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15,600 | 2 | 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 Day's Work | [
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15,601 | 11 | Allen Say was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1937. He dreamed of becoming a cartoonist from the age of six, and, at age twelve, apprenticed himself to his favorite cartoonist, Noro Shinpei. For the next four years, Say learned to draw and paint under the direction of Noro, who has remained Say's mentor. Say illustrated his first children's book -- published in 1972 -- in a photo studio between shooting assignments. For years, Say continued writing and illustrating children's books on a part-time basis. But in 1987, while illustrating THE BOY OF THE THREE-YEAR NAP (Caldecott Honor Medal), he recaptured the joy he had known as a boy working in his master's studio. It was then that Say decided to make a full commitment to doing what he loves best: writing and illustrating children's books. Since then, he has written and illustrated many books, including TREE OF CRANES and GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY, winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal. He is a full-time writer and illustrator living in Portland, Oregon.; Title: Under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale | [
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15,602 | 13 | This innovative picture book/chapter book hybrid vividly brings to life the childhood of noted American painter Benjamin West (1738-1820). The youngest of 10 children in a Quaker family, Benjamin becomes inspired at the age of seven and draws pictures every chance he gets. When quill and paper aren't enough, a Native American friend shows young Benjamin how to mix clay and bear grease into paint colors, and Benjamin learns-by trial and error, using hair from his pet cat-how to make simple paintbrushes. Brenner (If You Were There in 1776) distills West's formative years into a lively narrative. She makes Benjamin easy to like, giving equal emphasis to his singular passion for art and to the qualities he has in common with readers (e.g., a knack for getting into trouble, then fearing the consequences). Dunrea's (The Painter Who Loved Chickens) gouache compositions capture the sparse simplicity of colonial-era Pennsylvania. Pared-down, favoring the grays and muted colors associated with traditional Quaker furnishings, these pictures pay their respects to the art of the period but retain warmth and a childlike puckishness; the horizontal format, approximately 10" x 7", accentuates Dunrea's painterly style. An author's note chronicling West's career and featuring reproductions of several works is included. Ages 5-8. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 3-This simply told picture-book biography introduces the story of Benjamin West, who is often referred to as the father of American art. Born in 1738, the 10th child of the Pennsylvania Wests, he began drawing at a very young age. He learned about color from local Indians, and he learned about "hair pencils" (paintbrushes) from a traveler. Since he couldn't obtain any of his own, he made them with hairs from the family cat, Grimalkin. Realizing their son's potential, Benjamin's parents sent him to Philadelphia to study with a real artist. The trip changed his life. Dunrea's folk-style gouache paintings incorporate period architecture, furnishings, and handicrafts. The pictures are framed with thin black lines, giving the book a formal appearance. This is a fine introduction to artists and the Colonial period.Kathleen Staerkel, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Boy Who Loved to Draw: Benjamin West | [
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15,603 | 12 | Phonics in Action; Title: Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Hardcover Student Edition Continous Stroke Level 3 1998 | [
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15,604 | 1 | PreSchool-K. This companion to the author's Do Pigs Have Stripes? (Houghton, 1996) presents a series of questions and answers. Children will catch on quickly to the silliness of the inquiries ("Do horses bark?") and will easily guess the responses ("No, dogs do") when the page is turned. The comfortingly predictable format will encourage participation. Familiar animals are depicted in the childlike illustrations. Simple, large, and rendered in bold colors, they are a perfect complement to the playful text. A fun selection for sharing one-on-one or for a shout-it-out storytime.?Maria B. Salvadore, District of Columbia Public LibraryCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Walsh (Do Pigs Have Stripes?, 1996) again asks preschoolers questions to which they probably know the answers, but that doesn't mean they're a snap. ``Do horses bark? No, dogs do,'' although the horse in the picture does hold a bone in its mouth. Tickling small funnybones, Walsh lures little ones into the swing of things, for each question requires a resounding ``No!''--each question but the surprising final one, because owls do go hoot in the middle of the night. Bright, large images in a childlike scrawl of lines and flat planes of color, combined with the book's reiterated invitation to participate, make it a perfect candidate for story hours. The simplicity of presentation masks the book's complex wit and trickiness: Children will love it. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Do Monkeys Tweet | [
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15,605 | 12 | Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Hardcover Student Edition Level 4 1998; Title: Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Hardcover Student Edition Level 4 1998 | [
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15,606 | 12 | Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Softcover Student Edition Continous Stroke Level 1 1998; Title: Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary: Student Book (consumable/continuous stroke) Grade 1 1998 | [
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15,607 | 0 | Author and illustrator Calef Brown is a blue elephant, we're told on the back flap of the book, and we half-believe it, judging from this exuberant, unforgettable collection of 14 ultra-hip rhyming stories about everything from sleeping fruit to a funky--and we mean funky--snowman. In comical folk-art paintings, bathed in truly delicious colors, we meet Ed. "Introducing Ed, / with cherries on his head. / He says, 'I like the color,' / So all his stuff is red..." One odd hamlet is described like this: "Clementown is greenish, / the people tall and leanish, / the dogs bark very loudish, / but not because they're meanish." Brown sings the praises of "Snails" as well: "...they don't make threats, / they don't eat meat, / they don't place bets, / they almost always pay their debts / and never puff on cigarettes." These poems are as nonsensical as Edward Lear's, but clearly for modern hipster kids, and, well, adults, too. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustrations 1998 by Calef Brown.) (All ages) --Karin SnelsonGrade 3-4AWhile the title advertises 14 stories, this is actually a collection of poems. The subjects range from a man with octopus legs in bell-bottom pants to skeleton flowers. While some of the poems may entertain upper-elementary children, some of the intended humor will puzzle young readers; for example, the bats have jury duty and the pants fit like apple pie. While the silliness may hold some appeal, the rhythms are forced ("The pockets all have numbers, numbers on the jacket pockets"), making them difficult to read aloud. Many of the quirky illustrations feature animals with human heads or people of unusual colors. This is not a selection for libraries with limited budgets.AMarty Abbott Goodman, L.J. Bell Elementary School, Rockingham, NCCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Polkabats and Octopus Slacks: 14 Stories | [
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15,608 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 3APart legend, part history, this original tale evokes the early Polynesian explorers' finding and settling of the Hawaiian Islands. Four brothers, each of whom has a special love and skill, set out on an adventure to find the island below a star they see in the northern sky (Arcturus). Traveling in an outrigger canoe and carrying water and dried foods, they sail steadily for several weeks until a violent storm throws them off course. Manu, the youngest, who has stowed away and whose specialty is birds, leads them to the island by following the flight of the gulls. Told with the spare formulaic structure of a folktale, even to having the youngest brother save the day, the tale has the appeal of a youthful adventure while it uses the five brothers to tell the story of the migration of a whole people. As he did in The Cloudmakers (Houghton, 1996), Rumford appends an explanatory historical note. Here, he tells how the early explorers probably used patterns of winds, currents, and bird migration to guide them through the Pacific from 2500 miles to the south. His strong watercolor paintings are alive with the movement and vibrant light of the sea and sky and the vigor of the young men. Text and pictures are equals in this eloquent and appealing look at island history.ASally Margolis, Barton Public Library, VTCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 6^-8. Rumford (The Cloudmakers, 1996) commemorates an epic prehistoric voyage with his tale of five brothers, each with a special affinity--for stars, for waves, for clouds, for wind, and for birds--who set out toward a certain star to find the island beneath it. Manu, the youngest, stows away in the canoe, and it's a good thing, for after a five-day storm that leaves them far off course, his sharp eyes spot a bird that leads them to their destination. Although Rumford tells the tale in a formal tone, he humanizes the brothers--" All right! All right! We were just kidding," says one, after teasingly threatening to throw Manu overboard. Despite the rolling seas and roiling clouds, Rumford's generous applications of browns and reds give most of his watercolor scenes a warm, friendly feel. Unfortunately, Rumford gives no hint of whether this is an original story or based on another. He explains in an afterword that the Hawaiian Islands' first settlers are believed to have come from the Marquesas, 2,500 miles to the south. How did they, and other Polynesian travelers, navigate? By stars, waves, clouds, wind, and birds, of course. John Peters; Title: The Island-Below-The-Star | [
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15,609 | 13 | Precision and poetry characterize this singular volume, which introduces the hand tools in a wood- and metal-working shop as the builders construct a carousel. Each spread presents one implement, from Ruler to Chisel to Saw, along with a haiku-like description: "Hammer is a hitter, a beater, a pounder, a nailer./ Hammer moves, whack by thump by thud./ Hammer keeps swinging." Clements (Temple Cat) distills the sentences to their essence. His active verbs ("Drill spins in") and declaratives ("Screwdriver is a partner") mimic the confident movement of a person at one with a tool. Wisniewski (Golem) supplements this steady, controlled text with fastidious cut-paper images of a boy assisting master craftsmen as they create the hand-built wooden merry-go-round. The illustrations frame the definitions in time and space: the caps, denim aprons and heavy mustaches of the men suggest first-generation immigrants of early 20th-century America. The artist's signature layers of colorful paper (some raised to cast three-D shadows, some sprinkled with a spray of sawdust or "sparks") attest to the same concentration and technical finesse celebrated by Clements's words. Balance, the center of any craft or spiritual practice, is the soul of this concise and beautifully designed book. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-The men in Wisniewski's workshop are busy creating a carousel with strong beams, decorative panels, and exquisitely carved horses. From ruler to wrench, 13 basic tools are described in short text and bright, bold cut-paper illustrations. In each large-scale, double-page spread, a young apprentice watches a different craftsman at work with saw, chisel, grinder, or knife. The eye-filling pictures are well matched with sentences that are brief but potently descriptive. In Clements's thought-provoking words, "Axe is the great divider," "Saw is a biter," "Chisel is patient," and "Drill makes room for itself." Reading Workshop can be a delightful way to talk with children about the artistry of craftsmen and builders. It identifies familiar household tools and explains their uses; it is also a celebration of creativity and inspires an appreciation of skilled workmanship.Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Workshop | [
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] | Train |
15,610 | 16 | PreSchool-K?The African-American family from Falwell's Feast for 10 (Clarion, 1993) returns in this seasonal counting book. From "1 star for the top of the Christmas tree" to "10 hands string the popcorn chains," the children and adults join together to prepare for the celebration. They then repeat the numbers from "1 wreath welcomes guests to the door" to "10 joyful folks wish peace for all." The artwork, done in bright cut-paper and fabric collages accented with watercolor, is engaging and interesting, with plenty of details for curious youngsters to explore. A definite addition to Christmas shopping lists.?LFCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 2^-5. With cut-paper and fabric collages in bright Christmas colors, Falwell's rhyming Christmas counting book shows an extended African American family preparing for Christmas together. With Mom and Dad, the children decorate the tree, and they place 1 star at the top; later 5 snuggle up to hear Grandma read 6 stories; then 10 hands string the popcorn chains. But it's not over: a guest arrives, and there's another round, from 1 wreath on the door through 10 joyful folks wishing peace for all. A cheerful way for children to learn to count while they have fun with the holiday traditions and join the celebration. Hazel Rochman; Title: Christmas for 10 | [
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15,611 | 12 | Used like new; Title: Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary, Level 2 | [
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15,612 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 2AOne evening, Sedrick Van Pelt hears a tapping on his study window and discovers an enormous red bird peering in at him. Fleeing in fear, Sedrick stumbles and falls, but the giant creature poses no immediate threat. A visitor from another planet, Feathers loves bread of any kind. In time, however, the villagers grow weary of trying to satisfy his voracious appetite and his clumsiness results in townwide havoc. Only after a hurricane roars through the hamlet and blows him away is he truly missed. Days later, he reappears on Sedrick's roof and happily spends the remainder of his years in the Van Pelt yard, regaling everyone with stories about his home planetAEarth. Aside from the punch line, this tale of an unappreciated visitor never gets off the ground. The flippant conversational tone of the text provides some humor but not enough drama to sustain interest. The unfolding of events is choppy and the action is often illogical. The benign blue villagers with long snouts, pointed ears, and a predilection for jaunty plumed hats hint at an otherworldly setting but are curiously flat. Egan's ink-and-watercolor illustrations vary from full-page to small vignettes; while they provide lots of interesting detail, they are less than compelling. Lacking the clever zaniness of Burnt Toast on Davenport Street (1997) or the pithy lesson of Metropolitan Cow (1996, both Houghton), this newest offering falls in the featherweight category.ACarol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 5^-8. Egan is known for his wild and wacky picture books, such as Metropolitan Cow (1996). His latest is no less zany. In this story, Sedrick Van Pelt is interrupted from his journal writing by the beak of a giant bird tapping at his window. The huge bird is a bread lover--" Bread. I love bread. Any kind of bread. Pumpernickel, rye, whole wheat, sourdough. Any kind. I absolutely love bread." The rest of the story follows the efforts of Sedrick and the newly named Feathers to get that bread. First, the townspeople feed him, then they get him to work, but always disaster ensues. When a big wind blows Feathers away, the townsfolk think they've seen the last of the big bird, but soon enough that annoying voice is back: "Got any bread? I love bread." The rich ink-and-watercolor art features characters and settings that are diminutive compared with the impressive red bird that is the focus of most of the pictures. The wry story has a happy ending that will satisfy kids, but it is really children older than the story hour set who will best appreciate this tongue-in-beak tale. Ilene Cooper; Title: Distant Feathers | [
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15,613 | 16 | PreSchool-Grade 2. In spare, poetic prose, Fletcher describes the twilight of mornings and evenings, those two brief times of day that often seem to have magical qualities. He personifies dawn and dusk and uses images and metaphors to evoke their special qualities and events. The full- and double-paged oil paintings depict a suburban community. A young girl and her dog wander through the scenes, adding interest even though they are never mentioned in the text. Various shades of green, orange, and brown are used effectively to show how the colors of things are transformed by twilight. The personification of dawn and dusk seems strained, and the metaphors are sometimes more distracting than illuminating, e.g., dusk "pours/the syrup of darkness/into the forest" and "hisses on the sprinklers." The pictures speak more clearly than the words. Charlotte Zolotow's When the Wind Stops (HarperCollins, 1995) and Jonathan London's I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me (Viking, 1996) successfully use art and text to convey a sense of the wonder of the natural world.?Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VTCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.A quietly alluring mood piece that focuses on the twilight times when ``night and day stand whispering secrets before they go their separate ways'' at dawn and dusk. Fletcher (Ordinary Things, p. 460, etc.) finds impressionistic images--``Dusk pours the syrup of darkness into the forest'' and ``dawn erases the stars from the blackboard of night''--that Kiesler makes concrete, by including in her lush, light-drenched paintings a girl and a dog who witness the topical observations of the text. The exploration of how these transitory periods affect the lives of people--from children playing in the park to fishermen casting out in the fading light, from commuters to the girl's family, setting the breakfast table--is achieved through an inclusive sensory range, from dusk's fireflies that swim through air to write ``bright messages in secret code,'' to dawn's smell of doughnuts outside the bakery. Words and art coalesce into an invitation to readers to move beyond the page and into their own explorations of twilight. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Twilight Comes Twice | [
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15,614 | 15 | Most children are captivated by snow, but how many go on to make it their lifework? This beautiful biography, winner of the 1999 Caldecott Medal, tells the true story of a Vermont farm boy who was mesmerized by snowflakes. Wilson Bentley was fascinated by the six-sided frozen phenomena, and once he acquired a microscope with a camera, his childhood preoccupation took on a more scientific leaning. Bentley spent his life taking countless exquisite photographs (many that are still used in nature photography today), examining the tiny crystals and their delicate, mathematical structures. Jacqueline Briggs Martin tells this tale with simple, graceful prose that will engage children's imaginations. Edifying and snowflake-scattered sidebars offer more information about Bentley's methods and snowflake science. The artwork of Mary Azarian, whose 19th-century hand-press illustrations decorate the charming Barn Cat, shines once again in Snowflake Bentley, with woodcuts that reveal an appreciation for detail as well as for the man who loved snow. The lovely illustrations and equally fresh text will inspire and comfort youngsters (and grownups too) who wish they could capture snowflakes all year long. (Ages 4 to 8) --Brangien DavisAzarian's (A Farmer's Alphabet) handsome woodcuts provide a homespun backdrop to Martin's (Grandmother Bryant's Pocket) brief biography of a farmboy born in 1865 on the Vermont snowbelt who never lost his fascination with snowflakes. Wilson A. Bentley spent 50 years pioneering the scientific study of ice crystals, and developed a technique of microphotography that allowed him to capture the hexagonal shapes and prove that no two snowflakes are alike. Martin conveys Bentley's passion in lyrical language ("snow was as beautiful as butterflies, or apple blossoms"), and punctuates her text with frequent sidebars packed with intriguing tidbits of information (though readers may be confused by the two that explain Bentley's solution of how to photograph the snowflakes). Hand-tinted with watercolors and firmly anchored in the rural 19th century, Azarian's woodcuts evoke an era of sleighs and woodstoves, front porches and barn doors, and their bold black lines provide visual contrast to the delicate snowflakes that float airily in the sidebars. A trio of Bentley's ground-breaking black-and-white photographs of snowflakes, along with a picture and quote from him about his love for his work, is the icing that tops off this attractive volume. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book) | [
