Monica's Book Corner: 2015

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Title: The Little Prince: The Planet of the Wind

Author: Delphine Dubos

The Little Prince comes to the Planet of Wind to stop Snake from destroying another world. He discovers that someone is steeling the Wind and the Wind City is in danger of falling from the sky. He finds the culprit and heals the rift between the Windmaster and his son.

This story was very confusing. It kept jumping between characters views. The plot was not very good. I could not figure out what Snake’s plan was to destroy the planet and the exact relationship between the Windmaster and his son was. More detail could have been added to the story.

Publisher: LPPM

ISBN: 978-0-8225-9422-2

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Title: Hamster and Cheese

Author: Colleen AF Venable

Someone is stealing Mr. Venezi’s sandwiches. Hamisher the hamster recruits Sasspants, the guinea pig, to help investigate the crime. They investigate everyone in the pet shop and finally they discover and stop the culprit by setting a trap.

This is a cute story about a grumpy guinea pig and an energetic ham ster. It is particularly funny when they rescue one of the other animals from being sold. The story jumps around a little that may be a little confusing to some children.

Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

ISBN:978-0-7613-4598-5

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: Captain America Origins “The Legend Reborn”

Writer: Scott Gray

Captain America has just been revived after being frozen in the Atlantic for many years. Uncertain of where he is, he breaks out of SHIELD head quarters into the middle of modern day New York City where he meets Rick. Rick listens to Captain’s story when Hydra attacks. The Captain defeats the Hydra team and determines that as long as they are still around, the world needs him.

This comic is great for any young reader who wants to learn more about what happened to Captain America when he was revived. The reader has to realize that there are multiple origin stories within the book that were written by different authors to understand how it pieces together. The illustrations are different for each of the authors which helps identify a new author, though it may be confusing.

Publisher: Marvel

ISBN: 978-0-7851-5325-2

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: “Diving Board”

Book: Falling Up

Author: Shel Silverstein

You are on top of a diving board making certain everything about it is just right. The only thing that is left to be done is to dive off of the board.

The poem is humorous and has some words that rhyme. Children can relate to the poem if they have been afraid of jumping off of the diving board for the first time. Silverstein really catches the experience. The illustration matches the poem and is an ink drawing.

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 0060248025

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: “Grandma”

Book: Dirt on My Shirt

Author: Jeff Foxworthy

Grandma is a funny poem about how grandma cannot put on her lipstick properly because she is losing her eyesight.

There is only one rhyme in this poem and it is four lines long. The picture depicts the poem. The words are simple yet funny.

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0-06-120847-8

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: "What Do You See?"

Book: Dirt on My Shirt

Author: Jeff Foxworthy

This poem is about nature. It talks about a habitat and discusses what one might find there.

The lines are comprised of questions with rhyming every two lines. The words are simple. The picture that accompanies the poem is made of ink outlines and water colors and depicting children in nature.

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0-06-120847-8

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: John Philip Duck
Author: Patricia Polacco

Young Edward Pembroke finds a little duckling and brings it to the hotel that he works at and he an the staff work hard to hide the duck from the owner, Mr. Schutt. One day Mr. Schutt finds out but Edward convinces him to let him stay by showing him the tricks that he has taught the duck. Mr. Schutt gives him one month to train other ducks to do the same and stay in the fountain all day at the hotel. Edward is able to do this and it becomes a hotel tradition.

This is a historical fiction story about the ducks of Peabody hotel in Memphis, TN. The main character of the story is African American so the story is diverse. Also Edward’s father is a prominent figure in the story. The story concludes with Edward about 50 years later reminiscing with about his duck training. At the very end the author makes a disclaimer saying that the story is fictional but inspired by the Legend of the Peabody Ducks.

Publisher: Babushka Inc.

ISBN: 0-399-24262

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: Clara and Davie: The True Story of Young Clara Barton Founder of the American Red Cross
Author: Patricia Polacco

Young Clara grew up with a lisp that made it difficult for her to make friends with in school. Her brother taught her and encouraged her to be herself. When he injured himself and almost gave up, Clara supports him and pushes him to walk as he once had.

This is a cute story about a brother and sister bond. They support each other through their strengths and weaknesses. The story jumps around a little, not giving it a very good flow but the message of the story is good, to encourage others to be the best person that they can be.

Publisher: Babushka Inc.

