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librarybonanza
Obviously a heart wrenching book based on the subject matter. As a recommendation, I would offer this to almost any teen based on the brevity and the intriguing plot.
Age: Preschool
Animals: Bunnies, wolf
Family: Big Sister, little brother, adoption
Mama and Papa Bunny are delighted to adopt a bundle of fur left at their doorstep but Dot is confused. Dot is certain that it is going to eat them all up because the little ball of fur is a wolf cub. When Wolfie is picked on at the store, Dot reveals her compassion for Wolfie and scares away the bully. Cute illustrations with a bit of humor mixed in.
Animals: Bunnies, wolf
Family: Big Sister, little brother, adoption
Mama and Papa Bunny are delighted to adopt a bundle of fur left at their doorstep but Dot is confused. Dot is certain that it is going to eat them all up because the little ball of fur is a wolf cub. When Wolfie is picked on at the store, Dot reveals her compassion for Wolfie and scares away the bully. Cute illustrations with a bit of humor mixed in.
Age: Preschool
Humor: Contrary
Silliness abounds on the farm as animals adorn their favorite clothing pieces. Refrain can be sung to Happy Birthday, Farmer and the Dell, and Oh When the Saints.
Humor: Contrary
Silliness abounds on the farm as animals adorn their favorite clothing pieces. Refrain can be sung to Happy Birthday, Farmer and the Dell, and Oh When the Saints.
Award: Stonewall Honor 2013
Art: Theatre
A wonderfully illustrated graphic novel that masterfully navigates the world of middle school from the perspective of Callie, a lovable, enthusiastic set designer who is crushing pretty heavy on two distinctly opposite boys. Callie is a likable character with an adorable enthusiasm for theatre (and we even get a bit of back story regarding her passion). Going along with several other reviews, the romance was definitely the boring part of the story and fizzled to a ridiculously anticlimactic ending. The way Telgemeier presents the gay characters in this story is, hm, interesting because they have predominant roles and distinct personalities but. The entire story around Callie and the unique framework of the story was lovely and I found myself smiling along with her theatrical experience.
Art: Theatre
A wonderfully illustrated graphic novel that masterfully navigates the world of middle school from the perspective of Callie, a lovable, enthusiastic set designer who is crushing pretty heavy on two distinctly opposite boys. Callie is a likable character with an adorable enthusiasm for theatre (and we even get a bit of back story regarding her passion). Going along with several other reviews, the romance was definitely the boring part of the story and fizzled to a ridiculously anticlimactic ending. The way Telgemeier presents the gay characters in this story is, hm, interesting because they have predominant roles and distinct personalities but
Spoiler
Jesse turns into the conflict because he essentially abandons the protagonist at the dance
Age: High School-Adult
Math: Spirals and helixes in nature and life
Sedgwick bowls me over again with his intertwining, intergenerational, inter-genre stories that fuse together over one theme: spirals and helixes. Opening with diagrams of a spiral and a helix, Sedgwick presents four stories that he encourages to be read in any order: a midwife's daughter in the 1600s is accused of witchcraft and is perplexed by the underwater presence of a spiral upon a rock; a doctor in the 1920s cares for an "insane asylum" patient that is petrified of spirals; and a spaceship caretaker in the far future blacks out whenever he sees a spiral.
I probably wouldn't recommend this to readers that hate historical fiction, science fiction, prose, or head scratchers because this includes them all and is particularly appealing to non-picky readers. I'd LOVE to hear what others think of it!
Math: Spirals and helixes in nature and life
Sedgwick bowls me over again with his intertwining, intergenerational, inter-genre stories that fuse together over one theme: spirals and helixes. Opening with diagrams of a spiral and a helix, Sedgwick presents four stories that he encourages to be read in any order:
Spoiler
a paleolithic girl is inspired by the shape of a spiral to create written words;Spoiler
I guess my interpretation of the spiral is that time is relentlessly pushing forward and if we remain fixated on its progression, then we become slaves to it, lost in its mathematical perfection.I probably wouldn't recommend this to readers that hate historical fiction, science fiction, prose, or head scratchers because this includes them all and is particularly appealing to non-picky readers. I'd LOVE to hear what others think of it!
Age: Kindergarten-2nd grade
A nice addition to pet dog books. Sid tries to figure out why dogs are so obedient--especially to such ordinary kids like himself. According to his dog Murphy, Sid is Supreme Almighty Ruler and King of Absolutely Everything. But what if Murphy didn't actually think this? How would he behave? Sid doesn't want to risk it and asks his readers to keep it a secret.
Although I didn't catch it the first time around, Sid does question the existence of an almighty being, stating "I sometimes think there is no boss that most things happen just...because." So, I can see the presence of atheism but I can also see that it works well with the topic, the illustrations are well done, and the story carries itself well throughout the book. It's crazy, I know, but I can read books like "God Found Us You" and appreciate it even though I don't align myself with a religion. It's as if I'm not a bigot and I can recognize that all audiences deserve to have a presence in children's literature.