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15,615 | 2 | Resentful of her new stepmother, Laura clings to a family heirloom, a "memory string" of buttons taken from special garments. As her father and her stepmother, Jane, paint the porch, Laura sits apart and fingers each button, loudly telling her cat about her great-grandmother's first "grown-up dress," her father's Gulf War service uniform and, last, the nightgown her mother was wearing when she died. Bunting's (Smoky Night) prose is as sure-footed as ever, but is much encumbered here by a contrived plot that has Laura losing the buttons and the family coming together in the search for them. A rapprochement between Laura and Jane, who finds the final missing button, is all but inevitable. Even Rand's (Baby in a Basket) light-dappled watercolors can't rescue the story from its didactic intent; this is likelier to engage adults looking for books that address a particular subject (such as stepparenting) than children. Ages 5-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-Within hearing of her new stepmother, Laura meanly recounts to her disinterested cat what each button on her memory string means. There's one from her great-grandmother's first grown-up dress, another from her mother's wedding dress, and one from the nightgown the woman was wearing when she died three years ago. When the impatient feline jumps away, breaking the string, the buttons fly everywhere. Laura's father and Jane help find all but one of them, but the girl is inconsolable. In the night, she hears them debating about whether to cut an identical button from her father's military uniform. Jane insists, "Laura would rather have that button missing than have a replacement-It's like a mother. No substitute allowed." She finds the lost item with a flashlight and she puts it on the porch where Laura can see it without being offended by the finder. However, in the morning the child has had a change of heart and asks Jane's help in restringing the beads. Rand's oversized, light-dappled watercolor pictures show the love and loyalty between the father and his new wife and their love for the prickly and still-grieving Laura. Bunting trusts readers to interpret behavior and understand complex emotions without her having to provide a moral or dramatic ending. Instead, the story offers a hopeful beginning and invites readers to think about ways to remember family history-including making one's own button memory string.Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Memory String | [
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15,616 | 16 | Ages 5^-8. In this original picture book, Anna's eating a bowl of alphabet cereal when she discovers that the letters in her spoon can rearrange themselves to spell two different words. Anna becomes a "word wizard," making the changes happen at will. When she finds a little lost boy, she adds an m and turns his tears into a stream. When the stream flows into the ocean, she rearranges the letters to make a canoe. After a series of adventures, she takes the boy home, where she arms him against further catastrophes by turning the toy sword he carries into words. In an afterword, Falwell explains that Anna is making anagrams, and she encourages readers to play around with the idea by using magnetic letters, alphabet blocks, or pasta, or homemade letters from a variety of suggested materials. Brightly colored and full of action, the cut-paper collage illustrations make this an eye-catching introduction to anagrams. A book with great potential for the classroom. Carolyn PhelanBrightly colored and full of action, the cut-paper collage illustrations make this an eye-catching introduction to anagrams. A book with great potential for the classroom. (BOOKLIST) -- From the Publisher; Title: Word Wizard | [
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15,617 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 1. Bearsie Bear isn't in his warm bed very long when he hears a knock on the door. The cold evening brings Moosie Moose asking for a warm place to sleep. As soon as those two get settled, Cowsie Cow comes knocking, also looking for shelter. She is followed by Piggie Pig, Foxie Fox, and Goosie Goose. Porkie Porcupine is the last to appear, also jumping into the bed, prompting the others to flee their prickly friend. When the cold wind blows again, the others quickly return, and a solution agreeable to all is found. Young children should enjoy the constant repetition, although it borders on becoming tedious. While the names of this cast of characters works on an alliterative basis, they are a tad trite. Waber's delightfully uncluttered pictures, filled with homey details and expressive animals, add to the overall appeal.?Christy Norris, Valley Cottage Library, NYCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.A humorous cumulative tale that makes a great read-aloud for the very young. A wintry scene shows an isolated house so deep in snow that the road can't be seen. A moose plods its way to the door and knocks; a bear sleeping cozily near his blazing fireplace opens one eye and asks who it is. `` `It's me, Moosie Moose,' said Moosie Moose. `Moosie Moose?' said Bearsie Bear. `Yes, Moosie Moose,' said Moosie Moose.'' The repetition of the already repetitive names continues as more animals join the bear and moose in a wide bed; mild joking transpires as unlikely bedfellows are added: cow, pig, fox, goose. The generosity of the host is strained when a porcupine joins in, and everyone leaves. But the sad faces at the snowy window melt Bearsie Bear's notably large heart, and all find peaceful sleep away from the elements. Waber's familiar watercolors find humor in every scene while warmth and security are the backbone of the story. The reading of the accumulated names every time the animals settle down results in a book that may be too raucous for bedtime, but ideal for story hours. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Bearsie Bear and the Surprise Sleepover Party | [
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15,618 | 2 | Gr. 5^-8. When his grandmother suddenly dies, 13-year-old Gordy and his younger sister must move from Grandville back to College Hill to live with their older brother's family. Under his grandmother's steady influence, Gordy had turned his life around, but he soon finds trouble in his old town. Friends egg him into a number of scrapes yet quickly abandon and even betray him. Attracted to his old friend Elizabeth, Gordy wants desperately to impress her but sabotages himself at every turn. Caught in a downward spiral, Gordy seems destined for reform school until his family and Elizabeth reveal how much they care for him. The post^-World War II setting is merely cosmetic, but Gordy is a painfully believable adolescent, angry with the very people who love him and trapped by the town's knee-jerk judgment of his family. A worthy sequel to Stepping on Cracks (1991) and Following My Own Footsteps (1996), but this also stands well on its own. Linda PerkinsAn eighth grader finds that his tough-guy persona doesn't fit as well as it used to in Hahn's third book about the fragmented Smith family (Stepping On The Cracks, 1991; Following My Own Footsteps, 1996). After his grandmother's sudden death, Gordy has to move back to the hated Maryland town in which he grew up. Discovering that the intervening two years have done little to dim his family's white-trash reputation, and that his ne'er-do-well friends, Doug and Toad, haven't changed, Gordy slips back into his old troublemaking ways. The role begins to chafe, however, when he develops a yen for old rival LizLizzy the LizardCrawford, and learns that his abusive father and reform-school- graduate older brother aren't the best role models when it comes to human relations. Hahn expertly shows how the expectations of others influence Gordy's behavior, as he struggles to step away from his bad old self; in the end he takes that step, though not without a realistic amount of backsliding. To Gordy's surprise and pleasure, Elizabeth is willing to meet him half way. While Gordy's anger is the dominant feeling here, flashes of humor and deftly inserted historical details of the postWW II era lighten the load. (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: As Ever, Gordy | [
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15,619 | 12 | The revised, 21st-century edition of The American Heritage Children's Dictionary, designed for ages 8 and older, doesn't contain the words "plethora," "treacle," "metaphor," or "reciprocal." What use is it, then? you may ask yourself, but that's a question that many kids could answer for you. The letters are large enough to read! Every word is used in a sentence! There are over 800 color photos and illustrations! When you look up the word "erratic" in The American Heritage Dictionary for grownups (Third Edition), it says, "1. Lacking consistency or uniformity; irregular. 2. Unconventional; eccentric." When you look "erratic" up in this children's dictionary, it is defined as, "Not following a steady or usual course; irregular. Our rowboat's course was erratic after we lost our oars." More third-grader-friendly? Certainly.More than 400 words have been added to this edition--"electronic mail," "online," "seersucker," "vagabond," and "millennium," to name a few. This hefty, appealing hardcover dictionary contains 14,000 main entries and 37,000 boldface forms; it's the only children's dictionary to feature a 10-page phonics guide to help early readers sound out and spell words; and it includes a thesaurus (even if it is very basic, at six pages long). Throughout the book are information blocks such as "Word History" ("hibernate" comes from the Latin word for winter), "Language Detective" (how do you pronounce "creek" where you live?), "Vocabulary Builder" (with word parts such as "-less"); and "Synonyms." If you're looking for word fun for the whole family, younger children ages 4 to 6 may enjoy The American Heritage Picture Dictionary, and older kids ages 11 to 15 might find The American Heritage Student Dictionary helpful. It's never too early to give your children the tools they need to learn! --Karin SnelsonGrade 3-8?With 37,000 entries and well-placed color illustrations on almost every double page, this revision of the 1994 edition has a fresh, appealing look. More than 400 new entries have been added, including "geode," "Ramadan," "millennium," "cyberspace," and "World Wide Web." The entry words are not split into syllables so they are easier to read than in many dictionaries. Sample sentences using the word are italicized and homophones are listed. The syllabication, pronunciation, plural, and parts of speech round out each entry. For selected words, there are boxed examples of synonyms used in sentences. "Word History" facts are given for interesting cases and are set off by purple bars. "Vocabulary Builder" boxes are set off in orange and give general rules and examples for use of common prefixes and suffixes. An excellent usage guide and a full-page pronunciation key appear at the beginning of the book. The main entries are followed by a short thesaurus, a section on phonics and spelling, a seven-page geography section, a double-spread world map, and a U.S. map. There are no biographical entries. Colorful, attractive, and easy to use, this dictionary will fill the needs of students. It is similar to the revised Macmillan Dictionary for Children (S & S, 1997), so personal taste should dictate choice, or buy them both.?Priscilla Bennett, State University of West GeorgiaCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: American Heritage Children's Dictionary (American Heritage Dictionary) | [
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15,620 | 2 | Like all best friends, George and Martha do everything together--go to the movies, play at the beach, and just hang around not doing much of anything. No matter that they happen to be gigantic hippopotami, they learn the same lessons humans do about the ups and downs of true friendship. George and Martha teach each other (and adoring readers) that even in a close friendship, privacy is important, practical jokes can sometimes backfire, and among other things, pouring split pea soup into your loafers to spare the chef's feelings is not the best laid plan. What's remarkable about the stories in this wonderful collection is the emotion James Marshall infuses into his understated, charming text and illustrations. Each brief tale is always humorous, never preachy, and his drawings--deceptively simple in appearance--are guaranteed to spark feelings of empathy, delight, and self-recognition. Maurice Sendak, in his foreword to this 25th anniversary compilation edition of all 35 stories, notes, "Those dear, ditzy, down-to-earth hippos bring serious pleasure to everybody, not only to children. They are time-capsule hippos who will always remind us of a paradise in publishing and--both seriously and comically--of the true, durable meaning of friendship under the best and worst conditions." (Ages 4 and up)George and Martha (1972); George and Martha Encore (1973); George and Martha Rise andShine (1976); George and Martha One Fine Day (1978); George and Martha Tons of Fun (1980);George and Martha Back in Town (1984); George and Martha Round and Round (1988). Youngfans will enjoy this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, which contains all thirty-five stories about thehippo duo (and is as hefty as its subjects); older fans will particularly appreciate the foreword byMaurice Sendak. -- Review; Title: George and Martha: The Complete Stories About Two Great Friends (George & Martha Early Reader) | [
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15,621 | 0 | Maybelle was a cable car a San Francisco cable car. . . She rang her gong and sang her song from early morn till late at night. . . . By recounting the actual events in San Francisco s effort to keep the city s cable cars running, this classic story illustrates how the voice of the people can be heard in the true spirit of democracy. Virginia Lee Burton s original art for Maybelle the Cable Car was retrieved from the archives of the San Francisco Public Library to re-create this edition with all the vibrant charm of the original, which was published in 1952. Recommended in Laura Berquist Kindergarten SyllabusAuthor: Virginia Lee Burton Reading Level: Ages 5-8 Format: 48 pages, Paperback Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (March 1997)ISBN: 9780395840030; Title: Maybelle the Cable Car | [
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15,622 | 2 | Grade 4-8-Fletcher follows members of a sixth-grade class through a day when their substitute teacher never shows. The students decide not to report that they are alone and to run the class by themselves. Personal issues are woven into the day's events. Rachel has been mute since a classmate who had an annoying, unrequited crush on her died six months before. Bastian, an Air Force brat used to moving, has to decide whether to subject his beloved puppy to a lengthy quarantine when he moves to Hawaii the following day. Sean's alcoholic father and unnurturing home life make him too shy to express his feelings, especially his crush on Rachel. Karen, a natural leader and "good child," takes the reins in the class, making her own evaluations of right and wrong. Jessica, whose parents are judgmental, can't get past her fear of recrimination to enjoy the class' freedom. The students learn about themselves and one another, and several issues are resolved by the end of the day (e.g., Rachel speaks, Bastian gives his puppy to Sean). The resolutions are simple but not pat, the prose is economical but not sparse, and the characters are developed as sketches rather than in-depth portraits, which helps keep the book moving briskly. The premise will make the novel easy to booktalk. Not a must-have, but a worthwhile purchase.July Siebecker, Hubbard Memorial Library, MACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 5^-8. What happens when a sixth-grade class is left unsupervised for a whole day? One might imagine that anything but learning would occur. But when a class usually led by a gifted teacher is left to its own devices, something unusual happens: when the substitute teacher fails to show, the children in Mr. Fabiano's class decide to run the day according to the strict but enjoyable routine ingrained in them by their creative, beloved teacher. Rest assured Fletcher's characters aren't goody-goodies. Rather, they are coconspirators as a countdown clock builds the tension: Will they make it through the day without being found out? As they go through their rote exercises, the kids gain self-assurance and self-reliance. They also come to terms with their feelings of guilt, grief, and sorrow about a classmate who died six months earlier. Fletcher expertly balances a wide variety of emotions, giving readers a story that is by turns sad, poignant, and funny, and, little by little, realistic portraits of the complicated kids emerge. There's no Lord of the Flies anarchy in this thoughtful, absorbing novel, which has a story that will linger long after the book is closed. Kathleen Squires; Title: Flying Solo | [
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15,623 | 12 | Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Hardcover Student Edition Level 5 1998; Title: Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Hardcover Student Edition Level 5 1998 | [
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15,624 | 0 | Lester's (Imagine; Yikes!) winsome art is the cornerstone of this alphabet cum story book, an Australian import. Readers follow Alice and her stuffed horse Aldo from the time they "awake" to "breakfast in bed," until they "visit the vegetables" and?as bedtime approaches?"yawn in their yogurt" and "sleep all night long" (the Zzzzzz emanates from a slumbering Alice). Though a few of Lester's alliterative phrases are forced, her cheerful, warmly colored illustrations do not disappoint. Each picture of Alice's and Aldo's activities is framed with smaller vignettes of other objects that begin with the showcased letter. A welcome splash of silliness occasionally surfaces among these spot illustrations: a wide-eyed poodle is comically coiffed and a smile appears in an unlikely spot?on an undershirt. Children may also get their first exposure to Down Under with words like "echidna," "kookaburra," "wallaby" and "wombat." Curiously, Lester omits the border for "Q"; Alice feeds quacking ducks but there is no sign of a quail, queen, quilt, etc. to complete the picture. A quibble, perhaps, but an omission bound to be spotted by alert beginning readers, who are the prime audience for this inviting book. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2?Beginning with "Alice and Aldo are awake," a little girl and her stuffed horse continue their alphabetical activities throughout the day: breakfasting in bed, getting "giddy on the grass," singing in the sandbox. Most of the watercolor illustrations follow the format of a central window depicting the activity described, surrounded by smaller frames of labeled objects beginning with the same letter. The single line of text on each page shows up clearly; however, except for proper nouns, only lowercase letters are used. This, along with the fact that some of the objects illustrating the letters are either difficult for beginning readers, e.g., "gnome," or not of general interest, e.g., "jodhpurs," make the book problematic for youngsters learning the alphabet. For older children already familiar with the alphabet, titles such as Anita Lobel's Alison's Zinnia (Greenwillow, 1990) and Graeme Base's Animalia (Abrams, 1993) have more interesting wordplay and pictures to capture their imaginations.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Alice and Aldo | [
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15,625 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 5ALarge watercolor and black-ink drawings illustrate the life cycle of the American bald eagle. The dramatic but straightforward text begins with the first of two eagle eggs hatching and follows the development of both nestlings until they are able to feed themselves, fly, and undertake winter migration. Come late winter or early spring, the parent eagles mate again, and as the book closes, they are set to witness the first of their new brood hatching. This alone would make a successful ornithological study for young readers. Morrison adds yet another layer: many of the book's pages also contain highly detailed anatomical drawings in pencil and more advanced explanations that enlarge the range of information for older readers. They add details on subjects such as how eagles fly, the color phases that the birds pass through during their five-year journey to maturity, the animals on which eagles prey, and how they catch fish. Adults reading to primary-aged children can easily skip over the more sophisticated material. Although there is no shortage of fine books that explore the life history of bald eagles, this one is unique in its usefulness and attractiveness.AEllen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, ORCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.This handy natural-history resource book includes everything readers need to know about eagles and more. Through two levels of texta narrative and an abundance of extremely detailed asidesMorrison presents the lifecycle of the bald eagle and the particulars of their habits and habitats. The primary text, accompanied by realistic watercolors, begins and ends with the hatching of an eaglet, and in clear, flowing language chronicles all stages of development. Detailed pencil drawings and diagrams supplement the secondary text, which offers more specific information about the eagles, such as their anatomy, prey, and flight techniques, in equally simple, lucid language. Morrison keeps it short and uncomplicated, but includes plenty of information by making good use of the page, keeping the watercolors at the fore, and the pencil drawings to the sides and bottoms of pages. Neither cursory nor overwhelming, this useful tool bespeaks the quiet passion of its creator, and passes it along to budding ornithologists. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9) -- Copyright 1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Bald Eagle (Walter Lorraine Books) | [
