The phrases are great to know, however if you do not have a Chinese teacher that is helping you learn different sounds don’t pick up this book. That being said there are definite pluses to the lay out of this book. It is not in textbook format therefore it is more kid friendly and could be used by young readers. There is a table of contents and help on how to use this book. The phrases are in English, Mandarin, and in pinyin which is the pronunciation. There are pages that help with the pronunciation that can be very advanced and need to have a background or context. The cartoon like illustrations makes the book more kid friendly. I would say that if your child is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese this phrase book could be helpful, or if you have young children that speak Chinese the English.
Ten-year-old Hastin is sent to work as an elephant keeper to work off his family’s debt after his sister’s illness. At first Hastin is excited to get to work with elephants until he realizes they are going to capture and train a baby that they’ll trap from the wild. Hastin even tries to help the baby, Nandita, escape after she’s captured. His boss, Timir, punishes him by adding more to the debt. With the help of Ne Min, an elderly caretaker of the camp, Hastin helps care for Nandita. Nandita is treated terribly by the keepers and Hastin helps here return to the wild and escapes back to his village. Readers will be rooting for Hastin & Nandita. This is a heart-felt story that will appeal to a wide variety of elementary and middle school students.
This book is perfect for young boys! There is nothing more exciting for young boys than multiple LEGO creations in one book. This book teaches the letters of the alphabet by creating each letter with LEGO blocks, as well as creating an item that begins with each letter sound. This book is a great teaching tool that incorporates the alphabet with one of America’s most beloved toys.
King, Wesley TITLE: The Vindico RATING: R PUBLISHER: Penguin Group ã 2012 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0-399-256547 INTEREST LEVEL: 6th-8th ILLUSTRATOR: NA PAGES: 304
A group of supervillians have banded together under the name The Vindico. The Vindico has been fighting the League of Heroes forever and now realize they aren’t getting any younger. They need to recruit some younger villains to take their place, so they devise a plan. The Vindico are going to kidnap a group of teenagers to replace them after training them to be evil. It can’t be that hard! As the group of teens learns the truth about their old lives and the Heroes they idolize, they are tested physically and mentally. Will they become villain or a hero? This book kept me reading with the action of the teens using their powers against their villain mentors.
REVIEWER: Vicki White, Cascade Middle School
Kirsch, Vincent X. TITLE: the Chandeliers RATING: A
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 2012 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0-374-39898-9 INTEREST LEVEL: K-2nd
ILLUSTRATOR: Kirsch, Vincent X. PAGES: 33
The Chandeliers are a giraffe family who take the stage every night. Little Rufus doesn’t participate until one night when he seemingly saves the day by helping out in many different situations. The rest of the family gives him the credit he is due, and he gets to bow before the audience for a change. The illustrations are entertaining and convey the quirky personalities of the giraffes.
Reviewer: Nikki Williams, Castle Rock Elementary
Klise, Kate TITLE: The Phantom of the Post Office RATING: R
Klise’s main characters in Ghastly are back: Seymour, the young boy, and Ignatius, an elderly writer, who both live with ghost Olive. In this edition they are joined by some interesting and exciting new characters, including a mysterious letter writer who sends them warnings by mail carrier. What do the warnings mean? With the imminent closure of the local Post Office looming, will the trio be able to figure out the hidden message of the warnings, solve the identity of the letter writer, and more importantly, save the Post Office and ‘snail mail’ in Ghastly? Told in written correspondence between the many characters, newspaper articles, faxes, etc. this is a thoroughly fun read! This is the fourth installment in Klise’s ’43 Old Cemetery Road’ series.
Klise, Kate TITLE: Grammy Lamby and the Secret Handshake RATING: R PUBLISHER: Henry Holt and Com. ã 2012 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9313-1 INTEREST LEVEL: Pre-K-2nd ILLUSTRATOR: M. Sarah Klise PAGES: 21
This book tackles a tough subject, what if your child has a hard time connecting to their grandparents? What kind of kid were you? The kind that embraces every family member or the kind that took a step back from the embrace. My uncle scared me to death, he was loud, demonstrative, but everyone thought he was fun. Then as I grew older he became my hero in a matter of speaking. He can do anything. Little Lamby finds that grandma is a little scary, but soon she becomes his hero and they share a little secret handshake that binds it all together. I think that this is a must have for all your shy little ones and maybe even for those who have awesome family members that can be bigger than life.
REVIEWER: Tyra K. Smith, Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Knudsen, Michelle TITLE: Big Mean Mike RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Candlewick @ 2012 PRICE: 15.99
ISBN: 9780763649906 INTEREST LEVEL: 1st-5th
ILLUSTRATOR: Scott Magoon PAGES: UNP
What a Dog! Big Mean Mike with his pointy claws, sharp teeth and big bark has a reputation throughout the neighborhood that friend and foe alike had better give him a wide berth. All that changed one day when Mike found a fuzzy fluffy bunny in the trunk of his big mean car. Each day he found another bunny until there were four. The bunnies want Mike for a best friend so they are not going to give up easily. Finally, at the Monster Truck Show Mike is able to come to terms with his softer gentler side and no one better give him any lip. The illustration are over the top good.
