The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) by Michael Buckley

The Fairy Tale Detectives is the first book in Michael Buckley's "The Sister's Grimm" series. I've been meaning to read it for quite some time because I knew the thought of a mystery featuring girl sleuths and fairy tale characters would be appealing, but I only recently stumbled across it at the library.

Sabrina and Daphne Grimm's parents have been missing for a over a year, and they've been shuffled from foster home to foster home. When a mysterious and kind of kooky old lady claims to be their grandmother, their social worker is eager to send them to her. Of course, the eldest sister is filled with suspicion since her parents have always claimed that her grandmother was dead, and it takes a while to warm up to Granny Relda. When they arrive at Granny Relda's mysterious house, they soon learn that they are part of the Grimm family...yes, descendants of the Brothers Grimm. The most surprising part is that those "stories" the Grimm brothers wrote were real, and fairy tale characters are living incognito in the small town where the girls have moved. When a giant threatens the safety of the town and Granny Relda herself, it's up to the Sisters Grimm to save the day.

Sometimes when I'm reading and evaluating books for this blog, I tend to get caught up in flaws and forget that I'm supposed to be evaluating it for the audience in which the books were intended. For me, I would have liked more character development, and the writing wasn't perfect. I was a bit annoyed when the author had Puck explain who he was. After all, who HASN'T read A Midsummer Night's Dream? I then had to remind myself that most middle graders probably haven't. Yeah, us English majors can get a bit uppity sometimes.

HOWEVER, I do think that this book and the entire series will appeal to many many kids if they haven't discovered it already. I think girls especially will like the young sleuths, and if kids are familiar with fairy tales, they'll be delighted at all of the fairy tale references and Michael Buckley's interesting and unexpected depictions of them. It's fast-paced and humorous, and the end leaves a bit of suspense that begs you to read the next book.

Give this to kids who love to read about mystery and magic.

Reading level: Age 9-12 | Publisher: Amulet, April 1, 2007 | ISBN: 978-0810993228 | Source: Public library

August Carnival of Children's Literature

Happy Saturday everyone! Please enjoy the August Carnival of Children's Literature hosted at In Need of Chocolate. Sarah brings us a back-to-school theme, and you can find reviews of children's books that would work well in Social Studies, Language Arts, Physical Education, and other class subjects. You can also find read-alouds, middle-grade and YA books, and more. There are links to tons of great posts, so please check it out!

What My Children Are Reading, August 27 edition

Wow...it's hard to believe the summer is almost over. Our reading routine has definitely been inconsistent throughout the summer because we've spent a lot of time playing outside in the evenings, but as the days get shorter, I think we'll fall back into our regular reading routine. Over the past week, we've managed to read at least a little bit every day, and my daughter particularly enjoyed these books.

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
My daughter absolutely loves this board book. The more Grover begs her not to turn the page because there's a monster at the end of the book, the more she wants to turn it. Lovable Grover's voice is captured perfectly, and my little one has fits of giggles on each page. I remember loving this book when I was a little girl, and seeing my little girl enjoy the same book is a wonderful experience.





Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

Yes, Mo Willems continues to be a well-loved author in our home. In this book, Wilbur, a naked mole rat dares to be a bit different and wears clothes to the other naked mole rats' horror. When members of the naked mole rat colony consult Grand-pah, the wisest naked mole rat of all, they all learn a little lesson about acceptance and daring to be different. A funny book with equally funny illustrations...highly recommended.



What are YOUR kids reading this week? Leave your comments and links in the comments section below!

What Can You Do With an Old Red Shoe? by Anna Alter

Taking care of the Earth, reusing, and recycling is very important to me, and today you see a lot of books, cartoons, commercials, and toys that aim to teach kids how to do this. However, there are few products that actually seem as if they'd be interesting to kids.

Anna Alter's What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?: A Green Activity Book About Reuse is an exception.

Each spread begins with a little poem about how an object is no longer fit for its original purpose, and then different animal characters show kids, step-by-step, how they can reuse the old object instead of throwing it in the garbage.

For example, with an old flip-flop, you can make a stamp. You can turn an old shoe into a planter, or use odds and ends like buttons, bottle caps, and coins to make magnets and jewelry.

The step-by-step directions are easy to follow. Some are more complicated than others and may involve help from an adult, but the book is great at letting kids know what an adult should help with and how to safely execute each activity.

Not only is this a good book that offers fun crafts and activities for families to do together, but it shows children how to help keep "junk" out of the landfill and how to turn old objects into useful items.

