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15,500 | 5 | The poor but worthy hero who, after others have failed, cures a sick royal child with some special food or drink from a magic place appears in many folktales in many places. In this particularly satisfying Ecuadoran Inca variant, the hero is a girl who can talk with the birds and run as swiftly as her brothers. To heal an ailing prince, Miro's brothers, like so many men in the kingdom, attempt to fetch water from a lake at the pachap cuchun cuchun, one of the corners of the earth; failing, they are cast into a dungeon. Miro, however, succeeds in her quest. Enlisting the help of her bird friends, she finds the lake, and when she is tested there by huge monsters that rush at her, she stands her ground each time. Frampton's (Whaling Days) painted woodcuts maximize the drama of these scenes, as each monster looms across a two-page spread over the tiny figure of Miro. Throughout, Kurtz (Fire on the Mountain) deftly weaves in details of pre-Conquest Inca life, giving readers a glimpse of a vanished culture as well as a good story. An excellent choice for children ready to go beyond Western fairytale favorites. Ages 4-7. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4?An Incan folktale about a peasant girl, Miro, whose ability to run swiftly and to understand the language of the birds enables her to find a magic lake, cure a king's ailing son, and free her imprisoned brothers. According to her note, Kurtz has expanded on the source tale, incorporating more details about life in the Incan Empire. She is a superb storyteller. The narrative is vivid and crisp, weaving in Incan words whose meanings are clear in context. The story never falters, and Miro is a strong, admirable heroine. Frampton's blocky, boldly patterned woodcuts capture the spirit and exuberance of the story and reflect an understanding of the period. The illustrations are clear enough to be seen by a group, and the layout is appealing, with heavy black type and excellent use of white space and contrast. An unusual and outstanding offering.?Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun | [
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15,501 | 2 | "A welcome addition to Watson's attractive holiday books." -- ReviewWendy Watson is the author and illustrator of Hurray for the Fourth of July. She was raised with seven brothers and sisters on a farm in Vermont, where she received her early education and art training from her mother and father. She studied painting in Truro, Massachusetts and at the National Academy of Design in New York City. She is the author-illustrator of more than a dozen children's books, including Thanksgiving at Our House, A Valentine for You, and the Clarion edition of Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas. She lives with her family in Vermont.; Title: Thanksgiving at Our House | [
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15,502 | 14 | Ages 5^-8. Not many children would relish sleeping in an igloo atop a freezing mountain, but that's where Lizzie happily spends Christmas Eve when she volunteers to help her grandfather search for his "old three-legged fool" dog, Mr. Biggins. Fatigue and bitter cold are countered by the joy of eating venison fried over an open fire, spotting the crimson light from the aurora, and curling up next to him in the igloo, feeling his warmth and savoring the smells of wood smoke and spice. Majestic oil paintings of snowy woodland landscapes help readers feel the progression of time from daylight to dusk and finally to darkness. This quiet, heartwarming story speaks volumes about the true spirit of Christmas and about love and respect for all life--including that of a three-legged mongrel dog. Lauren Peterson; Title: Grandfather's Christmas Camp | [
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15,503 | 0 | Kindergarten-Grade 3?This endearing tale is sure to find favor wherever cat stories are in demand. Worshipped as a god with servants to coddle him, a temple cat in ancient Egypt yearns for the freedom to live as a normal feline. So he slips away and travels until he reaches a fisherman's hut by the sea, where he discovers the humble pleasures of a "real" supper, a scratch behind the ears, and the joy of playing with children and being loved by them. If readers have regrets over the abandoned believers, there is no consolation offered, only an illustration on the back cover showing the god's empty pillow. The language is direct and spare but still descriptive, and the layout is consistent (full-page oil paintings opposite pages of text), making this a good choice for newly confident readers. The artist portrays the many moods and poses of the cat: limp, content, elegant, and cautious, to name a few, rendering this most expressive of animals successfully.?Susan Middleton, LaJolla Country Day School, CACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-8. Worshiped as a god in ancient Egypt, a cat longs for freedom. One day, he slips away from the hovering temple servants, travels through the countryside to the sea, and finds happiness in the love of a fisherman's family. Those who know an aloof, lordly feline may not agree that he's secretly longing for cuddly domesticity, but the idea of the overprotected creature stifled by attention will appeal to kids safe at home. Kiesler's warm paintings in shades of brown and gleaming gold capture both the splendor of the temple setting and the physicalness of the furry adventurer. Hazel Rochman; Title: Temple Cat | [
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15,504 | 15 | Kindergarten-Grade 2?Large, clear print; fascinating facts; and beautiful, detailed, cut-paper collages make this excellent title a delight. One main fact is presented per spread about each of 14 animals, e.g., "The Etruscan shrew, the world's smallest mammal, could sleep in a teaspoon." Two more relevant facts are given in smaller print. Silhouette drawings show comparative sizes?the blue whale is shown next to an adult human. The realistic, inventive, textured illustrations, mostly double spreads, flow smoothly from page to page. A helpful chart at the end contains further information about each creature, such as diet and habitat. An all-round superlative effort.?Jan Shepherd Ross, Dixie Elementary Magnet School, Lexington, KYCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4-9. Beautiful double-page-spread cut-paper collages illustrate a picture book about "some of the biggest and smallest, fastest and slowest, strongest and longest" record holders in the animal world. The facts are amazing. Their juxtaposition makes you gasp, not just about size and speed but about comparative wonders. Right after the African elephant, which eats more than 300 pounds of grass and leaves every day, there's a close-up two-page picture of an ant, which turns out to be the strongest animal for its size: it can carry five times its own weight. The book's design makes it accessible at many levels. The youngest can identify the various creatures. Preschoolers can enjoy the one-sentence descriptions in large type ("The cheetah can run faster than any other animal. . . . The flea is very small, but it is the world's best jumper"). Older kids will love thinking about the additional facts regarding scale and proportion that are printed in small type, accompanied by a tiny silhouette in the corner of each picture ("If a 5 1/2-foot-tall woman could jump as well as a flea, she could leap to the top of a 65-story building"). Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun. Hazel Rochman; Title: Biggest, Strongest, Fastest | [
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15,505 | 1 | The much-loved crocodile of Manhattan engages in a quintessential venture: visiting a grown-up (in Lyle's case, Mr. Primm) at work (an advertising agency). Affable Lyle has a grand time delivering memos, working the copy machine, sitting in on "a very important meeting" and, most of all, playing with the children in the day-care center. But when the boss, Mr. Bigg, sees Lyle as a potential product promoter and Mr. Primm balks ("Lyle will never say, 'Yum, Yum, Yummy Yum, Yum,' nor will his picture be on a cereal box"), both Mr. Primm and Lyle are shown the door. When Halloween rolls around, Lyle heroically rescues Mr. Bigg from a mishap in the "haunted house" Bigg is renovating, and in due course Mr. Primm is reinstated in his job--as long as Lyle promises to pay frequent visits to the office. Lyle has aged exceptionally well since his first appearance ( The House on East 88th Street ) some 30 years ago: he is as winsome as ever, and this new tale combines the charm of the first, somewhat quaint stories with a contemporary freshness. The art is, if anything, brighter than that in the previous books. An enticing reappearance on all scores. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-Crocodile fans rejoice! Lyle is back and ready to take on the work world. When he visits Mr. Primm at his advertising office, he is an instant success. He sharpens pencils, delivers memos, and makes many friends. After listening to him munch his way through a box of Krispie Krunchie Krackles, Mr. Bigg, the big boss attempts to recruit Lyle as a spokesreptile for the cereal. Mr. Primm refuses to allow his friend to pose for the ad and is fired. On Halloween night, while answering a desperate cry for help coming from an abandoned house, the family discovers Mr. Bigg hanging from a ceiling fixture. Lyle picks up the ladder and helps their new neighbor climb down. The happy ending is complete when Mr. Primm is invited to return to the agency. This is another appealing installment in the adventures of lovable Lyle. Contemporary touches, such as a pair of working moms (Mrs. Primm and Lyle's mother) and a company day-care center, bring this classic crocodile into the '90s. Although the plot unfolds a little bit like a sitcom, the text reads smoothly and builds to a neat conclusion. Waber's trademark watercolor and crayon illustrations are filled with warmth and humor. Lyle's always expressive face shines with pride while showing baby pictures of the youngest Primm, clouds with worry while listening to pleas for help, and smiles with contentment when everything turns out right. Totally satisfying.Joy Fleishhacker, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Lyle at the Office (Lyle the Crocodile) | [
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15,506 | 0 | "Children will delight in the sheer audacity of the irrepressible red cat -- who absolutely refuses to play by human rules." -- Review; Title: Happy Birthday Rotten Ralph | [
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15,507 | 18 | Grade 4-8?Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned and abandoned children from the cities of the eastern seaboard were "placed out" to new homes and families in the midwest and western states. Warren's account of the "orphan-train" phenomena, and of one man's story of how it affected his life, is an excellent introduction to researching or discussing children-at-risk in an earlier generation. The book is clearly written and illustrated with numerous black-and-white photographs and reproductions. The chapters alternate information about the largest agency, the Children's Aid Society, and its history, with the story of Lee Nailling, from whom the author has gathered the facts of his own childhood journey to Texas and his eventual reunion, late in life, with some of his long-lost siblings. Human interest is skillfully interspersed with factual information to create a fascinating book about a social movement that predated today's foster homes, adoption agencies, and homeless shelters. Annette R. Fry's The Orphan Trains (New Discovery, 1994) is written for the same age group and efficiently provides detailed information for research and reports. Eve Bunting's Train to Somewhere (Clarion, 1996), a picture book, tells the story for younger children. Together these books offer opportunities for discussion about the sometimes happy and sometimes misguided efforts to care for the orphaned and abandoned in our country's past. But if only one book can be acquired, Warren's title offers a wealth of information and is rich in human interest. It should be the primary purchase.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-6. From 1854 to 1930, the orphan trains took homeless children from cities in the East to new homes in the West, the Midwest, and the South. In Warren's book, one man's memories of his childhood abandonment and adoption give a personal slant on the subject. Chapters telling the story of Lee Nailing, who took an orphan train west in 1926, alternate with chapters filling in background information about the trains and the experiences of other children who rode them to their destinies. Throughout the book, black-and-white photos show both the people and places in Nailing's story and the broader topic of the orphan train experience. Children will find this a good resource on an intriguing subject. Carolyn Phelan; Title: Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story | [
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15,508 | 7 | "The telling is smooth, and Galdone is ever the master of visual pacing, with action and drama heightened through astute composition." -- ReviewPaul Galdone was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1907 and emigrated to the United States in 1928. After finishing his studies at the Art Student League and the New York School of Industrial Design, Mr. Galdone worked in the art department of a major publishing house. There he was introduced to the process of bookmaking, an activity that was soon to become his lifelong career. Before his death in 1986, Mr. Galdone illustrated almost three hundred books, many of which he himself wrote or retold. He is fondly remembered for his contemporary style, bright earthy humor, and action-filled illustrations, which will continue to delight for generations to come.; Title: The Tailypo: A Ghost Story (Carry Along Book & Cassette Favorites) | [
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15,509 | 2 | Sookan, the young Korean heroine of Year of Impossible Goodbyes and Echoes of the White Giraffe, has arrived in the United States to attend a women's college at the start of Choi's latest novel, set in 1954-1955. Having survived the war in her homeland, Sookan now faces the challenges of learning English and adapting to a new culture while keeping up with her studies and making friends during her freshman year. She works harder than anyone else and endears herself to her classmates, roommate and professors. But the pressures of too much work, combined with homesickness, lead to exhaustion-and a more relaxed approach to the college experience. When she receives bad news from her family in Seoul, she struggles to "turn her pain into pearls of wisdom and understanding," as her mother has always urged. Despite some poignant scenes, this novel lacks the emotional depth and clear, exciting story lines of its predecessors. Sookan plays an almost martyrly role here, and the first-person narration shows her continually praising herself or being praised by others for her kindness and good deeds; her strength and spunk are conspicuously absent. Admirers of the earlier works may find this pristine, cheery world rather dull. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 7-12-This novel completes the autobiographical trilogy begun in Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Dell, 1993) and continued in Echoes of the White Giraffe (Houghton, 1993). Here the story begins with Sookan's arrival in White Plains, New York, in 1954 to start college, where she is the only Korean student at a small Catholic school for women. She confronts all the problems of adjustment normal to freshmen, plus the added burdens of absorbing a foreign culture and earning extra money. It is easy to fall in love with this gentle girl. She combines a delicate sweetness with a fierce determination to fulfill her dreams. She works hard to produce her own blend of cultures and values-she delights in the new, and tempers it with the traditional. She also attempts to maintain a correspondence with family members struggling to rebuild their lives in post-war Korea, but they see her as a deserter. Only her mother understands her yearnings and conflicts. The soul-searching quality of Choi's prose is at least as important to this beautiful novel as the plot line. It is not essential to have read the previous books to appreciate this one, but its full impact will be diminished for those unfamiliar with Sookan's experiences growing up in her war-torn homeland. On the other hand, those who responded to the suspense, hardship, and emotional tensions of the first two novels may be disappointed by the quiet, introspective mood of this intimately rendered narrative. However, readers who share in this emotional journey with Sookan will grow along with her in wisdom.Margaret Cole, Oceanside Library, NYCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Gathering of Pearls | [
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15,510 | 0 | Grade 1-4-A poignant look at the pain inflicted upon one child by a dominant culture's heavy-handed attempt to "help." Near the turn of the century, a Cheyenne boy, Young Bull, is forced to attend the off-reservation Indian school so that he can learn to become a part of the white world. He is housed in soulless barracks and shown repeatedly and quite blatantly that the Indian ways are no good. When he rebels and tries to run home in a snowstorm, he is caught, returned, and shackled for a day. The story, told from Young Bull's point of view, is not so much judgmental as empathetic-none of the authority figures is an ogre. The agents for change here are not white bureaucrats, but Indians who have adopted white ways, and Young Bull clearly feels betrayed by them. Toddy's acrylic and oil paintings add to the emotions expressed in the narrative. The openness, light, color, and individuality of the boy's home surroundings are in sharp contrast to the formality, emptiness, and uniformity of the school. Young Bull's struggle to hold onto his heritage will touch children's sense of justice and lead to some interesting discussions and perhaps further research.Sally Margolis, formerly at Deerfield Public Library, ILCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc."Young Bull's struggle to hold onto his heritage will touch children's sense of justice and lead to some interesting discussions and perhaps further research." -- Review; Title: Cheyenne Again | [
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15,511 | 14 | "Blink, blink, dazzle, flash./ Gleam, glow, sparkle, shine!"?so Fearrington describes the electrical extravaganza that is a community decorated for Christmas. Midnight-blue canvases flicker with swatches of bright pastel, transforming nighttime streets into a radiant festival. This high- wattage account of a familiar family holiday ritual is bound to inspire many a Christmas Eve drive. All ages. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-7. Set after dark on Christmas night, this picture book shows a mother and father taking their pajama-clad children for a ride around town to see the Christmas lights. The family finds businesses, apartments, and houses all lit up in individual ways. Then they go home to see their favorite lights of all--the ones on their own Christmas tree. Fearrington's attractive pastel paintings are well composed and really capture the thrill of a beautiful, clear, deep blue night. With a minimum of descriptive text, she shows why so many families participate in this tradition year after year. Kathy Broderick; Title: Christmas Lights | [
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15,512 | 1 | "When you feel bored, you read a book. But dogs can't read," Miller points out. Lest people have all the fun, she's designed this chapter book with canine sensibilities in mind. Each tale is addressed to "you good dog," enabling readers to speak directly to a pet. "The Burglar" testifies to the fierceness and bravery "you" exhibit after hearing a knock on the door; "The Bone" chronicles the history of a gift from "your friend," including a dream sequence about a splendid "bone tree"); and "The Wild Dog" is an adventure in which "you" frighten a car, chase a squirrel and triumphantly return home for a can of food and a nap. Kelley (I Really Want a Dog) sketches a floppy brown Everydog who wags attentively at the narrator's voice, then enacts each role of eating, sleeping and protecting the house; the illustrator's familiarity with doggy expressions and gestures serves Miller's volume well. Humans will find these selections entertaining even without a hound present-but it's always nice to share. Ages 7-10. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3?Readers can share these short, easy-to-read stories with their dogs in one, two, or three sessions, depending on the animal's attention span. They are about the things canines understand best?barking at a "burglar" on the other side of the door, eating and burying bones, and pretending to be a "wild dog." Canine lovers can't help but laugh out loud at these stories, made even funnier by the watercolor-and-ink cartoon illustrations. Fans of Cynthia Rylant's "Henry and Mudge" series (Bradbury) will love this book, so order a couple of copies.?Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, IDCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog | [
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15,513 | 18 | Laura Ingalls Wilder meets David Macaulay in this thoroughly engaging book. Greenwood combines a fictional account of a hardworking settler family with detailed descriptions of nearly every aspect of pioneer life, from the working of a gristmill to making cheese, dyeing wool, sugaring off and building a house. Recipes and directions for do-it-yourself activities (candle-dipping, making ink, playing a Native American game called Knucklebones, etc.) help young readers get a real feel for the fabric of life "in the olden days." (They will also endear the book to teachers looking for ideas for those units on the pioneer experience.) Greenwood is a talented writer and her narrative passages about the family, brief as they are, convey a lively sense of character and place. Well-researched and unusually accessible, and generously illustrated with Collins's black-and-white sketches, the book contains something for every level of interest and ability. As a resource, it's a must-have for anyone with even the remotest interest in this period of American history. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 5-8?Greenwood introduces the fictional Robertsons and, through the family's activities, describes the details of everyday life on the frontier circa 1840. This mix of story and information makes the book a natural for use in whole-language classrooms. Report writers in traditional programs will find useful facts and diagrams tucked in between the fictional segments. Food, clothing, schooling, social life, household equipment, building, and more are covered in the wide-ranging text. The detailed black-and-white drawings are both decorative and informative. Edwin Tunis covers a wider range of topics in Frontier Living (Crowell, 1976) for a slightly older audience. For younger readers, Raymond Bial's Frontier Home (Houghton, 1993) has a narrower focus; his full-color photographs of actual (and reproduced) artifacts add interest. Where pioneer living is part of the curriculum and for readers fascinated by the time period, Greenwood's title will be a welcome and useful addition.?Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 | [
