Category Archives: Reviewer’s Library Type

Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls: A Passover Tale in Chelm

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Linda Glaser takes this well-known classic tale and adds all new charm to it by setting it in the fictional Jewish village of fools- Chelm.

“You know what we say at Passover,” the stranger proclaimed to the people in the square. ‘All who are hungry come and eat’.”   The town’s people, of course, try to shoo the stranger away. Then, he shows them his stone that can make delicious matzoh ball soup. Little by little the stranger coaxes the villagers to bring out first the salt, then the onions, followed by garlic, carrots, celery, and chicken.  The stranger is called to task for not having matzoh balls in the soup.  His stone can make matzoh balls so heavy they will stay in your stomach for a week. To this the Chelm villagers bring out their famous light matzoh balls and put them into the soup. Then, “it took four men to lug the pot into the synagogue– the only place where everyone would fit for the Seder… The stranger spread his arms wide and proclaimed, ‘ All who are hungry, please come and eat!'”

On the page turn, the reader will learn about “A Little about Passover”, “A Little about Chelm”, and “A Little about Stone Soup”.

Three’s Company, Mallory! # 21

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In this the 21st Mallory book, there is all the drama of pre-teen girls, but with more than the usual maturity level in the end to solve the problem.

It all begins when a new neighbor girl moves into the house across the street from Mallory. She looks incredibly like Mary Ann – Mallory’s BFF. Mallory is jealous immediately of the attention the new girl Chloe Jennifer (and her family) is getting from Mary Ann and is feeling left out. ” I just don’t like that having  her around makes everything with Mary Ann different. It’s like Mary Ann has forgotten that we’re supposed to be best friends.”  (p. 66)  Mary Ann over compensates for Mallory’s coolness towards Chloe Jennifer. Mary Ann gets very bossy to the point she has Mallory cutting Chloe Jennifer’s hair. OOPS! Grounded. Chloe Jennifer has to get a new shorter hair style. “From the minute she moved to Wish Pond Road, I was so worried that she would mess up my friendship with Mary Ann that I didn’t really give her a chance. ” (p. 121)  Mallory is able to get ungrounded to give Chloe Jennifer a chance. Also, Chloe Jennifer’s tells her side of the story about being the scared new girl to Mary Ann and Mallory.

Mallory and Mary Ann Take New York

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Even though this is #19 in the Mallory series, it is my first time reading one. I found it quite enjoyable because it is so naturally believable and full of energy. This one begins, ” My favorite TV show, hosted by my favorite TV hostess, Fashion Fran, is about to have a fashion design contest for kids.”

( p. 7)   Both Mallory and her best friend Mary Ann enter, they always do everything together. Mallory wins the contest. How will she keep her pinky swear promise to take Mary Ann to the TV show in New York? Mallory and Mary Ann convince their mothers to make this trip for 4 into a trip for 2 mothers and 2 daughters. WOW! [This trip is pretty amazing, because on two different pages the word “WOW! is repeated 10 times.]  BUT rules are rules, so Fashion Fran’s assistant says only Mallory can be on the show.  Now Mary Ann is mad and not talking to Mallory while they tour New York’s Statue of Liberty, Time Square, Central Park, and Johnny’s Famous Pizza. It’s the day of the Fashion Fran Show. Mallory whispers to Mary Ann how they can both be on the show. First Mallory will model and then Mary Ann will after the commercial break, by exchanging clothes in the restroom. They look so much alike, no one will notice. The difference between a right-handed wave by Mallory and a left-handed wave by Mary Ann at the end of the runway tips off Fran to the switch.  ” ‘I don’t like being fooled,’ says Fran.’ But I understand the situation, and applaud you both for finding such a creative solution.. ‘.”  ( 129)

The Home Fronts in World War I

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This reference geared for upper elementary grades illustrates not the battles and campaigns of WWI but what life was like for those not engaged in battle. The chapters are short; each chapter answers a question, such as “Did Civilians Face Attacks?” or “What Was Life Like for Children?” Photographs and sidebars cover most of the pages; the book is more about sound bites than expansive information.  One of the recurring sidebars is “In Their Own Words,” excerpts from primary sources; another is short biographical sketches of important individuals. Information on propaganda and posters were included. I was most surprised by the fact the home fronts of many countries, not just the U.S., were covered. The book concludes with a timeline, glossary and list of resources for more information. This could be a useful introduction to this aspect of WWI for elementary students.

The Saga of Erik the Viking

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Terry Jones, best known as part of Monty Python’s team, wrote this story for his young son after going to an exhibition about Vikings at the British Museum. Deciding the Icelandic epics were a little difficult to read, he decided to tell the Sagas in a way that would be interesting to younger readers, filled with action, strange adventures, monsters, and magic.  This is the 30th Anniversary Edition of the story of Erik, who is compelled to find the land where the sun goes at night, even though no one who has attempted the journey has successfully returned. The rest of the book relates his adventures in chapters that can be read individually as separate adventures so younger readers do not have to tackle the whole book at once; a teacher could easily read one adventure at a time aloud to a class. Jones strikes a balance between the formal storytelling tone of ancient myths and language accessible to modern school age children. When Erik returns home after his voyage, he tells the people of his village, ” We have faced the Dragon of the North Sea, we have three times tricked the Old Man of the Sea, we have been turned to stone…and we have been to the edge of the world and over it…” The tales of those adventures and more, including how he defeats Death in a game of chess, make up the book. This is a wonderful addition to the mythology section of a school library. This book would be a good next step for students who read D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths.

