Month: March 2018

Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Greenwillow Books

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Summary:  April Pulley Sayre writes a thank you note to planet Earth with poetry and photographs.  She looks at the materials that make up Earth (air, rocks, water), the shapes (curves, lines, and patterns), and living things (plants, animals).  Every part of earth is celebrated, even storms and things that sting, with a conclusion of “Thank you for beginnings, for endings, for lifetimes. Thank you for being our home.”  Back matter includes two pages of suggestions on how kids can turn their thank you’s into action for the earth, including a list of resources and organizations.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  As always, Sayre’s nature photography is up close and gorgeous.  This would be a perfect book to share with young kids on Earth Day, maybe with some follow-up action.

Cons:  The poem seemed a little clunky to me.

If you would like to buy this book from Amazon, click here.

Teddy’s Favorite Toy by Christian Trimmer, illustrated by Madeline Valentine

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

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Summary:  Teddy has many cool toys: a fire truck, blocks, puzzles, action figures; but his favorite is Bren-Da, Warrior Queen of Pacifica, a Barbie-like doll in a pink dress.  Not only does Bren-Da have the best manners, but her sick fighting skills and variety of put-together looks make her queen of the other toys.  When one of Bren-Da’s legs falls off, Teddy does his best to repair it, but he’s running late for school and Bren-Da gets left in a bunch of tape and plastic.  Alas, his mother mistakes her for garbage, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s trash day.  When Teddy tells his mom where he left Bren-Da and asks if she’s seen the doll, his mom realizes what has happened.  Busting some pretty sick moves herself, Mom manages to track down the garbage truck and rescue the Warrior Queen of Pacifica.  That night, Mom, Teddy, and Bren-Da enact an extra-long, magnificent battle to celebrate.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A fabulous read on many levels, celebrating favorite toys, diversity, and an amazing role model of a mom that Teddy is clearly watching and reenacting with his toys.  The pictures are a lot of fun, particularly Bren-Da’s various “looks”.

Cons:  Dolls kind of give me the creeps, especially when their limbs break off.

If you’d like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports by Gregory Zuckerman with Gabriel and Elijah Zuckerman

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Published by Philomel Books

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Summary:  When I reviewed the book Rising Above in 2016, one of my “Cons” was that it only included one woman.  From my lips to the Zuckermans’ ears, apparently, because they’re back with more inspiring sports stories, this time profiling 10 women in 9 chapters (Serena and Venus Williams share).  A variety of sports is included: gymnastics, soccer, basketball, baseball, track, surfing, and mixed martial arts (a sport I was blissfully unaware of until I read this book). The common element in all the stories is the difficulty each athlete had to overcome to reach her full potential.  These include racism (Wilma Rudolph), losing a limb (Bethany Hamilton), an eating disorder (Ronda Rousey), and being one of the only females in a sport (Mo’ne Davis in Little League). An afterword summarizes the personality traits that helped all of these women succeed. Includes an extensive bibliography and an index.  224 pages; grades 4-8.

Pros:  Based on the heavy circulation of the first book in my libraries, I have no doubt this one will fly off the shelves.  Even non-sports fans like myself can’t help but be inspired by these athletes’ stories.

Cons:  My other “con” for the first book was that there were no pictures, and that remains true for this one.  I had never heard of some of these women, and had to keep going to YouTube for visuals.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler by Steve Sheinkin (Time Twisters series)

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Published by Roaring Brook Press

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Summary:  When fourth-grader Doc tells his teacher history is boring, he unwittingly changes history so that it really is boring.  Doc and his stepsister Abby discover Abraham Lincoln in an old supply closet at the back of the library, and Abe is ready to make the past as dull as the kids think it is.  Textbooks and documentaries change to show a mundane existence for Lincoln and his contemporaries, while Abe, Doc, and Abby shuttle back and forth through time.  Lincoln ends up in a present-day wrestling ring, while their gym teacher finds himself back in 1860, trying to address the crowds in Illinois who have just elected him President.  It all gets straightened out in the end, but Lincoln warns the kids that now that other historical figures have seen what he’s done, they’ll be up for their own adventures, setting the scene for the series to continue.  160 pages; grades 2-4.

Pros:  Kids will learn a little history and have fun with this goofy time-travel story.  A large font and lots of illustrations, some with cartoon bubbles, will draw in reluctant readers or those just moving up to chapter books.

Cons:  It’s a fun romp, but I hope Steve Sheinkin gets back to doing what he does best: writing fascinating histories for older kids like Undefeated and Most Dangerous.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Black Panther: The Young Prince by Roland L. Smith

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Marvel Press

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Summary:  T’Challa is the prince of Wakanda, the most technologically advanced nation in the world, and will one day follow in the footsteps of his father, the Black Panther.  When danger threatens their country, the king sends T’Challa and his friend M’Baku to safety in the United States. At their new middle school in Chicago, the two African boys find friends–and danger.  When M’Baku is lured to the dark side, T’Challa must decide whether or not he can confide in his new friends Zeke and Sheila about his true identity to try to save M’Baku. Armed with a Black Panther suit and a ring containing Vibranium, the secret substance that is the key to Wakanda’s power and success, T’Challa finds himself on a dangerous mission involving voodoo as he struggles to do the right thing and make his father proud.  Sheila’s final question, “When’s the next mission?” leaves open the possibility of a sequel. 272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Just in time for the Black Panther movie, this action-packed story will appeal to Marvel fans as well as anyone who enjoys a middle school story about an outsider making good.

Cons:  There could have been more interesting commentary on the two African boys’ first experience with American life and culture.