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15,514 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 3?A very contemporary-sounding Gritch the Witch sets out for Old MacDonald's Farm to get herself a meal of plump piggies. Alerted, however, by her skywritten "Surrender Piggies!," the swine hastily don sheep, cow, and other barnyard disguises and fool her with their good acting (moos, quacks, etc.) and poker-faced denials of any pigs in residence. The still-hungry Gritch is persuaded to give up by a Big Bad Wolf (he's been unsuccessfully chasing three pigs for days), and the two go off for lunch, each picturing the other made into a sandwich. Children may not catch all the humorous references, like the yellow-pages ad for Yazgur's farm (site of the real Woodstock), but will quickly catch on to refrains in the text echoing "Old MacDonald." The exuberant illustrations are colorful and action-filled. Greedy (but not too bright) witch and wolf both get what they deserve in this thoroughly enjoyable romp that turns a popular nursery song on end.?Meg Stackpole, Rye Free Reading Room, NYCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-8. This is definitely not your run-of-the-mill Halloween picture book, even though Gritch the Witch certainly looks her part (though a bit more trendy), with a pointy hat, a gap-toothed grin, vicious green fingernails, and two beauteous moles on her face. She acts her part, too, swaggering, greedy, and just plain impatient, as she brooms off to Old MacDonald's Farm in search of eight plump porkers for her favorite pie. But Palatini deftly turns the tables on Gritch, whose own sense of importance (and the skywritten warning "Surrender Piggies!" ) gives her victims time to implement a plan to save their bacon. When hungry Gritch arrives at the farm, she can't find a single pig. Instead, she finds a wolf, whom she slyly invites home: "I always enjoy having a wolf for lunch." The wry, peppery dialogue is simply great ("Look, Shorty, I've been quack-quacked here, moo-mooed there, and clucked-clucked everywhere all over this farm" ), and Palatini's allusions to popular children's stories from The Wizard of Oz to the "Three Little Pigs" will delight kids. So will Fine's bold, expressive artwork, which gives wicked Gritch a comic audacity that makes her trouncing all the better. A sardonically humorous, rip-roaring yarn that can be enjoyed all year round. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: Piggie Pie! | [
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15,515 | 12 | In her first, tenuous book for children, Brook sets out to track the evolution of today's English from its prehistoric Indo-European roots. Unfortunately, the author leads young readers down a circuitous, rocky road. Her dry and rather choppy chronicle of the ways in which such peoples as the Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, French, Greeks and Romans left their mark on the language brims with generalizations and seemingly arbitrary information ("Ronald McDonald is a 100 percent Celtic name"). And some statements, presented as fact, are debatable; noting that the official language in India is English, but only 70 million of this country's 768 million people can "actually speak English to some degree or other," Brook speciously concludes: "So, as in almost all of the world, in India gaining education, power, and wealth means learning English." While effectively conveying a wide range of eras, Zallinger's (The Earliest Americans) watercolor and color-pencil art is uneven and occasionally contains some inexplicable images. The artist's depictions of landscapes, animals and sea-going vessels are far more distinct and credible than her human likenesses, some of which feature oddly distorted faces. In plain English: this is a pass. Ages 7-12. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-6-A disappointing look at the history of our language. The pieces are all here, but their order is somewhat disjointed, causing confusion. For instance, the map of Roman Britain doesn't appear until the text has moved on to cover the invasion of the Angles and Saxons, and The Great Vowel shift of 1400 to 1450 is mentioned after the discussion of Shakespeare. Some of the information is misleading (e.g., "Sunday," a word of Greek origin, is included with the days derived from the names of Roman or Norse gods). Brief lists of English words derived from other languages are provided, but they seem to be selected randomly and their etymology is not given. While a final section on dictionaries is interesting, it seems tacked on. Perhaps the most useful part of the book is the "Clues to Word Origin," which give hints for deciphering language origins from both the spelling and meaning of modern-day words. The realistic watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations are average at best, and the faces on most of the figures are poorly executed. Some drawings, such as those of Hadrian's Wall and the portraits of various Renaissance thinkers, appear without any textual references. Though Jane Sarnoff's Words (Scribners, 1981; o.p.) focuses more on specific words than on the overall history, it is a better choice. Don't bother booking passage on this Journey.Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RICopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Journey of English | [
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15,516 | 0 | Grade 2-4?An appealing picture-book biography about a nine-year-old Mexican Rodeo charro (cowboy) who lives in a small town outside of Phoenix. In addition to discussing roping practice and competition, Anthony Reynoso tells of his school, his Mexican American and Yaqui Indian town, and his close-knit family. The first-person narrative is slightly disjointed, but very childlike in its orientation and descriptions. The sharp, clear full-color photographs show the boy engaged in a mixture of traditional Mexican activities (hitting a pi?ata at a birthday party) and typical American pastimes (collecting basketball cards). A good choice for libraries looking for glimpses of Mexican-American life.?Denise E. Agosto, Midland County Public Library, TXCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2^-4. Clear, colorful photographs and a lively, first-person narration capture the melding of traditional Mexican and modern American cultures in nine-year-old Anthony Reynoso. Although in many ways a typical American youngster (he enjoys playing basketball and collecting basketball cards), Anthony has a strong Mexican heritage. Readers will delight in the great action photos of Anthony in his charro, a Mexican cowboy outfit, doing astounding roping and riding tricks; at his cousin's birthday party; and helping at his grandparents' Mexican restaurant. Lauren Peterson; Title: Anthony Reynoso: Born to Rope | [
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15,517 | 0 | Grade 1-3-This six-chapter, easy-to-read mystery full of tongue twisters will delight young readers. Bashful Beaver's "big black bag of beautiful bright blue buttons" has been stolen. Detective Flatfoot Fox starts to investigate, only to be interrupted by Secretary Bird, who wants to solve the case alone. He tracks down the clues, only to find that each suspect has also experienced a theft. Flatfoot Fox leads everyone to Rat-a-Tat Rat (the culprit) who has been "trading this for that." The amusing pen-and-ink drawings of the animated animals add to the humorous ambiance of the story.Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CTCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2-4. Flatfoot Fox and Secretary Bird, the Holmes-Watson duo of the animal kingdom, are back, this time trying to determine who's been taking the forest animals' fondest possessions and leaving odd gifts in their place. It doesn't take long for Flatfoot, self-styled "smartest detective in the whole world," to find the culprit--just long enough for readers to appreciate the assortment of characters, grasp the underlying humor, and have fun with the tongue-twisting alliterations sprinkled through the story. Lies' stippled and striped black-and-white illustrations capture the dry comedy of this entertaining chapter book to a T. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Bashful Beaver | [
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15,518 | 2 | PreSchool-K. Many expecting parents will applaud the arrival of this addition to the existing body of literature. Unique in its focus on young children's separation from their mothers who are about to give birth, it depicts a traditional birth experience in terms of being hospital centered with newborns kept mainly in a nursery. While Rosenberg doesn't indicate the length of the mother's hospital stay, she reassures youngsters with promises of phone calls and a visit. Full-color photographs of several families and babies appear throughout, and the tone is generally upbeat and positive. The use of dialogue helps children imagine what it will be like to see their mothers in the hospital. Information is included about how infants look and act, and how older siblings can help with their care. For parents who expect only a minimal hospital stay or choose to give birth at a birthing center, at home, or in another nonmedical environment, this book will be less useful but not without merit in preparing preschoolers for the experience.?Melissa Gross, Beverly Hills Public Library, Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 3^-6. Little ones left behind when Mom goes to the hospital to have a new baby are always full of questions, and although this book is no substitute for a trip to the maternity ward or the hospital nursery, it is certain to answer some of the questions. In easy-to-understand, reassuring terms, Rosenberg talks about Mom's room and food and about the new baby's hospital experience. In the gentlest of terms, she also guides older sibs on how to behave during a hospital visit. Maass' pictures are occasionally a little blurry, and because they depict more than one family, they may be difficult for some children to follow. They are, however, always warm and straightforward, showing the baby surrounded by nurses, in a hospital crib, ready to nurse with Mom, in the arms of a big sister, and finally going home. The genuine quality, in both art and text, saves the day. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: Mommy's in the Hospital Having a Baby | [
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15,519 | 12 | Using the format and style of an ``adult'' dictionary, The American Heritage Children's Dictionary is one that respects the intellects of its users. Each of the 37,000 entries is well defined, grammatically categorized and phonetically rendered. Additions such as a thesaurus, word histories, and an expanded ``How to Use Your Dictionary'' guide make it an extremely practical and accessible volume. A small quibble is with the illustrations: While the color photographs are fine, the drawings are drab and beside the point; the book would have looked better without them. Still, they do not seriously detract from the overall excellence of this volume, which has a broad application for home use and is likely to become a classic in school libraries. (Reference. 8-11) -- Copyright 1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: The American Heritage Children's Dictionary/Ages 8-11 Grades 3-6 | [
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15,520 | 0 | Bunting's (Smoky Night) eloquent yet spare narrative introduces nine-year-old Laura, who recounts her family's 1972 visit to the site of the former Manzanar War Relocation Camp in eastern California. Thirty years earlier, her father and his parents were interned there, along with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. Soon to move to Boston, Laura, her younger brother and parents pay a final visit to the grave of the children's grandfather, a tuna fisherman robbed of his boat, home and dignity when the U.S. government sent his family to this remote camp, far from the sea he loved. Thoughtful and sympathetic, Laura has brought a chillingly ironic offering for the ancestor she never knew. It is the neckerchief from her father's Cub Scout uniform, which her grandfather had insisted his son wear on the day soldiers arrived at their home to transport them to the camp: "That way they will know you are a true American and they will not take you." Soentpiet's (More Than Anything Else) portrait of the uniformed boy respectfully saluting the soldiers as his mournful parents embrace is only one of numerous wrenching images that will haunt readers long after the last page is turned. Rendered with striking clarity, the artist's watercolors recreate two vastly different settings, evoking the tense 1940s scenarios in black and white and the serene yet wistful 1970s setting in bright color. An exceptionally effective collaboration. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-5AAll the more moving in its restraint, this picture-book account of a fictional family reveals, with gentle dignity, a sad chapter in American history. Laura Iwasaki and her Japanese-American family will soon move from California to Boston, so they are making one last visit to Laura's grandfather's grave, which lies near the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so far from the sea he loved. Before World War II, he was a fisherman. Then, along with Laura's father, her grandmother, and 10,000 other Japanese Americans, he was sent to the Manzanar War Relocation Center. There he died, and his grave is marked with only a ring of stones. The family leaves silk flowers, but Laura leaves her own special memento. Soentpiet's impressionistic watercolors perfectly complement Bunting's evocative text. Both create a palpable sense of Manzanar as it is today: a windy, isolated place, its buildings gone, dominated by snow-covered mountains. Black-and-white paintings that suggest '40s photographs illustrate Laura's father's memories of the camp. This book is much more personal than Sheila Hamanaka's nonfiction text for her mural, The Journey (Orchard, 1990), and more accessible. At the story's end, Laura whispers, "It was wrong." Her father answers, "Sometimes in the end there is no right or wrong....It is just a thing that happened long years ago. A thing that cannot be changed." Yet art and text invite a new generation of Americans to remember that things can go terribly wrong when fear and hysteria prevail.AMargaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal ArtsCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: So Far from the Sea | [
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15,521 | 1 | Jones's charmingly illustrated, engagingly straightforward work retells the beloved Aesop fable about two mice who discover that indeed "there's no place like home." As in her earlier peep-hole books, two-inch openings in the center of alternate pages offer tantalizing glimpses of things to come and provide cheery "backward glances" at the malcontent mice. With the finely wielded lines of her elaborate pen-and-watercolor art (somewhat reminiscent of John O'Brien's work, though less stylized), Jones opts for a warmer and lighter take on the tale than the cool-toned opulence found in Jan Brett's 1994 rendition. The full-bleed pictures are jammed with amusing details, beginning with a cozily crowded Town Mousehole into which peers a hopeful kitty (while a sign by the lair's exit warns, "Look left Look right Every night"). Ages 4-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2?This well-loved fable benefits from this low-key retelling. Jones enlarges upon the friendship between the two cousins and the myriad dangers that await each mouse when he sets foot on unfamiliar ground. She repeatedly reinforces the moral of the story and concludes with the familiar "There's no place like home." Like several of Jones's earlier picture books, this one features die-cut holes on every other page that give readers a hint of the illustration to come. This clever design doesn't work quite as well as it did in Old MacDonald Had a Farm (1989) and This Old Man (1990, both Houghton), but it does allow for plenty of interaction when sharing the book with young children. The full-page pictures are fairly realistic in style and appear to be drawn in pen-and-ink with watercolor washes. The palette emphasizes muted earth tones for the Country Mouse section and a jazzier color scheme for the Town Mouse. While there are other memorable versions of this fable, most notably Janet Stevens's humorous The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (Holiday, 1987) and Jan Brett's richly detailed Town Mouse, Country Mouse (Putnam, 1994), this rendition deserves a place on library shelves.?Denise Anton Wright, Illinois State University, NormalCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Town Mouse Country Mouse | [
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15,522 | 15 | Kindergarten-Grade 3. Lember uses a set of 14 hand-tinted still-life photographs to introduce a selection of sea shells that can be found along the North American coastline. Double-page spreads feature a photograph on the right and an explanation on the left. Though brief, the text contains numerous bits of information. Children will be fascinated to discover snails that sit on their eggs, swimming bivalves, and murexes that can be boiled to make purple dye. Further input and discussion with a knowledgeable adult are probably necessary, but the book provides a fine stepping-off point. Latin family names are given along with the actual size (in inches) for each shell pictured. The muted tints and soft, hazy quality of the photographs almost conflict with the factual style of the writing. While it is obvious that the intent is to create a sense of visual artistry, one can't help wondering whether the technique employed isn't simply "gilding the lily."?Lisa Wu Stowe, Great Neck Library, NYCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Lember (A Book of Fruit, 1994) presents portraits of 14 sea shells--common to rare--with brief accompanying text in this subtle celebration of art in nature. The shells have names that recall prize roses: Chestnut Cowrie, Giant Keyhole Limpet, Lettered Olive, Katharine's Chiton, Lion's Paw, etc. For each, Lember has hand-tinted a black-and- white photograph of a single empty shell against a textured background, e.g., the open blue mussel shell nestles in the curve of a piece of driftwood, with the pattern of the wood repeated in the dark exterior of the shell. Borders of buff, ecru, slate, sea foam, or peach frame the photographs and text and complement the colors of the shells. Some of the odd facts intrigue, e.g., that the yellow secretions of one creature became the rich purple dye for the robes of Roman senators. The text assumes some prior knowledge of sea creatures who once inhabited the now-empty shells; Lember notes without explanation that conchs are mollusks propelling themselves with their strong foot, that the mussel uses its byssal thread to attach itself to surfaces, and that Volutes are gastropods that can crawl rapidly. The text names the family each shell belongs to, and gives an approximate size. A book to inspire further research and wonder--where are the creatures who once lived here? (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-11) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: The Shell Book | [
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15,523 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 2?Jamaica is not thrilled about having to share her blue marker with Russell. He never has the supplies he needs, and this time he takes the marker and draws all over her picture. The next day, she discovers that he is moving. With the help of her father, she begins to understand that her classmate is mean because he is unhappy about leaving and gives him her blue marker to remember her by. Havill once again captures important events in the lives of young children through the kind and thoughtful Jamaica. Through an everyday occurrence, she learns a strong lesson about feelings?her own as well as others'. O'Brien's full-page watercolor illustrations feature a multiethnic classroom and beautifully reflect the expressions and moods of the main characters.?Helen Rosenberg, Chicago Public Library, ILCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 3^-6. In the latest picture book about Jamaica and her friends, Jamaica thinks her classmate Russell is a mean brat, especially when he scribbles all over her special drawing; but when she learns that he's moving away, she imagines how sad he must be and reaches out to him. The sensitive story and realistic watercolor pictures show Jamaica's strong feelings and how they change. We see her at home with her warm African American family and in her classroom with her teacher and the other kids. Then in a climactic double-page spread, Jamaica and Russell look at each other and talk and say good-bye. Use this with John Steptoe's classic Stevie (1969) and with other books about how enemies can become friends. Hazel Rochman; Title: Jamaica's Blue Marker | [
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15,524 | 13 | Grade 4 Up-Clementine Hunter was an African-American primitive painter who lived all of her 101 years in Louisiana as a manual laborer. Born in 1886, she began painting late in her life. Although untrained, she created works of art now owned by many American museums. The story of her life and art is fascinating, and Lyons has let Tebe, as she was called, tell it in her own words, culled from taped interviews and magazine and newspaper articles. Each short chapter is a well-put-together collection of her pithy comments on some facet of her daily life on Melrose Plantation ("My People," "Housework," "Field Work," etc.). Hunter's bright, colorful, childlike paintings and a handful of black-and-white photographs decorate the book and illuminate her words. The result is an attractive and appealing volume. Its strength is its wonderful depiction of an extraordinary individual who could not read or write, who lived in the same place all of her life, but was nationally known and respected. The book would serve every collection as an excellent biography of a strong woman, as insight into an artist's vision and work, and as a unique slice of Southern history.Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 7^-12. Like Lyons' illustrated biographies of African American artists Harriet Powers and Horace Pippin, this is as much about social history as about painting. in this book, Lyons acts as editor, quoting extensively from taped interviews and articles so that artist Hunter speaks in her own voice ("Paintings catch memories a-crossing my mind. Pictures of the hard part of living. The easy parts, too, like fishing and dancing"). Clementine Hunter (aka Tebe ) was the first self-taught African American woman folk artist to receive national attention. Her fine paintings are reproduced in full color, some small, a few full-page, and, like her words, they show and tell a manual laborer's story: what it was like to work in the fields and in the kitchen of the big house a century ago, what it was like to be a wife and a mother and a member of a close Creole community in northwest Louisiana. Lyons' brief, unobtrusive captions about subject and technique help you appreciate the visual images. Hunter was illiterate, but the combination of her pictures and her confident, direct, unpretentious idiom makes for a vivid personal narrative. Hazel Rochman; Title: Talking With Tebe: Clementine Hunter, Memory Artist | [
