Author/Illustrator: David Wisniewski
Adults continually tell kids to comb their hair every day, not to blow bubbles through a straw, and to always, ALWAYS eat their vegetables and drink their milk. When asked why, they give plausible answers, such as “to keep it neat”, “because it’s rude”, or “to help you grow strong and healthy.” But grown-ups don’t tell kids the REAL reasons behind all of these rules.
At great risk to his safety, David Wisniewski disguised himself and infiltrated several locations where the super-secret Grown-Up Files are kept. He escaped with files about carnivorous vegetables, nuclear cows, sumo cells, and the dangers of getting your face sucked into your glass. Despite the danger (there are those who did not want this information revealed), he has bravely published these shocking facts. Now, some of the best-kept secrets of grown-ups are revealed to those who can handle the truth.
Wisniewski used his distinctive cut-paper style to make the illustrations, and each section is prefaced by a description of the narrow escape he had in order to get the file. A half-shredded document stamped with “CLASSIFIED” and “SECURITY CLEARANCE A” gives the rule and the commonly accepted reason behind it, but the true reason has always been torn away. The reader must turn the page before the actual explanation is revealed.
The over-the-top humor will appeal to kids and adults alike. My favorite file is the one about why you should eat your vegetables: So that they don’t eat you! The illustration of the rampaging broccoli is enough to make you glad vegetables have since been subdued. You might even be inspired to eat a few pieces of broccoli, just to keep it in its place.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Flavor of the Week
Author: Tucker Shaw
Rose considers Cyril a true friend, but that’s as far as it goes. Cyril wishes for a romantic relationship with her, but he knows he has no chance because of his weight. His weight is also the reason he never tells anyone about his genius for cooking. He can just imagine the teasing he would get at school, so he pretends his mother is the great cook.
Nick, an old friend of Cyril’s, moves back in next door after several years away. Cyril is glad to have him back—Nick doesn’t care about Cyril’s weight, and never treated him like “the fat kid”. Nick was always hopeless in a kitchen, and he is at Cyril’s almost every day, tasting his latest creation.
Nick is very good-looking, and Rose is very attracted to him even the first time she sees him. Of course, Nick in turn is smitten with Rose. When Nick figures out that the way to Rose’s heart is through great (vegetarian) food, he realizes he has no chance with her unless Cyril is willing to cook behind the scenes and let him take the credit.
Each chapter finishes with a recipe for something that Cyril makes in the book. The recipes are not too complicated, and all of the instructions are given in Cyril’s voice. His personality and state of mind come through, especially at the end of the chapter where he auditions for culinary school.
The basic story is that of Cyrano de Bergerac, but reframed around cooking instead of eloquent words, and with a weight problem taking the place of the prominent nose. This is an interesting twist, and hits close to home for many teens.
Rose considers Cyril a true friend, but that’s as far as it goes. Cyril wishes for a romantic relationship with her, but he knows he has no chance because of his weight. His weight is also the reason he never tells anyone about his genius for cooking. He can just imagine the teasing he would get at school, so he pretends his mother is the great cook.
Nick, an old friend of Cyril’s, moves back in next door after several years away. Cyril is glad to have him back—Nick doesn’t care about Cyril’s weight, and never treated him like “the fat kid”. Nick was always hopeless in a kitchen, and he is at Cyril’s almost every day, tasting his latest creation.
Nick is very good-looking, and Rose is very attracted to him even the first time she sees him. Of course, Nick in turn is smitten with Rose. When Nick figures out that the way to Rose’s heart is through great (vegetarian) food, he realizes he has no chance with her unless Cyril is willing to cook behind the scenes and let him take the credit.
Each chapter finishes with a recipe for something that Cyril makes in the book. The recipes are not too complicated, and all of the instructions are given in Cyril’s voice. His personality and state of mind come through, especially at the end of the chapter where he auditions for culinary school.
The basic story is that of Cyrano de Bergerac, but reframed around cooking instead of eloquent words, and with a weight problem taking the place of the prominent nose. This is an interesting twist, and hits close to home for many teens.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Seedfolks
Author: Paul Fleischman
Kim started it. She didn’t know she was starting it, but she needed a way to connect with the father who had died before she was born. He had been a farmer when the family lived in Vietnam, but there were no fields in Cleveland—the only piece of land nearby was a trash-filled vacant lot next to the apartment house.
