animals – Page 8 – One Chapter

Mr. Watson’s Chickens by Jarrett Dapier

4.5 stars Children’s Picture Book

It started with 3 chickens in a chicken house, and they ended up with 456 chickens! They lived in a large honking house in a big, honking city but who wants 456 chickens!! Mr. Watson loves chickens, and they entertain him and Mr. Nelsen in their home. From playing instruments, reading books, to roasting marshmallows on sticks in the fireplace, the chickens love living inside their home. Things start to get out of hand when the shower, the sink and the bed get overrun with chickens! One chicken, Aunt Agnes creates a song and sings it to entertain everyone. Finally, Mr. Nelson has had enough of the chickens and tells Mr. Watson that he needs to do something with them.

The problem gets solved and soon all the chickens get a great home, and they are chicken-free. Or are they? What is that they hear when they climb into bed? Busy, colorful illustrations and a fast-moving text create this story. This is a funny and entertaining story. 4.5 stars

People Are Wild by Margaux Meganck

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

Looking at life from a different perspective, this is a cute book. A quick read that has animals looking at humans and showing us what they see and their perception. Simple text and great illustrations make this a great read for any age as we can see how we (humans) are affecting our animal friends.

The story begins with a mama elephant and her baby out in the grasslands. They see a mother and her child in the distance. The baby elephant asks her mother, “Mama, what is that?” The next two pages show a mother and baby bear with another human mother and her young child. The bears are in a tree while the humans are walking on a trail. The text reads, “That’s a person.” The story continues telling the different animal pairs to keep a distance from the humans because they’re, “messy, loud, nosy, smelly, strange.” Yet the baby animals discover that humans are just like them, as they’re “cuddly, cute, funny, unique.’ We are all wild and should be free.

Make sure you read Wild Facts at the end of the book, which gives some interesting facts about the animals in the book. Where in the World at the back of the book is interesting too. 5 stars

Copydog by Zachariah Ohora

4 stars Children’s Picture Book

Bright colorful illustrations bring this book to life. A combination of text boxes and picture book illustrations make up this picture book and there’s quite a bit of text in this book to read. I thought the story itself was a bit long in the middle as you read all the different examples of Rosemont copy-dogging Elise.

Elise is the older sister and Rosemont is her sibling. They play together and they both like to share and take turns, but Elise doesn’t like it when Rosemont copies her. Elise feels that Rosemont copies EVERYTHING that Elise does. The book gives some examples of how Rosemont does this. The ending was sweet as Elise needs assistance and it’s Rosemont who comes to her rescue. 4 stars

Free by Barroux

4 stars Children’s Picture Book

I did enjoy the illustrations in this picture book, but I feel that the intended audience for this book begins with older elementary children as the text feels too complicated for younger children. My four-year old grandchild did not enjoy this book when I read it to him, so I added my own story to the end.

The Great Bird Circus consists of a young girl playing a fancy musical instrument while the performer does tricks with his birds. Complete with a yellow and red big top tent, the performance is a hit with the audience. After their performance, they pack up. The circus is now headed to the border, for tomorrow they will be playing for the governor! You can feel the excitement in the air as the birds’ chirp and the truck honks as they travel down the road but wait! The excitement comes to an end when they reach the Border Patrol Crossing. Do they have all the paperwork to cross the border? The girl and the man can move across, but the birds are missing tons, and I mean tons of documents to cross the border. As they explained the reason for their trip, the guard’s reaction of, “Not my problem” really hit home with me. Feeling defeated, they ponder what to do until the little girl comes up with an idea which saves the day. The ending of the book is fantastic. 4 stars

I Survived The Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967

4 stars Graphic Novel Children’s/ Middle School

Why did the grizzlies attack? That was the question that I wanted to know. I was a bit disappointed in this book but I did like all the different nonfiction details that the book included in the story. Let’s talk first about what I liked about this graphic novel. I liked all the different information that was included inside this book. While reading this story, I read about wildlife, camping, conservation, safety, etc. I liked that they tried to educate the characters in the story which also included me (the reader) while at the same time telling an adventuresome story. I was disappointed in this even though. I guess after reading other books in this I Survived series, I felt that this event didn’t follow the magnitude of the other books that I have read. I realize that this event was important and significant but the scale of this even is much smaller than other events that I have read in this series.

