Review of Tap the Magic Tree, by Christie Matheson

Contemporary, Picture Book Review 0

Tap the Magic Tree

by Christie Matheson

Greenwillow Books, 2013. 40 pages.

Tap the Magic Tree is similar to the book Press Here, by Herve Tullet, in that it directly asks children to interact with the book. For example, it asks children to tap the book, and the picture changes on the next page. Later, they shake the book, and there is another change that corresponds to what they have done.

However, what makes this book even more innovative is that it goes through the cycle of seasons with a tree. So it’s a beautiful way to show children how trees change through the seasons, while giving them the fun of following directions and watching what happens.

It starts with a bare tree, only branches:

There’s magic in this bare brown tree.
Tap it once.
Turn the page to see.

When you turn the page, one leaf has sprouted on a branch.

Then you’re told,

Tap again –
one,
two,
three,
four.

Naturally, four more leaves sprout.

The progression follows the seasons. The reader taps all the leaves out, then rubs the tree to warm it up, so it gets buds. When you touch each bud, they blossom.

After the blossoms are out, the reader’s told to “Give the tree a little jiggle.”

Predictably, the petals fall to the ground.

The tree grows apples, which also eventually fall, and then the leaves start changing color. Then the reader gets to “blow a whooshing breeze,” and then “clap hands to bring the snow.”

After waiting, and watching a bird build a nest, we finish up with “Magic! It begins again.”

Because of the interactive element, young children will really remember how the seasons cycle in magic trees all around them.

harpercollinschildrens.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Battle of the Books Round 2 and Round 3 Picks

Uncategorized 0

School Library Journal‘s Battle of the Books has already finished the first round!

I made my predictions before the battle, and fared abysmally. I was 2 for 8. And the *only* two matches that I correctly predicted will face each other in the second round.

That means almost all my favorites are out of the Battle! Except the two that I did correctly predict, and one of those will go soon.

Here are the Round Two contests:

Match One, which has already happened:
The Animal Book
vs
Boxers & Saints
Judged by Tonya Bolden

For this contest, I honestly would have picked Boxers & Saints, and I’m not just saying that because it already won. However, since it will be up against one of my favorites in Round Three, I don’t want it to go any further than this.

Match Two, Monday, March 24:
Eleanor & Park
vs
Far Far Away
Judged by Rae Carson

I loved Eleanor & Park so much, that’s the one I have to root for. However, that said, I am quite confident that Eleanor & Park won the Undead Poll. So I do have a sneaking desire for Far Far Away, my second favorite among the books left in the Battle, to continue on. That way Eleanor & Park can rest up before the Final Round!

Match Three, Tuesday, March 25:
Hokey Pokey
vs
P.S. Be Eleven
Judged by Joseph Bruchac

These two are both good books, but they are also my least favorite books left in the Battle. I want the winner to lose in Round Three. However, for this round, I’m rooting for P.S. Be Eleven to emerge victorious.

Match Four, Wednesday, March 26:
The Thing About Luck
vs
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
Judged by Katherine Marsh

For this match, I want Obaachan to triumph in The Thing About Luck.

And what do you know, no matter how Round Two turns out, I already know how I want Round Three to go:

I want the winner of Round Two, Match Two to win Round Three, Match One.

I want the winner of Round Two, Match Four to win Round Three, Match Two.

From there, we shall see….

Will my abysmal predictions get any better?

Review of Shahnameh, retold by Elizabeth Laird

Children's Nonfiction Review, Folk Tales 0

Shahnameh

The Persian Book of Kings

retold by Elizabeth Laird
illustrated by Shirin Adl

Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2012. 135 pages.

I loved fairy tales when I was a child. This book contains stories in the fairy tale style that I’ve never heard before.

This is from the Introduction:

Iran (often known as Persia in the west) is a land of stories. There are so many that they could fill hundreds of books and take years to tell. Some of the best of them are found in the Shahnameh, or “Book of Kings,” a very long poem which was written a thousand years ago by a great Persian poet called Ferdowsi.

People in Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and all over the mountainous lands of Central Asia know the stories of the Shahnameh. They have told and retold them through the centuries, from one generation to the next. Professional storytellers recite Ferdowsi’s verses in tea houses by the roadside. Farmers relate them to each other as they rest in the shade of their fruit trees during the hot months of summer, and mothers and fathers tell them to their children as they huddle indoors round the fire in the cold of winter.

Iranians love to hear about what happened at the beginning of time, how the first kings ruled in glory, how the great age of heroes dawned, how champions like Sam, Zal and Rustam rode out on their fiery horses to fight wicked demons, and how brave women, like Rudabeh and Gordafarid, conquered the heroes’ hearts.

And that’s what you’ll find in this volume, tales of kings and heroes, battles, tricks, and love stories.