Reading level: Ages 4-8 | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) | March 31, 2009 | ISBN-13: 978-0805082906 | Source: Review copy from publisher

One to Ten...and back again by Betty Ann Schwartz, illistrated by Susie Shakir

This interactive "pull-the-ribbon" book has been one of my daughter's favorite books since I bought it for her over a year ago. Now that she's learning to count and can recognize all of the insects and animals in the book, she wants to "read" it all of the time.

When you turn each page of the book, a brightly colored ribbon appears with an illustration of the insect or animal featured on that particular spread. For example, on the first page, you see one bee, on the second, you see two butterflies, and so on.

Everytime you turn the page, a new ribbon appears until you get to 10. Then you can flip the book upside down and count backwards from 10 to 9.




When my daughter was smaller, she had difficulty turning the pages on her own, but now at 2 1/2, she has no trouble at all. When I first bought the book, I was uncertain about how the book would withstand not-so-gentle toddler hands, but it really does look almost brand new after over a year of hard play.

I love interactive books for young children because they help kids see that reading AND learning can be fun. Do you have any favorite interactive books in your house?

ISBN: 978-1932403275 | Smartlink Books | September 20, 2007 | Source: Bought in bookstore

What My Children Are Reading, August 20 edition

As many families in the U.S. are already back to school or getting ready to go back to school in a couple of weeks, this week I'd like families to share their reading routines/habits once the kids go back to school.

• What family reading challenges do you face when the kids go back to school?
  
• What changes do you make to your reading routine once the kids are back in school?
• Do your kids have the opportunity to "read for fun," or do they seem too slammed with school work and reading books for class assignments?
• If you're a teacher, do you have the ability to fit in "reading for fun" time into your classroom schedule?
• What are some tips you have for other parents?

Leave a link to your post in Mr. Linky below or leave a comment.

Babymouse #11: Dragonslayer by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

On August 25, Babymouse is back, and this time it's up to a hero on her school's Mathletes team to win back the coveted Golden Slide Rule from rival team, the Owlgorithms. The hero certainly can't be Babymouse because she's no good at math...or is she?

As always, Babymouse's imagination runs rampant as she daydreams about being a dragonslayer, a hobbit, one of the children in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and more. Children who are familiar with these classic tales will find the references hilarious, but you don't have to know those books to enjoy this installment of Babymouse. It's full of the familiar snarky back and forth comments between the narrator and Babymouse and the funny situations Babymouse always seems to get herself into. And of course, Matthew Holm's black, white, and pink illustrations and the graphic novel format will make this a book that kids will want to read again and again.

I love the Babymouse books because of their kid-friendly format and because they reach out to a variety of readers from the most voracious bookworms to the most reluctant.

Random House Books for Young Readers | August 25, 2009 | ISBN: 978-0375857126 | Source: Review copy from publisher

The New York Times Children Book Reviews

I don't know why seeing children's book reviews in major publications like The New York Times thrills me, but it always does. This week, they present:

The Summer Reading Chronicle, where you can find reviews of "three recent novels they [kids] could polish off for fun before school begins."

AND


Children's Bookshelf, where you can find reviews of a few recent picture books.


I'm also thrilled that Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver is number five on the Chapter Books bestseller list . Go Maggie!

What My Children Are Reading Meme, August 6th edition

Welcome to this week's edition of "What My Children Are Reading." This week we've been on a "staycation" and have spent some quality time at the library. In fact, we'll probably go again today since it's a rainy day.

Here is what my daughter picked out at the library this week:

The Shell Book by Barbara Hirsch Lember

While the text is a bit too advanced for my two-year-old, she's captivated by the gorgeous photographs of different seashells that can be found in North America.

I think this would make a great book for children who want to learn some fascinating facts about shells and who love the beach.


Elephants: A Book for Children by Steve Bloom

This book immediately caught my little one's eye, and we've been flipping through it all week. Again, while the text is a bit too advanced for a two-year-old, the photographs of elephants in a variety of different locations and doing a number of different things from rolling in mud to getting a bath are absolutely stunning.

In fact, this may be one that we add to our permanent library at home.



What have your kids been reading this week? Leave your link with Mr. Linky or a comment.

Kidlitosphere 2009 Conference

Pam, a.k.a. MotherReader, has officially announced that it's time to sign up for this year's Kidlitosphere Conference that will be held in Washington, D.C. on October 17th.

