Senor Parrot’s Perch

Archie and the Pirates, 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 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?

Pictures are from Marc Rosenthal’s Website.

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

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, can transport you there in an instant.

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.

 

 

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: 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: 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

(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

(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.

Robot Zot!

by Jon Scieszka

illustrated by David Shannon

Robot Zot! 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.

Bravery 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.

Illustrator 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.

I love Robot Zot!. 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

Jack and the Night Visitors by Pat Schories is single-handed proof that a picture is worth 1,ooo words. This wordless book for young children, preschool through early grades, tells the story of Jack and his boy and their visitation by alien robots late one night. The drawings are amazingly expressive and full of fun and humor. It’s wordless, so there’s nothing to read, but there are endless details to the story to point to and talk about. Older kids will be fascinated by how small changes in the details of the drawings of the robots alter their expressions from joy to fear. Expect lots of cute robot pictures after reading this one with your child.

Wakened by a light from outside, Jack and his boy rush to the window to find a small spaceship landing on the roof. Out spill dozens of tiny robots eager to explore the boy’s room. It’s a frolicking party until the boy decides to keep one of the robots for himself.

It’s wordless, so there’s nothing to read, but there are endless details to the story to point to and talk about. Older kids will be fascinated by how small changes in the details of the drawings of the robots alter their expressions from joy to fear. It’s safe to say you should expect lots of cute robots in your kid’s pictures after they’ve read this book.

Pat Schories is the illustrator to the children’s favorite Bisquit series, which is authored by Alyssa Capucilli. Other Jack books by Schories include Breakfast for Jack, Jack and the Missing Piece, and Jack Wants a Snack.

Jack and the Night Visitors illustrations from Pat Schories’ Website.

Birds

by Kevin Henkes
illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Published by Greenwillow Books, 2009
ISBN: 978-0061363047

Birds is an excellent new picture book by well known and loved children’s and YA author Kevin Henkes, and illustrated by Laura Droznek, his wife. Henkes and Droznek previously collaborated 10 years ago on their book Oh!

Henkes‘ text and Droznek‘s illustrations mesh perfectly in this beautiful book which is told from the perspective of a young girl. The text is simple, straightforward, and witty. The illustrations remarkably express and expand everything that is written. When I was reading this book to my youngest daughter tonight as I was putting her to bed, I wondered how someone other than Henkes himself could express through the illustrations the book so well. Learning just this evening that Henkes and Droznek are married explains a lot.

I quickly searched the internet looking for more pictures from the book so I could show just how beautiful it is, but I couldn’t find any other than the cover and these two. When you’re in the bookstore, look for Birds and turn inside to the pages where the text reads:

If clouds were birds,
the sky would look like this.
Or this.

The illustrations for these two pages are exquisite; I want them for my wall.

Droznek has also illustrated several books by George Shannon.

Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys and Gulls

By Lucy Nolan

Illustrated by Connie McLennan

ISBN: 978-1-934359-96-9
Published by Sylvan-Dell Publishing, emphasizing Science and Math through Literature

Twinkle, twinkle, starfish dear,
hiding in the shallows here.
Just beneath the waves you lie,
like a star tossed from the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, starfish dear,
hiding in the shallows here.

Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys and Gulls, written by Lucy Nolan and illustrated by Connie McLennan, is a collection of  fun and entertaining parodies of many favorite Mother Goose nursery rhymes. But the rhymes inside Mother Osprey are parodies with purpose. Math and counting skills, science and history are all lessons taught in these poems.  Don’t think “Boring” when you see that this book teaches hard subjects like math or science. The rhymes and illustrations are pure enjoyment in themselves.

Most of Lucy Nolan’s rhymes are pure silly fun that kids will enjoy listening to over and over and even memorizing; the rest vividly illustrate a point in time from history. An appendix in the back adds more facts and explanations that the parent or teacher can use to draw young listeners further into a teaching moment. A map shows where each of the habitats is located.

Twinkle,  Twinkle starfish dear, quoted above, places the starfish in its natural habitat and opens up rich opportunities for discussing the shallows and beaches along a rocky coast. What other animals life nearby? What do they eat? What eats them?

But Lobster Pies is just plain silly:

Old Mrs. Wise
made lobster pies all on a winter’s day;
her greedy son
grabbed every one
and took them clean away.

What a surprise
for Junior Wise
lay inside that croaker sack.
When he sat on a bench
to eat a pinch,
the lobster pies pinched back!

