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

The Little Red Fort

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This endearing version of the classic “Little Red Hen” centers on Ruby and her efforts to build a fort. She asks her brothers (Oscar Lee, Rodrigo and Jose) for help along the way and we know how that goes! Ruby perseveres, with a tiny bit of help from her dad, mom and grandma and makes a beautiful fort. And, as in the Red Hen’s case, the brothers want to play in the fort now. They feel guilty about their lack of initiative though, and proceed to paint the fort, plant flowers and build a mailbox. “Ruby was delighted” and invited them in to share freshly baked cookies at her fort-warming party.

This book employs a similar cadence and spare text of the original tale – “Not me,” said Oscar Lee. ‘I don’t think so,” said Rodrigo. “No way,” said Jose. But, this plucky little girl doesn’t let that stop her as she plans, measures, cuts and hammers her way to a lovely little fort. Her multi-generational family pitches in to encourage and give a little aid, when needed.

The illustrations are two page spreads with colorful depictions of Ruby and her family. The mixed-media presentation adds depth to the illustrations, which are simple and fun.

Pick up this book and add it to your read-aloud collection, because everyone will love to read about Ruby and the fort she wanted to build…and she did! Highly Recommended.

Graveyard Shakes

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There are two stories that come together in a single tale in Graveyard Shakes. The first story is about two sisters. Victoria and her younger sister, Katia, are sent from the farm to a boarding school on scholarship. Victoria wants to fit in and Katia loves to stand out, which doesn’t help Victoria. The second story is about a mad scientist (Nikoa), his nearly dead son (Modie) and ghosts, including Little Ghost. Every thirteen years, Nikola must take the spirit of a living child and give it to his son so that his son might “live”. Most of the ghosts in the graveyard (and secret laboratory) help with the process, except Little Ghost who is really rather scared of this ghostly stuff.

The two stories converge during a snowstorm, when Nikola sends his ghostly helpers to find a child and Katia runs away from Victoria, who must find her before she is used a life giving essence for Modie. With some help from Little Ghost and Modie, who both sacrifice themselves, the sisters escape from Nikola and end his evil plans. The story wraps up nicely, with the sisters accepting each other as they are, Nikola accepting his son’s death and vowing to be a better person, Little Ghost finally at peace and Modie (now a ghost) enjoying his new ‘family’ – Victoria and Katia.

The artwork is bold and the story is fast-paced. Young readers won’t be as disturbed as their adult counterparts by Nikola’s obsession with his child’s immortality and willingness to sacrifice living children. And, the sisters’ eventual acceptance of their uniqueness and unity after the initial discord is heartwarming. Additional selection.

Super Potato: the Epic Origin of Super Potato

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Super Max is your typical pretty boy superhero – big muscles, blond hair and an inflated sense of importance. Occasionally, he has to go to battle against Dr. Malevolent and always wins.

But, not this time…Dr. Malevolent has the ultimate weapon of destruction to use against humanity, snarky waiters and one vain superhero…a weapon that turns people into potatoes! And, he does just that after luring Super Max to his lair by stealing a priceless statue. Super Max is demoralized. He is now a tiny, hairless, insignificant potato. After crying for quite some time, he begins to walk home and is nearly hit by a truck but flies into the air in the nick of time. Flies? yes! He is a Super Potato!

So, Super Potato outfits himself in a doll size Super Max costume and wig, he heads back to Dr. Malevolent’s lair. He finally finds him wreaking havoc around town and turning everyone into potatoes, captures him, and breaks his evil potato weapon. He then forces Dr. Malevolent to create a de-potato-izing beam, which Dr. Malevolent actually makes into a super potato peeler (gasp). They battle fiercely until Super Potato causes an explosion and then saves Dr. Malevolent and sends him to jail.

This graphic novel is reminiscent of some of older cartoon of old with slapstick humor and over the top (funny) action. Readers will enjoy the fast pace and silly potato references. This is not the end of Super Potato. It is just the beginning…

Mr. Wolf’s Class

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This is the story of the first day of school for a classroom of students and their 4th grade teacher. Actually, it starts the night before when many students are in bed and Mr. Wolf is feverishly preparing his classroom for seventeen young minds. The story then moves on to the next day and all its trials and triumphs. The characters are anthropomorphized animals, but the reader will recognize the activities and characteristics of a normal human elementary school class.

Mr. Wolf is a new teacher and his day is full of firsts – his first introduction to his students, his first math pretest, his first planning time (library), his first staff room donut and his first lost (and found) student. Along the way, we share his thoughts (thought clouds) as he does a really good job with his first day with his own class.

His students are a multifaceted group, from the serious Aziza to the class clown Randy. There is also the new girl, Margot and the sleepy Penny (her baby brother keeps her awake at night). Readers will recognize themselves and their friends in this story.

The artwork is colorful and conveys the fast pace of the day. The details are fun and readers will laugh at Red Riding Hood book in Mr. Wolf’s hands and the rats that steal the lunch (walking down the hall in single file, each with a lunch item).

This is book one of a series and it should be popular. Readers will enjoy seeing a little of themselves in this story. Recommended

NBA Finals

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Current and past NBA Finals are described in spare text within full-color pictures of this 24 page high interest-lower reading level nonfiction book. The history of the NBA is briefly described along with exciting photos of some of its starts will engage even those reluctant readers.

