Genre: Children's Fairy Tales
Subject: After Humpty Dumpty has his fables fall, he gains the courage to climb again
This was recommended by another student, and I'm sure they've logged it as well, but it was too fun to pass up. This story is so much more than a silly look at Humpty and his "great fall." This story is all about finding the courage to get up and go again after you've failed. Horowitz's illustrations are simple but fun, and they definitely help the story flow. This would be a fun one to read to younger kids or allow those beginning out to read for themselves. It might fit well in a unit designed to look at fractured fairy tales or something similar.
Genre: Children's Realistic Fiction
Subject: Words of an old spiritual put on page with illustrations
This book is exactly what the subject says it is. It's an old spiritual put down on paper with some fantastic pictures to go along with it. I saw the boy on the front cover from across the library and had to pick this one up. Nelson mentions trying to create a multi-ethnic family within the pages of this book, giving more strength to the notion of the song he uses. The pictures are vivid and bright and really reinforce the story as it is told. This is a great book that emphasizes the diversity of the world and the people within it.
Genre: Children's Historical Fiction
Subject: A look at the important role that members of the Iroquois tribes played in the construction of large cities
This is a neat story about a young boy whose father is working as a steelworker on the Empire State Building, which was to be the largest building in the world at that time. The family, descended from Iroquois tribes, have a long history of working on steel projects such as building and bridges. The story gives a lot of historical information in a fun way that helps to see the important role that Native Americans played in the construction of some of America's greatest buildings. It also gives insight into why they were so fearless atop the buildings and what traditions they held that made them so. The illustrations by Christy Hale are very good and give extra insight into the words that Kirk writes. This is a definite recommendation for anyone studying American History, Native American History, or just looking for a good read.
Genre: Children's Fairy Tale
Subject: Retelling of a Japanese tale about three cats who try to rid a castle of a horrible rat
This is a great combination of a retold folk tale from Japan and some wonderful illustrations by Mordicai Gerstein. The story is retold in a way that makes it exciting and enjoyable and the illustrations complement the story. This tale has a strong message within the story about patience, rash judgements, and the Samurai way. It was fun for me to read as an adult, and I certainly believe it would be a fun read for kids. It might be an interesting alternative to standard fairy tales as a class, or a good book to look at when studying the past culture of Japan.
Genre: Beginning Children's Fiction
Subject: Duck and Goose find a mysterious egg and decide what to do with it
This is another cute young children's book that takes one the idea of differences between kids. This particular book uses the differences between a duck and a goose to help kids understand that everybody is different. When Duck and Goose find what they think is a spotted egg, they get into a heated debate about whose egg it is and what they should do with it. Each makes arguments about who should be right, and in the end, they come to the realization of what kind of "egg" it is. Hills' illustrations are cute and help the flow of the story. This is another good book for reading to young kids as well as for beginning readers.
Genre: Beginning Children's Fantasy
Subject: Several short tales about a domestic dragon and his chores
My son actually picked this one out at the library. It's a very cute book of stories about a dragon doing his household chores. The clever artwork, by Pilkey as well, is fun and colorful, and I know from firsthand experience that it is fun for young children. The stories are simple but good for a laugh. It's a good choice for reading to small children or for those just starting to read for themselves.
Genre: Children's Nonfiction
Subject: Following a group of scientists to New Guinea to study the Tree Kangaroo
The first thing I have to mention in this book, because it was the most successful part to me, is the photography by Nic Bishop. The nature shots, especially those of the forest, are absolutely stunning. It makes me want to visit New Guinea. That being said, I feel like that was pretty much the only really successful part of this book. The text was excessively wordy and included much more information than was necessary to create an enjoyable work of nonfiction. Most of the experiences described were either too vague or too personal to make any sort of connection with the reader. Perhaps, because reading is such a personal thing, there may be kids who would really get into this. For that reason, I might recommend it for personal reading, but as a group read, it's just too much to take on.