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The Monarchs Are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery by Rebecca E. Hirsch

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Published by Millbrook Press

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Summary:  The monarchs are missing?  Some of them are, anyway.  In the last two decades, the monarch butterfly population has steeply declined.  How can we even know how many monarchs there are?  The answer to that goes back to the 1960’s when scientists first discovered the areas in Mexico where monarchs spend the winter.  Since then, they’ve taken annual measurements of the area the butterflies inhabit to get a rough estimate of the population.  There’s no agreement in the scientific community about why there are so many fewer monarchs today, but some theories include climate change, new pesticides, and agricultural methods that have impacted milkweed, the butterflies’ main food source.  Kids can help by planting milkweed and other wildflowers that provide nectar for the monarchs during their migration south.  Includes an author’s note, glossary, 3 books for further reading, an index, instructions for planting a butterfly garden, and several websites to help kids become citizen scientists.  56 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  A fascinating look at science at work, with plenty of photos and kid-friendly ideas for making a difference.

Cons:  The introduction profiled two kids catching and tagging butterflies; it would have been interesting to read more about kids acting as citizen scientists.

If you would like to buy this book from Amazon, click here.

Hunger: A Tale of Courage by Donna Jo Napoli

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Published by Simon and Schuster

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Summary:  When the potato crop fails for a second time in the fall of 1846, 12-year-old Lorraine and her family face a potentially deadly winter.  By November, they’re subsisting on cabbage and kale, and fever has hit their neighbors.  A chance meeting with the landlord’s daughter Susanna results in a sort of friendship between the two girls.  Susanna has been raised to believe that the Irish are lazy and complaining; Lorraine tries to convince her that their suffering is real.  Eventually Susanna comes up with a plan that provides Lorraine’s family and neighbors with some much-needed food.  It’s enough to get at least some of them through the winter, but before spring comes, tragedy has hit Lorraine’s family and many others.  Some families decide to take their chances on starting new lives in Scotland or North America, but in the end, Lorraine and her parents choose to stay in the country that they love.  Includes a glossary of Irish words, bibliography, and an extensive timeline of the history of Ireland.  259 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  Readers will gain a clearer understanding of the history of Ireland and how prejudice played a large role in the tragedies that unfolded there in the mid nineteenth century.  Lorraine is a plucky narrator whose strength and love for Ireland shines through her difficult story.

Cons:  Much of the story is unrelentingly grim, unavoidable when writing about a period of famine and disease.  It’s hard to determine a recommended age group; a 12-year-old narrator suggests elementary, but the nature of the story may make it more appropriate for middle school and up.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Vincent Comes Home by Jessixa Bagley and Aaron Bagley

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Published by Roaring Brook Press

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Summary:  Vincent has a pretty idyllic life as a ship’s cat, traveling from one place to another and observing them all from the deck.  When he hears sailors talking excitedly about a place called home, Vincent is curious, and hopes to visit it someday.  When that day arrives, Vincent can’t understand what all the fuss is about.  Home looks just like many of the other places they’ve been.  For the first time, he gets off the boat and follows a member of the crew, observing through the window how happy he and the others are in their houses.  The cat realizes sadly he doesn’t have a home; then he hears a familiar song and is reunited with the ship’s captain, who scoops him up and says the magic words, “Let’s go home.”  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  A charming story about the pleasure of coming home after exciting adventures.  The illustrations are delightful, and cleverly identify the captain by showing a bar of music in the early pages that is used again to recognize him at the end.  A very cool world map shows the ship’s travels from one continent to another.

Cons:  The crew is all male and the member Vincent follows is identified as “a crew man”.

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Grace for Gus by Harry Bliss

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Published by Katherine Tegen Books

Grace for Gus: Bliss, Harry, Bliss, Harry: 9780062644107: Amazon.com: Books

Summary:  In this nearly wordless picture book, Grace is determined to help her friend Gus, the class guinea pig, get a new friend.  After school, she does her homework, eats dinner and helps her dads do the dishes, says good night, then climbs out of her bedroom window, violin in hand.  Her first stop is a subway station, where she opens the violin case and performs; from there, it’s on to Central Park to draw caricatures; finally, she returns to the subway, where she breaks into an impromptu dance routine on the train.  People cheer and give her money for all her efforts, and the next day, she is able to fill the “Gus Buddy Fund” jar in her classroom.  The final page shows Gus with his new guinea pig friend.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  There is so much to look at in this book that will be fun for children and adults.  Look for Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, Donald Trump, Tintin and Snowy, Charlie Brown, and Calvin’s friend Hobbes in the pictures.  Grace herself looks a lot like Marcie from Peanuts.  Keep an eye peeled for other details like a “Jimmy Hoffa Found” headline and the “Tax Relief” billboard behind Trump.  Once is not enough to catch all that this book has to offer.

Cons:  Many of the allusions that adults will enjoy will go right over the heads of most kid readers.

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The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner

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Published by DK Children

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Summary:  What’s the buzz about bees?  This book seeks to answer this and quite a few more questions like “Where does honey come from?”, “What would we do without bees?”, and “What can you do to help?”.  Turns out the whole “busy as a bee” thing is real; you might appreciate that spoonful of honey more when you know it’s the lifetime’s work of 12 honeybees (a jar of honey represents 55,000 miles of flying).  Why should humans be concerned about the disappearance of bees?  One-third of our food comes from crops pollinated by animals.  Scientists are working to develop a robot bee, but it’s not quite the same, is it?  Activities at the end include making a bee hotel and planting a garden to help bees in their pollination efforts.  48 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  Interesting information combined with lots of graphics make this an appealing choice to learn more about all kinds bees, with a focus on honeybees.

Cons:  The whole bee situation is a lot more serious than I realized.

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