Nursery rhymes satisfy at many levels: they’re great fun to listen to, with their rhymes and the rhythm of their meter. They’re pleasing for the strength of their imagery. They easily capture a child’s imagination, slipping into their memories and never losing their ability to bring enjoyment. Children seem to never tire of repeating them over and over and the verses are a natural invitation to singing. Nursery rhymes teach children language skills and the repetition packs information into their young, developing brains and they help develop their ears for word use and phrasing.

Mother Osprey is a perfect gift for your child or your child’s classroom teacher, whether in preschool, kindergarten, or the early grades. The rhymes are a perfect starter to get children to focus on some part of the environment, or a place. They introduce elements of nature in an interesting way, which leads naturally to a discussion of what is in the rhyme.

The Midwest Bookseller Association is made up of 240 or so independent, local booksellers. Annually they vote for their favorites in several categories. Today they’ve announced their award winners. Always, these are excellent picks.

At the awards dinner, to be held late this September, there are usually autographed copies available to the member booksellers. If you want to get your hands on one of these, go to your local bookseller, not Barnes and Noble, Borders, or other national chains, and find out if they’re members of the Midwest Booksellers Association and if they are going to attend the fall trade show in St. Paul, Minnesota this year. Ask, beg, or whine if they can get an autographed copy for you-you’ll need to pay, of course. They may even take your own copy to get it signed. Local booksellers are the best. In Madison, I like Booked For Murder.

These are their choices for this year:

2009 AWARD WINNERS

Fiction

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

David Wroblewski
(Ecco/HarperCollins)

Nonfiction

Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting

Michael Perry
(HarperCollins)

Poetry

Swimming With A Hundred Year Old Snapping Turtle

Freya Manfred
(Red Dragonfly Press)

Children’s Picture Book

Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken

Kate DiCamillo, Illustrated by Harry Bliss
(Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins)

Children’s Literature

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Dave McKean
(HarperCollins Children’s Books)

2009 HONOR BOOKS

Fiction

A Reliable Wife

Robert Goolrick
(Algonquin Books/Workman Publishing)

Nonfiction

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
(Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group USA)

Poetry

Yellowrocket

Todd Boss
(W.W. Norton & Company)

Children’s Picture Book

Snow

Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Lauren Stringer
(Harcourt Children’s Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Children’s Literature

Savvy

Ingrid Law
(Dial Books for Young Readers/Walden Media/
Penguin Group (USA)

I haven’t been getting anything done on my own reading because there is so little time. If I can read for 10 minutes, that’s like a vacation. I’m into 4 books right now, so that’s 5-10 minutes in one of those per day.

But I sometimes get a few minutes to read a review, so I thought I’d post a snippet or two of some that interested me. And, I won’t always be so insanely busy. Each of these books is going on my reading/buying list after seeing these reviews.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Reviewed by Margaret Smith at the MorningSun.net, this is the story of recovering vampires. With the help of Father Ramon, these vampires are struggling to end their blood-sucking ways. Then they find one of their members murdered.

And so a murder mystery unfolds, drawing the others together, threatening to tear them apart (literally – there is a werewolf in the picture, among other hazards) and perhaps making their condition more bearable – if they survive a staking, that is.

Witty and fast-paced, with morbid wit that evokes the spirit of Agatha Christie, “The Reformed Vampire Support Group,” by Australian author Catherine Jinks, is among the more original of the crimson wave of vampire novels for youths and teens in the wake of the “Twilight” series.

But, rather than going the romantic or melodramatic route, the book takes the less-than-serious approach. The vampires are able to regard their state with a sense of humor about pretty much everything, including stereotypes about Dracula and velvet capes.

House of Dark Shadows: Dreamhouse Kings Book I

by by Robert Liparulo.
This intriguing review is from the one and only Library Lounge Lizard, whose blog I’ve not visited before today. I liked this review, and it made me want to really get my hands on this book. Here’s a bit of what the Library Lounge Lizard has to say about House of Shadows: Dreamhouse Kings Book I:

What we have here is an intense and gripping novel for teens. There were times in the book that I found myself reading so fast to find out what happens that I ended up having to re-read parts because I knew I probably missed something, I had to make myself slow down a little! The house itself is an absorbing setting, rich with details that definitely add to the overall creepiness factor. But the heart of this story is the King family themselves. Wonderful character development had me caring and concerned about what happened to each and every one of them.

So if you haven’t guessed yet, yes I loved this book, Mr. Liparulo is a great writer! It is well paced enough to keep you turning the pages and there are some genuine surprises here! There is just enough gore and violence to keep it PG-13 but enough to make you grimace a time or two. With the well rounded plot this book has wide appeal but is a sure hit with middle school boys who are often a difficult audience to please!