A nice addition to pet dog books. Sid tries to figure out why dogs are so obedient--especially to such ordinary kids like himself. According to his dog Murphy, Sid is Supreme Almighty Ruler and King of Absolutely Everything. But what if Murphy didn't actually think this? How would he behave? Sid doesn't want to risk it and asks his readers to keep it a secret.
Although I didn't catch it the first time around, Sid does question the existence of an almighty being, stating "I sometimes think there is no boss that most things happen just...because." So, I can see the presence of atheism but I can also see that it works well with the topic, the illustrations are well done, and the story carries itself well throughout the book. It's crazy, I know, but I can read books like "God Found Us You" and appreciate it even though I don't align myself with a religion. It's as if I'm not a bigot and I can recognize that all audiences deserve to have a presence in children's literature.
Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Family: Older brother, younger brother
One of the same but a relatable story for older siblings. Elmore Green enjoys the quiet and attention of being an only child. All of the things he treasures (or, at least, are mentioned by the author) are quickly stamped out as a baby is brought into the family. Although he is annoyed by his brother, he soon finds that having a companion is rather delightful. I like how Child refers to the little brother as "it" until the very end, when Elmore Green decides to share a precious candy with him.
Family: Older brother, younger brother
One of the same but a relatable story for older siblings. Elmore Green enjoys the quiet and attention of being an only child. All of the things he treasures (or, at least, are mentioned by the author) are quickly stamped out as a baby is brought into the family. Although he is annoyed by his brother, he soon finds that having a companion is rather delightful. I like how Child refers to the little brother as "it" until the very end, when Elmore Green decides to share a precious candy with him.
Age: Kindergarten-1st grade
A beautiful partnership between a motivational story and illustrating the ambiguous. The Yes is a one-dimensional creature that finds himself being bogged down by a dusty cloud of Nos. Whenever he asks the cloud of Nos to do something, true to nature, they say no, no, NO! But, "The Nos were not a thing, and the Yes was a great big thing." So, the Yes continues to defy the Nos at every turn until they blow away on the wind.
The author and illustrator are able to capture a concept and two essential life words in this wonderful addition to self-motivation and bullying books. Perhaps what is most powerful is that the Nos are not depicted as a person, thus avoiding demonizing a particular feature of someone. Although the idea is a bit more abstract, the text is well written to help walk kids through the nothingness of the Nos.
Be careful reading this with the preschool crowd because of the slightly abstract concept and the slightly dangerous activities that The Yes insists on partaking in. Like all books, discussion before and after the book help alleviate misinterpretations.
A beautiful partnership between a motivational story and illustrating the ambiguous. The Yes is a one-dimensional creature that finds himself being bogged down by a dusty cloud of Nos. Whenever he asks the cloud of Nos to do something, true to nature, they say no, no, NO! But, "The Nos were not a thing, and the Yes was a great big thing." So, the Yes continues to defy the Nos at every turn until they blow away on the wind.
The author and illustrator are able to capture a concept and two essential life words in this wonderful addition to self-motivation and bullying books. Perhaps what is most powerful is that the Nos are not depicted as a person, thus avoiding demonizing a particular feature of someone. Although the idea is a bit more abstract, the text is well written to help walk kids through the nothingness of the Nos.
Be careful reading this with the preschool crowd because of the slightly abstract concept and the slightly dangerous activities that The Yes insists on partaking in. Like all books, discussion before and after the book help alleviate misinterpretations.
Age: Toddler-Preschool
Dinosaur: T-Rex
Fast paced story with simple and repetitious vocabulary. I wasn't a fan of the chaotic and busy illustrations and they may not work as a read-aloud or for infants. I was confused throughout by the crack in the egg until we find out its true identity: a rock. But, I'm still am having a hard time seeing it as a rock with a crack in it. Picky but distracting details.
Dinosaur: T-Rex
Fast paced story with simple and repetitious vocabulary. I wasn't a fan of the chaotic and busy illustrations and they may not work as a read-aloud or for infants. I was confused throughout by the crack in the egg until we find out its true identity: a rock. But, I'm still am having a hard time seeing it as a rock with a crack in it. Picky but distracting details.
Age: Preschool
Animals: Lion, meerkat, crocodile
Monty loves his mane and his meerkat friends love playing in it, much to Monty's chagrin. When a crocodile threatens to eat the meerkats, Monty swoops in to save his friends.
The artwork is rich, layered, and masterful. The crocodile is a bit scary so be cautious with children that are sensitive towards being frightened. That being said this allows his emotions to be easy to read.
Animals: Lion, meerkat, crocodile
Monty loves his mane and his meerkat friends love playing in it, much to Monty's chagrin. When a crocodile threatens to eat the meerkats, Monty swoops in to save his friends.
The artwork is rich, layered, and masterful. The crocodile is a bit scary so be cautious with children that are sensitive towards being frightened. That being said this allows his emotions to be easy to read.