Taken directly from Pam,
The day starts with breakfast from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m, where you can catch up with old friends or meet new ones. The sessions go from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will cover:

• The Blog Within: An Interview With Your Inner Blogger
  
• Building a Better Blog: Best Practices, Ideas, and Tips
  
• Split Reviewer/Author Sessions:
  It’s All About the Book: Better Book Reviews
  It’s Not About Your Book: Writing Ideas for Blogging Authors
  
• Split Reviewer/Author Sessions:
  Social Networking for Fun (and Profit?)
  
• Authors, Publishers, Reviewers (and ARCs): A Panel Conversation
  
• Coming Together, Giving Back: Building Community, Literacy, and the Reading Message (KidLitosphere Central/PBS/RIF/Literacy)

Read the rest of her post for more details.

There are a lot of awesome bloggers coming, so be sure to reserve your space! I plan on signing up as soon as I can secure childcare arrangements for the day.

Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver now available.

In May, I reviewed Maggie Stiefvater's newest YA novel, Shiver, the love story of Grace and Sam, a girl and a werewolf. Here's what I said, "What I love about Maggie Stiefvater's writing, especially in Shiver, is that it's completely seamless: the transitions between the two main characters' points of view and the way that she brings werewolves into what seems like a perfectly normal world."



Well, Shiver's official release date is today, so go out and buy it! If you still need some convincing, read an excerpt or listen to Maggie Stiefvater reading the first two chapters here.


And if you're in the Williamsburg, VA area this Friday, help Maggie celebrate the release at her launch party.

Pennies for Elephants by Lita Judge

I've been a fan of Lita Judge's since reading her book One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II, the beautiful story of how a community in the U.S. came together to send care packages to post-WWII German citizens. See my review here.

I was naturally excited to receive a copy of her latest book, Pennies for Elephants, and I wasn't disappointed.

This book, based on a true story, tells the story of two siblings, Dorothy and Henry--just two of the many children who helped raise $6,000 so the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston could buy three retired circus elephants in 1914. The kids had two months to raise the money before the circus extended the offer to other zoos in the nation. In today's standards, that would be nearly $130,000.

The lush illustrations take you right back to this time period, and newspaper clippings sprinkled throughout detail the progress the kids are making and build a sense of urgency as the deadline grows near. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end, where kids will be likely to clap and cheer.



But the best thing about this book is its inspiring message. Kids from a city that was ethnically and racially divided joined together for a common cause. They gave every cent they had and organized fund-raising events, and without everyone's participation, they would have never achieved their goal.

Lita Judge is an extremely talented artist and storyteller, and Pennies for Elephants is a true gift to children's literature.


Download activities, get a timeline, look at old photographs and more at the author's site for Pennies for Elephants.

ISBN: 978-1423113904 | Hyperion Books for Children | June 9, 2009 |
Source: Copy from author

What My Children Are Reading Meme, July 31 edition

I took a couple of weeks off from blogging, but that doesn't mean that I stopped reading with my daughter. Over the past couple of weeks, these books have been the most requested at bedtime.

Twinkle Toes by Karen Katz

Karen Katz has been a long-time favorite of my daughter's, and this is no exception. This is a touch and feel board book featuring little ballerinas dressed in different costumes from a bunny rabbit to a cowgirl. My daughter loves to feel the different textures on each spread and especially loves to comment on one of the dancer's pink cowgirl boots.





Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

This was a favorite a few months ago that my daughter recently started wanting to read again. This is one of the rare rhyming picture books that really works. If you're not familiar with it, it's about a little llama who's going to bed and gets upset because his mama doesn't come to him fast enough when he calls. It's very cute.






Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton

I picked up this book when it was first published because I absolutely loved the unique illustrations and the furry black cat named Splat. In this story, Splat is nervous about going to his first day of cat school, but with the help of his pet mouse Seymour, he manages not only to have a wonderful day but to also change his teacher's and classmates' opinions about mice. My daughter loves to look for Seymour in the pages, and I definitely need to get the other two Splat books.



What are your kids reading? Leave your link in Mister Linky below or tell me in the comments!

The Zoo I Drew by Todd H. Doodler

There are about a gazillion alphabet books out there. In fact, a recent post at Editorial Anonymous titled "Death by Alphabet Books" goes as far to proclaim that most children don't learn the alphabet from a book, but by good old pen and paper. I tend to agree, and I do think that there are too many out there that just don't work. However, although not perfect, I do like Todd H. Doodler's The Zoo I Drew, and let me tell you why.