Genre: Children's Fantasy
Subject: A young boy finds out he is a wizard and enrolls in a school of magic
I am already a huge Harry Potter fanatic, so when I say this book is great, I've had years to formulate that opinion. That being said, I am prepared to defend my opinion with reasoning. Rowling does an amazing job of world-building right within modern Britain. Rather than creating a new world where all that happens in this book could happen, she throws it right into modern society and has some very clever ways of making it work. The story is fun and exciting, and even though Harry isn't perfect, he is driven by an overall drive to do good, and for that he becomes very relatable. Controversy has surrounded this book, and others in the series, because of its use of magic. I say that if it gets kids reading and helps them enjoy books, I am all for recommending this book. It would be fun to work with as a group, and I would definitely recommend it to kids as a personal read.
Genre: Children's Biography
Subject: A look at the life and music of Duke Ellington and some members of his orchestra
I found this book to be a little bit disappointing for several reasons. I am a jazz music fan, and Ellington is one my favorite musicians. I also enjoy learning the history of great people. However, the style in which this story was written was very distracting. The book was written with a lot of jazz slang thrown in. I assume this was an attempt to make it feel authentic, but I think it did just the opposite. Using slang like that was acceptable during the jazz era, but this book was written in 1999, and I feel that the language is somewhat patronizing. The illustrations by Brian Pinkney are bright and vivid, but they essentially follow the story, which I've already said I wasn't fond of. I can't recommend this for a class reading, as I believe there are better examples of biographies about jazz musicians.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Subject: Story of a young Ojibwe girl and her family during the mid-1800s
This is a very interesting look into the life of an Ojibwe family trying to peacefully coexist among white settlers around 1850. Erdrich does a great job of writing this story in a way that it both addresses the Ojibwe traditions and lifestyles as well as looking at the truth that they are simply people like any other group. The characters are unique and fun, and they are definitely relatable. This is a great look at another culture and would be a good classroom read. The story is solid and the message is a positive one of pride and love.
Genre: Children's Fantasy
Subject: A boy runs away from home to a strange island to rescue an imprisoned dragon
This is one of the earliest stories I can remember reading from my childhood. I owned a copy once, although it was lost a long time ago. The story is fantastic and exciting, and shows extreme cleverness on the part of the main character, Elmer. Each chapter is its own little adventure with its own miniature climax and resolution. At the same time, each adventure leads to Elmer's ultimate goal and they only serve to make his success that much greater. The illustrations, done by Ruth Chrisman Gannett, are absolutely amazing, and they do a great job of helping to place the reader in the story. My three year old son loves this story, as do I, so I have to recommend this story to anybody that enjoys a good adventure. While it may not have application within a group reading, it would be good to have on hand for individual reading.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Subject: A young Jewish boy and his family hide in France during WWII
This is a powerful look at the lengths that Jewish families took during World War II to stay safe while still upholding their religious traditions. The story shows how Jacques and his family hide out in a small town in France from Hitler's army and how they secretly hold a Seder with other Jewish families hiding out in the same area. The illustrations, done by Emily Arnold McCully do a good job of capturing the fear and the secretive nature of what is taking place in the story. This would definitely be a good book to look into while studying the Holocaust because it shows that the affect of Hitler's terror stretched way beyond just Germany. It would help children understand the way his terrible acts affected all of history.
Genre: Historical Fiction (Sports)
Subject: The story of a boy and his encounter with baseball legend Hank Aaron
In my experience, little kids love stories about professional athletes. There is no greater athlete for children to model themselves after than Hank Aaron. His story is one of integrity and hard work. Leonetti does a great job of combining the story of a young boy and the history of one of baseball's finest players. There is a good amount of story without being overwhelming, and what is there is very engaging. The illustrations by David Kim are well focused and capture the emotions of the scenes very well. This would be a good book to have around for kids to read by themselves, or it could be used when studying sports or African-American history.
