Nonfiction – Pukey Book of Vomit
November 7, 2009 at 11:24 am | In Nonfiction | Leave a CommentReally, all I have to do is say this book is about vomit and half the people reading this will stop right there and run to the library because they’re already sold, and the other half will stop and move quickly on to another website.
Despite its disgusting premise, the book is actually fairly informative. Kids are endlessly fascinated by bodily functions, and this book will help to explain the processes and reasons behind vomiting. Why do we get nauseous? Why does the sight and smell of someone else throwing up make us want to throw up too? All of these questions and more are answered.
The format of the book is solid, though not exceptional. The many pictures of slightly ill-looking children will be appealing, but the captions generally have little or nothing to do with the nearby body of text. Vocabulary words are defined in a side box on the same page and then again later in a glossary, a decision I think is fabulous. Many kids are too impatient to run to the glossary whenever a new word comes up, but at the same time other kids might not remember in the next chapter what a word meant and want to look it up. This way you have the best of both worlds.
Picture Books – Bears on Chairs
November 6, 2009 at 11:42 am | In Picture Books | Leave a CommentFour little chairs are just right for bears. We’re in luck because here come four cute little bears, from Calico Bear to Floppy Bear, and they sit happily on the chairs. But what will happen when Big Brown Bear comes by and wants to sit as well?
I suppose the point of the book is supposed to be one about sharing, since the solution to the problem is that when all the chairs are pushed together, all five bears can fit. But for me, the delight in this book is the art. The illustrations, done in acrylic, are wonderfully cute and appealing. There is a fine line between sweet and saccharine, but I feel that illustrator David Walker managed to find that line perfectly. The bears slump and push and climb with exquisite charm. Their minimal facial features mean that the smallest smile speaks volumes and body language is very important.
The text is impressive in that it took me more than halfway through the book before I noticed that every single line rhymed with bear. I generally dislike rhyming text on principle, so not noticing that the rhyme was identical until halfway through the book is quite an achievement. That being said, by the end of the book, the repetition had become a big much.
All in all, this is a fabulous book to share with a child or group of children.
Early Reader – Katie Woo – Boss of the World
November 5, 2009 at 11:10 am | In Early Readers | Leave a CommentKatie Woo is a lively little girl. When she and her friends Pedro and JoJo go to the beach, Katie has a hard time remembering that her friends are trying to have fun too. Instead she is “a meanie”, demanding that they carry water for her sandcastles, and hogging the french fries. But when her friends turn the tables on her, Katie realizes her mistakes and tries to be friendlier.
This easy reader book is somewhat didactic in its message, but considering the constraints of the early reader format, this book is by far not the most blatantly preachy book I’ve seen. Katie is likable and will probably win over some fans despite the messages.
The book contains a glossary at the back, in addition to discussion questions and writing prompts. I’m not entirely sure who the intended audience for these are, since I very much doubt first and second graders are going to spontaneously start doing homework, and a teacher would probably be using the book in a way that would more closely align with what s/he was teaching.
Young Adult – How Beautiful the Ordinary
November 3, 2009 at 4:11 pm | In Young adult, realistic fiction | Leave a CommentThis work of short stories purports to celebrate the beautiful in the ordinary lives of the LGBT inviduals that are at the center of each story. The idea that their lives can be ordinary, rather than being held up as freakish or unnatural, is a beautiful things.
Like all short story collections, some of the selections are stronger than others, some push different button than others do. There are stories that do, indeed, celebrate the ordinary moments of growing up and discovering first loves, while others verge on the more common story of strife and rejection when friends and family “find out”. The stories represent many aspects of the LGBT community: lesbians, gay boys, transgendered individuals.
While the first story in the collection is perhaps the most in tune with the book’s themes, I’m not sure that it is the best choice to lead off the collection. It’s tone is a little too serious, and seems to be speaking to adults as much as to teens. This is a tone that I think many of the stories share. Some are clearly written with teens in mind, but others take a more adult perspective, being told by adults in a narrative to the (presumably) young listener/reader. Even with this more mature and adult-like tone, however, most of the stories will be endorsed by the many young adults searching for their own sense of identity. This will be a welcome addition to the growing canon of young adult LGBT literature.
Young Adult – Geektastic
October 27, 2009 at 3:02 pm | In Young adult, realistic fiction | Leave a Comment.Ever felt like an outcast because you’re smarter, peppier, more passionate/obsessed than those around you? Well then, this book is for you. A host of young adult authors have contributed stories about being nerds. The short stories range from over-the-top comedy to more serious introspection, though most maintain a faintly amused tone. Humorous cartoons about being a nerd are included before each chapter.
Although all ages of the typical young adult spectrum are represented, from freshman to college students, the average age skews a bit older. This makes a certain amount of sense, as many of the more hardcore geek activities, such as attending cons, meeting online friends, or larping require a driver’s license.
As with all short story collections, some contributions are more compelling than others. But I also find that any two people reading, reading the same collection, will disagree over which of those selections are the compelling ones. Overall, this is a fairly strong collection of stories which will appeal to nerds both grown and growing.
