Tag Archives: Children’s books

My Name is Truth: the life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction, Picture Books

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my name is truth

Finding non-fiction for young readers is sometimes challenging.  Finding good biographies about women is also a challenge. This book meets those challenges in an exceptional way. Sojourner Truth’s belief in God shines through clearly without being “preachy.” Her strength of character is obvious, but she is also shown as having fears and sometimes doubts about herself.  She is a very real woman.

Ann Turner tells the story of Sojourner Truth to younger readers using Truth’s own words.  James Ransome has done a fantastic job with the illustrations. Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree. She was one of at least 10 children born to her parents.  Her mother instilled in her a love for God and a good knowledge of right and wrong.

Her last owner was very cruel and worked Isabella like a draft horse because she was tall and strong. New York was set to abolish slavery in 1827 and her owner had told her that she would go free a year before that happened, but she was injured and her owner refused to let her go, so she escaped with her baby Sophia.

She had to leave her three other children with her former owner because she could not take all four of them on her flight to freedom.  When she found out that Mr. Dumont, her former owner has sold her son, Peter, she went to court and won his release. (This was the first case of its kind in the U.S.).

She took the name Sojourner Truth many years later and became a strong voice in the abolitionist movement and with William Lloyd Garrison to free all slaves.  I think the book will appeal to children of all ages; however, is specifically designed for grades 1-3. I would highly recommend its purchase for any elementary library.

Bears Don’t Read by Emma Chichester Clark

22 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in Children's Books, Picture Books

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5bears don't read

George, a large grizzly bear, is different from other bears.  He likes to think about life and about his existence as a bear.  He wants MORE, but he doesn’t know just what that is. One day he finds a book in the forest that has pictures of bears just like him in it, and he decides to learn what the words in the book have to say about bears.  He goes to town to find someone who can teach him to read, and, of course, scares people to death.  Eventually, a little girl teaches him to read and all turns out well even though it took a while for George to learn to read.

Learning to read can be a challenge for some children. This read-aloud book lets those children know that George had to work hard to learn to read, but he eventually succeeded.  It teaches children that persistence is necessary to achieve one’s goals.  This is a good book for Pre-K and first graders.  I definitely recommend it.

Bayou Magic by Jewel Parker Rhodes

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

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bayou magic This is a delightful story about a little girl who visits her grandmother in a bayou in Louisiana. Her three older sisters have all had a turn staying all summer with their grandmother, and they tell her they don’t want to go back. Maddy has always felt she was different from her sisters, but during this trip, she learns just how different she really is.

Maddy feels she is truly at home in the bayou. She learns to listen to nature.  She learns that she comes from an African woman who could speak to the water spirit, Mami Wata. She learns how to make friends. She learns she has magical powers and can communicate with Mami Wata. Bear, the boy she meets in the bayou, teaches her how to enjoy life even though his life is far from enjoyable.  It appears that he is enhancing her life, but in the end she saves him.

The setting is the summer of the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico,with an obvious lesson about the environmental impact of deep sea drilling. Also present in the book is familial abuse and its causes. It might be a little disturbing for some younger readers.  However, I think the story is well written, and I recommend this book for readers age nine through twelve.

The Lost Track of Time by Paige Britt

16 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Children's Books, Fantasy

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lost track of time

Cute little fantasy!

Penelope’s parents keep her on a very strict schedule that occupies nearly every minute of every day.  During the little time she has to herself, she like to visit an older woman near her home to have tea.  One day she finds that her mother had neglected to fill out the daily schedule that she must follow, and Penelope suddenly finds that she has a gigantic hole in her schedule.  She visits her friend and mysteriously falls into the hole of her schedule.  She finds that she is in a world that is obsessed by time with absolutely no time for “moodling.” She must confront the evil Chronos as he tries to control everything in his world.

The story is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and of Momo. It is a delightful little tale of a time-pressured, overextended little girl who desperately wants some time just to think and imagine how the world would be if she only had time.  I recommend its purchase for readers grades three through eight.  This is a first novel for the author, and, while I would expect others to follow, it is nice to read a stand-alone story and not have to wait for another book to come for me to feel satisfied with the ending.