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15,525 | 15 | PreSchool-A short rhyming text captures a little girl's delight as she romps with her dog in a wintry landscape. The heavily bundled youngster counts, touches, and tastes the snowflakes as they fall around her. Linda Brennan's Flannel Kisses and Lezlie Evans's Snow Dance (1997, both Houghton) both welcome winter in rhyme; their longer texts and larger formats lend themselves better to group sharing than Millions of Snowflakes. However, Siddals's book is perfect for small hands, and Sayles's evocative illustrations in pastels create winter surroundings made for playful exploration.Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MNCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.As in Tell Me a Season (1997), Siddals has written a book for preschoolers with minimal, but descriptive text--a kind of playful poem about the natural world. This one, which rhymes, is about anticipating a snowfall, and all the great things a child can do in the snow, such as catching snowflakes and making snow angels. Sayles uses a cool palette of pinks, blues, and lavenders. Her pastel paintings begin small, floating in white space ("one little snowflake falls on my nose"), but the pictures grow with each spread as the snow fall becomes heavier--" millions of snowflakes in my hair" --until they finally fill the page. It's as if she zoomed in on one snowflake and then pulled back, expanding the field of view to reveal the complete scene of a little girl frolicking with her dog. This is a book, like Uri Shulevitz's, Snow (1998) or Ulli Steltzer's black-and-white photo essay Building an Igloo (1995), that will get an enthusiastic reaction from active young children. Kathy Broderick; Title: Millions of Snowflakes | [
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15,526 | 5 | Carol Ober's stunning cutout oil pastels just might overcome the tedium of this wordy retelling of a Mexican legend. Ancient Mexican images become remarkably kid-accessible with her vibrant, fluidly patterned compositions; her assemblages of cutouts create an energetic and appealing 3-D, puppet-show effect. With its might-makes-right themes, however, the story lacks color and context. Tezcatlipoca, the sky god, and Quetzalcoatl, the wind god, decide to steal the music from the Sun and bring it to their silent world. Quetzalcoatl climbs a magical rope bridge up to the House of the Sun where he asks the Sun's singers and musicians to come with him. Rebuffed, he explodes with anger, frightening them into compliance. The language is pedestrian: "from dawn to dusk the melodies spread until music covered the earth." Even so, the magnificent art may suffice for some readers. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-4-Putting aside their traditional rivalry, Tezcatlipoca, the sky god, convinces Quetzalcoatl, the wind god, to go to the House of the Sun and bring music back to Earth. Quetzalcoatl goes, and when the Sun and his musical servants ignore him, he becomes so angry that he stirs up a violent storm and carries the musicians back with him. The world comes to life as they wander around, spreading their melodies everywhere. This retelling is based on a poem from a 16th-century Nahua (Aztec) manuscript. In a prefatory note, Hal Ober details modifications he made in order to maintain a logical order of events and to animate the story through dialogue. Despite this, the tale never comes to life. The text is wordy, the language is stiff, and it never quite flows. The gods' motivation for bringing music to Earth is not convincing, and its inherent beauty is overshadowed by the violence of its capture. The vibrant, cutout oil pastel drawings in vivid blues, yellows, and greens are full of Aztec and Mayan imagery and design elements. Carol Ober's technique involves moving the cutouts around on a stage, creating a three-dimensional diorama effect. There is real drama in the art. Yet, while the pictures are striking, some of them have a static look, unfortunately mirroring the lack of fluidity in the text. For a more balanced adaptation of an ancient Mexican tale about music, try the bilingual version of the Mayan legend Song of the Chirimia/La Musica de la Chirimia (Carolrhoda, 1992) by Jane Volkmer.Lauren Mayer, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: How Music Came to the World: An Ancient Mexican Myth | [
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15,527 | 10 | Margot Apple is a freelance illustrator, havingillustrated more than fifty books for childrenwhile also producing illustrations for "Cricket" and "Ladybug" magazines. She now lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband and their pets, a dog and a cat.; Title: Sheep in a Shop (Sheep in a Jeep) | [
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15,528 | 5 | Golem is the Hebrew word for shapeless man. According to Jewish legend, the renowned scholar and teacher Rabbi Loew used his powers to create a Golem from clay in order to protect his people from persecution in the ghettos of 16th-century Prague. (This was the time of the Blood Lie, when hostile gentiles claimed that Jews were mixing the blood of Christian children with the flour and water of matzo.) David Wisniewski's cut-paper collage illustrations--which earned him the Caldecott Medal in 1997--are the ideal medium for portraying the stark black-and-white forces of good and evil, pride and prejudice, as well as the gray area that emerges when the tormented clay giant loses control of his anger. Echoing the tension and mood of Frankenstein, Wisniewski sends the tragic giant back to the blood red earth that birthed him. The historical note on the last page offers a broader context for the legend, ultimately comparing the creation of Golem to the emergence of Israel. (Ages 8 and older) --Gail HudsonElaborately composed cut-paper spreads give a 3D, puppet-show-like quality to a retelling of a Jewish legend. Rabbi Loew has a prophetic vision in 1580 when the Jews of Prague are accused of mixing the blood of Christian children into matzoh: he must create a Golem, "a giant of living clay, animated by Cabala, mystical teachings of unknown power." Brought to life with apocalyptic explosions of steam and rain, the Golem seeks out the perpetrators of the Blood Lie and turns them over to the authorities. Thwarted, the enraged enemies of the Jews storm the gates of the ghetto, but the Golem grows to enormous height and violently defeats them with their own battering ram. Once his work is done, he pitifully (and futilely) begs the Rabbi: "Please let me live! I did all that you asked of me! Life is so... precious... to me!" Wisniewski (The Wave of the Sea Wolf) emphasizes the Golem's humanity and the problems with his existence; instead of reducing the legend to a tale of a magical rescuer, the author allows for its historical and emotional complexity. The fiery, crisply layered paper illustrations, portraying with equal drama and precision the ornamental architecture of Prague and the unearthly career of the Golem, match the specificity and splendor of the storytelling. An endnote about the history and influence of the legend is particularly comprehensive. Ages 6-10. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Golem (CALDECOTT MEDAL BOOK) | [
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15,529 | 15 | No Bio; Title: Maps: Getting from Here to There (Sandpiper Paperbacks) | [
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15,530 | 0 | In this lyrical homage to humankind's relationship to the land, "this spot" is the farm belonging to the narrator's grandfather, and as Grandpa digs a ditch, he discovers clues to its past. The story of the land begins with the Paleo-Indians of the Ice Age: "Indians in ancient times/ lit a campfire/ on a glacial beach." In Addy's (A Visit with Great-Grandma) stately text, spare language evokes the changes of seasons and of centuries, and sets the stage for the artifacts Grandpa uncovers: a mastodon bone, old Indian arrowheads and a button from a Civil War uniform. Clapp, who exhibited his talent for realistic landscapes with mystical qualities in The Stone Fey, here juxtaposes a realistic painting of Grandpa driving his tractor over the fields with a haunting portrait of the Indians, their faces aglow by firelight, sitting under a full moon. This illustration provides a graceful transition to the next spread of a luminous moon that "rose and set,/ over and over./ Season followed season." Together, text and art smoothly convey the passage of time in this specific area near the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan and chronicle its progression from glacial beach to Civil War battleground to what is now patchwork farmland. Readers never see the child narrator, though the grandfather and grandmother have cameo appearances; the effect of these predominantly unpopulated landscapes creates a feeling of reverence for the book's real main characterAthe land itself. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-Following a picture of an elderly man on his tractor, a straightforward text explains how the Paleo-Indians of the Ice Age once lived where his farm stands today. Subsequent pages portray the melting of the glacier and the growth of forest and farmland. Seasons pass; other Indians, then settlers, then a soldier in the Civil War walk the land until readers are ultimately brought to the present day, where Grandpa unearths an old button, arrowheads, and a bone. Grandma arranges for specialists to examine the archaeological treasures found "right here on this spot...." Clapp's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations depict the land's progression with a gorgeous realism. This concept book is a useful introduction to the rudiments of archaeology, but it does not have the child appeal of George Ella Lyon's Who Came Down That Road? (Orchard, 1996). The beginning offers no intriguing catalyst for the lengthy discussion of geological and historical changes that follows. Children will need an adult to interest them in this one.Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College Park Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Right Here on This Spot | [
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15,531 | 15 | PreSchool-Grade 3-The Earth floats in space, a small blue marble, growing with each turn of the page. The North American continent swells until the streets of a (fictional) coastal town become visible, then a particular neighborhood; a dot on the sidewalk becomes a boy with a magnifying glass, viewing-what? A ladybug fills the last page. Using neat, sharp-edged paper collages and pure, simple colors, Jenkins convincingly conveys, better than most aerial photography, both a sense of height and an almost vertiginous feeling of movement in this wordless fall. Books with expanding rather than contracting scales, such as Istvan Banyai's Zoom (Viking, 1995) or the Hirsts' My Place in Space (Orchard, 1990) end on more cosmic notes, but younger readers will find this an exciting, eye-opening slide.John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-7. Jenkins' distinctive cut-paper collage illustrations take readers on a fascinating, wordless journey that begins with a look at the earth from outer space and ends with a close-up of a ladybug. The double-page spreads show progressively smaller aerial views of a coastline, a town, a street, and so on, until they finally zoom in on the ladybug as seen through the magnifying glass of a young girl. As with all wordless books, children can apply their own interpretation to the pictures to create a story that is uniquely theirs. The book can also be used by preschool and primary-grade teachers to introduce basic science vocabulary, and of course, it can simply be enjoyed as a work of art. Lauren Peterson; Title: Looking Down | [
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15,532 | 16 | PreSchool-K?A visually striking introduction to pairs of animals that are related but greatly disparate in size. A sentence offering a fact about and the size relationship between each set of creatures curves around the larger one, accentuating its shape and becoming part of the graphic design. The distinctive cut-paper collages are real showstoppers. The placement of each one against a crisp white background cleverly underscores the differences in size. For example, the tail of the great white shark is shown, and on the following double-page spread the rest of the body swims fiercely, thereby emphasizing its enormity. Through an artful use of color and texture, the marbleized skin of the python and the wrinkled hide of the crocodile seem amazingly real. In several cases, there is a playful overlapping among the animals, as when the gray wolf looks hungrily at the opossum and the tiny painted turtle swims calmly behind the huge shark. As well as offering an inventive exploration of the concepts of big and little, this title serves as an introduction to a group of animals, several of which are endangered. At the back of the book, a paragraph about each one extends the brief text.?Caroline Ward, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-7. Jenkins, whose previous picture books include Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (1995), here points out the differences in size between animals who are similar in other ways. The artwork combines cuttings of colored, textured papers to form animals that stand out strikingly against white backgrounds. Each spread features a large animal and a related smaller one: sea otter and elephant seal, Siberian tiger and Siamese cat, ostrich and ruby-throated hummingbird. One line of text comments on the two animals' sizes, habits, or habitats. The final pages include a presentation of the comparative sizes of all the animals, a paragraph of additional information about each species, and a bibliography. With its visually striking images and easily digestible bits of information, this will please both young children and their parents Carolyn Phelan; Title: Big and Little | [
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15,533 | 15 | Grade 2-5. A complete history of the peanut that could be used for reports or read for pure pleasure. A multitude of bright watercolor drawings extend the text. The author not only shows where and how a peanut is grown, but also explains how it is harvested and how peanut butter is made. New vocabulary is explained within the context of the lively narrative. Interesting anecdotes about George Washington Carver and Jimmy Carter are included. Statistical facts such as the leading peanut growing states are illustrated with graphs made of peanut symbols. Librarians who may not have purchased a book on this topic since Millicent Selsam's Peanut (Morrow, 1969; o.p.) may want to refresh their collections with this outstanding choice.?Blair Christolon, Prince William Library, Manassas, VACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 1^-4. Micucci's lowdown on "one of our most beloved yet least understood crops" is as substantial and satisfying as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In a lively and engaging combination of words and pictures, the author presents information on how peanuts grow, how they are farmed, where they are produced ("If the state of Georgia were a separate country, it would be the fifth largest peanut-growing country in the world"), and how they are used worldwide. What sets this book apart is Micucci's amusing and creative techniques for bringing statistics to life. To demonstrate that the world's yearly peanut production of 26 million tons equals 9 pounds of peanuts per person, Micucci shows a jaunty planet Earth with stick arms and legs and red sneakers pulling a wagon loaded with nine one-pound sacks of peanuts. The illustration not only enlivens the page but also attracts the child's attention long enough to figure out what the statistic really means. As an added bonus, the artwork is attractive in itself, with great attention to line, movement, and color, all carefully placed on the pages. The final section is devoted to African American scientist George Washington Carver and his work discovering uses for the peanut (from linoleum to shampoo), a crop that improved southern soils depleted by intensive cotton farming. Another successful addition to Micucci's library, which includes The Life and Times of the Apple (1992) and The Life and Times of the Honeybee (1995) Susan Dove Lempke; Title: Life and Times of the Peanut | [
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15,534 | 1 | Margot Apple is a freelance illustrator, havingillustrated more than fifty books for childrenwhile also producing illustrations for "Cricket" and "Ladybug" magazines. She now lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband and their pets, a dog and a cat.; Title: Sheep Out to Eat (Sheep in a Jeep) | [
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15,535 | 15 | Grade 4-8-After discussing the chemical properties of fire, Patent challenges assumptions about it as a harmful force and shows how it is a natural and productive part of the Earth's growth cycles. The clear, unsensationalized text is both informative and lively, with general statements often followed up with examples from the natural world. A discussion of fire-fighting methods focuses mainly on smoke jumpers. A chapter is devoted to the Yellowstone fires of 1988 and their aftermath. The book ends with a balanced look at forest-fire management and examples of successes and failures of prescribed burnings. Mu?oz's vivid full-color photographs range from dazzlingly bright scenes to the more subtle beauty of fireweed thriving amid charred and fallen trees. Seymour Simon's Wildfires (Morrow, 1996) also treats fire as a vital natural force in slightly less detail and Ann Armbruster's Wildfires (Watts, 1996) covers much of the same ground as Patent in a slightly less inviting format. Joy Masoff's Fire! (Scholastic, 1998) focuses on firefighters in fascinating detail while Laurence Pringle's Fire in the Forest (Macmillan, 1994) concentrates on the fire cycle's role in ecosystems. Patent and Mu?oz's title gives libraries another excellent purchase option in a key subject area.Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, ORCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc."Patent and Munoz's title gives libraries another excellent purchase option in a key subject area." -- Review; Title: Fire: Friend or Foe | [
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15,536 | 11 | Grade 3-7?This attractive volume showcases great full-color photographs and lots of interesting facts about farms. Featuring 12-year-old Mark and his 7 sisters and brothers, the book provides a realistic and touching portrait of life on a family-run dairy farm. The demanding daily work is discussed and illustrated, along with the additional chores needed to make the dairy profitable enough to support a family. The writing is interesting and includes facts and figures on such topics as cattle intake and output. The format of this volume is slightly deceiving, however. While younger children may be attracted by its size and colorful photographs?and may find value in them?the vocabulary and content are really directed toward an older audience (turgid udders, fluctuating, silage). Often terms are not defined at all; in some cases, they are defined when they occur at a later time. An appealing, informative addition where the subject is in demand.?Rosie Peasley, Empire Union School District, Modesto, CACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-7. Bial's photographs of the Steidinger family dairy farm in Illinois are attractive on their own, but it's their blending with a complicated, critical text that makes this book more than just another view of cows, chickens, and smiling people. In clear, readable terms, Bial explores the specifics of milking, raising feed-lot calves, and cutting silage and discusses the factors to be weighed before buying expensive equipment or choosing a particular kind of animal to raise. The pictures show the farm as it appears from the road and also take the reader up close to see the muddy straw underfoot in the feed lots and the dirty boots that are strewn around the yard to dry. The hard work and the economic complications of modern farming are visible in nearly all the pictures and so are the commitment and energy of the extended Steidinger family. Everyone works on this farm--from mom and dad to toddler Faith and the 20 barn cats. Without talking down to young readers, Bial brings the Steidingers' everyday world to life, fitting it neatly into an excellent discussion of family-farm-based agriculture and the U.S. economy. Mary Harris Veeder; Title: Portrait of a Farm Family | [
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15,537 | 14 | "The rhythm is infectious. . . . This should keep the storytime set jiggling to the last scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-wah. Yeah!" Horn Book -- Review; Title: Shake Dem Halloween Bones | [
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15,538 | 1 | In this playful animal name-game, first-time picture book author Walsh poses obvious but entertaining questions and answers sure to elicit giggles from the preschool set. Each sequence requires two spreads: the first displays just a bit of a mystery beast ("Does a bird have a big black wet nose?"), and the turn of a page provides a complete picture of the animal ("No, a dog does."). Walsh varies the queries slightly to avoid repetition ("Are these the feet of a pussycat?... No, they belong to an elephant."), and just as readers get used to answering "No," the volume's final question ("Does a giraffe have a long thin neck?") takes an affirmative response. Walsh favors solid colors, visible brush strokes and a minimum of detail; an alligator's saw-edged green tail brightens against a complementary deep-red backdrop. Such bold, basic images can be seen at a distance, and the hand-printed black lettering is large enough to display to a reading group. Walsh's words and pictures demonstrate considerable wit, despite the simplicity of their presentation. Ages 4-7. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreS?A simplistic book that encourages children to shout out their favorite word. Silly questions about a variety of animals, both domestic and wild, are included. " 'Does a bird have a big black wet nose?' 'No, a dog does.' 'Are these the antlers of a monkey?' 'No, they belong to a deer.' " The bold, childlike illustrations will appeal to young viewers, but the pig looks like a pink dog with a pig's nose and tail, and the anteater is totally unrecognizable. Julie Lacome's Walking through the Jungle (Candlewick, 1993) is a better title for animal recognition.?Lisa Marie Gangemi, Sousa Elementary School, Port Washington, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Do Pigs Have Stripes? | [