I’m not crazy about the art, but the simple flat style suits the subject matter, having a look of primitive art from ancient times, as well as plenty of floral decorations.

This book tells American children about folktales they may not have heard before.

franceslincoln.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/shahnameh.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of From Norvelt to Nowhere, by Jack Gantos

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Historical 0

From Norvelt to Nowhere

by Jack Gantos
read by the Author

Macmillan Young Listeners Audiobook (Farrar Straus Giroux), 2013. 6 hours on 5 CDs.

Here’s a wild follow-up to Newbery-winning Dead End in Norvelt. We thought we knew who’d killed all the old ladies of Norvelt at the end of the first book. When Jack decides to dress up as that villain for Halloween, he’s surprised when an old lady (who’d recently come back to town from elsewhere) says that someone who looked just like him gave her Girl Scout cookies. And then she drops dead.

This sets Miss Volker on the rampage. When her sister dies in Florida, she convinces Jack’s parents to let him come with her to make funeral arrangements. But there are people on their trail, hoping they will make connection with the killer, who seems to also be following them. So they decide they’d better buy some wheels rather than taking the train.

Of course, Jack’s only experience driving is driving Miss Volker around Norvelt, but she insists he take the task on, even though their attempts at camouflaging the car with paint seem to do the opposite.

Jack has been reading classics in comic book form, and Miss Volker is inspired by Captain Ahab of Moby Dick, determined to spear the white whale.

Where else are you going to read about a crazy old lady on a road trip with a 13-year-old boy seeking revenge on a killer? Jack Gantos reads the story himself, and his voice grows on you. He knows how to spin a tale.

macmillanaudio.com
mackids.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/from_norvelt_to_nowhere.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of Argo, by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio

Audiobooks, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

Argo

How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled off the Most Audacious Rescue in History

by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio
read by Dylan Baker

Blackstone Audio, 2012. 9 ½ hours on 8 compact discs.

I haven’t seen the movie Argo, but was looking for an audiobook, and this one looked interesting. The beginning wasn’t promising, with the author talking about his hobby of painting, before we knew or cared who he was. My son, who’d seen the movie, said it had a much more gripping beginning, with the Iranian embassy being stormed.

However, the story got much better from there. Yes, there was some repetition. Yes, there were some unnecessary descriptions of cool spy things the author got to do in his work with the CIA. But the main story was exciting and gripping, and you were in suspense, even though you knew he must have pulled it off.

The story is set during the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis. It tells all about those events, but also about six Americans who escaped the embassy, but couldn’t get out of Iran. They took refuge in the homes of Canadian diplomats, but were in danger all the time of being discovered. The CIA took on the task of trying to get them out.

Antonio Mendez was the one who figured out a plan to get them out safely. In fact, he came up with three possible plans, so that the Americans could decide which one they thought they could most easily pull off. All along, he was hoping they’d choose the Hollywood option.

With the help of Hollywood insiders (who helped the CIA with make-up), Mendez set up a film company, complete with an office and receptionist. They put ads for the fake film they were going to make, “Argo,” in industry newsletters, and even had a script and concept art. Then the job was to go to Iran, brief the six Americans, and bring them out as a team scouting locations for the film.

The story is fascinating, full of details about spy work that you might not have guessed were important. There’s plenty of suspense, even though you can guess that the ending will be happy.

Definitely a good choice for getting my mind off traffic.

BlackstoneAudio.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/argo.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

The Battle of the Books Is About to Begin!

Uncategorized 0

School Library Journal’s 2014 Battle of the Books begins tomorrow! And I’m only now getting the chance to post my first round picks.

I’ve read — or tried to read — all the books. So I’ll say a bit about all of them below.

Match One, March 10
All the Truth That’s in Me, by Julie Berry
vs.
The Animal Book, by Steve Jenkins
Judged by Vaunda Nelson

For this one, I’m rooting for All the Truth That’s in Me, which is also the book I voted for in the Undead Poll. It was under the radar for me, and I suspect for a lot of other people. I read it recently and was blown away. So I hope it gets every chance.

And The Animal Book? This is the one book in the tournament I didn’t read. I checked it out twice and skimmed it and saw some intriguing stuff. (I liked the page about different kinds of eyes, and I was fascinated by the pages at the back about Steve Jenkins’ process for making books.) There’s no question that I’m a huge Steve Jenkins fan — He’s even been a Stand-out Author. But what can I say? This book was too big for my personal taste. It was daunting. And I’d seen many of the pictures before, so that took away some of my wonder at the art. Most of his books are more bite-sized, focusing on one area. If I still had kids at home, this book would be a wonderful resource, though.

Match Two, March 11
Boxers & Saints, by Gene Luen Yang
vs.
A Corner of White, by Jaclyn Moriarty
Judged by Yuyi Morales

This match is tough. I gave both books Starred Reviews, but neither one was a 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out. I will be happy with whichever one wins, and am looking forward to the explanation. Going with my gut, though, I’ll root for the quirky and interesting A Corner of White.