The year is 1967 and the event occurs near Granite Park Chalet in Glacier National Park in Montana. With their family cabin located in the Glacier, Mel and her family are taking their yearly vacation, minus some key family members. Dad is back home as he can’t miss any more work and Mel’s mother has passed away this year but the memories of her at the cabin are still there. Pop tries hard to keep the children entertained but it’s the nightly visit of a bear that gets the threesome worked up. A visit from Aunt Cassie calms everyone down to a manageable level.

Aunt Cassie and Mel decide to talk to the ranger about the bear which leads them to discussing the event with a wildlife scientist. What an education these two receive from this scientist. Aunt Cassie and Mel decide to accompany the scientist on a day-journey which leads to all three of them discovering some interesting and eye-opening information. With data and evidence, the threesome now has the means to make some startling reports and hopefully put an end to what is happening at the Chalet.

Mel has a lot of emotions in this story and the illustrations show her struggle as she goes through them. The grizzly bears are becoming an issue in the park and no one seems to know why until they stumble upon it. I had to keep reminding myself the year was 1967 when I read this book as laws and communications were important/different then. There was a lot of important information to read in each of the text boxes at times. The colorful boxes were easy to follow, I enjoyed the characters and the story was engaging and interesting. 4 stars

Cinderella — With Dogs! by Linda Bailey

5 stars Children’s

Poor Cinderella, she never had any fun, until she got dogs! It all started when her Fairy Godmother turned out to be a dog. A “Dogmother.” How funny is that? The Fairy Dogmother saw that Cinderella needed cheering up so they headed outside to chase squirrels. Yes, the two of them chased squirrels and Cinderella loved it because she did feel better and it got her outside in the fresh air.

Cinderella has to remind the Fairy Dogmother about what she’s supposed to do for Cinderella which I thought was funny as the Fairy Dogmother as she interested in doing dog things. Cinderella didn’t get to have a beautiful gown for the ball but she did get to wear an old dog blanket which the Fairy Dogmother thought, “smells divine.” Think like a dog and you can imagine how the rest of her attire went that night.

The story does try to follow the traditional storyline of Cinderella but dogs take over the theme. The illustrations are cartoonish with bright colors. There were numerous cats in the illustrations, I noticed. It’s a very cute and funny story which has some great surprises. I enjoyed it and so did my grandkids. 5 stars

The Children’s Book of Birdwatching: Nature-Friendly Tips for Spotting Birds by Dan Rouse

5 stars Nonfiction Children’s

This is marked a children’s book but I think it could be used for all ages. This nonfiction book is a great beginner’s book to learn about birds. There’s quite a bit of information included inside this book and the pictures are cute and informative. Don’t pass up this book just because it’s earmarked for children as it’s suitable for anyone who is interested in birds and someone who doesn’t want to get bogged down with too much detail.

I liked how the chapters were set up and all the different information that was included inside the chapters. You have the typical where to find birds, what do birds eat, birdfeeders, birdbaths, etc. but this book goes beyond all that. There are chapters on nest boxes, ponds, bird bills, what seeds attract which birds, and why birds need plants.

You want to get creative? There are chapters on making bird food, a bird feeder, a dust bath, seed bombs, and growing your own plants for the birds. The book doesn’t stop there as you’ll find information on caring for the outside birds, what they need to make nests, watching the birds, and how to find some unexpected nests.

Loads of fun and informative information inside this book and it’s presented in an entertaining way with pages that have a lot of illustrations with short text boxes. The book is fun to read and it’s a book that you can pick up and read a few pages and put down and return to again and again. So whatcha’ waiting for? Go pick up this book, get bird educated. Help these little winged creatures and listen to them sing in a yard near you. 5 stars

The Call of the Wild adapted by Ellyn Alcott

5 stars Picture book/Wonder book

This was a wonderful picture book. I was fortunate enough to get this in a Wonder Book so I was able to listen to the book after I read it. From the way the story was presented to the illustrations, this book was prefect.

