library – Page 52 – One Chapter

Children’s Books I was going through my TBR pile and found a lot of children’s books listed. I decided to check to see if my libary had any of them and then, put them on hold, if they did. Behold, I actually scored some great children’s books at my library and also cleared a few books off my TBR pile. A win, win!

This ended up being a 3 – star read for me.

What I like most about this book is how colorful it is. This book screams color! The book addresses indviduals to be who they are, whoever that may be. They want individuals to accept who they are and also, to present your true self to others. No matter what is going on in your life, no matter what has happened in your life, you need to be yourself. Indivdiauls need to have a fun life and embrace life.

The book is written in a positive light which is great. The statements on each page are short and I’m on the fence about this. I like the idea of this but I have to wonder if the message that they’re trying to convey, is really getting across to the readers of the book. This book would be a great starting-off book as it has a variety of topic for conversations or another activitities.

“Be Your Own Family”
“Be brave”
“Try new things”

**The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak**

Definitely one that needs to be shared with others. This is such a cute book that forces the reader to say silly things to their audience. You don’t really need an illustration, if you’re admitting that you’re a monkey with a head made out of blueberry pizza but wait, did I just say that? Reading the text, you can’t help but get into a rhythm and a character, as you read these humorous and outrageous ideas and then, realize that you have just done these crazy things because you are reading the book. I really liked the font and how the author’s used the space in the book. Definitely a book that will leave a smile on your face.

“And now it’s time for me to sing you my favorite song!

A song?
Do I really have to sing a —–“

This is the best Little Elliot book yet. Little Elliott and Mouse are going to the far edge of the city to the amusement park. I thought Mouse would be the one with issues being the smaller one but Little Elliot is just not liking the looks of what Mouse likes. Mouse seems to like the adventurous rides and he like all the different sights of the park but not Little Elliot.

I liked that Mouse didn’t get upset with Little Elliott when he didn’t like what Mouse liked. I liked that Mouse accepted Little Elliot’s fears and insecurities. Little Elliot did try to have fun after being scared at first and by the end of the book, they had a great time together and the ending was so sweet. The ending is what makes them best friends. You can have differences and still have fun together and be best friends. What a great book!

He was just a hungry kitty looking for food when he met up with the sumo wrestlers. He’d sneak in and eat their leftovers after they finished their meals each day. Kitty was soon offered a job at the heya (training center) and he doesn’t have to sneak around the heya any longer.

Kitty was good at his new job, actually he was very good and it began to have a negative effect on Kitty’s appearance. It got to the point where it started to affect Kitty’s job but he just couldn’t do anything about it. Or could he? He’s had an ideal opportunuty right in front of him this whole time yet he hadn’t realised it until now. It might take some hard work and lots of disapline but within Kitty there lives a SumoKitty.

I learned a lot about sumo wrestling while reading this book, which was interesing and included more specific words than I realized. This story had some humorous moments which the ilustrations do an excellent job emphasizing. This was an entertaining read and I thought there were some great messages in the book.. The illustrations were fun and they definitely added to this story. 4.5 stars

This is all about perception. This is a stone (or a rock) which is surrounded by water, dirt, and grass and it is, what it is. To all different animals, through all the different scenarios, this stone sits where its at and it becomes whatever it needs to be for its habitat. It could be daylight, the stone could be large for some animals or tiny for others, it didn’t matter the time of the year or the weather condition, the stone was there. This stone, this hard, solid piece of matter was predictable, and all the the animals were using it.

The illustrations were fantastic and I loved how they showed exactly the different scenarios how the stone was used. It’s a great book to get you to start thinking. What a terrific book.

**The Story of Fish & Snail by Deborah Freedman**

I will admit, I had to read this picture book a second time to fully understand it. There were a few key points that I was definitely missing to fully appreciate this story even after I slowly read it and looked at the illustrations the first time through. The story is about two friends who have a disagreement and what happens.

Fish and Snail live inside the pages of a storybook. Snail waits patiently, every day for Fish to arrive, to tell him a story. Snail’s ideal story would have kittens and princesses in it but when Fish arrives today, he wants Snail to join him in a new book that he has found. A huge agruement errupts as Snail doesn’t want to leave their current book yet Fish tries to presude his friend how much better, the new book actually is. Fish is ready to make the leap into the new book and leave his friend behind.

I can’t talk about what caused my confusion without giving away some of the story’s ending but it made more sense for me after a second reading. I was really surprised by Fish’s actions and I thought that Snail was brave. I can see children enjoying this story. The illustations were creative and interesting too.

Some new and some older children’s books made my stack. I’m glad to have found some great books in here. I really enjoyed a few of them and plan on adding them to a list of books I want to purchase for my own library for my grandchildren. I hope you found some you are tempted to read or check out.

