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27,600 | 1 | "Teachers of fairy-tale units will love the subtle teaching of newspaper content and layout. A must for every fairy-tale collection." - Kirkus Reviews"Through articles, opinion pieces, and even sports and international pages, several issues of the Hidden Forest News provide the scoop on Jack and the Beanstalk and report on an Italian toymaker who has gone missing while searching for his puppet/son and a race between a hare and a tortoise." - From School Library Journal"As with the previous books, the fun is in following familiar characters as they interact with one another and play out their well-known roles." - Horn Book"Extra! Extra! By Alma Flor Ada (Atheneum, ages five to eight) gives all the scoops on fairy tale news as presented in the newspaper." - Nugget"Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Lots of interesting stories in these newspapers!" - Booktalksublishing a book is always a long process, but sometimes it can be a VERY long process. That was the case of my latest book: Extra! Extra! Fairy-Tale News from Hidden Forest. Due to a series of mishaps, it took 9 long years to go from a manuscript to a book. But, now rejoicing in the great art of Leslie Tryon, it was worth the wait. This is a book I have gotten to like and love more each day...because it was born out of my love for newspaper -granddaughter of two newspaper men that I am- and because I believe that while fun and entertainment it will give children an opportunity to see two sides of an argument, and also to learn to read critically. When a giant beanstalk appears in Hidden Forest the town gets divided between those who feel that anything different is a menace that should be eliminated, and want to chop down the beanstalk immediately, and those who propose that there may be richness in diversity...You can read Leslie Tryon's reflections about the creation of the Hidden Forest series in the chapter she wrote for Alma Flor Ada and You, volume II published by Libraries Unlimited in the series The Author and You. ; Title: Extra! Extra!: Fairy-Tale News from Hidden Forest | [
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27,601 | 2 | Kindergarten-Grade 3--A young narrator opens this story about her grandmother with an anecdote about the legendary Josh Gibson, a Negro League player who once hit a baseball so hard in Pittsburgh that it landed during his game in Philadelphia the next day. That was the day Grandmama was born. Her father brought a Louisville slugger to the hospital and vowed that his daughter would "make baseballs fly, just like Josh Gibson." She became as good a player as the boys on the Maple Grove All-Stars, and sometimes she was invited to practice with them. When her cousin hurt his arm during a game, Grandmama got her chance to hear the cheers as she ran the bases, "stealing home." Peck's well-designed, richly colored pastel artwork, which shows people with emotion and depth, is clearly the highlight of the book. Young Grandmama, in yellow pedal pushers or a pink dress, stands out among the boys' white uniforms and the burnt orange chest protectors of the catcher and umpire. A close-up at the end shows the narrator holding the very ball her grandmother hit, as the older woman looks on, her hand on a photo of the team. Information about Hall of Famer Gibson is appended. Although the story is slight, it imparts the message that a girl can succeed at a "boy's game" if she sets her mind to it.--Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.PreS-Gr. 2. Johnson pays tribute to Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson in this poetic picture book about a girl who longs to play ball. The narrator is a young girl, who tells her grandmother's story. Grandmama's father, a die-hard Gibson fan, teaches his daughter to play baseball, even though there were no teams for girls in the 1940s. When her cousin Danny is injured in a game, Grandmama fills in. Wearing her "pink dress with a white bow," she bats and catches "just like Josh Gibson," earning cheers that she still cherishes. Johnson tempers what could have been a sentimental tale with Grandmama's contagious enthusiasm and sense of empowerment, and her text has a baseball announcer's suspenseful rhythm: "the balls sailed away, sailed away, gone." Peck's angular pastels, while occasionally awkward in the details, skillfully capture the nostalgic sports action and celebration as well as the pride the girl feels in Grandmama's accomplishments. A closing note offers a brief, nicely documented biography of Gibson. Gillian EngbergCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Just Like Josh Gibson | [
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27,602 | 0 | Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novel Missing May received the Newbery Medal. She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Visit her at CynthiaRylant.com.; Title: Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers | [
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27,603 | 0 | Every way you look, chaos reigns in Busytown! The phones are on the blink, so everyone must write letters, says Mayor Fox. But apparently, the folks in this town have grown too reliant on the phone system. Pretty soon, while P.S. Pig and Postman Pig valiantly try to deliver all the mail, people become completely distracted by the change in their daily routine. Fruit stands are overturned, hot-dog cars crash into pickle-mobiles, and even Sergeant Murphy isn't paying attention to the major pileup he's contributing to by reading his letter while driving.Fans of Richard Scarry's lively stories populated by pigs and worms and dogs and cats will love entering the fray as Busytown gets busier than ever! This 3-D pop-up has art, flaps, and pull-tabs on all sides, so kids can wander around the town just like real citizens. Young readers will spend hours exploring Busytown and trying to trace the routes of each character. We're probably preaching to the choir here, but don't miss Scarry's classic, Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever, or any of his many other picture-book delights. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie CoulterA new line of novelty books featuring characters created by Richard Scarry launches with Richard Scarry's All Around Busytown. Busytown has rarely looked busier than on these five spreads. Designed to be viewed from all sides, they include an abundance of paper engineering, from pop-ups, flaps and pull-tabs to cardstock spinners. The story line here centers on P.S. Pig and Postman Pig's heroic delivery of an unprecedented amount of mail. (S&S/Little Simon, $14.95 10p ages 4-7 ISBN 0-689-82573-0; Jan.)Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Richard Scarry'S All Around Busytown! Pop-Up : A 3D Popup Book | [
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27,604 | 15 | "Yawn./ Hug the pillow./ A cozy, curled lump in the quilt./ Mama whispers, `Snow day, child.'/ The quilt bursts open./ Is it.../ Could it.../ Would it be?" To a child, perhaps no two words inspire greater joy than Plourde's (Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud) titular phrase. For the family freed from school, released from work and not tethered to the television set the day is defined by its events. They eat "plumpy pumpkin muffins" on a "yummy snow day"; watch the "wild, whirling wind" on a "fierce snow day"; and enjoy "checkers and chuckles" on a "playful snow day." Plourde's snappy verse, with its brief phrases and effective use of onomatopoeia, convey the active pace from wake-up to wind-down. Takahashi's (Beach Play) bold acrylics feature the wide-eyed, exuberant brother and sister in crisp winter landscapes and cozy scenes by the hearth. Ages 3-6. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.reS-Gr 1-An appealing succession of activities on a snowy day results in a memorable family adventure. Beginning with a small girl awakened by her mother to a winter wonderland, this unpretentious book is a series of vignettes filled with the many diversions of a snowstorm that interrupt the normal flow of daily life. Various activities take place inside and out on this momentous occasion: reading books, playing cards, sledding, shoveling, eating, and sitting in front of a roaring fire. All of the senses are satisfied in this simple tale of old-fashioned fun. Onomatopoetic wordplay reveals all the varied sounds that are part of the unforgettable storm, while the changeable day is defined by numerous adjectives: yummy, fierce, playful, bundly, shivery, snuggly, and sleepy, to name a few. Warm, clear illustrations in acrylic reveal a close, loving family of four enjoying one another's company during a special day packed with shared amusements. The large, double-spread paintings make the book ideal for group reading. The story will evoke pleasant memories in adults and heighten the seasonal enjoyment in children.Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WICopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Snow Day | [
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27,605 | 3 | Tad Hills is the author and illustrator of My Furry Friends, also published by Simon & Schuster. He lives in New York with his wife and two cats Jasper and Tiger.; Title: Knock, Knock! Who's There?: My First Book of Knock Knock Jokes | [
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27,606 | 11 | Grade 3 UpThe introduction to this delightful collection explains clearly how stories develop and change over time; in fact, the two storytellers heard most of these amusing tales when they were children and have retold them many times since in their own unique styles. Each retelling is accompanied by a brief description of its origin. Included are tales about dancing goats, a turtle that outwits a deer, and a beetle that declares war on a cow; all of the selections are peppered with energetic dialogue and witty detail. Children will relish their humor, especially if read aloud, and teens will also enjoy this lively presentation. Traditional story beginnings and endings are provided in Spanish and translated into English, including one foreboding opening: In a land where you will go but from where you will never return. Four Latino artists provide an interesting variety of illustration. Featured images include a large goat head in a vegetable garden, a large farmer on a very small burro, and a wolf and fox all decked out in finery dancing together. The last page provides information about the authors and illustrators. Many libraries may already have Lucia M. Gonzalezs Seor Cats Romance (Scholastic, 2001), but only one tale is common to both collections. Make room on your shelves for this excellent book.Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.The long chatty notes are as interesting as the 12 folktales in this anthology of stories retold by Ada and Campoy and illustrated by well-known Latino artists. The authors celebrate Hispanic culture and its many roots--indigenous, African, Spanish, Arab, Hebrew--assembling tales from as far afield as Spain and Idaho, and showing how the tales have transformed and influenced one another, and even how Ada and Campoy have changed them. The folklore universals are here: the kid who defeats his mean older brothers; the huge monster routed by an ant; and more. In "Blancaflor," the evil king's daughter and the young prince fulfill three tasks together and prove the power of love. The spacious book design will work well for both independent reading and reading aloud, and each story is illustrated with one or more full-page pictures in styles that match the stories--from busy and filled to bursting to light and airy. Hazel RochmanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection | [
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27,607 | 3 | In this giddy, cumulative tale, a hiccuping girl turns to each member of her family for a cure. Her brother shouts, "Boo!," and her sister recommends drinking water "from the wrong side of a cup." Nothing works. "So there I was, scared to death, in a wet shirt, wearing a paper bag...," says the disappointed narrator, interrupted by a sudden "Hic!" Such a silly condition calls for an equally outlandish antidote, a tongue-twister provided by the girl's grandmother: "Hiccup snickup/ Rear right straight up./ Three drops in the teacup/ Will cure the hiccups." Grandma, an unconventional sort in a backward baseball cap, mimes the nonsense words (sticking her "rear right straight up" in a hilarious way), and then the whole family performs the rhyme, three times fast. Long (When Papa Snores) keeps the first-person narration short and snappy, and voice-bubble dialogue maintains the boisterous pace. Wickstrom (The Big Night Out) gives the gangly, noodle-armed characters lots of goofy personality: the girl's mother sports a spiky New Wave hairdo, the sister prefers flower-child braids and the brothers dress as a pirate and a doctor. By the end of the book the afflicted girl has recovered, but everyone else is gasping, "Hic!" This ridiculous remedy is a must for the medicine cabinet. Ages 5-9.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.PreS-Gr 1-A girl with a stubborn case of hiccups takes Grandma's advice: say, "Hiccup snickup/Rear right straight up/Three drops in the teacup/Will cure the hiccups." It doesn't work at first, though, so the child asks her mother (try a paper bag over your head while eating an apple), sister (try drinking water out of the wrong side of a cup), her brothers, and Dad. The remedies are layered on in a manner reminiscent of a cumulative folk tale, which will tickle young listeners' sense of the ridiculous. Grandma's rhyme will also lend itself to storytime use with suitably silly participation. Meanwhile, Wickstrom's paintings add flair and comedy to the overall effect. Grandma herself is especially wonderful, with a backward baseball cap, arms and legs like noodles, and high-heeled green boots. While not an essential purchase, it is fun.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, ILCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Hiccup Snickup | [
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27,608 | 6 | Why is Eloise, 6-year-old resident of the Plaza Hotel in New York City, going to Paris? She and Nanny were summoned by a cablegram from Eloise's mother, and, as we all know, "If you are going to Paris France / you have to turn into French and absolutely go wild / and put adhesive tape on you / and fall down a lot and sklathe the window / and stretch into the curtain and..." Ahh, the deliciously mad logic of Eloise. She promptly gets on the phone to tell everyone--including room service--that she is Paris bound. There's so much to do--shots, passport pictures, packing ("Here's what else you have to take / Everything"), and of course the endless good-byes. Fortunately, "Sabena is the only airline / that will allow you to travel with a turtle" so Skipperdee comes along for the ride. At last, ils arrivent!Hilary Knight captures familiar Parisian sights in his delicately hewn pen-and-ink illustrations of everything from the Arc de Triomphe to the Seine to the Champs lyses to outdoor cafs. Children will study every detail of each rawther extraordinaire illustration, from Weenie's snout (such as it is) peeking out from under the hotel bed to the bandy-legged, bunchy-shirted Eloise with her necklace of champagne corks. Even if children don't understand half of the quirks and language directed toward precocious grownups ("Langoustines make very good fingernails"), they'll find more than enough to delight them down to their very toes. Adults, of course, will also revel in this fascinatingly eccentric romp. And if you know anyone who loves (or will love) Paris, this book is the perfect bon voyage gift. Eloise in Paris was first published in 1957, the sequel to the original Eloise, and is every bit as wondrous. If you're in search of more Eloise (and who isn't really?), don't miss The Absolutely Essential Eloise, the original Eloise book with an additional scrapbook that tells the whole story of this impish character and her devoted creators. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1957 by Kay Thompson. Reproduced with permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.) (Ages 5 to 105) --Karin SnelsonKay Thompson (19091998) was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger, and coach of many MGM musicals in the 1940s. The Eloise character grew out of the voice of a precocious six-year-old that Miss Thompson put on to amuse her friends. Collaborating with Hilary Knight on what was an immediate bestseller, Kay Thompson became a literary sensation when Eloise was published in 1955. The book has sold more than two million copies to date. Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight created four more Eloise books, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmas, Eloise in Moscow, and Eloise Takes a Bawth.; Title: Eloise in Paris | [
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27,609 | 2 | In this absorbing volume, Wong (A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems) and Paschkis (Play All Day) examine the familiar yet surprising qualities of dreams. The poems recall a weightless feeling of flying, an anxious sense of being late or an unexpected visit from a dead or living acquaintance ("I had forgotten you, friend./ Is that why you came/ into my dream?"). "Gently Down the Stream" alludes to the phrase "life is but a dream" and describes swimming in clear water; the accompanying illustration pictures a sinuous orange-and-turquoise fish with a peaceful human face. Wong seldom abides scary dreams, but she does include "a news-at-seven true nightmare," which Paschkis supplements with beastly imagery of snakes and howling sleepers. Paschkis's gouaches at times suggest an illuminated manuscript, elements from medieval tapestries or elaborate Arts and Crafts-era wallpaper. The artist responds to each poem with a multicolor image framed within a monochromatic, repetitive motif. She creates a host of weird creatures, from a hunched man in a long-nosed white mask to a turnip-headed being with pea-pod arms; to indicate the mysterious workings of the imagination, she shows strange flowers sprouting from a restful figure. Paschkis's swirling imagery and Wong's quiet yet haunting words skillfully simulate the reveries they recount. Ages 7-10. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 3-6-In the title poem, Wong compares the bed in which dreams happen with the tangled roots and blooms of a garden bed. The 14 poems that follow are about the people who appear in dreams, eating, swimming, flying, running, and falling. The poems use sound qualities-repetition, alliteration, and occasional rhyme-to capture each dream. Even poems about nightmares and anxieties are couched in gentle language that evokes wonder and thoughtfulness rather than fear. Paschkis's paintings highlight the gardening metaphor. The selections are set against background frames of earth-toned colors, filled with animals, humans, and plants reminiscent of the organic creatures of Hieronymus Bosch. The frames are symmetrically balanced to enclose a small painting on the left-hand page and a similarly shaped space for the poem on the right. Pictures of children of many cultural backgrounds add to the universal quality of the book, as does the last poem, "There Is a Place," which suggests that a storyteller lies inside each of us and comes out as we sleep. Children will enjoy capturing their own dreams and giving them shape and meaning after they have experienced these poems. This is a particularly fine collection for libraries in which young writers and painters are encouraged.Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Night Garden: Poems From The World Of Dreams | [
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27,610 | 0 | Ahoy there, matey! All buccaneers to the poop deck or ye'll be walkin' the plank! Aaarrgh! Author and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld always wondered why pirates' pants are so raggedy on the bottom edges, and what makes pirates so crabby all the time, and why it is that earrings were macho on pirates way before they became cool for any other guys. So he decided it was up to him to write the final word on piratedom. This encyclopedia of spectacularly unscientific, unfounded facts about those nasty brigands of the sea will thoroughly satisfy the curiosity of landlubbin' vermin and pirate wannabes alike. Complete with name charts (pick one word from each of three columns to come up with a name like Blind Tooth Willy or One Boot Kidd), diagrams of swashbuckler fashion, and cutaway views of pirate ships, this volume is chock full of unforgettable and indispensable details of the buccaneering life. Did you know, for example, that pirates are very clumsy--why else would they always end up with eye patches and hooks? And the skull and crossbones was not discovered inside the desk of a seventh-grader in De Kalb, Illinois, as is commonly believed. It was Leonardo "Peg Leg" da Vinci who invented the design. Confused by all this technical lingo? Check out the Official Pirate Glossary in the back. Lichtenheld's hilarious illustrations and outrageous nonsense makes for a delicious reading experience for swashbucklers of all ages. (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie CoulterNewcomer Lichtenheld's picture book spoof of a reference on all things piratical will shiver the timbers and tickle the funnybones of those salts, both young and old, with a penchant for silliness. Waltzing through a compendium of merry myths about the terrors of the high seas, Lichtenheld sends up everything from buccaneers' wardrobes (holey boots "ventilated to prevent toe crud"; the origins of "scaredy pants") to their surly looks ("the Pirate Sneer") and their loot ("gold coins, jewelry, and high-end Japanese electronics"), all to mirthful visual accompaniment. He traces the evolution of the pirate flag (the "1620 Hot Dog and Crossbones" was an abject failure, due to the fact that it was "not very scary"), and provides a handy do-it-yourself pirate name chart (because the pirates are "not going to let you in with a name like Nathan or Ashley"). The off-the-cuff commentary maintains a rapid-fire, gag-a-minute pace that dips into the kind of crudeness certain youngsters crave (polka dots on pirates' hankie headscarves "are actually old booger stains"), and the jaunty cartoon illustrations, rendered against a parchment-like backdrop in ink, colored pencil, gouache, pastels "and ear wax," as the fore to aft. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Everything I Know About Pirates | [
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27,611 | 14 | Halloween is coming, and Sylvie Ann wants to make a pumpkin moonshine (or jack-o'-lantern), so she sets out across her Grandmummy and Grandpawp's cornfields to find "the very finest and largest pumpkin." Once she finds it, the problem is how to get it home. This fine, large pumpkin is so big, Sylvie Ann can't carry it. So she rolls it across the field, like a snowball in winter, until she reaches the edge of the field where the ground slopes down. And suddenly, the pumpkin begins running away down the hill! Can Sylvie catch it before it frightens the goats, terrifies the hens, enrages the geese, and bumps into Mr. Hemmelskamp who is carrying a pail full of whitewash?Those who don't know the denouement to this more than 60-year-old classic by two-time Caldecott Honor artist Tasha Tudor will not be surprised to find a happy ending to this exquisite, gentle story. Tudor's delicate orange-framed watercolors of a rural autumn and a bonneted little girl speak to a softer side of Halloween--one that is not overtaken by werewolves, blood, and gore, but is a reminder of the season in all its fresh abundance. Tasha Tudor has over 90 books to her credit, including The Dolls' Christmas and Caldecott Honor book, 1 Is One. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterTasha Tudor (19152008) was a Caldecott artist with more than ninety books to her credit. She was known across the world for her glowing watercolor depictions of the American rural scene of a century ago and for her exquisite paintings of children, flowers, and animals. Tasha Tudor was also the illustrator of A Childs Garden of Verses, The Night Before Christmas, The Springs of Joy, A Tale for Easter, A Time to Keep, The Dolls Christmas, All for Love, Pumpkin Moonshine, A is for Annabelle, and 1 is One, a Caldecott Honor Book.; Title: Pumpkin Moonshine | [
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27,612 | 2 | Hungry from the lack of appetizers (Mother doesn't believe in them) one Chanukah, Uncle Izzy and Uncle Shecky start arguing over what kind of car cut them off recently, a Buick or a Ford. Shecky shakes a pickle so hard it bounces off Izzy's forehead, and the food fight is on. Borscht, chicken, sour cream, even the chocolate Chanukah gelt--nothing is sacred. But when one last latke soars out the window, it just keeps flying! Soon news reporters and FBI agents are swarming the house, seeking the source of the mysterious UFO. The family is stranded in the house, with almost no food, until everything blows over.In Arthur Yorinks's fantastically wacky version of the traditional Chanukah story, the remaining plate of latkes, which, in that crowd, should have lasted "about seven and a half minutes," lasts for eight days! An all-star (or mostly-star) cast of actors and illustrators were "cast" for this unusual book, staged and photographed by Yorinks and Paul Colin. Newbery- and Caldecott-award winning illustrator William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble) provided the background art, as Yorinks and Colin digitally transferred photos of the posed actors into the illustrations. This hilarious take on the Jewish holiday, while wildly offbeat, remains true to the spirit of the Chanukah miracle; ultimately, the fighting stops and forgiveness reigns. (Ages 4 to 10) --Emilie CoulterIf the Three Stooges had played the sons of Yiddish-speaking immigrants,they might have stepped into this slick shtick. The plot features feuding relatives who start a food fight on Hanukkah and pitch a latke out the window; the latke (don't ask) is mistaken for a UFO. Characters "plotz" and "fress" and "shmooze"Aeverything but play canasta. Steig's work is far in the backgroundAliterally. Using digital techniques, Yorinks (Hey, Al) with Colin treats Steig's drawings as a theater set and collages in photos of "actors" hamming it up (you should pardon the expression). With "parts" dealt out to Steig and his wife, artists Maurice Sendak and Vladimir Radunsky as well as children's publishing folk David Saylor and Judith Rovenger, the book has the tone of an in-joke, with an equally limited appeal. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Flying Latke | [
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27,613 | 2 | Look's (Love as Strong as Ginger) buoyant picture book invites readers to peek at a Chinese-American family's preparations for a very special party. Older Sister (aka "Jen, Jenny, but never Jennifer"), who professes to be the lady of the house, rises early with GninGnin ("never Grandmother or Granny or Grandma") to get ready for brother Henry's first-moon, or one-month birthday. While the rest of the family sleeps, GninGnin and Jen bustle about cooking traditional Chinese dishes (pigs' feet and ginger soup, eggs dyed a lucky red) and writing good-luck messages in "ink, the real stuff, which GninGnin makes by rubbing an ink pebble with a little water." Soon, Mother joins the team and "cleans like a tornado going through every room." At last, GninGnin and Jen put on their favorite dresses and celebrate with visiting relatives. Jen is an entertaining narrator, a plucky helper filled with a refreshing confidence in her important role in the family. Through her eyes and her childlike, evocative descriptions readers learn more about Chinese culture as well as enjoy a warm, gently humorous story with universal themes. Heo (Yoshi's Feast) matches Jen's perky wit with her whimsical perspectives and energetic pencil-oil-collage compositions. Characters with smiling faces and happy eyes that "look like commas" and tender scenes between family members convey joy on every page. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.PreS-Gr 2-In this cheerful, intergenerational story about a Chinese-American family, Jenny's baby brother is having his first-moon (one month) birthday party. Even though she doesn't believe that he deserves the fuss (all he does is sleep, eat, and cry), Jenny and her GninGnin prepare delicacies like pigs' feet and ginger soup and dyed red eggs for good luck. With pen and ink, they write Henry's Chinese name and good-luck words on red cloth in calligraphy for everyone to read. While her grandmother is cooking, the girl gets into mischief, drawing a spaceship and dinosaur on the floor in ink. Mother cleans like a tornado; Baba fixes the car and picks up her grandfather and the favorite Grandaunties for the party. Jenny and her cousins eat, jump on the beds, and peek into Henry's red gift envelope. When all is done, GninGnin praises her granddaughter, who reflects on the day, deciding that baby Henry is not so bad after all and that one day, he will be glad that she was in charge of his party. Lively, childlike illustrations are rendered in pencil, oil, and collage and emphasize the frantic pace of party preparations. The Matisselike art comes to life through the use of patterns and interestingly shaped objects. Figures are drawn as if by Jenny herself. All in all, the busy pages capture perfectly the happy mood and bustle of Henry's first-moon birthday.Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville Public Schools, Parlin, NJCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Henry's First-Moon Birthday | [
