This charming alphabet book shares positive images and encourages kids to embrace their own uniqueness and to be the best they can be. The poetic and alliterative text will make this a great book to read to young learners. The small illustrations that decorate each page reinforce each of the letters and sounds.
Reviewer: Rhonda Lowe, Castle Rock Elementary
Cleary, Beverly TITLE: Just for Me: My Ramona Quimby Journal RATING: R PUBLISHER: Harper Collins, 2013 PRICE: $11.99
This is the place that you can be yourself. You are a unique individual with unique thoughts; this is the place that you can express them. It is a cute journal that asks you questions and directs you in your writing. There are stickers and goofy make it yourself pages. Don’t forget to check out the games. My eight year old loved it.
REVIEWER: Tyra K~Smith, LCC Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Cleary, Brian P. TITLE: -Ful and –Less, -Er and –Ness: What is a Suffix? RATING: R
Cleary continues to deliver in some of this reviewer’s favorite books. Sticking to his tried and tested formula for the many CATegorical series he has created, this book is a great teaching tool for language arts. The table in the back listing the suffix, its meaning and an example is another great feature. The illustrations are bright and fun!
ISBN: 9781590789377 INTEREST LEVEL: Pre-K-2nd ILLUSTRATOR: same PAGES: 30
Stock cars are ready to race! As the cars zoom by, they turn and squeal and crash, but the pace car saves the day. They race until the last car rides around the track. Car 42 is in the lead but what it this? Is that a child’s hand pushing the cars around the track? It is fun to see the hand of a child and see that a non-fiction book about stock cars is really in the child’s imagination. The illustrations are computer graphics and are very well done with shading; the cars look to zoom right off the page. I really enjoyed the simple text and the new and interesting vocabulary in this book it is a must read in my class.
REVIEWER: Tyra K~Smith, LCC Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Cobb, Rebecca TITLE: Missing Mommy RATING: R PUBLISHER: Henry Holt and Company, 2013 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 9780805095074 INTEREST LEVEL: Pre-K-2nd ILLUSTRATOR: same PAGES: 24
This is Rebecca Cobb’s debut book as both an illustrator and the author. Missing Mommy is a bereavement book about the loss of a mother from the perspective of a young child. This book walks the path of emotions and questions that children might have at the loss of their parent. The illustrations wonderfully illustrate the sparseness that you feel when someone is not coming back, and allow for the emotions to come through. I would recommend this to any family missing their mommy.
REVIEWER: Tyra K~Smith, LCC Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Cohen, Jeff TITLE: Eva and Sadie and the worst haircut ever! RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2014 PRICE: $17.99
ISBN: 9780062249067 INT LEV: Gr1-2
ILLUSTRATOR: Elanna Allen PAGES: 28
A typical sister story, Sadie, the older sister cuts her little sister, Eva’s hair because it is too long and too curly, and much Too much in the way. But Sadie cuts it rather erratically. Eva loves it, but her parents are aghast. Of course Sadie is punished and Eva gets a real haircut. All is well. All sisters will relate to this story and this event and love this tale. Adorable illustrations and cutesy text help keep the story light.
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Coudray, Philippe TITLE: Benjamin Bear in Fuzz Thinking RATING: R PUBLISHER: CW Press, 2011 PRICE: $4.99
ISBN: 9781935179252 INTEREST LEVEL: P-K-3rd ILLUSTRATOR: same PAGES: 32
These books are cartoon books that are created to introduce little children to cartoon literacy. This book is rated as a level 2 in complexity. The story is a comedy about a bear; each page is a different story about the bear. Follow him, as he tries out his fuzzy logic, and you introduce children into reading cartoon style literacy. What a super fun read.
REVIEWER: Tyra K~Smith, LCC Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
De Seve, Randell TITLE: Peanut & Fifi Have a Ball RATING: R PUBLISHER: Dial Books, 2013 PRICE: $15.99
ISBN: 9780803735781 INTEREST LEVEL: Pre-K-2nd ILLUSTRATOR: Paul Schmid PAGES: 32
Have you ever had something new and blue and some else wanted it? This is what happens to Peanut. Peanut has a blue ball that Fifi wants to play with. No matter how many time s Fifi asks to play with the ball to share the ball peanut says no, until Fifi comes up with the greatest and funniest idea yet. Have a seal, join a circus, travel the world, and a packed bag for them and Bob the seal. Peanut’s eyes light up at the thought but Fifi is off playing and traveling the world with Bob too busy to play with Peanut until...Peanut says check out this cool blue planet.