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15,626 | 0 | Hahn (Stepping on the Cracks) mines her mother's reminiscences of growing up in Baltimore before WWI to create this nostalgic chapter book. Though set in a bygone era of gas street lamps and horse-drawn delivery carts, these episodes in the year Anna turns nine have timeless themes. Anna's efforts to eavesdrop are thwarted, for example, when her mother and aunt speak in their native German to tell secrets, so she attempts to learn the language on her own. (Hahn includes a glossary of German words and phrases.) On a dare from her best friend, Charlie, Anna speeds down a cobblestone street on her roller skates and ends up with stitches. One of the most humorous chapters also delivers the greatest lesson: Anna throws herself a "surprise" birthday party after her mother strictly forbids having friends to the house; her aunt saves the party, but as punishment Anna has to go to her room without dinner. Children will recognize the personalities and rivalries of the neighborhood (e.g., snobby Rosa with the perfect coat and her sidekick Beatrice as foils for tomboyish Anna) and will seeing the similarities between Anna's time and their own. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4-Life in Baltimore in the years just before World War I might seem slow and dull to today's youngsters, but eight-year-old Anna experiences the same yearnings, disappointments, joys, and adventures that all children do. During the seasons described here, she struggles with long division; she outgrows her winter coat and longs for a red one just like the one belonging to her snobby friend Rosa; she asks Santa for an Erector set, though it is not considered a suitable present for a young lady; and she eavesdrops on her mother and aunts' conversations, only to be thwarted when the adults speak in German (a glossary of German terms is included). Hahn masterfully captures Anna's humiliation at wearing a coat that is too small, her thrill and fear during her fling as a daredevil roller skater, and the comforting sense of family that surrounds these everyday activities. De Groat depicts the period details-dress, transportation, etc.-and the characters' personalities all come to life through her soft, though vibrant pencil illustrations. Reading this book is like taking a quiet, peaceful carriage ride over the cobbled streets of an earlier time.Linda Bindner, formerly at Athens Clarke County Library, GA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Anna All Year Round | [
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15,627 | 0 | Library Binding. Inside Front Cover has "This Book is the Property of" student issue stamp.; Title: Holt McDougal Library, Middle School with Connections: Individual Reader Island of the Blue Dolphins 1998 | [
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15,628 | 15 | George and Kiesler (The Great Frog Race and Other Poems) team up for another close look at the natural world with poetry that invites readers to meditate on trees. This time the visual delights described in George's poems slightly outshine the illustrations. The best of Kiesler's oil paintings are breathtaking: a trio of doves tucking their heads underwing in the starlight, browning pumpkin vines in the foreground of a pastoral scene, the moon snagged by a branch in the book's title poem. Often, however, the paintingsAparticularly those of childrenAseem to be frozen in time, lacking the energy and vitality of the images in the poetry. George plays nimbly with language and form. Her invented words in "Tree Traffic" seem simultaneously strange and familiar: squirrels are "commuters... rippling up and down,/ tails unfurled./ The treeway is/ heavily squirreled." George also surprises readers with creative rhyme schemes, such as that of "Cooperation," in which two horses, sharing the shade of one tree, stand "muzzle to rump/ rump to muzzle/ like a jigsaw puzzle." Especially elegant is George's description of a spring tree bud, "a tiny velveteen satchel,/ the color of pale cream" inside of which readers can find "one rolled and folded/ neatly packed/ leaf." Dedicated to "the saplings," this leaf-filled collection would make just the right gift for nature lovers. Ages 5-9. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 4-Trees in all seasons and used for many reasons are imaginatively captured in short poems and richly textured full-color oil paintings. The delightful use of language plays on the senses as it creates word pictures that are sure to entertain. The selections beg to be read-aloud and shared. Free verse, haiku, and bits of rhymes and rhythms reflect the joy children feel as they play in and about or observe all types of trees throughout the year. A celebration of these mighty living things and the people who love them.Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems | [
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15,629 | 5 | Kindergarten-Grade 3. Jones has expanded an Aesop's fable into an adventure. Mouse's first foray out of the hold of the sailing ship where he lives with his family leads to a disastrous encounter with a cat and a plunge into the sea. Washed up on an island, he escapes from one dangerous animal after another until he is captured by Lion, who admires his courage and lets him go. A few hours later, Mouse hears Lion's cry of distress and rescues him from a hunter's net. Lion then arranges for Mouse to return to his family. The augmented tale moves quickly enough to keep children's interest but lacks the focused simplicity and dignity that makes the traditional version so appealing. Each two-page spread has a full-page of illustration faced by one of text. The middle of the text page contains a round hole that first gives a peek at an element in the next picture and, when the page is turned, looks back at part of the preceding painting. The devise is adequate, but it is sometimes difficult to determine just what is being shown through the peep hole. The colors in the pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations have such a similarity of tone and are so busy with details and crosshatching that the figures are frequently overpowered by the backgrounds. All in all, this retelling adds nothing new to a familiar fable.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Born and educated in England, Carol Jones now lives in Australia. She is a full-time author and illusrutor who has given new life to many old favorites.; Title: The Lion and the Mouse | [
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15,630 | 0 | Fans of Cushman's previous medieval novels (Catherine, Called Birdy; The Midwife's Apprentice) may be disappointed with this historical adventure set in "Blood and Bone Alley" in the town of Chipping Bagthorpe. Unlike Catherine and Brat, heroines whose combination of rebelliousness and resourcefulness made them instantly likeable, 13-year-old Matilda is less winning than her supporting cast. The daughter of a wealthy lord's clerk and a mother who fled soon after her birth, Matilda finds herself orphaned when her father dies. As the novel opens, her self-appointed guardian, Father Leufredus, has just dropped her off at the meager lodgings of Red Peg the Bonesetter to learn Peg's trade. Fresh from the intolerant Father's tutelage, Matilda, in her zealous piety, snubs Peg and inadvertently thwarts the woman's work: more than once, while lost in prayer, the girl ruins a salve or a simple meal of porridge. Thus readers don't get the same insider's view of the bonesetter's apprenticeship that they saw of midwifery through Brat's eyes. The promise of a potential villain, Master Theobold, "the leading physick" who prizes money over healing, is never realized; the development of Matilda's friendship with another girl takes place mostly offstage; and, strangely, there are two denouements, in which Matilda makes the same realization that she has been wrong about Peg (one involving an ailing stranger whom she is treating, the other the apothecary's apprentice). Fiery Peg, her witty husband and her circle of friends will be the characters readers remember. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-8-A fascinating glimpse into the colorful life and times of the 14th century. Orphaned Matilda, 13, has lived the good life in a manor where she was well educated by Father Leufredus. Things change drastically, however, when he abandons her, leaving her to serve as an assistant to a bonesetter in return for food and shelter. Matilda is expected to cook the meals, tend the fire, and generally assist Red Peg. And Peg has her hands full dealing with this self-righteous, pious child who snobbishly sprinkles Latin in her everyday speech and continuously brags about her ability to read and write. Peg, however, allows Matilda time to ponder her new role and teaches her, by example, that kindness and friendship go a long way toward lessening the harshness of life in this small English village. Matilda constantly prays for help, guidance, and deliverance. The saints, and this child knows many, respond with humor and sometimes sound advice. The theology espoused by Matilda is consistent with the time period and Father Leufredus has taught her well. She has no thoughts of her own-only the musing and learning of Father Leufredus. She stiffly withholds herself from all attempts at friendship and kindness, and she feels more and more alone. However, when she meets a kitchen maid who joyfully introduces her to the market square, her eyes slowly open to the world around her. Readers witness her spiritual and emotional growth as she blossoms from a self-centered "nincompoop" to a compassionate, competent assistant. Cushman's character descriptions are spare, with each word carefully chosen to paint wonderful pictures. This humorous, frank look at life in the medical quarters in medieval times shows readers that love and compassion, laughter and companionship, are indeed the best medicine.Kit Vaughan, Midlothian Middle School, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Matilda Bone | [
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15,631 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 2-An ordinary employee might begin looking for other employment when she hears her boss talking about a drop in business and a possible layoff, but Pinky Pig is no ordinary wage earner. She works after school to earn money to buy a new clarinet, and she's not about to give up her job easily. Realizing that the hamburgers at Hamburger Heaven are boring, she devises a new menu and vigorously advertises it. While the cook is wary about the odd creations, he can't deny that the new selections have drawn a crowd, and he sets Pinky Pig to work collecting ingredients. The result: a never-ending stream of satisfied diners for him, and a brand new clarinet for Pinky. The rhymed text is fast paced and humorous, and its list of such gourmet delights as "worms lightly fried," "Snailburger Supreme," and "Burger on pine cones, frosted with ants," is just disgusting enough to tickle young readers. Yee's watercolor cartoons add to the fun. Not only do they depict burgers oozing with worms, ants, and other crawling creatures, but they contain some visual jokes for adults as well. A music store is called "Moozart's"; beetles form a "bug off" sign when Pinky looks under a rock for some needed ingredients. A "heavenly" entree in which a feisty heroine saves the day.Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Overhearing that her job at the diner might be eliminated, Pinky Pig sets out to discover new ways to improve customer satisfaction. Can she save her job and earn enough money to buy a clarinet? Her new menu brings in the customers in droves. Children will squirm over the new concoctions, with something unique for each patron: Snailburger Supreme for Hedgehog, a burger with worms lightly fried for Mole, a termite-infested burger for Aardvark, not to mention Burger Deluxe, which has three kinds of bugs! Who could resist? Yee (Fireman Small to the Rescue, 1998, etc.) pens this fable lightly, but the moral is plain: by putting others first, Pinky attains what she wants. Whimsical, often hilarious watercolors show Pinky fast at work collecting assorted bugs of all sizes and shapes. Up-and-coming young biologists might be inspired to come up with some recipes of their own. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright 1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Hamburger Heaven | [
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15,632 | 2 | In this stylized primer, characterized by an old-fashioned coziness, the Hassetts (Charles of the Wild) tally no fewer than 40 felines and sum up with a gentle sting. The kitty quantifying begins when elderly Nana Quimby spies a single black-and-white cat atop a leafy, lichen-green tree. Nana calls the firehouse for assistance, but the dispatcher informs her, "Sorry... we do not catch cats up a tree anymore. Call back if that cat starts playing with matches." Dismayed, she looks out the window again and sees five cats, then 10, up the tree. Yet she can't rouse a rescuer from the police ("Call back if the cats rob a bank") or city hall ("Call back if you need a sign that says Danger! Look up for Falling Cats"). But Nana gets her chance for a subtle rebuke when the town is overrun with mice, and the purring denizens stay at her side. The husband-and-wife team enumerate the crowd of cats while poking fun at public affairs. The authors' feather-light felines could prove difficult to differentiate for beginning readers. They stand in tight formation, as slender and ethereal as mayflies (each is about two inches long, including a long, curlicue tail) and they're painted in dreamy shades of gray-green, pale blue, creamy yellow and white. Nevertheless, the Hassetts' gentle humor and equally light brushwork possess a delicate charm, and the careful Nana ensures that every cat leaves its lofty perch. Ages 3-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 1-One day Nana Quimby looks out of her apartment building window and sees a cat in a tree. When she calls the fire department, they tell her that they no longer rescue animals. Progressing by increments of five, more and more felines appear and none of the agencies or organizations she calls can offer any assistance. When the cat count is 35 and city hall has turned her down, Nana throws her telephone out the window. The animals make their way across the phone line and into her open arms. Soon the town becomes overrun by mice and when city hall calls Nana, she says "Sorry, the cats do not catch mice anymore." The last page shows "too many cats to count" napping in the woman's kitchen. The illustrations, primarily in pastels, depict small stylized animals that are not easily identifiable. This is a light and rather silly cumulative tale but children may wonder about the lack of cooperation and the particularly unhelpful nature of these community helpers.Kathy M. Newby, Russiaville Branch Library, INCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Cat Up a Tree | [
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15,633 | 2 | "A quiet but powerful novel that will provoke thoughtful introspection." -- ReviewMarjorie Cowley has taught prehistoric archaeology to students of all ages, but now devotes her time to writing for young people. For Clarion, she has written Dar and the Spear-Thrower, about a boy living during the Ice Age. Ms. Cowley lives in Los Angeles, California.; Title: Anooka's Answer | [
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15,634 | 2 | A group of school children respond to the illness and death of the narrator's best friend, Rudi, by helping to build a pond in his memory. Based on a true story. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Rudi's Pond | [
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15,635 | 2 | Pamela Zagarenski is the winner of two Caldecott Honors. The books she has illustrated have also been Booklist Editor's Choices, Horn Book Fanfare and Bulletin Blue Ribbon books, winners of Bank Street's Claudia Lewis Award, and translated into many languages. As well as illustrating picture books, she creates paintings and has a gift card line. She lives in Connecticut. Visit her online at pzagarenski.com, on Instagram @sacredbee, and Twitter @sacredbeez.; Title: How Do I Feel? (Good Beginnings) | [
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15,636 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 3. As he did in Stranger in the Mirror (Houghton, 1995), Say uses a glimpsed reflection to probe the ramifications of recognition. In the earlier title, the subject was aging; here, Say turns to adoption. When readers first encounter Allison, she is opening a package containing a red kimono just like the one worn by her doll. The whole family faces a mirror for her to see herself in her new garment, and she sees that her doll's hair is "straight and dark like hers." When she realizes that she does not look like her mother or father, her smile fades. Questions about the doll's origin lead to the discovery of her adoption. What follows are some lonely scenes as Allison watches the families at daycare and as she destroys her mother's childhood doll and father's baseball and glove. It is finally the "adoption" of a stray cat, whose appearances frame the story, that helps Allison understand and appreciate her family. While Say's watercolors are powerful?the skill with which he captures determination and longing in the muscles surrounding Allison's mouth, for example?and her anger is a believable reaction, the conclusion is abrupt and somewhat contrived. One can't help wondering, too, why Allison don't already know about her past if she is surrounded by cultural reminders and why her parents don't respond to her pain with immediate physical and verbal warmth and comfort. The compelling artwork will surely attract attention.. However, for first choices that combine honesty with reassurance, try Karen Katz's Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale (Holt, 1997) or Fred Rogers's Lets Talk About It: Adoption (Putnam, 1995).?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.Say's trademark nuanced and limpid watercolors convey and complete the emotional resonance of this adoption story. When Allison's grandmother sends her a kimono and Allison tries it on, she sees that she resembles her doll, Mei Mei, more than she resembles her parents. Allison is terrified and unsatisfied by her parents' explanation (in a conversation that sounds as if the subject has never been broached) that her birth parents couldn't keep her, and that they brought her home (with Mei Mei) from another country. She withdraws from her playmates and her family, and then lashes out by destroying her mother and father's cherished possessions from childhood. A stray cat who has been hanging around their house provides Allison with another--albeit unstated--view of adoption and she cheers up enough to rejoin her family. Say masterfully captures Allison's expressions: She is surprised, wounded, sullen, hurt and hurtful, and finally reassured. He addresses the dark side of an adoptive child's feelings carefully, and while the resolution is a bit convenient (and may require interpretation for younger children), it still carries truth. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright 1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Allison | [
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15,637 | 11 | Covering more historical ground than in her lauded photo-essay Growing Up in Coal Country, Bartoletti highlights the roles that children and young adults played in American labor strikes during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Bartoletti has a gift for collecting stories with telling details; her dense but highly readable prose brings individual children and the struggles in which they engaged vividly to life. Drawing from a broad expanse of resources (personal interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, primary and secondary book accounts), she spins the stories of 11-year-old Harriet Hanson, who joined striking workers in the Lowell, Mass., mills of the 1830s; 16-year-old Pauline Newman, a leader of the 1907 New York City rent protests and nicknamed "The New Joan of Arc"; as well as myriad other children who began to realize the unfairness of the conditions in which they worked and who took steps to change their situations. The handsomely designed volume is packed with an abundance of relevant historical photographs (several by Lewis Hine), with children at work or at protests staring out from almost every page. A final chapter recounts the creation of the National Child Labor Committee and offers a glimpse into the futures of the many children featured in earlier chapters. Both accessible and engrossing, this volume is tangible proof for would-be activists that children have made and continue to make a difference. Ages 9-up. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 5-8-This well-researched and well-illustrated account creates a vivid portrait of the working conditions of many American children in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Chapters are devoted to the Lowell, MA, textile-factory girls who worked 13-hour days as well as New York City's "newsies," who sold papers for Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. The strikers included are not only those who protested unfair work conditions, but they also highlight individuals like Pauline Newman, who, at 16, organized residents to protest their high rents during the New York City rent strike of 1907. Another chapter includes Mother Jones's famous march from Philadelphia to Oyster Bay, Long Island, to meet with President Teddy Roosevelt. Like the Pied Piper, she led striking children, and others, in an effort to reform labor laws so that youngsters would no longer work under inhumane and unsafe conditions. Chapter notes and a time line of federal child-labor laws are appended. Many black-and-white photos of both children at work and on strike help to make their plight real and personalize their stories. A fine resource for research as well as a very readable book.Carol Fazioli, The Brearley School, New York City Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Kids on Strike | [
