Well I’ll be, a new word…Flabbersmashed. What if your best friend chose someone else to play with, or what if she chose someone else to be a walk-in-from-recess buddy? Would you be flabbersmashed like Katie Honors? Yes making friends is a confusing as a child and as an adult. This book is a great tool to bring up these topics with young children. Vail has a way of picking out the social emotional hurdles for young children. She is great at telling a common story with a new twist. This book has the feel and the appearance of her book called Sometimes I’m Bombaloo. Keep up the good work Rachel Vail they are wonderful books for any teacher’s library.
REVIEWER: Tyra K. Smith, Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Van Draanen, Wendelin TITLE: Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack RATING: R
Sammy Keyes series book 15. Eighth grader Sammy secretly lives with her grandmother in an apartment building only for senior citizens. Everything is quiet until a new superhero, Justice Jack, literally in mask and tights, shows up to fight crime. He seems to be in the right places at the right times and thwarts criminals in the act. Townspeople think he’s pretty neat and after getting some help from Sammy in tackling someone at the mall, he wants her to be his new sidekick. She politely declines, thinking he’s not all that great. Meanwhile trouble is brewing in the apartment building when her grandma’s neighbor, Mrs. Wedgewood, disappears, apparently with many tenants money. After a series of events puts her in the right places, she begins to smell a rat, realizing that Justice Jack is a fake. Unknown to him, his mom has been setting up crimes for him to solve in hopes of getting them a reality television show. After Justice Jack find the lost Mrs. Wedgewood, Sammy sees her in a whole new light. This is another great read for upper elementary and middle school girls who want a modern mystery that takes twists and turns before the mystery is solved.
My Plate helps us make good food choices. This book introduces My Plate and each component and how it grows or where it is derived from. This non-fiction book helps the young child learn about healthy eating. It is clear and concise. The text is large and the photos large and child friendly. This book includes and chapter list, an index with a quiz, and vocabulary words that the teacher can present to the student.
REVIEWER: Tyra K. Smith, Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Voake, Steve TITLE: Daisy Dawson on the Farm RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press ã 2012 PRICE: $ 14.99
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5882-3 INTEREST LEVEL: 3rd – 5th
ILLUSTRATOR: Jessica Meserve PAGES: 89
Daisy, the girl who can talk to animals, is back in her fifth installment in the ‘Daisy Dawson’ series. This outing has her on the farm during a heat wave and the animals are getting grouchy! Good thing Daisy’s around and can try to keep the peace between them all, keeping them so busy with dancing and competitions and other shenanigans that their minds get a break from focusing on the weather. Will the heat wave ever break? Will it ever rain so the newts can get their pond back? Daisy is a welcome addition to the farm for the animals and hopefully she’ll be able to solve their dilemma. Fans of Daisy’s other books in the series will enjoy this newest installment.
REVIEWER: Jill Buccola, Olympic Elementary School
Warner, Gertrude Chandler TITLE: The Boxcar Children Blue Bay Mystery RATING: A
PUBLISHER: Albert Whitman and Company PRICE: $5.99
The Boxcar Children continue to delight readers with their adventures, this time taking place on a previously deserted island. Or so they thought… Mysterious things are happening that is making the family think that there may be someone else on the island? Who is it and should they be scared? Those are the questions to be answered. Readers will enjoy the interaction between the family and the bond they have with one another. The wording is a little outdated for today’s children which may make it harder for them to relate to some of the interactions and dialogue in the book. The updated cover illustrations will help modern students become more drawn to the book.
REVIEWER: Rachel Kerker, St. Helens Elementary
Waxman, Laura Hamilton TITLE: Spheres RATING: R PUBLISHER: Magic Wagon ã 2012 PRICE: $16.99
Let’s learn about 3-D shapes; circle becomes a sphere. This is a great series that include more books on cones, cubes, prisms, pyramids, and cylinders. This is a great find for the pre-school library. I am excited to add this series to my library. The pictures are cute illustrations of young children playing and using spheres in real world applications.
REVIEWER: Tyra K. Smith, Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Webb, Sarah TITLE: Ask Amy Green: Love and Other Drama-ramas! RATING: R
Ask Amy Green book ****. Thirteen-year-old Amy Green’s mom continues with wedding preparations and lands a job ghost writing a novel. It turns out that she is helping to write the memoirs of a famous surfing celebrity chef. Amy’s seventeen-year-old cousin, Clover, is very nervous about starting college and spills the beans to Amy about how Clover’s best friend stole her boyfriend and that they are already attending the same college. Meanwhile Amy’s best friend, Mills, begins dating a mysterious new boy, Bailey. However when Mills cancels a date with Bailey to attend a rock concert featuring Clover’s new boyfriend, she sees Bailey there apparently dating another girl. Mills confronts him and Bailey breaks up with her. Amy discovers some of her mom’s book notes on the table and puts pieces together that Bailey is the celebrity’s chef estranged son. Amy secretly sets up a meeting at the beach for the father and son and it doesn’t go well. Bailey is so distraught that Amy later finds him neck deep in the freezing ocean where, with the help of her mom and friends, rescue him. Bailey and his dad begin to sort things out. Clover overcomes her fears and starts to like college. Middle school girls will enjoy the teen angst and drama, as well as the happy ending.