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27,614 | 14 | Two-time Caldecott honor artist Tasha Tudor invites readers to celebrate the many joys of family life throughout the year. Although her verses and quaint ink and watercolor illustrations depict Tudor's signature idyllic New England scenes, her embrace of fundamentals such as friendship, togetherness, and fun are universal. From January to December, each month is marked by four pages of illustrations (black and white spreads alternating with earthy watercolors) with a short verse: "March promises / the hope of spring, / In swampy places peepers sing." Tudor's gentle humor comes through in such images as October's drawing of three children running from a graveyard as a be-sheeted child flails in a ghostly manner while others crouch, giggling behind the stones. First published in 1957, this reprint of Tasha Tudor's old-fashioned yet timeless classic will be cherished year-round by a whole new generation of readers. (Ages 3 to 8) --Emilie CoulterFrom snowy hills in "January [which] brings us coasting/ Taffy pulls and apple roasting" to December, which "brings glad Christmas cheer," Tasha Tudor's Around the Year alternates between antique watercolors and b&w drawings. The Caldecott Honor artist frames the comforting verse with old-fashioned landscapes and quaint country scenes, first published in 1957.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Around the Year | [
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27,615 | 11 | Grade 3-8-Nelson illustrates the noted poet's "Mood Indigo," from her collection entitled A Daughter's Geography. The book begins with the opening lines of the poem set against a pale gray page: "it hasn't always been this way/ellington was not a street." Opposite, a full-page painting shows several people walking beneath a green sign that reads Ellington St. A young African-American woman carrying a red umbrella is prominently featured, and readers will soon understand that she is the child narrator, all grown up (the resemblance is striking). In the poem, Shange recalls her childhood when her family entertained many of the "-men/who changed the world," including Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Ray Barretto, Dizzy Gillespie, "Sonny Til" Tilghman, Kwame Nkrumah, and Duke Ellington. Both the words and the rich, nostalgic illustrations are a tribute to these visionaries. Done in oils, the skillfully rendered portraits emphasize facial expressions, clothing, and physical positioning on the page, and provide unmistakable insight into the persona of each individual. Although presented in picture-book format, the poem is sophisticated, and therefore it may need to be read aloud and explained to younger readers. A biographical sketch of each man appears at the end, along with the poem reprinted on a single page.Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Gr. 3-5. The text of this picture book for older children is a paean to Shange's family home and the exciting men who gathered there, everyone from W. E. B. DuBois and Paul Robeson to Dizzy Gillispie and Duke Ellington. Taken from Shange's 1983 poem "Mood Indigo," the words here recall, from a child's perspective, what it was like to listen "in the company of men / politics as necessary as collards / music even in our dreams." The evocative words are more than matched by Nelson's thrilling, oversize oil paintings, a cross between family photo album and stage set, featuring this group of extraordinary men interacting--playing cards, singing, discussing. The girl who is always watching them is, unfortunately, portrayed as very young, perhaps three or four, although she appears somewhat older on the beguiling jacket art. Preschoolers are not the audience for this, and despite the helpful notes that introduce the men mentioned in the poem, even older children will need further explanations (e.g., where are the famous women?). Depicting the narrator as a child closer in age to the target audience would have helped bridge the gap between a poem written for adults and a book for children. Still, with words and pictures that are so enticing, this will be embraced by many. Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Ellington Was Not a Street | [
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27,616 | 11 | Shoeless Joe Jackson became a baseball legend by batting the highest average by a rookie in his first full season in the major leagues and for having once played a game in his stocking feet when his new shoes were giving him blisters. But in this folksy, fictionalized picture book by rookie author Phil Bildner and illustrator C.F. Payne (The Remarkable Farkle McBride, by John Lithgow), readers are introduced to the real reason Shoeless Joe became such a great hitter. Falling into a slump, Joe goes to a bat-making friend, searching for the perfect bat. Black Betsy is the one: 36 inches long, and weighing 48 ounces, it was made from the north side of a hickory tree and rubbed down with tobacco juice to turn it black and mean looking. Bildner's down-home language, packed with lots of "I reckons" and "ain'ts," captures the early 1900s era, as do Payne's grainy illustrations, verging on caricatures. An afterword provides additional information on this appealing character from sports history. (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie CoulterOne of baseball's greats receives star treatment in this compelling book. Shortly before "Shoeless Joe" Jackson (so named for having played a game in his stocking feet) joins the minors, he falls into a slump, and out of desperation ends up in the workshop of "the finest bat smith in all of South Carolina." Joe names the bat Ol' Charlie Ferguson makes for him Betsy ("Pitchers are going to honor and respect this bat the way they respect the flag Betsy Ross created," the hero states), but the slump continues. So does the partnership between the two men as Ol' Charlie refines the bat's design it's remade from the "north side of a hickory tree" and rubbed down with tobacco juice so it will be "dark and scary-looking" and Joe learns how to massage it with sweet oil and keep it wrapped in cotton ("Cotton will make Black Betsy feel right at home in Cleveland," Ol' Charlie tells him). Finally Betsy takes him to the major leagues and his finest season ever. Rookie Bildner hits a home run here, zeroing in on the bat as just the right lens through which to view his picture book biography. He strews the conversational prose with appealing colloquialisms in a catchy refrain ("sure as the sky is blue and the grass is green"). Payne's (The Remarkable Farkle McBride) portraits take on a tall-tale quality suffused with nostalgia; his strong-featured characters offer a riveting blend of humor and gravity. An afterword fills in the details of Jackson's life and career, including the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Ages 5-8.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy | [
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27,617 | 0 | Andronik (Quest for a King: Searching for the Real King Arthur) pieces together a thoughtful biography of "ancient Egypt's only successful female king," who ruled in the 1400s B.C. The heavy amount of text and sophisticated discussion of lineage and royal customs make this picture book best suited to older readers. After the death of her father, Tuthmosis I, a powerful pharaoh, 12-year-old Hatshepsut married her only surviving sibling, half-brother Tuthmosis II, who died within several years. Hatshepsut then became the acting ruler of Egypt, allegedly until Tuthmosis's son (by a member of his harem) reached an age to assume this role. Yet she soon thereafter crowns herself pharaoh. Andronik discloses some intriguing anecdotes and details, among them the facts that Hatshepsut referred to herself in her writing as both "he" and "she," and dressed in male clothing at official ceremonies, even attaching a gold "beard" to her chin. After her death, Hatshepsut's nephew (Tuthmosis III) and successor changed the royal records to make it appear as though he had succeeded his father directly and ordered statues and wall carvings bearing her image destroyed. Carefully mingling fact and well-reasoned conjecture, the author shapes an absorbing story, helpfully including pronunciation keys throughout the text. Rendered in alkyd on paper, Fiedler's (The Crystal Heart) stately pictures emulate the feel of ancient Egyptian artwork and make this historical figure all the more real and intriguing. Ages 7-10.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 3-6-A readable and appealing picture-book biography of Egypt's only female pharaoh. Initially the regent for her nephew, Tuthmosis III, Hatshepsut gained control and took over the throne when he was still a child. She declared herself ruler, and wore men's clothing and an artificial beard. She used the title of pharaoh and referred to herself as she and he. Her reign was one of peace and prosperity and although she did much to improve her country, Tuthmosis tried to obliterate all traces of her existence after her death. Historians have found enough evidence to document her life, however, and the mystery monarch comes to life in this well-written, intriguing book. Andronik's factual style is peppered with anecdotes and personal tidbits that make Hatshepsut's story a memorable one. Fiedler's rich-toned alkyd paintings fill single- and double-page spreads with stylized renderings of Egyptian life, artwork, and scenery. Text and pictures work together to offer a complete and detailed life story. This fine biography provides some answers to an ancient puzzle.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NYCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Hatshepsut, His Majesty, Herself | [
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27,618 | 11 | Young Alamayu's bravery goes unrewarded by a selfish rich man until the boy's clever sister puts things to rights. "Exceptional watercolors of Ethiopian mountains and mountain people quicken Kurtz's revision of a well-known tale," said PW. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Jane Kurtzwas born in Portland, Oregon, but when she was two years old, her parents decided to move to Ethiopia, where she spent most of her childhood. Jane speaks about being an author at schools and conferencesin all but eleven of the United States, so far, and such places as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, France, Germany, Romania, England, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Japan. She helped start Ethiopia Reads (EthiopiaReads.org), a nonprofit that is planting the first libraries for children in Ethiopia. She is the author of many books for children.; Title: Fire on the Mountain (Aladdin Picture Books) | [
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27,619 | 0 | PreSchool-Grade 3-Inventive illustrations depict the true story of the duck, sheep, and rooster that were "ballooning's first brave passengers" when the Montgolfiers tested their hot-air balloon in 1783. The first three spreads set the stage with lively conversational descriptions of the scene before the balloon takes off. A dramatic shift on the fourth page turn reveals the befuddled animal passengers as they ascend. Most of the remaining text is wordless, with occasional "quacks," "baas," and "cock-a-doodle-doos." With vibrant colors and varied use of panels, full-page illustrations, and spreads, Priceman paces the tale perfectly. An early four-panel scene showing the balloon at various heights while the animals try to figure out what's going on is priceless. So is the spread in which all three become attached to windblown laundry. The voyagers' progress is easy to follow, and events along the way are delightfully rendered. A time line on the endpapers fills in some of the historical data, but this "(mostly) true" version (which the author "heardfrom a duck, who heard it from a sheep, who heard it from a rooster a long, long time ago") is just the way it should have happened. Sarah Wilson's Three in a Balloon (Scholastic, 1990; o.p.) covers the same event nicely, but this intriguing historical episode stands up to varied presentations, as Priceman's dynamic visual storytelling ably demonstrates.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.K-Gr. 3. Combining fact and fancy, -Priceman tells the story of the successful 1783 liftoff of a hot-air balloon, invented by the Montgolfier brothers, a flight made even more special because of its passengers: a duck, a sheep, and a rooster. Priceman sets the scene in several picture-text spreads, then segues into a nearly wordless visual narrative of the animals' comedic encounters with a clothesline, a boy with bow and arrow, a flock of birds, and more, capturing everything in buoyant artwork full of swirls and clever details (the balloon moves past animal-shaped clouds). The history, highlighted in an illustrated time line at the end of the book, takes a backseat to the humorous antics of the animals. As for the truth? Priceman claims she "heard this part of the story from a duck, who heard it from a sheep, who heard it from a rooster a long, long time ago." This differs considerably from Anik McGrory's Mouton's Impossible Dream (2000); both books employ aerial perspectives and focus on the animals, but Priceman's whimsical art is much livelier. Julie CumminsCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor Book) | [
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27,620 | 11 | In a Chinese village, a drought scorches the countryside and starves the people. Hai Li Bu, a hunter, tries to find food. One day, he saves a small snake from a crane, and in return the snake brings him to the bottom of the sea, where the snake's father, the Dragon King of the Sea, lives. The Dragon King offers rubies and emeralds as a reward, but Hai Li Bu wants only to understand the language of animals so that he can be a better hunter and feed his village. The Dragon King grants the request on the condition that there will never be a whisper of what has transpired. This agreement works until Hai Li Bu overhears the birds and animals chattering about a huge flood that will destroy the village. The hunter tries to warn the people, but they don't believe. Hai Li Bu finally realizes that to save the villagers he must tell them how he knows about the flood. Heroically, he recounts the whole story--as he slowly turns to stone. Casanova, who lists several sources for the story, tells the tale in a dignified yet moving way that is complemented by the stark artwork. Arid-looking, dun-colored paper is the background for Young's masterful brush strokes, which evoke the spirit of each spread. Fingers of color represent the quixotic climate that can burn or soak. With never a wasted line, Young brings to life the hunter, who in the final spread becomes one with the rocky landscape. And in the corner of each page is a bright red box with Chinese calligraphy that proclaims the essence of the tale: "suffer drought," "downpour," "trust." Ilene CooperCopyright American Library Association. All rights reservedThis felicitous retelling of a Chinese folktale is about a young hunter, Hai Li Bu, and the pact he makes with the Dragon King of the Sea, during a time of drought and famine. What give the book its great distinction are the spare ink illustrations with subtle color washes by illustrator Ed Young. The reader/viewer has the sense of having been transported to ancient China and seeing the story unfold through the eyes of a gifted Chinese scroll painter. A rare work of picture-book art. A 2000 Parents' Choice Gold Award.Reviewed by Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice 2000 -- From Parents' Choice; Title: The Hunter | [
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27,621 | 2 | When Libby is caught in her first lie to her mama, she makes a decision: "From now on, only the truth." Soon she's spreading the truth all over town--about the hole in her friend Ruthie May's sock, and the fact that Thomas didn't have lunch money and needed to borrow some from the teacher, and how old Miz Tusselbury's yard looks like a jungle. By now, no one is talking to Libby. Perplexed and glum, she turns to her mama for another lesson on telling the truth. But it isn't until Libby gets a small spoonful of her own medicine that she really grasps the difference between the right way and the wrong way to tell the truth.Children know just how difficult it is to find that balance between a lie and the honest-to-goodness truth. Award-winning author Patricia McKissack teams up with acclaimed illustrator Giselle Potter (Gabriella's Song, When Agnes Caws) to create a witty, touching story that will sound quite familiar to anyone who has ever struggled with just this quandary. Potter's unique, naive style is terrifically appealing, with her big-faced, highly expressive characters and gorgeous gouache and gesso colors. (Ages 5 to 10) --Emilie Coulter"Speak the truth and shame the devil," says Libby Louise Sullivan's mother after Libby Louise tells her a fib. Her own shame far outweighs the punishment dealt out by her mother, and Libby Louise vows, "From now on, only the truth." But the girl's strict enforcement of her own rule soon lands her in deep water. She alienates a host of people: her best friend by publicly pointing out a hole in her sock; a classmate by tattling on him; and a neighbor by critiquing her garden. McKissack (Let My People Go) thoroughly examines a common childhood problem--discerning when the truth helps and when it hurts--with homespun language and accessible situations. The intimate settings so integral to Potter's (Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!) folk-art style provide a fitting complement to the author's cozy community. Her depictions of an alternately astonished and contrite Libby Louise, who winds up feeling the sting of truth herself, will likely cause readers to recall their own chagrin in similar circumstances. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Honest-to-Goodness Truth | [
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27,622 | 14 | * “This arresting story of the first Christmas has a succinct, powerful, rhyming text and striking illustrations unlike any other version of the Nativity story, with art and words perfectly matched in an artistic tour de force. This unforgettable interpretation stands out as a bright, multifaceted star in the crowded constellation of Christmas Eve stories.” –Kirkus reviews (starred)* “This tender, poetic retelling of the age-old story takes the form of a whispered prayer as it highlights the nurturing given to babies of many species. The art and the words strike just the right tone of reverence and delight. A lovely offering.”—School Library Journal (starred)"In Thompson’s poetic, reverent text, two voices tell of the night Jesus was born. This peaceful ode to parental love is just right for bedtime reading. Bean’s digitally colored pencil illustrations portray the calm nighttime scenes in black, beige, dark gray-blue, and a sprinkling of white. The gentle words are beautifully matched by the strikingly composed art; both are infused with meaning and are powerful in their simplicity."--The Horn BookLauren Thompson is the author of several picture books, including the popular Mouse’s First series, Little Quack series, and the Wee Little series. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed The Apple Pie That Papa Baked as well as Leap Back Home to Me; Chew, Chew, Gulp!; and Hop, Hop, Jump! She lives with her husband and son in Brooklyn, New York.; Title: One Starry Night | [
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27,623 | 1 | Grade 4-7-Harlow's descriptive prose clearly evokes images of the Newfoundland coast and life in 1912, and she carefully incorporates folklore of the region into her story. Maggie, 12, is determined to keep her beloved Newfoundland, Sirius, in spite of a new law that bans all but sheepdogs from this sheep-raising community. The characters are drawn with a heavy hand and are either evil or good at the beginning. Maggie's determination makes her the most interesting and endearing character. Howard Rand, the wealthiest man in town, is the villain who champions the law that threatens Sirius's very existence. Obvious foreshadowing shows the canine's bravery and amazing abilities to perform rescues from raging sea conditions. How convenient that the dog is able to save Mr. Rand's older daughter and grandchild from almost certain death when the steamer they are on crashes into some rocks close to shore. At this point, Rand mellows, and he withdraws his opposition to Sirius. Even his nasty younger daughter, Maggie's nemesis, comes around in the end. It's unfortunate that the story and the changes in the mean characters are so predictable. Still, in spite of its shortcomings, the book will be a popular choice among readers who love dog stories.Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.In this stirring adventure, a girl and her dog save a ship full of stranded passengers in 1912 Newfoundland. Along with all the dogs not used for herding sheep, 12-year-old Maggie's big Newfoundland, Sirius, has been banned from the community. To save him from being shot, Maggie hides him in the woods. When a passenger ship founders off the coast during a storm and Sirius' swimming skills are needed for the rescue, Maggie risks her beloved dog's life. Containing many authentic details of life in a remote region in days gone by, this story is educational as well as exciting. Character development lags a little, but the relationship between the girl and her beloved dog is beautifully drawn, giving the book surefire appeal among dog-lovers as well as readers who like adventure. Debbie Carton; Title: Star in the Storm | [
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27,624 | 6 | PreS-Gr. 2. From the series that began with Let's Try It Out in the Air (2001) and Let's Try It Out in the Water (2001), this cheerful picture book encourages children to learn some basic principles of science and engineering through play. The short introductory note to parents, child-care providers, and teachers lists the concepts to be explored and required materials, such as modeling clay, building blocks, corrugated cardboard, tape, and plastic drinking straws. Lively illustrations in pen-and-ink, watercolor, and gouache show children experimenting with those building materials and having fun, an element that will encourage youngsters to try out the activities suggested in the simply written text. The closing page addresses adults again with practical suggestions for allowing children to discover the principles for themselves, even if they sometimes make mistakes. Not every child is headed for a career in civil engineering, but plenty of kids will enjoy the activities and, along the way, learn something about what makes buildings and bridges strong. Carolyn PhelanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reservedAward-winning author Seymour Simon has written more than two hundred science and nature books for children. He was inspired to collaborate on this series with his daughter-in-law, Nicole Fauteux, when she began searching for books that could provide hands-on activities to satisfy the curiosity of her oldest son, Seymour's grandson. He lives with his wife in New York State.; Title: Let's Try It Out with Towers and Bridges : Hands-On Early-Learning Activities | [
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27,625 | 1 | Originally published in 1981, Gammell's uproarious take on the old farmyard song has been reissued with an improved, slightly larger design, including a new jacket, front matter, and type, and clear white space framing the amazing two-color illustrations. The story of the bumbling farmer is timeless. He tries to farm with an elephant, a baboon, and a lion. When they rebel and leave, his neighbor gets him a chicken, a cow, and a horse. Unfortunately, the stalwart farmer messes up once more ("Ei-ei-oh") in a way that kids will laugh at again and again. There's a sense of a real hardscrabble farm and individual animals in Gammell's pictures. Maybe that's why the wild farce is so funny and so tender. Hazel RochmanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reservedStephen Gammell is the acclaimed illustrator of dozens of books for young readers. Included among his many honors are the Randolph Caldecott Medal for Karen Ackerman's Song and Dance Man as well as two Caldecott Honors for Where the Buffaloes Begin by Olaf Baker and The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. Stephen is also the illustrator of Alvin Schwartz's popular Scary Stories series and has written several other books of his own. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.; Title: Once Upon Macdonalds Farm | [
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27,626 | 0 | Kathleen Dueys works include the middle grade American Diaries and Survivors series, as well as the well-reviewed chapter book series The Unicorns Secret and its companion series, The Faeries Promise. She is also the National Book Awardnominated author of Skin Hunger. She lives in Fallbrook, California.; Title: Swamp : Bayou Teche, Louisiana, 1851 | [] | Train |
27,627 | 14 | You know Easter is near, but "you're not always sure when it is coming even though you go to Sunday school." In fact, "it is only when Good Friday comes, and you have hot cross buns for tea, that you know for certain Easter will be the day after tomorrow." A little girl prepares for Easter by asking the chickens to lay her plenty of Easter eggs and dreaming "the loveliest dreams" of a wee fawn that makes her light as thistledown and takes her on a journey past shiny-coated rabbits, lambs frolicking among buttercups, and stardusted daffodils.Beloved artist Tasha Tudor, creator of the Caldecott Honor book 1 Is One and more than 90 other picture books, looks through the eyes of a child at a favorite springtime holiday. With her trademark delicate watercolors and honey-sweet text, Tudor revisits her childhood memories and dreams of Easter. This 1941 classic pays tribute to the celebration of renewal while transporting readers to a gentle, joyful era. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie CoulterTasha Tudor's 1941 A Tale for Easter is handsomely reissued in a seven-inch-square format. Sentimental yet child-friendly, the book uses a second-person narration to evoke the pleasures of Easter as experienced in a long-ago rural idyll. "On Saturday you go and ask the chickens to lay you plenty of Easter eggs," writes Tudor; a watercolor decoration of a plump hen on its nest faces a page showing an angelic girl in bonnet, frock, apron and pantaloons slightly bent over in conversation with three chickens. The girl dreams of a "wee fawn," "rabbits smoothing their sleek coats" and lambs cavorting among buttercups. ( Feb.) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: A Tale for Easter | [