Genre: Traditional Fairy Tale (Retelling)
Subject: A retelling of the Cinderella story made modern
In a world of fairy tales told and retold, this book stands out near the top. Levine does a great job of taking the Cinderella story, paring it down to the bare bones, and then fleshing it out again with new characters and experiences. The notion of what a princess should be is challenged by Ella as the main character. The story follows traditional lines in an untraditional way, and does so very successfully. Because this story has also been turned into a motion picture, I have to say, read the book and leave the movie on the shelf. The movie completely misses the point of what the book is about. This would be a good read for older children or young adults looking at how the traditional stories can be remade well.
Genre: Children's Poetry
Subject: A series of poems about life within a Hispanic family
These poems go against the typical format of poetry for children. I find this to be both good and bad. There is no fixed rhyme, and so the poems have a feeling of storytelling instead of poetry. It does, however, introduce different styles to children which will broaden their understanding of the genre. My major criticism with this book is that most of the poems have bilingual references in them that may confuse younger readers, or readers with no Spanish background. While those raised in or around Hispanic society may understand what is being said, those with less exposure may not grasp the meaning in a lot of these poems. Perhaps this book would be a good read for older students who can take it upon themselves to discover the meaning behind the bilingual references.
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Subject: A look into the life of a young Taiwanese-American girl
For me, this book was absolutely charming. It's told from the perspective of Grace (also known as Pacy), a young girl struggling to understand who she is withing a Taiwanese-American family and a much less understanding American society. Readers get to experience things for the first time just as Grace experiences them, and because of that, we are able to grow in our understanding as well. The story is overall lighthearted with a few more serious incidents to balance it out. There are occasional illustrations done by Lin that emphasize the quality of this book. This would be a good read for just about anybody, from young childhood and up, who is trying to better understand life in a multicultural society.
Genre: Historical fiction
Subject: A young girl homesteading in rural Montana
This book tells the story of Hattie, a girl who inherits a 320 acre claim in Montana from her estranged uncle. She takes it upon herself to "prove up" the claim and moves out to Montana to learn the ways of homesteading and farming. The book is well written and holds a lot of different emotions. The characters are all genuine and believable, and the story flows along at a leisurely pace. Descriptions from the cover of the book describe some of the research that went into making this an accurate depiction of the lifestyle at the time. While this book wouldn't necessarily be a good fit for most young children, I feel it would work well from middle school levels and up.
Genre: Poetry (Children's?)
Subject: One long poem set in the Yukon
I am a little bit biased with this poem, as it has sentimental value to me. My grandfather, a huge poetry fan, introduced me to this one before he passed away from cancer. The poem is about exactly what the title implies, the cremation of a man named Sam McGee. The concept of this poem might not fit well with younger kids. However, the version of this poem that I read most recently had incorporated an amazing array of vivid paintings by Ted Harrison, as well as a number of historical details added into the pages. The paintings add to the mystical feel of the Yukon that Service puts in his poem, and I believe that this book in this version could still be a very nice read for slightly older children.
Genre: Children's Poetry
Subject: Cute poetry about bugs and animals
These poems are basically short, silly rhymes. The individual poems seem to have to stretch to fit the rhymes, and they don't necessarily flow well because of that. Still, this would be a good fit for very young readers. The illustrations were a bit odd but still fun. This book might work best for a read-aloud because of the visual aspect to it.
Genre: Children's Poetry
Subject: Funny, silly, and sometimes rude humor
This was the first book of poetry I ever owned, and it was given to me as a child by my mother. I've read this book over and over since then, and it never gets old. The tone of Prelutsky's poems ranges from slightly silly to humorously revolting. The rhymes generally flow quite well. A majority of the poems are about food or made-up creatures, which easily appeals to younger readers. The drawings are simple and intentionally rough, but they add an extra bit of humor to the poems. Some of the best poems from this book are, in my opinion, "Bleezer's Ice Cream," "Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face," "When Tillie Ate the Chili," and "Bulgy Bunne." While all of the poems in this book are entertaining, these four in particular always bring a smile to my face. I would recommend this book to anyone, child or adult, who needs to see the humor in life.