Basic Safety is a book to teach children how to be safe in many different areas of their life such as: school, home, playground, and when traveling. There is a glossary, recommended extensions of research, suggested Internet sites, and an index. The format of the “Pebble Plus” non-fiction books is very nice for very young children. They have a big picture on the right hand side with the text on the left. Also, the text is extremely basic and would sit comfortly on a pre-school room shelf.
REVIEWER: Tyra K. Smith, Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Wells, Robert E. TITLE: Can We Share the World with Tigers? RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Albert Whitman @ 2012 PRICE: 16.99
ISBN: 9780807510551 INTEREST LEVEL: 1st-5th
ILLUSTRATOR: Robert E. Wells PAGES: UNP
This unpaged nonfiction picture book exposes many reasons why tigers are becoming endangered. Poaching is discussed as well as pollution and people taking over habitats. Balance in nature is presented as humans bring incompatible species together. Illustrations provide the an important backdrop to all the valuable information. Can We Share the World with Tigers? would be outstanding for Earth Day.
Reviewer: Carol Steen, Columbia Valley Gardens Elementary
Wheeler, Jill C. TITLE: Ragdoll Cats RATING: R
PUBLISHER: ABDO Publishing Company PRICE: $
ISBN: 978-1-61783-243-7 INTEREST LEVEL: 2-4
ILLUSTRATOR: PAGES: 24
This is a non-fiction book about a very sweet breed of cats called the Ragdoll cat. Ragdolls are a hybrid breed that did not originate in nature rather
from a woman who bred them specifically due to their mellow nature and their ability to become limp when held. This is a short but comprehensive
book for a child to use for a report or for simple interest.
REVIEWER: Holly James, Barnes Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Wiley, Melissa TITLE: Fox and Crow are Not Friends RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Random @ 2012 PRICE: 3.99
ISBN: 9780375869822 INTEREST LEVEL: 1st-3rd
ILLUSTRATOR: Sebastien Braun PAGES: 48
Another in the “Step into Reading” series, this begins as an Aesop’s fable. Crow finally sings, the cheese drips to the ground and Fox eat the cheese. Additional brief chapters add to the fun. The surprise ending is sure to be a winner for reluctant readers who will be drawn to this book. The illustrations assure that many students will enjoy this book.
Reviewer: Carol Steen, Columbia Valley Gardens Elementary
Williams, Marcia TITLE: The elephant's friend and other tales from Ancient India RATING: A PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press , 2012 PRICE: $16.99
Piper Reed is a young girl who is part of a military family. The military lifestyle isn’t always easy and causes the family to frequently move to new locations. This means new schools and new friends and the loss of The Gypsy Club in which she and her current friends belong. All of this can be stressful for a young girl. Piper tries to keep an open mind and a positive attitude and learns that she is good at making friends. She also discovers that The Gypsy Club can continue no matter where she is. This is a great book for youngsters who belong to military families or those who experience moving to a new school.
REVIEWER: Rachel Kerker, St. Helens Elementary
Wojtowycz, David TITLE: Elephant Joe, Brave Knight! RATING: A
PUBLISHER: Random House, New York, 2011 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0-307-93087-3 INTEREST LEVEL: K-2nd
ILLUSTRATOR: Wojtowycz, David PAGES: 32
Elephant Joe and Zebra Pete go to the King’s rescue when the Dark Knight steals his crown. A surprising turn of events happens when the two brave characters attempt to rescue a damsel in distress, only to find that it is the Dark Knight in disguise. The illustrations combine speech bubbles with plain text. The illustrations have a lot of texture in them.
Reviewer: Nikki Williams, Castle Rock Elementary
Wooster, Patricia TITLE: An Illustrated Timeline of Dinosaurs RATING: A+
In spite of the fact that $28.00 is quite expensive for a book with only 32 pages, I did enjoy this selection. I like the format which clearly illustrates how long the time span is. I learned about several new dinosaurs which helps keep me current with our students! The somewhat simplistic illustrations are appropriate for age level. Our dino-experts will love it!
Rhonda Lowe, Castle Rock Elementary
Yates, Louise TITLE: Dog Loves Drawing RATING R
PUBLISHER: Alfred Knopf PRICE: $ 16.99
ISBN: 978-0-375-87067-5 INTEREST LEVEL: K-2nd ILLUSTRATOR: Yates, Louise PAGES: NA
Dog loved to read. He opened a book store and when he was not selling books to others he was reading. Then one day his aunt sent him a book with blank pages, and encouraged him to make his own book. Do love to draw and use his imagination. When his book was filled he sent his aunt a thank-you card. This would be a good book to introduce the writing process to young students.
REVIEWER: Tracy Robinson, Kessler Elementary
Yum, Hyewon TITLE: Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten! RATING: A
This book follows a young boy’s excitement about the first day of school. This reviewer thought that maybe the boy’s true feelings were transferred to his mom depicting her as being shy and not wanting to go to school so much. The illustrations project Mom through much of the book as a shrunken blue figure hiding from the world.
