The Hansel and Gretel tale told by the brothers Grimm is uniquely illustrated by Sybille Schenker and retold by Martin West. Schenker uses translucent pages to give amazing dimension to this tale of two children, abandoned by their parents, who try to find their way home. Coming upon a candy house, they need to outsmart a nearsighted witch. With each turn of the page, the reader is met with layers of semi-transparent pages of silhouette-like images mixed with opaque sheets which create depth and an almost movie-like aspect to this well-known tale. The effect is stunning. However, the binding is string and not durable enough to withstand multiple library checkouts. That being said, all collections should include this exquisite edition of this classic story.
Category Archives: Reviewer’s Library Type
Flood
This beautifully illustrated, wordless book shows the home of a family living near water. The children happily play outside and enjoy using technology indoors. The father is concerned with an approaching storm. Although they place sandbags around they house to mitigate damage, they reluctantly decide to abandon their home and flee to safety. As the storm abates, the family returns to view the damage. After a moment of grief, they energetically move to rebuild. Once again the home is returned to its former, tranquil condition and the family relaxes and enjoys an idyllic life once more. The paintings are large, filled with color and powerful. There are ample opportunities to discuss storms and flooding, emotions from comfort to grief, and perseverance with younger students, to the use of color and perspective in art with older students. On the surface a very simple topic, this book provides a variety of deeper themes. Recommended for all elementary library collections.
Pretty Princess Party: Hidden Picture Puzzles
This is a collection of hidden pictures for younger children. The topic is princesses and their various parties and activities. Each colorful, double-page spread includes an illustrated list of objects to find. The book begins with a short list of six objects and increases in complexity to twelve items to locate. Brightly colored illustrations are digitally created and are sure to capture one’s attention.
Adorable Accessories
For the older, more experienced crafters, this book contains ideas and directions on how to “upgrade” one’s fashion statement with paper. Yes, paper! Beginning with an illustrated list of supplies most crafters have, or can easily get, suggestions for jewelry, headbands, belts, purses, or hats are given. Each project includes a list of materials, photos of finished items, clear instructions, and tips. These projects take time because glues and sealants must dry between steps. Other related books are listed in the back with an internet site giving more resources and matching books.
Brown v. Board of Education
This book begins with background of Civil Rights for African-Americans , from the end of the Civil War to the events leading up to Brown v. Board of Education. The discovery of the events of the Holocaust forced the United States to confront the racism within our own borders. It discusses the division within the Supreme Court before the decision and the resistance of many states to implement it, as well as the progress made in the Civil Rights movement and what is still needed. At the end of the book, there is a list of important individuals, a timeline and additional resources, including a link to related primary source documents.
While the primary source material could be useful to upper grades, this book is definitely intended for grades 4-6.
Living through the Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War explains manifest destiny and western expansion and how they led to the war. The book has a “What Have We Learned” chapter which shows a connection between the historical information and the current world. The books provide overviews of the conflicts in an easy-to-read format, including sidebars and personal narratives. There are also maps, photos, and illustrations, a glossary and a “Find Out More” section in the back with a list of additional resources to explore.. The book does a good job at presenting both sides of the Mexican-American War. In addition to battles, there are sections on some of the people involved and topics like weaponry and hardships and information on westward expansion like the Donner Party.
Score With Football Math
Without a doubt, there is a lot of math used in sports. In football, calculating a quarterback’s passing yards, figuring how many yards the football traveled for the touchdown, or the net distance of the punt, provides a gold mine for math learning in addition, subtraction, and geomentry. Math problems related to the length of the football field, the offense (passing, running and kicking), the defense (lineman, linebackers, and defensive backs), and a chapter featuring a real coach’s last game are the focus of the content. Embedded in the text is some history and stats about favorite athletes, too. One page of useful math problem-solving tips are listed…including…”Don’t get upset! You can solve problems better when you’re calm.” Lots of colored photos and colored text makes for highly attractive page layouts. Back matter includes Further Reading, Web Sites and Index. Given the recent Seahawks world championship win, this could be a popular book for teachers to use in their math programs. Other titles in the series include, basketball, race cars, and soccer.
Vehicles of World War II
Fans of military vehicles will not be disappointed in this amazingly extensive and diverse gallery of small but authentic photos. Brief comments accompany each photo explaining how it was used and special features. Vehicles on land, sea, and air , as well as four experimental vehicles are covered in this graphically, well designed publication. Periodic insets provide interesting war facts, such as…”More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircrafts were used in the D-Day landings.” Back matter includes Glossary Read More, Internet Sites and Index. Other titles in the War Vehicles series cover the Civil War, Iraq War, Vietnam War, and World War I.
Jane Goodall
With the Common Core State Standards focusing on non-fiction, it is hard to find quality introductory biographies for the first and second grades. The Pebble series seems to fit the bill. Jane’s Early Years are covered in two, two page spreads with photo on the left and text (four, large print sentences) on the right. At the bottom of the pages is a time line that only shows the year of her birth. The next part, Young Adult, continues in the same manner with additional years and her activities added to the time line. Life’s Work and Work Continues complete the contents. Interesting tidbits about her, as a person, help the reader connect with the biography, such as her favorite books as a child. From a developmental standpoint, I believe that less emphasis on dates and time lines is needed for the intended primary audience. It is known, in education circles, that the time line concept is not really understood until fourth grade. The back matter includes Glossary, Read More, Internet Sites and Index. Other titles in this series include: Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Pocahontas, Rosa Parks, and Susan B. Anthony.
Speed
Fast paced, brightly colored, and simple text – it’s a winner!
Speed by Nathan Clement is just right for young stock car fans. Each two page computer rendered pencil drawings will capture a young reader’s attention.
Clement manages to capture the excitement and feel of the races. The reader is taken right into the race from the shout of “start your engines” until the final checker flag. The story begs to be read again as readers discover that they have been privy to a young child’s imaginative play and “the next race is about to begin”. The end pages look like a checkered flag. The first page explains what each flag means.
This is one that I’m sure will be hard to keep on the shelf!