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27,628 | 12 | Book by Ellen Weiss, Damon Ross; Title: Odd Jobs: The Wackiest Jobs You've Never Heard Of | [
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27,629 | 13 | Cooper (The Dark Is Rising) brilliantly weaves past and present together, using London's Globe Theatre as backdrop, to demonstrate the timelessness of Shakespeare's works and the theater at large. The first segment of the novel, set in the present, details Nathan Field's rehearsals for the part of Puck in an upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, to be mounted in the newly renovated Globe. He has been chosen, along with a group of other boys from America, to travel to England for the performance. When Nat is suddenly stricken with a serious illness, he awakens to find himself once again cast as Puck at the Globe Theatre, but the year is 1599. Cooper meticulously conveys Nat's impressions of the sights, sounds, smells and textures of Elizabethan England. She is equally adept at evoking the boy's respect and awe for his "new" director, the bard himself. Shakespeare, cast as a wise, intuitive father figure, takes orphaned Nat under his wing. In return, Nat saves the playwright's life by unknowingly changing the natural course of history. Through the boy's relationship with "Will," as Nat calls him, Cooper deftly reveals Nat's unresolved feelings about his own deceased father. The judicious use of quotes from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets will awaken in novices an interest in his works and command respect from seasoned fans. Fascinating details of 16th-century troupe life as well as how costumes, make-up and stage effects were carried out add depth and layers to the depiction of life 400 years ago. An unexpected, appropriately enigmatic ending brings this masterful novel to a closeAand brings home the resounding message that the show must go on. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 5-8-Orphan Nat Field is chosen as part of an American theater group to perform at the new Globe Theatre in London. Nat's big role will be Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. However, his debut is pushed 400 years into the past when he is put to bed with a high fever and wakes up in Elizabethan England. Forced to adapt or be discovered, Nat figures out his situation quickly with judicious questions that result in naturally occurring explanations of the times, the plays, and the theater. The time-travel element is well constructed. Through occasional flashes to the present, readers learn that a boy presumed to be Nat is being treated for bubonic plague. Nat Field has switched places with the infected Nathan Field, who is just about to arrive at the old Globe on loan from another company-thus, thanks to modern medicine, Shakespeare and his plays are saved for the ages. Something in the boy attracts the attention of Will himself and Nat soon becomes his prot?g?. The father/son relationship between the two fills a need for Nat, whose suppressed sorrow at his father's suicide after his mother's death is finally expressed. The circumstances of his father's death and Nat's reluctance to deal with it are hinted at rather clumsily in the beginning of the book and dispatched succinctly when finally addressed, and come off as clearly secondary to the involving theater experiences. Still, Cooper's readers and fans of Gary Blackwood's Shakespeare Stealer (Dutton, 1998) will revel in the hurly-burly of rehearsals and the performance before the queen, the near discoveries, the company rivalries, and some neatly drawn parallels.Sally Margolis, Barton Public Library, VT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: King of Shadows | [
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27,630 | 14 | Love is my life, life is my love, Love is my whole felicity, Love is my sweet, sweet is my love, I am in love, and love in me. Love is in the air with this lovely, terribly romantic collection by beloved Caldecott Honor artist Tasha Tudor. Tudor gathers "some of the most wonderful and wise observations on love ever written, by some of the world's greatest romantics," including Michael Drayton, who penned the verse above. With poems, songs, stories, letters, love potions and charms, and excerpts from such luminous writers as Edna St. Vincent Millay, William Shakespeare, Emily Bront, Robert Browning, Chien Wen-ti, Colette, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, All For Love is a celebration of the delicious pain and pleasure of love. Tudor's warm, old-fashioned, full-page watercolors accompany each ode to passion and tenderness. In addition to the literary excerpts, Tudor has included a section on her own family's Valentine's Day traditions, from heart-shaped cake recipes to Martha Stewartesque flowerpot cards to fun, meaningful projects for the whole family. No need to wait for Valentine's Day for this exquisite gem. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter; Title: All for Love | [
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27,631 | 2 | Olivia is very neat, and her brother Jake is "sort of, but not a HUGE slob," but their little sister Sophie is another matter altogether. Sophie's room is "seriously--I mean seriously--REVOLTING." Olivia simply can't get over Sophie's untidiness in every single situation--school, Halloween, even the bathtub is no sanctuary from the messy hand of Sophie. With her clothes and toys tossed higgledy-piggledy everywhere she goes, Sophie is her orderly sister's worst nightmare. However, her mother does want Olivia to mention that Sophie is also a "kind and very nice person," and their dad reminds Olivia that Sophie is smart and funny, and even their big brother Jake says that Sophie's great at puzzles and dancing. Olivia's only hope is that one of these days Sophie will "start to remember to stop forgetting to try NOT to be so super-completely and totally THE MESSIEST."Judith Viorst, well-loved author of the classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, pulls out all the stops for her latest send-up of very real kids. Illustrator Robin Preiss-Glasser seems to have been inspired by Hilary Knight's illustrations of Eloise in her portrayal of the wildly exuberant Sophie and prim, exasperated Olivia. Sheer delight for neatniks and slobs alike. (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie CoulterPreS-Gr 3-Olivia emphatically states that her younger sister, Sophie, is the messiest human being around and proceeds to tell of the chaos that her sibling creates. Glasser's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are full of inviting detail. They show Sophie's closet contents; a bedroom impassible with toys, clothes, and artistic creations; numerous experimental doll projects gone awry; mishaps at the beach and farm; and always the exuberant Sophie who tries, really tries, to be more like the neat and nearly perfect Olivia. While the younger child works her havoc outside the boundaries of acceptable (and believable) behavior, the narrator hastens to add that dad says that Sophie is smart and funny; their older brother adds that she's great at dancing and puzzles; and mom says that Sophie's really a kind and nice person. It's all pure fun with an undertone of acceptance that's positively reassuring, and maybe even a little bit encouraging, to creative clutzes and anyone else who has ever messed up while messing around.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest | [
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27,632 | 2 | Olivia would be Eloise, if Eloise were a pig. She is good at singing 40 very loud songs and is very good at wearing people out. And scaring the living daylights out of her little brother, Ian, particularly when he copies her every move. She is also quite skilled at reproducing Jackson Pollock's "Autumn Rhythm #30" on the walls at home. When her mother tucks her in at night and says, "You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway," Olivia precociously pronounces, "I love you anyway too."The New Yorker artist Ian Falconer's endearing charcoal portraits of his porcine heroine are spotted with fire-engine red gouache in all the right places--perhaps a tribute to Hilary Knight's red, pink, white, and black celebrations of Olivia's human counterpart? When she dresses up, the bow on her ears, her red lipstick, and her high-heeled shoes are all red. (The only time her shades-of-gray body is pink is when she is sunburned and the area where her bathing suit was is white!) Falconer does a fine job of letting the spare text set up the jokes for the visual punch lines--a dryly humorous interplay that adults will appreciate as much as children.Preschoolers (and their parents) will see themselves in Olivia--a typical high-energy, over-the-top kid who likes the beach and Degas paintings, but hates naps. On the other hand, she combs her ears and is unusually gifted at sandcastle building. While we are certainly reminded of Eloise, Falconer's portrait is simpler in scope, less demented, and, as a result, less adult. Bottom line: precocious is fun, and we're tickled pink to have Olivia join the parade of, let's just say, individualistic youngsters. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin SnelsonCome one, come all for this extraordinary debut for both Falconer and his unforgettable porcine heroine. The author/artist begins this day-in-the-life tale with a kind of behind-the-scenes peek at Olivia. Articles from her wardrobe are strewn across the endpapers-red tights, red sunglasses, a red T-shirt and red tank top-until the title page reveals her selection: a red sailor dress with black-and-white striped tights. "This is Olivia./ She is good at lots of things," the narrator begins, like an emcee introducing the star of the show. The genius of the volume is its economy: the brief text brilliantly plays off the artwork, rendered only in shades of red and black with an occasional background setting; a deceptively simple design unifies each spread. For one such spread, demonstrating "She is very good at wearing people out," Falconer shows Olivia engaged in a variety of activities in 13 black-and-white vignettes, using red sparingly-for a hammer handle, a yo-yo, a ball, a mixing bowl spatula and a jump rope-as she progresses from energetic to spent. Against a completely white background, these vignettes seem to bob on invisible undulating waves, with the intermittent splashes of red creating a sense of movement and urgency-until Olivia's collapse at the lower right-hand corner of the spread beneath a single line of text ("She even wears herself out"). The few full scenes amplify the deadpan humor: a beach setting allows for the full impact of Olivia's spectacular sandcastle model of the Empire State Building; a full-bleed black-and-white image of a tutu- and tiara-clad Olivia bowing to unseen fans answers the narrator's question "What could she be thinking?" as she stares at her favorite painting, featuring Degas's ballerinas, in a museum. Whether in full scenes or vignettes, Falconer keeps the focus on his inimitable protagonist. He clearly understands his audience: a standout spread shows Olivia getting dressed in her red-only wardrobe ("She has to try on everything") in 17 separate fashion poses. Falconer's choice to suggest Olivia with a minimum of details and a masterful black line allows readers to really identify with her-no doubt, they will. There's a little bit of Olivia in everyone. Ages 3-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Olivia | [
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27,633 | 13 | Mrs. Brown is "the field trip queen," and that means her lucky students get to visit museums galore, exploring collections ranging from the tried-and-true (dinosaurs, mummies, statues) to the extremes of eccentricity (things that people have swallowed). Katz (Snowdrops for Cousin Ruth) adopts the voices of the schoolchildren themselves to celebrate the outings in 20 poems. The speakers expound in both blank and rhyming forms, in alternately playful and contemplative moods. A statue garden inspires one student to muse, "I think myself forever still. Like this rearing horse, whose hooves will never return to earth." The Insectarium brings out a more jovial perspective: "Toe-biter, earwig, and katydid Sheldon's fingers drift toward a lid. Mrs. Brown has to give him two tugs. So he won't reach inside and bug the bugs." Whether lyrically crystallizing an observation or reporting on the antics of the class cut-ups, the poems convey the excitement of kids on an adventure. Alley's (the Paddington Bear books) sprightly, realistic watercolors show the children engaged on a wonderful variety of levels they're mesmerized by alighting butterflies and grossed out by human skulls. As for Mrs. Brown herself, she's a dandy docent, donning a surgeon's scrubs in the medical museum and savoring a lollipop in the free sample room of the candy museum. An endnote lists offbeat museums in every state. Ages 6-10.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4-Details of visits to a number of museums throughout the school year with their teacher, "the field trip queen," are recorded in poetic style by some of the eight lucky students in Mrs. Brown's class. Ann describes her own observations and feelings as she and her classmates study art, insects, trains, and clocks; mingle with butterflies; ponder an encased mummy; and appear on dinosaur TV. She also includes a six-stanza poem that reveals the reasons for her annoyance with the class pest. There is a syncopation to many of the poems that, combined with the placement of words and phrases on the page, demonstrates that poetry is cadence as well as rhyme. Busy, cartoonlike watercolor illustrations are reminiscent of scenes from the "Magic School Bus" series, but Alley's artwork is clever in its own way. Like Ms. Frizzle, Mrs. Brown wears clothing appropriate for each occasion (scrubs, froggy boots, an umpire's mask, etc.). Museum brochures fill the endpapers; an appended list of "amazing" (nontraditional) museums is arranged by state; and the back cover shows "Anne & Heather's Museum," based on their field-trip experiences. Read the book aloud to encourage poetry writing, in anticipation of a visit to a museum, or just for fun.Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Mrs. Brown on Exhibit: And Other Museum Poems | [
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27,634 | 2 | As if the itching and fever of chicken pox isn't bad enough, poor little Goldie Locks can't visit with her friends Red Riding Hood and Bo Peep, and her younger brother is positively ruthless in his teasing. What's a fairy tale gal to do? Wait for Bro's karmic comeuppance, that's what. And if the law of traveling germs holds true, the uppance will come quickly.Erin Dealey's rhyming lark plays havoc with favorite storybook characters, from Henny Penny to Jack (Goldie's brother calls out the window: "Jack, be nimble! Jack, be quick! / Come and see! My sister's sick!"). Illustrator Hanako Wakiyama's Goldie Locks, with her big, spotted face and tiny blonde braids, is the picture of wretchedness, while her naughty tow-headed sibling is fiendish in his bursting good health (for now, anyway). The distinctive artwork in retro reds and oranges is chock-full of witty details and child-friendly perspectives. Young readers who have suffered at the hands of bratty brothers and sisters will identify immediately with Goldie's frustration and cheer when Little Brother finally gets his just and speckled deserts. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie CoulterIn Dealey's debut, Goldilocks is a mid-century-modern girl, with her beige-blonde hair in pinch-tight braids and red barrettes. She mopes in bed or in her living-room Egg chair, sipping a cold drink and glumly surveying the pink "polka dots" on her rosy skin. Nursery characters like Little Red regret that Goldilocks can't "come to Gram's" with her, while others tell her not to scratch the spots: "`Leave them be,' agreed Bo Peep,/ Who happened by in search of sheep./ `That's sound advice for chicken pox./ It doesn't work for wayward flocks.' " Dealey's stilted rhymes hark back to the early years of the baby boom and "Dick and Jane" readers; Goldie endures the taunts of an unsympathetic little brother, while Father (dressed in a smoking jacket or dude-ranch shirt) maintains discipline. Wakiyama (Too Big!) likewise mimics 1950s picture books in her oversaturated color illustrations, printed on cream-yellow, faux-aged pages. Her work suggests the era of color separations, with fragile paper and opaque orange and turquoise inks. This fond look at old-fashioned fairy tales and family-sitcom dynamics injects wry touches (when Little Red comes by, a wolf peers in the window) that let readers in on the joke. Ages 3-6. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox | [
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27,635 | 13 | When it comes time to tell the class what she did on her vacation, Olivia isn't at all nervous. In fact, she remembers it quite clearly--she went to the circus, you see. "But when we got there, all the circus people were out sick with ear infections." What are the odds? But the show must go on! Fortunately, Olivia jumps right in to help out--riding elephants, posing as the Tattooed Lady (she draws on the pictures with a marker), taming lions, walking tightropes, juggling, clowning around, and more. In a marvelous fold-out, four-panel spread, our porcine heroine even reigns supreme as the Queen of the Trampoline. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia looks proud. Her teacher looks mad. Ian Falconer shines in this dryly hilarious sequel to his 2001 Caldecott Honor Book Olivia. The charcoal and gouache illustrations perfectly capture Olivia's earnest expressions. Be prepared to be charmed anew! (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin SnelsonCould there be a more ideal place for Olivia than in the center ring under the Big Top? It will come as no surprise to her many fans that this is how Olivia claims to have spent her summer vacation. Using the same day-in-the-life format as his show-stopping debut (Olivia), Falconer shows Olivia making pancakes for her two brothers (including new addition William) before school. "This is a big help to her mother," accompanies a picture of utter chaos in the kitchen. The heroine adds her signature red accoutrements to her "really boring uniform," then heads to the classroom where it's her turn to tell about her summer ("Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience"); she holds both teacher and students (and readers) rapt as she describes her trip to the circus. "All the circus people were out sick with ear infections," says Olivia. "Luckily I knew how to do everything." Falconer outdoes himself with theatrical scenes of the diminutive leading lady teetering on top of an elephant's head, walking on stilts and, in a four-page fold-out spread, as "Queen of the Trampoline" flying off the trapeze and somersaulting in the air (the outline of her porkish figure trapped in the trampoline netting is worth the price of admission). He once again demonstrates how attuned he is to the way a child thinks when, at the very end of her share, in tiny typeface, Olivia tacks on a shred of truth, "Then one time my dad took me sailing The End." This star's numerous spectators can only hope that she will have many encores. Ages 3-7.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Olivia Saves the Circus | [
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27,636 | 2 | A clever twist on a classic fairy tale, Mary Pope Osborne and Giselle Potter's Kate and the Beanstalk stars a whip-smart girl instead of traditionally lazy, not-so-bright Jack. Osborne's telling (aside from the gender switch) remains fairly faithful to the original: the hungry mother sends her child out to sell the cow, the cow is traded for magic beans, the angry mother tosses the beans out the window, a beanstalk grows, the hero(ine) climbs it, and vanquishes the evil giant, winning treasure in the process. A surprise ending (for Kate, anyway... astute readers may guess the outcome) gives the tale an extra jolt of happily-ever-after. It's Potter's remarkably original illustrations that make this version stand out, however. Rich yet muted tones invite the eye to linger over the flat pictures of oval-headed Kate (in her various disguises), the creepy, droopy-lipped giant, and the rest. Potter's award-winning illustrations have appeared in The Honest-To-Goodness Truth and Gabriella's Song, while the ever-popular Osborne is best known for her Magic Tree House series. (Ages 4 to 10) --Emilie CoulterOsborne tweaks tradition with this feminist rendition of a classic fairy tale. Here it's Kate instead of Jack who trades her family's cow for magic beans, and later climbs the beanstalk to find a kingdom in the clouds. Like Ann Beneduce's recent Jack and the Beanstalk, Osborne draws from a late-19th-century source for her retelling that incorporates a disguised fairy queen and a motivation for repeated visits to the giantDavenging Kate's father's death. Osborne's witty and spry reworking (she changes the giant's famous refrain to accommodate Kate's gender, "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum'un,/ I smell the blood of an Englishwoman") shows Kate in a confident light ("I fear nothing when I'm doing right," the heroine tells the fairy queen). Through her cleverness and resourcefulness (and the unwitting help of the giant's wife), the heroine earns back all that the giant usurped from her family. Potter's (Gabriella's Song) airy gouache and watercolor illustrations sparkle with humor and exploit the perspectives offered by the towering beanstalk. With her Princess Leia-style hairdo, a few disguises and a can-do attitude, Kate comes across as a real action heroine, whether setting off determinedly with the family cow, nipping up the beanstalk or pedaling an eggbeater to assist the giantess in preparing breakfast. There's much to enjoy in this spunky picture book, which puts a fresh face on an old favorite. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Kate and the Beanstalk | [
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27,637 | 2 | Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than eighty childrens books, including the Caldecott Honor books The Right Word and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams both written by Jen Bryant. She also wrote and illustrated Tupelo Rides the Rails; Carmine: A Little More Red, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Book; and Balloons Over Broadway, a picture book biography that was named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Picture Book. When she is not in her studio, Melissa can be found taking an art class, hiking with her dogs, or riding her bicycle. She lives with her family in Rockport, Maine.; Title: Pinky and Rex And The Spelling Bee (Easy-to-Read, Level 3) | [
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27,638 | 2 | James Howeis the author of more than ninety books for young readers.Bunnicula, coauthored by his late wife Deborah and published in 1979, is considered a modern classic of childrens literature. The author has written six highly popular sequels, along with the spinoff seriesTales from the House of BunniculaandBunnicula and Friends.Among his other books are picture books such as Horace and Morris but Mostly Doloresand beginning reader series that include the Pinky and Rex and Houndsley and Catina books. He has also written for older readers.The Misfits,published in 2001, inspired the antibullying initiative No Name-Calling Week, as well as three sequels,Totally Joe, Addie on the Inside,andAlso Known asElvis.A common theme in James Howes books from preschool through teens is the acceptance of difference and being true to oneself. Visit him online at JamesHowe.com.; Title: Pinky and Rex and the New Baby | [
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27,639 | 3 | When an eccentric pink bird named Dodo wheedles her way into the life of a cranky retired helicopter captain who lost a leg in a rescue mission, readers might think feathers will fly. Instead, Dodo's obtuse friendliness and Captain Vince's unacknowledged loneliness make a magical connection, and soon the two are sharing sandwiches and stories. By summertime, Vince surprises Dodo with a very unusual proposal, and, true to form, she responds equally uniquely. Now, if only the wedding can go off without a hitch...Readers familiar with Petra Mathers's charming trio of friends, introduced in Lottie's New Beach Towel, Lottie's New Friend, and A Cake for Herbie, will be elated to see a whole book devoted to the exotic Dodo. Mathers's beautiful watercolors, with their perfect palette and changing, telling details, are reason enough to fall in love with the book. Her sweet, funny story is icing on the (wedding) cake! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterMathers (A Cake for Herbie) never falters in the fourth book in her consistently engaging series about Lottie the chicken and her Oysterville coterie. Here Dodo, an exotic German bird introduced in Lottie's New Friend, meets Vince, a curmudgeonly former helicopter pilot who lost a leg in a rescue mission. Dodo's interest, kindness and indefatigable good humor quickly pierce Vince's crusty veneer. Love and a wedding follow a time-honored sequence that Mathers makes entirely her own through the use of idiosyncratic, funny details underpinned by sweetness and warmth. Vince delivers his proposal, inscribed on a life ring, to Dodo's yard via helicopter; she uses the clothes hanging on the line to spell out an affirmative reply visible from above. His head-feathers, drooping in tune with his mood at the start, gradually perk up as he does, until he sports a glorious top-knot indeed. Every wedding, of course, has a flirtation with disaster; in Dodo's case, a pre-wedding beauty bath somehow irremediably turns her a glow-in-the-dark fluorescent green. The groom rises to the occasion "My sunshine, my night-light," he gallantly proclaims and a wonderful celebration ensues. Fans of the previous books will enjoy seeing familiar details sprinkled throughout the tidily boxed, stylish illustrations: the flower girl from the wedding in Lottie's Beach Towel serves in this ceremony as well; as the moon rises, a young mouse falls asleep on that eponymous, distinctive polka-dotted towel. A wedding well worth attending. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Dodo Gets Married (Anne Schwartz Books) | [
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27,640 | 2 | In this charming 1973 book, the big kids dismiss Andy as too little to play with, but they're happy to make words out of his name. Ages 3-7.Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Tomie dePaola is one of the most popular childrens book authors and illustrators of our time and the winner of the 2011 Childrens Literature Legacy Award for significant and lasting contribution to childrens literature, among other lifetime achievement awards.A Newbery Honor winner, he has written and illustrated a number of books, including Caldecott Honor bookStrega Nona and its companions, as well asOliver Button Is a Sissy;The Legend of Old Befana; The Clown of God;Michael Bird-Boy; Andy, Thats My Name; and Quiet. A native of Connecticut, Mr. dePaola studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in New London, New Hampshire. Visit him online at Tomie.com and TomiesBlog.Blogspot.com.; Title: Andy, That's My Name | [
