Fiction Wednesday - A review of Squirrel's World

Telling stories that are amusing and interesting, and that are also suitable for beginner readers is not easy. I am always keen to find easy chapter books that actually tell a story, and that have characters that have substance. Today's book is just such a title. Children just beginning to read books with short chapters will be charmed by Squirrel and his friends.

Squirrel’s World

Lisa Moser

Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev

Fiction

For ages 6 to 8

Candlewick Press, 2007, 978-0-7636-2929-8

   Squirrel is perpetually busy and on the go, and he thinks that it is his duty to help all his friends be busy too. When he finds that Mouse is collecting food to store, Squirrel decides to help. He buries Mouse under a mountain of corn cobs, and he shakes so many apples down from the tree that it is “raining apples.” Poor Mouse has more food now than he could ever eat.

   Down by the pond, Squirrel finds Rabbit. Rabbit very much wants to retrieve one of the lily pads, but he does not like getting wet. Busy and enthusiastic Squirrel decides to help Rabbit. He uses a stick to “wack wack wack that leaf” in an attempt to free it. All he manages to do is to soak Rabbit. Squirrel then decides that they should float a log into the pond and “reach reach reach” for the leaf. Though Squirrel is doing all that he can to be helpful, poor Rabbit ends up getting soaked all over again.

   Squirrel is, without a doubt, a very hyper and rather exhausting fellow to be around, but his intentions are good, and he clearly has a kind heart. Young readers will find it hard not to like this well meaning animal, and they will laugh when they see what he gets up to, and how he drives his friends to distraction.

   This wonderful early reader chapter book is perfect for young children who are eager to start reading ‘real’ books on their own.

Picture Book Monday - A review of 11 Experiments that Failed

As parents and teachers know all too well, children do not like being told that they are wrong. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let them see, for themselves, that they have the wrong idea about something. For example, my husband when he was a little boy, was convinced that one could not eat too much ice cream. So he ate countless servings of soft serve ice cream. Until he turned green.

Today's picture book is about one little girl who sets out to prove eleven very important things, and who discovers that sometimes the theories we are 100% sure are right, are actually 100% wrong.

11 Experiments that Failed

Jenny Offill

Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Picture Book

For ages 7 to 9

Random House, 2011, 978-0-375-84762-2

Quite a few children are of the opinion that eating fruits and veggies is not necessary. They believe that a steady diet of pizza, chips, and sweet drinks is just what they need. One little girl who has a fondness for conducting experiments, decides that she is going to prove that “a kid can make it through the winter eating only snow and ketchup.” It isn’t long before she figures out that eating snow and ketchup three times a day is not going to work because this diet causes stomachaches, brain breeze, and it affects her love of ketchup. 

   Though this particular experiment does not work out quite as planned, the little girl continues to conduct experiments that she think will prove that important hypotheses are indeed true. She decides that the best way to “speed up a boring ride” is to yodel. The girl tests her hypothesis in the car on the way to school and, well, she ends up having to walk. Apparently her mother does not appreciate yodeling. 

   Keen to answer some of life’s interesting questions, the little girl decides to find out if the “washing machine washes dishes.” Her hypothesis is that a washing machine can wash anything. After she tries washing some dishes in the washing machine, she finds out definitively that washing machines cannot wash everything. As a result of this particular experiment, the dishes and the washing machine break, and she decides that it might be a good idea to run “away to live in the bathroom.”

   Adults and children alike are going to laugh (and groan) as they read about this girl’s eleven experiments, each one of which fails rather dramatically. Clever multimedia artwork combined with the tongue-in-cheek descriptions of the experiments (and their outcomes) make this the perfect title to read when life is feeling rather dull or sad. 

Poetry Friday - A review of Tap Dancing on the Roof

I have been a fan of haiku for many years now, enjoying the poetry form for its spare simplicity, and because poets find so many interesting ways to use it. Today's poetry book introduced me to a new poetry form from Asia, one that comes from Korea and that is also minimal in nature. I really enjoyed exploring the poems, and I hope you will too.

Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo Poems

Linda Sue Park

Illustrated by Istvan Banyai

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 9

Clarion Books, 2007, 978-0-618-23483-7

   Poetry comes in many forms, and these days, people are not only writing poetry in English using western poetry forms, but they are also experimenting with forms that are Asian in origin. Many of us have read or even written haiku, a form of poetry that originated in Japan, but not many people know about sijo, which is a Korean form of poetry. Like haiku, sijo poems are written “using a syllabic structure.” In English these Korean poems have three lines with fourteen to sixteen syllables. Sometimes the lines become so long that they have to broken up, and the poem ends up with six lines instead of three.

   In each of the poems in this book, writer Linda Sue Park follows the traditional sijo pattern so that the first line of the poem “introduces the topic.” The second explores the topic a bit more, and the third wraps things up with “some kind of twist.”