Kim chose a secluded corner, cleared out trash and weeds, dug into the soil, and planted lima beans. She vowed to take care of them and make them grow so her father’s spirit would know that she was his daughter. She didn’t know someone was watching…
As early spring (too early for lima beans) becomes true spring, and then turns into summer, a garden takes shape. One by one, others notice that this forgotten place where everyone dumped their garbage could be something more. They clear their own spots and plant vegetables or flowers. A woman who knows what it takes to get things done pulls the right strings to have the city clear out the accumulated trash. Individually and together they transform the lot from a weed-choked eyesore into a beautiful garden, and they undergo a radical transformation themselves.
Thirteen people tell their individual stories about the garden, each from a unique point of view. All of the individual stories build on one another to tell a larger story: of how the neighborhood becomes more than just a cluster of buildings—how it becomes a community of people connected by the garden.
Kim started it. She didn’t know she was starting it, but she needed a way to connect with the father who had died before she was born. He had been a farmer when the family lived in Vietnam, but there were no fields in Cleveland—the only piece of land nearby was a trash-filled vacant lot next to the apartment house.
Kim chose a secluded corner, cleared out trash and weeds, dug into the soil, and planted lima beans. She vowed to take care of them and make them grow so her father’s spirit would know that she was his daughter. She didn’t know someone was watching…
As early spring (too early for lima beans) becomes true spring, and then turns into summer, a garden takes shape. One by one, others notice that this forgotten place where everyone dumped their garbage could be something more. They clear their own spots and plant vegetables or flowers. A woman who knows what it takes to get things done pulls the right strings to have the city clear out the accumulated trash. Individually and together they transform the lot from a weed-choked eyesore into a beautiful garden, and they undergo a radical transformation themselves.
Thirteen people tell their individual stories about the garden, each from a unique point of view. All of the individual stories build on one another to tell a larger story: of how the neighborhood becomes more than just a cluster of buildings—how it becomes a community of people connected by the garden.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Widget
Author: Lyn Rossiter McFarland
Illustrator: Jim McFarland
One cold, wet evening, Widget has had enough of being a stray dog, so he slips into Mrs. Diggs’ nice warm house. Too bad there are six cats already in residence, and they don’t like dogs!
Well, Widget knows a good situation when he sees one, so he is not about to give up. He adapts to his surroundings and manages to fit in with the cats (even at times forgetting that he is a dog) until he finds out that there are some moments when only a dog will do.
This is a fun book for reading aloud, with a group or one-on-one. The cartoon-like illustrations extend the humor of the story, especially when Widget begins acting like a cat.
Illustrator: Jim McFarland
One cold, wet evening, Widget has had enough of being a stray dog, so he slips into Mrs. Diggs’ nice warm house. Too bad there are six cats already in residence, and they don’t like dogs!
Well, Widget knows a good situation when he sees one, so he is not about to give up. He adapts to his surroundings and manages to fit in with the cats (even at times forgetting that he is a dog) until he finds out that there are some moments when only a dog will do.
This is a fun book for reading aloud, with a group or one-on-one. The cartoon-like illustrations extend the humor of the story, especially when Widget begins acting like a cat.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Squire’s Tale
Author: Gerald Morris
Terence’s life is simple, even predictable. He lives with an old hermit named Trevisant in an isolated forest, hunting and gathering to provide for their basic needs. Trevisant has raised him for fourteen years, ever since Terence was a baby. He has never known who his parents were, because Trevisant can only remember events from the future, and can tell Terence nothing about his past.
One day, Terence meets a young man in the woods. He is Gawain, on his way to Camelot to swear fealty to King Arthur and (he hopes) to become a knight of the Round Table. Terence invites Gawain home to dinner, and is surprised when Trevisant greets Gawain as “the Maiden’s Knight”. Trevisant has already packed Terence’s possessions and sends him off to be Gawain’s squire.
After that, Terence’s life gets a bit more complicated, and much less predictable. He has to adjust to court life and the hierarchy there, and then he and Gawain go on a quest that takes them all over England. They even stumble into the Land of Faerie, where things are quite different from what they are used to. Terence keeps meeting a mysterious little man who gives him advice and guidance, but who never shows himself to anyone else. Terence has visions that show him an evil plot that only he can overthrow, and he eventually learns the secret of his parentage.
This is the first of an ongoing series (eight books so far). Readers will probably recognize the story of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady, as well as other episodes from classic stories of King Arthur and his knight. Gerald Morris stays true to the substance of the Arthurian legends, but puts his own original and humorous stamp on the tales.
Terence’s life is simple, even predictable. He lives with an old hermit named Trevisant in an isolated forest, hunting and gathering to provide for their basic needs. Trevisant has raised him for fourteen years, ever since Terence was a baby. He has never known who his parents were, because Trevisant can only remember events from the future, and can tell Terence nothing about his past.