The book is supposedly from the point of view of a two year old who visits the zoo with his/her parents and draws pictures of the animal he/she sees. The colorful illustrations are not pretentious or overdone. It's obvious that an adult drew them, but you COULD believe that a very talented child (definitely not a two-year old though) drew them. I also like the fact that my own two-year old can recognize most of the animals in the book. In an attempt to be unique, a lot of alphabet books feature obscure animals, and while I'm a fan of introducing kids to new vocabulary, I do think that there needs to be a bit of familiarity with the content, or they won't want to read it again, especially younger children.

I also love the fact that there is no replacement for X in the alphabet like an Ox or a Xylophone. Instead, the book says, "I couldn't find an animal for X, so instead I grabbed a quick snack. When I returned, I went looking for Y, and that's when I found the Yak."

Finally, the fluted (ridged) cover provides a nice and unique texture for young hands.

So, here's why it's not perfect. The book presents some basic, yet interesting facts about the animals featured, but most of the rhymes just do not work. I admittedly have a disdain for rhyming picture books because there are very few that actually work and flow well enough to read aloud without stumbling. Take this one about the newt for instance, "The newt is small and slimy, it's a type of salamander. It lives on the forest floor, where it's easier to meander."

Blergh...

This leads me to my next point...can you imagine a two-year-old saying this? Not at all, so why is the book told from the point of view of a two-year-old? Why not an older child?

But here's the real test. My two-year-old LOVES this book and asks me to read it again and again. She enjoys the illustrations and feels so proud when she can identify the animals. It would definitely have worked better if it didn't try to rhyme, but if you have a higher tolerance for icky rhyming than me, check it out.


ISBN: 978-0-375-95201-2 | Random House Children's Books | July 28, 2009 | Source: Review copy from publisher

Winners of Harry Potter Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered to win Scholastic's Harry Potter Paperback Prize Pack giveaway. These five lucky winners will receive:

* Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

1. Shooting Stars Mag
2. S.M.D.
3. Shawna
4. Wrighty
5. leecat

Congratulations! I'll be sending you an email shortly to get your mailing address.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Imagine living in a world where you constantly hear the moans of zombies, the Unconsecrated, who are constantly scratching at the walls and gates that surround and protect the village where you live. A world where you've been told since you were born that you are the last humans alive and that it's every woman's duty to marry and have children. A world where you live in constant fear of the Unconsecrated getting through the gates and biting you, turning you into one of them. A world where you've heard stories about impossible things like the ocean and skyscrapers--of a time before "the Return" when there were no zombies and everyone was free from fear.

This is Mary's world in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. She's grown up hearing her mother's stories about the ocean and longing to see it even though most everyone laughs the impossibility of the existence of such a huge body of water. She's also not sure her village is the only one in existence, but she seems destined to marry someone she doesn't love or join the strict Sisterhood that governs the village. When the unthinkable happens, she and friends must flee for their lives, and she's determined to find the ocean and evidence of other life once and for all.

I read this book in one sitting, and it drew me in from the very beginning and held me captive until the very end. Ryan's description of the zombies was chilling, and I could hear them moaning and scratching. But this is more than a post-apocalyptic zombie story. It's a love story. Mary is betrothed to the brother of the guy she really loves, Travis, and we see their relationship develop and their struggle to be together throughout the book.

Mary is a character that I think many teen readers, especially girls, will like, but I think this is the kind of book that will appeal to boy readers as well. Highly recommended.

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
  
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385736819
• ISBN-13: 978-0385736817

What My Children Are Reading Meme, July 2 Edition

Welcome to another week of What My Children Are Reading. I apologize for missing last week. It was one of those weeks, but this week I'd like to share some Mo Willems books my daughter and I are reading.

When my daughter was first born, I went a little crazy with buying books for her. Then I had to make myself only buy books that we absolutely loved. Well, Mo Willems' Elephant Gerald and Piggie are books we absolutely love, and we just added three new ones to our in-home library.

Elephants Cannot Dance! is the newest book in the series, just released in June. In this book, Piggie is clad in a tutu and tries to teach Gerald how to dance. As is common with this series of books, Gerald teaches Piggie an important lesson about things not always having to be perfect. I'm consistently amazed at how Mo Willems continues to keep these books simple, funny, kid- AND parent-friendly, and fresh.




Are You Ready to Play Outside? and Watch Me Throw the Ball! were both books that we checked out from the library over and over again, so I decided to buy these two as well to add to our collection. We've read each of these nightly since I bought them over the weekend.


What are your kids reading this week? Leave your link in Mister Linky or your comment in the post below.

Don't forget to enter to win three Harry Potter Books

Just a reminder that my contest to win paperback copies of books 5, 6, and 7 in the Harry Potter series ends July 10th. Visit this post to enter!