   The collection begins with a poem about breakfast, that first meal of the day that varies greatly, depending on the personality of the person consuming it. For some people breakfast is “Bagel and juice,” while for others it is simpler, and toast and coffee are the norm. Of course, there are some who would forgo an eaten breakfast all together in favor of “a few extra minutes in bed.”

   In the poem titled “October,” the author paints a delightful autumnal picture of the wind playing with leaves. The gusts rearrange the leaves according to its whim. Then there is a clever shift, and the wind “plays tag with a plastic bag” and tugs at the narrator’s hair.

   The topics explored in these poems are ones readers of all ages can respond to. Many of them are familiar situations and things that we encounter in our everyday lives. The author looks at pockets, echoes, frogs, a summer storm, tennis, laundry, bedtime snacks, brushing teeth and more. In each case, she takes a commonplace topic, and she turns it into something special. Sometimes the overall feel of the poem is contemplative and thoughtful, and sometimes it is amusing and surprising.

   At the back of the book, the author provides her readers with further information about sijo peoms, the history of this poetry form, and “Some tips for writing your own sijo.”

Happy Fourth of July

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Fiction Wednesday - A review of Saffy's Angel

I love to read books that are about colorful, unique, perhaps even eccentric people. Today's title is full of odd characters whose approach to life is, shall we say, rather unconventional. What thrills me is that this title is the first book in a series. I have many hours to look forward to in the company of the crazy family who features in these stories.

Saffy’s Angel

Hilary McKay

Fiction

For ages 9 to 12

Simon and Schuster, 2001, 978-0-689-84934-3

   When Saffron finally learns how to read, she discovers two important things. Unlike the names of her siblings (Cadmium, Indigo, and Rose) her name is not on the color chart that is pinned to the kitchen wall. For some reason, her name is not a paint color and this is a very disturbing discovery to make. Why would her mother, Eve Casson, name all the other children after paint colors and not her?

   The second thing Saffy (this Saffron’s nick name) learns, she finds out by accident. Thanks to the slip of someone’s tongue, Saffy finds out that she was not born into the Casson family. She was adopted. In fact, she is the daughter of Eve Casson’s sister, and is therefore Caddy, Indigo, and Rose’s cousin instead of being their sister.

   Finding out that she was adopted turns Saffy’s world upside down. She has nothing to connect her to her dead mother except Grandpa. After his daughter died in a car crash in Italy, Grandpa was the one who drove all the way to Siena to bring three-year-old Saffy back to England. Even though Grandpa is now elderly and does speak or connect with the world, Saffy loves him and is close to him. Her name is the only thing Grandpa has said since he lost the ability to speak.

   Ten year’s after that dreadful drive from Italy, Grandpa dies. Eve and her husband share his will with their children, thinking that they are all old enough to deal with this. Since most of Grandpa’s earthly possessions were sold or fell apart long ago, Indigo will not be able to have Grandpa’s car, and Caddy will not get his house in Wales. Included with his will is a note saying that he leaves Saffron “Her angel in the garden.”

   At first no one knows what the note is talking about, but then Saffy remembers that there was a stone angel in the garden in Siena, a stone angel she loved when she was little. Her Grandpa knew that Saffy loved the statue and so he left it to her. The problem is that Grandpa did not bring the angel back to England. It is still in Italy, and therefore Saffy will never be able to get it back. She will never be able to reconnect with her past.

   As you read this book it is hard not to fall in love with the decidedly peculiar Casson family. Their lives are full of odd adventures and colorful characters, and at times they all seem to be quite out of touch with reality. Thankfully, this really does not seem to matter very much because the Cassons are a team. They are bound together by the love and the fierce loyalty that they feel for one another.

   This is the first Casson family story. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Lou! Summertime Blues

I grew up reading the titles in two graphic novel series, the Tintin books and the Asterix books. In both, the stories are entertaining, and in the case of the Asterix titles, they are also full of social and political commentary. One thing the stories in these books do not do, is to explore issues that are relevant to young people today. The stories in the Lou! books do do this, and they do it very well. Tweens will see how Lou deals with her mother's dating woes, how she feels when the boy she likes lets her down, and how she copes with life's daily trails and tribulations.

Today's title is the second of the Lou! graphic novels, and I found it to be both entertaining and thoughtful.

Lou! Summertime Blues

Julien Neel

Graphic Novel

For ages 9 to 12

Lerner Publishing, 2012, 978-0-7613-8869-2

For most people, the summer vacation is a time for fun. For Lou and her mother Emma, anticipating the summer vacation has them singing their version of the blues. Lou is upset because her best friend Mina is not going to be around, and because the boy Lou likes (Tristan) has moved away without even saying goodbye. Emma is unhappy because Richard, her cute neighbor, is going to be gone for the summer and she misses him. Both Lou and Emma are “bummed” because they have to spend a month with Memaw, Emma’s mother, and Memaw is not a warm and cuddly person. In fact, she is often unkind and mean. And she cooks Brussels sprouts every day.

