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

Field Tripped

Posted on by

Fifth graders Eddie, Aaron and their classmates from Liberty Falls Elementary School are on a field trip to the town’s famous inventor’s home – Minks’ Mansion. Eddie, a Minks descendant, has a plan and map. He wants to find hidden inventions that might help his family keep their home. The original Mr. Minks donated his mansion and inventions to the town of Liberty Falls when he died several generations ago. There is another mystery as well. Jessie overhears the tour guide and his helper talking about moving the inventions and believes they plan to steal everything. She just needs to convince her classmates that this is a real thing.

The students, their teacher and principal are touring the mansion and barn when a huge snowstorm hits and forces them to stay the night. Unfortunately, the group is split up and all the adults end up in the barn with a class, while the other class stays in the mansion without adult supervision. Not surprisingly, mayhem ensues. Students get lost, break inventions, scare each other, have a snowball fight and catch a couple of thieves…actually, an innocent tour guide and a principal.

In the end, there is a perfectly good explanation for everything, new friends are made and a mean girl gets her comeuppance. Along the way, the students discover their strengths and make some crazy discoveries of their own.

Each chapter is told in a student’s voice and switches between four different students: Eddie, Jessie, Chloie and Aaron. It takes some time to differentiate between the students. But, as the story unfolds, their voices are stronger and more easily determined. The adults are goofy and the terrible puns are somewhat painful. This is a light, humorous adventure, with a touch of mystery. Additional purchase

Pug Meets Pig

Posted on by

Pug has the good life – a great home, yard, food and a bed. Things are going great until the day a Pig moves in. All of sudden, life isn’t so great as the Pig takes over all of Pug’s stuff! Well, life isn’t too good until a doggy door is put into the house door and Pig doesn’t fit. Suddenly, life is great. Except…Pig is sad! So, Pug decides to help him by gnawing through the doggy door to make a larger Pig door and the (now) friends are together and having fun.

This is a sweet little story with simple illustrations and text. There are many books out there with animal friendships. But, pugs are popular and and who doesn’t love a cute pig? Buy it if you need to refresh your dog picture books.

My Adopted Family

Posted on by

Lenny visits his classmate, Adam, and his family to report on this Student of the Week. Along the way, he discovers that Adam and his sister are adopted and are part of a loving, normal family, much like his own.

This book is part of a series on different types of families and the story introduces this particular family type in a very natural way. The illustrations are somewhat cartoon-like and colorful. My Adopted Family, along with the rest of the books in the My Family series would be a sweet introduction to units on families in the primary grades. Recommended

Agatha Parrot and the Thirteenth Chicken

Posted on by

Agatha Parrott and her school mates are tasked with caring for thirteen chicks after their heated box at school breaks down. Unfortunately, one goes missing and Agatha is sure that it’s her fault. Mayhem ensues as she and her friends search high and low for chick #13. Do they find it at the end?

This book is fast paced and in Agatha’s voice, which makes it a fun read for those ready for chapter books. The language is accessible and the black and white illustrations are hilarious. Agatha and her friends manage to make even losing a chicken great fun. Recommended

If You Were a Kid in the Wild West

Posted on by

This book is a blend of fact and fiction as we read the story of Nae (cowboy) and Kate (storekeeper’s daughter) as they navigate life in the wild west. Along the way, there are text and photo boxes with facts about that time period. There is a timeline and map included, as well as index, glossary and table of contents.

While the mix of facts and fiction is interesting, it is somewhat confusing that the fact boxes often do not coordinate with the fictional story line presented on the same pages. For example, Kate’s brother is really sick and the doctor is at a ranch five miles away. Yet, on the same two page spread there is a fact box with information about the Pony Express. The facts are great, but the story is a bit weak and doesn’t really mesh with some of the facts (as mentioned previously). And, elements are (very) briefly mentioned in the story line, but a have a big presence in the accompanying fact box.

This might be a decent book to rouse student interest for more substantial information. But, don’t rely on it. Not recommended.

Let’s Visit the Evergreen Forest

Posted on by

Let’s Visit the Evergreen Forest is an introduction to the plants and animals that are part of this particular biome. Pictures are engaging and accompanying text boxes have extra information. A map details where this biome is located. And, information is presented in simple terms, with a glossary to explain the more difficult words.

This book leads the reader to believe that an evergreen forest biome is simply a stand of towering trees, which is incorrect. There are many parts to this ecosystem, some of which are pictured but not discussed in the text. Meadows, wetlands and immature stands of trees as well as the mature forest are all part of a healthy evergreen forest biome. Different animals thrive in different parts of that biome and that is not described in the text. I would not recommend this book for purchase unless it is used in conjunction with instruction on all aspects of an evergreen biome.

Rhymes with Doug

Posted on by

Doug receives a mysterious package in the mail and opens it to find a magical rhyming parrot. Everything is great while the parrot rhymes ‘Doug” with “mug” and Doug gets hot chocolate and “Doug” with “pug” and a puppy appears. But things get crazy when the rhyming words are “slug” (Doug turns into one) and “bug” (ditto). The rhyming mayhem continues until the end when the word is “snug” and Doug is pictured in his bed. Uh-oh, did the bird just add “…as a bug in a rug”? No wonder the last page shows the same mysterious package near his friend’s car. A gift, perhaps?

Cartoon like characters and a mix of word bubbles and narrative text make this book an enjoyable tool in teaching rhyming. It is one of many out there (Seuss, et al). So, buy it if you have extra money to spend to freshen up your collection of rhyming books.

The Sky is Falling

Posted on by

Data Set are in another adventure-this time with an alien who wanted to visit earth after hearing from Dr. Bunsen in his new language. sending light and sound to space, Dr.Bunsen has attracted the attention of the townspeople, aliens and, possibly, government agents. Can the Data Set fix this scientific mess?

This book offers science in a fun, fast-paced easy chapter book with multi ethnic kids solving whatever problems their scientist friend, Dr. Bunsen (somewhat reminiscent of Doc Brown from Back to the Future movie fame) manages to cook up. And, as always, the kids manage to do so with ingenuity and intelligence. Recommended

The Early Cretaceous: Notes, Drawings, and Observations from Prehistory

Posted on by

Imagine studying prehistoric life first hand. Well, that is what you will find in this book that is set up like a naturalist’s journal. Drawings and notes fill the pages with descriptions of animals that many of us wish we could see standing before us (although, the carnivores could stand a ways away from us). The newest scientific information is presented in a format that makes us feel as if we are reading notes from a scientist that has actually recorded data from living, breathing organisms. Helpful comparisons in size between humans and dinosaurs are a highlight of each two to four page section. Would-be paleontologists will study this book in – depth and dream of their own discoveries to come. Add this book to your dinosaur collection – it’s a nice update.

Confusion is Nothing New

Posted on by

Ellie’s mom is dead and Ellie is mad. She is mad that she never looked for the mother that left a few months after Ellie was born. She is mad that her dad never wanted to talk about her mom. And, she’s mad that her mom never really reached out to her.

But, she has a shoebox of mixed tapes, cd’s and odd items that her mom had apparently sent to her a year before. So, she and her band friends try to find out who this woman was that had been Ellie’s mom. She discovers so much along the way, most importantly that she is surrounded by loving friends and a dad that is her champion. Oh, and there are so many 1980’s songs mixed in that the reader will be compelled to turn up the stereo and sing along to some Cindy Lauper, et al.

This story is a fast -paced read with likeable characters who behave just like one would expect as they work together to put together who Ellie’s mom really was. Fortunately, there is believable closure for all as Ellie figures out who really matters to her. Recommended