I don’t remember much about this book when I read it as a child. I do remember having to read it in school with my classmates and how the dog Buck, found himself in some new surroundings, trying to adapt. There are some individuals who get all emotional when you mention this book but as you can see, I’m not one of them. After reading and listening to this I can understand how they feel.

The story begins with Buck living comfortably on a ranch. He’s alone but he’s the “king of the ranch,’ and he enjoys that. One night while out for a walk with one of the farm workers, Buck gets dognapped. Buck is confused as he travels not just by truck but by trains and ship to his final destination. Buck’s new home is a noisy, busy place. Buck is no longer alone but he’s now become part of a team, a team of sled dogs.

The sled dogs were mean and the work was hard. Buck was smart though and knew that if he had to work hard, if he was going to survive. His owners had only one thing on their mind: seeking their fortunes. Working in the snow was new for Buck but he got used to it and soon he became the lead dog. Buck’s owners came and went but Buck, he was always the lead dog. As spring arrived, Buck heard a calling in the wilderness, a summons that pulled deep within him. This past winter had been a rough one for Buck but also a good one. Buck was different and he noticed it. This is a great transition in the book. A terrific section where it’s good to think back over everything Buck has been though this past winter and to think about what will happen with Buck in the future. Buck is ready to take the lead again when he gets a new owner, but Thornton is different. I liked how Thornton and Buck came together and the adjustment they made for each other. The ending was perfect and I can see why some individuals get emotional when this book is mentioned.

The illustrations were terrific. Bright, bold colors and just enough details to bring the story alive on the page. There were instances of turmoil and chaos in the book and I liked the way that the frantic and wild illustrations that accompanied this. The easy-to-read text had a great flow and the print was bold and easy to understand. 5 star read for me.

Kat Kong by Dav Pilkey

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

The mice are at it again! The Captain is sailing her ship with her passengers to explore a strange, uncharted island. But it is really uncharted? Looking at the picture on this page, I see a shape of a feline on the hillside. Some natives are performing a ceremony as the group arrives on the island when suddenly the island starts to shake! Through the forest comes Kat Kong!! It must have been the can of tuna they were using or perhaps it was the chant that they were saying that drew Kat Kong to the ceremony. Falling over the can of tuna, Kat Kong falls, hits his head, and passes out.

Acting fast, the explorers decide to tie Kat Kong up and take him back to the city with them. The city of Mouseoplis is excited to pay to see Kat Kong, this” nine-lived wonder of the world!” Kat Kong though is not excited to be shackled and on stage while all the mice stare at him. He must escape and he must escape now!

Ah…. This book is so funny! I thought it was better than Dogzilla. I loved all the little cat references and the movie tie-ins from King Kong. The illustrations are terrific and you really do need to read this one. I did think that the ending was sad. 5 stars

Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey

4.5 stars Children’s Picture book

You have to love it! As First Annual Barbecue Cook-Off was getting underway in the city of Mousepolis, the succulent scent of BBQ filled the air. He was hidden so the mice didn’t realize what problems awaited them. Inside an ancient volcano, the scent reached Dogzilla and he emerged. Soldiers, alerted of Dogzilla’s appearance, had their plans to capture the beast fail and now, he was roaming their city, causing chaos. Well, maybe not chaos but “things that come naturally to dogs” like: chasing cars (“right off the freeway”) and chewing furniture (“and the furniture store as well”).

The Big Cheese needs to get Dogzilla out of the city, but how?

Some individuals might find this book cheesy but I thought it was cute and funny. The book is packed with lots of dog references which some children might not understand or get. My three-year-old grandson didn’t understand all of them but he still liked the book. The pictures in the book are just as cute as the text. Fun, entertaining story. 4.5 stars