The Grimjinx Rebellion by Brian Farrey

09 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by in Children's Books, Fantasy

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grimjinx rebellion

This is the final book of The Vengekeep Prophecies series.  It is not often that I have the privilege of reading and reviewing an entire trilogy. This story does not disappoint the reader.  It keeps moving quickly from one situation to another. Jaxter’s little sister, Aubrin, is kidnapped by the wicked Palatinate Mages.  Jaxter must rescue her – even though it means the “heist of a lifetime.” It seems that Aubrin has powers that no one knew about, and that she holds the key to what will happen the Five Provinces. The ending is nothing more than spectacular.  This is an absolute “MUST HAVE” for those elementary libraries that have already the first two books of the series. It can stand alone, but the readers will demand to read the first two in order to get the entire picture.

On Impact ! by Nate Bell

01 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in Children's Books, Science Fiction

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on impact

Zach is injured when Amp, the alien he is hiding, borrows the brake cable from his bike. Amp used it to work on a machine he needs to get back to his home planet.  While he is incapacitated at home, Zach has to figure out how to do his homework, how to help Amp get back to his home planet and stop the invasion of Earth, and how to keep his nosy little brother from finding out about Amp.

This is a funny, fast-paced little book for grades three through five.  Nate Ball, a mechanical engineer, introduces the reader to several science concepts and vocabulary that supports the concepts he has introduced.  He has also, at the end of the book, included an experiment on building an egg decelerator. The information is easy-to-read and should be fun for any student interested in science

The reader is also given a preview of the next book in the series following the experiment. This preview will cause young readers to beg for the next book in the series. I would recommend the purchase of On Impact! for any elementary library.

The reader or teacher can also find Common Core resources for this book at http://www.readcommoncore.com .

Escape to California by Jeff Brown

01 Thursday Jan 2015

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Flat Stanley

This is Book Twelve in the Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventure Series.  Many other Flat Stanley Adventures are also in existence.  Although the author is listed as Jeff Brown, the book is actually written by Josh Greenhut, and the illustrator is Macky Pamintuan. I suppose it is quite common for publishers and/or authors to use the name of a well-known author in promoting a series.  But, I do believe I like the works by Jeff Brown better than these co-written ones.

In this story, Flat Stanley and the rest of the Lambchop family travel to California on vacation.  After saving a girl in a wheelchair from rolling down the famous Lombardi Street with all its twists and turns, Stanley and his father find themselves being kidnapped by Lily Fox, the girl in the wheelchair.  She wants to show the world that a disabled person can overcome many obstacles.  Lily has been looking forward to meeting Stanley because she believes he can help her.

Her ambition is to escape from Alcatraz and make it to the California coast.  Of course, Stanley can’t resist this challenge, and together they do the impossible.  This is a delightful story of friendship and perseverance in the face of a disability. I recommend its purchase, especially for those libraries who already have Flat Stanley on their shelves.

Healthy Me! series by Jenna Lee Gleisner

04 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by in Children's Books, Children's Non-fiction

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Titles include:

My Body Needs to be Clean.

My Body Needs Exercise.

My Body Needs Rest.

My Body Needs Food.

The publisher of this series is Amicus Publishing.  I am not familiar with this publisher, but I am impressed by the quality of these books

Each of the books in the series is designed to appeal to the natural curiosity children have about their bodies. Each focuses on helping children learn to take care of themselves.

Each subject discussed in a particular book is set up in a two page spread, with one page of print material and one page with a picture.  Sometimes healthy hints are given to augment the material.  Unfamiliar or more difficult words are bolded and are listed in a glossary at the end of the book.

Each book has a “Get Started” page before the glossary to help the reader begin to do the things suggested in it.  The glossary is followed by a bibliography of books and web pages the student can use to gain further information about the subject discussed.

The publishers have included in the front of each book a list of the Common Core Standards supported in that book. The books are very colorful and have a good binding. While the books are written on a first grade reading level, they will appeal to students up to the fourth grade. I recommend this series for elementary libraries that are seeking to provide good non-fiction to their students.