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15,638 | 1 | First published nearly 40 years ago, Zolotow's ingenuous paean to spring, a time "when everything lovely begins once again," indeed feels reborn with Craig's (Angelina Ballerina) winsome illustrations. Combining full-page spreads with smaller panels and spots, her ink, watercolor and colored-pencil art draws from a sumptuous palette of Easter egg colors that reaches full bloom at tale's end, when spring finally catches up to the lonely bunny in search of companionship. When a sleepy owl tells the solo bunny that "there are always rabbits at Easter," he attempts to hunt the place down. Youngsters will be tickled by this misunderstanding and will enjoy having a leg up on the long-eared fellow. Equally gratifying are Craig's renderings of the antics of a diminutive mouse who trails and apes the wandering bunny. In the spirit of a true quest, both travelers are rewarded for their journey: each ends up with a loving mate?and seven offspring. Snuggling with his brood, "The bunny's heart throbbed with happiness at this wonderful earthsmelling sunlit bunny-filled world." Like the endearing protagonist, Zolotow's unabashedly sweet, endearing tale of new life finds its match with Craig's gentle landscapes and cuddly characters. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2-A freshly illustrated edition of Zolotow's classic story, originally published in 1959. A lonely rabbit, seeking companionship, is told by an old owl, "There are always rabbits at Easter," and a place called "Easter" becomes the object of his quest. After traveling through the forest and through the seasons, the bunny finds a mate and finally understands that Easter is "a time when everything lovely begins once again." Zolotow's stylistic trademarks-tender lyricism, poetic prose, and a compassionate tone-continue to satisfy children. Craig's charming pastel paintings in ink, watercolor, and colored pencil bring the bunny to life. A mouse accompanies him throughout his journey, adding humor and reinforcing the message that no one is ever really alone. The animals have lots of character, as seen in the droop of an ear, a befuddled expression in the eyes, a gesture of the arms, or even the line of a whisker. Sturdy and sheltering trees form backdrops for most of the scenes. Update your collection and introduce a new generation to this sweet, joyful tale.Jacqueline Elsner, Athens Regional Library, GACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Bunny Who Found Easter | [
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15,639 | 15 | Root (Aunt Nancy and Cousin Lazybones), no stranger to folktales, takes her inspiration for the title character from a German fairy tale figure, Mother Holle. Beginning in the spring, this wisp of a tale traces the heroine and her "snow-white flock" of geese through the four seasons. The prose gently foreshadows the closing spreads; in summer, for instance, Grandmother Winter gathers the goose feathers, "soft as snowflakes,/ bright as a winter moon." First-time illustrator Krommes supplies the meat of the volume with visual hints at what's to come. In an autumnal spread, her scratchboard illustration depicts the protagonist embroidering a quilt of snowflake designsAno two alikeAwhile russet and golden leaves tumble in through the window. As the woman shakes out her downy masterpiece, the flakes begin to fall, sending nature's creatures scurrying for cover. Krommes portrays a painted turtle burying itself in the muddy floor of a pond and bull snakes snugly coiled beneath the ground, before closing with scenes of children and Grandmother Winter herself tucked into their beds. A cozy mood-setter that will help children to welcome the winter weather. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.PreSchool-Grade 2 Impressive scratchboard-and-watercolor illustrations highlight a fanciful tale regarding the origin of snow, based on a character from German folklore. Grandmother Winter herds her flock of snow-white geese in spring, gathers their feathers in summer, and, in the fall, stuffs her homemade quilt with their milky down. When she shakes the fluffy quilt, snow falls gently, creating a winter wonderland for people and a warm blanket under which various animals and insects sleep. From the stylized Jacobean flowers, the folk-art suns, and each unique snowflake, Krommes's expressive pictures successfully convey the actions and reactions of all living things affected by the snow. Poetic language and detailed art blend to create a whimsical delight. Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Grandmother Winter | [
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15,640 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 1?The frog family depicted in Time for Bed, the Babysitter Said (1987) and To the Tub (1997, both Houghton) is back. This time little Joe's long-suffering parents attempt to take him to a fancy restaurant for lunch. The irrepressible preschooler is in constant motion despite the repeated refrain, "We're out to lunch, not out to play." Full-page, color cartoons capture the exasperated expressions of the adults around him perfectly. The bouncy rhymed text reads aloud well and could also be enjoyed independently by beginning readers. A treat.?Lisa Smith, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.A brief rhyming text, suitable for beginning readers, and cartoon-style illustrations chronicle a frog family's disastrous lunch at a fancy restaurant. Young Joe crawls under the table, plays with his food, slurps and burps, and, true to his froggy nature, catches a fly on his tongue. His parents try in vain to control him while other diners point and stare, frown indisapproval, and laugh out loud. The frazzled waiter, splashed with food and drink, clearly can't wait for the family to leave. And leave they do, to the safety of a fast-food joint, where Joe can cavort happily in the playground while his parents glumly eat their burgers and fries. This has funny moments, especially the fly-catching and the surprise ending, but the slapstick humor spins out of control, and the point of view is adult. Any parent who has endured such a meal will relate to this, but children may miss the point. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright 1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Out to Lunch | [
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15,641 | 12 | Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Softcover Student Edition Continous Stroke Level 3 1998 [paperback] HOUGHTON MIFFLIN [Jan 24, 1998]; Title: Houghton Mifflin Spelling: Softcover Student Edition Continous Stroke Level 3 1998 | [
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15,642 | 11 | READING AND VOLCABULARY STRATEGIES; LESSONS; SKILL WORKSHOPS; GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITIES;; Title: Build Our Nation: Workbook for Reading and Review | [
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15,643 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 2-The illustrator of Margie Palatini's Piggie Pie! (Clarion, 1995) again struts his imaginative stuff with a mishmash of fiends ranging from a blue-jeaned cyclops with lobster claws to an alligator in a green fright wig. The narrator relays in rhyme the reasons and methods for dispensing with these pests, in descending order from seven to one. When number six rips a book, the boy sucks him up in a vacuum. Another tool is a "monster shooter" made of a flashlight taped to a baseball bat. As each creature disappears, the boy shouts "Rick! Rack! Wrinkleshack! Don't you dare come back!" a fine refrain for storyhour participation. However, Lundgren's rhythms often falter, and she uses sound effects to fill in when a rhyme scheme gets tough. Since youngsters are mad for monsters, this mischievous romp may find an audience for the illustrations alone.Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Seven Scary Monsters | [
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15,644 | 1 | Grade 3-5-Begun in 1925, this fantasy was roughly finished later, but set aside in favor of sequels to The Hobbit. Here, at last, two Tolkien scholars present it, with five illustrations by the author sandwiched between a long, minutely detailed introduction and padded but sometimes illuminating endnotes. Changed from a live dog into a toy after incautiously biting a wizard, Rover is dropped on the beach by his young owner, where he meets a second wizard who sends him on a gull's back to the Man-in-the-Moon. Sporting wings and a new name, "Roverandom" irritates the Great White Dragon that causes lunar eclipses and visits a valley where sleeping children gather for pleasant dreams, among other places, then returns to Earth to beg the first wizard, a bumbling sort who has since married a mermaid and moved under the ocean, to make him a real dog again. Despite a wandering plot and minor inconsistencies, the old Tolkien magic is here in full force: in evocative names, glimpses of supernal events, and wonderfully exotic locales seen through the eyes of a comfortably familiar character. Enthusiasts will pore over the notes, but the story stands well enough on its own as an incidental piece from one of our century's great literary imaginations.John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4 and up, younger for reading aloud. This previously unpublished story chronicles the adventures and life lessons of a very engaging young dog named Roverandom, who makes the mistake of being insolent to a passing wizard. To teach the dog a lesson, the offended wizard turns Roverandom into a toy dog, frozen in a perpetual begging position, frustratingly small and without a real bark. As he begins his determined quest to become a real dog again, Roverandom faces experiences that are humbling, eye-opening, and exciting, from a trip to the moon, where he faces the Great White Dragon, to under the sea, where he confronts both the adversarial Sea-serpent and the ill-tempered wizard who originally cast the spell (and who gets his own just desserts at the end). The tale will appeal to readers of all ages, with its detailed descriptions of fantastical landscapes, its snippety, rival wizards, and its creative characters, all described with Tolkien's trademark droll wit and humor, and enhanced by his few but charming drawings. Short, riveting chapters make this a great read-aloud book, and as with all good Tolkien tales, there's a lesson to be drawn: mind your p's and q's. The wordy but comprehensive and interesting introduction to the novel, which was originally written to comfort Tolkien's four-year-old son following the loss of a beloved toy, includes some fascinating information about the author and his family, a boon for educators, parents, and Tolkienphiles. Extensive endnotes clarify Tolkien's satirical references to the politics and society of his times and explain the many mythological characters. A delightful story for fans of Tolkien, fantasy, and myth, featuring the irresistible, sympathetic, and comic Roverandom, a classic character in his own right. Shelle Rosenfeld; Title: Roverandom | [
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15,645 | 15 | Fans of Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure may wish that Brown had likewise dedicated this picture book to the singular ride that made history for his subject. Instead, the author's informal chronicle of astronaut Armstrong's life focuses primarily on his childhood, then skips ahead to his milestone flight in the final spreads. The book opens in 1932, when two-year-old Neil, perched on his father's shoulders, watches airplanes race. Readers next see him four years later, riding in a plane for the first time, an experience that inspires a "magical dream" in which he "held his breath and hovered above the ground." Young Neil makes model airplanes, reads Air Travel magazine, peers at the moon through a neighbor's telescope and eventually begins flying lessons. But Armstrong's training to become an astronaut and his career leading up to the 1969 flight to the moon get less emphasis. And the conclusion is a bit ethereal (after he stepped onto the moon, he "became a hero to millions of people. But inside him was the memory of an ordinary boy.... A boy who loved books and music....A boy who dreamed of hanging in the air suspended only by a trapped breath." Similarly sketchy, Brown's airy, pen-and-ink and watercolor art does little to get this spotty biography off the ground. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this picture-book portrait, Brown reveals that Armstrong loved flying airplanes long before he ever considered going into space. At the age of six, he rode with his father in a passenger plane that had 12 wicker seats and a loud sputtering engine. This first ride hooked him on aeronautics and from that time on he collected airplane magazines, made airplane models, and at age 16 got his pilot's license. While other titles focus on the events leading up to Armstrong's historic lunar landing, this book lovingly depicts an industrious small-town boy who mowed lawns and swept floors in order to finance his flying lessons. Armstrong's moments in space are all the more incredible when juxtaposed against the excitement airplanes still aroused during his 1930's childhood. This book gives the essence of his accomplishments rather than the details. One page that summarizes Armstrong's career advances from student pilot to fighter pilot to test pilot to astronaut shows just how much the world can change in one person's lifetime. Brown's watercolor illustrations are as appealing as the boyish grin the astronaut displays in almost every picture. A lyrical introduction to an American hero.Jackie Hechtkopf, Talent House School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong | [
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15,646 | 0 | Like most of this season's Hanukkah offerings, Howland's (ABCDrive!) uses the holiday as flavoring rather than the principal ingredient. Her agreeable outing combines a classic fairy tale plot with a shtetl setting and a touch of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. A girl does a kind deed for an old woman, who gives her a magic pan that will fry up latkes. Her brothers overhear the secret words that will start the pan cooking, but not those that will stop it (the words are "A great miracle happened there," to which dreidels also refer). Howland serves up friendly, folk-ish art, containing the excesses of the plot with down-to-earth depictions of people and village. Ages 5-8. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-Sadie turns over the firewood she has gathered to a poor old woman she meets in the woods and is given a magic latke pan in return for her kindness. She is told the secret words to make it work and warned, "Only you may use my gift." The girl has been left alone during Chanukah to care for her four younger brothers and she puts the pan to good use by making piles of the delicious potato pancakes. She warns the boys not to use the pan while she goes out to invite the old woman to share their bounty on the last night of Chanukah, but of course the moment she leaves, they get busy making latkes and predictable chaos ensues. Howland's gouache and colored-pencil artwork is done in a Russian folk-art style to reflect the setting. This appealing story, told in the spirit of Tomie dePaola's Strega Nona (S & S, 1975), is perfect to share with a large group. A latke recipe and a note on the origins of Chanukah round out this holiday treat.-T.M. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat: A Chanukah Story | [
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15,647 | 16 | Kindergarten-Grade 2?As in his Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (Ticknor & Fields, 1995), Jenkins once again uses striking colorful paper collage illustrations to explore a topic. Here, he delves into the greatly varied marvels of the world, presenting the highest mountain, the hottest spot, the wettest place, the most active volcano, etc. Interesting charts help put sizes into perspective. For example, on the double-page spread that introduces the longest river, a side box shows the length of the Nile in comparison to that of other rivers as well as to the width of the United States. The oldest and deepest lake, Lake Baikal in Russia (5134 feet deep), is contrasted pictorially with the height of the Empire State Building (1250 feet). These visuals give young readers a full understanding of how amazing these natural wonders are. Each spread includes a map that shows where these places are located. Browsers will pick up this delightful picture book and read it through completely. This eye-catching introduction to geography will find a lot of use in libraries and classrooms.?Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WICopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 4^-8. In this world record book of natural history, Jenkins identifies and describes places such as the planet's deepest lake, highest mountain, most active volcano, the most extreme tides, and the places designated the hottest, the coldest, the wettest, the driest, and the windiest on Earth. Each spread features a distinctive collage of cut-and-torn papers, which vary in texture and hue. Silhouetted forms provide dramatic focal points in the compositions. Each spread includes a couple of lines of text, supplemented with more information in smaller type and inset maps and diagrams that help the reader visualize just how high, deep, or wet the subject is in comparison with others of its kind. Highly effective visual education for the classroom or for young browsers intrigued by superlatives. Carolyn Phelan; Title: Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest | [
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15,648 | 16 | "A is an alligator with its mouth wide open, B is a big blue bird, C is a crab with two clamping claws...." You get the idea. It's never too early to get your babies chewing on books and ruminating on the alphabet, and children of all ages enjoy the company of H.A. Rey's intrepid monkey, Curious George. In this board book, the letter itself mimics the shape of the animal or object in question. The A is actually the gaping jaw of the alligator, the B is the head and body of the big blue bird, and so on. In most of the pictures--not-so-curiously, 26 in all--youngsters will delight in finding a tiny Curious George, just about to get into mischief, no doubt. Adult Curious George fans will get a kick out of sharing their long-time monkey friend with their favorite little chimps, and preschoolers will enjoy the comical illustrations that offer just the right amount of detail to keep things interesting. (Baby to Preschool) --Karin Snelson; Title: Curious George's ABCs | [
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15,649 | 2 | In their appealing first book, the authors offer a smooth retelling of an Ojibwe tale, weaving a number of melodic foreign words into their narrative. At the center of the legend, which explains the origin of the ma-ki-sin waa-big-waan, or lady slipper flower, is a courageous girl who braves a fierce snowstorm to cure her ailing family and fellow villagers. Wearing deerskin moccasins, she walks all day until she reaches the wigwams of the people who have healing herbs. Worried that the illness at home may be worsening, she insists on setting back immediately and loses her moccasins in the deep snow; still she trudges on, leaving bloody footprints on the white ground. Her valiant efforts save the village and, when the snow melts, she and her beloved brother find lovely, moccasin-shaped blooms in place of her bloody tracks. In Arroyo's (In Rosa's Mexico) stylized watercolors, similar to Stefano Vitale's artwork, the warm hues of the heroine's native dress and moccasins, as well as of the elegant lady slippers, pop from a cool palette dominated by nature's blues and greens. An unusual simplicity and fluidity mark both text and art in this ideal choice for a springtime read-aloud. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-In this pourquoi tale, a girl undertakes a dangerous winter journey and risks her own life to bring healing herbs to her sick family and village. In crossing the snow, her moccasins are lost but she continues on, leaving bloody footprints in her wake. She returns to her village in a weak and sickened condition. When she has recovered in the spring, she discovers pink flowers that look like little moccasins in place of her bloody footsteps. The simple, declarative text includes some Ojibwe terms that are defined within the narrative. Sources are cited in an authors' note. Unfortunately, the cartoonlike watercolors are lacking in cultural distinctiveness. The characters are wanting in articulation and expression. The palette is bright, with the main character dressed in orange, red, and purple, and landscapes often include a vivid green not found in nature. Though folktales are not to be taken literally, readers familiar with the Ojibwe will notice that the heroine does not wear snowshoes in her winter quest. This gives the impression more of a fragment than a fully developed story, but the image of the bloody footprints turning into flowers is sure to captivate children. Pair this with Tomie dePaola's Legend of the Bluebonnet (Putnam, 1983).Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Legend of the Lady Slipper | [
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15,650 | 2 | Say's masterfully executed watercolors tell as much of this story about a young woman's challenging transition from America to Japan as his eloquent, economical prose. Raised near San Francisco, Masako (her American friends called her May) is uprooted after high school when her parents return to their Japanese homeland. In addition to repeating high school to learn Japanese, she must learn the arts of a "proper Japanese lady"Aflower arranging, calligraphy and the tea ceremonyAand is expected to marry well. Declaring "I'd rather have a turtle than a husband," the independent-minded Masako heads for the city of Osaka and gets a job in a department store. With his characteristic subtlety, Say sets off his cultural metaphor from the very start, contrasting the green tea Masako has for breakfast in her home, with the "tea with milk and sugar" she drinks at her friends' houses in America. Later, when she meets a young Japanese businessman who also prefers tea with milk and sugar to green tea, readers will know that she's met her match. Say reveals on the final page that the couple are his parents. Whether the subject is food ("no more pancakes or omelets, fried chicken or spaghetti" in Japan) or the deeper issues of ostracism (her fellow students call Masako "gaijin"Aforeigner) and gender expectations, Say provides gentle insights into human nature as well as East-West cultural differences. His exquisite, spare portraits convey emotions that lie close to the surface and flow easily from page to reader: with views of Masako's slumping posture and mask-like face as she dons her first kimono, or alone in the schoolyard, it's easy to sense her dejection. Through choice words and scrupulously choreographed paintings, Say's story communicates both the heart's yearning for individuality and freedom and how love and friendship can bridge cultural chasms. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 6-Continuing the story he started in Grandfather's Journey (Houghton, 1993), Say explores familiar themes of cultural connection and disconnection. He focuses on his mother Masako, or May, as she prefers to be called, who, after graduating from high school in California, unwillingly moves with her parents to their native Japan. She is homesick for her native country and misses American food. She rebels against her parents, who force her to repeat high school so that she can learn "her own language"; the other students tease her for being "gaijin" or a foreigner. Masako leaves home and obtains a job in a department store in Osaka, a city that reminds her of her beloved San Francisco. Her knowledge of English quickly makes her a valued employee and brings her into contact with her future husband, Joseph, a Japanese man who was educated at an English boarding school in Shanghai. They decide that together they can make a life anywhere, and choose to remain in Japan. Say's many fans will be thrilled to have another episode in his family saga, which he relates with customary grace and elegance. The pages are filled with detailed drawings featuring Japanese architecture and clothing, and because of the artist's mastery at drawing figures, the people come to life as authentic and sympathetic characters. This is a thoughtful and poignant book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, particularly our nation's many immigrants who grapple with some of the same challenges as May and Joseph, including feeling at home in a place that is not their own.Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Tea With Milk | [