Match Three, March 12
Doll Bones, by Holly Black
vs.
Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
Judged by Lauren Oliver

Oo, this one’s even tougher. Both of these books *were* 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but in different categories, so I didn’t rank them directly against each other. Still, Eleanor & Park was #2 in its category (Teen Fiction), and Doll Bones was only #3 in its category (Children’s Fiction), and that does reflect my preference, but that it’s a narrow one.

But Eleanor & Park really captured my heart, so it gets my pick for this match. However, again I won’t be sad if Doll Bones makes the win, and I’m thinking there’s a good chance that Eleanor & Park would come back from the dead in that case, anyway.

Match Four, March 13
Far Far Away, by Tom McNeal
vs.
Flora & Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo
Judged by Sara Mlynowski

The only reason Far Far Away wasn’t a 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out was that I didn’t read it until January 2014. It’s nuanced with meaning and symbolism, and is scary and sinister but inspiring. It is my pick for this match. After all, Flora & Ulysses, fun and quirky, did get plenty of recognition by winning the Newbery Medal. I’m going to predict that the Newbery curse will strike again and the winner won’t go far in the Battle of the Books.

Match Five, March 17
Hokey Pokey, by Jerry Spinelli
vs.
March, Book One, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Judged by Tom Angleberger

I’m not a hater of Hokey Pokey. I did enjoy reading it. But neither am I a big fan. And just last week I finished reading March, Book One, and I think that more memoirs should be done in graphic novel form. It gives a real immediacy to the story being told. March, Book One is my pick for this match.

Match Six, March 18
Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick
vs.
P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Judged by Mac Barnett

No question here. Midwinterblood was a 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out, #4 in Teen Fiction. Although I enjoyed P. S. Be Eleven, I didn’t even give it a starred review. (I didn’t like it nearly as much as its predecessor, One Crazy Summer.) But it will take an *outstanding* book to knock out Midwinterblood. The craft in that book is exceptional, with eerie stories fitting together and going backward in time.

Match Seven, March 19
Rose Under Fire, by Elizabeth Wein
vs.
The Thing About Luck, by Cynthia Kadohata
Judged by Malindo Lo

I’m too big an Elizabeth Wein fan to let this one go by without giving her the nod. Though The Thing About Luck has some excellent things about it as well.

Match Eight, March 20
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt
vs.
What the Heart Knows, by Joyce Sidman
Judged by Sheila Turnage

I’m going with the poetry on this one, What the Heart Knows. True Blue Scouts was just a bit too much of a tall tale for me. Though again, I enjoyed them both.

There you have it! My picks for the first round of SLJsBoB!

I will wait until the First Round is done to talk about my second round hopes. I can safely say there’s nothing in this fine line-up of books that I would be sad to see go all the way.

I also had a lot of fun looking at Probabilities in the comments over at Reads for Keeps! Jen really got me going! In fact, then she went and did a post about my comments! Very fun!

Review of March, Book One, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, History, Starred Review 0

March
Book One

by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Top Shelf Productions, 2013. 123 pages.
Starred Review
2014 Coretta Scott King Honor Book

This is not a graphic novel, it’s a graphic memoir, and all the contents are true. Congressman John Lewis tells about what it was like for him as a young man involved in the Civil Rights Movement. The comic book format combined with the personal remembrances give this book an immediacy that will stick with the reader.

There’s a frame that’s in place on the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration. The congressman is telling two kids visiting his office what it was like when he was their age. And then he tells how he first heard about people speaking up for civil rights, and how he went to nonviolence training, participated in and organized sit-ins, and began the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

This is only Book One. There’s a sort of prologue scene crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the March on Washington. We don’t get that far in the story, though we do learn, right at the start, that of all the speakers that day, John Lewis is the only one who’s still around.

This graphic memoir makes history come alive in a dramatic way.

I’m reading it because it’s the last contender I hadn’t read for School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books, which starts next week. I’m not surprised to find some powerful reading here. It fits in well with the other contenders.

topshelfcomix.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/march_book_1.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of The Secret of Terror Castle, by Robert Arthur

Adventure, Children's Fiction Review, Historical, Mystery, Old Favorites 0

Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in

The Secret of Terror Castle

by Robert Arthur

Random House, New York, 1964. 179 pages.

This isn’t going to be a review so much as an appreciation.

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a co-worker about series mysteries. We both had read the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew, but I never read the Hardy Boys. I said that the really good series was The Three Investigators, and he said he agreed — he hadn’t brought them up because most people haven’t heard of them. So then we got to talking about Jupiter Jones and all the cool things about the Three Investigators. I said that my brother had all of them, but he didn’t let anyone else read them, so I had to borrow them from my friend Georgette.