The Tiny Chef and Da Mishing Weshipee Blook by Rachel Larsen

I don’t know what led me to pick up this book but it’s cute. Tiny chef lives in the bottom of a tree stump and I loved the inside of his house. His pans are made out of bottle caps and it looks-like thimbles and his chairs are spools of thread. The house is quite quaint and homey but right now, it’s a mess! Because it’s the first day of fall, Tiny chef is getting ready to prepare a special dish to eat and right now, he can’t find the recipe book that has the recipe in it. Tiny Chef is looking everywhere! He’s getting quite upset as he needs that book, it has all his favorite recipes. Realizing that he’s not getting anywhere in his searching, he decides that he needs to do something else for a minute and that’s when, Tiny Chef makes a big discovery.

I enjoyed following Tiny Chef through this process and the ending made me laugh, as I think we all can relate to Tiny Chef and what Tiny Chef learned. The illustrations were enjoyable and entertaining and weren’t too busy. I normally don’t care for these types of illustrated books but I liked how the illustrations were faded out in the back as I thought they helped to concentrate the story more and provided just enough detail. A great read and highly recommended.

Lights on Wonder Rock by David Litchfield

This book was dreamy. As a young girl. she had dreams of going into outer space, so she sat on Wonder Rock with her flashlight, staring into the dark sky. If only, the aliens would see her flashlight and take her back to their home. Off and On. Off and On. Off and On, she clicked her flashlight. Then, it happened! A bright light lit up the sky and Heather face beamed. The alien was friendly and Heather was so happy! Yet, while inside the alien’s spaceship, Heather discovered that perhaps living in outer space with the aliens, wouldn’t be so great. She has waited so long for this chance but now, Heather is having second thoughts.

The illustrations in this book are terrific. I love how they were broken up into different sizes and the detail is fantastic. This is a larger size book which works perfectly for some of the illustrations. This book is a gem! Check out this book as I highly recommend it. I think many of us have dreamed of visiting the aliens in outer space.

The Big Book of Experiments by Dr. Kate Biberdorf

This book is a gem! Packed with 25 different experiments, I was excited to thumb my way through this beauty. I have to warn you up front, that I am not into science. I hated science as a child, as I didn’t understand any of it but now as an adult, I love experimenting and learning from it. This book fits right in with my needs.

If only as I child, I could have experimented with fun and interesting items instead of the beakers, test tubes and chemicals that we had to use, I think that I would have learned more and enjoyed science. In The Big Book of Experiments, the variety of experiments is great. Some of the experiments can be completed rather quickly and some can take some time while there are some which small children can complete with little assistance while others, you’ll need an adult or mature person watching over the whole experiment.

I liked that some of these ideas were ones that I had already completed and some were new to me. There was Dancing Raisins, Elephant’s Toothpaste, Moon Rocks, Unicorn Glue, Lava Lamp, Neon Brains, and Fake Tattoos, just to mention a few. I do like redoing experiments

Kate provides visual safety cues to each experiment. Whether that is a sink, goggles, gloves, a garbage can or adults, as these safety cues remind the reader to be safe when conducting the experiments. Along with the cues, each experiment has a small note about the experiment, a list of supplies, a messiness level, step-by-step directions with colorful illustrations, questions to ask yourself after you’re finished (science questions about what happened and what if questions) and then, the author explains to you the WHY, as to why the experiment worked. Now, that is some important stuff! This is the educational element of the book and important for you to read, you do want to become smarter, don’t you?

I liked that most of the supplies for these experiments were normal items that aren’t hard to find. Items like rubber bands, knife, dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, shaving cream, balloons, fishing line, etc. There are some that called for some more difficult items, like sodium alginate, calcium chloride, iron oxide powder, dry ice, and copper wire, for which you will have to do some planning to get these before having some fun. I I would have liked an idea where someone could locate some of these items, that would have been a big help. Some type of indexing at the back would have been great too. There is a Table of Content but I like indexes in books like these.

It’s a great colorful, fun book and I highly recommend it. If you’re homeschooling or trying to keep your child engaged, this is a great book to check out.

MonsterStreet: Camp of No Return by J.H. Reynolds

Every time I read one of these MonsterStreet books, I swear it’s the best one that I have read. So, I will say it again, these books just keep getting better and better! I’m hooked on this series! Every time that I hear that a new one is coming out, I’m all over it, just waiting for release day and I’m over 50 years old. This book had it all. It had the creep factor, the suspense, the cliff hangers at the ends of some of the chapters and fantastic characters. Do you need to start at the beginning of this series to enjoy this? No, but I guarantee that you’ll be inhaling them, once you start reading them.

As you read books in this series, you’ll come across aspects in the mystery that you know or you feel that you know, are not as scary as they come across. What I like about this series is that the author, dismisses many of these aspects immediately, instead of letting them add up, and then dismissing them later in the book. An example: if a character in the book finds a cloth with red liquid on it. Instead of having the reader believe that this cloth is a bloody towel throughout the book, the author lets the characters uncover what the cloth might be immediately and dismisses it as a napkin with ketchup on it. I feel that helps put the important pieces of the mystery together in the book.

Riding to summer camp on the bus, a few of the kids, made friends. They each felt special, as they were amongst a selected group to be invited to Camp Moon Lake. It was said to be magical yet they have promised, like all previous campers before them, not to disclose what occurs while at camp.