One day, Terence meets a young man in the woods. He is Gawain, on his way to Camelot to swear fealty to King Arthur and (he hopes) to become a knight of the Round Table. Terence invites Gawain home to dinner, and is surprised when Trevisant greets Gawain as “the Maiden’s Knight”. Trevisant has already packed Terence’s possessions and sends him off to be Gawain’s squire.
After that, Terence’s life gets a bit more complicated, and much less predictable. He has to adjust to court life and the hierarchy there, and then he and Gawain go on a quest that takes them all over England. They even stumble into the Land of Faerie, where things are quite different from what they are used to. Terence keeps meeting a mysterious little man who gives him advice and guidance, but who never shows himself to anyone else. Terence has visions that show him an evil plot that only he can overthrow, and he eventually learns the secret of his parentage.
This is the first of an ongoing series (eight books so far). Readers will probably recognize the story of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady, as well as other episodes from classic stories of King Arthur and his knight. Gerald Morris stays true to the substance of the Arthurian legends, but puts his own original and humorous stamp on the tales.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Bad Kitty
Author/Illustrator: Nick Bruel
When Kitty hears that there is no cat food (only an alphabet of icky things like asparagus and other vegetables), she turns to the dark side and becomes a very, very, bad, bad, BAD kitty. She gets into 26 kinds of mischief before the announcement that someone has returned from the grocery store with yummy things for Kitty.
After hearing—alphabetically, of course—about the wonderful things that are now available for her to eat (Buffalo Burritos and Quail Quiche, among other delicacies), she becomes a good kitty again. She makes amends for all her earlier mischief from A to Z, and all turns out well.
That is, until she meets the new puppy…
This book carves out its own niche among the variety of alphabet books that are out there. Nick Bruel’s illustration style is perfectly suited to kitty and her misadventures—my favorite is when she “was Violent with the vet”. Kitty’s expression when she is told she gets to share her food with the puppy does not bode well, but it is left to the reader’s imagination exactly what happens next. I have a pretty good guess, though:
When Kitty hears that there is no cat food (only an alphabet of icky things like asparagus and other vegetables), she turns to the dark side and becomes a very, very, bad, bad, BAD kitty. She gets into 26 kinds of mischief before the announcement that someone has returned from the grocery store with yummy things for Kitty.
After hearing—alphabetically, of course—about the wonderful things that are now available for her to eat (Buffalo Burritos and Quail Quiche, among other delicacies), she becomes a good kitty again. She makes amends for all her earlier mischief from A to Z, and all turns out well.
That is, until she meets the new puppy…
This book carves out its own niche among the variety of alphabet books that are out there. Nick Bruel’s illustration style is perfectly suited to kitty and her misadventures—my favorite is when she “was Violent with the vet”. Kitty’s expression when she is told she gets to share her food with the puppy does not bode well, but it is left to the reader’s imagination exactly what happens next. I have a pretty good guess, though:
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Squirrel’s World
Author: Lisa Moser
Illustrator: Valeri Gorbachev
Squirrel is exuberant and irrepressible, and very eager to help his friends. Unfortunately, his “help” is not always so helpful. Squirrel obviously speaks very fast, managing to say things three times in a breath as he asks “What are you doing doing doing?” or offers to “help help help”.
He inundates Mouse with more food than she can store, has trouble finding a way he and (much slower) Turtle can play together, and drenches Rabbit (who was trying to get a large lily pad to use as an umbrella—you know, to keep DRY!?). When night falls, Squirrel makes the rounds to say goodnight to each of his friends, even if it means waking someone from a sound sleep. In the end, he does find a way to help Rabbit with his fear of the dark and the unknown.
The book is organized into four short chapters, in the tradition of the Frog and Toad books. Each chapter can stand alone, so the book can be shared in four short sittings or all at once. The vocabulary is not too difficult for reading alone, but it is also fun to read out loud, especially with a fast, high-pitched voice to match Squirrel’s enthusiasm.
Illustrator: Valeri Gorbachev
Squirrel is exuberant and irrepressible, and very eager to help his friends. Unfortunately, his “help” is not always so helpful. Squirrel obviously speaks very fast, managing to say things three times in a breath as he asks “What are you doing doing doing?” or offers to “help help help”.
He inundates Mouse with more food than she can store, has trouble finding a way he and (much slower) Turtle can play together, and drenches Rabbit (who was trying to get a large lily pad to use as an umbrella—you know, to keep DRY!?). When night falls, Squirrel makes the rounds to say goodnight to each of his friends, even if it means waking someone from a sound sleep. In the end, he does find a way to help Rabbit with his fear of the dark and the unknown.
