What Will Grow? By Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Susie Ghahremani

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s

Summary:  A dozen seeds are introduced with rhyming couplets and illustrations (“Shiny, brown.  Bumpy crown.  What will grow?  Oak tree.”)  Most of the seeds have the rhyme on the left-hand page with the plant shown on the right, but four have pages the fold out, up, or down to reveal the plant.  The final couplet is, “Dark, deep, fast asleep.  What will grow?” showing hibernating animals under the snow, followed by, “My garden!” over two pages of a colorful collection of plants blooming under a rainbow.  All 12 seeds are shown at the end, along with the time to sow them, steps for planting, and when it will grow.  The final two pages show four stages from seed to plant.  40 pages; ages 3-6.

Pros:  This follow-up to What Will Hatch? is a perfect springtime introduction to gardening for young readers.

Cons:  This seems like it could be a fun, interactive guessing game, except that eight of the plants are shown on the same page as the question.

Trudy’s Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm by Sue Macy, illustrated by Matt Collins

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Published by Holiday House

Summary:  When Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle emerged from the water on August 6, 1926, she became both the first woman to swim the English Channel and the fastest person, shaving almost two hours off the previous record.  Admittedly, she was a superstar swimmer, having won three Olympic medals and set 29 records in events ranging from 50 yards to half a mile.  But she was also a product of her time, riding the wave of women’s increased participation in sports and freedom that allowed her to wear a two-piece bathing suit very different from the head-to-toe coverage women swimmers had to put up with just a generation earlier.  Trudy’s swim made her a celebrity, and the final illustration shows her resting on her hotel bed, surrounded by the four ham sandwiches she ate after her swim, with newspapers carrying her story pressed against the windows.  An afterword gives more details about the swim and Trudy’s life afterward (she completely lost her hearing by age 22, taught swimming to deaf children for many years, and lived to the age of 98), and there are plenty of additional resources listed.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  As someone who has read America’s Champion Swimmer by David S. Adler to many classes, I thought there was little need for another picture book biography of Gertrude Ederle.  But veteran sportswriter Sue Macy has brought the story to life magnificently, placing it in the historical context of American women, propelled by getting the right to vote, enjoying greater freedoms and opportunities.  The illustrations have a you-are-there boldness that add a lot to the text.

Cons:  Endpapers giving a timeline of 1920’s sports history will be covered by the taped-down dust jacket of library books.

Ribbit by Jorey Hurley

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Published by Simon and Schuster

Summary:  The life cycle of a frog is described through illustrations and one word of text per page.  It begins with “Wait”, as two frogs swim near a mass of eggs, and ends with “Ribbit”, as one of the hatchlings, now an adult, finds a mate. In between, the eggs hatch, a tadpole transforms into a frog, and that frog catches an insect and hibernates in the mud.  An author’s note gives more information about frogs and their life cycles.  40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  Young children will love the bright, clean illustrations depicting the frog and its environment around a pond.  The single words convey a lot of information.

Cons:  A list of books and/or websites about frogs would have been a nice addition.

Train I Ride by Paul Mosier

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Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  Rydr is traveling from California to Chicago, and toward an unknown future.  Traveling as an unaccompanied minor, she wears a nametag reading “Rider”, and that’s the name she uses on her trip (part way through the book, she changes the spelling).  As the journey goes on, Rydr slowly reveals her past.  Her mother was a drug addict who tried to raise her daughter, but had to frequently send her to live with her grandmother in California.  Ryder discovered her mother dead of an overdose, then a short time later, she was the one to find her grandmother’s body.  A great uncle in Chicago whom she has never met is the only person keeping her out of foster care. On the train, she feels safe, befriending Dorothea, the Amtrak employee assigned to look after her, and Neal, the snack bar attendant.  She has a bit of a romance with a boy from a scout troop traveling on the same train.  By the end of the trip, she is ready to spread her mother’s ashes, with the help of Dorothea and Neal, and she has made some discoveries about who she is and how she can create her own future.  192 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  A beautifully written novel about a girl who has seen too much in her 13 years, but has gained a wisdom and strength which will hopefully serve her well moving into an unknown future.

Cons:  This book is recommended for third or fourth grade and up, but there’s some pretty mature subject matter for most elementary students.

Antoinette by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Antoinette, the precious poodle from Gaston, is happy living with her bulldog brothers.  Rocky is clever, Ricky is fast, and Bruno is strong.  But Antoinette hasn’t discovered any special gift of her own.  Every day, Antoinette’s family meets up with Gaston’s to play in the park.  One day, a problem arises: young Ooh-La-La has gone missing, last seen chasing a butterfly.  All the dogs join in the search, but it is Antoinette who refuses to give up, following the scent all the way to the museum.  Even when a guard yells, “No dogs allowed!”, Antoinette persists, and arrives just in time to save Ooh-La-La from chasing the butterfly off the edge of a high statue.  Antoinette has discovered her gift, and she continues to use it into adulthood, becoming one of Paris’s most famous police dogs.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Kids who have loved Gaston will not be the slightest bit disappointed with this sequel.  It’s billed as part of the series Gaston and Friends; we can only hope for more to come in the near future.

