Tag Archives: friendship

Mallory McDonald, Super Sitter

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Mallory and her friend, Chloe Jennifer, agree to take a job with Mallory’s new next door neighbors, the Goldmans. They will babysit twin five year old boys for two hours each day after school for three weeks. The girls are excited about the prospect and things go well until the twins decide to have some real fun – jumping off the the outdoor toy and coloring on the walls. Mallory is also feeling a time squeeze as her homework builds up and she has no time to put together a cool poem for the upcoming poetry slam.

Things start to fall apart for Mallory until she learns to manage her time and be responsible for commitments. Along the way, she has some rather painful experiences and discovers that she can finish what she starts even when the going is tough. This is a nice, sweet book for those would-be babysitters out there – although it might scare them off! Recommended

Field Tripped

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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

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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.

Confusion is Nothing New

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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

Pen Pals

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Oscar the ant and Bill the octopus become pen pals through their respective school and enjoy a year of writing letters to each other (and sometimes sending little gifts as well). Each animal is pictured sitting at his desk with the letter to his new friend on the opposing page. Oscar’s letters are blue and Bill’s are yellow, helping the reader keep track of who’s writing which letter. Along the way, the pen pals send each other little gifts that show up in the other’s room on the next page. And the surprise at the end…read it and find out!

This book brings reminds us of the fun of writing and sending letters. There is a wondrous pleasure in eagerly waiting for the response from your pen pal. The drawings are simple and clean with pops of color. All in all, this is a fun story that will encourage readers to consider writing some letters of their own.

Percy, Dog of Destiny

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Percy, an energetic little dog with a cute black eye-patch, is on his way to the dog park with his beloved ball. There, he meets up with his friends: Molly, Fluffy and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie and they do all kinds of doggie things. What can be more fun than running along a fence, digging holes, sniffing and peeing on trees with your best friends? There is a problem…a terrible squirrel, who steals Percy’s ball. But, what ho! Fluffy puts his bone down long enough to save the day and save Percy’s ball. The day is saved as the four friends, special toys in mouths, walk away and the end.

This story uses spare text and lots of white space around the penciled drawings to engage the youngest readers. The energy of Percy and his friends is apparent in the illustrations and readers will enjoy the silliness of these canines as they spend their day at the dog park. Recommended

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

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

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

Armstrong & Charlie

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Armstrong & Charlie is a historical fiction novel. The book is set in the Hollywood Hills of California during the 1970s and the Opportunity Busing program has just started. Boys and girls from the inner city travel to Wonderland Elementary in an attempt at desegregation.  The story focuses on a friendship that emerges between Armstrong and Charlie. Charlie is a Jewish boy of privilege. Armstrong is the youngest of six kids who is ready to fight for everything. Finding themselves at odds with one another in multiple school situations, Armstrong and Charlie are pushed into an unlikely friendship. Separately, each boy is also on a journey of self-discovery. This is a story full of heart and soul, friendship, and growing up.  Chapters are told from each character’s perspective. This provides insight to each character’s motivation and emotions regarding shared experiences. The story, the characters, and the compelling structure, keep readers engaged from start to finish. Highly recommended.