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15,539 | 13 | It is turn-of-the-century Paris, and Danielle loves to draw: "dancing storks and dashing foxes?the more fantastic the better." Her photographer father encourages her to try realistic pictures, but Danielle's imagination is so wild it can't be restrained. An attempt to sketch Parisians strolling along the Seine results in the bare trees bursting with giant roses, two well-dressed birds walking a carp on a leash, a giraffe munching the vegetables that decorate her hat. McClintock (Animal Fables from Aesop) presents these apparitions in deadpan illustrations; the only nod to their provenance is the image of Danielle, bent over her sketchbook. When Danielle's father falls ill, the girl finds work with one Madame Beton, who paints fantastic pictures with great skill; Danielle has found a mentor. The book's color scheme and format recall delicate late Victorian vignettes, but Danielle's whimsical drawings gently satirize that simple prettiness. The delicious celebration of creativity is grounded by McClintock's subtle portrait of the tiny family: Danielle's father will probably never understand her art, but he loves her and admires her resourcefulness. Enticing?and an inspiration to young artists. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3?Softly colored pen-and-ink drawings on ivory paper show a young girl of the last century sketching the world around her. She sees with the eye of the imagination?surrealistic creatures, fish with wings, animals in frock coats, and skies full of roses. Her father, an elderly photographer, takes pictures with his tripod and bellows camera, and urges her to "...draw what is real." When he falls ill, the girl struggles to continue his work but fails. Good fortune brings Danielle to the studio of a successful woman painter where she finds an apprenticeship and a collection of fanciful paintings much like her own. Some adults may question the simplistic view that photos are "real" and paintings are "imaginative," and the story itself is contrived to expound upon this theme. Still, the pictures, which are reminiscent of the work of Kate Greenaway and Leslie Brooke, are delightfully antique, and the book should encourage young artists to follow their flights of fancy.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Fantastic Drawings of Danielle | [
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15,540 | 13 | As a small child, Emma has two noteworthy practices: she stares for long periods at the fuzzy white rug she has had since birth, and she spends quite a bit of time drawing intently. When she enters school and garners many prizes for her artwork, it becomes clear that the seemingly blank rug is the source of her inspiration. Knowing more than Emma's mother, youngsters will wish they could intervene when she decides, soon after Emma is feted as the winner of a citywide art competition, that the now-dingy rug needs a washing and throws it into the machine. Caldecott Medalist Say's (Grandfather's Journey) deftly understated tale leaves ample room for readers' own interpretations. Yet it is his superb visual images, which have the semblance of faultlessly composed photographs, that make the most indelible mark here. As he has so affectingly accomplished with the characters in his previous works, Say fills Emma's face with abundant expression; her moments of anguish when she thinks she has lost the source of her art and her subsequent despondency seem wrenchingly real. Equally convincing is the child's tentative hopefulness when, in the book's most innovative picture, she spies the faces of many intriguing creatures (which Say hides playfully around her) begging to be drawn. An impressive creation, to be appreciated on many levels. All ages. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-3?Emma's small, plain white rug has been with her since her birth. What makes the child unusual, however, is not her love for her blanket, but her precocious artistry. In kindergarten her paintings amaze her teachers; in first grade she wins top prize in school, citywide, and other competitions. Emma is not impressed by her success: she "only looked at her rug." Comes the day when Mother puts the never-cleaned mat into the washer. It emerges ragged and thin. Emma is devastated and ceases to paint, days later disposing of all her work, awards, materials?and rug. Then, on the now-bare wall of her room, she seems to catch sight of something. Rushing outside, she recognizes the denizens of her imagination and artist's eye, creatures "she had thought she would never see again." On the last page, she is putting pencil to paper. Adults, certainly, will make the connection between the tabula rasa of Emma's rug and the projections of her imagination. Readers who do not see all the subtlety of this story may still be delighted by the watercolors?both Emma's childlike ones and Say's luminous evocation of her world, exterior and interior (the picture of Emma's anguish at her rug's fate is wrenching). Even baseboards and floorboards are eloquent as Say paints them. A tale about nothing less than the coming-to-consciousness of an artist who, in her seventh year, already feels her very identity inextricable from the making of art.?Patricia (Dooley) Lothrop Green, St. George's School, Newport, RICopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Emma's Rug | [
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15,541 | 0 | No Bio; Title: Enemy Among Them Pa (Sandpiper Houghton Mifflin Books) | [
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15,542 | 2 | "This froggy folly makes the grade . . . Joe's actions are so exactly rebellious-child like (with a few unique amphibious touches) that kids will cheer his stretchy slapstick struggles and temporary victories." -- Review; Title: Time for Bed, The Babysitter Said (Sandpiper Paperbacks) | [
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15,543 | 14 | Eve Bunting has writtenover two hundredbooks for children, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz, The Wall, Fly Away Home, and Train to Somewhere. She lives in Southern California.; Title: A Turkey for Thanksgiving | [
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15,544 | 18 | This sketchy, ultimately unfocused picture book introduces the spirited British exile who would become grandmother to Benjamin Banneker, the first black man to publish an almanac. After a cow knocks over a pail of milk, Molly, a 17-year-old dairy maid, must go on trial for theftAa crime punishable by death in 1683 England. However, because she can read the Bible, the court spares her life and instead deports her to America as an indentured servant. McGill effectively portrays Molly's determination when her servitude ends and she stakes her legal claim to farmland: "That a lone woman should stake land was unheard of, but Molly's new neighbors saw the way she jutted out her chin." However, the narrative glosses over the evolution of Molly's relationship with Bannaky, an enslaved African she buys to help her work her land, as well as any social complications that may have arisen when she falls in love with Bannaky and later marries him. The abrupt conclusion conveniently introduces Benjamin Banneker and circles back to Molly's life-saving gift of literacy (she is shown teaching her grandson to read). A historical note fills in a few gaps in the story with some additional information about Molly Bannaky and Benjamin Banneker. Unfortunately, neither the note nor the story explains how the surname changed from Bannaky to Banneker. Soentpiet's watercolors span scenes of both public pageantry and private moments, but seem uncharacteristically stiff and undramatic. For example, the climactic spilt milk scene is left to readers' imagination. In addition, the illustrations of Molly are inconsistent; she looks almost like a different person from one spread to the next. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4-The oversized format and stunning watercolor paintings turn this fictionalized biography of the grandmother of Benjamin Banneker into an exciting visual experience. In clear, straightforward prose, McGill tells the story of an English dairymaid sent to the gallows for accidentally spilling "his lordship's milk," but saved because she could read from the Bible. She is exiled to America where she serves seven years as an indentured servant in Maryland. When finally granted her freedom, Molly Walsh stakes her claim and starts a farm, attempting to grow tobacco, but soon realizes that she needs help. She purchases an African slave, Bannaky, vowing to treat him well and to set him free once her land is cleared. The two grow to love one another and break Colonial law by marrying. The story then jumps to the next generation and ends with Molly teaching her grandson Benjamin to read and telling him of his proud heritage. A historical note fills in some additional details. The large, double-page spreads throughout, in which Soentpiet brilliantly uses space, tone, texture, and color, particularly in lighting up portions of each painting, bring depth and drama to the text. The lush green of tobacco leaves; the dark blue of ship, water, and sky; and the pervasive glow of candles, fires, and sunsets augment subtle symbols in composition and vivid characterization communicated through body language and facial expression. A good story in a fabulous artistic package.Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Molly Bannaky | [
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15,545 | 1 | "What a scandal! What a calamity!" Someone has spotted a mouse in the ultra-chic Park Snoot Hotel. Everyone else says it ain't so. Says Simon the doorman, "Do you see a mouse? I do not see a mouse"-a refrain echoed by other hotel employees and guests. Delighted youngsters, however, will squeal "Yes!" as they spy the mouse on the subsequent pages of this predictable yet engaging tale by the creator of the Lyle Crocodile books. The mouse can be seen riding atop a pile of luggage on the bellman's cart, nibbling a piece of cheese in the kitchen, peeking out from a napkin on a waiter's tray, helping the conductor direct the hotel orchestra, etc. Though the hotel owner, too, denies the existence of the rodent, he decides to put everyone's mind at ease and hires the world's foremost mouse-catchers to "look into this beastly matter." In lively slapstick style, Waber shows the debonair mouse looking on as the identically mustachioed, bowler-hatted Hyde and Snide search high and low, finally certifying (and double certifying) that there is no mouse in the hotel. Even more than his lighthearted text, Waber's droll cartoon art delivers the humor here. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2?When a mouse is spotted at the highbrow Park Snoot Hotel, all of the employees and guests emphatically deny its existence. But, just to put everyone's mind at ease, the exterminator team of Hyde and Snide is brought in, and then the fun really begins. Very easy to read, with lots of repetition ("Do you see a mouse? I do not see a mouse"), the book is ideal for beginning readers, who will love their own miniature, less complicated version of "Waldo." The uncluttered pictures with lots of white space make finding the endearing rodent challenging but not frustrating, and are a perfect accompaniment to the simple text. The adult characters are amusing in their denial of the presence of varmint, but it's the impish little mouse who steals the show here.?Trev Jones, School Library JournalCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Do You See a Mouse? | [
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15,546 | 13 | In another wondrous, wordless picture book by Caldecott Medal winner David Wiesner (Tuesday and June 29, 1999), a class visiting the Empire State Building finds complete cloud cover and no visibility. One boy makes friends with a cloud (identifiable in the mists by the red mittens, hat, and scarf and swipes from the boy), and goes AWOL on a wonderful adventure. The cloud whisks him away to the "Sector 7" floating cloud factory, a bizarre sky station that looks like a Victorian design for a submarine.Hiding behind his new cumulonimbus friend, the boy enters an area resembling Grand Central Station (complete with "Arrivals" and "Departures" boards) and watches officious human types in uniform giving the clouds their weather assignments. When the clouds complain to the boy that their assigned shapes are boring, he, a talented artist, creates new blueprints for them. The stuffy grownups are furious when clouds start emerging in the shape of fantastic fish; they shout at the clouds, tear up the new designs, and escort the boy back to his school group. But the revolt of the clouds is unstoppable now, and in the last few pages the skies over Manhattan suddenly get a lot more interesting. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by David Wiesner. With permission of Clarion Books.) (Ages 2 to 8) --Richard FarrCaldecott Medalist Wiesner (Tuesday) again takes to the air, with watercolors that render words superfluous. Here, a boy on a class trip to the Empire State Building discovers that the landmark, enveloped by fog, is nonetheless a gateway to incredible vistas indeed. The boy is soon befriended by a jolly cloud that whisks him off to a sort of Grand Central in the sky, which functions as headquarters for clouds in the metro areaASector 7. Giant tubes funnel the clouds in and out of a designated waiting area; boards overhead track arrivals and departures (e.g., "Altocumulus" Dep. 1:03, Tube 21W). Uniformed bureaucrats keep their eyes on the skies in various locations (Hoboken, Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc.) by means of TV-type monitors, and issue each departing cloud an architectural-type drawing with precisely delineated shapes and measurements to which it must conform. The complex is rendered with the hard edges and clear definition of ultra-realism, a style that serves as an effective foil for both the wispy clouds and the story's fantastical premise. Magnificent as the "Cloud Dispatch Center" is, it is only the beginning. For the boy, having discerned the clouds' dissatisfaction with their pedestrian assignments, alters the drawings and specs so that the clouds begin to transform into blowfish, angel fish and octopus shapes. Even after the unamused bureaucrats discover his creations and summarily return him by cloud taxi to his classmates, the boy's influence persists: an elaborate tropical-sea-in-the-sky astonishes his friends (and strangers on the street), draws fish to the surface of the river, and has the city's indoors cats pawing at their windowpanes in excitement. Starting from a simple, almost obvious ideaAonce one has thought of itAWiesner offers up an ingenious world of nearly unlimited possibilities. His paintings, at once highly playful and purely pristine, contain such a wealth of details that they reveal new discoveries even after repeated examinations. The frame-within-a-frame that depicts the boy's first glimpse of the Sector 7 complex, for instance, is a mesmerizing study of the variegated colors and textures of clouds. The work as a whole is an inspired embodiment of what seems to be this artist's approach to story and vision: the more you look, the more there is to see. Ages 5-up. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Sector 7 (Caldecott Honor Book) | [
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15,547 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 2. A whimsical tale in which an old Eskimo-Inuit woman adopts an orphan polar bear cub that provides food for her as it grows up. When the men of the village grow jealous of the animal's superior hunting ability and decide to kill it, she sends it away. For years afterward, she walks far out on the ice and meets the bear, who brings her salmon and seal. The story gives a picture of motherly love toward an "adopted child," one the woman will love always. "Little Bear," a selection in The Dancing Fox (Morrow, 1997), edited by John Bierhorst, is a similar tale, but the villains in that retelling are neighboring villagers who threaten to kill the bear since it is catching their food sources, and the woman and bear are never reunited. Thus, Polar Bear Son has a more satisfying ending. Illustrated in muted pastel colors, the pictures capture this stark, yet beautiful, winter world. The clothing styles are of Greenland Inuit but the landscape could be anywhere in the Arctic. The author gives explanations about the background and her research into Inuit tales. A heartwarming selection to fill requests for multicultural picture books and/or books on this region.?Mollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AKCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale | [
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15,548 | 14 | Book Sense "Book of the Year" FinalistNick Jr. Family Magazine "Best Book of the Year" Finalist --Book Sense and Nick Jr. Family MagazineJana Dillon is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin Company titles including: 'Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch.' Jana Dillon has also written Upsie Downsie, Are You Asleep?, Lucky O'Leprechaun, Lucky O'Leprechaun in School, Lucky O'Leprechaun Comes to America for Pelican Publishing, Sasha's Matrioshka Dolls for Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and Ms. Broomstick's School for Witches for Troll.Jana lives in Sandwich, Massachusetts, on land overlooking a marsh in a house that was built in 1699, complete with an ancient secret panel escape route and a hidden staircase. Jana Dillon's website is JanaDillon.com.; Title: Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch (Sandpiper) | [
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15,549 | 2 | PreS. Charming watercolor drawings accompany the story of two children spending a winter day both indoors and out. After waking up to a chilly house and a warm breakfast, the youngsters dash outside to have fun building a snowman, throwing snowballs, etc. Then it's time to go back inside for some hot soup for lunch. After a quick break, they burrow in the snow, then have a tea party complete with a snowman guest. Finally, it's time for dinner and bed. This amusing story features a close-knit and loving family. With lighthearted, amusing rhyme, Brennan captures the joys children find in the simplest of pleasures. The text is well paired with the quiet and cozy illustrations. This gentle tale will find an appreciative audience during winter storyhours.?Melissa Hudak, North Suburban District Library, Roscoe, ILCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.A rhyming poem for the very young contrasts the warmth of indoor meals and clothing with the snowy arena of outdoor play. From flannel sheets and cold floors to dry socks and slippery snowsuits, Brennan lines up two-word and three-word pairings in a basic rhyme scheme to form a small patchwork poem: ``Pile snowballs/Small on fat./Crown icy head/With fuzzy hat'' chronicles the building of a snowman. A single snowy day is the book's focus--the action consists of bundling and unbundling, warming up and freezing over again, from breakfast to bedtime. The tone is intentionally sweet and the watercolor pictures equally cozy, depicting braided rugs with sock monkeys strewn on the floor, and an ice-carved stove and tree-trunk table outdoors. Alternately frolicsome and homey, this is pleasant, but without the simple wonder found in Ezra Jack Keats's wintry classic, The Snowy Day (1963), as Peter drags a stick through the snow. (Picture book. 2-4) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Flannel Kisses | [
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15,550 | 0 | Readers familiar with Lester's Clive Eats Alligators or Tessa Snaps Snakes will recognize the affable characters whose anecdotal childhood experiences are so fondly celebrated here. Accompanied by single sentences, Lester's characteristically streamlined panel pictures spotlight feats performed by each of seven children during each of his or her first seven years. Some of the incidents are classic misadventures ("When Nicky was one she spilled spaghetti on her head"; "But Frank parachuted off the garage roof"); some are milestones ("Tessa took her first steps"; "Clive took off his training wheels"); and some are kid-pleasingly silly ("A kangaroo stole Rosie's french fries"; "Ernie climbed into the fish tank"). A concluding, colorfully crowded spread presents a counting exercise: pictures of the children are found alongside cumulative sequences of "their" objects (for example, Rosie has "1 cowgirl hat, 2 riding boots," etc.). A cheerful book, likely to elicit a new wave of questions from kids who never tire of asking what they did when they were "little." Ages 2-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1?This book marks the yearly growth of a set of characters first introduced in Lester's Clive Eats Alligators (Houghton, 1991). It offers no surprises? just more of a very good thing. The author follows the seven children through their first seven years, citing distinctive behaviors and accomplishments along the way. "When Clive was three, he danced in his cousin's tutu." At four, "Nicky cut off her braids." At six, "Ernie's lizard had babies." The kids' characteristics are beautifully universal; only the occasional koala or kangaroo suggests the title's Australian origins. The delightful artwork, done in watercolor with pen and ink, reinforces the fresh ideas and bright tone. Layout is playful, with story details appearing as components of borders and designs. On the final two pages, there's a counting chart with numerals representing the youngsters' possessions. A versatile title that is full of possibilities.?Liza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: When Frank Was Four | [
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15,551 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 2-When five bored little monkeys complain of nothing to do, their mother gladly enlists their help in getting ready for Grandma's visit. In a great scurry, they clean their room, scrub the bathroom, beat the rug, and pick berries for dessert. Unfortunately, when they turn to readying themselves, they undo all their good work and muss and muddy the entire house. Wordless final pictures show them cleaning again. This is Christelow's fourth book about these little monkeys, and it's not quite as much fun as the author's earlier efforts, no doubt because of the "housework is never done" subject matter. The ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations, however, are lively and offer much that will amuse, such as each little monkey pointing in blame at another. This book can be enjoyed one-on-one or at story hour, and all who read it will gain more appreciation for whoever does the cleaning at home.Meg Stackpole, Rye Free Reading Room, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-6. Christelow's five little monkeys make a return appearance, this time to prepare for their Grandma Bessie's visit. When the quintet complain they are bored, Mother has them straighten their room. That task finished, they're bored again, so they're told to clean the bathroom and then pick berries. (Wouldn't most little monkeys stop complaining about being bored at this point?) The monkeys are so dirty that Mother tells them to clean themselves up. In the process, they track up the house, mess up the bathroom, and fling clothes out of their closet as they dress, throwing the house into utter disarray. No wonder Grandma Bessie blinks when Mother tells how they've spent the whole day cleaning. This is pure silliness--just the kind kids like. The monkeys are suitably active, and their mess-making skills, as demonstrated in the watercolor art, are impressive, with clothes scattered everywhere and dirty water overflowing the tub. Perhaps not as noteworthy as the earlier books, but still plenty of fun. Ilene Cooper; Title: Five Little Monkeys With Nothing to Do | [
