Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Picture Book - Charlie Cook's Favourite Book

"About Sir Percy Pilkington,
A bold and fearless knight,
who told the dragon...
Wait, I'm not quite ready to fight.

You must hear this one first!
And then his armour clanked and shook
As he read aloud a joke he'd found
(Inside his favourite book)...
This is a clever and entertaining picture book that should delight parents and children alike. The illustrations, by Alex Scheffler, are intricately detailed and well worth a second --or third or fourth or fifth-- look. The plot resembles a picture within a picture within a picture, ad nauseum. Beginning with Charlie in his armchair, each character reads about a character reading about a character who then reads about a character. As the journey unfolds, we are taken through every conceivable genre of book and even learn about the library and encyclopedias. Recommended for encouraging literacy and for everyone who has a child who is in love with reading.


Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Donaldon, J. (2006). Charlie Cook's Favourite Book. London: Macmillan Children's Books.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Picture Book - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

"VROOM-VROOM
VROOMY
VROOM-VROOM!

PIGEON AT THE WHEEL!"

This Caldecott honor book is utterly charming. I just loved the pigeon and his attempts to convince me to let him drive the bus while the bus driver was on his break. He tries everything: wheedling, sighing, stretching the truth, bribery and sulking, all to no avail. There are some good lessons to be learned here about grace in accepting you will not always get what you want in life, the ineffectualness of temper tantrums, and the need to dust yourself off and keep dreaming for the future. Adults will love the cartoon-like drawings and children will adore being able to answer "NO!" to all the pigeon's pleading. Contagious fun; highly recommended for reading aloud.

Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 3 and up.

The details:
Willems, M. (2003). Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Picture Book - What Pet to Get

"Let's get a pet," said Jack one day.
"I promise I'll look after it."

"If you like, dear," replied his mother
absentmindedly.
"What pet should we get?"


The illustrations of wide eyed, larger-than-life animals dominate this story and give a good sense of Jack's mounting excitement. I would have liked to have seen more rhyme or at least a common refrain to carry listeners along for the ride. This book is better read silently than aloud. However, the end is sure to induce some giggles from your audience.

I was delighted to see the Web site for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals highlighted at the front of the book for families looking to adopt a pet. Recommended for any family thinking of adding a fur baby to the mix because it is sure to be a conversation-starter.

Rating: 3.5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Dodd, E. (2006). What Pet to Get. New York: Scholastic.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Picture Book - Bear's New Friend

"Why don't you like us?
WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY???"
Then a trembling voice says,
"Because---I am shy."
This quiet book with softly illustrated woodland creatures is the fourth in a series of books about a bear cub and his friends. It did not resonate with me though, at least not as strongly as some of the other pictures books I have read. I came back to the book a few days after my first reading and found I could recall very little of the plot. That said, it would be a good book to read aloud because of the rhyme and the repeated refrain of, "And the bear asks, WHO?" Children may start to predict the pattern and enjoy joining in by shouting out the phrase in cahoots with the book's reader. The characters are sweet and there is a nice moral involving the importance of overcoming shyness in order to make new friends. Recommended for those whose children are nervous about school or making friends in general.



Rating: 3.5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Wilson, K. (2006). Bear's New Friend. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Picture Book: Olivia

After a nice bath, and a nice dinner, it's time for bed.
But of course Olivia's not at all sleepy.
"Only five books tonight, Mommy," she says.
"No, Olivia, just one."
"How about four?"
"Two."
"Three."
"Oh, all right, three.
But that's it!"
Olivia is a fabulous book about a feisty little girl pig named Olivia; one that ought to be read aloud by all mothers to their daughters at bed time. Olivia wears everyone out, even herself, but despite this her family loves her very much. The book has some very touching scenes between family members, particularly those involving Olivia and her little brother, Ian, and Olivia and her mother. Parents and children alike will marvel at the black and white illustrations with their whimsical touches of red. Adults will appreciate how the illustrations show Olivia's love of art and literature impacting her development, filling her mind with dreams and ambitions. Recommended for any parents who want to foster lively imaginations in their children.

Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Falconer, I. (2000). Olivia. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Picture Book: Leon the Chameleon


"Leon the chameleon was different from all the other chameleons.
When the others sat on a green leaf, they turned green.
When they stood on yellow sand, they turned yellow.
And when they swam in the blue pond, they turned blue.