REVIEWER: Tyra K~Smith, LCC Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Dean, James TITLE: Pete the Cat Old MacDonald Had a Farm RATING: R
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins, 2014 PRICE: $9.99
ISBN: 9780062198730 INTEREST LEVEL:
ILLUSTRATOR: Dean, James PAGES: 32
Merely because it is Pete the Cat, this book receives a Recommended rating. The kids will love it and it brings to life the well-known song, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” which I still believe every child should know. Without Pete the Cat, this book wouldn’t be so amazing! Pete visits the farm and the many animals that live there. Kids will love seeing Pete in this environment.
REVIEWER: Nikki Williams, Castle Rock Elementary
Dean, James TITLE: Pete the Cat: Twinkle, twinkle, little star RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2014 PRICE: $9.99
ISBN: 9780062304162 INT. LEV: K-2
ILLUSTRATOR: PAGES: 28
Pete the Cat is the hottest character in our library since Clifford. I cannot get the books checked in fast enough. I believe it is the familiar words used
in the text and the repetitive language that draws the kids into the stories. Then I look at the adorable blue cat and think it might be him. Singing the
songs is also a grabber. Whatever, this one with a Twinkle poem is sure to be a hit. Just enough familiar parts to pull them in and then adding to the
As the saying goes, good things come in small packages and this book is a gem. There is just something intriguing about this story and the way it is written that makes it hard to put it down. It's about a girl who is sent to spend the summer with her father when her mother remarries for the third time. She hasn't seen him since she was three. He now lives on an island in Cape Cod and knows more about the turtles that he is studying than the daughter with whom he is trying to reconnect. At first Clare is resentful that her mother abandoned her to this stranger in order to go on a third honeymoon, and she is resentful that her mother divorced husband number two, the only father she knew. After a few days on the island, however, Clare finds clues that she and Richard do have a long-forgotten past and this becomes more of a return than an exile. Clare learns adults, too, have secrets, and sometimes to be a real parent means making tough decisions. When she meets some other teens on the island, she also learns about being true to your own principles, even if it’s not popular with your peers. This is a fast read that moves quickly. I can just imagine students reading it when they have one of those last minute book talks to do. However, I think that it will surprise them to find out how much they can relate to the plot and enjoy it. I highly recommend Returning to Shore – don’t let it get lost on the shelf!
Reviewer: Linda Solberg, retired, Castle Rock High School, Castle Rock, Washington
Demetrios, Heather TITLE: Something real RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Henry Holt, 2014 PRICE: $17.99
ISBN: 9780805097948 INTEREST LEVEL: 9-12
ILLUSTRATOR : NA PAGES: 404
The story opens with protagonist Chloe Baker having a panic attack but managing to get through her senior photo. We quickly learn that she is a really Bonnie Baker from the reality TV show Baker's Dozen. She has literally been filmed all of her life, but birth onward. And as a senior in high school she is trying to escape that. Told with tiny TM signs by all of their names and as chapters that refer to Episode this, Season that, it immerses the reader into a world that would be terrible, to be on camera all of the time. She is finally connecting with a boy, with the help of her two best friends, when her mom springs the news: they're resurrecting the show. Every eye is on Bonnie/Chloe because one the reasons the last series was cut was because she attempted suicide with pills after a messy, on TV, divorce. Now with her mom remarried and the mixed family of surrogate twins and adopted children everywhere (Bonnie is only child her mother had naturally). She is trying to get on with a "normal" life, off camera, but with her brother coming out of the closet and his twin loving the camera time, it is a hard sell. Told against the backdrop of Orwell's 1984 (a book from their government class) this book covers friendship, family loyalty and the idea of privacy and rights. Bonnie ends up self-emancipating on her 18th birthday with the help of the ACLU. References to sex, masturbation and a head-on treatment of being gay in high school do not make this book undesirable for a high school library, instead they just add the reality. By the way, I do not like reality TV shows, so it was an interesting read for me. Reviewer: Lisa Sudar, Mark Morris High School
Drummond, Ree TITLE: Charlie and the new baby RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2014 PRICE: $17.99
ISBN: 978002297501 INT. LEV: Gr1
ILLUSTRATOR: PAGES: 31
If you are a fan of Food Network’s “Pioneer Woman” cooking show then you will relate to this book. Charlie shows up in many shows when Ree is
cooking. Charlie the family basset hound is disturbed when the family brings a calf and is placed in his bed. All of their attention is on the calf and
not on him. Charlie’s sleep is interrupted by a kiss on the head from the calf and he alerts the family. Fortunately, the mama of the calf is found and
Charlie is once again the center of attention from all. Note: this is not library bound
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Eddleman, Peggy TITLE: Sky Jumpers RATING: R PUBLISHER: Random House PRICE: $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-307-98127-1 INTEREST LEVEL 3rd-5th ILLUSTRATOR: NA PAGES: 275
A small group of high school kids would dive from high cliffs into the bombs breath. Being in the bombs breath slows down your speed so that you don’t get hurt when you fall, but the danger of the bombs breath is that if you take even one breath in there it will kill you instantly. The bombs breath is invisible, and much feared by the town. No one is allowed by it because of its danger. When there town is being threatened by an army from another town, these kids save their town by escaping through the bombs breath to get help. This is an exciting book sure to be loved by the students at my school.