ISBN: 0545354773

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Lemonade Club
Author: Patricia Polacco

Tracy’s best friend Marilyn just found out that she had Leukemia. She, her class, and teacher work together to support Marilyn through her trials of battling cancer. Tracy and Marilyn learn that their teacher has breast cancer. They form a group called the lemonade club where they meet after school to talk and provide encouragement for each other.

This story gives children an idea about what people with cancer go through. Children can read this book and have an idea of how to support their own friend who may be battling cancer. The plot line of the story is not very straight forward and jumps from one point to another that may be difficult to follow for some children.

Publisher: Babushka Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-399-2450-4

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Water Everywhere

Title: Water Everywhere

Author: Jill Atkins

Water is all around. This book discusses the different uses of water and how it can be found. It is in the air, in the human bodies, and in plants. Various things use it in different ways and various ecosystems rely on its presence.

The pictures in this book are a combination of photographs and drawings. It is great for early readers because the text is large and the words starting to challenge. The content of the text changes sometimes, referring to what a whale eats instead of staying focused on the water the whale is swimming in.

Publisher: DK Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-7566-2532-0

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sound

Title: Sound

Author: Kay Manolis

This book teaches children about sound. It discusses how it works and how it can be measured. It also explains how people can make sound and how various animals use sound to locate objects.

This book is very simplistic and gives basic information on sound. It is good for beginning readers to use as the text is large with about three sentences to a page. The pictures used are photographs. There is a glossary and index present at the end of the book.

Publisher: Bellwether Media

ISBN: 978-0-531-14728-3

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Penguin Chick

Title: Penguin Chick

Author: Betty Tatham

This is an informational text about the development of an emperor penguin chick. It starts with the passing of the egg from the mother to the father and ends with the chick growing up and becoming an adult emperor penguin.

Any child who has seen Happy Feet will be able to follow along with how penguins grow up. It adds more detail and gives reasoning behind the penguin’s habits. A timeline is illustrated to show the developmental stages of the penguin. The illustrations in this book are painted. The end of the book provides information on how other types of penguins live as well as how kids can act like a penguin.

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-028594-X

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The King's Stilts

Title: The King’s Stilts

Author: Dr. Seuss

The king’s advisor gets rid of the king’s favorite stilts. The king becomes depressed and lazy so the cats that prevent the Nizzard birds from eating the trees get lazy. Soon the entire valley will be flooded by the surrounding ocean. Fortunately, Eric does not let the king’s advisor get in his way, and returns the stilts to the king who, in turn, leads the cats to attack the Nizzards.

This funny story by Dr. Seuss shows how one little thing can snowball into a major event. One needs to stand up for what they believe in despite what others say This illustrations are black and white watercolor with some red accenting different objects, such as the stilts.

Publisher: Random House

ISBN:0-395-80082-6

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5

Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery

Title: Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery

Author:Kevin O’Malley

Captain Raptor and his crew must travel to the moon, Eon, to investigate a sudden flash that landed there. They encounter many mishaps on their journey before encountering the aliens. Captain Raptor rescues one of the aliens and they decide that on the aliens’ return home, they will learn more about each other’s culture.

The illustrations and text in this book are set up like a comic book, but the pictures are much more textured and detailed. It is funny to see dinosaurs in the role of scienists with a government. They have human characteristics and the aliens are human. They are kind to the humans they encounter whereas I do not think they would get the same greeting if the roles were reversed. This book is also geared more towards boys as there are dinosaurs, spaceships, and rocket launchers.

Publisher:Walker & Company

ISBN: 0-8027-8935-8

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Raising Dragons

Title: Raising Dragons

Author: Jerdine Nolen

Raising Dragons is the story of a little farmer girl who finds an dragon egg and cares for the dragon in it. She raises it despite her parents bias against the dragon. The dragon proves himself useful by creating popcorn that the family can sell and shielding Mama’s tomatoes from the extreme heat. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, so the girl returns her dragon to the other dragons, but returns home with more eggs to raise and care for.

This is a cute story illustrating a farming family. The illlustrator uses a pastel medium to create the illustrations. The story portrays a sense of accomplishment as the girl raises the dragon and is able to do something to help her family.

Publisher:Silver Whistle

ISBN:0-15-201288-5

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Friday, October 23, 2015

Math Curse

Title: Math Curse

Author: Jon Scieszka

The Math Curse is a book about a student who sees everyday life events as math problems. From morning until night, even when he dreams, all he can think about are math problems, but he does not really solve the problems. Finally he breaks the curse and is able to solve the first problem of the day.