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15,651 | 2 | First novelist Eboch accomplishes quite a feat here: he manages to make the bloodletting rituals and human sacrifice practices of the Mayans the central point of this novel, yet creates a character readers will care deeply about: Eveningstar Macaw. Eveningstar, a resourceful and spunky girl, lives in a lavish city of gold near the jungle. Her brother, Smoke Shell, possesses the leadership qualities of a fearless noble who may one day sit on the throne. Her older sister, Feather Dawn, self-absorbed and haughty, has two redeeming virtues: her skill at the loom and her beauty. But when the ailing king dies and his high priest, Great Skull Zero, commands that all possible successors be thrown into the well of sacrifice to drown or be saved by the gods, Eveningstar vows to save her brotherAand to stop Feather from being married off to the conniving Zero. Eboch cushions a plot of treachery and heroism with lush details of daily life in a ninth-century Mayan city that's beginning to crumble. Here, fathers wear green quetzal feathers; mothers cook tortillas, pumpkin and papaya; and beautiful girls with slanted foreheads wear rings in their noses and heavy jade and gold jewelry that pulls down their earlobes. Readers may blanch at some of the descriptions of ceremonies and sacrifices ("The king pulled the end of the rope through his tongue and dropped it into the bowl.... He danced with blood pouring down his chest"). Watching this unorthodox 12-year-old girl outwit a high priest, escape jail, rescue her sister and more makes for a fast-paced read. An author's note describes the historical context for the tale. Ages 9-up. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 5-8-Set in a large Mayan city during the ninth century, this well-written story follows the exploits of Eveningstar Macaw, the youngest daughter of a well-to-do merchant family. Rather than pursue the traditional custom of learning domestic arts and managing a household, she prefers to become a healer like her mother. When Eveningstar's brother, Smoke Shell, performs an act of heroism, the family is elevated to noble status. After the death of their popular king, Smoke Shell is considered a likely candidate as a successor, but an ambitious and unscrupulous high priest endangers anyone who is perceived as a competitor for the throne. After making an unsuccessful attempt to save her brother's life, Eveningstar becomes involved in efforts to thwart the plans of the high priest, risking her own safety. The adventures of this tenacious heroine are suspenseful and entertaining, providing readers with an exciting story and a realistic feel for everyday life in and ceremonial practices of the ancient Mayan culture. Well-researched historical fiction and a good read.Cynthia M. Sturgis, Ledding Library, Milwaukee, OR Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Well of Sacrifice | [
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15,652 | 1 | Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Curious George has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS.; Title: Where's My Baby? | [
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15,653 | 5 | The team behind Good Night, Dinosaurs here grants a happy ending to the tale of a heroine whose search for a mate traditionally ends with his death. In Sierra's comical version, a beguiling butterfly tests her suitors by asking them to sing. She listens patiently as the cricket "clicks," the frog "croo-ahs," and with a determined flick of her Spanish fan, she chooses the song of a gray mouse. But while the newlywed fellow fetches some pond water, a fish leaps up and swallows him. Sierra uses a repeated "The House That Jack Built" refrain to convey the ripple effect of the butterfly's sorrow ("The dove calls coo coo, and the tree drops its leaves," etc.) until the king enters and announces, "To show how sad I am, I will take off my robe and run around in my royal underwear." The fish laughs so hard at the king in his skivvies that he spits up the whiskered groom. Chess demonstrates the happily-ever-after conclusion with a family portrait of three "buttermice" (with mouse bodies, antennae and wings to match their mom's) playing jump rope and swinging from the branches of their hollow tree home. Sierra fills her cleverly and economically told tale with repeated phrases and sounds that trip off the tongue, while Chess's droll watercolors provide just the right amount of tartness for the sweet text. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 2-In this melding of two classic Spanish folktales, an alluring butterfly turns down a number of suitors before choosing a gentle mouse because his soft, sweet song is absolutely perfect for singing babies to sleep. Just when it looks as though they will live happily ever after, Mouse falls in a pond and is swallowed by a fish. The grief-stricken butterfly cries up a storm, which sets in motion a chain of events resulting in her beloved's regurgitation and a happy ending. The story makes good use of repetition to build to the climax, and the plot is intriguing. Chess's signature illustrations are full of bright color, pizzazz, and humor. Her insects' and animals' faces run through a gamut of expressions, from pleased to appalled, and there are many details to look at and enjoy. This is a good addition to the canon of such animal-wooing stories as John Langstaff's retelling of Frog Went A'-Courtin' (Harcourt, 1955) and classic animal death tales like William Stobbs's Who Killed Cock Robin? (Oxford, 1990).Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain | [
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15,654 | 2 | In this fourth book of Meddaugh's Martha series, the mild-mannered pooch who derives the power of speech from alphabet soup takes herself for a stroll. When someone calls her a "good dog," she ingenuously replies, "What other kind of dog is there?" She soon has her answer when she meets Bob, a hulking, bearlike mutt who viciously barks at passers-by. Bob's bearded owner is "just as ferocious," berating his pet with the words, "Bad dog Bob! Bad dog!" She moves on to another neighbor's yard, where she teaches a parrot to call her a "good dog." Martha's big mouth gets her into trouble when she returns to lecture Bob, not realizing that he has broken free of his thick metal chain. Fortunately, he chases Martha into the parrot's yard, where the magic words?"good dog!"?save Martha from certain doom. As in previous volumes, Meddaugh carries much of the story forward through dialogue that appears in hand-lettered voice bubbles, and her illustrations winningly convey the characters' personalities. The golden-brown, thick-waisted heroine's deep sincerity, with her drooping ears and expressive eyes, balance her comical self-righteous streak. The lunging, growling Bob is genuinely scary, but compliments tame his anger and smooth his shaggy coat. Young animal lovers should be warned that not every snarling bad dog can be as miraculously transformed as Bob into an earnest good dog. Nevertheless, Meddaugh successfully sends the message that pets (and their owners) respond best to kindness. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-Martha the talking dog has yet another adventure. This time, the loquacious canine has the unfortunate experience of having a noisy neighbor move in with his bad dog. Bob is always barking and his owner is always screaming at him. When the offensive animal starts to pick on the neighborhood dogs, Martha speaks up. A beautifully creative name-calling chase ensues. "You mangy mongrel/crummy cur/big baboon," she taunts. However, she later finds that a talking parrot's praise is far more effective at controlling the bully's behavior, and his owner learns to calm him with sweet talk. The story ends, "Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Everything about the book is extremely well done, from the story line to the illustrations and presentation. The drawings are colorful and full of emotion, showing a wide range of feelings in the canine and human faces. Another great story in a great tradition.Shelley Woods, Boston Public Library, MACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Martha Walks the Dog (Martha Speaks) | [
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15,655 | 18 | Collard (Animal Dads) sets the clock back 1000 years as he looks at a dozen civilizations at the turn of the last millennium. One spread is devoted to each of the locales, which include central and southern Europe, where people suffered from a lack of formal education and strong central government; the Middle East and Mediterranean region, where Islamic culture flourished; southern Africa, where the Shona built cities and traded with Arab merchants; and India, which was experiencing cultural prosperity under the Chola Dynasty. While the author offers some intriguing tidbits, the text is often oversimplified or vague ("Printed books enabled the Song to educate large numbers of students to govern China's enormous population"; "Aborigines believed that the activities of Rainbow Serpents and other Ancestral Beings created the plants, animals, rocks, and places of Australia"). Unfortunately, in Hunt's (Bestiary) double-page ink-and-watercolor art, many of the scenes seem just as generic as the writing, lacking the specificity of a narrative drama that might have given readers a more encompassing visual impression of the epoch and each locale. A good idea, disappointingly executed. Ages 6-10. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4 As a millennium ends, it's only natural to be curious about its beginning. Here, Collard aims to pique that curiosity, not with a catalog of specific events, but by profiling 12 world cultures circa A.D. 1000. Each one gets a spread that combines a column of general information with a large painted scene, generally of earnest-looking people at work or play in a distinctive setting. Like the text, Hunt's illustrations are not crowded with details but those he does choose to include are carefully, clearly depicted. Though the selection of stopovers has a Eurocentric slant, young armchair tourists will also get glimpses of South America's Chimu people, early Shona culture in Africa, southern India under the Chola Dynasty, and North America's Mississippian civilization, among others. Capped by short lists of books and Web sites, this quick, sweeping survey suggests some of the ways life has and has not changed in the last 10 centuries. John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: 1,000 Years Ago on Planet Earth | [
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15,656 | 13 | Christelow escorts readers behind the scenes for a fascinating peek at the creative process in this companion to What Do Authors Do? Here she tracks the efforts of two fictitious artists, showing their different approaches to illustrating the same story ("Jack and the Beanstalk" serves as the example). Christelow funnels information through a triple conduit: cartoon panels display the artists at work; a lively subplot features a dog and cat and their running commentary; and chunks of straightforward prose hold the visual elements together. For all the many components, the end result is cohesive and easy to follow, and the amount of material covered is impressive, e.g., how a picture book evolves, from dummy to finished product, and such concepts as scale, perspective and point of view. Medium is discussed and, more importantly, depicted in a concrete way; Christelow demonstrates how the same illustration would look if rendered in, say, pencil as opposed to felt-tip pen, or watercolor as opposed to colored pencil. The roles of editors and designers are also briefly touched upon. By alighting on a subject with which her audience has some familiarity, Christelow instantly engages interest, and by keeping the proceedings briskly informative and fun, she ensures that readers come away with a real appreciation of both the artistry and effort involved in illustrating books. Ages 5-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this companion to What Do Authors Do? (Clarion, 1995), Christelow gives readers a great deal of insight into the creative process while entertaining them with a story (actually two) within the story that tells the story of how picture-book artists work. Two illustrators share studio space and, as it turns out, each one of them sets out independently to create a new version of "Jack and the Beanstalk." Readers are clued into the situation and the various choices and dilemmas facing the artists by their pets, the woman's dog Scooter and the man's cat Leonard. In breezy but informative conversations, the animals discuss the deliberations and determinations about the books' sizes and shape, concepts such as point of view and perspective, and decisions about typeface and medium. In addition to the brief text, the pages are filled with cartoon panels, dialogue balloons, and spot drawings. The pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings are expressive and engaging throughout. Children will come away from this effort with a bit of knowledge about how books are made and an appreciation for the hard work and talent involved in telling a story through pictures. Better than a magic bean, this title is sure to spark youngsters' curiosity and creativity, and when that happens-as everyone knows-the sky's the limit.Luann Toth, School Library Journal Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: What Do Illustrators Do? | [
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15,657 | 2 | Grade 3-7-A pictorial history of the one-room schoolhouse in the United States. Bial briefly discusses the emergence of public education in Massachusetts in 1647, and notes that the demands of rural life had an impact on the form of education on the frontier and led to the development of this type of facility throughout the country. The readable text describes a typical school day, the responsibilities of teachers, and some of the materials and textbooks available in the 1800s and early 1900s. Through a blend of historical black-and-white photographs and the author's own full-color shots, Bial shows the types of structures that served as schools. Although there is a certain sameness to the more recent pictures, they remind readers of just how ubiquitous these facilities once were. Most interesting are the glimpses provided of the inside of these buildings and the supplies that were used. The narrative is fairly straightforward, but the author has an undeniable fondness for this bygone bit of Americana. Pair this with Rosmarie Hausherr's One-Room School at Squabble Hollow (Four Winds, 1988; o.p.), which portrays a day in the life of a present-day school for a slightly younger audience.Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Bial's photo-essays depicting the mostly rural American scene are always a visual and informative delight, and this one is no exception. In smoothly written prose, Bial recounts the history of the American one-room schoolhouse from the early 1700s to the 1950s. He discusses the reasons such schools flourished, typical methods of instruction and activities for students, and expectations for teachers. Clear, beautifully composed photos on every page transport readers back to bygone days. They range from shots of the exteriors of brick-and-frame structures and pictures of desks, coal buckets, textbooks, and dunce caps to artistic images that take careful advantage of natural lighting. Most are full-color depictions taken at sites near Bial's home in central Illinois. Several well-chosen black-and-white period photos showing children are also included. A good choice for units on pioneer life, with the bonus of browser appeal. Sources for further reading are appended. Kay Weisman; Title: One-Room School | [
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15,658 | 11 | Kindergarten-Grade 3-When a city street undergoes gentrification, its elegant residents are disdainful of unfashionable Mr. Crockett, who moves in and cleans up the smallest, least-desirable brownstone on the block. They don't approve of him washing windows; they don't approve of him planting a spindly little pine tree; they certainly think he is crazy to sprinkle bread crumbs under the tree for birds to eat. The man, however, believes that "Beauty is as beauty does," and his loving attention culminates, years later, when carolers stop by his majestic tree, startling the birds up onto the branches like living ornaments. The carolers and birds sing together "a chorus of love, and Mr. Crockett [knows] that this is what Christmas [is] meant to be." Nascimbene's watercolors generally appear opposite text, or in small boxes above or below text. A cool palette of darker colors predominates. In the initial illustrations, cars and "elegant neighbors" appear to be circa 1940; as time progresses, the story takes place in modern times. A quiet celebration of the love and care necessary for nurturing living things.-L.F. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Nascimbene tackles Zolotow's 1972 story, providing delicate pen-and-watercolor illustrations in pale blue and tan. Mr. Crockett, described by the neighbors as ``a peculiar man,'' buys the long empty brownstone, and sets about washing windows and fixing it up. He digs up the small square of soil in front, and buys a wizened little pine languishing in the flower shop. He nurtures it through the winter, and when spring comes he plants the tree, remarkably bigger and more robust, outside; as years pass it becomes a majestic pine, the glory of the neighborhood. The illustrator's vision is rather austere and remote; even when the children assemble at the tree for its finest hour, the perspective is distant. Nevertheless, the quiet story endures, as does its message. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: The Beautiful Christmas Tree | [
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15,659 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 3AThis familiar and amusing tale reads just as well in Spanish as it does in English. Class 207 just won't behave. Although Miss Nelson asks her studentsArather sweetlyAto be good, they refuse to listen. They'd rather shoot spitballs and fly paper airplanes. Then, one day, a substitute dressed all in black, with a bad hairdo and a scowl to match, is standing before them. It is clear that Ms. Pantano takes no nonsense. Soon, the students are miserable. When Miss Nelson reappears, there is no doubt that she's returned to a calmer, gentler, quieter class. Accept no substitutes; children will love La se?orita Nelson.ADonna J. Murray, Queens Borough Public Library, NYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: ?La senorita Nelson ha desaparecido! (Spanish Edition) | [
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15,660 | 2 | Toestomper is the kind of big, ugly bully kids run and hide from, and his lowlife friends, the Rowdy Ruffians, are no better. So what happens when a bunch of darling baby caterpillars start following Toestomper around asking for help?Finding their big-eyed pleas almost impossible to resist, Toestomper is captivated by the caterpillars' furry helplessness. What's more, after he moves them into his own house and begins taking care of them, he no longer feels quite so lonely and mean. Of course, all this wreaks havoc in his former criminal community. His nasty animal friends--Barfy, Nightmare, and Basher--refuse to accept this angelic transformation in their previous mate-in-mahem. "Toestomper isn't any fun anymore," complains Basher. "All he cares about is those dumb caterpillars."Rooting for the good guy is one thing children love to do, and in this perceptive tale of transformation, readers will find their hearts warming towards Toestomper as he finally realizes that life is much more rewarding when you help people instead of hurt them. Richly illustrated in a detailed airbrush style, Sharleen Collicott has created a delightful collection of unique characters, from the winsome blue caterpillars to the tough, cynical gang members. An enjoyable, funny tale. (Ages 3 to 7) --Marianne PainterIn this cursory tale, a hard-hearted hellion magically turns into a touchy-feely pushover. Toestomper hails his pals, the Rowdy Ruffians, with a "Hello, you lowlife rascals"; they share a mutual bond of behaving in "a mean, rude... and disgusting" manner. Collicott (The Chicken Sisters) paints an almost three-dimensional village bursting with wildflowers and shrubs just waiting to be flattened by the team of troublemakers. Toestomper, sporting a red bandanna that telegraphs his tough nature, dislodges a family of caterpillars from the bush they call home ("Get away from me, you creepy creepers!" he hollers). But then he inexplicably undergoes a personality shift. Suddenly he's making a box lined with a blanket for the fuzzy fellows and offering them water to drink. He even shuns his friend Nightmare's offer to "go to town and be rude" and Barfy's invitation to "go to town and be disgusting." After the Ruffians tie Toestomper to a tree and attempt to feed the caterpillars to the birds, the improbable happy ending finds Toestomper playing cards with the Rowdy Ruffians, side by side with his freed fuzzy friends (they all sport the requisite red bandanna). With such an unlikely turn of events, readers may not care that this superficial cast of characters lives happily ever after. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Toestomper and the Caterpillars | [