REVIEWER: Tracy Robinson, Robert Gray Elementary
Englebreit, Mary TITLE: Mary Englebreit’s nursery and fairy tales collection RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2014 PRICE: $11.99
ISBN: 9780062287076 INT. LEV: K-2
ILLUSTRATOR: same PAGES: 181
Mary Englebreit’s illustrations brighten even the most scary nursery rhymes. It is lovely to read these tales with her colorful and cheery characters.
Included in this collection are Goldilocks, Three pigs, Red Riding Hood, the Emperor, Hansel and Gretel, City mouse, Jack, Gingerbread boy, Red
Hen, Ugly Duckling, and Cinderella. To add frosting on the cake she includes fairy tales such as Snow White, the Little Mermaid, and Sleeping
Beauty to mention a few. Large texts will invite the newest reader to her book.
Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
ISBN: 9780547393100 INTEREST LEVEL: Gr 8-12 ILLUSTRATOR: none PAGES: 360
The coach is dead. Millie already has listed a plethora of suspects who detest the football coach for a plethora of reasons. Unfortunately, one of the suspects is her dad, the assistant coach who argued continuously with Hollerin’ Hank. Another is the former quarterback, beefy Mike, who was replaced by a mysterious Adonis, Chase, who seems to have, well had, the coach in his pocket. Suspect three is Viv, the nasty cheerleader who faced humiliation on Facebook due to the viral video of an incident caused by the coach at a home game. And the list goes on. Millie is determined to clear her father and gumshoe to find the true murderer. Inspired by the sleuthing of Nancy Drew, she fearlessly continues her investigations. As Millie and Chase’s relationship blossoms only to ebb, she forges into danger to save her nemesis and expose the murderer. Like other Beth’s books the reader is hardily entertained by well-drawn and unique characters. I always look forward to her creations, and young adults wanting to read a novel that is an entertaining murder, or two, mystery will love it also.
REVIEWER: Joan Enders, Librarian and Educational Consultant, http://bookbevy.wordpress.com
Felix, Rebecca TITLE: Good manners with your teachers RATING: NA
PUBLISHER: Magic Wagon, 2014 PRICE: $np
ISBN:9781624020285 INT. LEV:Gr3
ILLUSTRATOR: Gary LaCoste PAGES: 32
This small manual is filled with tips for students of how to be polite in school to their teachers. Beginning with listening, and participating to show
respect. The book suggests students ask questions and finish homework. The book has good ideas, but I am unsure who will choose to check out such a book in the library. The pictures seem outdated and awkward looking. Perhaps this book belongs in a classroom for teachers to give to students they want to read
it.
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Fleming, Ian TITLE: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang RATING: R PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press PRICE: $6.99 ISBN: 978-0-7537-666-8 INTEREST LEVEL: 3rd-5th ILLUSTRATOR: Joe Berger PAGES: 143
Commander Potts was an inventor. He wanted to buy an unusual car. He found a rusty, old car that was ready to be scraped out. He purchased it and went to work restoring the car. When it was finished it was beautiful. He and his family went for a ride to the beach. When the road was so congested that they could not move, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (The name they choose for her because of the way she sounded) with a mind of her own became a airplane and flew over the cars to a private beach. They feel asleep and when they woke up the tide had come in and they were trapped. The children found a cave. The Potts family and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang followed the cave inside and came to a spot that had lots of guns and aerosel in it. There was also a note with the biggest gangsters name on it. France had been looking for him for decades. Read further to see if they are able to capture this gangster. I had seen the movie but never read the story. It was very captivating and hard to put down. This will be a great addition to our library.
REVIEWER: Tracy Robinson, Robert Gray Elementary
Freytag, Lorna TITLE: My Humongous Hamster RATING: A
PUBLISHER: Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2013 PRICE: $15.99
ISBN: 9780805099188 INTEREST LEVEL: PreK-2nd
ILLUSTRATOR: Freytag, Lorna PAGES: 24
In this book, one child’s hamster gets so hungry that he grows and grows until he can’t fit into his cage anymore. The child tells what the humongous hamster could do being that size. Eventually though, the hamster would miss its owner and be glad to shrink back into a manageable size….until the next time it got really, really hungry. This book does a great job of showing how a child’s imagination might work as they choose something in their everyday life and imagine its adventures. Reminiscent of Clifford, The Big Red Dog, this hamster gets quite large. However, the illustrations are done with photography and other techniques so appears to be more “real.”
REVIEWER: Nikki Williams, Castle Rock Elementary
Friedman, Laurie TITLE: Three’s company, Mallory! RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Darbycreek, 2014 PRICE: $15.95
ISBN: 9781467709217 INT. LEV: Gr3
ILLUSTRATOR: Jennifer Kalis PAGES: 159
Mallory and Mary Ann are very best friends. They do everything together. Wear similar clothes and share their secrets. But when a new girl Chloe
Jennifer moves in across the street Mary Ann meets her first and becomes very good friends with the new neighbor. Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer
look a lot alike and Mary Ann tries to include her in everything she and Mallory are doing. Mallory decides to withdraw herself from the three and
even tries to sabotage the threesome. At Mallory’s sleepover she is encouraged to cut Chloe Jennifer’s hair to make her look more like Mary Ann.
Unfortunately, she cowers to peer pressure and cuts a lot. Devastated, Chloe Jennifer goes home and Mallory and Mary Ann have a major fight. Plus
Mallory is in deep trouble with her parents. Mallory has to devise a major plan to make up for all she has created. Gathering up all the girlfriends
early in the morning in pjs they all head to Chloe’s house for a breakfast birthday party. The three friends work out a plan to be friends.
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Gaiman, Neil TITLE: Fortunately, the milk RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2013 PRICE: $14.99
ISBN: 9780026222407 INT. LEV:Gr.3
ILLUSTRATOR: Skottie Young PAGES:113
In the morning when there was no milk for cereal the kids told their inattentive father. He decided he would go get some at the corner market. Alas,
many obstacles got into his way home. First, meeting an alien ship and then pirates who made him walk the plank, yet saved by a creature in a hot air
balloon. Later he was approached by wumpires that took his milk of which he had hung onto so carefully. Strangely the milk was rocketed back to
him. After the story was told to his children they proclaimed they did not believe any of it as they spied all these creatures on the calendar on the wall.
Yet their father had the proof as he set the milk on the table and went back to reading his newspaper. How many times have kids listened to the wild
stories of their parents and believed the wild tales? Neil Gaiman has put one into a book with creative black sketches.
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Gantos, Jack TITLE: Rotten Ralph’s rotten family RATING: R
Rotten Ralph has always been rotten and he wonders how he learned to be rotten and what was his family like. So he makes a trip to visit his family.
Everyone is rotten to him. His father squirted him with goat’s milk, his uncle sat on him, his brothers and sisters cut his hair while he was napping.
He had a good time with his family but his missed his owner, Sarah and hurried back to her. To prove he was not always rotten he fixed her a yummy
breakfast in bed. Rotten Ralph is a favorite character and is perfect to read about him in beginning chapter books.
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
George, Jean Craighead TITLE: Galapagos George RATING:R
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2014 PRICE: $15.99
ISBN:9780060287931 INT. LEV:
ILLUSTRATOR: Wendell Minor (painter) PAGES:<32>
Galapagos turtles are prehistoric and were around when there were dinosaurs. Her species learned to live on what she had
around her and learned to live off her body fat and water. The tortoise named Giantess George later came back to land and adapted to eating plants and they increased in number rapidly. Yet when people arrived on the Island of Tortoises the animal numbers decreased.
This Giant Galapagos was scarce so scientists took an animal to the Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island and
built a refuge to preserve him naming him Lonesome George. June 24, 2012 this George passed and scientists believe he is
the last of his kind. Yet, sometimes life is unexplainable.
Jean Craighead George always presents us with a special place in the world to think about. She now will find a wonder in heaven. RIP.
REVIEWER: Debbie Johnson, Wallace Elementary School, Kelso, WA