This was an interesting book. The pictures were abstract and some of them were put together in a collage. The text had different fonts and sometimes created a border around the page. A lot of the questions the main character asked was the same question, just repeated differently for a topic. He sometimes was a little too extreme. There were some elements of humor in the story. For some children however, this may be a confusing and overwhelming book.

Publisher: Viking

ISBN:0-670-86194-4

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Molly the Brave and Me

Title: Molly the Brave and Me

Author: Jane O’Connor

In Molly the Brave and Me, Beth is invited to Molly’s house for a sleepover, but it is her first sleepover and she is very nervous. She is afraid that Molly will see her as a wimp and not want to be her friend anymore. The girls hang out and get lost in a cornfield, but Beth is the one who saves the day. It turns out that she is brave too.

This easy reader is relatable for children because it addresses that fear of sleeping over at someone else’s house for the first time. It is told in the first person from Beth’s point of view and encompasses thought that go through many children’s heads when they interact with their friends. The main characters are white and African American which is nice to see too. The illustrations are simple and with colored pencil as the medium. The words on the page are large enough to read with one to two sentences per page. There are also words included that a child may not see as often such as “beetle” and “vampire” and “jerk”.

Publisher: Random House

ISBN: 0-394-84175-1

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5

In the Tall, Tall Grass

Title: In the Tall, Tall Grass

Author: Denise Fleming

There are many things that can be seen and heard in the tall, tall grass. Follow a little caterpillar as he encounters the other creatures in the grass through out the day and into the evening.

This book is great for beginning readers. There are only about four to five words to a page. The illustrations span both pages. There is rhyming on each page that relates to the sound the creature may make and what it does in the tall grass. The illustrations use paint and are very bright and colorful. It is also fun to find the little caterpillar on each page.

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

ISBN: 0-8050-1635

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Stone Soup: A Tale of Cooperation

Title: Stone Soup: A Tale of Cooperation

Author: Mary Rowitz

In Stone Soup, a lonely traveler comes to a village and goes to each of the houses asking for some food to spare because he is very hungry, but everyone turns him away. He leaves the village and comes up with an idea to get the village together as well as have a great meal. He runs into the village saying he can make soup from a "magical" stone. At first the villagers are skeptical, but he tricks each of them into contributing something so they get excited and turn the stone soup into a big, fun event.

This is a great story about sharing and working together to create something wonderful. It teaches children that no matter how little you have, you can still contribute something, and when it is put together with someone else’s contribution, it can be greater than each of them. This version uses animals as the main characters and bright, fun colors. The pictures match the text on the page so children reading it can easily follow the story line. It also has a little reflection at the end of the story on cooperation and how it makes difficult tasks easier.

Publisher: Publications International Ltd.

ISBN: 0785378812

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: Beauty and the Beast

Author: Jane Jerrard

Beauty and the Beast is love story where a merchant’s daughter, Beauty, ends up living with an ugly Beast because her father picked a rose from the Beast's garden to bring home to her. Every night at dinner the Beast asks her if she thinks he is ugly and whether she will marry him, but she tells him not to ask her such a question. Eventually she grows homesick, and he provides her with the means to get home and be able to return to him quickly. After being at home, she misses her time with the Beast and returns to find him ill in the garden and professes her love for him.

This Beauty and the Beast story is much different than the Disney version because Beauty has siblings, there are no magical house objects, and the Beast asks Beauty a question every night. It gives children a different perspective on the classic fairy tale story. There is a lot of text on one page in this version so that the picture only matches one small paragraph at the bottom of the page. The illustrations were very detailed though.

Publisher: Publications International, Ltd.

ISBN: 1-56173-496-9

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Legend of the Christmas Rose

Title: The Legend of the Christmas Rose

Author: William H. Hooks

This is the story of Dorothy, the little sister of the shepherds in the Nativity Story. Little Dorothy hears her brothers’ story of the angel visiting them and telling them about the Messiah who was born in Bethlehem. She longs to go after them and does at a distance, but then is upset because she has no gift for the babe. Suddenly an angel appears and there are flowers everywhere. She rushes into the city and gives the flowers to the baby Jesus, and he turns to her and smiles in thanks for this simple gift.