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27,641 | 2 | When her family's fat, sleek new goat arrives in her poor Ugandan village, little Beatrice hugs her close and whispers, "Mama says you are our lucky gift...." And indeed it is true. Soon the goat bears two kids and provides enough milk to both feed the family and sell for profit. Until the goat arrived, life was very hard for Beatrice and her five brothers and sisters. The family could not afford to send the children to school, and it was difficult to make ends meet. Magically this one small animal, one of 12 given the village, opens up a new world of health and prosperity. Before the year is out, Beatrice happily realizes her dream of becoming a school girl and her delighted family moves into a sturdy new house.Based on the true account of one family who received aid from Heifer Project International, a charitable organization that donates livestock to poor communities around the world, this moving story is eloquently and gracefully recounted. Vividly evoking the lush tropical landscape of central Africa, Lohstoeter's rich, deeply-hued illustrations perfectly complement the text and make Beatrice and her world affectingly real. Although she may live far removed from the comfortable middle-class lives of many young readers, it is clear that Beatrice is a girl of unusual heart and, like any child, filled with hopes and dreams. In her afterword Hillary Rodham Clinton writes, "Beatrice's Goat is a heartwarming reminder that families, wherever they live, can change their lives for the better." A portion of the publisher's proceeds goes to support the Heifer Project. (Ages 4 to 8) --Marianne PainterAn impoverished family begins to flourish after receiving a special gift--of the four-legged variety--in this uplifting picture book set in western Uganda. Beatrice longs to attend school with other village children, but instead she must tend her five younger siblings and help her mother in the fields. Everything starts to change, however, when Beatrice and her family receive a goat, "a lucky gift," says her mother, from a charitable organization. As the months pass, the animal provides the family with sweet milk to enjoy and sell and a pair of kids that will eventually be sold as well. With the goat's bounty, the family soon has enough money to send Beatrice to school. McBrier's tale, inspired by actual events, succeeds in demonstrating the positive ripple effect of the efforts of one organization, but an afterword by Hillary Rodham Clinton sounds like an advertisement for Heifer Project (the donors of the goat). Perhaps the volume's greatest strength is Lohstoeter's (How the Leopard Got His Spots) sunny acrylic paintings, which capture the hues of dusty thatched huts and verdant banana groves of the African landscape. Sweet-faced Beatrice and her mother take center stage, wearing colorful, traditional clothes, and their bond is palpable. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) Little Rock, Ark.-based Heifer Project International, a nonprofit group working to end global hunger by providing livestock and training to people in need.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Beatrice's Goat | [
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27,642 | 2 | Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than eighty childrens books, including the Caldecott Honor books The Right Word and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams both written by Jen Bryant. She also wrote and illustrated Tupelo Rides the Rails; Carmine: A Little More Red, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Book; and Balloons Over Broadway, a picture book biography that was named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Picture Book. When she is not in her studio, Melissa can be found taking an art class, hiking with her dogs, or riding her bicycle. She lives with her family in Rockport, Maine.; Title: Pinky and Rex Go to Camp | [
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27,643 | 3 | In Lottie's New Beach Towel and Lottie's New Friend, Petra Mathers evokes the spirit of James Marshall's hippos George and Martha, celebrating the quiet joys of the friendship between Lottie the chicken and Herbie the duck with a feather-light touch.In A Cake for Herbie, Herbie (the star of the third Herbie and Lottie book) decides to enter a poetry contest in which the winner literally takes the cake. Despite the fact that he stays up all night concocting poems about food from A to Z ("Artie chews, / Artie swallows, / Artichokes"), he is booed off the stage on the big night. This is especially "K ... for kruel" because Lottie is quite greenly sick and not there to comfort him. But all is not lost. Herbie, forlorn in the back alley, is soon ushered into a bustling restaurant kitchen where he and his delicious doggerel are welcomed by sweaty Betty (offering spaghetti) and a host of other shamelessly rhyming birds of a feather.Herbie's new friends bake him a cake after all, and he can't wait to tell... Lottie! He zooms home along the now seemingly endless road, arriving with a mostly eaten cake and a story to share while she knits on the couch. Mathers's neatly boxed, crisply composed, colorful paintings each communicate a small story-within-a-story, richly deserving the close study of voracious young bookworms. If you haven't yet discovered this artist's sweet, funny world, now's the time to be introduced. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin SnelsonHerbie and Lottie, Mathers's winsome duck-and-chicken duo (Lottie's New Beach Towel; Lottie's New Friend), are in town for groceries when they spy an announcement for a poetry contest. "A Cake for a Poem," the poster reads. Being inordinately fond of both, Herbie sets to work, and with a bowl of chocolate pudding as his muse, he composes an alphabetically organized poem entirely about food ("A: Artie chews,/ Artie swallows,/ Artichokes"). The audience boos his masterpiece, though, and with Lottie sick in bed, he has nowhere to turn for consolationDuntil he meets up with the versifying cooks and waiters at the Ship's Inn restaurant. After an evening of conversing in rhymed couplets, they send him home with his self-esteem restored and a magnificent cake to boot. Mathers's droll, economical text and vibrant, equally economical visuals in tidy panels combine seamlessly to portray Herbie's anticipation, anxiety, humiliation and grateful sense of belonging. She captures the humor and sweetness of his efforts in idiosyncratic, perfectly childlike detail: thinking "makes his head hot"; he blushes when Lottie gently corrects his spelling ("I like it, but caramel custard starts with C"). A funny, reassuring addition to a highly appealing series, this makes a delectable dessert indeed. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: A Cake for Herbie | [
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27,644 | 10 | Johnny Gruelle was an extremely talented cartoonist, illustrator, and storyteller. He had already written and illustrated a book of original fairy tales before creating the Raggedy Ann and Andy stories. Raggedy Ann, heroine of the first book, was a favorite doll of his daughter, Marcella, who died after a long illness at the age of thirteen. Johnny Gruelle eventually created over forty Raggedy Ann and Andy books, all capturing his unique version of childhood.The Picnic"Do you know what?" Raggedy Ann asked as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her pretty white apron and stood before the other dolls in the nursery."Oh! Tell us, Raggedy Ann!" Beloved Belindy cried as she snuggled the two little china penny dolls in her lap. "Is it a nice secret?""Oh, no, Beloved Belindy!" Raggedy Ann replied as she wiggled a shoe-button eye at Uncle Clem, the Scotch doll. "It is not a secret to be kept. 'Cause why? If it was really and truly a secret, then I would not tell!""'Course not, Raggedy Ann!" Raggedy Andy said. "We know it is wrong to tell a secret, but do tell us what surprise you have!"All the dollies gathered close to dear old Raggedy Ann and could hardly be still, they were so anxious to hear what Raggedy Ann had to tell.There was Beloved Belindy, a nice soft cuddly doll with lovely shiny pearl-button eyes and a wide smiling mouth. There was Raggedy Andy, of course, with his cheery grin painted on and his soft loppy legs.There were Frederika and Henny, both Dutch dolls, who, while very new, when they were tilted forward and back would cry, "Mama" in clear sweet voices. Frederika's "voice" had been broken, so that she could not say "Mama." She just made a tiny, quavery squeak when she was tipped. But Henny's voice was still as good as new.There was Uncle Clem, with a nice brown yarn mustache; Cleety, the clown, made of wood with rubber joints in his arms and legs; Susan, the doll without a head; the French doll, a lovely creature with yellow curls; Rosa and Sarah, two pretty dolls with china heads.Then, there was the Little Brown Bear, Sunny Bunny, Eddie Elephant, Johnny Mouse and all the other animals from the toy box in the corner."Hurry! Hurry, Raggedy Ann!" they all cried as they crowded around. "Tell us what it is!""We are all going on a picnic!" Raggedy Ann said. "A real-for-sure picnic! When I was down in the kitchen this evening with Marcella, her mama was making the nicest cookies and getting everything ready for an early start tomorrow morning. And," continued Raggedy Ann as she held up her rag hand for all the dollies to remain quiet, "Marcella asked her mama if she could take all of us with her!""All of us?" Henny, the Dutch doll, asked. "Even Eddie Elephant and the Little Brown Bear and everyone?""Of course, Henny," Raggedy Ann replied with a soft chuckle 'way down in her cotton-stuffed body, "of course!""I don't see why she should wish to take them!" Henny growled, meaning Eddie Elephant and Sunny Bunny and the other Raggedy Animals."Why, Henny!" Frederika said. "I'm s'prised at you! The Raggedy Animals enjoy going with Marcella just as much as any of us do!""But they are not dolls!" Henny said. "They are just animals -- almost like the wooden horses and the moo-cow and the tin things in the toy box."All this time, Eddie Elephant and Sunny Bunny and the Little Brown Bear and Johnny Mouse had remained silent, but when Henny said this, Eddie Elephant said, "I 'spect Henny is right. We are just Raggedy Animals and not as nice as you dolls, so we had better stay at home with the toys in the toy box!"Raggedy Ann took her little pocket hanky and wiped Eddie Elephant's shoe-button eyes and, as she looked around at the Little Brown Bear and Sunny Bunny and Johnny Mouse, standing so quietly and not saying a word in reply to Henny's rudeness, she almost had to stamp her rag foot."No sir!" Raggedy Ann cried. "Marcella will wish to take everyone and besides, Mister Henny, the Raggedy Animals are just as good as any of us dolls. We are all made of cloth and stuffed, either with sawdust or cotton, and if some of us have animal heads, that makes no difference.""Santa Claus made most of us and we all can enjoy pleasures the same as any real-for-sure live person. It is not nice for you to wish to go and not care to have these dear Raggedy Animals go and share all our pleasures."Then turning to Uncle Clem, Raggedy Ann asked, "Don't you think so, Uncle Clem?""Indeed, I do think the Raggedy Animals should go! And, I should be very much ashamed of myself if I were Henny," Uncle Clem replied.Henny jumped to his feet so suddenly it made his quavery, squeaky voice cry, "Mama," and he walked away from all the dolls.Not a word was said until Henny, shuffling his feet, went over and sat down behind the toy box in the corner.Then Uncle Clem said, "I do not know why Henny is so rude.""Henny is selfish!" Raggedy Andy said. "I could hardly keep from giving him a thump with my rag hand."Just then there were heavy steps on the stairway, so all the dolls who were standing up sat down and, of course, every one of them was very, very quiet.The footsteps were Daddy's, and he came right into the nursery, gathered all the dolls into a bundle and carried them downstairs.Daddy was getting everything ready for the picnic in the morning, so he carried all the dolls out to the garage and piled them on the rear seat of the car. "Now," he said, with a chuckle, "you dolls are all ready to start in the morning, so you had better get a good night's sleep!"Then with a laugh to himself, Daddy closed the car door and the dolls could hear his steps as he returned to the house."Well!" Uncle Clem laughed in his sawdusty way. "Here we all are, ready to start on the picnic tomorrow. Now we must all try to be ever and ever so nice when Marcella takes us places, because that makes it so much easier for her to take care of us!""We always try to be nice, Uncle Clem," Frederika laughed. "You know we just pretend that we cannot walk, or talk, or do anything.""I know it!" Uncle Clem laughed again in reply. "But sometimes, you know, Henny forgets that grown people do not know that dolls can walk and talk and do everything and he wiggles and falls off his chair!""Right in front of everybody!" Raggedy Andy added."I do hope Henny behaves himself tomorrow," Raggedy Ann said."I guess he will," Raggedy Andy laughed. "'Cause why? 'Cause he was left behind, up in the nursery, pouting behind the toy box.""It serves him right, too!" the French doll said. "When one is selfish, one always loses a lot of nice things."Now Sunny Bunny and the Little Brown Bear and Eddie Elephant and Johnny Mouse were very quiet. They were sitting on the back seat thinking just as hard as a cotton-stuffed animal can think, and they were all sorry that Henny had been rude to them. "For," thought Eddie Elephant, who was really a very kind little creature, "if Henny had not grown peevish at us, he would not have hidden behind the toy box, and if he had not been in hiding, Daddy would have picked him up with the rest of the dolls!"And Sunny Bunny and the Little Brown Bear and Johnny Mouse were thinking just about the same thing, so, when all the other dolls had settled down for the night, Eddie Elephant nudged Sunny Bunny and Sunny Bunny nudged the Little Brown Bear and the Little Brown Bear nudged Johnny Mouse. Then, very cautiously, they opened the door of the car, climbed to the windowsill and jumped to the ground.As they ran across the yard, the puppydog saw them and started to bark, thinking at first it must be lots of cats.But when they came up close, he saw that it was his old friends the Raggedy Animals. "You had better stay in the car where Daddy put you," Hairy Puppydog said. "We are starting on the picnic early in the morning and if any of you are missing from the car, we shall surely leave without you!""That is just why we are not in the car, Hairy," Eddie Elephant said. "When Daddy carried us out to the car, he forgot to bring Henny, so we are going to bring Henny ourselves!""How can you ever climb up to the nursery window, though? Just answer me that!" the puppydog chuckled. "Besides, Henny is such a selfish doll I am sure everyone will have a better time if he is left at home!"Then Eddie Elephant explained to the puppydog just why Henny was up in the nursery behind the toy box."So you see," Eddie Elephant explained, "we wish Henny to go on the picnic, even if Henny did not wish us to go!""I see," Hairy Puppydog said, scratching his ear with his hind foot. "And because you wish to be nice to Henny even after he has been rude to you, I will help you. Just run around and sit under the bushes beneath the nursery window, and wait. I'll bark to get in the house and then I'll help you!"So Eddie Elephant, Sunny Bunny, Johnny Mouse and the Little Brown Bear ran around the house and hid beneath the nursery window.The puppydog barked and scratched upon the screen door until he was let in the house. Then he ran upstairs to the nursery and picked up Henny by the back of his coat. "You really do not deserve this!" he growled as he carried Henny to the window.Henny cried, "Mama," in his thin, quavery voice as he turned over and over in the air, and when he hit the ground with a hard thump, he gave a loud squeak.The Raggedy Animals picked up Henny and ran with him to the garage and lifted him into the car; then they all settled down and in a few moments were as fast asleep as any of the dolls.Bright and early in the morning Daddy brought out the lunch baskets and placed everything in the back of the car and when Marcella and Mama came out there was nothing to do but climb into the car and start on the picnic.As they rolled through the lovely country with the birds singing along the roadside, Marcella sat upon the back seat with all the dolls beside her -- all except Eddie Elephant, Sunny Bunny, the Little Brown Bear and Johnny Mouse. These she held upon her lap."I'm so glad you thought to bring the Raggedy Animals, Daddy!" Marcella said after a while. "They stay at home so much, they must enjoy being out in the country on a lovely picnic like this!"And Raggedy Ann winked her shoe-button eyes at Henny as if to say, "There, Henny! Don't you see? Real-for-sure people know it is lots more fun when we share our pleasures with others!"And Henny just stared straight before him with his little pale blue eyes and never so much as wiggled one of his moth-eaten fingers. He realized how sad he had been when he was left alone sitting behind the toy box in the nursery. And he felt ashamed to think he could ever have been ill-mannered and rude to the little kindly Raggedy Animals who had rescued him from a very lonesome day.He made up his mind that, hereafter, he would love the Raggedy Animals just as he really and truly loved all the dolls."For," Henny thought, "after all, dolls, or animal dolls we are all the same, and beneath our little rag bodies, Santa Claus has filled us all with the same magic medicine!" And although Henny felt very happy in his thoughts, he never wiggled, or twisted, or fidgeted once.Copyright © 1929 by John B. GruelleCopyright © renewed 1956 by Myrtle Gruelle; Title: Marcella: A Raggedy Ann Story | [
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27,645 | 2 | Grade 2-5-Teaching the children in an Athabascan village in a one-room schoolhouse on the Alaskan frontier in 1948 is not every educator's dream. Then one day, tall, skinny Agnes Sutterfield arrives and life is never the same for the community. Frederika (Fred), the 10-year-old narrator, discovers that unlike previous teachers, Miss Agnes doesn't mind the smell of fish that the children bring for lunch each day. She also stokes the fire to warm the schoolhouse before the students' arrival each morning, wears pants, and speaks with a strange accent. Miss Agnes immediately packs away the old textbooks, hangs up the children's brightly colored artwork, plays opera music, and reads them Robin Hood and Greek myths. She teaches them about their land and their culture, tutors both students and parents in her cabin in the evening, and even learns sign language along with her students so that Fred's deaf sister can attend school. Hill has created more than just an appealing cast of characters; she introduces readers to a whole community and makes a long-ago and faraway place seem real and very much alive. This is an inspirational story about Alaska, the old and new ways, a very special teacher, and the influence that she has over everyone she meets. A wonderful read-aloud to start off the school year.Kit Vaughan, Midlothian Middle School, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 4-6. From the author of Winter Camp (1993) comes another moving novel about Athabascan life. But instead of a wilderness survival tale, this story is an uplifting portrait of a dedicated teacher, set mostly in a cozy village classroom in 1948. Fred, a ten-year-old girl, describes the year Miss Agnes takes over the one-room school. Unlike the school's other teachers, none of whom have lasted, Miss Agnes encourages the children to explore art, literature, and their own potential. She also teaches basic subjects in relevant ways and shows sensitivity to the rhythms of village life and to each child. The students are devastated when it's time for Miss Agnes to leave, but the story ends with a happy surprise. Readers longing for action may resist the simple, subdued story. But Fred's plain, direct voice, sprinkled with regionalisms, will connect readers with the well-integrated cultural particulars, the poignant scenes of home life, and the joy Fred feels learning in the snug classroom, the snow falling outside. Gillian EngbergCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The Year Of Miss Agnes | [
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27,646 | 1 | Kindergarten-Grade 3-The time has come for two brothers to choose their brides, and they must follow the family tradition of cutting down a tree, seeing where it points, and then walking that way until they find a sweetheart. The older sibling arranges for his tree to land in the direction of the house of the girl he wants to marry, but the younger boy's tree points to the forest. The only creature he meets there is a tiny mouse, who declares that she will make him a worthy bride. After both sweethearts pass tests of skill, she does just that, surprising all as an enchantment is broken and she is once again a human princess. Shepard does his usual capable job of retelling this old tale in clear, simple, yet effective prose. Source notes are appended, as is a reference to his Web site, where activities to extend this and other books may be found. Gore's acrylic-and-pastel artwork is a lighthearted match for this whimsical tale, but occasionally the palette lacks variety and readers are overwhelmed by the copious use of greens. On the whole, though, this is a pleasant, attractive addition to folklore shelves.Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.K-Gr. 3. Mikko and his brother are now old enough to marry. Following family marriage tradition, each cuts down a tree and follows the direction it points--in Mikko's case, to the forest. To his surprise, there's a house. More surprising is its inhabitant--a mouse whose kindness wins his heart. Alas, the family can't see beyond her fur, and Mikko's disdaining brother kicks his beloved mouse into the stream. When an enchanted princess emerges, true love triumphs. Shepard's charmingly droll version of a Finnish folktale combines classic elements with unexpected, witty details--among them, an outspoken mouse who sings a little song in the story (lyrics and melody appended). The jewel-toned art has beautiful luminescence; the elongated, somewhat blocky look of the characters reinforces the fantasy; and the mice are downright irresistible. An endnote identifies story sources and a Web site for a readers' theater script of the tale. Quirky, enjoyable, and easily adapted for storytime. Shelle RosenfeldCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The Princess Mouse : A Tale of Finland | [
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27,647 | 6 | Eloise has always had a rather festive air about her, but when Christmastime rolls around, well, it's "Fa la la la fa la la la lolly ting tingledy here and there," of course. The bunchy-bloused, spindly-legged scamp is speaking in rhyme this time, and in typical Eloise fashion, the verse simply can't be perfectly metered, for what would be the point? She rushes around New York's Plaza Hotel on Christmas Eve, jingling, spreading Christmas cheer, tying tassels on the thermostats, and writing "Merry Christmas" on all the walls. And of course there are gifts to be delivered and wrapped:Her asides, printed in red, are as priceless as ever: "Sometimes there is so much to do that/ I get sort of a headache around the sides and partially under it." Or in a rare vulnerable moment, "For when you are a child of six/ it's difficult to know/ if you deserve a present or not/ at Christmastime/ or so." But enough of that. "We sang Noel for 506/ Silent Night for 507/ We didn't sing for 509/ at the request of 511."Hilary Knight's pen and ink pink-and-black illustrations are perfect--particularly of the "sugar plums" dancing in Eloise's head on Christmas Eve, complete with crazed elves, Nanny-as-angel, reindeer with glasses, and of course Santa's sleigh with one giant package in it... for Eloise. Kay Thompson's Eloise at Christmastime, first published in 1958 with a different cover, joins Eloise in Paris and The Absolutely Essential Eloise (with additional historical scrapbook) as a much welcomed reissue of the original. And there's always just Eloise. (Ages 5 to 105) --Karin SnelsonGloria Vanderbilt I am engaged by the thought that Eloise will be let loose into the millennium.Noel Coward Frankly, I adore Eloise.Roz Chast Eloise is smart and funny and knows how to get around annoying adults.; Title: Eloise at Christmastime | [
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27,648 | 7 | If Yertle the Turtle can top the canon of works related to turtle stacking (according to Lisa Simpson and Chief Wiggum, at least), then it's no stretch at all to presume that Which Witch Is Which? might be the best book ever written on the subject of witch picking.A fairly clever idea executed with exceptional imagination and wit, this guessing-game book from Judi Barrett and Sharleen Collicott asks readers to decide which witches are doing what in a series of colorful, densely illustrated witchy tableaus. For example, after viewing a ludicrously well-dressed sextet of bear witches who are riding atop a fuzzy, veiled dinosaur wearing pink garters, we're asked, "Which witch has an awful itch? Is it the one doing a jitterbug? Is it the one lying on the rug? Is it the one looking very smug? Or is it the one playing with a pug?"These often open-ended questions keep the guessing interesting throughout 13 different scenes, but it's Collicott's richly bizarre style and compositions that discourage you from ever turning to a new page. Each group of witches hails from a different species (newts, cats, cows, etc.) and seems loosely involved in some central activity (hitching a wild boar to a wagon, quilting, putting on a play), but there's just so much going on in every single scene--weird stuff, Hieronymus Bosch-type stuff, only much, much cuter--that kids will come up with far more questions than the ones that the book asks. Why are those lizard witches wearing armor and disguises? What is that pig witch painting anyway? And the cat witch with the coolest shoes--which witch is that? (Ages 4 to 8) Paul HughesSpecific questions and elaborate illustrations complicate this hide-and-seek game, whose "witches" are animals in pointed hats. Every spread presents five queries opposite a detailed full-bleed image. For instance, "Which witch looks radiantly rich?" refers to six white rabbits having tea. All wear billowy gowns, but one drips with jewels. The answer may be evident, but more questions take the investigation further. "Is it the one feeling hot?" (A sweaty rabbit fans herself.) "Is it the one stirring a pot?" (A rabbit in a patched hat tends a teakettle.) "Is it the one eating an apricot?" (The bejeweled rabbit nibbles an orange fruit.) Barrett, author of I Knew Two Who Said Moo, tirelessly repeats the title's formula on each new page, rhyming the homonyms "which witch" with "itch," "switch" and "glitch." Collicott's (Toestomper and the Caterpillars) appropriately weird gouaches feature look-alike groups, from polar bears to newts to chameleons, in creepy swamps or decadent interiors. Her near-identical witches wear patterned garments and make subtle movements; a lion palms a gold coin in "Which witch is a sneaky snitch?" The puzzles lose their luster as they are solved, but Barrett's numerous clues and Collicott's intricate visuals delay that inevitable fading. Ages 4-8. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Which Witch is Which? | [
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27,649 | 11 | Kindergarten-Grade 3Everything is a production for Iris's extended Puerto Rican family and several of their neighbors. Readers know this almost immediately as the girl describes their convoluted trek from a Bronx neighborhood to the "Enchanted State Park." Everyone brings as much as he or she can carry, from a deli counter to a copy of War and Peace. When they finally arrive, Iris discovers that her dog, El Exigente, is not allowed in the park and each person takes a turn dog-sitting him in the parking lot until the busy day ends. Muth's lively watercolor illustrations do much for this overwritten and too-earnest story. They imbue the characters with personality and extend the humor of the tale. One spread shows a seemingly endless line of colorful, heavily packed cars stretching from end to end. When the travelers get lost, the accompanying picture shows their cars on a maze of intersecting roads that wind around to spell out "oops." The illustrations take varying perspectives, from ground-level shots to aerial angles. They effectively portray the numerous characters, bringing individuals to the foreground as if being viewed through a camera. The expressive artwork makes this mediocre story seem to be much more than it actually is.Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Gr. 1-3. Though its cover is emblazoned with "Written by MARIA from Sesame Street," there's nary a Muppet to be found inside Manzano's picture-book debut. Instead, readers will find a fanciful, urban tall tale about a Latino family's expedition from the Bronx to the beach, narrated by six-year-old Iris. The dog, extended family, and "neighbors from the tri-state area" all come along, too, toting everything from a multicourse banquet and a piano to a traveling game of dominoes. A series of obstacles (engine trouble, a navigational mishap, a beach marked "No Dogs Allowed") intensify the participants' appreciation for the fleeting fun in the sun they finally enjoy. Muth, illustrator of Old Turtle and the Broken Truth (2003) and other books, captures the silliness to perfection, buoying up Manzano's overlong text with his distinctive, spidery line-and-watercolor images. The humor of a simple outing that balloons into a fiesta may resonate most strongly with families for whom "small" and "family gathering" are contradictions in terms, but the anything-goes sensibility has universal appeal. Jennifer MattsonCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: No Dogs Allowed! | [