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15,661 | 2 | Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Curious George has been published in numerous languages. And many, many Curious George books have followed.; Title: Curious George's Dream | [
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15,662 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 1-These two books take a familiar, favorite character and create an imitation of his curiosity, but without the Reys' usual spark and attention to detail. In Hot Air Balloon, George is playing with an anchor rope and the balloon takes off with him aboard. It blows quite close to the nose of George Washington at Mt. Rushmore where the monkey unwittingly rescues a worker and becomes a hero. He is rewarded with a helicopter ride around the monument. When Curious George Goes to a Movie, the man with the yellow hat leaves to get popcorn and George goes up to the projection booth where he startles the projectionist, who knocks the reels off the projector. While he untangles the film, George does shadow figures to amuse the audience and again becomes a hero. Both books read like anemic summaries of the original Curious George adventures, but with the lessons eliminated. It is disconcerting that this George never receives so much as a mention of the follies of his curiosity, but is immediately rewarded for a chance good deed, which happens as part of the cover-up for his naughtiness. Both the blandness and the mixed messages make these titles bad advertising for the real Curious George.Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.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: Curious George Goes to a Movie | [
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15,663 | 1 | Grade 4-6-Arnold's readable, informative book, which looks at a giant marine predator that cruised the Miocene and Pliocene seas for millions of years, will grab shark lovers and dinophiles alike. Though no complete megalodon skeleton has been discovered to date, the author has compiled the data from numerous partial finds, compared it with that of modern sharks with likely close relationships, and extrapolated possible physical characteristics and behaviors. Her calculations have been vetted by several experts, as have Caple's liquid watercolors, which perfectly complement the text. Some purists may grumble at Arnold's terming a 52-foot megalodon as "the largest ocean predator" (60-foot sperm whales not being vegetarians), but this is a most minor carp. Overall, this book's glowing artwork, clearly accessible text, and engrossing subject will attract readers like a magnet does iron filings.Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4-6. Megalodon was a super-size shark that first appeared in the oceans about 20 million years ago and died out about 2 million years ago. Shark fans will definitely be impressed with the statistics: Megalodon was more than twice as big as the modern shark. Arnold uses Megalodon to help explain to young readers how fossil records are pieced together and how scientists make conjectures about the anatomy and habits of ancient animals. Paintings by Laurie Caple (several of sharks chomping on sea creatures) appear on every page. Children who pick this up for the pictures of huge teeth will also come away with some scientific details. Todd MorningCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Giant Shark: Megalodon, Prehistoric Super Predator | [
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15,664 | 1 | PreSchool-Grade 1-These two books take a familiar, favorite character and create an imitation of his curiosity, but without the Reys' usual spark and attention to detail. In Hot Air Balloon, George is playing with an anchor rope and the balloon takes off with him aboard. It blows quite close to the nose of George Washington at Mt. Rushmore where the monkey unwittingly rescues a worker and becomes a hero. He is rewarded with a helicopter ride around the monument. When Curious George Goes to a Movie, the man with the yellow hat leaves to get popcorn and George goes up to the projection booth where he startles the projectionist, who knocks the reels off the projector. While he untangles the film, George does shadow figures to amuse the audience and again becomes a hero. Both books read like anemic summaries of the original Curious George adventures, but with the lessons eliminated. It is disconcerting that this George never receives so much as a mention of the follies of his curiosity, but is immediately rewarded for a chance good deed, which happens as part of the cover-up for his naughtiness. Both the blandness and the mixed messages make these titles bad advertising for the real Curious George.Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, NYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.No BioHans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Curious George has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS.; Title: Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon (Curious George 8x8) | [
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15,665 | 5 | Norwegian-born storyteller Lunge-Larsen scoured her homeland's literary landscape for this stellar collection of nine troll tales, many of which will be unfamiliar to American children. Ugly, greedy, fierce and dimwitted, trolls provide admirable subject matter, and Lunge-Larsen spins her stories with enthusiasm. The other characters are memorable, too, from the feckless Butterball, a boy who outwits his captor (a hungry troll hag who carries her head under her arm) to the familiar trio of goats in "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." A Nordic flavor permeates the customary folktale elements present here (such as kidnapped princesses and magical quests) and each tale ends with the Norwegian refrain "Snipp, snapp, snute/ Her er eventyret ute! (Snip, snap, snout/ This tale's told out!)." Short introductions and afterwords for every entry expand on troll lore. Readers learn, for example, that trolls will burst and turn into stone when exposed to sunlight, and that Edvard Grieg's famous "In the Hall of the Mountain King" for Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt refers to the trolls of Norway's Dovre Mountains. Bowen (Antler, Bear, Canoe) fills the slightly narrow pages of this oversize volume with striking woodblock-print compositions and border motifs; according to an illustrator's note, her work draws on ancient carvings as well as early-20th-century art from Norway. Their rough-hewn, almost primitive quality belies the sophisticated use of color and line. A noteworthy addition to the folktale shelf. Ages 5-12. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-5-Nine Norwegian tales that feature ugly, dim-witted giants who live inside mountains or under bridges, as in "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," the best known of these tales. In fact, the majority of the stories here will be unfamiliar to American audiences. Trolls readily capture children to eat for dinner ("Butterball"), steal princesses and hold them captive to rub their aching heads ("The Boy Who Became a Lion, a Falcon, and an Ant"), and covet human possessions ("The Handshake" and "The Boy and the North Wind"). Lunge-Larsen has fashioned her retellings largely from the folktales collected by Peter Christian Asbjirnsen and Jirgen Moe in the early 1800s. She includes detailed source notes for each selection, a bibliography, and an insightful introduction that discusses her experience with trolls. The retellings retain the power of the originals and don't shy away from the violent nature of several of these stories. Each tale is accompanied by a full-page illustration, several smaller images, and decorative borders that underscore the plot. Bowen's colorful woodcuts-with their folk-art sensibilities-evoke traditional Norwegian decorative art and architecture. The interplay between the art and the text is outstanding. Because of its readability, tellability, and strong visual presentation, this collection should have wide and enduring appeal.Denise Anton Wright, Alliance Library System, Bloomington, IL Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Troll With No Heart in His Body: And Other Tales of Trolls from Norway | [
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15,666 | 18 | Kimmel's compelling account presents the arresting tale of Sir Ernest Shackleton's doomed 1914 expedition to traverse the continent of Antarctica, for a slightly younger audience than Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World (Children's Forecasts, Jan. 25). Kimmel's chronicle contains considerably fewer anecdotes and journal excerpts than Armstrong's denser volume, yet the events of the shipwreck of the Endurance, the men's encampment on an ice pack and Shackleton's trek across South Georgia on foot, resulting in the survival of all 27 of his crew, are just as gripping here. Kimmel delves somewhat more deeply into Shackleton's personal life, fashioning a credible and affectionate portrait of this indefatigable explorer. The volume's relatively short chapters and strategic arrangement of photographs to break up blocks of text will make for smooth reading for kids on the younger edge of the intended audience. A deftly distilled recounting of an extraordinary story. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-8-Having been beaten in his quest to be the first man to stand on the South Pole, Sir Ernest Shackleton set off in 1914 to cross the continent of Antarctica. He ultimately failed, but the saga of his attempt, in which his ship was frozen in ice and sunk, and yet no human lives were lost, makes a thrilling and terrifying tale. Utilizing Shackleton's memoirs and original expedition photographs, Kimmel re-creates events in exciting detail. She puts the story in historical perspective by comparing the exploration of Antarctica to the exploration of space, which plays a part in making this an accessible but not oversimplified account. After presenting a brief background about Antarctic explorers and introducing several of the primary members of the crew, the author then describes how the 28 men survived months of frostbite, penguin stew, and boredom, while hoping for rescue. Shackleton is depicted as a brave and responsible leader whose first concern was always the welfare of his men, yet who still had his own weaknesses. There has been a surge of information about this expedition lately, and this is a worthy addition to the group. Readers will cheer the endurance and ultimate survival of these adventurers while learning about history.Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, ILCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition | [
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15,667 | 2 | This first novel set in 17th-century Korea centers on 12-year-old Jade Blossom, daughter of one of the king's advisers. With all the temerity of a 1990s girl, Jade plays tricks on her brother (with the help of her cousin Willow), and her yearning to see the world outside of her family's walled household ultimately leads her into trouble. She conceals herself in a basket on market day and catches her first glimpse of the mountains as well as a group of imprisoned Dutch sailors, whom she describes as wearing what looks like "yellow or brown sheep's wool on their cheeks and chins." Park manages to get across many of society's restrictions on girls and women, but often relies on telling rather than showing. For example, Jade says how much her view of the mountains affects her, yet she never describes what it is about the vista that moves her. Readers gain little insight into Jade's relationship with other members of her household or her daily routine. Though the novel glosses over the meaning of the Dutch sailors' appearance, a closing author's note helps to put it into context. Fortunately, Jean and Mou-sien Tseng's animated black-and-white drawings fill in many details missing in the text concerning dress and setting. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-6-Life in 17th-century Korea is not easy for a girl, even for the daughter of a wealthy family. Jade Blossom must learn to do the laundry, sew the clothes back together after each washing, help in the kitchen, and embroider flawlessly. Her world is circumscribed by the walls of the Inner Court where she will spend her life until she marries and then will be confined to the Inner Court of her husband's household. However, when her aunt and best friend since childhood gets married, Jade is determined to see her again. Park maintains a fine tension between the spirited girl's curiosity and her very limited sphere. Certainly Jade looks for opportunities to expand her horizons, but after her first disastrous foray to see Willow, she learns that those chances have to come within the walls of her own home. The story is full of lively action and vivid descriptions, enhanced by appealing black-and-white paintings, to give a clear sense of the period and reveal the world as Jade sees it. Even the minor characters have substance. The girl's parents are understanding but not indulgent. Her father is a thoughtful man, distant from the family, but looking at the possibilities for the future of his country. Her mother recognizes Jade's longings and shows her that it is possible to be content with her life. Like Jade's stand-up seesaw, Park's novel offers readers a brief but enticing glimpse at another time and place.Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Seesaw Girl | [
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15,668 | 2 | Grade 2-5-Fans of Louis Sachar's "Marvin Redpost" books (Random) or Suzy Kline's "Orp" series (Putnam) will tap into Lewis's sense of humor. Third-grader Morgy MacDougal-MacDuff has just moved with his family from California to Puckett Corner, MA. He has difficulty understanding his classmates' accents and regionalisms, and he becomes the target of a fifth-grade bully, Ferguson. However, Morgy gradually adjusts to his new surroundings and his mother makes the surprise announcement that she's expecting twins. He exhibits typical sibling concern when wondering how the new babies will fit into the family, and also worries that they might be girls. He is disappointed when the hockey coach suggests that he practice for a year with the team before actually playing, and is humiliated when he is moved down to the seven-and-under team in order to stop Ferguson's disruptions. Things finally look up for the protagonist, though, and a surprise twist at the end will delight young readers. Morgy is a realistic, well-developed character, and most children will relate to the ups and downs in his life. One or two full-page line drawings appear in each chapter.Julie Shatterly, York County Public Library, Rock Hill, SC Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Lewis packs a lot of action into this short novel and plenty of changes into her hero's young life. Morgy has just moved from California to Massachusetts, where he gets lost on the way home after the first day of school, is repeatedly picked on by an older bully, finds out his mother is pregnant with twins, tries to learn to play hockey, and survives a chimney fire, a blizzard, and a blackout. In between trials, he makes new friends and writes to old ones, is visited by his aunt, and helps raise money for new equipment for the school playground. This lighthearted novel is filled with incident and warmth, nicely matched in tone by Chesworth's black-and-white illustrations. Especially pleasing is the easy way the members of his family and his new friend Byron's family come together during the storm, spend Thanksgiving together on the spur of the moment, and thereafter are naturally integrated into one another's lives. (Fiction. 6-9) -- Copyright 1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Morgy Makes His Move | [
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15,669 | 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: Curious George Feeds the Animals | [
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15,670 | 1 | Grade 4-7-Field guides that offer tips on identification. Backyard Birds features types "...you are likely to see where you live"; Birds of Prey, the "...swift and often silent hunters..."; Bizarre Birds, North American birds with a unique characteristic; and Shorebirds that can be found "...near the bodies of fresh water and salt water in North America." Each guidebook includes a rather subjective selection of about 20 creatures. The organization of material is different in each title: the backyard birds are grouped by color, the raptors by size, and the bizarre birds by such characteristics as odd bills. The shorebirds are arranged by where they are likely to be seen-the air, water, ground, or grass. A two-page entry for each creature instructs readers on how to recognize it and provides a solid introduction to individual characteristics. Although the information is clear, there are some omissions. For example, three of the texts stress the importance of knowing the size of the bird as a clue to its identification but neither measurements nor range maps are included. However, bright, full-color photographs and drawings clearly indicate distinguishing features. Useful, accessible additions.Frances E. Millhouser, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Backyard Birds (Field Guides for Young Naturalists) | [
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15,671 | 15 | As they did in Prairie Town, the Geiserts explore the changing rhythms of a community throughout the year in written and visual detail, and the results are fascinating. During the fall harvest, trucks, trains and barges carry the town's goods around the world. But come Halloween, the residents are ready to take a break and have fun. Winter brings a frozen quiet to the river-save for the skaters and ice fishers. And with the spring thaw come worries about flooding. Summer once again sees the river and its banks as the hub of activities. Though the text sometimes suggests a setting in the past, Arthur Geisert's crisp, precise ink-and-watercolor paintings contain a few more contemporary touches, assuring readers that river town life has been relatively stable over time. Children will easily absorb the deceptively straightforward information about river town industry and economy. As a clever device, an endnote points out specific stories told in the illustrations (e.g., a boulder rolls down the quarry and causes damage, which is later repaired; a supply of coal is consumed and replenished). Kids and adults can be sure of finding new things upon repeat readings. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 1-5-In America's early days, towns sprang up along rivers, providing convenient and vital links to the rest of the world. The Geiserts, with their characteristic attention to the minutia of everyday life, explore the interdependence, connection, and subtle changes in life in one riverbank community. The opening page illustrates the quiet bank before it is settled, but with a turn of the page, its transformation to a bustling town is complete. Through a spare text and panoramic double-page spreads rich in small details, life across four seasons unfolds, beginning with fall: "The river town is busy in the fall. Towboats move barges loaded with coal and grain up and down the river." Readers will be able to locate the events and activities mentioned in the text; in addition, other stories begin to emerge and are developed throughout the book without comment: a wedding, a funeral, a barn burned and rebuilt, a mansion restored, a train derailment, island children taking boats to meet the school bus, a boulder crashing down into a quarry, and even a Halloween witch blown along the river in spring winds. The full-color illustrations are exquisitely drawn in ink so that even the smallest figure is recognizable. The last page alerts readers to stories they may have missed on their initial reading. Reminiscent of the work of Mitsumasa Anno, the art will fascinate children and demand repeat viewings.Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: River Town (Small Town U.S.A.) | [
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15,672 | 1 | Grade 4-7-Field guides that offer tips on identification. Backyard Birds features types "...you are likely to see where you live"; Birds of Prey, the "...swift and often silent hunters..."; Bizarre Birds, North American birds with a unique characteristic; and Shorebirds that can be found "...near the bodies of fresh water and salt water in North America." Each guidebook includes a rather subjective selection of about 20 creatures. The organization of material is different in each title: the backyard birds are grouped by color, the raptors by size, and the bizarre birds by such characteristics as odd bills. The shorebirds are arranged by where they are likely to be seen-the air, water, ground, or grass. A two-page entry for each creature instructs readers on how to recognize it and provides a solid introduction to individual characteristics. Although the information is clear, there are some omissions. For example, three of the texts stress the importance of knowing the size of the bird as a clue to its identification but neither measurements nor range maps are included. However, bright, full-color photographs and drawings clearly indicate distinguishing features. Useful, accessible additions.Frances E. Millhouser, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.No Bio; Title: Shorebirds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists) | [
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15,673 | 15 | By the light of the final full moon of autumn, Possum kicks off a celebration with his friends. PW called it "a merry illumination of the moon-glowing, green-growing, bug-buzzing profusion of a seasonal last hurrah." Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc."Hunter's enchanting debut combines bewitching illustrations and a magical story that celebrates the beauty of autumn." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review; Title: Possum's Harvest Moon | [