Downside of Drugs by Rosa Waters (series)

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by in Children's Books, Health, Non-Fiction, science

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Finding a way to engage children and teens in the understanding the dangers of drugs is always a challenge to parents and to teachers.  This series offers eye-catching information on a very necessary subject in an easy-to-read format.

Rosa Waters is the author of this series; but she worked with Dr. Joshua Borus, a pediatrician at the Harvard Medical School on the series.  The series is designed to attract younger readers and to help them understand quickly exactly what each drug can do to their bodies.

An answer to one pertinent question is found in each two-page spread. The author has included excellent color photographs, artwork, and charts to go along with the text.  Words that may need defining are underlined, and those definitions are found in the glossary at the end, as is a bibliography of other sources of information, both print and electronic, that the reader may find interesting or useful.

The introduction, which takes up two and one fourth pages of the 48 pages, is identical in each of the books in the series.  If the substance being discussed is able to be overdosed and become deadly, the author has included a paragraph about what to do if someone has overdosed on that particular drug.  This paragraph, which takes another page, is verbatim in all books.

Titles include: ADHD Medication Abuse, Alcohol & Tobacco;  Caffeine, Energy Drinks, Coffee, Soda and Pills;  Dangerous Depressants & Sedatives; Doping:Human Growth Hormone, Steroids, & Other Performance-Enhancing Drugs;  Hard Drugs: Cocaine, LSD, PCP & Heroin;  Marijuana Legal & Developmental Consequences;  Methamphetamine & Other Amphetamines; New Drugs, Bath Salts, Spice, Salvia & Designer Drugs;   Over the Counter Medications; and Prescription Painkillers: Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, & Other Addictive Analgesics.

I imagine that some of these titles have the same information in them, and they could actually be verbatim; however, I still feel that the works are valuable resources. I would recommend the purchase of these books for upper elementary and middle to high school students.  It might even be worthwhile for pediatricians to put them in their office waiting rooms.

Although this reviewer saw only the paperback version of the books, they are available in hardback and in e-book formats.  While the books are not cheap, they are not cheaply made.  The covers are high quality paper. The glue in the paperback format is very strong. The paper that is used is of very high quality and is coated to help improve the sharpness of the print and reduce the degradation of the paper itself. It is a little easier to purchase an expensive paperback if it will not crack apart at the first use or easily curl from moisture.

The Castle Behind the Thorns by Merrie Haskell

12 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by in Children's Books, Fantasy

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The Castle Behind the Thorns

Although it is written for elementary to middle school readers, The Castle Behind the Thorns is a fantasy that will intrigue any reader right from the start. Sand, the young hero in the story, finds himself magically transported to the inside of a castle that he has known about all his life, but that no one could visit.

It had been impossible to get inside the castle from the outside world for twenty five years because it is covered by an impenetrable wall of thorns, yet Sand is definitely inside the castle.  He had always been told that an earthquake destroyed the castle and the inhabitants fled – never to return. Sand soon discovers that there has to be more to the story than an earthquake because EVERYTHING inside the castle is broken or ripped apart, and nothing is growing inside the walls.

As he tries to resolve his dilemma, he begins to repair things that he finds might be useful to him. After finding the dried body of a young girl that was thrown about in a crypt under the church, he straightens her body out and covers her with her clothing as best he can.  He tries to repair  the relics of two saints that were housed inside the church.  Later, Perrotte, the girl whom he had found in the crypt  comes to life and the two of them work to understand the mystery of the castle and why Sand was brought there.

Both begin to realize that whatever Sand tries to fix is repaired. The soil begins to grow things and birds begin to fly about, but Perrotte wants to get out of the castle to get revenge on the person who killed her.  Sand begins to worry that if he and Perrotte ever get out of the castle, a war would be started because Perrotte is set on revenge-  not on rebuilding.

I loved the story.  I think it has a definite message that we should always try to make things better than we found them and that family and loving relationship are what really matter.  I recommend its purchase for upper elementary and middle school libraries.