But not Leon. When Leon sat on a green leaf, he turned red."


Leon the chameleon is an adorable story that parents and children will both enjoy. Children will love the vivid colours of the illustrations and will be intrigued to discover the world of the chameleons, while parents will appreciate the story's moral. Leon is different. He stands out in a crowd and sometimes not being the same as his peers makes him feel frightened, embarrassed or lonely. However, by the end of the book, he comes to realize that the others also feel scared at times and they really aren't so different after all. Leon finds he can help contribute to the greater good while maintaining his individuality. This is a story for everyone whose son or daughter marches to the beat of their own drummer or for those who feel shy in social situations.

Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Watt, M. (2001). Leon the chameleon. Toronto: Kids Can Press.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Fantasy/Science Fiction: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone



A Bewitching Tale: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

From that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.


I have a confession to make. I've been living under a rock for the past decade (perhaps held prisoner by a twelve-foot troll? I'll never tell) and have neither read nor viewed the Harry Potter books or movies. I don't know what I was waiting for because Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was a thoroughly enjoyable experience from start to finish. So much so, in fact, that I picked up the book and read all 300+ pages in one day.

Harry Potter sucked me in from the start, perhaps because it owes something to my favourite novel of all time, Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, with its plucky orphan hero who overcomes numerous obstacles and unfair disadvantages to win everyone over. In fact, the book borrows some of the most enjoyable aspects of classic children's literature and weaves them into an exciting and harrowing tale of sorcery and adventure. You'll note the crime solving capabilities of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys when Harry, Hermione, and Ron work to solve the mystery of the third-floor corridor. You'll be transported into magical realms of the imagination where people take the place of life-sized chess pieces, much like Lewis Carroll's Alice novels. The English Literature scholars amongst us will recognize Dickens' Gradgrind family in the descriptions of the eminently practical Dursley family ["He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination" (5)]. In the hands of a less-talented writer, the book might seem derivative; however, with Rowling's skill and sense of humour, all these elements combine to form a novel that adults and children alike will enjoy.

The novel tells the tale of an orphaned boy named Harry with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, who is raised by his aunt and uncle to be eminently normal (a "muggle," in Wizard-speak). For ten years, Harry is starved and berated, until the day mysterious letters with his name written in green ink begin arriving for him. Despite trying their hardest, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia can't stop Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, from finding Harry and setting him on the path to his destiny.

In his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry makes both friends (Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley) and enemies (Draco Malfoy) as he undergoes the standard childhood traumas (exams!) and thrills (Quiddich!). In fact, the novel owes a tip of its hat to the prototypical English school novel (think Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall for the tween crowd). But Harry discovers he is destined for something greater, a struggle only hinted at in the novel's concluding chapters.

While some scenes might prove frightening to small children, the novel deals with death in a hopeful way. Dumbledore, the supreme wizard and the book's voice of reason, drives home the point that, "to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure" (297). Based on the novel's many hints of things to be revealed as Harry ages, Harry has several great adventures yet to come.

Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 10 and up.

The details:
Rowling, J. K. (1997). Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone. New York: Scholastic.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Revised Fairy Tale 2

Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted is a retelling of the story of Cinderella, complete with a handsome prince (Char, short for Charmont), two ugly* (*because of their mean spritedness and greed) stepsisters (Hattie and Olive) and a fairy godmother (Mandy).

I picked this book up based on the recommendation of a friend and it's a testament to Carson Levine's writing that I didn't even realize it was related to the Cinderella fable until I was a few chapters on in the book. The premise of the novel is that Ella is born with a fairy blessing that is actually a curse; she must always be an obedient girl. Ella despises these limitations and devises clever ways to avoid following orders by taking each command at its most literal meaning. It's this quick wit that makes Ella's character so charming and she will appeal to every girl who's ever danced around the edges of improper behaviour with a gleam of mischief in her eye.

Of course, the dilemma with the Cinderella story is how to make it relevant to young women who know that happily ever after involves so much more than merely finding a husband. Carson Levine makes Ella's choice to marry more about declining the proposal than accepting it. But you'll have to read the book to find out more.

Like all fairy tales, Ella Enchanted will be exciting for the young and the young at heart. Recommended for all ages.

The details: Carson Levine, Gail. Ella Enchanted. New York : Avon Books, 2003.