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15,674 | 11 | Invited to Antarctica in 1996 to study Ad?lie penguins, biologist and artist Webb (illustrator for A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America) returned with the makings of this intriguing if sometimes verbose journal. Peppered with piquant watercolor, gouache and graphite illustrations, the diary entries track her two-month stay in what is at times excessive detail, beginning with the account of the five-day journey from San Francisco to the U.S. base, McMurdo, on Ross Island. The incidental facts are often the most amusing: the travelers find sleep difficult due to the 24-hour daylight, they trek past Ernest Shackleton's still-intact 1908 expedition hut, and the artist discusses the difficulties of subzero weather (if a little alcohol isn't added to the paint, it turns to slush on paper). And of course once she gets to the penguins themselves, readers will be swept up in colorful and enthusiastic descriptions of their habitat, habits and antics, amplified by a generous sprinkling of artwork. Fully rendered vignettes of her subjects during an "ecstatic display" (a mating ritual), for instance, possess the deceptive ease of notebook sketches, while panoramic views, such as that from the camp down into the penguin colony, have the accomplished feel of landscape paintings. Overall, she delivers a compelling glimpse of life in a field camp, complete with lyrical descriptions ("Three Snow Petrels fly by, tracing the cliff edge in graceful arcs, brilliant white against the dark rocks and water") and gritty realism ("I forgot how much I hate going outside to pee when it's cold and windy"). Ages 10-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-8-Webb presents a great deal of scientific information through an effective blend of journal entries and illustrations. An enthusiastic traveler, she shares the trials (keeping paints from freezing in Antarctic temperatures, using a bitter-cold outhouse) and joys (seeing three snow petrels on Christmas) of her two-month expedition to study and sketch Ad?lie penguins. Done in gouache and watercolor, the paintings range from scenes of mountains and moving ice to depictions of penguins engaged in typical behaviors. The art is always perfectly placed and extremely useful in interpreting the text. The one-page glossary is necessary, since some of the vocabulary is technical. By explicitly stating the questions to be studied by the scientists on the expedition, Webb offers a fine look at the scientific method in action. The artist/biologist also provides a terrific adventure for anyone who dreams of studying animals.Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: My Season With Penguins: An Antarctic Journal | [
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15,675 | 1 | Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Curious George has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS.; Title: Curious George and the Puppies (Curious George 8x8) | [
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15,676 | 2 | "Myers handles typical childhood issues with a humorous touch, and her characters are believably drawn. This first chapter book will appeal to readers looking for funny books or stories involving animals." Booklist, ALA"A short, enjoyable story about friendship and school problems. Lisa gets into trouble on her first day of school. When the teacher asks her to change the paper on one of the guinea pigs' cages, Angel, a troublemaker, tells her to put the two animals together. This proves to be a big mistake--they fight, and one loses part of an ear. Angry, Lisa decides on a plan of revenge. Feelings run high as she and Angel play embarrassing tricks on each other. Finally Lisa realizes that she is making more enemies than friends, and she comes up with a way to establish a truce with Angel. Told mainly through conversations with only brief descriptions, this story is a quick read." School Library JournalLaurie Myers comes from a writing family: both her mother, Betsy Byars, and her sister, Betsy Duffey, write children's books. Laurie's two previous books for Clarion are EARTHQUAKE IN THE THIRD GRADE and GUINEA PIGS DON'T TALK. She lives in Augusta, Georgia.; Title: Guinea Pigs Don't Talk | [
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15,677 | 18 | Grade 4-8-This competent and attractive title presents a unique approach to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which is receiving much publishing attention as its bicentennial approaches. Patent encapsulates the journey of the Corps of Discovery while focusing on the major wildlife species that the voyagers encountered. The buffalo, prairie wolf, coyote, and grizzly are given extensive treatment, and the prairie dog, antelope, mule deer, and several bird species are discussed. Mu-oz's fine photographic work in full color is featured on almost every page, making this an inviting introduction to the expedition, or to learn about the rich contribution made, particularly by Lewis, to the identification and description of western North America's prodigious wildlife. The "To Learn More" section includes seminal sources and Web sites, and the "Chronology of Animal Discoveries New to Science" provides many possibilities for curriculum development or enthusiastic young naturalists.Nancy Collins-Warner, Neill Public Library, Pullman, WA Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4-8. The coming bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery (1804-1806), better known as the Lewis and Clark expedition, has already inspired a number of books, but few as handsome as this one. The spacious page layouts, beautiful illustrations, and well-written text help ensure that this historically significant story will be read and enjoyed. Patent explains that President Jefferson sent out the Corps in hopes that the explorers would find a navigable waterway to the Pacific, establish good relations with Native Americans, and observe, describe, and collect specimens of animals "unknown to science." In this book, readers follow the expedition westward from the Mississippi, across the plains and the mountains to the Pacific, and back again. Patent tells the broader story well, but the strength of this book is its focus on the animals discovered by members of the expedition, as recorded in the journals of Lewis and Clark. Appended are the author's notes, which provide some of her sources and recommending resources for further reading, and a list of 121 species of vertebrate animals, indicating when and where the explorers first saw them. In addition to a few maps and reproductions of period paintings, Munoz's excellent color photographs of animals, landscape, artifacts, and sites offer vivid pictures of the world explored by the Corps of Discovery. Carolyn PhelanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Animals on the Trail with Lewis and Clark | [
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15,678 | 2 | Grade 4-8-In the late 19th century, government-supported boarding schools were created to educate and assimilate Native American children into the overriding white culture. Cooper examines the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, one of the best known of the boarding schools, and some of its former students. The founder of Carlisle, Captain Richard Henry Pratt, was a former Buffalo soldier and Indian fighter, which may have adversely affected his treatment of Native children and their families. Individual student accounts, as well as fascinating photographs from the National Archives and the Army War College archives, add personal touches to the work. It is difficult to overstate the damages inflicted by these institutions on Native families. The author attempts to show some of the positive experiences, including the athletic development of Jim Thorpe, but glosses over the painful realities of the schools. Students were often kidnapped from their families and forced to abandon their languages, ways of life, and traditions to be assimilated into white culture. Good intentions aside, the boarding schools were part of an effort to destroy Native ways of life, which cannot be examined unemotionally or without a great deal of study. It is apparent that the author has no background in Native studies as offensive generalizations about beliefs and practices, as well as the use of improper names, flow throughout the book. While the boarding schools need to be studied, librarians and teachers should seek out individual accounts by former inhabitants rather than confuse students with this stereotypical and inaccurate work.Mary B. McCarthy, ACLIN/Colorado State Library, Denver Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Cooper (Hell Fighters, 1997, etc.) takes a relatively dispassionate look at a cruel chapter in US government/Indian relations: the sometimes-forcible removal of children to Carlisle and other off-reservation boarding schools. Although he is guilty of overgeneralizing (in a chapter titled ``The Indian Way''as if there were but onehe states, ``When they were teenagers, Native Americans married, had children, and went on the warpath''), the author makes a brave attempt to be evenhanded, balancing the schools' renowned athletic accomplishments and prominent attendees (e.g., Jim Thorpe) against the harsh punishments, outright abuses, and ruthless cultural indoctrination to which students were subjected. Despite scattered successes, it is obvious that the ends were neither justified nor accomplished by the means. Since books about the Indian boarding schools tend to be either indictments or whitewashes, Cooper may skimp on the schools' modern history, but by steering a middle course in his account of their origins, practices, educational philosophy, and early record, he allows readers to draw their own conclusions. Generous helpings of contemporary black-and-white photographs and statements give many students both voices and faces; a concluding list of sources (of varying reliability) includes web sites. (map, b&w photos and reproductions, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13) -- Copyright 1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.; Title: Indian School: Teaching the White Man's Way | [
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15,679 | 2 | As he did in Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure, Brown once again salutes a spunky heroine who made history, this time focusing on Mary Anning's archeological finds and their relevance to prehistoric research. He drives home the point that 200 years after her birth in 1799, Mary Anning and her contributions continue to inform the scientific community. Unlike Laurence Anholt's recent Stone Girl, Bone Girl, Brown's succinct text downplays the early death of Mary's father, focusing instead on her commitment to carrying on his fossil-hunting legacy, and plays up her partnership with her older brother, Joseph. The limited palette of blues, grays and browns effectively serves double duty, successfully contrasing the poverty of the Anning family with the richness of the seaside digging sites, while also setting off the fossil discoveries, which are recorded on parchment-like paper with hand-lettered labels. Aspiring scientists will be encouraged by this inspiring portrayal of a woman who made a childhood passion into her life's work. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4-Two more picture-book biographies celebrate Mary Anning's bicentennial, recounting her childhood discovery of a complete ichthyosaur and noting her adult career as a self-taught paleontologist. Atkins follows the earlier lead of Catherine Brighton in The Fossil Girl (Millbrook, 1999) and Laurence Anholt in Stone Girl, Bone Girl (Orchard, 1999) as she focuses on the single year in which 11-year-old Anning slowly scraped the sand and stone of the Lyme Regis shore to uncover the huge reptile fossil. Her patience and persistence, are emphasized in a smoothly crafted narrative employing more fictionalized conversation and detail than any of the other books. Dooling's watercolors on textured paper employ a predominantly blue, gray, and brown palette conveying the loneliness of Anning's pursuit in this murky, seaside place. Like Brighton and Anholt, Atkins adds a final author's note commenting on Mary Anning's adult discoveries. Don Brown, in a smaller horizontal volume, omits such a note. His text quickly recounts Anning's childhood discovery of the ichthyosaur, and goes on to sketch a chronological account of the woman's entire life. The tan-and-blue watercolor scenes are less compelling than the bolder work in the other books, though several dramatic episodes punctuate the dangerous terrain in which Anning worked. The emphasis here is on the richness of spirit compensating for economic poverty. Both Stone Girl and Fossil Girl are more strongly realized and appealing works, but Sea Dragon reads well, and Rare Treasure is a competent simple biography. None of the writers reveal their actual sources of information on Anning's life. The tale of a child making such a distinctive discovery is inherently interesting, and the scientist's career is a worthwhile story, too. The array of books should attract a wide variety of readers and serve well in science classrooms.Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable Discoveries | [
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15,680 | 1 | Grade 4-7-Field guides that offer tips on identification. Backyard Birds features types "...you are likely to see where you live"; Birds of Prey, the "...swift and often silent hunters..."; Bizarre Birds, North American birds with a unique characteristic; and Shorebirds that can be found "...near the bodies of fresh water and salt water in North America." Each guidebook includes a rather subjective selection of about 20 creatures. The organization of material is different in each title: the backyard birds are grouped by color, the raptors by size, and the bizarre birds by such characteristics as odd bills. The shorebirds are arranged by where they are likely to be seen-the air, water, ground, or grass. A two-page entry for each creature instructs readers on how to recognize it and provides a solid introduction to individual characteristics. Although the information is clear, there are some omissions. For example, three of the texts stress the importance of knowing the size of the bird as a clue to its identification but neither measurements nor range maps are included. However, bright, full-color photographs and drawings clearly indicate distinguishing features. Useful, accessible additions.Frances E. Millhouser, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Birds of Prey (Peterson Field Guides: Young Naturalists) | [
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15,681 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 3-Newcomers as well as fans of Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog (1995) and Three Stories You Can Read to Your Cat (1997, both Houghton) will be pleased with the fast-paced adventures in this beginning chapter book. A trip to "The Vet," the mistaken identity of "The Strange Rock" (really a turtle), and "The Bath" to remove fleas are short and amusing vignettes told from a dog's point of view. The humorous ink-and-watercolor illustrations capture the pup's energy and enthusiasm, while providing visual clues. The dog's facial expressions and mannerisms are right on target, and will appeal to young readers everywhere. The busy endpapers depict 36 different breeds in various playful poses. All in all, this is howling good fun.Maura Bresnahan, Shawsheen School, Andover, MA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Like its predecessor Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog (1995), this volume offers short stories written in second person, purportedly for reading aloud to a dog. The witty, believable portrayal of canine thoughts and behavior will amuse readers, if not their pets. The first story begins with the dog's elation when he thinks he hears the word "walk." Instead, his owner takes him to the "doc,"--the veterinarian. In the second, the dog discovers a turtle, which he considers to be a strange rock. The third involves a bath to rid the dog of fleas. True Kelley's lively ink-and-watercolor illustrations brighten every page with their portrayal of a mutt more notable for enthusiasm than intelligence. The relatively simple text and larger type could land the book on beginning reader shelves or in the early chapter book area. In either location, children will be happy to find this funny book of dog stories. Carolyn Phelan; Title: Three More Stories You Can Read to Your Dog | [
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15,682 | 2 | Ages 5-9. Like La Mariposa (1999), this picture book in both English and Spanish tells one story from Jimenez's award-winning autobiographical collection, The Circuit: Sto ries from the Life of a Migrant Child (1997). The boy Panchito dreams of getting a red ball for Christmas; but there's no work and no money for presents, and the family must move again. When a man and his pregnant wife try to sell their meager possessions to get food and shelter, Panchito hears his father say, "We're broke, too." The surprise on the last page reveals Papa's true gifts of kindness and love. The child's focus is on his own disappointing gift, and, like him, the young picture-book audience may miss the subtlety of the Christmas metaphor about the couple finding no room at the inn. However, Cotts' stylized acrylic paintings, rich in color, express the tenderness of the narrative and the facts of the poverty. The story's power is in the simple words that directly tell of having to leave home. As the family drives away in search of work, Panchito waves to his friends on the school playground, "but they [do] not see him." Hazel RochmanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The Christmas Gift / El regalo de Navidad (Spanish Edition) | [
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15,683 | 1 | The five little monkeys and their mama have had it with their "rickety, rattletrap wreck of a car." It's time to sell this old heap. Mama makes a "For Sale" sign and goes inside. But her ever-helpful children worry that the car is too icky, sticky, and slimy, and take matters into their own industrious hands. "I know!" says one little monkey. And next thing they know, they're washing and scrubbing the filthy jalopy. Now it's clean, but still rusty and stinky. The monkeys ponder. "I know!" says one little monkey. Soon the car is painted and perfumed within an inch of its life. Unfortunately, it's not visible to potential buyers. "I know!" says one little monkey. With all these collective brainstorms, it's not long before the sparkly clean, psychedelically colorful car has landed in the swamp, with the five chagrined little monkeys inside, and a gaggle of crocodiles lurking nearby, licking their chops. How will they ever get themselves out of this mess, and sell the car, to boot? "I know!" says one little monkey...These five are no strangers to silly predicaments and clever solutions, as evidenced in Eileen Christelow's four other entertaining picture books about the quintet, including Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie CoulterPreSchool-Grade 1-A slight story told in rhyme. The monkeys' old family car becomes too much trouble for Mama and is put up for sale. The five little ones take it upon themselves to spruce it up, but despite their good intentions, the vehicle ends up in a swamp. Some crocodiles come to the rescue and decide to buy the wreck and the monkey family drives off in a snazzy red convertible. The pencil-and-watercolor illustrations highlight the industrious little monkeys and their expressive faces as the mishap unfolds. The rhyme scheme enhances the story, such that it is, although it sometimes sounds forced. Children may enjoy this addition to the other stories about the little monkeys, but may need an explanation of the economics of selling a heap and ending up with a brand new car.Denise Reitsma, Howe Library, Hanover, NH Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car | [
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15,684 | 1 | Hans Augusto Rey was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1898. As a child, he spent much of his free time in that city's famous Hagenbeck Zoo drawing animals. After serving in the army during World War I, he studied philology and natural science at the University of Hamburg. He then married Margret Rey and they moved to Montmartre for four years. The manuscript for the first Curious George books was one of the few items the Reys carried with them on their bicycles when they escaped from Paris in 1940. Eventually, they made their way to the United States, and Curious George was published in 1941. Curious George has been published in many languages, including French, German, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Norwegian. Additional Curious George books followed, as well as such other favorites as CECILY G. AND THE NINE MONKEYS and FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS.; Title: Anybody at Home? (Curious George) | [
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15,685 | 12 | Literature book for junior high students. Includes lessons in literature and English.; Title: McDougal Littell Language of Literature: Student Edition Grade 6 2001 | [
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15,686 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 2-Well written, with very attractive color drawings and endpapers, these introductions give brief descriptions of the physical features and behavior of each animal. Their small size and informative content will make them useful for nature field trips with young children. Both titles contain 10 double-page spreads with text on the left and an illustration on the right, each featuring a different creature. The first page frames the question asked in the title, and the last page gives general information about the particular habitat. Pond looks at a variety of insects, a bluegill (sunfish), red-winged blackbird, painted turtle, frog, tadpole, and muskrat. Log features insects and other arthropods, a garter snake, red eft (salamander), and chipmunk. Useful, appealing additions to nature collections.Cynthia M. Sturgis, Ledding Library, Milwaukee, OR Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: What's in the Pond? (Hidden Life) | [