This beautiful story tells how the Christmas rose came to be. Children can relate to Dorothy because they often do not want to be left out when an exciting event occurs. Many Christian children will recognize the parallel this story has to the shepherd’s story from the Nativity. The illustrations of the book are large and use pastel colors. The illustrator uses impressionism to emphasize the heavenly figures of the angel and the baby Jesus.

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

ISBN:0-06-027102-7

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Sunday, September 20, 2015

The Wild Toboggan Ride

Title: The Wild Toboggan Ride

Author: Suzan Reid

In The Wild Toboggan Ride, Nicki asks Grandpa Dan to give her one last push down the hill before they have to leave for the day. Grandpa Dan reluctantly goes to give her a push but trips and sends them flying down the hill. They sled through the town and accidentally collect a few passengers for an adventure on the toboggan.

This is a cute story that has a lot of repetition in it which is helpful for children reading this book. The illustrations are fun and colorful. It is funny to compare little Nicki’s face with the adult’s faces as they sled through town. What is also interesting about this book is that the words, bump, oomph, and crash, are not always horizontal to emphasize the damage being caused when those “sounds” occur in the story.

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

ISBN: 0-590-22271-6

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Runaway Teddy Bear

The Runaway Teddy Bear

Author: Ginnie Hofmann

The Runaway Teddy Bear is a story about a teddy bear named Arthur who feels left out and decides to runaway and live with real bears in the woods. After wandering through the scary woods, Arthur finally meets up with the bears and they say he can stay with them for a day to see how it is. Arthur participates in different tasks with the bears, but finds out that it is not as fun as he thought it would be and misses his owner, Andy.

This story can relate to young children who feel like their friends should only play with them and not their other friends. I thought the story line was really good. It was also interesting how the author kept the teddy bear distinct from the real bears. The real bears would indicate that the teddy bear was oddly shaped or smelled strange. The illustrations were colorful and detailed too.

Publisher: Random House

ISBN: 0-394-86286-4

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Curious George Rides a Bike

Title: Curious George Rides a Bike

Author: H. A. Rey

In Curious George Rides a Bike, George receives a bike to celebrate being with the man in the yellow hat for 3 years. He does some tricks and delivers newspapers, but gets distracted easily. He meets up with a circus and gets into trouble, but helps the circus with a situation and is forgiven.

The author has George do various tasks throughout the story that would interest children such as riding a bike, doing tricks on a bike, delivering the paper, building a boat, and being in a circus. The text was large so children could follow along, but sentences where often cut off and continued on the next page. The illustrations were simple and used four basic colors: red, yellow, green, and blue. The story was cute and I enjoyed the illustrations of the animals and what they did.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN: 978-0-395-16964-3

Monica’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Jojo's Yo-yo

Title: Jojo’s Yo-yo

Author: Susan Hartley

Jojo’s Yo-yo is a book about a girl who is looking for her own talent but she is shy to try new things with other children. This book practices vowel sounds at the end of words, particularly “o” and “y”.

The author provided a variety of words with open ended vowels in this book. This is a great book for children to practice the different sounds the letter “y” makes too because it is at the beginning of some words and at the end of others. The illustrations were simple yet colorful.

Publisher: Learning A-Z

URL: https://www.readinga-z.com/projectable/book.php?id=1119&lang=1&type=book

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Jig, Jag, and Jog

Title: Jig, Jag, and Jog

Author: Robert Charles

In Jig, Jag, and Jog, Jim and his animal friends have fun all day. This decodable text practices the “J” sound at the beginning of words.

This book did not have a story line. Though the focus of this book was the letter “J,” one could argue that the book also practices the “g” at the end of the words. At the beginning of the book, the author rhymes the last words of the two sentences on each page, but then he stops for the last two pages which is a little confusing for the reader, especially if the reader is starting to predict a pattern with the writing.

Publisher: Learning A-Z

URL: https://www.readinga-z.com/book/decodable.php?id=26

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Grand Slam Tennis

Title: Grand Slam Tennis

Author: Cheryl Ryan

In this book, Grant and Frank are at a tennis match to decide who will win the grand fund. The purpose of this book is to practice the blended “n” at the end of words. Some examples of this are grand, fans, front, and pink.

The pictures in this story were very colorful. This story is also great for children who are starting to read and are interested in tennis. There is a bit of a story line, but the ending is very political in saying that everyone wins. This is not necessarily true. The author does a good job of providing a variety of words that use the blended “n”.