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27,650 | 5 | Little Red Riding Hood. Ever heard of it? Retelling old stories is always a little risky--you've either got to bring some worthwhile new twist to the tale, or you've got to do such a great job telling it that we're all willing to forget for a minute just how everything's going to turn out. Fortunately for the celebrated Ms. Hood, Marjorie Priceman (winner of a Caldecott Honor for the buoyant Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin) proves herself by doing both--this pop-up edition of an old favorite is energetic and original.Priceman's dignified but still playful style suits these old clothes well, with a very traditional Red peeking out from under her huge flowing hood and a wolf that's all lithe and toothy. Each page achieves added oomph from the book's clever format: a primary pop-up spread sets the stage, then an inset on the right for text opens up to reveal the next event. Red looks lovely and lively throughout, but the wolf--of course--steals all the best scenes ("The better to EAT you with," etc.). Priceman shows similar storytelling skill in How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. You'll find that same offhand humor here, from the very dismayed crew of gingerbread people in the oven to the copies of the Herald Tribune strategically strewn about ("Peep's Sheep Found," "3 Pigs: 'We Will Rebuild'"). (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughesriceman (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin) reconceives the story of the smooth-tongued wolf and his gullible visitor in three dimensions, in this addition to the Classic Collectible Pop-Ups series. Warmly colored in scarlets and magentas, accented with cobalt and pumpkin, Priceman's wallpapered, knick-knack-filled interiors provide the story with cozy domestic touches, and she adds plenty of spice to the text. Dispensing with the lumberjack, her version has Little Red Riding Hood urge the wolf to cook her in a pot with lots of pepper. His sneezes bring forth the missing grandmother, who hurls her false teeth at him and chases him out of the house. Satisfying paper engineering moves the wolf's tongue expectantly across his lips as he waits in Grandma's bed sporting her mobcap, then sends him leaping out of bed toward his wide-eyed victim. After her exciting day, Grandma reads Red Riding Hood an inch-high storybook (thoughtfully included for readers to share) about a girl who does not talk to the big bad wolf, does not leave the path and goes directly to her grandma's without stopping. "That's not a very good story, Grandma," Little Red Riding Hood complains, as a full moon pops up over their little cardboard house. A pop-up standout. All ages.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Little Red Riding Hood: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up | [
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27,651 | 0 | Borden (Good-bye, Charles Lindbergh) bases her thought-provoking story on Boston folklore. Written in free verse, her lyrical reworking of an alleged incident is set in December 1774, six months after King George III had closed the Boston harbor. Accompanied by his three siblings, narrator Henry Price makes his way to Boston Common on his ninth birthday. Eager to try out his brand-new sled on the steep hill, he finds that soldiers have pitched tents right in the middle of the sled runs. Henry sees General Thomas Gage and concludes that he looks "like a man who would listen,/ a good man,/ a man like my father." When Henry complains to him, the officer praises the child for having "the courage of a good soldier/ as well as the spunk of your local rebels" and instructs his men to allow the children to sled wherever they wish. Though crisply depicting the British soldiers' bright red uniforms, Parker's (The Hatmaker's Sign) characteristically sketchy watercolor art is otherwise too vague to give youngsters a sure sense of the story's era or setting. Fortunately, Borden's own eye for detail compensatesAfor example, readers learn that the runners of the sled are "slick beef bones"; Henry and his siblings surreptitiously count the kegs of powder and the new sheds on the Common, to pass the information back to their father. A lively historical snippet. Ages 9-12. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 2-4-This story, based on local folklore, takes place in Boston during the harsh winter of 1775. It's Henry's ninth birthday, and he wants to use the new sled that his father has made for him. However, British soldiers camped on the Common have built cook fires right in the middle of the best hill. Henry and his siblings see General Thomas Gage, the royal governor of Boston, speaking with his troops. Noting the man's kind eyes and gentle manner, Henry dares to approach him and asks that the sled run be cleared. Moved by the child's earnest request and by his courage, Gage complies. Later, when the war begins and the general returns to England, Henry watches him leave, knowing that, despite their political differences, Gage is a "good man." This well-told story gives a clear picture of life in pre-Revolutionary Boston, and the changes brought by the blockade of Boston Harbor and the encampment of thousands of "lobster backs." It also shows that one's "enemies" are not necessarily evil simply because their political ideals may differ from one's own. The full- and double-page watercolor paintings create a nice sense of atmosphere and provide a fine backdrop for the action. A helpful author's note provides historical background. Pair this with a version of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride" to place it in a larger historical context.Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Sleds on Boston Common: A Story from the American Revolution | [
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27,652 | 2 | Jessica is worried. On the 95th day of first grade, her teacher announces that the class will celebrate the 100th day of school by bringing in collections of 100 things. Being a chronic worrier, Jessica thinks and thinks all week. What will she bring? 100 ice cubes? Too melty. Marshmallows? Too sticky. Her siblings suggest 100 lipsticks and 100 yo-yos, but Jessica rejects those ideas. When her classmates start bringing in their collections, Jessica is in anguish. Why didn't she think of peanuts, or paper clips, or peppermints? The 100th day dawns, and Jessica still doesn't know what to bring. Will inspiration strike in time?This book is for all the small worrywarts out there, the ones who fret over losing their first tooth, missing the school bus, or getting their math homework right. Jessica's ingenious solution incorporates the ideas and, most important, the love from her family. Arthur Howard's cartoony illustrations capture Jessica's big-eyed anxiety and big-smiled relief at the end of her 100th day worries. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie CoulterFor Jessica, a worrier by nature, there's a dark underside to her first grade's 100th Day celebration. In honor of the occasion, her teacher wants each student to round up a collection of 100 small things. The girl spends an entire week ruminating--"100 ice cubes? Too melty. 100 marshmallows? Too sticky. 100 toothpicks? Too pointy"--and the pressure builds as all the other kids' collections start rolling in. But Jessica is fortunate in her family: seeing her bereft and despondent on the morning of the 100th day, each member pitches in (10 buttons from her father, 10 barrettes from her sister, etc.), and her collection of their contributions (which includes 10 "Xs" from a comforting letter written by her mother) is hailed by her teacher as "100 bits of love!" This is a knowing and funny book that succeeds without patronizing its fretful heroine or sentimentalizing the supportive response of her family. Cuyler's (The Biggest Best Snowman) tight text keeps the story moving apace; Howard's (the Mr. Putter and Tabby series) crisp and colorful cartoon illustrations rendered with an energetic ink line add just the right touch of freneticism. Ages 5-8. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: 100th Day Worries (Jessica Worries) | [
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27,653 | 18 | The neat switcheroo in this picture-book biography has the story of Mark Twains life told by one of his most endearing characters, Huck Finn. As one might expect, Huck isnt the most articulate of narrators (I aint no highfalutin talker), and he would probably rather be doing just about anything else: This aint intendin to be some windy biografy. I dont lean much to writin, and I dont fetch to books much neither, specially long ones. Although Hucks narration is almost overwhelmingly folksy, his undeniably cheery tone is infectious. He succinctly traces Clemens life from a boyhood romping around the shores of the Mississippi to his odd-jobbing endeavors as a steamboat captain, newspaper reporter, soldier, and prospector until he finally finds his true calling, as a for-real writer, and becomes one of the most famous men in the world. Blitt, a frequent New Yorker cartoonist, provides jaunty, cartoony pen-and-watercolor artwork, with exaggerated, tall-tale figures and period charm aplenty. Just the biography to reinforce, or even introduce, Twains stature as a nearly mythological figure in American letters. Grades 2-4. --Ian ChipmanThe Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn. Burleigh, Robert (Author) , Blitt, Barry (Illustrator) Mar 2011. 48 p. Atheneum, hardcover, $17.99. (9780689830419). The neat switcheroo in this picture-book biography has the story of Mark Twains life told by one of his most endearing characters, Huck Finn. As one might expect, Huck isnt the most articulate of narrators (I aint no highfalutin talker), and he would probably rather be doing just about anything else: This aint intendin to be some windy biografy. I dont lean much to writin, and I dont fetch to books much neither, specially long ones. Although Hucks narration is almost overwhelmingly folksy, his undeniably cheery tone is infectious. He succinctly traces Clemens life from a boyhood romping around the shores of the Mississippi to his odd-jobbing endeavors as a steamboat captain, newspaper reporter, soldier, and prospector until he finally finds his true calling, as a for-real writer, and becomes one of the most famous men in the world. Blitt, a frequent New Yorker cartoonist, provides jaunty, cartoony pen-andwatercolor artwork, with exaggerated, tall-tale figures and period charm aplenty. Just the biography to reinforce, or even introduce, Twains stature as a nearly mythological figure in American letters. Ian Chipman BOOKLIST, February 15, 2011The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn Written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Barry Blitt (Atheneum; ISBN: 9780689830419; March 2011; Spring catalog p. 27) This playful biography of Mark Twain--narrated by his most famous of characters, Huckleberry Finn--begs to be read aloud with a backwoods twang. "Him bein' an author, you might 'spect he went to one of them fancy-pants schools people brag about. Heck, Sam hardly went to school at all! He growed up bein' poor, same as me, in a dusty village," declares Huck. Blitt (What's the Weather Inside?) contributes whimsical caricatures in pen, ink, and watercolor; a cherubic and ruddy-faced Huck, with a straw hat and a mop of hair over one eye, appears in each spread, appearing to play the dichotomous role of peeping tom and guardian angel (in one scene, he sprawls on a light fixture watching Twain write Huck's adventures as small cartoon figures of the characters paddle a raft right across Twain's pages). Enlarged and varied typefaces, used for emphasis and headings, may initially distract, but, as with the dialect, add to the delight. Burleigh's (Good-bye, Sheepie) book highlights the life of a great American author and is sure to whet readers' appetites for more about its straight-talking narrator. Ages 710. --Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2011, *STAR*BURLEIGH, Robert. The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn. illus. by Barry Blitt. unpaged. chron. CIP. S & S/Atheneum. 2010. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-689-83041-9. LC 2010006512. Gr 4-8What would Huck Finn have to say about his creator? Burleigh and Blitt take an unusual perspective in this picture-book biography. In Hucks colloquial voice, a portrait of Twain emerges that is engaging, accessible, and highly original. From his boyhood on the Mississippi, through his riverboat days, his writing and public speaking careers, and his adult family life, the main points of the writers life are covered. Blitts humorous illustrations are a perfect match for the tall-tale-inspired text. Rendered in pen, ink, and watercolor, the caricature style suits both Hucks voice and Twains life. The muted blues and browns of the palette have an old-fashioned quality that amplifies the 19th-century setting. The cover illustration, of Huck on a book raft paddling with a fountain pen, cleverly demonstrates the books premise. Although children will be entertained by the account, the most enthusiastic audience may be students familiar with Twains work. One does not need to know Hucks story to understand Twains, but doing so will increase appreciation for the ingenious nature of this collaboration.Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christophers School, Richmond, VA - School Library Journal March 1, 2011 STARThe Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn Written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Barry Blitt (Atheneum; ISBN: 9780689830419; March 2011; Spring catalog p. 27) Hot on the heels of Susy Clemens, in Barbara Kerleys The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy), BCCB 3/10, comes a rival Mark Twain child biographer, of sortsHuckleberry Finn himself. With Burleighs, ahem, editorial assistance, Huck recreates his creator, one might say, in his own homespun voice: Sam tried soldierin. But it didnt take. There wasnt much sand in his craw for killin people. And . . . he was very unfavorable to bein killed hisself. Huck not only effectively and wittily conveys the basics of his literary fathers life, but he also displays an excellent grasp of the critiques addressed to Twains work by both contemporaries and later generations: Before I came along, most folks wouldnt pay no attention to a story bout a no-account boy. . . . And they wouldnt like that my words aint always presented in the Kings English. Huck is assisted in his authorial debut by Barry Blitt, whose spidery line-and-watercolor paintings echo the fluid ink work of Robert Andrew Parker and the spot-on caricature of John Hendrix. Our author admits he left a lot out, but he slyly puts responsibility for any of his works shortcomings on Twain himself: I coulda throwed more style into it, but I cant do that very handy, not being brought up to it. Fortunately, his editor supplies additional data in an appended note, and as to stylewell, I reckon most kidsll think he done just fine. --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March 2011, *STAR; Title: The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn | [
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27,654 | 5 | She is never cold, she always knows exactly what time it is, and her hair grows two inches while she sleeps. Fifteen-year-old Corinna Stonewall--the only Folk Keeper in the city of Rhysbridge--sits hour after hour with the Folk in the dark, chilly cellar, "drawing off their anger as a lightning rod draws off lightning." The Folk are the fierce, wet-mouthed, cave-dwelling gremlins who sour milk, rot cabbage, and make farm animals sick. Still, they are no match for the steely, hard-hearted, vengeful orphan Corinna who prides herself in her job of feeding, distracting, and otherwise pacifying these furious, ravenous creatures. The Folk Keeper has power and independence, and that's the way she likes it.One day, Corinna is summoned by Lord Merton to come to the vast seaside estate Cliffsend as Folk Keeper and family member--for she is the once-abandoned child he has been looking for. It is at Cliffsend that Corinna learns where her unusual powers come from, why she is drawn to the sea, and finally, what it means to be comfortable in her own skin. Written in the form of a journal, The Folk Keeper is a powerful story of a proud, ferociously self-reliant girl who breaks out of her dark, cold, narrow world into one of joy, understanding, and even the magic of romance. Franny Billingsley, author of the critically acclaimed fantasy Well Wished, has created a vividly portrayed, deliciously frightening novel that will have readers glued to the pages until the very un-bitter end. (Ages 10 and older) --Karin SnelsonBillingsley (Well Wished) imagines a fascinating subterranean world and infuses a strong feminist theme into this poetically wrought tale featuring a 15-year-old orphan. Corinna Stonewall, who earned her name for her stubbornness, is at odds with a hierarchical society filled with lords and ladies. Rather than succumb to her fate of becoming a servant girl, she reinvents herself as a boy named Corin and secures a position as "Folk Keeper." Her job is dangerous: she must protect the mainland village of Rhysbridge against the harmful pranks of the Folk, devilish underground creatures who thrive in darkness. But Corinna feels freer in her dank cellar quarters than in the outside world. Then one day, a mysterious dying man arrives who seems to see past her disguise and hires her to work at the island estate he shares with his wife, Lady Alicia. Drawing on storytelling traditions and yet creating a completely original labyrinthine underworld, the author sends Corinna on a spiritual as well as physical journey. The tale unfolds through Corinna's Folk Record, her most prized possession, which chronicles the activities of the dark-dwelling creatures. While fending off the fiercer breed of Folk threatening Lady Alicia's seaside manor, the heroine makes discoveries about her past, the special powers she possesses and her strange attraction to the sea. The plot thickens as Corinna struggles to keep her gender and special powers a secret and fights her growing feelings for a kindred spirit: Lady Alicia's son, Finian. Strong visual imagery manages both to orient readers and yet to leave them with an odd feeling of disorientation ("The walls were heavy draperies, stone folded upon stone, lustrous with damp"). In this way, Billingsley brilliantly creates a reading experience that parallels Corinna's own experience. The author's ear for language, her use of classic motifs and her stalwart heroine make this novel an evocative, unforgettable read. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Folk Keeper | [
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27,655 | 5 | Hans Christian Andersen's beloved, wise, and humorous tale about the emperor who cares more about his appearance than about truthfulness is retold here by award-winning illustrator Demi. A weaver and tailor arrive at the palace one day, promising to make the most beautiful, soft clothes the Emperor has ever seen. Furthermore, these clothes are magic--only clever people can see them. The silly, vain Emperor is soon marching about almost buck-naked (except for some magnificent royal boxer shorts and an undershirt). Will anyone risk being dubbed a fool, and call the Emperor's bluff?This spectacular version of the story, set in ancient, provincial China, is minimal in text, but overflowing--literally--with exquisite artwork. Several of the pages fold out to 3- or 4-page spreads, lavishly decorated with metallic gold, deep, flat red, and delicate, pale green. Closer examination reveals some comical touches--mainly in the expressions of the sly "magical" tailor and weaver, and the befuddled, blustering Emperor. The people of the province manage to maintain their composure for the most part, but it's clear they're ready to burst into laughter. This truly splendid rendering deserves a place in anyone's fairy-tale collection. Demi's many other original and traditional picture books include The Empty Pot and Kites: Magic Wishes that Fly Up to the Sky. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterSet in old China, Demi's (The Nightingale) adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic is as opulent as the vain emperor himself might wish for, with lots of gold ink and five foldout panels. The lean text supports the art but does not compete with it, leaving readers free to lose themselves in Demi's beguiling panoramas. As the artist explains in an endnote, her paintings incorporate traditional Chinese symbols, particularly those of purity and virtue. Readers will want to go back and scrutinize the details so harmoniously worked into each painting, from the elaborate patterns on the characters' clothing to background scenes of the springtime weaving of silk and the summertime flying of kites. The foldouts, however, are a disappointmentAmost of them interrupt rather than extend Demi's compositions. The exception is a climactic double gatefold spread chronicling the scowling emperor, dressed only in a gold undershirt and red undershorts adorned with the image of a dragon, as he stubbornly marches through the countryside in his new "garments." The more closely kids look, the more they will find. Ages 7-10. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Emperor's New Clothes: A Tale Set in China | [
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27,656 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 3-An appealing blend of cozy cartoon illustrations and hearty language delicately spiced with a bit of Yiddish flavoring, this look at an intergenerational friendship is as satisfying as a bowl of chicken soup. When Rudie Dinkins discovers that his elderly sitter, Mrs. Gittel, has the flu, he decides that it's time for him to take care of her for a change and gets ready to cook her a batch of her own medicine. With his mother's help, the boy assembles the ingredients, also stirring in Mrs. Gittel's secret addition, nice stories about the "soon-to-be soup-eaters." As the pot simmers, he recounts three experiences that he shared with his beloved sitter, ordinary occurrences that demonstrate the affection the two friends have for one another. By the next day, Mrs. Gittel is well enough to care for Rudie, who wakes up with a tummy ache, and the two concoct a brew seasoned with the tale of "-how such a nice boychik saved the Chicken Soup Queen-." Incorporating lots of details, Hershenhorn's folksy telling is as comfortable as a grandmother's embrace. Rendered in gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil, Litzinger's illustrations are just as pleasing. Filled with rounded shapes and warm colors, the artwork adds to the affectionate tone of the text and illustrates the special relationship between the boy and his caregiver. An easy-to-follow recipe completes the package.Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library JournalCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.*Starred Review* K-Gr. 3. In this coziest and most comforting picture book, young Rudie saves his baby-sitter, the Chicken Soup Queen. Mrs. Gittel baby-sits Rudie on Mondays after school. But on Sunday he learns Mrs. Gittel has the flu, so he goes down the hall to her apartment and hears 13 "a-choos" before he even knocks. When he's sick, Mrs. Gittel makes him chicken soup. So, with his mother's help, he does the same for Mrs. Gittel, stirring in a few secret ingredients (Rudie knows his sitter likes her soup a little sweet) and a handful of Mrs. Gittel stories--like the time on card-game day when Mrs. Gittel's fingers hurt, and he helped her shuffle her cards and yell, "Gin!" The tenderness between Mrs. Gittel and Rudie ("They should bottle you like medicine!") is obvious but unforced. Gouache, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations highlight the emotion in the warm colors, and special attention is paid to homey detail: Rudie's cowboy quilt, the plates on Mrs. Gittel's kitchen wall, his mom's teary face as she peels the onion for the soup pot. Love and care radiate from the pages; this will surely inspire a lot of children to get into the kitchen so they can put stories in their own soup. An excellent recipe for chicken soup follows the story. GraceAnne DeCandidoCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Chicken Soup By Heart | [
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27,657 | 0 | Gr 2-4-Young Lindsey, bored and cranky as she visits a Civil War reenactment with her parents, is transported back in time when she meets the ghost of Willie Lincoln. Starting with the arrival of the first slaves in 1619, Willie explains the origins of the war and its history. Using highly detailed, captioned paintings, sidebars, and annotated maps, Harness imparts a great deal of information on each spread. In fact, there is no white space in the entire book. The excellent-quality artwork and hand-lettered captions were created using watercolor, ink, and colored pencil. The major battles and campaigns of the war are described, as are political events such as the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. The story concludes with the assassination of President Lincoln, who, reunited with his beloved Willie, sends Lindsey back to her waiting parents. The final pages of the book include biographical sketches of the major figures, a large map summarizing the battles and troop movements, pictures of the various flags, and a list of wartime firsts. This book, while chock-full of information, is nearly impossible to read aloud to a group and may miss its target audience. Younger readers, attracted by the pictures, will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information. Older children who would benefit from the detailed presentation may be wary of the easy format and the contrived fictional framework. Still, this is a good choice for elementary students with strong reading skills who are studying the period, visiting a reenactment or battlefield, or interested in the War Between the States.Rita Hunt Smith, Hershey Public Library, PACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3-5. Similar in format to Harness's Ghosts of the Twentieth Century (2000), this story opens with a girl and her parents attending a Civil War battle reenactment. Striking up a conversation with a boy dressed in nineteenth-century garb, the girl discovers that he's the ghost of Willie Lincoln. Together they travel through time and view events taking place before, during, and after the Civil War, from the Lincoln-Douglas debates to the assassination of President Lincoln. The pages are packed with information hand-lettered in the vertical borders of each spread. The paintings are full of period details, mini-dramas involving ordinary people as well as famous figures in the war, and speech balloons carrying the children's conversations and comments from other people in the crowded scenes. Appendixes include cameo portraits and brief biographies of significant people, a map showing campaigns and battlefields, information on flags and famous firsts of the war, a glossary, and two brief bibliographies. An imaginative and strongly visual introduction to the Civil War. Carolyn PhelanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Ghosts of the Civil War | [