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15,552 | 13 | Grade 2-5. According to an author's note, many stories exist about the esteemed Louis Armstrong, especially in regard to his first encounters with a trumpet. To tell a story that is as "true as possible" to Armstrong's character, Orgill has sifted through his autobiographies and through various biographies to fashion this musically charged tale. Young Louis's love of song and dance is well known in the streets of New Orleans, but his exuberance gets the best of him one wild New Year's Eve, and after shooting an old .38 into the air, he finds himself in the Colored Waifs' Home. There, a Mr. Davis takes an interest; he makes the boy learn rhythm on a drum and practice "mellow tones" on an old bugle before giving him a cornet?but finally, Louis's dream comes true. As the story ends, Louis leads a band down Liberty street and, as we know, marches into musical history. A more hardened tale than Alan Schroeder and Floyd Cooper's admittedly "fictional re-creation" Satchmo's Blues (Doubleday, 1996), this account is probably closer to the truth. Using the two books together, however, could give teachers a great platform for discussing truth in biography. In tune with the text, Jenkins peoples the story with a rich array of faces and backs the characters with montages of swirling colors in acrylic, pastel, and spray paint to create a setting that pulses with the sounds of jazz.?Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WICopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Less prettified than Alan Schroeder's recent Satchmo's Blues (1996), the story of how Louis Armstrong got his first horn. As Orgill tells it in her first book for children, Armstrong himself gave conflicting accounts of how he came by his first horn; here, his first instrument was actually a bugle that he played in reform school, where he was sent after being arrested for shooting a .38 in the street on New Year's Eve. Later the school's band director entrusted him with a battered cornet, and Louis went on to lead the band in a triumphant parade through his old New Orleans neighborhood. The dark, edgy, mixed-media paintings, with lurid yellow highlights, give an almost palpable sense of the rough poverty and swirling nightlife of Armstrong's early environment. It's not a book that can stand on its own; readers will need to have this fragment of Armstrong's life put into context in order to understand where sheer talent, determination, and luck eventually brought him. Orgill's telling has immediacy, however, and it has moments (e.g., when Louis snags himself a nickname) that are electric. (Picture book/biography. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: If I Only Had a Horn: Young Louis Armstrong | [
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15,553 | 15 | "Nostalgia and timeliness merge seamlessly in this uncommonly evocative picture book," said PW in a starred review. "The story's emotional impact-and environmental message-are movingly reinforced by Himler's delicate paintings." Ages 5-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Someday a Tree | [
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15,554 | 18 | Alternating informative commentary with humorous, action-filled cartoons, Christelow (Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree) light-heartedly explains how books are created and produced. "Authors get ideas for books at the strangest moments!" announces the headliner text; below, cartoon panels show neighboring authors watching their pets chase each other into a pond. After the authors take notes, make lists or outlines, read and research, and "listen and watch," the man ends up writing a chapter book about "a dog and a cat who travel around the country on a freight train" and the woman ends up writing and illustrating a picture book about a "dog-chasing cat who ends up a hero when he rescues a family from a fire." As the two deal with rejection, revision, working with editors, printing and production, deciding on a dedication, and even taking author photos, their cheerful pets react: "That's me!" says Rufus as his master writes; "Dumb magazine!" says Max as his mistress reads an unfavorable review. As its title suggests, this book emphasizes the author's role?for a more in-depth look at production, see Aliki's How a Book Is Made (1986), also for this age group. Although not every author follows the exact path Christelow outlines, she clarifies a sometimes complicated process?and makes it seem full of fun. Ages 5-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-3?Christelow follows two next-door neighbors as they independently develop stories about their pets?the scruffy sheepdog, Rufus; and Max, his energetic feline adversary. Dialogue in cartoon balloons and brief text describe the writing process and the mechanics of publishing. The authors talk to one another, share their works-in-progress with family members (and their pets), and confer with other writers in a workshop. Readers follow this lengthy and complicated process through rejections, acceptance, editorial sessions, and rewrites, as each author perseveres to the happy conclusion. Because Christelow chooses to follow the "story" of two books rather than one, and includes technical details about printing, layout, proofing, and binding, there is much here for readers to absorb. Some of the material is covered in Aliki's How a Book Is Made (Crowell, 1986). Christelow's purpose?to answer the general question posed in the title by including just about every topic raised when authors visit schools or libraries?is accomplished in a humorous, sprightly manner, using the panel format of cartoon illustration to good advantage. Librarians and teachers introducing the writing process will find this title very useful. Young readers will appreciate the determination, patience, and hard work it takes to produce the books they enjoy, and will welcome the journey from idea to finished book.?Martha Rosen, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: What Do Authors Do? | [
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15,555 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 3. Lizard is off to see the whole world. Along the way, the animals he meets tell him what they think he will find: Trout explains that the world is "wet and bubbly" and full of currents, while Hummingbird informs him that it is "breezes and gusts." All seem content in their small view except for Lizard. He climbs to where the earth meets the sky (the top of a canyon, although he doesn't know this) to discover that it is not the top of the world, as he'd imagined, but only the beginning of it. The oil paintings, in desert yellows and green set against a blue sky, feature realistic animals with a comic touch and give a nice sense of scale and perspective. Varying from double-page spreads to single-page pictures facing text and spot illustrations on white, the layout is effective to the movement of the story. The text is spare and has the rhythm and feeling of a traditional tale. A good choice for reading aloud.?Nina Lindsay, Vista School, Albany, CACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc."The oil paintings, in desert yellows and green set against a blue sky, feature realistic animals with a comic touch and give a nice sense of scale and perspective. . . . The text is spare and has the rhythm and feeling of a traditional tale. A good choice for reading aloud." -- Review; Title: Lizard Sees the World | [
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15,556 | 1 | Jewell's (Sailor Song) cozy, lilting text traces a day in the lives of five winsome kittens. The sleepy quintet begins each morning standing in line as their mother bathes each "with her rough, pink tongue," and ends the day as their parents give them "five kisses,/ and [turn] out the light." Like a lullaby, the tone of the verse is snug and homey, and the day depicted is filled with familiar chores. The kittens model their parents' behavior with their toy mouse, feeding him "a toy fish bun/ in his little toy house" and tucking him into bed. Sayles's (Millions of Snowflakes) pastel illustrations with their sloe-eyed felines are full of warm fuzzies. The kittens lick their whiskers, loll comfortably in their parents' laps and rub their muzzles under their parents' feet. A clock indicates their 9:00 a.m. wake-up call and their noon meal, and each whiskered character exhibits a distinct personality (e.g., a charcoal gray kitten with white markings falls asleep at breakfast and slacks off on the chores). As a bedtime soother, this leisurely paced, gentle rhyme may well induce the desired catnap. Ages 2-6. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-An original nursery rhyme about a family of five kittens, their parents, and their toy mouse. With loving assistance from their mother and father, the kittens proceed through their daily routine of baths, meals, naps, and play. Although Papa Cat goes off to work while Mama stays home, he returns at noon to serve fish soup, and helps tuck the youngsters in at night. Written with the simplicity and catchy rhythm of classic Mother Goose, the text will soon have listeners chanting along. The kittens and their toy mouse will remind young children of their own daily routines and special toys. The soft pastel illustrations focus on the cuddly orange and gray kittens, keeping background scenery to a minimum. A good choice for a quiet bedtime story at home, this book will also work well as part of a cat-themed storytime.Dawn Amsberry, formerly at Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Five Little Kittens | [
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15,557 | 0 | Kindergarten-Grade 3. Seasonal books are always in demand and this alphabet acrostic will be especially welcome. In clever, poetic verse, a fall riddle is presented for each letter of the alphabet. The answer is spelled out in the first letter of each line. The riddles are spare with striking images as seen in "Bats/And owls/Roost among empty/Nests." The 26 poems cover such chilly-day themes as knitting, frost, leaves, and icicles. The only source of confusion comes with the always challenging letter "X." Schnur uses the Roman numeral "XII" for 12 and the answer to the riddle is "Xylem," a term not familiar to most primary-grade students. Evans's stunning hand-colored linoleum block prints are clear, bright, and provide sharp clues for the riddles, which are placed in a white box right on each illustration. This delightful alphabet book with a new twist will provide inspiration and challenges for a wide audience.?Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NYCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.A strong graphic presentation is balanced against the clear simplicity of an ingenious text in this captivating picture book. Schnur (Beyond Providence, 1996, etc.) creates an acrostic for each letter of the alphabet on an autumnal theme. For example, for the letter F, ``FROST'' is spelled by reading the lines vertically; the text reads ``From the window the/Rows of/Orange Pumpkins/Seem clothed in/Thin white shawls.'' The first letters of each line appear in cherry-red type and the rest in black, set in a box on each page of illustration. While the words are not haiku, they partake of the spirit of that poetic form in their spare, direct, and emotionally telling worth. Evans's pictures, executed in hand-colored linoleum cuts, are full of saturated colors with an elegant use of the black line of that medium. Accessible and intimate, they depict people, animals, household objects, and outdoor scenes; warm and cozy, they complement and further define this friendly read-aloud. (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic | [
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15,558 | 11 | almost new; Title: We The People, Level 5: Build Our Nation | [
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15,559 | 11 | Grade 1-3?Set in Ireland, this poetic story follows the steps by which a sheep's woolly coat is transformed into cloth and sweaters. Similar to Tomie dePaola's Charlie Needs a Cloak (S&S, 1973), the narrative begins with a tribute to the sheep and goes on to the work of shearing, carding and spinning, weaving, and knitting. "Now the shearer comes around/to shave away their curly coats/and take the greasy wool to town/for use by nimble Ulster folk." Azarian's hand-colored woodcuts set strong figures of sheep and old-fashioned peasant folk in broad double-spread views. Periodic refrains, which reappear as an end poem, are each attractively framed in pictorial motifs. There's a rustic charm here, suggesting that the age-old process is quaint, a thing of long ago and far away. Some lines will baffle children either for pronunciation ("the hills of Derryveagh") or meaning ("...as rain fills the sky/Irish wit remains dry!"). The author includes suggestions for choral reading, adding a practicality to the book. This title is visually appealing, compensating somewhat for the esoteric pastiche of information.?Margaret Bush, Simmons College, BostonCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-8. Hand-colored woodcuts lend the perfect Old World feel to this spirited musical rhyme set in the Irish countryside. Divided into four parts (one told by the shearer, another by the spinner, a third by the weaver, and the final one by the knitter), the poem explains the traditional process of making a wool garment. Knitting terms aren't always defined in the text or clarified in the pictures, but their use will provide teachers with great grist for the classroom. In fact, the book as a whole is best suited to group use; its rather complicated structure--each speaker's part is followed by a refrain in italics, with all the refrains gathered together at the close of the book--as well as its inherently musical rhythm are made to order for a large chorus. Millen's afterword, which explains the structure and how to use the text for singing in the round, would have been more helpful had it been made into a preface; however, with patient direction, the book offers some wonderful opportunities for fun and learning. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: A Symphony for the Sheep | [
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15,560 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 1?This amusing story begins with a trumpeting delivery man loudly taking a package to Filbert MacFee, who is in the hospital. The boy is frustrated because he wants to go home and the nurses say he must stay a little longer. When the box arrives with magic animal crackers inside, he eats one and changes into a rhino when it is time for a shot. Nurse Beluga gives him one anyway. When Filbert is taken to X-ray, he is so cold that he changes into a penguin. Further appropriate transformations follow until kindly Doctor Kebob decides that his patient is homesick and just needs to be released. This story is competently written and the pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoons are amusing. Good solid entertainment.?Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-8. Filbert MacFee loves the magical animal crackers he receives as a gift in the hospital. They seem to come in particularly handy when it's time for Nurse Beluga and her staff to poke and prod: it's tough to treat a boy who has turned into a rhino, a penguin, or a giraffe. Karim's goofy, fantastical story has sweet charm despite its somewhat tangled plotting, and it is a great vehicle for Truesdell's funny, irresistible artwork, which pictures animals and humans alike leaping and cavorting across the pages. Not an essential purchase, but fun all the same. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: This Is a Hospital, Not a Zoo | [
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15,561 | 2 | Grade 3-6. An extremely well-written and informative book that tells about Braille's life and the development of his alphabet system for the blind. Freedman's gift for making his subjects both accessible and intriguing comes through wonderfully in this book. Readers learn not only about Braille and his struggle to communicate through the written word once he lost his sight, but also how long it took for his revolutionary innovation to become universally accepted. They also become aware of how isolated the blind were before his invention. Finely detailed pencil drawings and diagrams appear throughout the readable narrative. An entertaining and fascinating look at a remarkable man.?Melissa Hudak, North Suburban District Library, Roscoe, ILCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-8. More than 170 years ago, a blind French boy at age 15 invented a system of raised dots on paper that allows the sightless to read and write. Without melodrama, Freedman tells the momentous story in quiet chapters in his best plain style, making the facts immediate and personal. At age 3, Louis Braille was blinded in an accident with a knife. From the age of 12, he worked doggedly, sometimes secretly through the night at a special school in Paris, punching dots on paper, trying to develop a simple code for the alphabet that the blind could read with their fingertips. Woven into the story is an awareness of how the blind child experiences the world, what he remembers. Tension mounts as he refuses to be discouraged by technical and bureaucratic setbacks, until eventually he proves his system to his school and finally to the world. The handsome book design is clear and open. A diagram explains how the Braille alphabet works, and Kate Kessler's full-page shaded pencil illustrations are part of the understated poignant drama. But what about documentation? Is the opening chapter partially fictionalized? No sources are given for the facts and quotes throughout the book, and there's no bibliography. Hazel Rochman; Title: Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille | [
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15,562 | 18 | Grade 5-9-In this well-organized and thorough resource, Trumble delves into the people, legends, and politics surrounding the creation and ruin of the largest library in the ancient world. The chapter on collecting books details its methods of acquisition, which ranged from payment to thievery. A section on Alexandria's competitor, Pergamum, located in Asia Minor, provides an opportunity to describe and contrast the use of parchment and papyrus. Much attention is paid to the scholars who utilized the library and their achievements. For example, Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth. Herophilus practiced dissection and probably vivisection, adding much to contemporary understanding of the function of human organs and systems. Back matter includes maps, the Ptolemy family tree, and a description of sites in ancient Alexandria. The full-color, single-page illustrations, rendered in watercolor and gouache, are uneven. Marshall is more successful at depicting the flow of fabric, architectural ornamentation, and inanimate objects than in capturing the proportions and physicality of the human body. The modern-day Bibliotheca Alexandrina, an institution inspired by its ancient predecessor, is given only a brief mention. These flaws notwithstanding, this book is a unique and timely celebration of the age-old passion for and preservation of ideas.Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public LibraryCopyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Gr. 5-7. It's hard to find an untouched topic in children's nonfiction, but this comes close. The library at Alexandria was the most famous in the ancient world, a center of learning, a place where much original research in astronomy, anatomy, mathematics, and science was done. Trumble begins with Alexander, who wanted to build a great city in Egypt, but died before it was finished. It was one of his successors who built the library and stocked it with a vast collection of books, some obtained through nefarious means. Succeeding chapters describe the research done at the site, the most interesting, perhaps, being the work of Herophilus, who became an expert in human anatomy by practicing vivisection in order to learn more. Some of the attractively illustrated, full-page color paintings are full of activity; others are more stilted, simply showing people in discussion. In either case, however, the art has a younger feel than the strong, interesting text. A useful support for curriculum. Ilene CooperCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The Library of Alexandria | [
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15,563 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 2?Mrs. Brown has an accident while riding her bicycle and ends up in the hospital. While she's away, her animals (a cow, two pigs, three ducks, and a yak) move into her house and wreak havoc, flushing the toilet 100 times, sliding down the banister, and trying on the woman's clothes. Tired out, they all fall asleep in her bed. Mrs. Brown comes home and climbs into bed, not noticing them. The floor collapses, evidently with their combined weight. Now they and their owner live in the barn out back. The story is told in unmemorable doggerel verse that is often rhythmically awkward. The author does, however, focus on the kind of antics that children may find amusing. More successful than the text, the watercolor cartoons extend the story and add humor. In all, this is an additional purchase. David McPhail's Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore (Dutton, 1993) has a more skillful rhyming text and is a funnier tale about animals invading the house.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-7. The artwork is a delight in this silly, rhyming tale. After a collision with a terrier and a fire hydrant lands Mrs. Brown in the hospital, her barnyard friends unanimously vote to move into her house. Domestic mayhem ensues as a cow, two pigs, three ducks, and a yak wreak havoc from one end of her A-frame to the other. The naive watercolors are rich (but never busy) with details amd patterns. They feature such absurd charms as a yak struggling with a blow-dryer, a cow wearing a toilet plunger, and bed-jumping Olympics. Child-appeal galore. Julie Corsaro; Title: Mrs. Brown Went to Town | [
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15,564 | 15 | A rhyming celebration of snow that covers just about every playtime activity possible before, during, and after a snowstorm. ``Pressure's falling/forecast's calling/for a snowstorm late today./`Find your warm boots/lay out snowsuits/do a snow dance and it may!' '' The territory is so familiar that it may not matter that the stanzas are often mundane and occasionally strained in their meter. The children hear a forecast, get ready for flakes, and then take full advantage of the snowstorm. They play until nightfall, and then play some more the next day when school is canceled. Snowmen, sleds, snowball fights, thawing by the fire, hot chocolate time--it's a cozy litany, but Jabar is the one who livens up the static, gerund-laden text with scenes of joyous children, unusual snowmen, and a dog's antics. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved."A rhyming celebration of snow that covers just about every playtime activity possible before, during, and after a snowstorm." -- Review; Title: Snow Dance | [