The book is organized into four short chapters, in the tradition of the Frog and Toad books. Each chapter can stand alone, so the book can be shared in four short sittings or all at once. The vocabulary is not too difficult for reading alone, but it is also fun to read out loud, especially with a fast, high-pitched voice to match Squirrel’s enthusiasm.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Following Fake Man
Author: Barbara Ware Holmes
Homer has learned not to ask questions about the past, especially about his father, because his mother clams up whenever he asks. All of the questions have been going into a “suitcase” in his brain so he doesn’t have to think about them all the time. However, now that he and his mother (and their housekeeper) are vacationing in Maine, that suitcase won’t stay shut anymore.
They are staying in a house they own, that they last visited when Homer was a baby—when his father was alive. Something about the house or the village begins to work on Homer, and he can no longer accept his mother’s reluctance to tell him about his father. The first thing Homer does the morning after they arrive is go to the village and look around, knowing that his father had once walked in these streets and visited the same shops.
He meets Roger Sweeney, a kid about his own age, who is shooting rubber bands at an old man. Roger says the man isn’t really old, and is convinced there is some nefarious reason for him to be in disguise. Roger had tried several times to follow him to figure out where he lives, but the man always acted very cagy and gave him the slip. Later, back at the house, when Homer tells about meeting Roger Sweeney, his mother tells him not to go “making connections.”
That day, Homer’s mother has to go to town on an errand, so Madeline has to drive, and Homer is dragged along too. He’d rather stay in the village and watch boats or something, but his mother insists. There’s a really thick fog on the peninsula, and the car almost hits a man. When Homer’s mother checks to see if the man is hurt, Homer recognizes him as the fake old man. The astonishing thing is that Fake Man and Homer’s mother obviously recognize each other, too! Before Homer can ask her what is going on (and insist on answers this time), she is hit with a migraine headache that completely flattens her.
Homer’s suitcase of questions keeps popping open. Why doesn’t his mother want him making friends? What is the connection between her and Fake Man? What does Roger’s mother know about the situation? What is going on at the mysterious Spookety Cabin?
Homer decides the only way he is going to find out anything is by following Fake Man, no matter how much trouble it lands him in.
The story is told in Homer’s voice, first person, with occasional short chapters in the voices of other characters (Madeleine, Homer’s mother, and Roger Sweeney). Roger’s pieces are handwritten scrapbook pages with cutout pictures and cartoons—perfectly capturing his character, and the typefaces for Madeline and Homer’s mother reflect their personalities as well.
This is a believable and compelling mystery, but it is not a conventional mystery novel. Homer isn’t a young detective; he’s just a kid who is trying to find out things that have been hidden from him.
Homer has learned not to ask questions about the past, especially about his father, because his mother clams up whenever he asks. All of the questions have been going into a “suitcase” in his brain so he doesn’t have to think about them all the time. However, now that he and his mother (and their housekeeper) are vacationing in Maine, that suitcase won’t stay shut anymore.
They are staying in a house they own, that they last visited when Homer was a baby—when his father was alive. Something about the house or the village begins to work on Homer, and he can no longer accept his mother’s reluctance to tell him about his father. The first thing Homer does the morning after they arrive is go to the village and look around, knowing that his father had once walked in these streets and visited the same shops.
He meets Roger Sweeney, a kid about his own age, who is shooting rubber bands at an old man. Roger says the man isn’t really old, and is convinced there is some nefarious reason for him to be in disguise. Roger had tried several times to follow him to figure out where he lives, but the man always acted very cagy and gave him the slip. Later, back at the house, when Homer tells about meeting Roger Sweeney, his mother tells him not to go “making connections.”
That day, Homer’s mother has to go to town on an errand, so Madeline has to drive, and Homer is dragged along too. He’d rather stay in the village and watch boats or something, but his mother insists. There’s a really thick fog on the peninsula, and the car almost hits a man. When Homer’s mother checks to see if the man is hurt, Homer recognizes him as the fake old man. The astonishing thing is that Fake Man and Homer’s mother obviously recognize each other, too! Before Homer can ask her what is going on (and insist on answers this time), she is hit with a migraine headache that completely flattens her.
Homer’s suitcase of questions keeps popping open. Why doesn’t his mother want him making friends? What is the connection between her and Fake Man? What does Roger’s mother know about the situation? What is going on at the mysterious Spookety Cabin?
Homer decides the only way he is going to find out anything is by following Fake Man, no matter how much trouble it lands him in.
The story is told in Homer’s voice, first person, with occasional short chapters in the voices of other characters (Madeleine, Homer’s mother, and Roger Sweeney). Roger’s pieces are handwritten scrapbook pages with cutout pictures and cartoons—perfectly capturing his character, and the typefaces for Madeline and Homer’s mother reflect their personalities as well.