When Brodie tells Harper and Darla the rumor that he heard about the camp, this summer camp just took on a chill. As a fog smothers the camp and a scream welcomes the campers, this week at camp will be one that everyone will remember.

I enjoyed the horror aspects of this for young readers. No blood or gore but I would know your audience before letting young elementary children read this. Some children might not be able to handle it, and I’d hate to hear about someone having a nightmare. If a child is able to distinguish reality from everything else, they should be okay reading this. I’m not going to go into what this book was about as I don’t want to spoil it. I really loved the book and the ending was amazing! I can’t wait for the next one!

Issues: bullying, friendship, family,

The Red Zone: An Earthquake Story by Silvia Vecchini

This graphic novel addresses the issues an earthquake has on young children. Torn from their homes, these children have to deal with the issues of the unknown as their community tries to rebuild.

I liked how the novel immediately begins with some powerful action. Mother Nature begins unleashing her power upon the community, leaving its citizens left to fend for themselves. We follow Matteo, Giulia, and Federico as they learn to live with the aftermath of the destruction.

The devastation from the quake is massive. The citizens are warned not to enter the “Red Zone” but to some that zone is their life and contains everything they have. How can you tell someone to stay away from the only possessions they have?

A make-shift school is immediately constructed while the community tries to rebuild. Why is it taking so long to move forward? What are they supposed to do in the meantime? Each family tries to rebuild their lives and get some structure into their lives, to the best of their ability, but it’s hard when all your possessions are in the “Red Zone.”

I really liked the idea of this graphic novel and I thought, the illustrations were fantastic. We are experiencing more weather-related catastrophes lately and having children understand them is important. The illustrations were bright, colorful and had a great flow. I liked everything about this novel but I thought it was missing a few things. I really had no connections to the characters as I had no background on them. I wished I had known something about them and/or their relationships with other individuals in the novel, so I knew exactly the emotional toll this disaster played on their lives. I know that any tragedy is hard but I felt that my character and emotional connection was not fully engaged while reading this novel. I think this is a good novel to share with children, it’s a good starting point.

Snack Attack! by Terry Border

I liked it but it didn’t wow me, like I thought and hoped it would. I liked how the three snacks played together but wasn’t it smart Cookie who found the note? I thought it was interesting how Cheese Doodle came up with the interesting ideas and Pretzel was the scared one. Cookie was still the smart one who kept telling Cheese Doodle how his ideas wouldn’t work and then, what happens at the end? Oh, Smart Cookie….I’m sorry

I thought it was a cute story but maybe I’m reading more into the story than I need to be. The pictures were fun and I do hope there is another book that follows this one, as I need to know what happens next.

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Denise

After reading this children’s story and the author’s note on the back two pages, I got chills. This story is fantastic and I am so glad that I picked it up. It tells the true story of a woman who shared stories from her childhood which changed the lives of many. As I read this story, I thought of how she stepped forward and went about making a difference. This woman was not a loud, strong woman. This woman saw a void and wanted to fill it.

The year is 1921 and Pura Teresa leaves San Juan to visit her sister in the U.S. Seeing what the U.S. had to offer, Pura finds a job and begins to settle in. When the library posts a job for a bilingual assistant, Pura knows that she is the perfect individual for the job.

Realizing there are no Puerto Rico folktales on the library shelves, Puro recalls the stories that she heard growing up. As the children gather around her during story hour, Puro doesn’t need any book to read from. Puro’s words are enough that the children are soon whisked away into Puro’s world and imagination. It isn’t long before Puro begins to create puppets to add to her stories and then, the word gets out about Puro and her stories and there is no stopping what happens to these wonderful tales.

This children’s book put a smile on my face and it warmed my heart as I read about her journey through life, sharing her stories. I hoped her journey would never end as she was such a positive individual. This book gives the full account of her life and it truly is a wonderful story. Make sure you read the author’s note which is located in the back of the book. Located also in the back of the book are a few pages on additional resources you could use for more information on topics contained in the story.

Another by Christian Robinson

3 stars Children’s

This is a wordless book that I liked yet I felt that it was missing something. The illustrations were wonderfully done with bright, bold colors and simple lines. It was the storylines that went through my head, as I flipped through the pages, that confused me. I went over this children’s book numerous times, looking at it a variety of ways and still, I’m puzzled.

As a girl slept in her bed with her cat (with a red collar) looking out her window, a bright porthole opened up in her room. Soon, another cat identical to the one lying on the bed (this one had a blue collar on) popped through the porthole and snatched the red toy mouse that was lying on the bedroom floor. Crawling back through the porthole, the cat carries the mouse, who is now followed by the first cat and the girl, who has awakened and seems curious to what is happening.

It seems that they have entered another world as gravity for one, is not the same. There are other differences but what I like is that this world is not too busy, the pages aren’t overflowing with colors and activities. The pages have a great flow to them and you can follow what is happening. There are geometric shapes throughout the pages yet no definite pattern.

Perhaps I am reading too much into this book. Perhaps I wanted too much from this book. I do feel that it would be beneficial a child who reads this book to talk about it someone. I think discussing it with someone, they might discover something they missed in the book or a different view.