Darkness Everywhere: The Assassination of Mohandas Gandhi

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While this book does provide a biography of Gandhi, it does not focus solely on his life. Half of the book provides the history of the group of conspirators who plotted and carried out the execution of “Mahatmaji.” Gandhi’s evolution as a proponent of nonviolent civil disobedience, from his time in South Africa to his return to British-controlled India, is juxtaposed with the growing movement for a Hindu controlled India. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was the leader of a group of Hindu nationalists who saw Gandhi’s vision of an independent India with freedom for both Muslims and Hindus as a betrayal of all Hindus. One of Savarkar’s followers, Nathuram Godse, decided that there was only one way to prevent Gandhi from further weakening India: Gandhi had to die, and Godse was willing to implement the solution. The book follows the conspirators through the assassination and the trial, and wraps up with more about Gandhi’s message and others who were inspired to action by it. The book is colorful; it includes many interesting sidebars, photos, and direct quotations from the major players in the events that occurred. Prime Minister Nehru’s speech to his nation after the assassination of Gandhi is included along with a few good ideas for a lesson connected to the speech. The book concludes with a timeline, a who’s who section with short biographies, a very short glossary, and a list of resources for further information. I see many uses for this book in the classroom to support both history and English curriculums and I highly recommend it.

World War I: From the Lusitania to Versailles

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The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the first step in what was to become a global conflict. When the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, most believed that the “war to end all wars” would soon be over. This reference covers WWI from the sinking of the Lusitania to the Treaty of Versailles, beginning each chapter with an excerpt from a song, poem, letter or speech from the time. There are maps, photographs, posters and paintings throughout the book, but I was disappointed that there was so little primary source text material.  The book ends with a timeline, glossary and a list of resources for further reading. I would only recommend this for 4-7th grades; it does not have the depth of information necessary for any kind of research at the secondary level.

Student Movements of the 1960s

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Young women and men coming of age in 1960 were not, as a whole, worried about social hypocrisy or desirous of changing the economic, political, and social framework of the United States.  The subsequent decade changed that.  In Student Movements of the 1960s Alexander Cruden has brought together a selection of primary source documents [primarily speeches, manifestos and articles] which reflect a number of challenges that arose to the status quo.

What this set of readings does is reflect the voices of people who helped drive the politics of the era with their righteous indignation with the ways things were.  For context, Cruden includes an interview with Jonathan Leaf who is quick to point out the reality of the sixties, that most young people were not protesters, poor, or feeling oppressed. 

Anti-war protesters, women challenging gender roles, students dissatisfied with college rules and mores, and black power advocates all have a seat at the table in Cruden’s slender volume.   Combined they represent a minority of voices from the era, but those that inspired and helped create an America different from the one they found in 1960.

Included also are representative voices of those who resisted or critiqued the change at the time.  Together these pieces provide a rich tableau of perspectives of those who consciously tried to change this country a half century ago.

Pushes and Pulls

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Author, Helen Gregory, presents an easy to understand early physics science book which supports national science standards. It enjoyment all begins, with the smiling mother pushing her smiling daughter on a swing pictured on the book’s front cover. Often the  photos in these small 7″ x 6″ books are mediocre, but not so with this book. The photos accompanying each single line of  text are well composed and specific for the material being presented.   The information on the left hand page denotes a ‘pull’ and on the right hand page it denotes a ‘push’.

And so it begins, “A force moves things. You can move things with a push or a pull.” (p.4-5) The photos include a bathroom water faucet being pulled down to stop the flow and a door knob being pushed to open a door.  The ‘push’ pages include: moving a wooden toy box, ringing a doorbell, moving a shopping chart, and piano keys. “You push a ball when you hit it with a bat.”  (. 13)  The ‘pull’ pages include: pulling a snow sled up a hill, pulling a toy red wagon, pulling on a shoe, and playing tug-a-war. “You pull a bow across violin strings.” (p. 14)

Students may miss it, but on page 19 under the heading – NOW TRY THIS! there is a suggested activity for children to try, “Think of something you do everyday that is either a push or pull. Act out your example for the class. See if your classmates can guess what the activity is. Then let them decide if the activity involves a push or a pull- or both.” (p. 19)

Circus Train

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Author, Adria F. Klein, presents a color concept book for very young readers using 81 words. Craig Cameron’s bright, cheery illustrations of the circus train are a perfect match with the circus animals all happily smiling .

As the circus train pulls into town each train car is a different color, “There were elephants in the gray car.” (p. 18-19) The yellow car has the lions, orange car has the tigers, the brown car has the bears, the red car has the monkeys, the white car has the dogs, and the black car has the horses in it. What could be in the last rainbow swirled train car? ” The clowns! ‘Time for fun!’ said Circus Train.”  (p. 28-31)