   Reluctantly, Emma and Lou get onto a train, and all too soon they arrive at Mortsville, the village where Emma grew up and where Memaw still lives. In no time at all, Emma and Memaw are screaming at each other, and Lou is wishing that she could go home. In Lou’s opinion, Emma’s situation is not that dire because Richard is writing to her. Lou doesn’t have someone writing to her, telling her how much she is missed. In fact she feels very lonely indeed; until she meets a very strange boy called Paul.

   Almost thirteen-year-old Lou is the kind of person that most tweens and teens can identify with. Combining humor and poignancy, the author perfectly captures the joys and woes of growing up.

Poetry Friday - A review of Nasty Bugs

When I studied zoology at university, one of my favorite subjects was entomology, which is not surprising because I have always had a fondness for insects. When I was little, I used to lie on my stomach and watch ants going about their business. I would bring them crumbs and marvel at the way they could carry my gifts away, even though the crumbs were two or three times bigger than the ants who were carrying them.

There are some insects though that I do not like. Mosquitoes and wasps for example. In today's poetry title you will meet a few insect species that are just plain "nasty."

Nasty bugs

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Will Terry

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 9

Penguin, 2012, 978-0-8037-3716-7

   It is true that there are many species of beneficial insects in the world. There are insects that garner our admiration because of their beauty or because they provide us with a vital service, such as pollinating our flowers and trees. Then there are the insects that we sincerely wish were not around. There are the mosquitoes that bite us, the ticks that suck our blood, the lice that itch, and the insects that quiet simply revolt us. This book is about these insects, the ones that we love to hate.

   The first poem is about the stink bug. In the big scheme of things, this insect isn’t too bad. After all, it does not “hiss / or sting / or bite.” This insect is an inoffensive looking creature, but it has a secret, a smelly secret that you will find about (and regret) if you are foolish enough to touch it.

   Further on in the book we meet a species of insect that is far more troublesome. Here are fleas who feast on animals and humans, making our lives miserable. Not only do they give us nasty bites, but these little pests “drink blood, spread disease.” It is quite easy to see why the author of this poem, Marilyn Singer, says “Can’t we please get rid of fleas?”

   Fleas, chiggers, mosquitoes, wasps and other insects bite and sting, but there are also the nasty little creatures who disgust us because of their looks and habits. One of the worst examples of these are maggots. Let’s face it, there is very little to like in these slimy larva who love to eat their way through spoiled and rotten food. Some people feel the same way about cockroaches, the tribe of insects that has managed to survive on Earth for “three hundred million years,” and whose presence in our homes makes us wish that our cave dwelling ancestors had “sprayed the whole / Family tree for pest control.”

   Readers who like a little nastiness in their reading material are going to love this collection of poems. The sixteen poems were written by poets such as Alice Schertle, Douglas Florian, and Rebecca Kai Dotlitch. Some of the poems were especially commissioned for this deliciously buggy title. 

   At the back of the book, Lee Bennett Hopkins provides his readers with further information about the insects mentioned in the book. If you thought the bugs in the poems were nasty before, wait until you read the supplemental information about them!

Fiction Wednesday - A review of Artsy-Fartsy

I love books that are presented in a diary or journal format. Today's title is just such a book, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. In the book, the writer is a boy whose summer vacation is just starting. All he really wants to do is to lie around and be lazy all summer, but this is not what ends up happening at all.

Artsy-Fartsy

Karla Oceanak

Illustrated by Kenda Spanjer

Fiction

For ages 9 to 12

Bailiwick Press, 2009, 978-1-934649-04-6

   Aldo’s grandmother Goosy has given him a sketch book for his birthday and he has no idea what he is going to do with it. Goosy’s inscription says that the book is for “recording all you artsy-farsty ideas,” which has Aldo feeling a little concerned. He does not really want anyone to think of him as an artsy-fartsy kind of person, even though he really does like to draw.

   Not knowing what to put in the book, Aldo goes and asks his neighbor, Mr. Mot, for his opinion. Mr. Mot, being a word fanatic, thinks that Aldo should write as well as draw in his new book. Actually Aldo has already started doing this, so Mr. Mot’s suggestion isn’t that outrageous an idea.

   The summer vacation has started and Aldo is all set to laze about and do what a ten-year-old boy who hates sports is supposed to do during the summer vacation. Then his mother announces that she has signed Aldo up for summer baseball. Aldoo throws a fit, but this has no impact on his parents whatsoever. Aldo, the boy who hates to do anything physical, is going to have to do baseball.