Cons:  Ooh-La-La = not too bright.

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  A man and his daughter take a backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon, learning about the geological history as they go.  Starting at the bottom, they study the rocks and fossils of each layer traveling upward to discover what Earth was like in the past.  The girl imagines herself in different eras, with illustrations showing what the canyon looked like in those times.  Small cutouts in some pages give preview peeks as to what’s ahead on the next page.  Borders of many of the main illustrations show the flora and fauna that live at the different levels within the canyon.  The final two pages of the main text open up into an amazing four-page spread of the “the grandest canyon on Earth.”  Back matter includes quite a bit more information on the Grand Canyon, as well as a long list of sources and some books for further reading.  56 pages; grades 2-7.

Pros:  Jason Chin produces another natural history masterpiece, with illustrations so lifelike they almost look like photographs.  The pages are packed with information, both in the text and the pictures and diagrams.  Readers will want to be on the next flight out to Arizona to experience the Grand Canyon for themselves.

Cons:  While extremely informative, the text isn’t always quite as engaging as the illustrations.

Life on Mars by Jon Agee

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Published by Dial Books

Summary:  The narrator has arrived on Mars, where he is looking for signs of life.  By the third page, a giant creature has peeked out of his hole, but the young astronaut never sees it.  He bemoans Mars’s bleak landscape, while the beast follows close behind.  He leaves behind a chocolate cupcake in a box that he brought to offer any living beings he might find.  Thinking he has lost his spaceship, he climbs a mountain (the creature’s head) to get a better view.  Right before boarding, he finds the cupcake box he had discarded.  When he decides to have a treat on the way home, he discovers the cupcake has mysteriously disappeared.  32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  This would be great to pair with Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, as both have visual clues that allow the reader to know more than the characters in the story.  The story is simple, but the illustrations will have kids laughing.

Cons:  The creature seems lonely.

Mickey Mantle: The Commerce Comet by Jonah Winter, illustrated by C. F. Payne

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Published by Schwartz and Wade

Summary:  Right from the author’s note before the title page, it is clear that Mickey Mantle was a flawed character.  The note mentions the poverty and abuse that marred his childhood, as well as the alcoholism that led to his death at the age of 63.  But it is equally clear that Mantle was an amazing baseball player, chosen to replace the legendary Joe DiMaggio on the New York Yankees, and a winner of baseball’s Triple Crown in 1956 (league leader in batting average, home runs, and RBI’s), a feat not achieved by DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, or Hank Aaron.  He could belt powerful home runs from either the left or the right, and could run from home plate to first base in 2.9 seconds…until a debilitating knee injury raised his time to 3.1.  Plagued by injuries, he still led his team to the World Series 12 times, and, although fans knew he wasn’t perfect, they cheered him on for 17 years.  40 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  The large full-color illustrations bring Mantle’s story to life, told in a conversational voice with a slight Oklahoma (Mantle’s home state) twang.

Cons:  I could have enjoyed a seeing a photo or two.

Hatching Chicks in Room 6 by Caroline Arnold

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Published by Charlesbridge

Summary:  Mrs. Best raises chickens in her backyard, and she brings in some eggs for her kindergarten class to observe.  The class keeps the eggs in two incubators and counts down the 21 days it will take for them to hatch.  They–and the reader–learn about chickens and what is going on inside the egg.  Excitement grows as day 21 arrives, and cracks start appearing in the shells.  Pretty soon, there are 14 baby chicks in the incubators.  From there they move into a brood box, then an outdoor pen, and finally, when they are a month old, back to Mrs. Best’s house to join the rest of her chickens.  Includes questions and answers, a glossary, and books and websites with additional information.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This is a must-have for any classroom that embarks on an egg-hatching project.  Even if you’re not that ambitious, it is an engaging introduction to the life cycle of the chicken, with plenty of great photos of Mrs. Best, her class, and the eggs and chicks at various stages.

Cons:  The list of books at the end doesn’t include the awesome A Chicken Followed Me Home by Robin Page (2015).

 

The Castle in the Mist by Amy Ephron

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Published by Philomel Boks

Summary:  Tess and her brother Max have just finished up a year at a Swiss boarding school, and are spending the summer with their Aunt Evie in the English countryside.  They were sent abroad because their father is a journalist on assignment in Afghanistan and their mother is being treated for an undisclosed but life-threatening illness.  Tess accidentally stumbles into the neighbor’s backyard, and meets William, a charming but seemingly otherworldly boy about her own age.  She brings Max along to their next meeting, and William invites them for dinner.  Aunt Evie is baffled by the invitation, certain that the house has long been abandoned.  During their visit, Max accidentally falls into some hawthorn trees that William has warned them to stay away from, and all three children find themselves in grave danger.  Tess is able to find courage and strength within herself to help them.  By the end of the story, Dad has returned, William and his servants and family have disappeared, and the mystery of who he was is cleared up with a visit to the castle, now turned into a secluded museum.  167 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros:  A quick read for fans of magic realism.  The story unfolds at a good pace, dropping clues about William that reveal just enough to keep things interesting.

Cons:  The book is too brief to really create an interesting magical story.  Reviews have compared it to E. Nesbit and Edward Eager.  Please.