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27,658 | 10 | Stephanie True Peters is a former full-time children's book editor turned freelance writer/editor and stay-at-home mom. Her writing credits include a biography for children of Newbery Honor-winner Gary Paulsen. She is also the editor of the Matt Christopher line of sports books for kids. Though she has never been on a balloon ride, she and her husband, Dan, have fun exploring the world with their two young children, Jackson and Chloe. They live in Beverly, Massachusetts.; Title: My First Raggedy Ann: Raggedy Ann and the Birthday Surprise | [
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27,659 | 0 | Dennis Nolan weaves real-life dino facts into Shadow of the Dinosaurs, a fictional account of a family camping trip turned prehistoric adventure. In this follow-up to Dinosaur Dreams, the titular Dachshund digs up an unusual bone. As his owner sleeps, Shadow is swept up into a world transformed. Throughout, Nolan names the dinosaurs the dog encounters while realistic illustrations depict their wanderings. Opening pages picture the prehistoric creatures' silhouettes labeled with their name, pronunciation and length.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.K-Gr 3-Shadow is an endearing little dachshund who finds a dinosaur bone while camping out with Jesse and his family. When night falls, the bone glows blue and the dog is transported back into prehistoric times. She gets caught in an imminent battle between sauropods and theropods, and only escapes by burying the magic bone. When she returns to modern times, the boy wakes and tells the dog his dream, which matches her magical adventure. Nolan's watercolors are the main point of interest here. On one page, thick trees morph into sharp-toed dinosaur feet and later, boulders change into toothy theropods. The scenes showing the plucky black-and-orange pup surrounded by the huge dinosaurs are amusing, and two wordless spreads are vivid and dramatic. The story itself, however, is generally weak. Beyond the illustrations, there is nothing involving about the likely confrontation. Shadow's escape back to her own time is anticlimactic, and the tie in to the boy's dream is undeveloped. Carol Carrick's What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs (Clarion, 1986) and Paul Fleischman's Time Train (HarperTropy, 1994) have more inventive stories, but there's enough action here to engage young fans, who will especially enjoy the visuals.Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, ORCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Shadow of the Dinosaurs | [] | Train |
27,660 | 2 | "Wake up, ears./ Wake up, eyes./ No more lazy,/ sleepy sighs." Simple quatrains and sunny watercolors evoke the mood and rituals of a toddler's morning in Wake Up, Me! by Marni McGee, illus. by Sam Williams, the companion volume to Sleepy Me. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.reSchool-This rise-and-shine book begins, "Wake up, ears. Wake up, eyes. No more lazy, sleepy sighs" and continues to follow a young boy as he greets the day, gets a tickle from his dad, has breakfast, gets dressed, and heads outside. "Wake up, door. Wake up, day. Bear and I are set to play." As with Sleepy Me (S & S, 2001), McGee's story is patterned after Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon (HarperCollins, 1947). The unique and contemporary differences make this book a fine choice for one-on-one sharing, for toddler storytimes, and for beginning readers. The characters are rendered in soft, subtly shaded watercolors, and are shown throughout a cozy house; the warmth that this family exudes is irresistible. The typeface is large and creates motion as it curves up and down each page. This book is a charmer.Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, ALCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Wake Up, Me! | [] | Train |
27,661 | 0 | Gr 5-8-Prior to December, 1862, 13-year-old Hannah Green lived the life of a proper Southern daughter of an important Jewish merchant in Holly Springs, MS. That month, General Grant issues General Order #11, which requires all Jews to evacuate the territory under his command, and Hannah's world is turned upside down. During the same week, her home is destroyed by Confederate soldiers who opt to blow up supplies rather than have them fall into the hands of the enemy. As Hannah and her family travel north with the Union troops, she confronts the amazing changes in her life. Through her diary entries, readers learn of the girl's changing views concerning slavery, her hatred of all things Union, and what it means to be Jewish. This story brings to light a little-known bit of Civil War history and creates a realistic young girl discovering herself in the midst of turmoil and war. A brief afterword provides more information, including the text of General Order #11.Crystal Faris, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NYCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr. 5-8. Through a series of diary entries, Hannah Green relates her experience as a Jewish Southerner during the Civil War. Devoted to the Confederate cause, her family runs the general store in Holly Springs, near Vicksburg, Mississippi, and her father and two older brothers are serving the Confederacy. Older sister Joanna has fallen in love with a captain in the Union army. Hannah is incensed by General Grant's order that all Jews must leave the area, but when the Confederates retake Holly Springs, they demolish her home. Forced to make their way north, the Greens face hardships; Hannah must confront contradictions within herself, as she compares prejudice toward Jews with her feelings of superiority to blacks in general and her own slaves in particular. Matas takes on a number of complex issues and creates a series of interesting conflicts, perhaps too many for such a short book. Still, readers will find themselves swept along by the riptide of action and the appealing cast of strong, vivid characters. The civilian's point of view and the Jewish experience give a decidedly different slant to this Civil War novel. Carolyn PhelanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The War Within: A Novel of the Civil War | [
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27,662 | 2 | Cooney recasts his stage play of the same name as a debut novel featuring a funny, offbeat premise. When Ernie Castellano is busted at school for one of his get-rich-quick schemes hawking cheeseburgers on mystery meat day he's grounded. The discovery of an empty lot proves irresistible to the young entrepreneur, however, and soon he's sneaking behind his father's back to start a pet funeral business. With the help of a handful of employees, including a scruffy nine-year-old artist who makes the caskets, and Swimming Pool, a professional mourner who can cry on demand, business is soon booming. But Ernie grows increasingly dictatorial and estranged from his new friends, and not until the death of his own dog does he learn there's more to value in life than cold hard cash. Cooney's background as a playwright is evident in the tight arc of the story and in the snappy dialogue. Some of the zaniness has an edge of forced hilarity, and some characters are cliched including the fast-talking Ernie ("Tell Mom and Dad you're going to a movie, you need the popcorn, score the ten bucks, and give little Frisky the send-off he deserves"). But the themes are credibly developed and the ending in particular has emotional resonance. This is a likable story with solid appeal. Ages 8-12.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 4-7-The charming Norman Rockwell-style kids on the cover illustration will attract readers to this comedy about 12-year-old entrepreneur Ernie Castellano. It was originally a play produced by the Lincoln Center Institute and the playwright was asked to adapt it as a novel for children. Reminiscent of Robert McCloskey's Homer Price, Ernie is smart and creative, and his ideas generally produce hilarious results. Even though his father threatens to ground him if he continues to take advantage of people, when Ernie's mother dies and he realizes that funerals aren't free, this natural-born salesman decides to start a full-service funeral business for neighborhood pets. Along with Dusty, who designs elaborate coffins, and Swimming Pool, a tough tomboy who is the official crier, Ernie clears a vacant lot. He uses a cell phone to pick up those lucrative calls about expired bunnies, iguanas, and ant-farm colonies, and business booms until Ernie reneges on his promised raise to Swimming Pool. He's not the nicest of bosses. Only after his own dog dies and his father discovers what he's up to does Ernie realize that there is more to life than making money. His father allows one last funeral, Mister Doggie's, at which father and son grow closer in their grieving over the boy's mother, and Ernie realizes that his real knack is in bringing people together. Witty, clever, yet touching, this first novel has certain kid appeal.Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, MECopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Beloved Dearly | [
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27,663 | 2 | "My name is Dovey Coe, and I reckon it don't matter if you like me or not. I'm here to lay the record straight, to let you know them folks saying I done a terrible thing are liars.... I hated Parnell Caraway as much as the next person, but I didn't kill him."Twelve-year-old Dovey has never had the slightest problem speaking her mind. But now, faced with a murder trial, she may just have to keep her mouth shut while the slick city lawyer takes care of things. It all started when the wealthy, vain, greedy Parnell takes a notion to win Dovey's older sister, trying to convince her she's too pretty to go off to college. But behind her back, he treats Dovey and her deaf brother Amos like dirt all summer long. Dovey gets in her jabs whenever she can--until the day she finds herself trapped in a back room with an irate, vengeful Parnell. Things don't look too good for Dovey when she comes to and finds her enemy dead on the floor next to her.Southern courtroom drama, a sassy female protagonist, a misunderstood yet gentle neighborhood character, vicious and narrow-minded villains--sound familiar? Yes, there's a lot of Harper Lee's Scout in Dovey, and Boo Radley in Amos (To Kill a Mockingbird). But Frances O'Roark Dowell's absorbing, readable story of families, prejudice, love, and hate has a life all its own. Dovey is an impeccably drawn heroine, complete with Southern dialect, sturdy self-esteem, and down-home wisdom. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie CoulterThis novel set in the 1920s uses lyrical first-person narrative to convey the fierce pride and family loyalty of a plucky mountain girl. Twelve-year-old Dovey Coe is determined to "lay the record straight" about the death of her sister's suitor, the wealthy Parnell Caraway, whom the townsfolk believe Dovey murdered. After declaring her innocence, Dovey describes the chain of events leading up to the tragedy. In doing so, she offers a vivid and amusingly one-sided portrait of each character involved in the drama: rich, snobbish Parnell, who courts Caroline, Dovey's flirtatious, strong-willed sister; and Dovey's austere parents, who resolutely stand by their younger daughter when the whole town turns against her. Most touching of all is Dovey's relationship with Amos, her deaf brother, who "some folks [think is] stupid... though it was a far sight from the truth." The first two-thirds of the story (tracing the ill-fated romance between Parnell and Caroline) unfolds with the leisurely pace of a carefree summer's day, but some readers may find the end of the book, recounting Dovey's courtroom experience with an inexperienced defense lawyer, too rushed. Despite the book's pat resolution, first-time novelist Dowell succeeds in capturing the essence of a young and unforgettable independent thinker, who uses honesty and common sense as her weapons against injustice. This is an author well worth watching. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Dovey Coe | [
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27,664 | 1 | Young 'uns will eagerly accept these collaborators' tempting invitation to hop aboard this clever cumulative counting caper, which opens as a wild-haired girl in a small boat chimes, "I was a-polin' through the swamp,/ only one,/ only me,/ when I came to the place filled with moss-covered trees." There she encounters a possum "a-swingin',/ a-swayin',/ a-dangly-wangly-playin.' " He drops from the tree and, when asked the titular question, confidently responds, "If you got room for one... you got room for two." In turn, seven other animals invite themselves on board, until the boat becomes mighty crowded indeed: "Now we are nine,/ not an inch more of space,/ as we enter the waters of cold, dark Swamp Lake." The scale of the art and the type size suddenly grow larger as a gator approaches the boat. He doesn't mind at all when he's told there's no room for him and provides a deliciously droll denouement. Booth's (Possum Come a-Knockin') comical pictures keep perfectly in tune with Fleming's (Gabriella's Song) riotous romp, as they introduce a cast of critters with the inimitable wide-eyed, seemingly electrocuted look that fans of his New Yorker cartoons will immediately recognize. Kids will be caught up in the zany visuals and rollicking rhythm of this natural read-aloud. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.reS-Gr 2-In this rhythmic cumulative tale, a young girl, "a-polin' through the swamp," meets several bayou animals that want to climb aboard. "Coon was there-a-splishin', a-splashin', a-fishy-wishy-catchin'. `Scoot over,' snarled he. `I'm a-comin' along.' And he waddled from the water, right on top of me." The rickety boat becomes overcrowded as Possum, Heron, and Muskrat force their way on despite the protests of others: "`Scram!' screamed Beaver. `You ain't welcome at this time.' `If you got room for eight,' said Otter, `you got room for nine.'" The wordplay and dialects are similar to those in Nancy Van Laan's Possum Come a-Knockin' (Knopf, 1990). Booth's animated ink-and-watercolor illustrations match the frenzied rhymes of the text. The cartoon animals, with their wings flapping and tails thumping, create a funny sight perched precariously on the young narrator's head. The tone of the story turns darker and the pace slows down as the 10th and final character, Gator, makes his dramatic entrance and gory exit. With its jaunty rhythm and lively art, this is a fine read-aloud choice.Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, CanadaCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Who Invited You? | [
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27,665 | 18 | Like his previous Rushmore and Liberty, Curlee's latest picture book celebrates a monumental feat of engineering and craftsmanship, and makes clear the human contributions behind it. Completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge's "stone towers were the most massive structures on the continent, its span was by far the longest in the world." Curlee pays tribute to the remarkable people who built this massive structure as well as the tremendous sacrifices they made. Many of those who worked on the bridge incurred injuries, illnesses and even death over the 16 years from its initial design to completion, not least of which was Chief Engineer John Roebling, who died of complications from an accident while working on the bridge, and his son, Washington, who finished his father's work even as he suffered great physical pain. Washington's wife, Emily, played a crucial role in helping her husband carry out the landmark's completion. The sweeping cityscape oil paintings of the bridge during sunset fireworks and glowing in the moonlight illustrate its majesty and pageantry. Maps, paintings and diagrams clearly delineate the location, mechanics and challenges described in the prose. Appendix illustrations offer detailed diagrams of suspension and support, specifications and a timeline. Readers fascinated with how things work may well regard bridges with greater respect, and aspiring engineers will gain a strong sense of the all-encompassing process of designing and erecting a suspension bridge. Ages 8-12.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 3-6-A wonderful picture book that tells the history behind the bridge and its construction, complete with the engineering facts and the human-interest anecdotes as well. Using full-color illustrations and diagrams, Curlee explains why the bridge was needed, why the engineering behind it was so important and innovative, and what the bridge has meant to those living in New York. The book's most important features include careful diagrams and descriptions showing how construction was conceived and executed. A map shows the bridge's location and a cross-section drawing delineates the caissons, supply shafts, air locks, etc. The narrative opens with New York City after the Civil War, explains the financing and final decision to build the bridge, and describes the roles of John A. Roebling and, later, his son, Washington, as Chief Engineer. A list of the bridge's specifications and a time line are appended. While not as complex as Elizabeth Mann's The Brooklyn Bridge (Mikaya, 1996), this title will appeal to audiences looking for report information and to those looking for an exciting story.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York CityCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Brooklyn Bridge | [
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27,666 | 1 | Robbins (Trucks) briefly traces the history of the American buffalo from 1875, when "there were perhaps fifty million of them," to the present, in which laws protect the surviving 200,000. "This is the story of a great shaggy creature, a very American beast, one found here and nowhere else," he begins. From the days when its distant ancestors crossed a long-vanished land bridge from Asia to Alaska, through its heyday on the Western plains and on to near-extinction by the early 1900s with the arrival of the white man, Robbins concisely and clearly charts the animal's evolution. He contrasts the attitudes of the newly arrived Europeans (who shot buffalo for their tongues and hides alone, or shot them from aboard trains "for fun") with Native Americans, who used every part of the buffalo for food, clothing, shelter and vital implements. Robbins supplements the text with a herd of dramatic images including a colorized archival photo of a man standing atop a veritable mountain of buffalo skulls, a painting of a brave hunting a buffalo with bow and arrow as well as his own photographs of a buffalo-head nickel and present-day buffalo grazing in Oklahoma. Ages 7-10. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr 2-5-A moving tale of tragedy and recovery. In 1875, there were about 50 million bison thundering on the American plains. By 1910, only 500 remained. With so few left, they finally came under the protection of the U.S. government. In this chapterless text, set amid full-page illustrations and photographs, Robbins provides some background information and history on the animal before and after the arrival of Europeans. He tracks the dramatic decrease in population and recounts efforts made to restore these animals to our landscape. The author estimates that there are 200,000 bison living today and notes that they are no longer on the list of endangered animals. Quality period reproductions or photographs (some hand-tinted) illustrate most pages. One poignant shot depicts a mountain of bison skulls; another has a man sitting on a mound of hides. This book covers some of the same ground as Russell Freedman's Buffalo Hunt (Holiday, 1988), but is geared to a slightly younger audience.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WICopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Thunder on the Plains: The Story of the American Buffalo | [
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27,667 | 2 | "Mr. Krensky's humorous look at the conclusions children draw with the information they gather about adults is delightful. The art that accompanies the story is high-spirited and fanciful as well. JoAnn Adinolfi uses bright watercolors, pastel pencils and a captivatingly antic style."-The New York TimesJoAnn Adinolfi is theillustrator and writer of many books for young readers. She was born onStaten Island in New York.When she was little diapers still hadpins. Her family was big and Italian and filled with lots of love andkisses and incredibly delicious food.She speaks fluent Germanand okay Italian and when she is not busy digging in her garden, travelling,kayaking, African dancing, dundun drumming, cooking, cleaning, raking leaves,painting walls, shoveling snow and brushing her teeth, she is happily in herstudio making books for children.Please visit her website for more information:joannadinolfi.com; Title: My Teacher's Secret Life (Aladdin Picture Books) | [
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27,668 | 17 | Armed with a deerskin bag full of apple seeds and wearing a tin pan for a hat, John Chapman better known as Johnny Appleseed is one of the more colorful characters in American history. His saga is succinctly and stylishly recounted in the Bents' classic poem, first published in 1933, and here burnished with Schindler's detail-rich colored pencil illustrations. Crafted from quatrains as sturdy as the branches of the trees Chapman tends ("For fifty years over/ Of harvest and dew,/ He planted his apples/ Where no apples grew"), the verses trace how the hero traveled the Ohio River Valley sowing seeds for posterity. The poem's simple structure, pulsing cadence and clever thematic imagery ("At seventy-odd/ He was gnarled as could be,/ But ruddy and sound/ As a good apple tree") boost its impact as a read-aloud. Schindler (Don't Fidget a Feather) enhances a succession of realistic pastoral vistas with vivid characters and critters, from the jaunty Johnny himself, with his long white beard and weathered clothes, to the curious possum family dangling above the branch where he sleeps. The artist adheres to an earthy palette and sets his drawings against a parchment-like background, which adds a timeless air. An afterword from the Bents' son puts the poem and its references in context. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.reS-Gr 2-Schindler's whimsical, colored-pencil details and scrawny, homely caricatures provide a welcome counterpoint to a somewhat singsongy rhyme scheme. An apple-juggling Johnny's bent knee (poking out of his tattered gray pants) echoes the curve of the nearby, similarly colored tree branches. This scene accompanies the verse: "At seventy odd/He was gnarled as could be,/But ruddy and sound/As a good apple tree." While the book celebrates John Chapman's gentle nature and his horticultural accomplishments, it also offers clear and appealing spreads of two important growing cycles. The first features an underground cross section of a sequence of tree stages from the seed to harvest. A complementary scene appears on the endpapers as a luscious apple becomes a shriveled core. An endnote from the authors' son describes his parents' purpose and places the poem in historical context, explaining, in particular, the single reference to the "stalking Indian." This slice of Americana deserves a spot in most collections.Wendy Lukehart, Harrisburg School District, PACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Johnny Appleseed | [
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27,669 | 2 | PreSchool-Grade 3–A visual interpretation of an African-American spiritual. It is morning when the book opens, and readers are greeted by a smiling boy. Throughout the day, he spreads his own special brand of joy wherever he goes. He gives a hug to a grandmotherly figure cooking in the kitchen, then goes for a walk, pausing to wave at a neighbor sitting on a porch. Next, he helps a woman whose groceries have fallen to the ground. He high-fives three elderly men sitting outside, and comes across a downcast boy whom he invites to join him to meet friends and play. When he returns home, he sits down to a family meal. The last illustration is of a darkened house with a light glowing from one of the windows upstairs. Lewis's watercolor illustrations across double pages effectively convey emotions of happiness and the giving and sharing of oneself. Compare and contrast this satisfying interpretation with Raffi's adaptation of the same title (Knopf, 2004).–Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHPreS-Gr. 2. Lewis illustrates this familiar African American spiritual with a series of full-page and double-page watercolor paintings that create sun-dappled outdoor scenes and portray individual characters with equal finesse. Each painting interprets phrases from the song within the framework of a "wordless" story in which a boy walks from his home to a ball field, stopping along the way to greet and help others in his rural, African American community. The pictures do not illustrate the words in the traditional sense, but they form a visual counterpoint that enriches the verse by making it more concrete and meaningful to young children. In keeping with the refrain of the spiritual, light fills the pictures, brightening and warming the day and shining from the face of the boy and the people he meets. Adults who interpret the song's "light" in terms of God's presence or gifts will find the book a good vehicle for sharing those thoughts, but children will find the simple visual storyline satisfying as well. The book concludes with the musical score with notes, chords, and four verses. Painted with spirit and grace, this is one picture book that should always be sung. Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: This Little Light of Mine | [
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27,670 | 2 | Having previously written about Thoreau, Lindbergh and Babe Ruth, Burleigh continues his series of biographies of famous men in this poetic picture book about John James Audubon (1785-1851), sumptuously illustrated by Minor. The volume begins with advice to Audubon from his father: " `Be a store owner,' his father said./ But John went to the woods instead." As an author's note explains, what follows is Burleigh's imagined response, penned by Audubon in a letter to his father, in an ornate 19th-century style with rhymed couplets: "O father, dear Father, to me it seems/ No one can fail who holds to his dreams." The flow of the narrative parallels quotations from the naturalist's journals, just as Audubon's own paintings sometimes appear as spot art to mirror Minor's illustrations. Author and artist present Audubon as both idealistic and gentle, and though he doesn't "save every cent" as his father wants him to, he ends up "saving" in his artwork the disappearing world he observes ("And I must paint it all because/ We need this memory of what was"). His philosophy wafts through the volume like a summer breeze. Minor breathtakingly captures a landscape with a blue heron in the marsh as easily as a close-up of a dying dove, alongside a poem deft and sure. Nature-lovers and budding artists will want to know about this one. Ages 6-up. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 3-5-This picture-book biography of one of America's best-known naturalists offers readers a real slice of Americana. It focuses on an imaginary letter that Audubon has written to his father in which he tries to explain why he has rejected urban life. The narrative clearly depicts the love and respect that he had for nature, and conveys the lure of the outdoors that Audubon found irresistible. The lyrical prose makes this volume a compelling read-aloud, and the excerpts from Audubon's journal lend authenticity to the text. Lush illustrations clearly depict the beauty of the landscape. Minor's paintings are complemented by several of Audubon's own drawings. This combination is visually effective, but it will be hard for children to determine the illustrator of each piece. Although Audubon's works are noted below the copyright information, the page numbers given don't seem to match up with the illustrations, making it difficult to identify his art in this unpaged book. Despite the problems, the pictures are lovely and the text is pleasant.Robyn Walker, Elgin Court Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, CanadaCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream | [
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27,671 | 2 | A menagerie of customers parades through a diner, each one ordering "Two eggs, please." Sounds like an easy day for the fox waitress, right? Wrong. Everyone wants their eggs cooked (or not cooked!) differently. A red-capped rhino likes them sunny-side up, a stand-up bass-playing mouse in a tuxedo prefers them over easy, a stork in scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck asks for scrambled, and a snake on the shoulders of a nose ring-sporting crocodile wants them raw, natch. Each critter silently contemplates the others with one thought: "Different." Of course, when the unflappable bear chef starts to fill the orders with pairs of brown and white eggs, we are reminded of one of life's truisms: were all the same on the inside. Sarah Weeks and Caldecott Honor artist Betsy Lewin provide a unique and clever setting for a story with a simple, subtle message. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie CoulterPreSchool-Grade 1Weeks and Lewin do a superb job of exploring the concept of things being different and the same. The setting is a busy diner at breakfast time, where personified animals request two eggs prepared in different manners. The customers include a rhino, a mouse, a pelican, two canine cops, a gorilla and her baby, a ram, and a crocodile with a snake. Each one is rendered in the artist's distinctive and amusing watercolor cartoons, created with an economy of line and an abundance of personality. The "foxy" waitress and a big bear of a cook round out the charming and identifiable cast. A thoroughly delightful treat for both early readers and young listeners.Donna Marie Wagner, Exeter Community Library, Reading, PA Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.; Title: Two eggs, please. | [
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27,672 | 0 | Curlee (Liberty; Rushmore; Brooklyn Bridge) broadens his scope from famous American monuments to global feats of antiquity. He opens with a poem by the Greek poet Antipater of Sidon, naming the septet of "wondrous marvels," then the author states "Seven was a mystical number to ancient people, and each of these spectacular sights was a masterpiece of architecture, sculpture, or engineering, famous for its great size, beauty, grandeur, and perfection." Ironically, the oldest of these, the Great Pyramid at Giza, is also the only one still standing. To emphasize its enormity, Curlee paints an image of Napoleon standing on the ruins of another nearby pyramid; thus, readers view how the "huge pile of carefully cut and fitted stones" was constructed as well as a sense of scale. The author then proceeds, chronologically, through the other six wonders, responsibly discussing various archeological theories. He confirms, for instance, that the foundations of a ziggurat at King Nebuchadrezzar II's palace were uncovered, but that experts disagree about whether sufficient proof exists of the hanging gardens at Babylon. Curlee also takes subtle stands: although he sketches four "versions" of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, he expresses his own preference with his full-bleed portrait of the structure. The expanse of his ambitious subject does not allow the author to delve into the kinds of details allowed by his single-subject volumes, but he certainly whets readers' appetites with this well-researched introduction. Ages 8-12.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Grade 4-8-Like the author's Liberty (2000) and Brooklyn Bridge (2001, both Atheneum), Seven Wonders has a lucid narrative, complemented by full-page, full-color illustrations. However, it may be a harder sell. Unfamiliar names will stymie many readers (there's no pronunciation guide); students may also have difficulty following the trail of evidence that documents each structure's history and legend. A map of the ancient Hellenistic world is provided. A diagram shows the relative sizes of the wonders to one another and to modern structures. Meticulous, flat line work and a limited color palette of ochre, blue, and magenta create an austere visual impression. Curlee transports readers unflinchingly from past to present with drawings of a scuba diver exploring toppled undersea fragments of statues from the Pharos, and jets whizzing through the sky over the Great Pyramid. He concludes gravely: "Perhaps many centuries from now- archaeologists will uncover the ruins of the marvels of our own modern age-." A book for students with a sure grounding in history and a love of the fantastic.Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NYCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World | [
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27,673 | 6 | Eloise gets more outlandish with each book in Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight's popular 1950s series. First published in 1951--when cold war sentiments were heating up--Eloise in Moscow showcases the highly undiplomatic exploits of our favorite precocious 6-year-old as she paints the town red with her beloved Nanny. Adults will relish this glimpse behind the Iron Curtain, complete with a foldout spread of the Kremlin that is positively suitable for framing ("Here's what they/ have in the Kremlin/ armor Easter eggs/ icons/ and clocks," "Ivan is terrible/ and is watching in this tower"). The usual pink, black, and white color scheme is absent here--Knight's pen-and-ink drawings are instead accented with a rich goldenrod, and in the foldout Kremlin, even oranges and greens.After a three-week stay in Moscow with her colleague Hilary Knight, Kay Thompson had plenty of fodder for her distinctly Eloisian travelogue: the food ("It is difficult to know what to eat in Moscow/ There is no melon in season/ Nichevo"); the stilted English of their tour guide ("That house is Chekhov/ That house is Stanislavsky if you want to see it/ No you cannot it is reconstruction"); national security ("Our telephone had quite a bit of static/ so we talked about General de Gaulle/ to throw them off track/ Everybody listens to everything in Moscow"); and even the water ("The water is Russian so I brushed my teeth/ with/ pear lemonade and apple lemonade/ Actually I preferred/ the pear").Children will be fascinated by the intricate, delicately skritched details of this 72-page picture book, but adults will surely be the most amused. Fortunately, in the wake of Eloise's Russian junket, the Kremlin wall is left standing, and there are no international repercussions. But is she, as she haughtily declares, an "absolutely darling little sweetnik"? Definitely nyet. And that's the way we like her. If your Eloise library is incomplete, which would be sad, be sure to investigate Eloise in Paris; Eloise at Christmastime; The Absolutely Essential Eloise (complete with historical scrapbook); or the original recipe, Eloise. (Best for grownups--or as a read-aloud for ages 7 and older) --Karin SnelsonKay Thompson (19091998) was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger, and coach of many MGM musicals in the 1940s. The Eloise character grew out of the voice of a precocious six-year-old that Miss Thompson put on to amuse her friends. Collaborating with Hilary Knight on what was an immediate bestseller, Kay Thompson became a literary sensation when Eloise was published in 1955. The book has sold more than two million copies to date. Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight created four more Eloise books, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmas, Eloise in Moscow, and Eloise Takes a Bawth.; Title: Eloise in Moscow | [
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27,674 | 1 | After years of dreaming of planting a garden, Mr. McGreely finally takes hoe and watering can in hand and makes his dream come true. Unfortunately for him (but luckily for readers), this is not the happily-ever-after part of the story. Late one night, three hungry bunnies appear: "Tippy-tippy-tippy, Pat! Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" The next morning finds our farmer gnashing his teeth over the gnawed sprouts. So he builds a small wire fence. That night... "Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" So Mr. McGreely builds a tall wooden wall. You get the idea. Young readers will hang on every word until they find out, once and for all, who will win the battle of the broccoli.Packed with repetitive and onomatopoeic phrases, Candace Fleming's tale of man against nature will keep kids giggling--it may even inspire them to chomp on a few carrots themselves! G. Brian Karas's lively illustrations in gouache and pencil are full of visual wit, as the audacious "twitch-whiskers" patiently watch Mr. McGreely at his seemingly futile endeavors. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie CoulterThis onomatopoeic romp opens calmly, with a hopeful gardener planting a vegetable patch behind his brownstone house. Bright green leaves sprout from the rich soil. " `Yum! Yum! Yummy!' said Mr. McGreeley. `I'll soon fill my tummy with crisp, fresh veggies.' " He doesn't notice a cottontail trio watching expectantly from the garden wall. "And the sun went down. And the moon came up. And / Tippy-tippy-tippy, Pat!/ Spring-hurdle,/ Dash! Dash! Dash!/ Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" The brazen "twitch-whiskers" hop and dig their way to a fresh-picked salad, and Mr. McGreeley awakens to a row of gnawed stems. Karas (Saving Sweetness), who works in chalky gray pencil with brick-red, kale-green and creamy-yellow gouache, pictures the bunnies waiting patiently as the incensed Mr. McGreeley builds a wire fence, a moat and an enormous cinderblock tower with searchlights. Fleming (Gabriella's Song) demonstrates an ear for language as the suburban farmer battles his furry foes, night after night. The ritual culminates in the "gotcha" finale, in which the rabbits seem defeated, only to burst into view with a vigorous repeat of the title. Fleming and Karas demonstrate great comic timing in this high-spirited tale of one-upmanship. Ages 3-7.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! | [
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27,675 | 1 | Jill Barklem spent five years on research before she started to write her stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge. Her interest in natural history and traditional rural customs and crafts has spilled over into these chronicles of hedgerow life. She lives with her husband and children near Epping Forest in England.; Title: Sea Story (Brambly Hedge) | [
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27,676 | 2 | This novel set in Texas offers an insider's view of the African-American rodeo scene, with mixed success. Shange (for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf) vividly conveys the excitement and danger of trick riding and ably expresses the void felt by Cowboy "Tie-Down" and his two daughters, 12-year-old Lucie-Marie and 14-year-old Annie Sharon, after his rodeo-star wife is killed by a temperamental horse. However, at times the author strains too hard to evoke emotions and local color; often her characters' dialogue comes off as cliched ("Well, you two are Daddy's rough, tough ridin' cutie-pies, that's for sure. And I love you way down deep in my soul"), especially in contrast with the sisters' more serious exchanges. Tension mounts within the family when Annie Sharon suspects that Tie-Down's new girlfriend, Cassie Caruthers ("a slip of a woman, not much bigger than a minute") is trying to fill her mother's boots. Hoping to draw her father's attention back to his family and his renowned late wife, Annie Sharon takes ill-conceived risks on horseback. As might be expected, the results prove disastrous. Annie Sharon realizes that she has gone too far only after her father becomes seriously injured while trying to save her life. The story provides enough action to keep pages turning, but the heart-felt moments are too few. Ages 10-14. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.Grade 6-9-Lucie-Marie and Annie Sharon's mother, a rodeo champion who valued winning above her life, died in an accident years earlier. The novel begins on the family's East Texas ranch with the girls bickering and moves from this comparatively lighthearted exchange into deeper issues and out of them again. Their father, Tie-Down, wants his girls to accept his new love, Cassie, even as he admits he is still grieving for his wife. There is an exciting description of events at a rodeo, with colorful characters and friends vividly drawn and yet all this verve is somehow wasted in this narrative that has no central character or focus to hold readers. Annie Sharon seems to be central for a good part of the book, but the adult voices compete, as does Lucie-Marie's. Tie-Down loves his children, but doesn't hesitate to use his belt so harshly that he raises welts. Cassie tells him clearly that this is unacceptable, but it continues and the topic is dropped. Equally bewildering is the treatment of the wildness of the horse Moncado, which stomped the sisters' mother to death. As both girls feel winning is powerful, Annie Sharon tries to prove she is the horsewoman her mother was by riding the rogue horse. Somewhat belatedly, Tie-Down begins to teach his daughters how to tame him, which begins in one short afternoon and is then left unresolved. Despite strong characters and a lively setting, this novel is disjointed and unsatisfying, which is a shame, since Shange is clearly capable of portraying rivalry and competitive spirit realistically.Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Daddy Says | [
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27,677 | 1 | A tiny old woman named Mrs. Brown lives in a big house on the edge of town with no one but cats, cats, cats to keep her company. All day long, as Mrs. Brown goes about her business, the cats snooze away. But as soon as she puts down their 60 bowls of cat food and marches herself up to bed, the cats go wild. Cats throwing confetti, eating spaghetti, chasing their tales, cutting a rug, doing the fox trot and the jitterbug, these feisty felines "whoop it up until the dawn." The ever-tolerant Mrs. Brown wakes every morning to a complete mess, but simply sweeps her beloved cats into a heap so they can get their beauty sleep. Although some consider Mrs. Brown to be a little batty, she scoffs at the thought. "Oh fiddle dee dee! / I love my cats and they love me."Lesla Newman's amusing cat romp is perfectly paired with Erika Oller's playful watercolors of dozens upon dozens of snoozing and frolicking felines. Newman is the well-known author of Heather Has Two Mommies and Matzo Ball Moon, as well as many books for adults. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterHIn this exuberant picture book, Newman (Matzo Ball Moon) and Oller (Top Banana) offer an inspired explanation of why cats sleep all day. Mrs. Brown's house overflows with cats--and she prefers it that way. "She loved to fill her lap with them/ She loved to take a nap with them/ She loved to place them all just so/ And then embrace them row by row." Oller's watercolors, with their indistinct edges and softly blurred coloring, capture all the fuzzy charm of the capering kitties. All day long the fetching felines snooze and snore, but at night the fun begins, as they cut loose in a frisky frolic. "When Mrs. Brown was tucked in tight/ The cats would party every night." They bake, they knit, they dance and play ball, and oh, what a mess they make by morning. Fortunately, Mrs. Brown has the right attitude: "Oh fiddle dee dee!/ I love my cats and they love me." The rollicking rhymes give Oller plenty of leeway. The artist pictures cats draped over every conceivable surface, a cat weather vane on the roof and the amply proportioned Mrs. Brown with a lap piled so high with pets that only her sturdy legs are visible. This is a real find for cat fanciers and their furry companions, who will no doubt give it an enthusiastic "two paws up." Ages 5-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Cats, Cats, Cats! | [
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27,678 | 2 | Filmmaker Spike Lee and wife Tonya Lewis Lee join the ranks of other celebrity kids' book writers with their sweet, rhythmic read-along about the endless energy of a toddler blasting through a busy day.The Lees' diapered dynamo starts early (the VCR reads 3:01 a.m.), with the little girl outlasting her mama sprawled out on the living room floor ("Go back to bed, baby, please, baby, please"). A breakfast of upturned Cheerios follows a few hours later ("Not on your HEAD, baby baby baby, please!"), then play time, a trip to the playground, dinner, and a bath ("Please don't splash, baby baby, please, baby!"). The fun repetition doesn't change up until the book's sweet close, as the curly-haired tyke somehow can't get to sleep ("Kiss me good night? Mama, Mama, Mama, please").The Lees have as much or more success than their high-profile counterparts (Jerry Seinfeld: Halloween, John Lithgow: Marsupial Sue; and Jamie Lee Curtis: I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem), thanks in large part to their excellent choice of illustrator Kadir Nelson, whose work has appeared everywhere from Sports Illustrated to the New Yorker. Just as he did with Will Smith's Just the Two of Us, Nelson uses his enormous talent to inject energy and emotion into each richly colored, Rockwellian spread. (Baby to preschool) --Paul HughesMany grownups will recognize the title as the comic carnal plea uttered by Lee (as Mars Blackmon) in his 1986 film, She's Gotta Have It. Now, the filmmaker and his wife/co-author, who have two children, have turned those words into a G-rated parental entreaty-directed at an inexhaustible toddler. "Go back to bed,/ baby, please, baby, please./ Not on your head,/ baby baby baby, please!" The large typography seems to writhe in vain supplication. The cherubic toddler, whose chocolate ringlets circle her head like restless electrons, tests her parents' patience in myriad ways, and Nelson (Just the Two of Us) has a knack for picking just the right angle. For the first of his handsome, burnished-toned acrylic spreads, readers share a toddler's eye-view. In the foreground are the feet of the prone, exhausted mother, a plastic ring from a stacking toy hanging from her left big toe, as a very wide awake baby plays horsey on her stomach. The clock on the VCR reads 3:01 a.m., and a bedtime video playing on the TV clearly makes no impact whatsoever. A tantrum when it's time to leave the playground, plus a chaotic meal and bath occasion other imploring phrases from the parents, whose presence Nelson suggests with just a foot or an arm outstretched to the youngster. But at book's end, the tables are turned: "Kiss me good night?/ Mama, Mama, Mama, please," says the girl, standing in the doorway of her mom and dad's room. The final wordless picture, a loving embrace, leaves no doubt of who loves this baby. Ages 2-5.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Please, Baby, Please | [
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27,679 | 0 | Grade 1-5-Children fascinated by ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs should enjoy this retelling based on a tale found on an ancient papyrus scroll from the 19th century B.C.E. The sole survivor of a shipwreck relates being washed up on the shore of a paradisiacal "Island of the Soul" inhabited only by a huge serpent. As the sailor and serpent become friends, the creature tells how he lost his family and predicts the man's rescue, after which the island "will disappear forever under the waves, but it will always be with you, for it lives in your heart." The story, with its mystical snake and mysterious island, will hold readers' interest. The book is most successful, however, as a peek into ancient Egyptian folklore, art, and language. Bower's captivating pictures illustrate the story in the style of ancient Egyptian artists, utilizing vivid earth tones, blues, greens, and reds to depict a world that seems orderly even as a ship is overturned and its sailors drown. Hieroglyphic representations of highlighted phrases with their phonetic Egyptian translations appear on most pages of text. Five pages at the end give fascinating background. Pair this tale with Eric Kimmel's Onions and Garlic (Holiday, 1996) in a shipwreck-survivors storytime for school-aged children.Louise L. Sherman, formerly at Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3-5. This captivating picture book for older children, based on a four-thousand-year-old papyrus scroll now in Moscow's Hermitage Museum, tells of a sailor, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, who finds himself on an island paradise, the Island of the Soul. A huge serpent, with scales of gold and lapis, finds the man and assures him he will soon be rescued. When the prediction comes to pass, the serpent gives the man "precious things" to take back with him, asking only that the sailor speak well of him. The pictures beautifully reflect the colors and hieratic forms traditionally associated with ancient Egypt, and children interested in hieroglyphs (virtually all children) will be fascinated by the bands of hieroglyphs shown and translated on the text page. They'll have a great time comparing the text to the pictures. The book includes a map, notes about the story, an explanation of the symbols, and a bibliography. GraceAnne DeCandidoCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs | [
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27,680 | 2 | Harris (It's Perfectly Normal) and Ormerod (Miss Mouse Takes Off) admirably and successfully tackle a child's first encounter with death, through the loss of a beloved pet. "When I woke up this morning, I tickled Mousie's tummy. But Mousie didn't wake up," says the unnamed narrator, a preschool-age boy. Author and artist both possess an acute sense of the boy's emotional trajectory. After his first outpouring of grief and anger (which Ormerod depicts in a stunning facial close-up), the boy focuses on preparations for Mousie's funeral, busily filling the coffin with mementos and then decorating it with "wiggly stripes." But his composure crumbles when he discovers a piece of toast missing from his plate: "Where did it go? Did it die too?" Acceptance finally comes after he and his parents bury Mousie, and it is authentically childlike: "So, maybe someday, I'll get another mouse," the boy says, stretched across the floor and contemplatively dawdling with Mousie's exercise wheel. "But not just yet." The artist's fluid pencil lines underscore the vulnerability of the boy and the poignancy of his story. Uplifting details (the boy's mouse slippers, a stuffed mouse toy) offer a glimmer of hope, and the solidity at the heart of her characterizations especially in the portraits of the narrator seeking comfort from his parents will be immensely reassuring to young readers. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Ages 2-4. A little boy wakes up one morning and tickles his pet mouse's tummy, but Mousie doesn't move. So begins this story for the very youngest about the death of a pet. Daddy tells the boy that Mousie is dead, but the child prefers to think that Mousie is just very, very tired. Slowly, after lots of tears and many questions, the boy comes to terms with the fact that his pet is gone. He plans for the funeral by painting a picture of himself to put inside the shoebox that will hold Mousie. He will get another pet, but not right away. Ormerod's honest pictures, black-pencil line drawings with watercolor washes on buff-colored paper, capture the emotions of the situation and chronicle the boy's move from disbelief to acceptance. The endpapers, on which Mousie cavorts, show what a delightful little pet he was. The choice of a first-person narrative has a tendency to distance listeners because the boy often sounds older than he looks. Still, this covers all the bases of a frequently asked-for subject. Ilene CooperCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Goodbye Mousie | [
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27,681 | 2 | Beatrice Gormley has written a number of books for young readers, including several titles in the Historys All-Stars series, as well as biographies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and John McCain. She lives in Westport, Massachusetts.; Title: Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator (Childhood of Famous Americans) | [
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27,682 | 5 | "Walking a thin line between the witty and the precious, the comedian brings an ebullient, jaunty style to this version of 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' " said PW, but "a heavy hand to his delivery of the tale's moral." Ages 4-8. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: King Bob's New Clothes | [
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27,683 | 0 | He may be massive and burly, but this rich giant of the north woods is no match for tiny, whip-smart Beatrice. Determined to dupe the big guy out of his gold coins in order to put porridge on her poor mother's table, Beatrice proposes a match of strength. Amused, the giant agrees, only to be hoodwinked again and again by the wee lass.Margaret Willey's clever version of the classic brains vs. brawn yarn rises above and beyond the garden-variety fairy tale by virtue of Heather Solomon's stunning, unusual illustrations. Incorporating photo scraps of flowers and wood grain into her watercolor, oil, and acrylic paintings, Solomon creates richly textured visions of the upper peninsula of Michigan. Especially magical are the portrayals of men fishing, mining, and logging in the densely wooded northern landscape. We can only hope that this, Solomon's first venture into picture books, is just the beginning of a long, prolific career. (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie CoulterFirst-time illustrator Solomon makes an impressive debut in this winning tale of a spunky girl who matches her wits against a giant's brawn to save her family from destitution. Combining detailed watercolor and collage, the artist works patches of photographed tree bark, flowers, earth and grass into her paintings, creating a world in which realism blends with fantasy images to magical effect. Slender logs frame some of the pictures; in others, Beatrice and the giant appear as silhouettes against a white background. While some readers may find the heroine's cheekiness off-putting, others will admire her confidence and creative problem-solving as she tricks the giant into conceding each bet, in spite of his superior strength. Such humorous moments as when the girl wraps a rope around the giant's well and says, "I am not going to bother carrying those buckets one by one.... I would sooner pull out the whole well," are sure to amuse readers, as will the good-natured tone of the battle, which leaves the giant "smiling to himself, feeling lucky" despite his losses. Willey's engaging tale of her sharp-witted heroine's courage, enhanced by Solomon's inspired illustrations, is clever indeed. Ages 4-8.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Clever Beatrice: An Upper Peninsula Conte | [
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27,684 | 1 | Gr 3-5-Another installment about the members of the Club of Mysteries, a group of cats that occasionally leave their comfortable homes to meet in an old garage for companionship and adventure. This time, Carlotta brings her five kittens to the clubhouse and asks her friends to help her protect them and teach them useful skills before they set out on their own. With no prior parenting experience, the other felines are put to the test with the handful of squirmy, hungry, and astoundingly adorable kittens. This story is filled with love, danger, and humor, and has a satisfying ending. These characters may, in fact, be cats, but each one will have a voice and a face in readers' minds. Even though they can converse with one another, humans cannot understand them, giving the book a realistic flavor. A few black-and-white illustrations show the endearing characters interacting. Similar to Dick King-Smith's Martin's Mice (Crown, 1988) and Bill Wallace's Upchuck and the Rotten Willy (Minstrel, 1998), this story will appeal to fans of animal tales.-Sharon R. Pearce, Geronimo Public School, OKCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3-6. This third offering in the Club of Mysteries series finds the male members of the club all assisting the she-cat, Carlotta, with her five new kittens. At first, they concentrate their efforts on feeding Carlotta and keeping her location a secret from the neighborhood bullies. Later, they help to teach the youngsters survival skills (Marco teaches reading; Polo, leaping; Texas Jake, hunting; and Elvis, singing), and find them a permanent home. As in the earlier titles, Naylor provides readers with plenty of adventure (including encounters with the gang's archenemies, Bertram the Bad and Steak Knife) before the kittens are safely delivered to their new residence, a home for the elderly. An added bonus are the humorous lyrics to some of Elvis' many lullabies. Give this to cat lovers and fans of the popular series. Kay WeismanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Carlotta's Kittens: And the Club of Mysteries | [] | Test |
