This is a good read-aloud, with the Spanish words in a glossary in the front, containing pronunciation and meaning. The value of teamwork, empathy and friendship will be a great discussion point with the book. Highly recommended.

Gold Rush!

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You are on the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri to either Oregon or the possible riches of California. Which way will you go? That’s up to you in this choose your own story format book. Life on the Oregon Trail is never easy an decisions need to be made at every turn. With twenty-two possible endings, this story will take young readers on a journey filled with danger in the form of wild animals, thieves, difficult travel conditions, possible illness, starvation or death. One of the pathways is the right one and it’s up to the reader to discover it.

Just like the PC Oregon Trail game of years’ past, this book will give the reader a tiny taste of the difficult decisions that pioneers made every day on the Oregon Trail. An introduction at the beginning and a guide with pioneer biographies at the end are highly recommended first reading before the adventure starts for the reader. Pen and ink illustrations enhance the story in Book #7 of this series.

This is a great way to introduce students to life on the Oregon Trail. They follow children their age as they determine the best path for their wagon and family. Parents and teachers will enjoy the nostalgia of the book and remember those times they were attacked by a bear or died of starvation in the computer game of their youth. They might have some pointers for the kids on this one!

The Race to Chimney Rock

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Pack your wagon and head out from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City along the Oregon Trail using a “choose your own trail” format. Parents will remember the Oregon Trail PC game of their youth as their children navigate the hazards of daily life on The Trail.

There are twenty-two possible endings to this book, but only one will get you as far as Chimney Rock, the stopping point for this book (one of four). Readers are given choices along the way and turn to the page corresponding to their choice. Do they ford the river or take the ferry? Wild animals, illness, bad weather, break downs and bad guys are along the way to slow them down or kill them. Don’t worry, though, readers can start over and they might make it the next time!

An introduction at the beginning and a guide at the end help prepare young pioneer readers for the dangers they will face on the Oregon Trail. Pen and ink illustrations help move the story along and readers will learn something as they meander through the book (many times). Parents will enjoy the nostalgia of the book, because we have all caught dysentery in the Oregon Trail game. So, why not share that with your kids? Recommended