As with the other Sophie books, this one deals with one those struggles every child faces at some time or another; in this case, the frustration of facing a challenge when something doesn’t come easy, and working past, “I can’t.”  It teaches kids that we grow our brains by exercising them, and that the power of the word, “yet,” lies in the reminder that what we can’t do now we can learn to do by sticking with the challenges until we can.

It reads like What to Expect When You’re Expecting and Baby’s First Year, except written for kids from kids’ perspective.  The voice is authentic, sounding like the advice is coming some kids who have been there, sharing their own experiences and suggestions about what it’s like getting a new baby in the family.  The concerns and observations that are addressed really are the kinds of things kids would notice and care about, with headings such as “Meet the Conehead,” and “The Real Scoop on Baby Poop.”

It tells an important story, that is all too real for too many children in this world: that of a young boy in a war-torn country whose family must flee their home in the middle of the night, and in the midst of the violence, our main character must run away on his own.  He makes his way alone to a refugee camp where there are too few resources and where bullies and gangs bring another kind of violence.  His one bit of home he is able to recreate for himself in the camp is a handmade soccer ball fashioned from banana leaves.  When a volunteer soccer coach arrives to organize some sport for the children of the camp, he gets put on the same team as the biggest bully, and being teammates begins to break down barriers between the two boys.  And their friendship continues to grow after the volunteer leaves, as they make more balls and continue to play soccer with the other children in the camp.  The back of the book includes information about various world-wide organizations that help children develop citizenship skills through play.

It’s a clearly written, rather comprehensive text that lives up to its title, covering such topics as The World Cup, famous players, equipment, positions, history, women in the sport, etc.  It’s illustrated with full-color photos that are well-placed to support the text.  The graphic layout is enough to highlight specific aspects of the text without being distracting.  And it’s got a lovely, sturdy binding.

It’s trying to be some sort of Fiction/Non-Fiction hybrid, combining a be-a-good-sport story with a bunch of informational blurbs and jokes.  The problem is that the informational blurbs and jokes are stuck in rather randomly, and interfere with the flow of the story, and the story isn’t strong enough on its own to stand up to the interruptions. It’s rather lame and pedantic.

I am normally reluctant to consider spending close to $20 for a book with so little text, but in this case I approve.  The familiar, rhythmic, rhyming text of three nursery rhymes (It’s Raining, It’s Pouring; The Itsy Bitsy Spider; Mary Had a Little Lamb) is broken down to a single phrase per page, which is paired nicely with supporting illustrations, making this a perfect tool for emergent readers.  Plus, it’s got a really sturdy binding.

It really is strictly for the very youngest students (PreK-K), as a tool for allaying fears or nerves that may arise from having a substitute teacher.  The illustrations are cute and inviting and support the text.  The story is written in rhyme, but I’m afraid the rhythm is a bit stilted/awkward at times.  It tells of a small kitten’s worries when she doesn’t see her teacher there to greet her as usual, and the questions that she has about how they will manage without her, but of course in the end it all turns out just fine.

This fanciful picture book biography of Lewis Carroll gives the reader a good sense of who the author was and how the famous “Alice in Wonderland” came to be.  Sprinkled with Lewis’s imaginary words and signature phrases, and draws the reader into wanting to read the works from which they come.

I love the illustrations.  They’re fabulous, and combined with and intriguing title, they drew me in, but then the story fell flat. The subtitle is, “Young Mel Blanc…before he was the Man of 1,000 Voices.”  But the only parts of the book that told us anything about who Mel Blanc was are the flyleaf and the author’s note in the back — the parts kids don’t read.  The text of the body itself did nothing to develop this character or give the reader a reason to care about his imagination.

I would like it better if it were about grandparents than I do with it being about Dad.  Grandparents are supposed to spoil kids.  Dads are supposed to parents, and this book feeds into the stereotype of Mom being the real parent, and Dad getting to be the loafer.  When Mom is gone for the evening,  and Dad is in charge, Clare keeps trying to tell her dad how Mom would do things, but he keeps saying he’s doing it Dad’s way, which includes more fun, desert for dinner, and extra stories and kisses before bed, so of course Clare ends the story by asking if Dad can be in charge again tomorrow.