Kids and books

Sabrina and Daphne have been guests of an orphanage and a series of miserable foster homes since their parents disappeared over a year ago.  Suddenly, they find themselves being handed over to a strange lady claiming to be their grandmother.  However, they know she isn’t, since their father told them their grandmother was dead.  So who is this odd woman, who serves black spaghetti noodles with bright orange sauce and emerald green meatballs for dinner?

When the old woman and her companion, Mr. Canis, take the girls to investigate a house that has been destroyed,  Sabrina begins to wonder what they have gotten themselves into, especially since the house seems to have been flattened by a gigantic foot!  Imagine their surprise when they discover that they are the descendants of the Brothers Grimm, and the town their grandmother lives in, Ferryport (Fairyport?) Landing, is the home of all the “everafters,” as they call the magical characters from the old fairy tales.
A thoroughly enjoyable romp through a fantastical mystery, with characters including Jack (of beanstalk fame), Mayor (Prince) Charming, the three pigs (currently employed as policemen), and a huge dog named Elvis.

The Sisters Grimm, book one: fairy-tale detectives by Michael Buckley.  New York, Amulet Books, 2005.  ISBN: 0-8109-5925-9, $ 14.95.

Greg Kenyon and his annoying neighbor Maura Shaw have been rivals as long as they have known each other. Greg has this thing about money – he really likes it, and he works hard to earn as much as he can. One day at school, Greg realizes that most of his classmates have extra spending money that he could be earning. Greg creates some small comic books, called Chunky Comics, to sell for $.25 each. Maura, with Greg’s help, creates her own version of the comics, and they go into business together. Business is booming, until the principal of his intermediate school discovers the comics and bans them from the school.

Now it is up to Greg and Maura to convince the local school board that their comic books are worthwhile and should be sold in school.  An inspired idea from their math teacher helps their cause.

Lunch Money by Andrew Clements.   New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.  ISBN: 0869866836, $16.99.

Okay, I know it’s not an Emphasis on Reading selection, but a girl has to be able to read something other than elementary books, and I really like Scott Westerfield’s stuff.  This is the first book in his Midnighters trilogy.

A newcomer to Bixby, Oklahoma, Jessica wakes one night to find that everything from her clock to the rain outside has come to a stop.  She later learns that she is one of 5 teens in the area who are able to function during the 25th hour of the day, which most people never experience.  Unfortunately, in addition to the five teens, there are monstrous beings active during that time, and Jessica has to figure out why they are after her and how to protect herself.

I really enjoy Westerfeld’s books, in fact I’m reading another right now.  This is an interesting book that will be enjoyed by fans of fantasy and horror, both.

Midnighters #1: the secret hour, by Scott Westerfeld.  New York: Eos, 2005.  ISBN: 0-060-519533 (pbk), $6.99.

Sophie Hartley has 2 lists going.  The first, Things I Am Bad At, includes Tooth brushing, Cursive, Sitting Still, Violin, Horseback riding, Gymnastics, Hair brushing, and Ballet.  The second, Things I Am Good At, consists of Crying and Stopping crying. 

In an attempt to add Being kind to her list of things she is good at, Sophie befriends two people.  Heather, the new girl from California, is a vegetarian, and she announces what kind of meat people have been eating based on their smell.  She also has a point system by which she decides who is or is not her friend.  Dr. Holt is a grumpy retired professor who is confined to a wheelchair.  Sophie’s mom is her visiting nurse and brings Sophie along to help the professor plant her flower garden.

In this 2nd-3rd grade Emphasis on Reading selection, Sophie learns about friendship from both Heather and Dr. Holt, and in the process finds something that she is good at.

Queen Sophie Hartley by Stephanie Greene.  New York: Clarion Books, 2005.  ISBN: 0-618-49461-8, $15.00.

This fictionalized slave narrative is one of the 4th-6th grade Emphasis on Reading selections.  I really enjoyed the book, although I think some of the students may have trouble with some of the dialect.  Depending on how much they know about the Civil War, students may need some extra background information, but Shelia Moses has done a good job of explaining Dred Scott’s story. 

I, Dred Scott: a fictional slave narrative based on the life and legal precedent of Dred Scott by Shelia P. Moses.  New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2005.  ISBN: 0-689-85975-9, $16.95.

I LOVE this book!  Butterworth’s prose is perfectly suited to his audience, and John Lawrence’s woodcuts (actually vinyl engravings, watercolor washes, and printed wood textures) are just wonderful!  The two together have created a beautiful and informative book for young readers.  I am looking forward to introducing this book to my lower elementary students when school starts next week.  Arghh!  Next week!?!

Sea Horse by Chris Butterworth.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.  ISBN:0-7636-2989-8, $16.99.

This is the companion book to Browne’s My Dad, which I absolutely love.  The mom in this book is able to do almost anything, but most importantly, she’s a great mom who loves her child.   The illustrations are spot on.  The mom in the story is wearing a flowered bathrobe and pink fuzzy slippers, and as the child describes her attributes, each object is shown with the same fabric and slippers.  “My mom’s as beautiful as a butterfly, and as comfy as an armchair.”

This would be a fun book to use when teaching similes and metaphors, perhaps pairing it with Audrey Wood’s Quick as a Cricket, but it is also just a great book on its own.

My Mom by Anthony Browne.  New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005.  ISBN: 0-374-35098-1, $16.00.

Gooney Bird Greene is back!  In this second book of Gooney Bird’s adventures in Mrs. Pidgeon’s second grade class, the students are getting ready for their Thanksgiving pageant.  Mrs. Pidgeon is searching for the perfect student to play the part of Squanto, as well as looking for someone, anyone, to volunteer to be room mother.  Finally, she decides that the student who finds a room mother for their class will be rewarded with the part of Squanto.  Gooney Bird, of course, really wants the part, and comes up with a surprising solution to the problem.

This is not an Emphasis on Reading selection, but when it came in, I had to read it!  Gooney Bird is a great character (think Junie B. Jones meets Pippi Longstocking), and students absolutely love her.  Teachers do too, since she gets the students in her class using their dictionaries in order to keep up with her extended vocabulary.  This is another winner from an extraordinary writer.

Gooney Bird and the Room Mother by Lois Lowry.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005.  ISBN: 0-618-53230-7, $15.00.