   The pain of having to do baseball is tempered a little bit by a mystery. Aldo leaves his new sketchbook in his tree hideout while he is at baseball, and when he retrieves the book, he sees that someone has drawn in it. Who would do such a thing? Since the drawing is flowery in nature, Aldo and his friend Jack are convinced that the culprit is a girl, and they set about trying to find out which girl did the drawings. The problem is that Jack and Aldo generally ignore girls, so they have no idea which of the neighborhood girls would do a thing like this. Will they catch her in the act if they hide near the tree, or will they have to do something more sneaky?

   This funny and realistic summer vacation tale will delight readers who like stories that are presented in a journal style format. Aldo’s observations about himself, his friends, his family members, and the world in general are deliciously amusing. Readers who have their own (perhaps ambivalent) artistic aspirations will find Aldo’s artsy fartsy adventures quite revealing.

   This is the first title in what promises to be a splendid series of books.

Picture Book Monday - A review of Seven Little Mice go to the beach

Schools are now closed in Southern Oregon, and children and their families are enjoying the warm summery weather. The ocean here is a little cold for swimming, but there are many lakes and rivers where one can enjoy swimming, picnicking, and playing. Today's picture book perfectly captures the excitement that children feel during those first days of their summer vacation.

Seven Little Mice go to the beach

Haruo Yamashita

Illustrated by Kazuo Iwamura

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

NorthSouth, 2012, 978-0-7358-4073-7

Tomorrow is the first day of the summer vacation, and the mice septuplets are delighted because they won’t have to go to school. Even better, the children’s father tells them that they are all going to go to the beach on their first day off. What could be more perfect. They will be able to play in the sand, and best of all they will swim in the sea. There is only one problem; none of the mice children know how to swim without some kind of flotation assistance. Father, who knows his children well, tells them that they “need to be safe in the water,” and he makes seven ring life preservers for his children.

   At the beach the next day all goes well. The seven mice children use their flotation rings, and Mother and Father keep an eye on them. Tired after all their exertions, everyone has a nap after lunch, which is when something very unexpected happens.

   In this charming picture book, the author not only tells a great story, but he also highlights the importance of being safe when you are playing in the water. Little children will love to see how the mice children in this story end up saving the day when their father gets into a spot of trouble. The illustrations are packed with clever little details, and children will laugh when they see the expressions on the character’s faces. 

Poetry Friday - A review of Zen Ties

I know that I am stretching things reviewing this book on Poetry Friday, but I felt that it fits because one of the characters speaks in haiku throughout the story. I thought it would be interesting for you to see how poetry and prose can be combined to create a one-of-a-kind tale, which is what this is. 

Zen Ties

Jon J. Muth
Picture Book
For ages 6 and up
Scholastic Press, 2005   ISBN: 978-0439634250
Stillwater is waiting at the train station. His nephew Koo is coming to spend the summer vacation with him. When Koo arrives, Stillwater gives his little nephew a bunch of colorful balloons as a welcome gift. Then the two panda bears begin to walk to Stillwater's house. There is a park on the way where they stop to have a little tea. Stillwater's friends Addy, Michael, and Carl arrive, and the bears and the children have a grand time playing together for a while.

   While they are playing, Michael tells Stillwater that he is going to be in a spelling bee. He is nervous about the whole thing and is worried that his nervousness will prevent him from doing his best. Stillwater suggests that the children come with him to visit Miss Whitaker that afternoon. Miss Whitaker is ill, and Stillwater is going to take her some food. Though the children are afraid of Miss Whitaker, they agree to go along.

Miss Whitaker does not seem happy to see the children, and she certainly looks unwell, but Stillwater does not worry about her ill temper. He encourages the children to clean up the house and to paint some pictures for the old lady. He also encourages them to return the next day.

   At Miss Whitaker's house the following morning, Stillwater tells Michael that the old lady used to be an English teacher. In no time Miss Whitaker is helping Michael to study for his spelling bee. After all, she knows a good deal about words and how to spell them.

   The next day Michael has great news to share with everyone and the children who were once so afraid of Miss Whitaker learn that they truly have a new friend.

   All too often in this day and age we forget that we do not all exist on separate islands. Instead, we are all connected, and when we do things for one another those connections often turn into something very special indeed. In his big soft panda way, Stillwater brings together an old lady and three children, and in no time at all warm friendships spring up between them.

Readers who like poetry will greatly enjoy the clever way in which the author has little Koo speaking in haiku, the Japanese poetry form. The poems capture the moments they describe to perfection, and sometimes with humor as well.

   Clever word plays, a tender story, sections of poetry, and Jon Muth's evocative watercolor paintings combine to create a picture book that readers will not forget in a hurry.