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15,565 | 2 | The creators of Big Boy place this story of a resourceful and thoughtful boy in the 1960s Tanzania of Mollel's childhood. Saruni receives coins from his mother for helping her to cart goods to town each market day. His goal is to save enough money to buy a bicycle to transport these loads more efficiently and to run other errands for his parents. While his savings accumulate in his "secret money box," the child determinedly practices on his father's bike, first learning to ride without falling and then to balance a load of vegetables on the bike. One day Saruni feels he has collected enough money to buy a new bike, but his hopes are dashed by the scornful laughter of the bicycle vendor. Luckily, the boy's father announces that it is just the right amount of money to purchase his bicycle (and then returns the money to his son). In an ending that makes this selfless hero an inspiration to readers, Saruni contemplates using his savings to buy a cart to pull behind his bike, to further lighten the loads his mother must carry. Lewis's engaging and lifelike paintings convincingly portray a range of images and emotions, including the verdant Tanzanian landscape and bustling marketplace, and, most affectingly, the strong bond between this boy and his loving parents. Ages 5-8. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 3-A warm family story set in Tanzania in the 1960s. Saruni is a picture of determination as he learns to ride his father's big bicycle and saves his small earnings to buy one of his own in order to help his mother deliver her goods to market. After months of work, he takes his coins to the bicycle seller, who adds them up and responds with humiliating laughter. However, Saruni is rewarded when his father buys a motorbike and "sells" his old bicycle to his son. In the end, Saruni's parents refuse his payment, preferring to give him the bike as a reward for his help. At story's end, he is again saving his coins-this time to buy a cart to pull behind his bicycle and further lighten his mother's load. The first-person story contains several universal childhood experiences: the pride in persevering and gaining a new skill and in making an unselfish contribution to the family. Since the narrative focus is on the boy's own goals, the story is natural and never excessively moralistic. The fluid, light-splashed watercolor illustrations lend a sense of place and authenticity. Watching Saruni's savings mount visually is a nice touch. A short glossary gives the meaning and pronunciation of frequently used words. Deft and effective.Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: My Rows and Piles of Coins | [
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15,566 | 2 | Grade 3-6. Atmospheric paintings and crystal-clear imagery uncover the magic and dreams of ordinary things, from polliwogs to a spring wind to a garden hose. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-6, younger for reading aloud. Outdoors at night under a full moon, children gather to watch captured frogs race. A girl sniffs the air in September: "It smells / Spicy. Sharp. / Like freshly sharpened pencils." The words capture children playing out their lives: throwing water balloons, hovering over pollywogs in a shallow pond, listening to Canada geese flying overhead. Both the picture-book format and the poetry in this collection are wonderfully enticing. George's astute imagery pairs beautifully with Kiesler's rich, warm-toned oil paintings to impart a strong sense of the pleasures of rural landscape--wide-plowed furrows, "straight as fork tines that / stretch to the horizon"; a weeping willow that sighs, droops, sags, and finally weeps "piles of tears for me to rake." Unifying the collection is the story of a young girl. Sometimes she is like every young child; at other times she exposes fragile, very personal feelings, as when she stands in front of her music class: "My heart hears every note, / yet my song is locked / inside my throat." And woven through all is the strong affirmation that being different from everybody else is something special indeed. Karen Morgan; Title: The Great Frog Race and Other Poems | [
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15,567 | 5 | Readers of Morpurgo's Waiting for Anya (1990), which also featured an orphaned bear cub, may feel this novella is set in the same tiny, sheepherding village in the French Pyrenees. Roxanne, a sweet girl who sings like an angel, adopts a gentle abandoned cub that adores her. Years later, when a famous pop singer and his entourage arrive to make a music video based on ``The Pied Piper of Hamelin,'' Roxanne is given a starring role; she is soon charmed away to a life of fame and fortune, leaving her beloved bear behind. The morning after her departure, the bear is found dead, upright in his cage as if staring after Roxanne. This is an affecting story, certainly, but the bear's sudden death is melodramatic, and Roxanne is such a sympathetic character that her sudden neglect of home ties is scarcely credible. However, the Pied Piper theme is thoroughly developed, and the misty black- and-white drawings echo the pervasive melancholy of the text. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright 1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved."This tightly constructed short story has a gentle tone. . . .Charcoal illustrations are soft and blurred, spare and yet suggestive enough to assist readers in visualizing additional details in order to keep the story in mind." (School Library Journal); Title: The Dancing Bear | [
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15,568 | 2 | Grade 2-4?A picture book about peer pressure and understanding the handicapped. The setting is Jamaica and all conversation is in dialect that is sometimes heavy. Dora is teased and shamed by two older classmates until she follows their lead. She throws a stone and knocks a mango out of a tree in the yard of a mentally ill woman who sees her through her window. The youngsters scare Dora by telling her that, "Any time Miss Nella show her face at her window, something terrible goin' to happen." The friends believe the woman is a witch who can change children into two-headed chickens and rides a three-legged horse. When heavy rains come, Dora is sure she has caused a disaster. She finally confesses her fears to her parents, and they explain that Miss Nella has a sickness in her mind and that she is feared because, "Some people afraid of what they don't understand." Dora visits Miss Nella with her parents to apologize and decides to befriend her. Saport's illustrations of dark pastels support the mood of fears, voodoo, and threatening weather. Oranges, blues, browns, and greens depict the Caribbean people and landscapes. Hanson's story shows universal emotions in children?change the setting and the dialect and it could happen in any small town or suburb in the U.S.?Betty Teague, Blythe Academy of Languages, Greenville, SCCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 6-8. Although this picture book set in Jamaica has a longer text than most and includes some dialect, many children will relate to the story. Dora is frightened walking to school past Miss Nella's house because the old woman seems to see things that aren't there and has "such strange and scary ways." According to school-yard rumor, she changes children into two-headed chickens. Goaded by her two older companions, Dora joins them in throwing rocks at the mangoes on Miss Nella's tree, but her rock hits the door. When her parents learn how terrified Dora is, they take her to meet Miss Nella and help her understand that their neighbor is mentally ill but will not harm her. Created with pastels, the warm, often dark colors of the impressionistic illustrations help convey the story's narrative and emotional content. Teachers will find this an interesting stepping-stone to discussions of mental illness. Carolyn Phelan; Title: The Face at the Window | [
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15,569 | 0 | Grade 5-8. One of the earliest prehistoric European sites found, Skara Brae is located on the coast of one of Scotland's Orkney Islands. It was inhabited from 3100 to 2500 B.C., then abandoned; the settlement lay buried for centuries until it was uncovered by a storm in 1850. In an accessible and interesting manner, Arnold describes the finding of the village, as well as what its excavation has shown about daily life in the Stone Age. She also discusses nearby tombs and stone circles. The book's format is straightforward with abundant and appealing full-color photographs (the Arnolds seem to have happened upon a rare period of sunny weather). Olivier Dunrea's Skara Brae (Holiday, 1986) is illustrated with clear drawings, but is fictionalized and is for slightly younger children.?Pam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-7. This handsome book introduces the ancient village of Skara Brae on Scotland's Orkney Islands. Inhabited from 3100 to 2500 B.C., Skara Brae lay buried by shifting sands until uncovered by a storm in 1850. Today the site includes the stone walls of several small, interconnected houses buttressed by mounds of midden (trash mixed with soil and plant matter) that are overgrown with grass. As Arnold describes the ruins and the neolithic culture they suggest, she carefully distinguishes between what is known and what is surmised about the people who lived at Skara Brae. Brightening nearly every page, full-color photographs show details of Skara Brae as well as its idyllic surroundings and other nearby neolithic sites such as a burial mound, a cooking rough, and two Orkney monuments of giant standing stones. The photos' clear images, subtle colors, and pleasing compositions give the book its pervasive sense of beauty. A well-crafted presentation. Ilene Cooper; Title: Stone Age Farmers Beside the Sea: Scotland's Prehistoric Village of Skara Brae | [
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15,570 | 18 | Grade 6-10-If surviving the first 20 years of a new nationhood weren't challenge enough, the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, centering in Philadelphia, was a crisis of monumental proportions. Murphy chronicles this frightening time with solid research and a flair for weaving facts into fascinating stories, beginning with the fever's emergence on August 3, when a young French sailor died in Richard Denny's boardinghouse on North Water Street. As church bells rang more and more often, it became horrifyingly clear that the de facto capital was being ravaged by an unknown killer. Largely unsung heroes emerged, most notably the Free African Society, whose members were mistakenly assumed to be immune and volunteered en masse to perform nursing and custodial care for the dying. Black-and-white reproductions of period art, coupled with chapter headings that face full-page copies of newspaper articles of the time, help bring this dreadful episode to life. An afterword explains the yellow fever phenomenon, its causes, and contemporary outbreaks, and source notes are extensive and interesting. Pair this work with Laurie Halse Anderson's wonderful novel Fever 1793 (S & S, 2000) and you'll have students hooked on history.Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 6-12. History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation's capital more than 200 years ago. Drawing on firsthand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy re-creates the fear and panic in the infected city, the social conditions that caused the disease to spread, and the arguments about causes and cures. With archival prints, photos, contemporary newspaper facsimiles that include lists of the dead, and full, chatty source notes, he tells of those who fled and those who stayed--among them, the heroic group of free blacks who nursed the ill and were later vilified for their work. Some readers may skip the daily details of life in eighteenth-century Philadelphia; in fact, the most interesting chapters discuss what is now known of the tiny fever-carrying mosquito and the problems created by over-zealous use of pesticides. The current struggle to contain the SARS epidemic brings the "unshakeable unease" chillingly close. Hazel RochmanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Newbery Honor Book) | [
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15,571 | 2 | Bunting's provocative allegory uses a tiger to personify the powerful allure of the gang. When the tiger calls Danny by name and invites him for a ride through their tough city neighborhood, the boy accepts, but soon learns that he has made a dangerous mistake. The tiger talks about respect, but wins it through taunts and intimidation. When Danny tries to get off the tiger's back, the tiger threatens him. "But maybe I don't want you to get off," the tiger says. "Maybe I want to get to know you better." Only when the tiger traumatizes a homeless man can the boy conquer his own fear to aid the tiger's victim. Bunting's 1997 picture book, Your Move, highlighted the same dilemma; in it, the boy's loving family and supportive neighbors are set against the menace of the gang. Here the story recedes in importance as the author trumpets the moral dilemma ("Do you want what I want?" asks the tiger, "Because anyone who isn't for us is against us"). Danny's family and friends never appear onstage, and the conflict is played out entirely in Danny's mind. Frampton's stark, stylized woodcuts, medieval in their conception and intensity, heighten the story's morality-play atmosphere. Like Your Move, the book will be most useful as a discussion-starter. Ages 6-9.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 2-4-Ten-year-old Danny is new in town, so when an imposing tiger offers him a ride, he's flattered and intrigued. However, as they swagger together through the city, Danny notices that the beast is eliciting fear-not respect-from shopkeepers, school kids, and neighbors. When a young man invites him to join a basketball game and Danny vacillates, the tiger turns threatening and seems to grow larger. Finally, it terrifies a homeless man into injuring himself, and Danny must decide whether to surrender his powerful perch and help, or remain on the now-frightening beast. His courageous and painful fall to the pavement and ultimate concern for the stranger break the tiger's hold. Danny denies his association with the big cat and it disappears. The woodcut illustrations and dark palette capture the grittiness of the setting; the angular and fierce animal is drawn with thick strong lines while people, with curving profiles and trusting eyes, project hope as well as fear. Bunting's thinly veiled allegory will be obvious to most school-aged readers and especially pertinent to those struggling with gang membership. The first-person telling allows for doubt and introspection; Danny is exhilarated by his alliance with the beast, then struggles with doubt and self-deprecation when its ruthlessness is revealed. The powerful imagery ("He smelled of something dark and exciting") contrasts with an occasional dated expression ("The concrete hit me like a pile driver") but pacing is as relentless as a stalking cat and the message is as purposeful. A provocative look at a timely topic.-Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Riding the Tiger | [
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15,572 | 3 | Kindergarten-Grade 3. Arthur Crandall's life turns topsy-turvy when a bumbling fly offers to grant three wishes and the urbane canine gives flip responses. Deadpan delivery, with droll watercolors that suit the tale to a tee. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-7. Egan is one of the most interesting author-illustrators around, always trying something new and quirky. This time, the story is about a dog couple, Arthur and Stella Crandall. Arthur keeps burning the toast, so when an annoying fly tells Arthur he will grant him three wishes if he puts down the fly swatter, Arthur wishes for a new toaster, for the nasty crocodiles on the corner to turn into squirrels, and for a trip to a tropical island where the natives sing and dance all day. Well, the fly doesn't get it quite right. The toaster turns into a squirrel, and the crocs turn into toasters, but the natives sing and dance ad nauseam on the tropical island. Happily, magic brings the couple back home again, where they are able to enjoy their new toaster (formerly a crocodile). There's nothing predictable here, either in the meticulously rendered watercolor art with its deco edge or in the hilarious story. Some of this has an adult feel, but it hits its target audience, too. Ilene Cooper; Title: Burnt Toast on Davenport Street | [
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15,573 | 1 | Grade 3-6?In this fast-paced, satisfying animal adventure, a young Siberian husky becomes an accepted member of an Alaskan wolf pack. Granite is the oldest of a litter bred to be sled dogs, but he does not take naturally to the harness and training. At the first opportunity, he escapes into the wilderness where, near starvation, he encounters a wolf pack. He is adopted by the mate of the leader, a white wolf whose own pups have recently been kidnapped for the wolf/dog hybrid market. The majesty and harshness of the Alaskan environment, the sophisticated levels of pack communication and behavior, and the many perils, both human and natural, that threaten the survival of the animals are deftly woven into the story. Granite's struggle to find his place in the pack is particularly captivating. While generally plausible, the writing is occasionally jarring when human emotions are attributed to the animals; however, the author defends her position in a note indicating that the latest research on wolves maintains that they "feel emotions once regarded as strictly human." A good choice for leading readers into Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves (HarperCollins, 1972).?Caroline Ward, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4^-7. Librarians have traditionally frowned on anthropomorphizing animals in books, but in her opening note, Hall suggests that it is just as foolish to write about dogs as though they did not have intelligent communication, emotions, and problem-solving skills. That said, she offers a story written from the point of view of a Siberian husky pup, Granite, who must learn the ways of wolves to survive after being separated from his own family. Keen observation of canine behavior and thorough research into wolf society help make this a heartfelt wildlife story, with plenty of dramatic events to keep the pages turning. Susan Dove Lempke; Title: Child of the Wolves | [
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15,574 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 1?Four bustling mice deliver Valentine's Day cards to animals living in a snowy forest. The rhyming text is cheerful and moves along quickly: "More to deliver. Cross the pond./Slide. Glide. Slip! Flip!" The smallest mouse is temporarily buried in snow, causing the only moment of anxiety in the story. Will the others find him? Can they pull him out? Not to worry. This holiday devoted to love would not be complete without a group hug to make the cold little creature feel better. The bright watercolor cartoons add to the sense of fun. The pleased expressions of the creatures receiving the cards are charming. A curious note: the mice are dressed in winter clothes complete with hats and mittens, but the other animals have only their natural fur. A fun offering, though not a must-have.?Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.The stars of Halloween Mice! are back, but this time they're celebrating a different holiday. Four lively mice scamper through a snowy landscape, delivering valentines to all the woodland creatures, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, badgers, beavers, and more. In their exuberance, the three older mice don't notice right off (although observant readers will) that they've left their young companion behind. They track him down and rejoice in a Valentine's reunion. Simple rhythmic text and action-packed line and watercolor illustrations will draw young readers in; Cushman includes welcome details--such as a tag-along chickadee- -that enhance the story, and mixes full-bleed and framed illustrations to emphasize high points in the text. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Valentine Mice! | [
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15,575 | 11 | Grade 1-3?In Halmoni and the Picnic (Houghton, 1993), Yunmi's grandmother went to New York City to take care of her while her parents worked, and charmed Yunmi's classmates during a class trip. Now Halmoni is taking the girl back to Korea for a memorial celebration of her late husband's birthday, and it is Yunmi's turn to feel like an outsider. Halmoni, who was so isolated and lonely in New York, is greeted by a large and loving family. Even her cat and dog welcome her back. Yunmi's cousins act as tour guides to the sights of Seoul, and the girl helps prepare Korean dumplings for the picnic at Grandfather's grave. At the memorial, worries overwhelm her. Halmoni seems so happy here that she may not want to return to New York. Not surprisingly, the woman reassures her American granddaughter, "We're lucky because we both have two families." This gentle, predictable story is more an introduction to Korean customs than a plot-driven narrative. Realistic illustrations of Yunmi's family, framed with borders suggesting Korean fabric design, add greatly to the book's appeal. Dugan's carefully composed paintings, glowing with color, convey the warm affection between granddaughter and grandmother.?Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc."This book transcends Korean or English, speaking the universal language of the heart." (Booklist, ALA); Title: Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip | [
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15,576 | 18 | Grade 5-8. Bartoletti uses oral history, archival documents, and an abundance of black-and-white photographs to make turn-of-the-century mining life a surprisingly compelling subject for today's young people. Zooming in on northeastern Pennsylvania in general, and the perspective of children in particular, she writes of the desperate working conditions, the deplorable squalor found in the "patch villages," and the ever-present dangers of the occupation. Stories of breaker-boy pranks and the roles of the animals at work bring some comic relief, but even they point out the enormous hardships suffered before there were effective unions and child-labor laws. The words and work of children are weighted equally with the efforts of the Molly McGuires, Mother Jones, and other adult players. Captioned, black-and-white photographs, with attributions, appear on almost every page, allowing the images to play a powerful role in the gritty story. The bibliography reveals the depth of Bartoletti's research. An introduction conveys her motivation (fascination with family stories), while a brief conclusion touches upon the region in the post-World War I era. For a first-rate, accessible study of a time and place that played an important role in American economic and social history, look no further.?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 5 and up. With compelling black-and-white photographs of children at work in the coal mines of northeastern Pennsylvania about 100 years ago, this handsome, spacious photo-essay will draw browsers as well as students doing research on labor and immigrant history. The story of these boys' lives are a part of Russell Freedman's general overview Kids at Work (1994) and of Betsy Harvey Kraft's biography Mother Jones (1995); but there's a wealth of personal detail and family story here that focuses on what it was like in the mines and in the homes and communities of these working children. Lewis Hines' famous pictures will grab readers, and Bartoletti has also gathered dozens of archival photos and heartbreaking oral histories. They show what it was like for eight-year-old breaker boys sorting coal surrounded by deafening noise and black clouds of dust, steam, and smoke; what it was like to be a mule driver underground; what it meant to be a spragger, a butty, a nipper. Drawing on personal interviews, archival tapes and transcripts, and a wide range of historical resources, Bartoletti finds heartfelt memories of long hours, hard labor, and extremely dangerous working conditions, as well as lighter accounts of spirited rebellion, mischief, and bonding. The immigrant experience is an integral part of this "coal culture": the strength of ethnic groups and the prejudice against them, and their banding together to form strong labor unions. As with most fine juvenile nonfiction, this will also have great appeal for adults. Hazel Rochman; Title: Growing Up in Coal Country | [