27,685 | 11 | Herb Dunn is a pseudonym for a well-known author. Under this name, he also wrote Joe DiMaggio: Young Sports Hero.; Title: Joe DiMaggio: Young Sports Hero (Childhood of Famous Americans) | [
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27,686 | 2 | reS-Gr 3-Fifteen years after the publication of Pete Seeger's Abiyoyo (S & S, 1986), the giant returns. This time, the townspeople are cutting down all the trees to build houses, and flooding results when the rains come. When they try to build a dam and run into a boulder nobody can move, the granddaughter of the magician responsible for Abiyoyo's previous disappearance convinces him to magic the big guy back. When the giant reappears in all his slobbery, stinking wonder, roaring for food, the townspeople rush to feed him. The little girl, in a ploy to get him to move the boulder, asks him if he is strong enough to do it, and he hurls it several hundred feet away. The villagers rejoice and everyone sings the now-famous song, faster and faster until, exhausted, the giant falls asleep. But they soon discover that Abiyoyo's feat has crushed the magic wand that would zap him away again, and the local folks must find a way to coexist peacefully with him. Seeger teaches several lessons in this clever if somewhat forced tale: the value of the environment, of sharing, and of the need to live with whatever "giants" are in one's life. Hays's colorful illustrations are just as wonderful as in the original tale, with the jagged-edged, overpowering monster oozing attitude from every pore. For those who felt it unfair of the town to zap away what they feared in the original book, this second installment will be a just and happy ending.Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NYCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Ages 6-8. In 1986 storyteller and songwriter Seeger retold the South African folktale of the troublesome giant Abiyoyo who gobbled up villagers, and the outcast father and son who found a way to make him disappear. In this book, coauthored by writer and poet Jacobs, the fearsome monster is revived, for a new generation. When a cycle of spring flooding and summer drought threatens the safety of the village, the townspeople decide to tame the waters by building a dam. A huge boulder brings the hopeful plan to a halt, until a young girl petitions her father and grandfather to call Abiyoyo back. If we feed Abiyoyo's hunger with good food, she reasons, he won't need to eat villagers and he can help us move the enormous rock. The child's faith and determination guide the community, and the once-banished monster becomes a new citizen. A tribute to tolerance. Kelly HallsCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Abiyoyo Returns | [
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27,687 | 1 | Troodon. Suchomimus. Carcharodontosaurus. No, these are not rare diseases but rather the names of just a few of the fantastic creatures called dinosaurs that roamed the earth hundreds of millions of years ago. This oversized, full-color picture book approaches the subject with a flair. Artists from around the world painted over 75 illustrations of these diverse creatures, sometimes offering varying perspectives on what the dinosaurs might have looked like. Each painting presents the very latest scientific views on their appearance, but the text emphasizes that no one knows for sure what they looked like, beyond what can be pieced together from fossils. Dinosaurs may even have been brightly colored, like their relatives, lizards and birds.Authors Howard Zimmerman and George Olshevsky chose to divide the book according to dinosaur size and speed, eating habits, and appearance. Scientifically accurate and up-to-date, the text provides the kind of information dinosaur fans really want to know. Discover the strangest looking dinosaurs (including Therizinosaurus, with its two-and-a-half-foot-long curved claws and broad-billed toothless beak), the largest (at up to 170 feet tall, the "earthshaking lizard" Seismosaurus is aptly named), and the deadliest (the smart, speedy, saw-toothed Velociraptor was one dinosaur you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley). This book has 'em all, from the Triassic to the Jurassic to the Cretaceous periods. (Ages 7 and older) --Emilie CoulterGrade 2-5-Dramatic illustrations of awesome dinosaurs rank this book several notches above the average. Zimmerman groups his dinosaurs mostly by physical characteristics in chapters with headings such as "The Biggest Meat Eaters," "The Strangest-Looking Dinosaurs," and "The Last Dinosaurs." There's a fair amount of information about each creature, and pronunciation guides for names like Pachycephalosaurus. The author includes facts about newly discovered animals such as the Suchomimus, a dinosaur with a huge, crocodilelike mouth. Pictures dominate, and the tall, oversized format is perfect for displaying these gigantic creatures. A towering Tyrannosaurus actually looks like it could eat 500 pounds of meat in one bite. The book often offers several artists' takes on the same animal, showing how appearance, color, and anatomy are still open to interpretation. An intriguing portrayal of some amazing creatures. Cathryn A. Camper, formerly at Minneapolis Public Library Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: Dinosaurs! | [
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27,688 | 2 | Blue loves going to school. Each day she fills her backpack with lunch, a smock for painting, and her favorite book for reading time. When she arrives at school, all her friends are there: Green Puppy, Orange Kitten, Magenta, and Purple Kangaroo, as well as their teacher, Mrs. Marigold. But school isn't all fun and games. Sometimes there are challenges, such as when Blue knocks over her milk at lunchtime, or when Green Puppy sits in Blue's special place on the reading rug. "Should Blue make Green Puppy move out of her favorite spot? Or should Blue sit somewhere else today?" Readers are treated to the preschool pooch's thought processes as she envisions each option, and are asked to help Blue come up with the best answer to the problem.Blue is a favorite among toddlers and preschoolers from her Nick Jr. TV show, Blue's Clues and many lively storybooks (Magenta's Visit, What to Do, Blue?, Welcome to Blue's Clues, etc.). In this interactive story, young children can help their beloved blue pup face some very familiar school-day concerns-and find terrific solutions. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter; Title: Blue Goes to School (Blue's Clues) | [
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27,689 | 1 | David A. Carter has bugs on the brain. Pop-up bugs, to be precise. Popular author of a series of insect-rich books, including Jingle Bugs and Bed Bugs, Carter is a masterful paper engineer. His latest holiday extravaganza takes a traditional Christmas song and turns it positively buggy. On each of the 12 days of Christmas "my true love" gives a new, festive creepy crawler--leaping, lurking, or popping right out of the box. By the fourth day, we're up to "four Snowflake Bugs, three Sneaky Bugs, two Cuckoo Bugs, and a Fruitcake Bug in a pear tree." Now if that's not true love...Young pop-up enthusiasts will revel in the silly six-legged critters Carter creates. Decked out in antlers, tutus, and tinsel, these bugs are definitely set for the season. Unlike the once-opened gifts of Christmas, these pop-up packages bring enjoyment over and over again. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie CoulterFans of Carter's Bugs in a Box series get more of what they like in this pop-up parody as a nimble troupe of nonsensical bugs upends a familiar Christmas carol. As in the previous books, each spread reveals another gaily wrapped box; inside each box is a new bug surprise, from a "fruitcake bug" grinning in a pear tree and "eight popcorn bugs a-popping." The grand finaleAa dozen "angel bugs" dangling from a full-size tabletop ornamentAis an eye-popper; aside from that feat, there's not much new here. Ages 2-5. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.; Title: The 12 Bugs of Christmas: A Pop-up Christmas Counting Book by David A. Carter (David Carter's Bugs) | [
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473... | Train |
27,690 | 20 | Subject of sonnets, songs, and soul searching, love is--and is not--many things. "Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not envious or boastful. Love is not arrogant or rude." In her adaptation of I Corinthians 13, Wendy Anderson Halperin presents the elegantly simple definition of the word "love" the apostle Paul offered 2,000 years ago. She features one of Paul's definitions on each whimsically illustrated two-page spread. Pages are framed in an ornate yet homespun decorative pattern, and covered with divided boxes portraying the dearth of love's benefits on the left (sticking out your tongue, for example), and the bounty of love on the right (a fatherly kiss on the head). Halperin's detailed pencil and watercolor illustrations will provide something new to explore with every reading--dozens of picture stories-within-stories act as a starting point for discussion with children.Halperin has illustrated many charming books for children, including Marsha Wilson Chall's Bonaparte and Sophie and Rose by Kathryn Lasky. (Ages 4 to 8, or a gift from adult to adult) --Emilie CoulterAdapting the apostle Paul's definitions of love in I Corinthians 13, Halperin (Hunting the White Cow) combines Paul's words with an intricate mosaic of watercolor-and-pencil vignettes to create a memorable, unusually thoughtful picture book. A simple line of text (e.g., "Love is... patient. Love is kind") runs across the bottom of each spread; above, Halperin's artwork appears in small, carefully arranged panels, akin to the pieces of a stained glass window. On each left-hand page, her panels depict people acting without love (ballplayers bicker; a pedestrian ignores a homeless man). The right-hand pages show the same people performing acts of kindness, touched by the joy love brings (a child stands at bat, a woman delivers meals-on-wheels). Other interpretations are more subtle. A panel on the spread illustrating "Love... does not insist on its own way" follows the metamorphosis of egg to caterpillar to butterfly; the spread for "Love... believes all things" is bordered by a row of crayons, pictures of seed packets, tools ranging from microscope to eggbeaters, and musical instruments. Some panels are reserved for continuing stories: as the pages progress, a house on the left becomes increasingly dilapidated, while on the right a sculptor transforms a block of marble into an enduring work of art (it's Michelangelo and his David). Those who pore over the pictures (and readers will want to) will find references to Aesop, Cinderella, the Three Little Pigs and more. With her thought-provoking, insightful visual examples, Halperin does an outstanding job of relating biblical text to contemporary, everyday life. All ages.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Love Is. | [
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] | Test |
27,691 | 0 | Kindergarten-Grade 5-This collection of humorous poems is packed with silly contraptions designed to solve all sorts of problems. There is "The Sure-Footed Shoe Finder," a device with a "powerful Foot-Odor-Sensitive Vent" that "tracks down your sneaker by matching its scent." When you spray a produce repellent called "Veggies Be Gone" on your family's shopping cart, it "-fends off beans, beets, and peas./It even deflects cauliflower with ease." There is also a "Tooth-Fairy Forklift" for hoisting a heavy "tooth donor," and a leaf machine that assists with raking. Reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's work, the topics are child friendly and humorous. Pen-and-ink cartoons frame each selection. Packed with amusing details, the artwork is busy and clever, and highlights just how zany some of these devices are. Children will delight in the funny verses and appreciate the creative solutions to common dilemmas.Sheilah Kosco, Rapides Parish Library, Alexandria, LACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 3-5. With an unapologetic nod to Dr. Seuss, this debut collection of clever poems introduces imaginary inventions to make life easier, mostly for kids. Veggies Be Gone! spray repulses vegetables from a grocery cart, a concept dear to the heart of many a child; the Crumbunny "cleans the crumbs beneath the sheet, / and when he's full, sleeps at your feet." Finger-snapping rhythms and well-executed rhymes keep the verses bouncing along, with plenty of variety in meter from poem to poem. Scratchy pen-and-ink illustrations surround the text with elaborate machines often operated by scruffy, smiling child customers. The high-energy poems, with titles like "Filbert's Footsie Floss" and "Stink Stoppers," will appeal to Prelutsky and Silverstein fans on the lookout for humorous verse. Kathleen OdeanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Here's What You Do When You Can't Find Your Shoe: (Ingenious Inventions for Pesky Problems) | [
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27,692 | 14 | Author-illustrator team Stephen Krensky and S.D. Schindler are once again intent on demystifying the big guy in red. They seem to be having a good time doing it, and it's pretty hard not to get caught up in the fun.Just as they did in How Santa Got His Job, a tongue-in-cheek account of Santa's circuitous entre into the Christmas biz, Krensky and Schindler go behind the scenes to tell another true story from the life of Mr. Claus. This time, the trouble starts in the North Pole employee break room, as some of the elves are grumbling over coffee and donuts about Santa's annual procrastination and last-minute rush: "Why can't Santa plan better?" "How come he's so slow?" One bespectacled elf named Muckle goes further: "Santa is too set in his ways.... He wastes time and energy." Sure, but what can you do? Santa's "only human." And that gives Muckle his big idea.In a few months, the Deliverator is unveiled, an automated, UFO-style, present-delivery solution that might just put Santa out of a job. Well, there's actually no "might" about it--remember the book's title--but Santa doesn't go down without a head-to-head, John Henry-style competition. You can imagine how this goes: both manage to whiz down the chimney in a second flat, but only Santa stops for milk and cookies--"Chocolate chip... my favorite."So the only question remaining is whether and when Santa gets his groove back. And between Krensky's carefully staged story and Schindler's playful, often subtle illustrations (schematics of the Deliverator, a frazzled Muckle on his laptop), you can bet you'll have a good time finding out. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul HughesIn How Santa Lost His Job by Stephen Krensky, illus. by S.D. Schindler, downsizing hits the North Pole when the elves vote to sack Santa in the name of efficiency. Clever, humorous details abound in Schindler's pen-and-ink art (the elves upgrade to computer ordering; reindeer help Santa clean house). A fitting follow-up to How Santa Got His Job.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: How Santa Lost His Job | [
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] | Validation |
27,693 | 2 | Despite an intriguing premise and format, Haddix's (Among the Imposters, reviewed June 11) novel may well stretch readers' credibility when years of problems are resolved in one brief summer trip. Siblings 15-year-old Chuck and 14-year-old Lori Lawson go on their first plane ride to join their motivational-speaker mother on a two-week five-city tour, and the teens end up learning about a lot more than fancy hotels and airports. Through Lori and Chuck's alternating perspectives (their mom breaks in occasionally to offer her point of view), readers discover just how angry the seemingly perfect Lori is towards her almost always absent mother and about overweight and clumsy Chuck's self-loathing they even learn why their mother won't talk about their father's death eight years ago. Haddix credibly maps out the Lawsons' dynamics and fills in some interesting details about growing up in agricultural Pickford County (in their chapters, Lori and Chuck discuss 4-H club and taking pigs to slaughter) but the three characters' chapters rotate so quickly that readers rarely get to settle into any one story line. The characters experience dramatic breakthroughs at the conclusion, each unearthing buried secrets from within themselves. But the revelations come too quickly and undermine the authenticity of the previous chapters. Ages 12-up.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Gr 5-8-A family struggling with guilt and loss learns that repressing feelings can be harmful. Fourteen-year-old Lori Lawson is popular, deeply fearful of appearing "different," and has a narrow view of the world; in short, she's a fairly typical teen. Her 15-year-old brother Chuck is overweight, insecure, and the object of derision in their rural home town. Their mother is a successful motivational speaker who tries to repair her failing relationship with her oldest children by taking them on a lecture tour. Finally, they talk to one another about their feelings and misplaced guilt about the death of the teens' father many years earlier. Lori ultimately learns to be kinder to those she loves while Chuck finds salvation in art, gaining self-confidence and purpose. Their mother realizes she needs to share information about their father with her children. The novel's structure is interesting, alternating between third-person perspectives of Lori and Chuck interspersed with their mother's motivational speeches and her true feelings of powerlessness. The narrative voices are individually distinct and ring true for all three characters, none of whom is entirely blameless in the degeneration of their relationships. Haddix employs some effective imagery (Lori describes the three of them as "an island of silence"). Young teens will enjoy the generally melodramatic tone, finding satisfaction in the revelations that occur at the end.B. Allison Gray, South Country Library, Bellport, NYCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Takeoffs and Landings | [
27837
] | Test |
27,694 | 1 | "In a small, cozy cottage lived Mrs. McTats. She lived all alone, except for one cat." This is only true for a page or two. In time, more and more cats scratch on her door, and somehow, every time, she seems to find room for them. "'Come in, my sweet dears,' said Mrs. McTats. 'I'm sure I've got room for just two more cats. I'll call you Basil, and Curly you'll be. I only had one cat, but now I have three!'" She names them in alphabetical order, from her original, Abner, to the final arrival, number 26--named Zoom. Joan Rankin's endearing illustrations of all the new four-legged family members--along with Mrs. McTats's easy hospitality--will charm the socks off your youngsters so much they won't realize it's an alphabet and counting book combined! (Ages 3 to 7) --Karin SnelsonCapucilli (the Biscuit books) and Rankin (Wow! It's Great Being a Duck) create a picture of cozy domesticity while incorporating a subtle lesson in letters and numbers. Mrs. McTats and her cat, Abner, lead a quiet life until the day two bewhiskered strangers turn up on their doorstep. The heroine doesn't hesitate. " `Come in, my sweet dears,'/ said Mrs. McTats./ `I'm sure I've got room/ for just two more cats." Thus Basil and Curly join the household. Three more show up the next day, then four, until the furry family extends to Pip, Quip and Rosebud on through Winnie, Xinnie and Yodel. Yet this abecedary tale leaves room for one final surprise; as Mrs. McTats puzzles over a feeling that "something was missing," she opens the door to greet not a cat, but a puppy named Zoom. With just the merest hint of pastel shades in her watercolors, Rankin artfully blurs the edges of characters and surroundings alike into softly rounded shapes. She dresses the pages with oval shrubbery, round rugs, overstuffed cushions and, most notably, the beaming, unflappable Mrs. McTats herself, as plump as her fetching, well-fed pets. Other comic touches include Abner hilariously mimicking his mistress's every expression and pose, and the faces in an heirloom portrait, which shift from surprise to bafflement to downright disapproval at the ever-expanding residents of the snugly appointed cottage. Ages 3-7.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.; Title: Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats | [
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27,695 | 7 | Stephanie True Peters is a former full-time children's book editor turned freelance writer/editor and stay-at-home mom. She is the author of Raggedy Ann and the Birthday Surprise as well as other books for children. When not at her computer, she likes to explore the great outdoors with her children, Jackson and Chloe, and her husband, Dan. So far, they've discovered many ants, squirrels, and birds, but no magic meadow folk. She and her family live in Beverly, Massachusetts.; Title: Raggedy Ann And Andy And The Magic Potion | [] | Test |
27,696 | 14 | As a young girl prepares for Passover with her family, she uses all her senses to experience this important Jewish holiday. Everyone in her family answers her questions (which are an integral part of Passover) and playfully encourages her to understand more deeply what they are celebrating. Her father tells her that it is important for Jewish people to celebrate Passover every year so that they can always remember what it was like when people were slaves in Egypt, and so they can pray for all the people in the world who don't have freedom. The girl learns that Passover has things to see (feathers, candles, and spoons), smell (gefilte fish and chicken soup), taste (matzah bread), hear (songs and blessings), and feel (the softness of the silk matzah cover). Passover is a time to ask questions. But most of all, she says, Passover is "a wonderful feeling in my heart, dyenu." (Hebrew for "it would be enough.")Cathy Goldberg Fishman's gentle, lilting child's-eye-view of Passover is a quiet extravaganza of the senses. Melanie W. Hall's wonderfully Chagall-like collagraph and mixed-media illustrations create a mystical backdrop that evokes history and tradition as it commemorates ancient symbolic ritual. This is one of four in a series by the author/illustrator team, including On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, On Hanukkah, and On Purim. (Ages 5 to 10) --Emilie Coulter; Title: On Passover | [
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27,697 | 0 | Grade 1-3-A fictional picture book based on the life of Alta Weiss, who at the age of 17 was the first female to pitch baseball for a semipro all-male team, the Vermilion Independents. Hopkinson does an outstanding job of highlighting the young woman's drive and ambition, not letting gender interfere with her goals. "Just sign me up, Coach.- And as sure as `Strike Out' is my middle name, I guarantee you'll sell lots of tickets. Folks are curious to see a girl play." Time divisions within the story are indicated by a ball-and-bat insignia showing the first through the ninth innings. The last page has a time line of women in baseball. A full-page, black-and-white photo of Weiss, ready for the pitch, decorates the back cover. Widener's distinctive acrylic paintings in vivid colors and with exaggerated features further express the strength of this book. Other titles, such as Diana Helmer's Belles of the Ballpark (Millbrook, 1993; o.p.) and Sue Macy's A Whole New Ball Game (Holt, 1995), cover American Girls Professional Leagues, but do not mention Weiss, who played on a men's team. Purchase where there is an audience of girls who play Little League.Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.Gr. 2-4. "Nothing could keep me from baseball . . . By the time I was seventeen I'd struck out every boy in town." In prose that reflects the easy rhythms of balls and strikes, Hopkinson tells the story of teenager Alta Weiss, who in 1907 pitched for a semipro all-male team in Ohio. Alta's first-person narrative begins with her own memory of playing catch, and her family's image of her throwing a corn cob at a barn cat at the age of two. Alta practices, plays, and wins over the crowd in her first game. That summer she's the draw of her team, the Independents; people come to see "Girl Wonder" play. She plays a second season, but then she goes on to medical school (the only female in the class of 1914). Hopkinson enriches her burnished prose with an author's note about the real Alta Weiss and a chronology of women in baseball. Widener's exaggerated faces and rubbery-looking bodies are set in a picture plane of bright acrylics, where a bat or glove might pop out over the edge: a logo of ball and bats marks the innings of Alta's life. There's a sturdy charm to Alta's voice, and an unmistakable passion for the game. The black-and-white photograph on the back of the dust jacket brings added dimension to the story of a young woman who follows her dreams. GraceAnne DeCandidoCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved; Title: Girl Wonder : A Baseball Story in Nine Innings | [
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] | Test |
27,698 | 2 | In what PW called a "tender tale of love and sacrifice," an African-American widow and her son trace the rhythms of their week during the early part of the 20th century. Ages 3-8. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc."There's love here, cast over David Earl's life with the same uncompromising grace Ma Dear brings to all thing in their lives". -- Kirkus Reviews; Title: Ma Dear's Aprons (Anne Schwartz Books) | [
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27,699 | 14 | In their lavish adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's original story about the cursed nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas, paper engineer artists David and Noelle Carter create a marvelously theatrical setting that will have young readers shouting "bravo" in wonder and smitten delight. In the classic multilayered tale, the ugly wooden nutcracker fights a fierce battle with the evil seven-headed mouse king, then takes young Marie, the girl who was kind to him when he was broken, on a magical tour of Christmas Wood and Candytown. By earning Marie's love, the spell over the nutcracker is broken--he turns back into a prince and marries Marie.Every child should experience the holiday tradition of The Nutcracker; for those who are too squirmy to sit through an entire production of Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker Suite, this elaborate pop-up is a gratifying, three-dimensional introduction to the fanciful holiday story. David Carter is a master of pop-up art, as evidenced in The 12 Bugs of Christmas, Jingle Bugs, Giggle Bugs, and his many other extraordinary books. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie CoulterDavid A. Carter is a master paper engineer and creator of the Bugs series, which has sold more than 6 million copies. Also the author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed Color series, featuring One Red Dot, Blue 2, 600 Black Spots, Yellow Square, and White Noise, he lives in Auburn, California, with his wife and two daughters.; Title: The Nutcracker: Classic Collectible Pop-Up | [
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68229,
71082
] | Test |
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