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15,687 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 3-A shy rat who can't pronounce his r's rises to the occasion and outsmarts a new student who terrorizes the classroom. An ego booster for any child who has ever been bullied or teased, with illustrations that exude charm and personality. (May) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.The team responsible for the Tacky the Penguin books and Princess Penelope's Parrot (1996), among others, is in rare form in this picture book, in which a swell little guy proves himself a hero to his tormentors. Wodney Wat has a problem: he can't pronounce the letter r, which makes him the butt of constant jokes and teasing. He's so distressed, in fact, that he routinely buries his head in his jacket--the closest he can come to actually disappearing. He thinks he's really in for it when "big, mean, smart" Camilla Capybara appears in Miss Fuzzleworth's classroom. But the tables are deftly turned when Wodney is tapped to lead a game of Simon Says: when he says "Go West" after a tough round of play, guess who does. Munsinger's well-detailed illustrations are superbly funny, a perfect complement to a comical story that will not only make kids laugh but also hearten those who feel they'll be outsiders forever. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: Hooway for Wodney Wat | [
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15,688 | 13 | As the introduction explains, the watercolor paintings that accompany this special edition of the very first Curious George story made their way out of Paris on the back of Hans Rey's bicycle, as he and his wife, Margaret, narrowly escaped the German occupation. By way of Spain and Brazil, Rey and his work came to the United States, where cash-strapped children's publishers always required "color separation" art--i.e., a different drawing for each color. So Rey's watercolors were not used, and for subsequent books he never even did them; only now, for the first time, has that first set been used directly. Otherwise, it's the story you probably already know, though a bit more luxuriously produced, about how Curious George came to make life a lot more interesting for the Man in the Yellow Hat. (Ages 3 to 8) --Richard Farr; Title: The Original Curious George | [
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15,689 | 2 | PreSchool-K-This classic lullaby, thought to have originated during slavery in the American South, is carefully illustrated with one double-page spread for each line. The pictures are rendered in pastels and are dominated by rich hues of the blues, purples, and yellows found in evening skies. Mother, the source of life, dressed in yellow, begins the story with a finger posed to hush, radiating love and care in an image that is larger than the page can hold. The colors reinforce both the emotional concern of the African-American mother and the whimsical elements found in the lullaby. Transitions between the reality of parent with child and the fantasy of the infant's dreams are seamless. Notes about the probable origin of the song and the musical score are included.Susan M. Moore, Louisville Free Public Library, KY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Ages 3 mos.^-5 yrs. In her introductory note on this classic lullaby, Saport says that it's thought to have its origins in slavery in the American South. Her dreamy pastel illustrations in gorgeous color show an African American woman rocking her baby on the porch in the rural South long ago, while horses leap across the sky in the moonlight. The magical realism is glowing and gentle, with dancing cakes and cooks, a mother sheep with a baby lamb, bright red birds singing in purple trees, and the mother's close embrace as the baby drifts off to sleep. With the music on the back page, this is sure to become a favorite version of a beautiful song, just right for the time between waking and sleeping--even for the very youngest child. Hazel Rochman; Title: All the Pretty Little Horses: A Traditional Lullaby | [
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15,690 | 10 | Grade 2-6-A windfall of facts about Everest and the daring mountaineers who have attempted to reach its summit. Breathtaking cut-paper collages capture the dramatic vistas and the frightening realities of high-altitude climbs. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3^-5. The author-artist who gave us Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (1995) and What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You (1997) turns his attention to a slightly older audience in a picture book that takes readers on an armchair tour up the tallest peak on Earth. In preparation for the trek, Jenkins presents some background on Everest (including a brief comment on the ecological nightmare tourism has caused) and on some of the people who have scaled it. There's also a double-page spread devoted to climbing equipment. Then it's up to the top, complete with descriptions of some of the things climbers may see en route and some insight into how the cold and altitude will affect their bodies. Jenkins' papercut illustrations are extraordinary--feathery light to catch the effect of fog radiating off the mountains, mottled and striated to replicate rocky plateaus, pebbled to look like ice flowers. The typeface is sometimes uncomfortably small, and words occasionally disappear into the strongly colored backgrounds, but this is still a very attractive book, with plenty of substance for curious children. Stephanie Zvirin; Title: The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest | [
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15,691 | 2 | Grade 5-8-An outstanding collective biography of women and girls who changed the world with their inventions. Thimmesh surveys unique and creative ideas that were both borne of necessity or were simply a product of ingenuity and hard work. Included are Bette Nesmith Graham, who invented Liquid Paper, known more commonly as "white-out," and Ann Moore, who emulated the way African mothers carried their babies to create the Snugli. While working for NASA, Jeanne Lee Crews invented the "space bumper" that protects spacecraft and astronauts. The last few individuals highlighted utilized their creativity at a fairly young age. Becky Schroeder was 10 when she invented Glo-sheet paper, which enables people to write in the dark. She became the youngest female to receive a U.S. patent. The book also encourages young women to start inventing themselves and offers a list of organizations with postal and Internet addresses to help them get started. Colorful collage artwork shows the women and their creations and adds vibrancy and lightness to the text.Carol Fazioli, formerly at The Brearley School, New York City Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.There's no organization to speak of, neither chronological nor alphabetical. However, this very attractive, informative book will find an audience among browsers and report writers alike. Ten women and two girls are given a few pages each. Included are Mary Anderson, who invented the windshield wiper (after she was told it wouldn't work); Ruth Wakefield, who, by throwing chunks of chocolate in her cookie batter, gave Toll House cookies to the world; and young Becky Schroeder, who invented Glo-paper because she wanted to write in the dark. The text is written in a fresh, breezy manner, but it is the artwork that is really outstanding. Melissa Sweet's mixed-media collages almost jump off the pages. For instance, the chocolate-chip cookie recipe is handwritten on a card, which sits on the page of an old cookbook, pasted to a wooden cutting board, set against an old-fashioned tablecloth. Watercolor portraits of the inventors also appear in each chapter, along with historical material or drawings of individual objects. The endpapers list women inventors, beginning at 3000 B.C., when silk was invented by a Chinese empress. The final section tells girls how to patent their inventions, and an informed bibliography and Web site list will help them do just that. Ilene Cooper; Title: Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women | [
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15,692 | 11 | As in their Mountain Town, River Town and Prairie Town, Bonnie and Arthur Geisert explore yet another unique community in Desert Town. Timeless Saturday night gatherings and folks swapping stories at the local (air-conditioned) grocery store share space with panoramic spreads of storefronts along the railroad in the Geiserts' successful signature format. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 3-6-As they did in Mountain Town (2000), Prairie Town (1998), and River Town (1999, all Houghton), the Geiserts depict life in a specific small town. One or two lines of text sit below colored etchings that describe the passing of the year. Each spread shows landscape or room views, full of details, that tell their own stories. For instance, a downed plane in the first spread finds its way, piece by piece, through the following scenarios, into the fix-it shop, and by spring, it is ready for flight. This desert town is tiny, a former railroad stop in a brush-covered landscape surrounded by hills. Its inhabitants work and play in the cool of early morning and night, gathering for dances and holidays. From spreads that imagine the town buried in an unusual snow, to those that catalog the inside of homes in cutaway views, the Geiserts let readers explore this town inside and out, from the minutest detail to the grandest view. Though it doesn't describe every desert town, this book gives the sense of what life must be like in one of them, and it provides a story that children will enjoy poring over on their own.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Desert Town (Small Town U.S.A.) | [
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15,693 | 2 | The team behind So Far from the Sea adds a layer of interest to this tale of a boy's ambivalence toward the arrival of a new sibling a baby adopted from Korea. "I can hardly wait," David's mother says, when the family receives news of Jin Woo's impending arrival. David is not so eager: "I can wait. I could wait longer." With sensitivity and humor, Bunting charts the boy's emotional journey from uncertainty and dread to acceptance, as preparations for the new baby segue to the airport, where David and his parents finally spot Jin Woo (" `I don't think that's the right one,' I say, hoping. Maybe they'll send him back"). David warms up to Jin Woo as he coaxes the first laugh from his new baby brother on the ride home from the airport, and the book ends with him giving a beloved duck mobile to Jin Woo after David is reassured that his parents have more than enough love to go around. If David's transformation feels a bit swift, Bunting nevertheless deftly plumbs the well of conflicting emotions, and Soentpiet's luminously realistic watercolors bolster her efforts. Whether portraying David's initially somber facial expressions, his unmistakable body language as he stands apart from his excited parents at the airport or the rosy-cheeked, cheerful Jin Woo, Soentpiet's illustrations light up the pages and root the story firmly in the affectionate fabric of everyday family life. Ages 5-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.PreS-Gr 2-David's parents are adopting a baby from Korea, and the boy, also adopted, is less than thrilled. Bunting's sensitive writing tells of Jin Woo's arrival from David's point of view, infusing the story with childlike sensibility and humor. (When his mother says she can't wait for the baby to arrive, the protagonist tells readers, "I can wait. I could wait longer.") Soentpiet's watercolors are suffused with light and perfectly capture the characters' expressions, from the tense faces of the expectant parents, to the delighted looks of the airport bystanders witnessing the baby's happy arrival. One particularly effective illustration shows David's parents through the glass of the airport window, watching the infant emerge from the plane. While their hands are pressed against the pane and their faces are alight with anticipation, their son looks at them uneasily. His fears begin to recede when he finds that he can make the baby laugh, and they fall away completely when his mother reads him a letter from his new brother assuring him that his parents' love for Jin Woo won't take anything away from him. (She wrote it for the baby, his mother says, because she knows what is in his heart.) The only small inconsistency is the car seat in one illustration, which faces forward instead of backward, as it should for a five-month-old child. However, the story's emotional veracity will speak to any new sibling.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MDCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Jin Woo | [
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15,694 | 11 | Grade 1-3-A rural town nestled in the Rockies receives the same treatment that the Geiserts accorded to two previous locales in Prairie Town (1998) and River Town (1999, both Houghton). From the first snowfall through a calendar year and back to winter again, careful observers can follow small-town life through both annual celebrations and the mundane comings and goings of residents and visitors. A chimney fire, a family with an unlucky blue car, and a bank robbery are a few of the threads that weave their way through the fabric of daily life; a blizzard, the Fourth of July and Heritage Days supply seasonal diversions. The final page summarizes events and encourages readers to follow specific subplots. Thoughtful viewers can discover that while mining, heavy snows, and hikers are unique to the mountains, much of what goes on day-to-day is common to all communities. Etchings enhanced with watercolors provide sweeping panoramas, often on double-page spreads; perspectives include bird's-eye views as well as above and belowground cross sections. The present-tense text occasionally provides helpful explanations for the already-informative pictures but is often simply a redundant one-sentence commentary. Libraries owning the other Geisert books will want to purchase this for a compare-and-contrast exercise in community life, although the many intricate details prohibit group sharing. For other collections, it's a secondary purchase.Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Continuing the quiet, detailed depiction of towns in different geographic settings they began in Prairie Town (1998) and River Town , the Geiserts show life over the course of a year in a community nestled in the mountains. There are car accidents on slippery roads, bank robbers using old mining tunnels to steal from a vault, a Fourth of July parade, and myriad other vignettes for careful eyes to look at. The text is brief, just one or two lines per page, and pleasant if occasionally stiff. This time Arthur Geisert gets a chance to use his etchings to depict night scenes, and he sharply contrasts the hazy, gray night with the crisp, bright details of the snow-covered town in the morning light. The final page includes clues to other things to look for in the pictures; children are sure to stumble across lots of little stories along the way. Susan Dove Lempke; Title: Mountain Town (Geiserts) | [
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15,695 | 11 | Most of the people you will meet in this book lived long ago in places that may seem very different to you now. But they all had feelings just like yours and faced many of the same challenges you will face in your life. And whether they were great leaders or ordinary people, their decisions and actions helped shape California and the world you live in.; Title: Oh, California: Level 4 (Houghton Mifflin Social Studies) | [
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15,696 | 13 | PreSchool-K-Two stories with broad appeal presented in an oversized book. Both texts have delightful rhythm and cadence and beg to be read aloud or chanted. In "Mr. Lion's Marching Band," an array of animals strut in bright red uniforms with matching caps and gold epaulets. Each musician's stance suggests movement in harmony with the text. "Music and feet /Music and feet./I know a march/by the sound and the beat." In "Sheep's Dance Band," perky mice, ducks, rabbits, and pigs are gussied up in plaids and stripes; a cat in homespun plays the fiddle; the hen hums into her little kazoo; while the rooster, of course, sings "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Saaf's illustrations are rendered in a kind of folk-art style with sometimes oddly proportioned childlike simplicity. There is a perfect integration of text and picture. Pages awash in bright greens, aquas, reds, creamy pinks, and yellows are the backdrop for droll animal forms. Thin black line is used to outline each figure and mark the horizon. This hint of black complements the typeface and completes the whole. The text is a combination of couplets and other rhymes, concentrated on double-page spreads between several bordered crisp white pages with longer stanzas. Relaxed, exuberant fare-"Grab a partner,/Little or big./Dance to the music/Jiggety jig!"-Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Donald Saaf, a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has illustrated several books for children. He lives with his wife and son in Bellow Falls, Vermont.; Title: Animal Music | [
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15,697 | 1 | Bennett Gibbons is a very fortunate calf. His parents are prominent members of their herd and noted socialites. They live in a beautiful apartment and give Bennett everything he could want. Indeed, young Bennett is the luckiest little calf in the neighborhood. Problem is, he's the only little calf in the neighborhood. Bennett is happy to become friends with Webster, a young pig who lives next door. But when his parents forbid the friendship Bennett runs away, and his parents soon learn the value of a good friend.Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 3/26/1999Pages: 32Reading Level: Age 5 and Up; Title: Metropolitan Cow | [
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15,698 | 13 | HInformed and lively, Koscielniak's (Hear, Hear, Mr. Shakespeare) fact-filled excursion through music history is just the ticket for budding musicians and music-lovers at large. Deceptively breezy prose and pictures trace the various eras in the development of the modern orchestra, starting with the instrumental groups at the dawn of the 17th century ("Tooters, Strings, and Beaters") and continuing on up to the present day, with a look at synthesizers and computer sound modules. At the same time, Koscielniak explains the evolution of musical styles (Baroque, Romantic, Classical, etc.). He also clues in readers as to how various instruments have changed over the centuries, examining such intriguing instruments as the sackbut (early trombone) and shawm (a forerunner of the oboe), as well as more familiar ones ("Kettledrums: Putting the Bomp Bomp Bah Bomp in the Orchestra"). Such important historical figures as Bach, Haydn, Duke Ellington and violin craftsman Antonio Stradivari are also introduced. Koscielniak expertly integrates text and art to convey all this information; the pages are busy but not cluttered, piquing interest with carefully selected detail. Close-up sketches show, for instance, a bassoon's double reed or how a piston valve works on a brass instrument. Watercolor wash in muted earth-toned shades bolsters the assured ink drawings, which seem both precise and spontaneous. Endpapers display a rogue's gallery of instruments, grouped by type and period. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-5-In a similar but much more focused format than his Hear, Hear, Mr. Shakespeare (Houghton, 1998), Koscielniak describes the evolution of the modern symphony orchestra and the instruments that comprise it. An informative narrative occupies at least one side of each double-page spread. Watercolor and line fill the pages, providing an up-close look at a variety of musical instruments and methods of sound production. Text inserts and captions accompany the artwork, describing the development of the instruments and their parts, or providing other related anecdotal information. The upbeat, whimsical drawings contrast with the rather formal narrative, which sometimes makes odd assumptions about readers' level of knowledge. Tempo is defined, for example, but not ensembles. The author covers a lot of ground here, perhaps too much, but most youngsters will learn something new. A fine complement to music-education programs.Corinne Camarata, Port Washington Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Story of the Incredible Orchestra: An Introduction to Musical Instruments and the Symphony Orchestra | [
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15,699 | 0 | PreSchool-Grade 2?Elephants swim gracefully, holding their trunks out of the water as snorkels. But what do other animals do? Sixteen wonderfully diverse animals, each with its own way of dealing with water, plunge, paddle, and propel themselves across the double-page spreads. Richly textured, full-color paper collages are accompanied by short rhyming sentences. "Hippos sink to the bottom to sleep. Wildebeests wade where the water's not deep." The point here: there are many ways to swim. "How about you?" readers are asked at the end. Notes illuminating further facts about each animal's water habits follow. The writing is clear, straightforward, and will stimulate further interest. However, the arbitrary use of male and female pronouns seems forced. "An elephant swims with her whole body," and "seven minutes after a baby wildebeest is born she can run." Armadillos and polar bears are referred to as "he." Nevertheless, the writing is sound and the beauty of the collages alone make this a welcome addition to any collection.?Lisa Wu Stowe, Great Neck Library, NYCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Ages 3^-6. The big draw in this simple yet extremely clever introduction to animals and the way they respond to water is the artwork--stunning paper collages that feature animals in the water. There's only one line of text per page ("Kangaroos swim, but their babies stay dry" ), with the rest of the page being taken up with the shapely cutouts that have so much texture you want to reach out and touch them. Elephants, a squid, pelicans, and a polar bear are just a few of the creatures that make an appearance. Perhaps the most impressive is the tiger, which really looks ready to pounce. An appended section of notes gives a little more information about the animals and their water habits ("A ring of strong muscles keeps the opening to the [kangaroo's] pouch closed tightly" ). A delight from start to finish. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.; Title: Elephants Swim (Sandpiper Books) | [
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