This is a believable and compelling mystery, but it is not a conventional mystery novel. Homer isn’t a young detective; he’s just a kid who is trying to find out things that have been hidden from him.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Pool Boy
Author: Michael Simmons
Brett had a pretty nice life until his dad ruined everything. He lived in a big house with a pool, had a $5,000 stereo, and all the cash he wanted—but then the police came to arrest his father for insider trading. Despite expensive lawyers, Dad was convicted and sentenced to jail, and the rest of the family had to cope. In order to pay the lawyers and settle Dad’s debts, Mom had to sell their house and luxury goods (goodbye stereo). Then Mom, Brett, and his sister moved in with an aunt.
Mom could make Brett get a job at a burger joint to start a college fund, but she couldn’t force him to show up on time or keep him from expressing his arrogant attitude and general anger. A chance encounter with Alfie, the elderly man who used to clean his family’s pool, leads to an alternative job option, which Brett decides to take after a confrontation with his boss.
He figures anything is better than flipping burgers, but it takes him a while to get used to the actual demands of the job, particularly the rule about never swimming in clients’ pools. Over the summer, Alfie teaches Brett how to drive, drink coffee, and appreciate international foods, and also a little here and there about life and forgiveness.
This is a really good book, with believable characters in believable situations. Brett’s personal growth is handled very well, progressing from general anger at the world (and specifically his father) to the point where he is able to begin to forgive.
Brett had a pretty nice life until his dad ruined everything. He lived in a big house with a pool, had a $5,000 stereo, and all the cash he wanted—but then the police came to arrest his father for insider trading. Despite expensive lawyers, Dad was convicted and sentenced to jail, and the rest of the family had to cope. In order to pay the lawyers and settle Dad’s debts, Mom had to sell their house and luxury goods (goodbye stereo). Then Mom, Brett, and his sister moved in with an aunt.
Mom could make Brett get a job at a burger joint to start a college fund, but she couldn’t force him to show up on time or keep him from expressing his arrogant attitude and general anger. A chance encounter with Alfie, the elderly man who used to clean his family’s pool, leads to an alternative job option, which Brett decides to take after a confrontation with his boss.
He figures anything is better than flipping burgers, but it takes him a while to get used to the actual demands of the job, particularly the rule about never swimming in clients’ pools. Over the summer, Alfie teaches Brett how to drive, drink coffee, and appreciate international foods, and also a little here and there about life and forgiveness.
This is a really good book, with believable characters in believable situations. Brett’s personal growth is handled very well, progressing from general anger at the world (and specifically his father) to the point where he is able to begin to forgive.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster
Author/Illustrator: Debra Frasier
Sage got a cold at exactly the wrong time—she missed school on Tuesday, which is when Mrs. Page always assigns the vocabulary list for the week. That night, Sage called her friend, Starr, to get the word list. Unfortunately, Starr had to hurry because her mom was waiting for her, so she forgot to spell the last word (which sounded like Miss Alaineus). When Mrs. Page called on her in class, Sage gave a definition she thought was at least close, but suddenly everyone was laughing! Luckily, she found a way to turn her humiliating mistake (Miss Stake?) into a great costume for the Vocabulary Parade, and even won a trophy for her original take on "miscellaneous."
This is a fun book, with lots of wordplay in names. The illustrations are in bright colors on notebook paper, and Frasier uses the lines to good effect with stripes and patterns in different orientations. Besides the main storyline, Sage wrote 26 sentences (each using three words starting with one letter of the alphabet--for extra credit) about her dilemma. Sage is a fifth-grader, but the story will resonate with any child who has to write vocabulary definitions.
Sage got a cold at exactly the wrong time—she missed school on Tuesday, which is when Mrs. Page always assigns the vocabulary list for the week. That night, Sage called her friend, Starr, to get the word list. Unfortunately, Starr had to hurry because her mom was waiting for her, so she forgot to spell the last word (which sounded like Miss Alaineus). When Mrs. Page called on her in class, Sage gave a definition she thought was at least close, but suddenly everyone was laughing! Luckily, she found a way to turn her humiliating mistake (Miss Stake?) into a great costume for the Vocabulary Parade, and even won a trophy for her original take on "miscellaneous."
This is a fun book, with lots of wordplay in names. The illustrations are in bright colors on notebook paper, and Frasier uses the lines to good effect with stripes and patterns in different orientations. Besides the main storyline, Sage wrote 26 sentences (each using three words starting with one letter of the alphabet--for extra credit) about her dilemma. Sage is a fifth-grader, but the story will resonate with any child who has to write vocabulary definitions.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
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