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15,577 | 2 | A matter-of-fact tone and brisk pace keep Winthrop's (The Little Humpbacked Horse) story of a girl dealing with her mother's chemotherapy treatments from slipping into the maudlin or melodramatic. Related in the first person, the tale convincingly covers young Sarah's gamut of emotions, from simply missing her mother during her hospital stays to reminiscing about times when things were normal ("I remember when I didn't have to tiptoe around the house and I could make as much noise as I wanted") to anger at a schoolmate's comments about her mother's lack of hair. Lewin (Aunt Minnie McGranahan) echoes the strong emotional ties between Sarah and her parents with pen-and-ink close-ups of their interactions; she saves the few wider views of street scenes or hospital corridors to convey Sarah's feeling of inadequacy in protecting her mother (and herself) from the illness's effects. Several of the dialogues here could serve as models for parents struggling to explain terminal illness to a child. In the most moving example, as her mother's health improves, Sarah wants her to promise she won't be sick anymore. "I can't make that promise, Sarah," her mother tells her, but consoles her with other more immediate promisesAsuch as an ice cream date on the way home from the park. A responsible and poignant approach to a sensitive subject. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) FYI: A portion of this book's royalties will be donated to Cancer Care Inc. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 4-Sarah, a young girl whose parent is undergoing treatment for cancer, describes her day-to-day life, expressing a wide range of emotions. Her happiness that her mother is well enough to take a walk turns to fury as a classmate they meet asks why the woman doesn't have any hair. Sarah often feels angry, and longs for the time before the illness. She insists on visiting her mother at the hospital, and is then afraid to see her. Things take a turn for the better when Sarah presents her mother with her baseball cap so that she won't "look funny." As the woman's health slowly improves, Sarah tries to make her promise that she won't be sick anymore. Instead, Mom makes promises that can be kept, like stopping for ice cream and reading a favorite book, adding, "Tomorrow we can think of more." Winthrop handles a difficult situation with honesty, empathy, and small touches of humor. The first-person narration keeps the focus on Sarah, who relates events from a child's point of view. Lewin's watercolor-and-pen illustrations reflect the emotional nature of the text, while balancing the serious tone with warm colors and comfortable everyday scenes. The book ends on a hopeful note, which is nicely reflected in the smiling faces of mother and daughter.Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Promises | [
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15,578 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 2AA poignant, thought-provoking story that tells, in the simplest terms, about a little girl whose mother is seriously ill in the hospital. The child misses her mom's laughter and the games, books, and conversations they shared. To cheer the patient, she sews a colorful pillow for her hospital bed. The woman's death is not stated specifically, but is implicit in the fact that the child now has the pillow and treasures it as a loving memory. Pain and illness are mentioned, but only briefly. The impact of this experience is beautifully expressed in the double-page illustrations, done in muted colors and a technique of softened realism that capture the child's feelings of loneliness, powerlessness, and mourning. The little girl is shown from many perspectives, in her familiar settings of home and the park, but always seems a small, saddened, and bewildered figure. To intensify the atmosphere of isolation, no other human being ever appears in the pictures. Used with care and understanding, this gentle book will help children empathize with anyone, not just another child, who suffers such a loss.APatricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Sgouros debuts with a terse story that packs a wallopand it ought to, for its subject is grief. A young girl misses her mother, who has entered a hospital: ``She used to read to me and play games. She would tell me stories and I would tell her jokes. She's in the hospital now.'' As her mother is uncomfortable much of the time, the girl has made her a special pillow. ``When she puts her head on it, she says she thinks of me and smiles.'' Suddenly, a mere page later, the child says, ``I have the pillow now.'' It is a comfort, something to be held close, and even inhaled. Sgouros encapsulates the nettles of worry and the flood of grief, giving them rawness; still, there is no sense of resignation or self-pity. Instead, she addresses the certainty of loss, the easing of sadness, and living with pain. Just as affecting are Ross's illustrations, expressing all the vulnerability of the young girl's plight. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright 1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: A Pillow for My Mom | [
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15,579 | 0 | Grade 1-4. Flatfoot Fox's latest outing is perhaps the funniest and best yet in the easy-reader series. Wacky Weasel, furious that Principal Porcupine would ridicule his claim to being a magician, promises to make the schoolhouse disappear. And it looks as though he has done just that. Flatfoot Fox agrees to find it, but an assortment of silly suspects and clues complicate matters. Of course, Flatfoot Fox solves the puzzle in the end, but along the way there are laughs aplenty. Secretary Bird, a clumsy, hilarious Watson, tags along as usual, and his exchanges with one Daffy Armadillo are particularly funny. The repetition, alliterative names, and simple clues all add up to a fun mystery for young readers. Lies's stippled and striped black-and-white illustrations capture all the lively humor, while including a few clues for observant children.?Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2^-3. Wacky Weasel, claiming to be a magician, is taking credit for the mysterious disappearance of the schoolhouse, so Flatfoot Fox and Secretary Bird, the animal kingdom's version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, are called in to solve the matter. Flatfoot seems to be stumped when the pair arrive at the spot and see only a giant hole. However, the foxy detective surprises everyone by announcing that Wacky Weasel didn't make the schoolhouse disappear; Wacky just created confusion by moving the sign pointing the way. Clifford and Lies get everything just right: the mystery isn't too obvious, and the delightful pen-and-ink drawings are filled with animated humor. This easy chapter book is targeted at beginning readers, but it will work equally well as a read-aloud for younger children or for older reluctant readers. Lauren Peterson; Title: Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Missing Schoolhouse | [
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15,580 | 5 | PreSchool-Grade 3?Jones applies the same peek-hole format she used in This Old Man (1990) and The Cat Sat on the Mat (1994, both Houghton) to her version of this classic fable. Here, the die-cut holes are more of an ornamental gimmick than an integral part of the book. The visual strength lies in the colorful line-and-wash paintings. The story can easily be told through the playful illustrations. Each spread is filled with humorous details that will keep young readers coming back for another look. The text, like the pictures, embellishes the basic story. This is not just a contest between the tortoise and an ordinary hare; this hare, possibly the "forest's first Olympic champion," is frequently featured in the sport's pages. Other animals play significant roles in the race. Purists may find that the extras detract from the story's action and moral, while fans of folklore updates will appreciate the contemporary humor. Those children who are already familiar with the original fable should have fun with this version. Janet Stevens's The Tortoise and the Hare (Holiday, 1984) is another amusing, modern, but more straightforward, version.?Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WICopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-8. In this traditional retelling, a cocky rabbit challenges a plodding but persevering turtle to a foot race, which the rabbit loses through his own carelessness. In true storytelling fashion, Jones extends this usually succinct fable into a full-length picture-book presentation with the addition of minutiae as well as peripheral characters and events. The cluttered pen-and-ink with watercolor illustrations (reminiscent of the style of Peter Spier) perfectly complement the text, offering young listeners much to ponder. What sets this apart from other versions is Jones' use of peepholes--cut-out circles in the center of alternating pages that allow readers to keep both hare and tortoise in view at all times. The book will work best with primary-grade children already familiar with the story, who will enjoy poring over the visual details. Kay Weisman; Title: The Hare and the Tortoise | [
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15,581 | 1 | This adventure lacks the comic fullness of the best of Shaw and Apple's work, said PW, but the light verse "is as snappy as ever" and the sheep's facial expressions remain "delightfully emotive." Ages 2-6. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Sheep Take a Hike (Sheep in a Jeep) | [
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15,582 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 2-A young girl tells the story of a special relationship over four seasons. Summer brings the promise of a whole month at her grandparents' country cottage, where days are spent playing cards, enjoying the outdoors, and simply talking. Grandpa delights in telling whimsically creative tales to answer his granddaughter's everyday questions. He blames "a roaring tornado" for his baldness, and explains that winter's frost is the work of "elves who come at dusk with magical brushes-." Each of Grandpa's imaginative explanations is followed by the girl's fervent refrain: "And Grandpa never lies, so I know it's true." Reality intrudes, and without warning. The narrator simply states, "Then Grandma died. Suddenly." While the child and her grandfather cope with their loss with a faith in life's ultimate goodness that is poignantly portrayed, some readers might not make the transition quite so easily. Nevertheless, the lyrical language and engaging use of imagery are worth noting. Richly hued acrylic illustrations complement the mood of the text, moving smoothly from bright and fanciful to dark and somber. Suitable for read-alouds, but perhaps even better for sharing individually.Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4-7. A young girl's first-person narration describes her special relationship with her grandparents, especially Grandpa. In summer the girl spends a month at her grandparents' house in the woods, where they hunt fossils and track deer, "but mostly just talk." In the fall, there's hot chocolate while Grandpa reads fairy tales. Walks and icicle sword fights begin winter, during which Grandma dies. The little girl and Grandpa mourn together. Grandpa visits the girl in the spring. They've both had time to heal: they eat cereal on the porch and plan for summer. Despite the death, this is an upbeat, joyous story of an intergenerational relationship that will strike a chord with many children. Stevenson's acrylic pictures are done in an appealing painterly style, with obvious brushstrokes and interesting use of color and line. This heartwarming story is a good choice for celebrating Grandparents Day; it can also be used in a unit on seasons. Lauren PetersonCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Grandpa Never Lies | [
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15,583 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 3. A simple pourquoi story, based on a Seneca legend. Rabbit, who once had a long bushy tail like a squirrel, believes for a foolish moment that his fast running has made the snow fall. He hops onto a snow drift and then to a willow tree branch to take a nap. When he awakens, it is spring, the snow drifts have melted, and he is stranded high up in the branches and can't get down. His friends are unable to solve the dilemma until Squirrel tells him to jump: Rabbit does, but his tail remains stuck in the tree. Ever since, the tiny white tails hanging on willows in spring remind us of him. Rabbit's punishment seems rather excessive for a misguided moment of pride. Chwast does not base her art on the Seneca roots of the legend, but her cartoon illustrations nicely balance the text, with characters created in pastel colors outlined in black and dressed in human clothing. However, neither text nor pictures make this book unique. A slight story with not much of a point.?Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Seneca legend has it that Rabbit once had a long and flowing tail; Tompert (A Carol for Christmas, 1994) and Chwast offer a sturdy look at just how he lost it. Rabbit, busy snacking in a willow grove, is giddy and begins to race around a willow tree. Snow begins to fall, and ``it seemed to Rabbit that the faster he raced around the willow tree, the faster and thicker the snow fell.'' Exhausted, he falls asleep on a willow branch and doesn't wake up until spring, when he discovers that without snow, he is stranded high above the ground. Porcupine, Badger, and Beaver can't help the scared Rabbit climb down, but Squirrel suggests that he jump. Rabbit takes the plunge, but his tail remains behind, stuck in the crotch of the tree. Tompert has fashioned a good and simple porquoi tale from the Native American legend; Chwast's bold, color-drenched artwork, woodcut in style, gives the story a welcome verve. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: How Rabbit Lost His Tail | [
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15,584 | 13 | "Somewhere in the Italian hills, a homing pigeon is released. She soars quickly and follows an old road, which (of course) leads to Rome." So begins Caldecott Medal-winning artist David Macaulay's visually festive journey that tracks the whimsical flight of a homing pigeon through the archways, over the terra-cotta rooftops, and between the columns of this most ancient and vibrant city: "Instead of traveling directly to her destination, which is standard pigeon procedure, she decides to take the scenic route." Macaulay's angle of vision pans back and forth between the pigeon's-eye view and that of a roaming cinematographer. The effect is a kaleidoscope of whirling, swooping, dizzying images that must resemble flight itself. Macaulay's intricately crosshatched pen-and-ink images of Rome--with its ancient amphitheater, Colosseum, Temple of Hercules, elaborate fountains, and bustling cafes (with a feast of crumbs for a travel-weary pigeon)--provide a dazzling display of architectural finery. We are so swept up in the homing pigeon's divergent path--marked on the black-and-white vistas by a thin red line--that we momentarily forget she has a task at talon. All is explained in the uplifting one-word message joyfully delivered by the pigeon to the sketch artist (Macaulay himself?) shown at work in the last scene of the book. Rome Antics concludes with an aerial map of the city, marked with the pigeon's flight path. Roman sites from the Arch of Constantine to the Pantheon are briefly described as well. This lovely visual serenade to Rome is a delight for anyone who could fall in love with such a city as this. (All ages)Grade 5 Up. Macaulay's trademark bird's-eye views of famous works of architecture become in this book the literal substance of the text. Modern Rome is seen through the skewed perspective of a homing pigeon's erratic flight through the city streets as she delivers a message to an artist in a garret. Darting and swooping above rooftops and into alleyways, the bird takes readers on a haphazard tour as it catches an overhead view of the Colosseum, sees churches aslant and turned upside down, sails into the sky above a piazza, and makes brief forays down cobbled streets to search for crumbs. Macaulay adds sly touches of humor to the pen-and-ink sketches, as voracious cats eye the pigeon and people pursue their chores and pleasures, oblivious of the bird's flight, which is indicated by a thin red line. The famous landmarks are here, perhaps seen only as a piece of a cornice, the columns of a structure, or a section of an ancient wall. The book includes a map of the city "As the pigeon flies" with each structure numbered, and an addendum shows the 22 featured buildings with a paragraph or two of interesting facts about each one. As a guidebook to modern Rome, Macaulay's sketchbook is unconventional and too sophisticated for young children, but for those with a knowledge of, or a yearning to see one of the great cities of the world, it is full of informative details and amusing incidents.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Rome Antics | [
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15,585 | 1 | Experienced dog owners will recognize the familiar behavior of a winsome brown puppy as it attacks the "enemy" vacuum cleaner until it "stops growling," or as it barks until its owner "witness[es]/ the triumphA/ one cornered beetle." Otani's (Chibi: A True Story from Japan) skillful watercolors of the girl and her fluff of a dog are sweetly fetching, whether the protagonist is scolding Little Dog for chewing her new green socks or whether she is "having accidents" with her popcorn so Little Dog can share her treat. Otani's familiarity with the exuberance and joy of puppies and children shines through her delicate watercolors, and she depicts their pounces and feints, cuddles and anticipation, with a deft sense of line. George's text, however, is disappointingly slight, especially considering the dexterity of her The Great Frog Race and Other Poems. Largely devoid of the tools of poetryAmetaphor, rhythm, form, imagery, clever word playAthese entries seem like a series of child-size sentences broken into short line lengths. "Cozy," for example, consists entirely of the following lackluster description: "Little Dog tugs/ an enormous pillow/ all the way across the room/ to sit beside the fire/ with me." Occasionally George strikes a resonant chord, as in "Birthday": "Only someone/ who loves Little Dog/ very much/ would bake/ birthday cookies/ with liver powder." Despite Otani's engaging and inventive illustrations, this depiction of a girl and her dog seems uninspired. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 3-Thirty short poems about a lively terrier, narrated by the dog's young mistress. The girl describes how her pet wakes her up in the morning, chases the vacuum cleaner, digs holes in the garden, chews up socks, snuggles up at bedtime, etc. The free-verse poems resemble haiku ("Little Dog's cold nose/is better than any/alarm clock"). The placement of the text indicates pauses and emphasizes certain words. In "Mail Delivery," the last five words are spread out to mimic the action described: "Little Dog proudly carries in the mail,/one/letter/at/a/time." In "Morning Nap," the words are arranged in a spiral-letters gradually shrinking in size-to suggest the dog's movements. Each poem appears on a separate page and is accompanied by a realistic watercolor-and-ink illustration. The appealing paintings show the pooch interacting with its owner, a sweet-faced girl. Myra Cohn Livingston's Dog Poems (Holiday, 1990; o.p.) and Lee Bennett Hopkins's A Dog's Life (Harcourt, 1983; o.p.) celebrate the world's most popular pet; however, they are aimed at an older audience and vary widely in tone and content. The poetry and paintings in Little Dog Poems complement one another wonderfully and bring to life an engaging canine character.Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Little Dog Poems | [
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15,586 | 5 | Grade 2-4-Ahmed's wife, Jamell, is not satisfied with her humble existence, and insists that her husband become a fortune-teller to earn more money. Ahmed reluctantly agrees and, through a stroke of luck, succeeds in solving the first problem put to him. When 40 treasure chests are stolen from the King and his diviners cannot determine the culprits, Ahmed is called in and threatened with life in prison should he fail. He buys some time by asking for 40 days, one for each thief. During that time, another stroke of luck allows him to discover the identity of the robbers, but it is Ahmed's ingenuity that brings the tale to its satisfying conclusion. Shepard's version of this story is a well-paced combination of humor and action. Watercolors in bright tones capture the amusing situations and accurately depict the setting. Shepard includes notes on his sources and other elements of the story. A reader's theater script and more information on divination and Iranian customs can be found at the author's Web site. A lively addition to folklore shelves.Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Forty Fortunes: A Tale of Iran | [
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15,587 | 2 | Susan Meddaugh was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from Wheaton College, where she studied French literature and fine arts. After working briefly with an advertising agency in New York, she moved to Boston and worked at a publishing company for ten years, first as a designer, then art editor, and finally as art director. While there, she did the illustrations for Good Stones (Houghton Mifflin) by Anne Epstein, and then decided to strike out on her own as a freelance illustrator and creator of children's books. Since that time, Susan has written and illustrated many popular books for children, including Martha Speaks, which was chosen as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book for 1992. In 1998 she was awarded the New England Book Award, given by the New England Booksellers Association to recognize a body of work. Her work also was acknowledged with a New York Times Best Illustrated Award. She lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts.; Title: No Nap | [
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15,588 | 2 | Grade 2-5-Francisco is excited about going to school-until he gets on the bus. The cacophony of voices all speaking English, a language he doesn't understand, leaves him apprehensive and headachy. He fares no better in the classroom. Though he tries to listen, he is often overwhelmed and his mind drifts. His only solaces are drawing and watching a caterpillar in a jar on the science shelf. At recess, he plays with a child who speaks a little Spanish, only to be scolded by his teacher for not speaking English. During the winter, seeing that Francisco has no jacket, the principal gives him one from the lost and found. It proves to belong to a classmate who wrestles Francisco to the ground and accuses him of stealing it. The child withdraws even further. However, by the end of the year, he, like the butterfly, unfolds from his cocoon and begins to gain confidence. The story is open-ended, with no real resolution, and the episodic plot does not make for a compelling narrative. The strength of the book lies in its ability to capture the frustration and isolation experienced by children who do not speak the dominant language. Potent as a discussion starter, La Mariposa helps readers identify with and build empathy for the protagonist. Silva's acrylic illustrations, using strong lines and bold colors, are a bit overwhelming for the quiet story at times, but are eye-catching nonetheless. Especially suited for schools with an ESL population, this is an excellent choice for raising awareness and creating an opening for dialogue.Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Held back in school because he did not speak English well enough, the author speaks of himself in the third-person to tell this autobiographical story of a school incident. Francisco is a young immigrant boy from Mexico trying to adjust to first grade in the US. Unlike the other children, Francisco wears suspenders, does not understand school bells, and can't comprehend a word his teacher is saying. His fascination with a caterpillar in a jar leads to flights of fancy; he imagines himself flying out of the classroom and over the rows of lettuce where his father works. Difficulties include a misunderstanding that leads to a fight with classmate Curtis, and a butterfly picture, drawn by Francisco, that disappears. Jimnez successfully captures the confusion and isolation of his protagonist in an unembellished, straightforward narration; the ending is impossibly happy, as he wins a prize for his art, makes amends with Curtis, and a newly hatched butterfly goes free. Silva's characters are strongly outlined in black, and his robust scenes of landscapes and classrooms are rich with the oranges of the monarch, echoed in fields, sunsets, and the flannel of Francisco's shirt. (glossary) (Picture book. 6-9) -- Copyright 1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: La Mariposa | [
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15,589 | 18 | Grade 6-9. The rectangular picture-book format is perfect for a book that describes the incredibly long history of the Roman games. In Watkins's dramatic and realistic charcoal-and-pencil drawings, placed against stark white pages, readers see the bizarre equipment of the gladiators, the exotic animals brought to the arenas, and the complex architecture and advanced technology involved in the construction of the great amphitheaters of the Roman Empire. The 12 brief chapters nicely balance the pictures with amazing facts about the 7 centuries of official arena shows. The horror of blood sports is not shown in the precisely detailed drawings but lies in the statistical information about the numbers of victims and the long popularity of death-centered entertainments. Watkins's research in recent and scholarly books of history reveals the political uses of the games, the central role of the hundreds of amphitheaters throughout the Empire, and the reluctance of both people and government to give up the games. The glamour of the gladiators as superheroes will draw readers to learn about the contests, the weapons, the bloodshed, and the inhumanity of a culture that for centuries celebrated death as public sport. Watkins handles a difficult subject well, stressing the games as so fixed in the history and politics of the Roman world that reminders of their long duration can be seen today. If any single title can turn sports-minded young people into students of history, this is the book to do it.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.The heroic and bloody story of the Roman gladiators is retold in Watkins's debut work, a comprehensive and vividly illustrated guide that will impart his obvious passion for the subject to budding historians. Despite their sophistication in government and the arts, Romans had a cruel and crude taste for violence, and Watkins traces the growth of the games from the first combat in 264 b.c., at the funeral of Junius Brutus, to the elaborate spectacles that regularly entranced thousands at the Colosseum. A job that was first thought fit only for prisoners of war, slaves, and criminals, it became an honored profession that, at the height of the empire, was more than half-full of distinguished male volunteers (women gladiators were officially banned in a.d. 200). Watkins meticulously reviews the training of gladiators and also takes readers through an upbeat gallery of the various types of gladiators who played the games. The black-and-white drawings capture the elegance of the Roman Colosseum, and the excitement of the sea battles that were held at terrific expense; the renderings of the gladiators are consistently dramatic. (map, bibliography, further reading, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Gladiator | [] | Train |
15,590 | 0 | The creature parade to Bethlehem continues (see The Animals' Christmas Carol, reviewed above) in Bunting's (Smoky Night) somewhat self-conscious poems about the lowliest beings to have witnessed Jesus' birth ("I am Rat./ Colorless/ as darkening dirt"). Minor's (Pumpkin Heads!) shimmering watercolors, lit as if by moon and stars, capture desert vistas and the distinguishing characteristics of Snake, Cockroach, Scorpion, Bat and others who traveled afar to be present, if unnoticed, at the Nativity. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 1-3-Nativity stories often mention the ox and lamb as humble visitors to the holy stable where Jesus was born. Here Bunting shares the view of seven other creatures that were also witnesses on that special night. Snake, toad, scorpion, cockroach, bat, spider, and rat all offer a brief poem, always ending with the refrain, "I will be there." Minor's gouache-and-watercolor illustrations feature zoomed-in views of each narrator and occasional double-page spreads from one animal's perspective (snake on a vast expanse of sand, rat nestled in the straw). The last line sums up, "No one will look/beyond the light/to darkness/and the corner where we watch,/unwatched./They will not know/or care./But we were there." Libraries with active Christmas collections will want to add this title for its unique perspective. The poetry may inspire youngsters to create verses of their own for other "less loved" creatures.-G. C.BYRD, Donald & Susan Kuklin. The Harlem Nutcracker. photos. by Susan Kuklin. unpaged. CIP. Hyperion/Jump at the Sun. 2001. Tr $19.99. ISBN 0-7868-0633-8. LC 00-46172. Gr 1-3-In Byrd's "inversion of the traditional Nutcracker by E. T. A. Hoffmann.-The music is Ellington, not Tchaikovsky. The choreography is jazz dancing, not classical ballet." The beautifully designed book captures the stage production featuring an African-American grandmother named Clara and her family at her Sugar Hill mansion in Harlem on Christmas Eve. Her husband Gus, who has recently passed away, magically appears and presents her with a nutcracker, before vanishing. The family gathering presents conflict, drama, happiness, and love and, in the end, the nutcracker is passed to a new generation and Clara joins her beloved Gus in death. Readers can enjoy the story, whether they are actually reading the text or simply looking at the lavish, powerful photographs of onstage action-but perhaps because of this live-action quality, some of the shots are not quite as crisp as others. This fresh reinterpretation of the holiday classic will hold a special appeal for young people familiar with the original and for budding performers.-L. F.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: We Were There: A Nativity Story | [
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15,591 | 2 | Based on debut author Prigger's family history, this tale of an elderly spinster who inherits nine children overflows with energy, affection and humor. The epitome of tidiness, Aunt Minnie has a "system" for maintaining order in her neat little world. "It's lucky she has no children," her neighbors cluck. "Children might interfere with Minnie's system." But when she receives a telegram informing her that her nine nieces and nephews have been orphaned ("Some of them were triplets. Some of them were twins"), Minnie rises to the occasion with aplomb. True to her nature, she devises a series of systems. For trips to the "johnny house," Minnie counsels, "Stand in line, wait your turn, and help with buttons"; for hugs, "The oldest hugged the youngest. The ones in the middle hugged each other. And Aunt Minnie hugged them all." In a dexterous style, Prigger employs repetitive elements to establish and maintain a spry tempo in clipped, spruce sentences; the brisk diction is a reflection of the main character herself. The black outlines of Lewin's (Snake Alley Band) witty, loose watercolors punctuate the pages in a flurry of scribbles, suggesting the kind of bursting-at-the-seams activity typical of a large family and counteracting any hint of Minnie's rigidity with fluid, personable characterizations. Period detail, from Aunt Minnie's Model T to her woodstove and water pump, adds nostalgic charm to this winning family portrait. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-Aunt Minnie McGranahan, a small and tidy woman, has a system for everything from cleaning her neat house to caring for her cows and chickens. When she takes in nine orphaned nieces and nephews, she ignores the townspeople of St. Clere, KS, who mumble that she knows nothing about raising children. However, competent Aunt Minnie has her own system: "The oldest looked after the youngest. The ones in the middle looked after each other. And Aunt Minnie looked after them all." From helping with household chores, bathing, using the johnny house, square dancing in the evenings, and hugging before bed at night, the youngsters learn to care for themselves, others, and the world around them, all the time knowing that Aunt Minnie cares for them all. Set in the 1920s, Lewin's illustrations are imbued with down-home charm. Simple, bold, black lines skillfully express emotion and the watercolor pastel hues are as cheery as a cherished family quilt. Design elements unite the text and pictures. Prigger successfully creates a sense of time and place, and readers will be especially touched by Aunt Minnie's system of making work appear lighter by allowing for fun and the family's good-night system of dancing and bedtime hugs.Shawn Brommer, Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Aunt Minnie McGranahan | [
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15,592 | 2 | First-grader Melissa Hermann needs something for show and tell. In her dentist dad's office, with the help of her brother Norman she finds a bottle full of pulled teeth. Melissa carefully washes enough teeth to give one to every member of her class, then disguises the bottle in a brown bag. In a suspenseful scene?rendered even more dramatic by a worm's-eye view of desks and gaping students?Melissa slinks to the front of the classroom with her prize and stands there nervously. "Finally she opened up the bag, held up the bottle, and blurted out, 'ROTTEN TEETH! FROM REAL MOUTHS!' " With just a dash of hyperbole, Simms (The Bone Man) explains how the teeth horrify Melissa's teacher but enhance the girl's popularity among her peers. At recess, Melissa captivates her audience with gruesome tales of dentistry and learns the power of storytelling. If Simms's intent is to banish shyness, Catrow's (Westward Ho, Carlotta!) goal is to catapult a humorous story into the realm of the tall tale. He boosts the irony by providing Melissa with ample show-and-tell oddities; her home not only houses a dentist's office but is a Victorian curiosity shop of bizarre decorations (a boar's head, a prehistoric skull) and living oddities (a monkey, an elephant, a Venus flytrap). Catrow tints his over-the-top watercolor illustrations with dental-decay-inspired yellows and greens, and he dresses his gawky, frizzy-haired characters in ridiculously mismatched clothes. This not-for-the-squeamish volume should impress future fans of Southern gothic. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-A hot-air balloon is anchored outside the Hermann household, while inside a python rests calmly on the couch and a full suit of armor guards the living room. Still, first-grader Melissa complains to her older brother Norman that there is nothing in their house interesting enough to take to school for Show and Tell. He sympathetically ponders the problem and suggests the bottle of rotten teeth in the back of Dad's home dental office. With Norman's help, Melissa takes the treasure to school in a brown paper bag. Her classmates are enraptured and their barrage of questions prompts the shy girl to talk for the first time. She finds herself describing bloody towels, loud moaning, and a host of other details, and, to her delight, discovers a newfound ability as a storyteller. This funny tale is made even more hilarious by the cartoon illustrations. While Melissa bemoans a boring household, the picture shows Dad welcoming an extraterrestrial patient. A larger-than-life dental patient wearing Pecos Bill attire is shown looming over a tiny Melissa as she talks excitedly to enthralled classmates. The visual humor is sensational. Together, Simms and Catrow have created a winner.Jackie Hechtkopf, Talent House School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Rotten Teeth | [
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15,593 | 2 | Tacky the penguin unexpectedly leads his squad to victory in a cheerleading contest; PW praised the "pithy" text and "winsome" pictures. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Three Cheers for Tacky (Tacky the Penguin) | [
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15,594 | 12 | Gr. 3^-4, younger for reading aloud. In this picture book for older readers, Kabibona'kan, Winter Maker, seems determined to let Shingebiss, a merganser duck, freeze to death. But even though the plucky bird has only four logs to warm his lodge during the winter months, he is still able to stand strong against his great opponent. The names in this Ojibwe legend may be hard for children to pronounce, and the story contains references to a time frame that's different than our calendar year. Despite that, readers and listeners will enjoy the story and identify with Shingebiss' courage and absolute determination to outlast hard times. Bowen's woodcuts extend the text, heightening the difference between the story's setting and our own times. A glossary, source notes, and some engrossing information on how the illustrations were executed are included. Karen MorganVan Laan (La Boda, 1996, etc.) goes to the way back time, when Shingebiss, a resourceful merganser duck, presents a challenge to Kabibona'kan, Winter Maker, who does not want him to be able to withstand the harsh winter. Winter Maker does everything in his power to thwart Shingebiss's efforts to catch fish--he freezes the waters of Great Lake Superior ``as solid as stone.'' Knowing that the clever duck has only four logs to last the winter, Kabibona'kan is certain he can blow drifts deep enough to freeze the bird. But the theme of the small overcoming the mighty prevails, for the tiny hero can be neither frozen nor starved. According to Ojibwe legend, Shingebiss has ever since served as a reminder of perseverence and fortitude. Bowen's labor-intensive, painstaking process of carving and inking woodblocks in stages produces an effective primitive style that evokes contrasts of the northern wilderness clime: The warm umbers of Shingebiss's wigwam home are carefully collated with the chilling blues and icy whites of the scenes where the appropriately scary Winter Maker is at work. Hand-lettered text is framed in borders inspired by the shape of Ojibwe ricing baskets, adding a rustic lure to the lore. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Shingebiss: An Ojibwe Legend | [
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15,595 | 6 | Kindergarten-Grade 4-Schnur and Evans have combined their considerable talents to create a picture book that is both innovative and lovely. Done in the form of acrostics, the poems are a visual as well as a literary delight. Their style is simple, yet capable of evoking myriad images and feelings, similar in many ways to haiku. For example, in "Dawn": "Day breaks early now/And quickly/Warms after a cool/Night." The linoleum-cut illustrations are rich in detail and vibrant with spring tones. Easily as successful as this team's previous collaboration, Autumn (Clarion, 1997), this book could be used effectively with any unit on seasons or as a study of literary re-creations in combination with Bonnie Christensen's Rebus Riot (Dial, 1997). It will also spring off the shelf on its own.Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2^-5, younger for reading aloud. Similar in format to Schnur's Autumn (1998), this volume features one illustrated acrostic on each page. For instance, the word grass appears vertically in purple, but reading horizontally the lines read "Green leaves overhead, a / Rug of green underfoot, / And the air between / Sweet with the green / Smell of spring." Evans' artwork is outlined in black, making the rich colors appear jewel-like and full of light. Schnur's best acrostics are fresh and imaginative, distilling the essence of the season in a few brief lines and images. An attractive book, sure to be used in many classrooms, sometimes as an alphabet book, sometimes as an evocation of spring, sometimes as a model for student writing. Carolyn Phelan; Title: Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic | [
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] | Train |
15,596 | 1 | Hans and Margret Rey created many books during their lives together, includingCurious George, one of the most treasured classics of all time, as well as other favorites likeSpottyandPretzel.But it was their rambunctious little monkey who became an instantly recognizable icon. After the Reys escaped Paris by bicycle in 1940 carrying the manuscript for the originalCurious George, the book was published in America in 1941. More than 200 Curious George titles followed, with 75 million books soldworldwide. Curious George has been successfully adapted into a major motion picture and an Emmy-winning television show onPBS.; Title: Spotty (Curious George) | [
5385,
14258,
23080,
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] | Test |
15,597 | 0 | PreSchool-Grade 2. Ten shapes are presented in picture and verse. Along with the familiar circle, square, triangle, diamond, rectangle, octagon, and oval are the less frequent star, heart, and crescent. Each shape has its own verse and double-page spread packed with visual examples. There are even some extras for observant children to discover. The watercolor-and-ink illustrations are bold and clean, with ample color; however, a texturing technique occasionally results in a slightly murky appearance. At no time does this texturing obscure the text or interfere with line or shape. Those tired of bright primary colors in children's books may find the muting a nice change. A fine addition to units on shapes and a perky read-aloud.?Jody McCoy, Lakehill Preparatory School, Dallas, TXCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Cataloging several examples for each of ten regular shapes, Greene develops in an ever-changing rhyme scheme the premise that all shapes are made from bent lines. It's an eye-opening insight for readers, but confusing when blocks are considered square, a bubble, marble, and ``curled kitten'' are included in the list of circles, and ``star'' is defined as ``the shape of a fish.'' Readers may also falter at the triangle spread, since the three blocks of text are placed so that it's hard to tell in what order they're to be read; the ``tent built just for you'' has a triangular opening, but what children will notice is the diamond- shaped side. Kaczman's picture-book debut features a set of stylized, evenly colored, very simply drawn scenes, sometimes viewed from playfully skewed angles or featuring sight gags--a police officer chowing down on a doughnut, a kilted man playing hopscotch. Still, an instructional intent hangs heavy over this, and the examples are not always on target; a better book on the topic is Dayle Ann Dodds's The Shape of Things (1994). (Picture book. 4-6) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: When a Line Bends ... a Shape Begins | [
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] | Test |
15,598 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 2. Animal Dads takes a refreshing look at the natural world with fathers cast in the caregiver role. Fish, birds, and mammals demonstrate a wide array of parenting skills as the male of the species protects, feeds, and teaches. Each father and his offspring are presented on a single or double-page spread, illustrated with striking, cut-paper collage figures. The large, lifelike creatures are set against backgrounds that are true to each animal's natural habitat. Representing rivers, woods, grasslands, treetops, and desert burrows, the backdrops make for an interesting and varied layout. There are two levels of text; a simple explanatory sentence in large print and more detailed information about the behavior of each animal father in small print make this book appropriate for different age groups. Mentioned briefly are dads that do not participate in the rearing of their young. As animal fathers have been overshadowed by the numerous books featuring animal mothers, this unique selection helps balance the science shelves for young children.?Diane Nunn, Richard E. Byrd Elementary School, Glen Rock, NJCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-7. This attractive book presents the many roles that fathers play in the animal kingdom, leaving it to children and parents to draw analogies to their own families. Short phrases in large type serve as text for reading aloud to young children, and, for each phrase, a paragraph of more detailed information appears. This methods offers background material for adults to draw on or to read aloud to kids who want to hear more. Beautifully crafted, paper-collage artwork appears on every page. Jenkins, who wrote and illustrated Big and Little (1995) and Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (1996), creates a series of well-composed full-page and double-page pictures that make this a particularly striking-looking science book for young children. Carolyn Phelan; Title: Animal Dads | [
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15,599 | 3 | An all-animal cast stars in a "quirky" and "wry" story that, said PW, "relies on a cautious balance of understatement and zaniness." Ages 4-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 3-6. Hodges the elephant's caf{}e is renowned for its tasty pastries, but the "no tigers, please" policy is challenged one evening when three tigers enter the caf{}e and request elephant schnitzel and pigs benedict. Hodges' pet duck uses his glib tongue to start a rumpus. But when a food fight ensues, and the tigers are revealed to be sophisticated gourmands, Hodges quietly reverses the "no tigers" policy. Muted colors and soft watercolor-and-ink illustrations and an understated text play counterpoint to the slapstick plot action. For instance, the text accompanying a double-page spread in which the food fight reduces the caf{}e to chaos reads, "Things got a little out of control." Whether taken as a cautionary tale on xenophobia or as the story of a zany pie fight, Egan's book is an appealing offering. Linda Ward Callaghan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.; Title: Friday Night at Hodges' Cafe (Sandpiper Houghton Mifflin Books) | [
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