The Secret Shortcut

by Mark Teague.
Here we have a review by Laurie Mayhew from Examiner.com. She selected this on the pretense that it makes a good book to help our young’uns to set their minds back to school. There are no such books! But there are fun books that concern school. Here’s one. This is some of what Laurie has to say:

This is a hilarious tale about Wendel and Floyd who always show up late for school. With aliens and pirates to circumvent, it is no wonder they are late. But their teacher, Mrs. Gernsblatt, has had it with their crazy excuses. They need to be on time . . . OR ELSE!
They start out early with the best intentions and decide to take the secret shortcut to be certain to get there on time. Jungles and crocodiles and rope bridges stand in their way, but they are determined to make it on time.
Will they make it? The hilarious result is squishy but satisfying.

Mark Teague is a big favorite at our house. And since Back-to-School shopping is the rage with Mom and the girls, I can slip this in. Laurie gave me the excellent, albeit false, excuse that this will prepare them for returning to drudgery. I can bet, too, that if it weren’t about 4 miles to their school, they’d like to walk there after reading this book, if the cover of The Secret Shortcut is any clue.

This last book has a boat on the cover, therefore it meets all criteria for being a good book. But there’s more. The review is written by the author’s daughter, so you know the reviewer loves, I mean reeeaaaally loves this book. Unfortunately, the review is reeeaaaally short, too. I would like to know more, but the cover, reeeaaaally is enough for me. I’m sure your reeeaaaally tired of this so here is the info:

Pirate’s Passage

by William Gilkerson

Reviewer Anna Gilkerson says nice things about her dad’s book. But don’t rely just on Anna. Pirate’s Passage won the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature in 2006. That makes it one of those Canadian books. Anna says:

The old bias goes: pirates were the bad boys who robbed and pillaged the innocent. In William Gilkerson’s beautifully illustrated page turner, “Pirate’s Passage,” the story follows young Jim and his mysterious mentor Captain Johnson in 1950’s Nova Scotia. A rich education coated in adventure—ideal for children or adults who find themselves in need of some sea-worthy fun-yet-educational-yet-fun reading.

She also tells us, that this book was made into a 10-part animated feature with Donald Sutherland as the voice of the Captain, who is the one telling the tale. I’m salivating over the cover of this book. I’m itching to find a copy of this film. This is going onto the top of my wishlist/gotta read list. You can tell, I’m like Ratty. Nothing beats messing around in boats.

And go here to Gilkerson’s website to read some more about this book, as well as some of his others.

New cover image for the retitled book and series: Sluggers #1: Magic in the Outfield

Original cover and title for book: Barnstormers: Game 1

Magic in the Outfield (Sluggers) is the exciting and mysterious first book in the Sluggers: Three Kids, A Mystery, and a Magic Baseball series for kids. You may find this titled Game 1 (Barnstormers), which is the original name for the series. The authors, both baseball lovers, are series originator Loren Long, also very well known for his outstanding work  illustrating books, and Phil Bildner, author of Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, as well as several other books on baseball that kids will love.

The story begins with Griffith, his sister Ruby, and young brother Graham, and a strange baseball with an odd hole nearly all the way through it. Unlike any other baseball they’d seen, it was something their dead father had carried with him during the war.  Now the ball was a reminder that they were still a family, a symbol of togetherness. They’re traveling with their mother, and eight men, a traveling baseball team, that earns its living by playing teams from the different cities they visit.

They stop first in Cincinnati, where bizarre things happen during the game, things they and their team can see, but no one else can. Is their father’s old baseball some connected to all these strange events?

I first heard about this book over at Boys Read Boys Rule! where Carl and the others have been raving about it. And now its my turn to rave. Magic in the Outfield (Sluggers) is nearly impossible to put down as the mystery mounts with every page. This book is exceptionally well written. The illustrations are amazing. The action is fast and the mystery runs high. You’ll love the characters, the team members, the mother, the children’s uncle, and especially Griffith, Ruby and Graham. You’ll want them all, too. I’m heading out this weekend for the next one in the series.

Both baseball buffs, Bildner and Long have reached back into history to describe the game as it was played in the late 1800′s. Their love of the game comes through in the great descriptions and drawings of the big game between The Travelin’ Nine and the local Cincinnati team and they incorporate the jargon that was current for the time, adding a nice sense of the times that helps you experience the game as it was played back then.