Typical nonfiction features are included: table of contents, index, glossary and further exploration. Unfamiliar words are bolded and a two page spread of the bracket used will entice young readers to keep this book in hand. Additional purchase

My little pony. Friends forever, Fluttershy & Iron Will

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Iron Will has a problem – he is a bit too assertive and the Mizzuz kicked him out. Also, his son has been misbehaving (talking back to mom and acting out at school), which Iron Will doesn’t think is a problem…hmmmm. So, off he trots to the land of My Little Ponies to ask Fluttershy for help.

Through many trials and many, many errors Iron Will was able to be a bit more sensitive and introspective. He ambled off to make amends with the Mizzuz and get a handle on that rude son of his. Fluttershy ended the story by giving the secret to working with cantankerous bulls (a lesson for all of us) – kindness and patience.

While this book doesn’t give anyone a great deal to learn, it should be popular with the Pony crowd. The message isn’t half bad either – you can change yourself for the better if you try (for goodness’ sake, a cartoon bull was able to do it). additional purchase

The Missing Word

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Cris and his cat, Crat, introduce some BIG new works in five small stories. Each story is stand-alone and uses a new big word, with pronunciation (and excitement) given by the ‘sprinklers’ who are assistants to the ‘sprinkle fairy’. Cris like things to move along in an orderly fashion while his cat, Crat, certainly does not. That is why we see words like bamboozle and discombobulate introduced.

The artwork is simple with a lot of white space, much like Elephant & Piggie books, although the text isn’t nicely confined to colored word bubbles. Although this book doesn’t have the giggle-inducing humor of the aforementioned E & P, it is a rather fun way to learn some awesome new words. additional purchase

Geeky F@b 5: It’s Not Rocket Science

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Sisters Lucy and Marina are the new girls at school and unfortunate events lead them to more notoriety than they wanted. At recess, Lucy fall off the rickety playground equipment and the principal decides to have it removed. Of course, there is no money to replace the old equipment, so Lucy is now ‘the girl that ruined the playground fun’. Her sister, Marina, is a karate kicking sixth grade future astronaut, who has to protect Lucy when some older kids hassle her for her playground incident.

When some new friends come over for a sleepover, the girls hatch a plan to rebuild the playground. Each girl has a talent that can help the team: Lucy cares about the environment, Sofia is computer coder, A.J. loves to build, Zara has wicked good math skills and sings beautifully and Marina loves space. They present their ideas to the principal and she gives the okay to start fundraising and designing. There are snags along the way, but the team works through those challenges to a happy ending.

The STEM references are little heavy handed. But, this first effort from 12 year old Lucy Lareau and her mom, Liz Lareau, is a nice homage to smart girls. This multicultural cast of strong girls is drawn in strong colors and bold pen to make a satisfying story even more fun. And, if they don’t make you smile, then Hubble, the snarky cat, will surely do so! Recommended

The Spirit of Cattail County

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Sparrow has experienced the greatest loss of her life when her mother dies and leaves her in the care of her aunt, a seemingly hard-hearted woman intent on taking Sparrow away from everything she knows and loves. Sparrow is has never had friends…well, human friends…in her small southern town. Her best friend is Boy, a ghost that has always been with her. Sparrow can see spirits and she hopes that Boy can help her mama’s spirit come back, so that Sparrow will always have her nearby.

Sparrow had an unusual upbringing. She and her mama lived in the Dalton family home on the edge of the swamp. She never knew her father and she was really somewhat of a loner. Townspeople felt that there was something strange about this girl who looked nothing like the Daltons of generations past. So, most of her time was spent at home near the swamp, with her loving mama and Boy, along with the wispy spirits that only Sparrow could see.

In her quest to vanquish some of the abject sorrow and grief over her loss, Sparrow enlists the help of some of the other outcast kids in town, two Cast siblings from a family that has never been quite good enough for the rest of the townsfolk. Together with the Casto kids and a new friend from New York, Elena the Medium, Sparrow hopes to help the Boy with whatever problem is holding him back here in Beulah, Florida so that he can help her mama come back as a spirit. Along the way, she and her new friends hope to discover if the Casto kids’ uncle is Sparrow’s father and stop Sparrow’s aunt from selling the beloved Dalton family home.

Fans of mysteries, stories of loss, or slightly scary stories will enjoy this middle-grade novel. The characters are engaging and the setting is rich in detail (one almost feels the damp heat of the Florida swamp while reading!). The ending has a nice twist and the love and acceptance will warm the heart. Recommended

The Three Rules of Everyday Magic

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Kate Mitchell has a lot going on in her young life – a father who disappeared when his depression became too much, a grammy that is moving into the shadows of dementia and a friendship that is falling apart. This story is told in Kate’s voice as she struggles to understand and, perhaps, fix the pain in her life. Grammy talks of the Three Rules of Magic that Kate hopes can help ‘fix’ her life: Believe in magic or it won’t work, give magic to people you love, and trust the magic to work.

While the magic doesn’t necessarily work in the way Kate expects, it leads to a new friendship, a return to music and a closeness to her mother. Grammy is with them and life will be different and perhaps her father will climb out of his depression and come home to them (she did leave some magic outside his apartment door – the last hat her grammy knitted and Kate’s heartfelt notes from the the last several months).

While this novel deals with some heavy subjects like depression, dementia and their effects on family in a fairly simple way, it seems very appropriate for a middle grade reader. It is written from Kate’s point of view and the her understanding of those difficult parts appears to be aligned with a typical child of that age. Her feelings of abandonment, hurt and eventual empowerment and acceptance will resonate with readers, some who might be dealing with some of the same issues themselves. Recommended