Well, the library has recently gotten a new system for ordering Interlibrary Loans, and administration had asked staff to try it out by making some requests. So my co-worker decided to request the first three Three Investigators mysteries. Naturally, I asked if I could read them after him. When he said there might not be enough time in the loan, I said it would be funny if he behaved exactly like my brother. Anyway, when the first book did come in, he finished it well ahead of the due date, and I got to read it, too.

We’re both trying to figure out what it is about The Three Investigators that made them so completely cool. The writing is not stellar, though there is a nice habit of closing chapters on a cliff-hanger (or rock slide). But you’ve got to love a group of kids independently traveling around in a gold-plated Rolls-Royce (which Jupiter won the use of) with an English chauffeur. Jupiter is super smart and outsmarts adults routinely. Their headquarters is fantastic — an old mobile home hidden in a junkyard, completely surrounded by trash. The entrances are all secret, and involve things like crawling through a tunnel.

Yes, the books are dated. I laughed when the boys discovered the “mobile telephone” in the Rolls-Royce. “One pushes the button and gives the desired number to the operator.” They also make their own business cards by fixing an old printing press that came into the junk yard. And the book isn’t at all politically correct. Various ethnic groups are represented stereotypically. And there are no girls in the book whatsoever. (But it’s true, I loved the books anyway.)

I hadn’t remembered that Bob Andrews — at 13 or 14 years old — worked in a library. This paragraph on the very first page made me laugh aloud:

“How was the library?” [his mother] asked.

“It was okay,” Bob told her. After all, there was never any excitement at the library.

Later on, “Bob had been swamped with work at the library, re-cataloguing all the books. One other helper was out sick, so Bob had been working days and evenings too.” My goodness, such responsibility to give a kid!

I like some of the exclamations Pete comes up with: Gleeps! Whiskers! Golly!

I’m not crazy about Skinny Norris, the obligatory bully of the books. Solving mysteries wasn’t enough — there has to be a rival gang, taunting them.

But overall, this book holds up. You’ve got a spooky setting and clever kids, acting on their own, who get into danger and solve the mystery. Rereading it made me feel like I was twelve years old again.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/terror_castle.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book borrowed via Interlibrary Loan.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Stand-out Authors: Laini Taylor

Stand-outs 0

I’m doing a series on Stand-out Authors — Authors whose books are 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but are not making their first appearances on my lists.

Laini Taylor is another who has a Sonderbooks Stand-out for the fourth time this year.

I first read her books in 2009. The first one I read was Dreamdark: Blackbringer, which I thought was excellent, and gave a starred review. Then I read its sequel, Silksinger, and was completely blown away. Silksinger was #6 in Fantasy Teen Fiction on the 2009 Sonderbooks Stand-outs.

The same year, I read Lips Touch: Three Times, an innovative collection of three highly original stories. That book was #8 in Fantasy Teen Fiction the same year.

Laini Taylor began a new series in 2011, which is consistently excellent. The first book, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, was #2 in Teen Fiction, Fantasy on my 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, with an amazing story about a devil in love with an angel.

And I read the second book in the series this past year, and wasn’t a bit surprised when it was also a Stand-out. Days of Blood and Starlight was #7 in Teen Fiction on my 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs, continuing the dramatic story.

What I noticed about Laini Taylor’s books right from the start is she has the resonance of folklore themes — but not your traditional western folklore. There are twists to these fairies, angels, and demons. She has a whole new perspective, and her imagination stands out. I have no doubt whatsoever that her books will continue to appear on my Stand-outs lists for many years to come.

Review of Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled, by Catherine Thimmesh

Children's Nonfiction Review, Science 0

Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled

How do we know what dinosaurs really looked like?

by Catherine Thimmesh

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2013.

Here’s a science book on an ever-popular topic: Dinosaurs. I like science books that look at a field where not everything is known. They can explain how the theories have changed over the years, what scientists currently believe, and how scientists are pursuing further investigation. This book does all those things with the field of paleoart.

Whereas many illustrators depict dinosaurs for entertainment and draw from their imagination, paleoartists draw first from scientific evidence. Their goal is to create the most accurate representation possible, not the most dramatic….

Paleoartists use the fossil bones, and the plant studies, and the rock studies, and all of the other bits of evidence discovered by the various scientists. Then they attempt to bridge the divide between the “knowns” and the “unknowns.”

This book looks at the different scientific factors that a paleoartist considers and talks about changes in our views about dinosaurs, such as discoveries that they were probably warm-blooded, and that some had feathers.

The illustrations come from several different paleoartists, and they are compared with some of the earliest conceptions of dinosaurs, showing how much things have changed.

This book gives a fascinating new take on dinosaurs.

hmhbooks.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/scaly_spotted_feathered_frilled.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.