Bootsie Barker Bites by Barbara Bottner
Bootsie Barker is a terror who loves to pretend she's a salamander eating dinosaur. When Bootsie's parents go out of town and plan to leave her at the narrator's house, the young narrator must figure out just how to handle Bootsie Barker's viscious bite!
Who Wants a Dragon? by James Mayhew
Cute pictures fill this colorful rhyming picture book. A dragon tries to find love and a sense of belonging in a fantastical kingdom of knights, witches, fairies and princesses.
ish by Peter Reynolds
Ramon loves to draw but is discouraged once his older brother points out his pictures don't look like they're supposed to. His little sister begins collecting Ramon's crumpled up drawings and admiringly tells him they look . . . -ish, as in vase-ish or flower-ish. This is a very dear book that shows how sweet kids can be.
2/20/08
2/19/08
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee
I'm reading an advanced copy of this book. Check it out, Jennifer's middle name is the number 8, it's a very lucky number in Chinese. Her parents are freaks; her mom is, apparently, from Taiwan. I wonder what it was like having a number as a middle name. It must have been awkward in school. Doesn't it remind you of the Seinfeld episode where George wants to name his future kid 7? The author is really smart, she graduated from Harvard in 99, math and econ major. This is a nonfictional work about Chinese or "Chinese" food in America, and naturally fortune cookies play a huge role in the book. One thing that really struck me was when the author comments on the phrase "as American as apple pie" then asks the reader how often he eats apple pie and then asks how often he eats Chinese food. Perhaps "Chinese" food is actually more American than apple pie. Isn't that hilarious? I'm only reading the first and last chapter of this one.
I'm reading an advanced copy of this book. Check it out, Jennifer's middle name is the number 8, it's a very lucky number in Chinese. Her parents are freaks; her mom is, apparently, from Taiwan. I wonder what it was like having a number as a middle name. It must have been awkward in school. Doesn't it remind you of the Seinfeld episode where George wants to name his future kid 7? The author is really smart, she graduated from Harvard in 99, math and econ major. This is a nonfictional work about Chinese or "Chinese" food in America, and naturally fortune cookies play a huge role in the book. One thing that really struck me was when the author comments on the phrase "as American as apple pie" then asks the reader how often he eats apple pie and then asks how often he eats Chinese food. Perhaps "Chinese" food is actually more American than apple pie. Isn't that hilarious? I'm only reading the first and last chapter of this one.
2/15/08
Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie Friedman
Ruby's favorite holiday is of course Valentine's Day and she spends days preparing valentines for the folks in her town. She is so exhausted from all her hard work that she sleeps thru the holiday! This cute, rhyming picture book teaches kids that any time is appropriate for letting people know you care about them.
The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson
This rhyming picture book can be sung to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine. A woman and her beau keep missing each other. The pictures are hilarious and I wouldn't be surprised at all if this book becomes a classic Valentine's picture book for kids.
Ruby's favorite holiday is of course Valentine's Day and she spends days preparing valentines for the folks in her town. She is so exhausted from all her hard work that she sleeps thru the holiday! This cute, rhyming picture book teaches kids that any time is appropriate for letting people know you care about them.
The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson
This rhyming picture book can be sung to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine. A woman and her beau keep missing each other. The pictures are hilarious and I wouldn't be surprised at all if this book becomes a classic Valentine's picture book for kids.
2/11/08
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan
I really like this book so far. The points of view are from two different characters, alternating each chapter between Jake and E.D. Jake's been labeled a bad kid, who can blame them considering how he's rumored to have set his school afire. E.D., named after her mom's favorite author Edith Wharton , is reluctantly part of the Applewhite family, a group of new age hippy types who dismiss structure and conventionalism. Jake is sent to live with the Applewhites and attend their avant garde homeschool when no other school will accept him. Both these characters are forced to "survive the Applewhites" against their wills.
I really like this book so far. The points of view are from two different characters, alternating each chapter between Jake and E.D. Jake's been labeled a bad kid, who can blame them considering how he's rumored to have set his school afire. E.D., named after her mom's favorite author Edith Wharton , is reluctantly part of the Applewhite family, a group of new age hippy types who dismiss structure and conventionalism. Jake is sent to live with the Applewhites and attend their avant garde homeschool when no other school will accept him. Both these characters are forced to "survive the Applewhites" against their wills.
2/8/08
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Invention of Hugo Cabret won one of the most esteemed literary prizes this year, the Caldecott Award. Caldecott is the award for a book chosen by children librarians deemed to have the best pictures. The illustrations in this book are highly detailed black and white pencil drawings. This book is a lengthy 544 pages but there are a TON of drawings within. Hugo Cabret is a young, orphaned horologist (watchmaker) who secretly fixes all the clocks in a Paris trainstation for his uncle. As it turns out, his uncle has disappeared and Hugo fears the authorities will turn him over to an orphanage if it is discovered that he is without a guardian. Hugo becomes obsessed with fixing a broken automaton found in the museum, as he believes the robot will write a message from his dead father.
Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks
This picture book is about a spider that wants to be a family pet, but whenever she tries to impress the family members, they freak out.
The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1: The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
This book was highly recommended to me by a young reader :o) He was so passionate about The Spiderwick Chronicles that I promised him I'd read the first book. The story centers around Jared Grace, a troubled young boy whose father has just abandoned his family. When the Grace family moves into a dilapidated Victorian house, strange things start happening: His older sister Mallory wakes up one morning with her hair tied to the bedpost, his twin brother Simon's tadpoles are found frozen in the freezer. Jared discovers, via a dumbwaiter, a secret library belonging to Arthur Spiderwick, a distant relative. In the mysterious room is a book about faeries, boggarts and brownies which Jared uses to learn more about the strange creatures that surely inhabit the old house.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret won one of the most esteemed literary prizes this year, the Caldecott Award. Caldecott is the award for a book chosen by children librarians deemed to have the best pictures. The illustrations in this book are highly detailed black and white pencil drawings. This book is a lengthy 544 pages but there are a TON of drawings within. Hugo Cabret is a young, orphaned horologist (watchmaker) who secretly fixes all the clocks in a Paris trainstation for his uncle. As it turns out, his uncle has disappeared and Hugo fears the authorities will turn him over to an orphanage if it is discovered that he is without a guardian. Hugo becomes obsessed with fixing a broken automaton found in the museum, as he believes the robot will write a message from his dead father.
Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks
This picture book is about a spider that wants to be a family pet, but whenever she tries to impress the family members, they freak out.
The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1: The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
This book was highly recommended to me by a young reader :o) He was so passionate about The Spiderwick Chronicles that I promised him I'd read the first book. The story centers around Jared Grace, a troubled young boy whose father has just abandoned his family. When the Grace family moves into a dilapidated Victorian house, strange things start happening: His older sister Mallory wakes up one morning with her hair tied to the bedpost, his twin brother Simon's tadpoles are found frozen in the freezer. Jared discovers, via a dumbwaiter, a secret library belonging to Arthur Spiderwick, a distant relative. In the mysterious room is a book about faeries, boggarts and brownies which Jared uses to learn more about the strange creatures that surely inhabit the old house.
2/4/08
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Short Works by Mark Twain
I just finished reading the short story Esquimau Maiden's Romance which was much shorter than the title short story The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. My suspicion is that esquimau means eskimo. Anyway, the story is about an eskimo maiden who is rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams--her father is as rich as Vanderbilt because he has over 20 fishhooks. When she introduces her love to her family, her father starts showing off his wealth, displaying all the fine fishhooks for him to see. That night it is discovered that one of the hooks is missing and the young man is accused of theft.
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
This is probably the shortest adult book I'll ever read. One of my favorite pieces of advice is to not write the parts that readers are just going to skip.
I just finished reading the short story Esquimau Maiden's Romance which was much shorter than the title short story The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. My suspicion is that esquimau means eskimo. Anyway, the story is about an eskimo maiden who is rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams--her father is as rich as Vanderbilt because he has over 20 fishhooks. When she introduces her love to her family, her father starts showing off his wealth, displaying all the fine fishhooks for him to see. That night it is discovered that one of the hooks is missing and the young man is accused of theft.
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
This is probably the shortest adult book I'll ever read. One of my favorite pieces of advice is to not write the parts that readers are just going to skip.
Gypsies of the World: A Journey Into the Hidden World of Gypsy Life and Culture by Nebojsa Bato Tomasevic and Rajko Djuric
I've been interested in gypsies for a while now and this is an excellent book with plenty of pictures on the subject. Now I confess that I've mostly been looking at pictures and just reading the captions, not the actual text of the book. Did you know that many gypsies train bears? One of the most interesting captions described how the authors were invited to a gypsy establishment and given some nuts, dried fruit and murky liquid to drink. Their guide drank the liquid but the authors only pretended to sip and a few minutes later their guide was slumped on the floor and the lights had gone out. When the lights came back on, the authors had backed themselves against a wall and when the gypsies realized their trick didn't work, the authors left quickly, dragging their drugged guide out of there! Did you know that gypsies are originally from India? They don't eat a lot of meat and one of their main staples is roti which they cook on dried cow dung!
I've been interested in gypsies for a while now and this is an excellent book with plenty of pictures on the subject. Now I confess that I've mostly been looking at pictures and just reading the captions, not the actual text of the book. Did you know that many gypsies train bears? One of the most interesting captions described how the authors were invited to a gypsy establishment and given some nuts, dried fruit and murky liquid to drink. Their guide drank the liquid but the authors only pretended to sip and a few minutes later their guide was slumped on the floor and the lights had gone out. When the lights came back on, the authors had backed themselves against a wall and when the gypsies realized their trick didn't work, the authors left quickly, dragging their drugged guide out of there! Did you know that gypsies are originally from India? They don't eat a lot of meat and one of their main staples is roti which they cook on dried cow dung!
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