Publisher: Learning A-Z

URL: https://www.readinga-z.com/book/decodable.php?id=39

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Title: Rainstorm

Author: Barbara Lehman

Rainstorm is a book about a little boy who is bored one day during a rainstorm until he finds a key. The key unlocks a secret passage that leads to a lighthouse where he makes new friends and spends a lovely day playing with them. He returns home for dinner and looks forward to seeing his new friends again tomorrow.

The author relates to children in this story about how boring it is to be trapped inside on a rainy day. She follows the child’s imagination of having an adventure indoors. She also shows the fun of being with others no matter where one is. The illustrations are simplistic with marker outlines filled in with color. The ending was a little confusing because it appeared as though the boy's new friends were afraid to come and visit him.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN:978-0-618-75639-1

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Title: Trainstop

Author: Barbara Lehman

In the book, Trainstop, a little girl takes a trip on the train from the city to the countryside and is in awe of its beauty. She sees little people in need of assistance and stops the train and gets out to help them. At the end of the day she returns home with a piece of the countryside with her.

The author makes good use of color in this book. The colors of the city are dull: grey and brown. Once the train reaches the country side bright, colors jump out at the reader. The fields are lime green with a bright blue sky. The country people wear bright red and orange too. The part where the girl helps the little people seems to be in her imagination. It may relate to children seeing objects outside the window on road trips and wish to go explore more though they cannot. There is a message to appreciate nature no matter where it is as the girl appreciates the tree in front of her house after coming home.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN:978-0-618-75640-7

Monica’s Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Title: Pancakes for Breakfast

Author: Tomie dePaola

In Pancakes for Breakfast, a lady wakes up one morning and decides to have pancakes. She realizes that she does not have all of the ingredients so she goes out and collects them. After coming home with the last ingredient, the lady finds out her pets have ruined all of her hard work. Will she be able to eat any pancakes?

This was a very cute story. The setting is on a farm so children can get an understanding of what it is like to gather eggs and churn your own butter. They will see the hard work that goes into cooking. Many children can relate to wanting pancakes for breakfast and perhaps helping their parents make it. The story also has a funny ending that many will enjoy. It has a great lesson too. If you put your mind to something and work hard, your goals can be accomplished even if things do not turn out the way you expect.

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers

ISBN: 0-15-259455-8

Monica’s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Title: Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!

Author: Sandra Boynton

Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs describes the different feelings and characteristics that dinosaurs can be. From happy to sad and from good to bad, dinosaurs come in all different shapes and sizes.

This book is great for little children. It is a cardboard book that shows opposites in a fun way as well as adding a little rhyme to the story. The pictures are colorful and the book easy to follow. This story is great for infants and toddlers to learn comparisons as well as be amused by the different dinosaurs illustrated.

Publisher: Workman Publishing

Publication Date: 1993

ISBN: 978-1-56405-441-9

Monica’s rating: 5 out of 5

Title: Runaway Bunny

Author: Margaret Wise Brown

In Runaway Bunny a little bunny describes different scenarios to get away from his mother. His mother counters him by telling him what she would do to find and protect him. In the end, the bunny realizes that he can never truly get away from his mother.

This is a cute children’s book with the message that one’s mother would always be there for you. The pages with dialouge have black and white pictures. After each scenario there is a two page colored picture of what the bunny becomes with his mother finding him. This really highlights how the bunny's mother will always be there for him.

Publisher: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

Publication Date: 1942

ISBN: 0-06-107429-2

Monica’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Hat

Title: The Hat

Author: Jan Brett

The Hat is a story about a little hedge hog, Hedgie, who finds a sock and puts it on his head, but he cannot take it off. Throughout the tale, he meets up with other animals who question his fashion statement. At the end he learns the secret about animals and clothing.

I have read Jan Brett’s The Mitten before and enjoyed it, and thought this would be a good read too. This is a great children’s book on being yourself despite what others may think. The art work is very good. I like how there are small pictures to the right and left of the main picture. The left side gives the reader an insight as to what the girl is doing, and the picture on the right shows which animal Hedgie will meet next. Though it is a card board book, it may be difficult for an infant or toddler to understand the message, but they may enjoy the story line as they follow Hedgie around the barn. Toddlers can also learn the noises the different animals make, as these are incorporated into the dialogue.

Publisher: J.P. Putnam’s Sons

Publication Date: 1997

ISBN: 0-399-23461-6

Monica’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars