Archive for the 'Illustrated Books' Category

Interview with Cressida Cowell, Author of How to Train Your Dragon – Link

Monday, October 18th, 2010

HTTYD movie illus1 Interview with Cressida Cowell, Author of How to Train Your Dragon   Link

I enjoyed this MovieWeb interview with children’s book author Cressida Cowell, who wrote the How to Train Your Dragon books. In the interview, she talks about her feelings about having her fantastic book made into an animated movie. She also talks about her unique summers spent on an isolated island with her family that in many ways inspired her writing.

The first time I saw How to Train Your Dragon Book 1 Interview with Cressida Cowell, Author of How to Train Your Dragon   Link in a bookstore, several years back, I was hooked.  I was eager to see the movie when it came out. I took the family to see it in 3-D at the IMAX. It was too intense for the youngest, but my oldest and I enjoyed it every bit as much as we did the books.

Children’s Book Review: Moose and Magpie by Bettina Restrepo, Illustrated by Sherry Rogers

Friday, October 15th, 2010

moose and magpie cvr 150x150 Childrens Book Review: Moose and Magpie by Bettina Restrepo, Illustrated by Sherry RogersMoose and Magpie, by Bettina Restrepo and illustrated by Sherry Rogers is an interesting and entertaining children’s book designed to teach young children about Moose. Moose are not you’re usual topic for a children’s book. I also found it a bit odd in its approach, but my younger daughter loved it, laughing all the way through. Since she’s the better critic, I’m going with her assessment.

Magpie loves a good, funny riddle, and good natured Moose enjoys them, too. The two friends pass through the seasons as Moose grows from a calf to adulthood, and along the way kids learn (more…)

Does This Smack of Censorship? Scholastic Bowdlerizes Books for the Arab World

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

 Does This Smack of Censorship? Scholastic Bowdlerizes Books for the Arab WorldThe L.A. Times reports that Scholastic is carefully “screening”, or should we say, bowdlerizing, or more to the point, censoring,  books to be translated into Arabic. By careful they mean no dredels or other symbols of Jewish culture, no magic, no birthdays and no Clifford the Big Red Dog-he’s unclean! And they darkened Heidi’s skin, too. She was just too white, and European. The awful mistake in this translation was that they overlooked painting out a church steeple in one of the illustrations. How sad to miss an opportunity to obliterate vestiges of a Christian world in a book destined for countries where their religious and cultural heritages are founded on just that obliteration of other cultures. Just imagine if a state board of education were to do this very same thing?

The article stresses the incredible revelations into the outside world that these books bring. I’d find some revelations reading these books, too. Other religions? They don’t exist. Heidi’s a dark-skinned Arab? I never knew that either.

I wonder how any attempts to garner this sort of accommodation from a publisher for American Christians would play out? It don’t suppose it would be so pretty. You know, maybe Scholastic and the Hate League of Arab speaking countries have more in common than we think.

Here’s a review of a book by Allan Zullo entitled  Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust Does This Smack of Censorship? Scholastic Bowdlerizes Books for the Arab World. Will we ever see this book translated into Arabic and introduced to their schools? It’s a Scholastic imprint, why not?

Archie and the Pirates by Marc Rosenthal

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

archie large e1277872138349 Archie and the Pirates by Marc RosenthalArchie and the Pirates Archie and the Pirates by Marc Rosenthal, by Marc Rosenthal, is a very good, very fun book. Kids, from little through first or second grade will love it. When I say this book has just about everything needed to be a sure success with kids, I mean it. That is to say, it’s got a monkey and pirates! I think that  spells instant winner with a lot of kids.

I picked it up and flipped through a few pages and that’s all it took to convince me to take this book home and feed it to my 7-year old. She read Archie and the Pirates  through to the end,and she loved the story. If it’s good, funny, and has great illustrations, she’s all for the book every time.

Yes, Archie is the monkey – a monkey marooned on a tropical island paradise- almost. You see, there’s this tiger roaming about roaring hungrily. And then, there’s these pirates, and they…

Let me back up. As the story begins, without explanation, we find Archie adrift on the ocean, fast asleep in his bed, and dreaming that he is asleep in his bed, adrift on the ocean. He awakens to find that he floated to a desert island somewhere in the tropics. Following the lead of the Swiss Family Robinson, he constructs an elaborate, and ingenious tree house with multi-purpose items, and even running water, all with tools and items he collects from the beach and elsewhere on the island.archie spred1 Archie and the Pirates by Marc Rosenthal

Archie soon makes friends with an Ibis, and he whiles away the pleasant hours with her. But there is danger on this island, and later, the pirates come and kidnap one of Archie’s friends. Can Archie mount a rescue?archie spred21 Archie and the Pirates by Marc Rosenthal

Pictures are from Marc Rosenthal’s Website.

Marc Rosenthal has written other books, but I’m only familiar with


Wave, by Suzy Lee

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Wave cover illustration Wave, by Suzy Lee Wave, by Suzy Lee

Take one sandy beach and endless rolling waves and you have a foolproof formula for a full day of fun. We’re far from any sandy ocean beaches where I live, and it’s two hours the nearest dunes along lake Michigan,  but Suzy Lee’s book, Wave Wave, by Suzy Lee, can transport you there in an instant.

suzy lee the wave Wave, by Suzy Lee

This wordless book, illustrated with with watercolors of blue and gray charcoal, captures the essense of a young girl’s discovery of the wonder of the waves. The cover illustrations took me in immediately and I grabbed it for my 7-year old. She flipped through the pages again and again, and I suspect she imagined it was herself, alone on the beach with her mother. This is one worth owning that kids will enjoy for a long time.

 


 

Cool Science: Review of How to Clone a Sheep by Hazel Richardson

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

how to clone a sheep cvr Cool Science: Review of How to Clone a Sheep by Hazel Richardson Cool Science: Review of How to Clone a Sheep by Hazel Richardson

How to Clone a Sheep

By Hazel Richardson

Illustrated by Andy Cooke

Kids love science when it’s served up on their level and written in a lively, humorous style. That’s exactly what you get with How to Clone a Sheep by Hazel Richardson and Illustrated by Andy Cooke. This fun little book is a first-rate introduction to genetics, DNA and cloning aimed at kids in about the 4th through 8th grades. The book also has some activities that are easy and educational.

How to Clone a Sheep covers the basics. Beginning by explaining what exactly are clones, DNA and genes, the book approaches the subject from a historical perspective, explaining historical thought about the inheritance of traits and how these ideas were either confirmed or rejected. Finally, it explains the science and methodology employed to produce Dolly, the famous cloned sheep. There is quite a bit of interesting historical information provided, as well. Richardson’s description of the race among scientists to discover the secrets of DNA is especially amusing, and it gives us an inside perspective on scientific research.

I think that adults would enjoy reading this along with their kids. In fact, it was my 6th grader who found this book and passed it along to me after reading it herself. She insisted I’d love it and she was right. The explanations are simplified and accompanied by terrific cartoonish drawings that perfectly illustrate the text.

Book Review: The Nexi Robot

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

31DOIKOcf4L. SL160  Book Review: The Nexi Robot Book Review: The Nexi Robot

The Nexi Robot

(Norwood House Press, 2010)

By Toney Allman

dr cynthia breazeal and nexi Book Review: The Nexi RobotThe Nexi Robot (Great Idea) Book Review: The Nexi Robot by Toney Allman will fascinate you from beginning to end. It relates the quest of MIT robotics professor Cynthia Breazeal to build a social robot, one that learns like a person does and that interacts with people in a social way. Much different than tool and task oriented robots that dominate the robotics field, social robots are designed to learn from people and interact with people, understanding and showing emotions.

Video introduction to Nexi:

Author Toney Allman does a great job of making these complicated ideas understandable and stimulating. Sometimes the author struggles to keep the writing simple all the way through. At times the level is appropriate for a skilled 2nd grade reader, but overall we’re looking at a book aimed at 3rd and 4th graders and up. The format follows a younger reader level, but don’t let kids be put off. They’ll be rewarded with an excellent story about scientific inquiry that is sure to spur their imaginations and help shape their career and educational choices. I recommend this book for any school or public library or for a kid interested in robotics or engineering.

Here is a “Robots to the Rescue”, a short video kids might enjoy staring Nexi and another flying robot. At the end, you’ll see that Nexi looks like it could use a good dose of Visine as it blinks away the smokey sting from its eyes.

Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults – Children’s Science Picture Books

Monday, November 2nd, 2009
283521main why moon226x170 Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books

Courtesy of NASA

In some crowds science has a bad reputation. These people folks find it dull, or poorly written. It’s a reputation not at all deserved, yet sometimes the writing of science books can leave a bit to be desired. That’s why it’s great news when we learn about the best of the best science books available. So when I saw that The School Library Journal had posted the list of finalists for the American Association for the Advancement of Science Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults, I was excited.

There are three categories: Children’s Science Picture Books, Middle Grades Science Books, and Young Adult Science Books. Today I’ll highlight the nominees for the Children’s Science Picture Books.

Children’s Science Picture Books

living sunlight jpg Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books

Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life

(Blue Sky Press, 2009)

By Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm

Illustrated by Molly Bang

This might have been called “My first book of Photosynthesis”, Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life, Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm explain how plants transform sunlight into energy and life giving food for everything on the planet. The illustrations are colorful and support the simple text. It’s almost magic when an author can explain such a complex web of interaction within a children’s picture book.

moonshot cvr Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

(Atheneum, 2009)

By Brian Floca

Author and illustrator Brian Floca lets us ride along with the Apollo 11 crew as they journey from earth to the moon and back. The illustrations in Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 have a fantastic sense of scale to them. The story is exiting and full of interesting details that bring this historic and inspiring journey to life.

redwoods cvr Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books

Redwoods

(Roaring Brook, 2009)

By Jason Chin

Redwoods by Jason Chin is a bit reminiscent of Flotsam, a visual fantasy by David Weiner, as it follows a boy who finds a book about the giant redwood trees just before riding the train. As he reads the simple text of the book, the dinosaurs and other things appear in the train window behind him showing what was happening in the world during the lifespan of the spectacular trees. In one of the illustrations a young girl is seen. Later, when the boy puts down the book we see that girl finding the book and beginning to read it herself.

what bluebirds do cvr Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books Best of the Best Science Books for Children and Young Adults   Childrens Science Picture Books

What Bluebirds Do

(Boyds Mills, 2009)

By Pamela F. Kirby

What Bluebirds Do by Pamela F. Kirby highlights a year in the life of bluebirds in beautiful photos. It’s simple text should be readable by many early readers. Following a pair of bluebirds who have nested in her backyard, Kirby captures their daily life, including their raising of five young bluebird chicks. School Library Journal compared this book to The Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Nic Bishop.

Review: How to Be a Detective by Barbara Mitchelhill

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

how to be a detective cvr Review: How to Be a Detective by Barbara Mitchelhill Review: How to Be a Detective by Barbara Mitchelhill

How to Be a Detective

By Barbara Mitchelhill

Illustrated by Tony Ross

How to Be a Detective Review: How to Be a Detective by Barbara Mitchelhill, by Barbara Mitchelhill, and illustrated by Tony Ross, is one of a series Mitchelhill has written about Damien Drooth Supersleuth. Damien is quite the amateur detective. and he has built up quite a reputation in his town as an outstanding amateur sleuth. He’s a confident fellow, conceited, even. If you’re familiar with Nate the Great, he will remind you a bit of him. Written for slightly more advanced readers than Nate the Great, How to Be a Detective has more action and more humor.

When Damien opens a school for detectives he immediately has a long line kids waiting to get in. After a few short words of introduction to identifying criminals, he leads his class into the fray. They head downtown and begin to search for criminals. Watch out! If you have a beard, or maybe close-set eyes, these crime hunting kids will be onto your trail.

And in How to Be a Detective, they do find a tail! Er, a trail! at the local dog show. The whole gang gets involved solving this one and Damien’s students are ready, maybe even more than Damien is.

I’m happy to know that Damien Drooth Supersleuth is a series. I’ve already several more. This is a terrific book for grades 2-5 and could easily become a favorite. I know that my older daughter would have loved this book when she was younger. She consumed every mystery and detective book she could get her hands on, even attempting books much beyond her reading ability at the time.

Barbara Mitchelhill has a website where she talks about her life, career as a teacher and writer, and tells us about all her books.

Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David Shannon

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

robot zot cvr Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David Shannon Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David Shannon

Robot Zot!

 Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David Shannon

by Jon Scieszka

illustrated by David Shannon

Robot Zot! Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David Shannon by Jon Scieska and David Shannon explodes with energy. Robot Zot has landed in the backyard and quickly invades the house where he destroys the toaster, an infomercial, and plenty of other things, and he rescues a toy telephone from a toddler, convinced she is captive queen. Everywhere he is followed by his faithful robot pet who looks something like a Spanish conquistador’s helmet.

zot the conqueror Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David ShannonBravery is the key here. When our hero Zot faces the enemy, quaking and tempted to turn, he screws up his courage and shouts his battle cry, “Hero Zot–never fall. Hero Zot–conquers all!”

Jon Scieska has created pure boy material here, full of daring, high adventure, and zany mayhem. Then again, if your girl is the type who loves silly antics and great illustration, she’s covered here, as well.

zot the destroyer Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David ShannonIllustrator David Shannon completes this book with high energy and perfectly expressive illustrations. Its difficult to imagine a better collaboration between author and illustrator. Every pose and every view is perfect. Each kitchen counter appliance seems alive and menacing. The vacuum hose is a giant boa constrictor. The wide-eyed toddler the cruel captor. A dad lurks occasionally in the background, scratching his head at the devastation Robot Zot leaves in his wake.

zot the rescuer Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David ShannonI love Robot Zot! Revew: Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by David Shannon. Every reading seems to get better. It’s perfect for a bedtime read, take-along in the car, for pre-readers or kids headed for the second grade