Chapter Books – Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity
October 21, 2009 at 2:34 pm | In Chapter Books, mystery | Leave a CommentSteve Brixton wants to be a detective. He has read every Bailey Brothers detective novel at least twice, and has already begun preparing for a life of criminal investigation. Yet he is taken completely by surprise when, attempting to check out a book on quilting for a school project, he is accused of treason and becomes embroiled in a plot involving secret agent librarians, national secrets, and numerous police chases. It’s up to Steve to clear his name and solve the mystery.
Author Mac Barnett was writing with tongue firmly implanted in his cheek. As an adult familiar with children’s detective series (think Hardy Boys), it was obvious where many of the tropes he was riffing on originated. It was great the way he played with detective novel standbys, and the ways that those strategies don’t work in the real world. Nevertheless, Steve remains confident in the advice of the Bailey Brothers books.
Although Steve is a seventh grader, the age of the target reader is probably much younger. This is solidly a middle grade novel, from the amusing pictures to the quick pace and short chapters. Although girls will also enjoy the series, this is a solid choice for boys, and it’s somewhat refreshing to see a “boy book” that is funny without body function jokes and features a regular boy who is not a “nerd” or a genius, but simply enjoys reading.
Young Adult – Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
October 20, 2009 at 2:34 pm | In Young adult, realistic fiction | 1 CommentJessie just wants everything to stay the same. But as she enters her sophomore year of high school, everything seems to be changing. Her punk-band brother is getting ready to leave for college (bad enough!) and has suddenly starting dating the high school prom queen. Her two best friends have transformed themselves almost overnight into punk rock wannabes. Even worse, her friends seem to have betrayed and abandoned her, leaving Jessie in the unenviable position of finding new friends. Although she’s very smart and loves sewing funky skirts, Jessie has never considered herself a nerd. She’s somewhat taken aback, then, when it seems like her best bet for fitting in and having fun is with the school’s nerdiest crowd of roleplayers. But is Jessie ready to leave her punk-rock cred and become a LARPer?
This was a sweet story. There wasn’t anything new or surprising about the book, but sometimes a good book can simply be comfort food for the reading soul. It surprises me a little that Jessie has never been called a nerd before this, based on her behavior and interests, but I suppose having the “coolest” brother in the school and two close friends who are indie alpha girls may have given her enough buffer zone.
Although nothing happens on-scene, and Jessie’s romance is very tame, there is repeated reference to Jessie’s friend who ends up with an STI after oral sex, tilting the reading age up a few notches. I was sort of disappointed in the old-fashioned handling of the best-friend-who-engages-in-sexual-activity-and-then-immediately-suffers cliche.
Picture Books – Pouch!
October 16, 2009 at 10:29 am | In Picture Books | Leave a CommentA baby kangaroo named Joey decides that he wants to get out of his mother’s pouch and hop. But after only a single hop he finds a bee! Back to the pouch! Later he tries again and again, but he keeps encountering other “scary” animals and retreating back to the safety of his mother’s pouch. The Joey’s hops take him to another nervous kangaroo….
David Ezra Stein’s illustrations, done with china marker, watercolors, and water-soluable crayon have a fuzzy, relaxed tone that blends well with alternating emotions of Joey as he whiplashes from enthusiasm to fright to safety and back again. The colors are subdued earth tones that evoke a dry(ish) Australian landscape.
Young children often struggle with the tension between independence and safety, and many will identify with Joey. Share this with your favorite toddler or preschooler.
Nonfiction – Shades of People
October 10, 2009 at 12:03 pm | In Nonfiction | Leave a CommentOne of the more surprising chapters in the new book NurtureShock is the evidence that children inherently notice the races of the people around them and, when left to their own devices, make the conclusion that people who look most like themselves are best. It is therefore vital to a racially tolerant society that discussions about race begin at a very young age. Almost as if in answer to this new focus on young children and skin tone comes the newly published book Shades of People.
Featuring full-color photos of small children of every conceivable skin color, the book makes explicit that skin is “just our covering” and that “you can’t tell what someone is like from the color of their skin”. The book then talks about how even in the same family different members can have different shades of skin, and that in the park, at school, and at the playground you can see lots of people with lots of different skin tones. The pictures dominate each page. Some pictures are of a single child, others of children playing together, both in multi-racial and single-race groups. All of the pictures are engaging and will appeal to small children who are often fascinated by other pictures of babies and children. The text is simple enough to use with toddlers, while it will make a perfect jumping off point for discussion with older children.
Picture Books – Spells
October 9, 2009 at 10:57 am | In Picture Books | Leave a CommentFrog finds a book of spells. He wishes it were a book about pirates or a book about castles. But then he gets a fabulous idea: he’ll use the book of spells to turn himself into a prince. But the book of spells has been torn into pieces, and mixing and matching spell parts creates quite a havoc!
Emily Gravett’s illustrations are, as always, gorgeously done. The novelty of split pages that allow for a mix-and-match illustration will appeal to children. The haze of magical fog that surrounds the middle of each figure serves both to hide the questionable bits when the frog finally succeeds in his wish to be human as well as to obscure the transition area between the top and bottom of the various frankenstein creatures.
The story is cute, a mix of predictability and surprise that will appeal to children and adults as well.
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