Nonfiction Monday: Chee-Lin: A Giraffe's Journey by James Rumford

Chee-Lin: A Giraffe's Journey by James Rumford

Review by Erica Moore

Eighty years before Columbus sailed to the Americas the Chinese sent ships out to explore the world. They discovered many wonderful things which they brought back to their country but the most amazing was the Chee-Lin. The only other Chee-Lin to appear in Chinese history happened at the time of Confucius' birth. The Chee-Lin is a mythical animal with the body of a horse, the hooves of a deer and the horns of an ox. The Chee-Lin represents peace and prosperity. This Chee-Lin was a giraffe, a gift from a sultan to a Chinese emperor. This is the story of Tweega, a giraffe and the Chee-Lin.

Tweega is 4 months old and eight feet tall when he is captured and taken as a prize to sell to travelers from other countries. He is traded several times and travels to many countries. The story is told from the point of view of Tweega. The people he meets and the places he lives are described by him. Tweega travels from Africa to Arabia, India, Bengal and finally to China where he stays. He will be 3 years old and 14 feet tall before he arrives in China. Tweega is regarded as a marvel of creation in the places he visits. He meets many people, some are kind like the tall boy who whispers in his ear and some are not kind to animals like Salt-Man. Wherever Tweega goes he manages to make friends, like the girl with the apples in her sleeve.

Rumford's illustrations are rich and painterly with lots of texture. In an author's note he describes his technique. Each illustration is a a scene out of Tweega's story and corresponds to the text on the opposite page. The text is blocked and framed in borders that reflect the current country or culture of Tweega's journey. This is a nice effect and adds another layer visually to the story. The richness and differences between of all these countries is highlighted. The borders are not done in the style of the illustrations and are varied in style themselves.

The illustrations in Chee-Lin are beautiful and the writing is both informative and engaging. The reader wants to know what happens to Tweega and if he's happy. This is an overall satisfying package.

There is a map of Tweega's journey and a poem done in calligraphy by Rumford. The story was based on a painting of a giraffe and a poem about the Chee-Lin from the early 1400s. Rumford reproduced the poem on the back of the book jacket in calligraphy. He also provides a translation of the poem in English.

This is a great book to introduce world explorers and history to kids.

James Rumford is an award winning author and illustrator with high quality and well researched books. He has an interesting and varied body of work. I would recommend reading his other titles if you haven't explored them yet.

Ages: K-3rd grade

Hardcover: unpaged

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-618-71720-0

Visit the Nonfiction Monday roundup at Book Aunt.

Afghan Dreams: Young voices of Afghanistan by Mike Sullivan and Tony O’Brien

Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan by Mike Sullivan and Tony O’Brien

Review by Lisa Stanger


Photo-Journalist Tony O’Brien and filmmaker Mike Sullivan have collaborated to produce a book of snap shots into the lives of a variety of Afghani children aged 8 – 18. They traveled to Afghanistan and interviewed and photographed a range of children. There are children who live at home with their parents or extended family, and children who are orphans; children who attend school and children who work 15 hours a day; children who help out at the family business and children trying to make a living through pick pocketing. Each child has a unique voice and most have a message they would like to communicate to a child from another country. This book has been selected as one of the ALA notable Children’s Books for Older Readers in 2009.

This book is mostly made up of quotes from the children. A lot of information is in this volume, but it is not presented in an indexed, categorized way, instead it is the conversational tone and real-life images that carry the message. This quote from Rohul Ali, 14, explains this message

“Children in America have the same ideas as me, because we are children, we are as brothers.” (P13)

When I started this book, I doubted that typical children who live in the first world would find any similarities with children who live in such dangerous and poor circumstances but by the middle of the book, I realized that the kids in this book are just like the kids I see at work. They draw big pictures and are proud of them, they have a hopeful view of the future that is largely unconstrained by reality, they care fiercely about their families and friends and they have those moments of pure joy that we can only experience as children.

This is a book about children, but it is not solely a book for children. There are a lot of awful things that have happened and are happening to the children in this book. One little girl had some fingers blown off while playing with an abandoned gun, some children are orphaned and living in impoverished circumstances. I would recommend this book for older children and it would be ideal if it could be read in conjunction with an adult or teacher, or where one is available to discuss the situations and content. The publisher recommends a 9 – 12 age range and I would say that is about right, although I wouldn’t cap it at 12. The authenticity of this book and the ages of the children included (up to 18) enable the book to be useful in a high school situation. Asir, 14, explains his circumstances this way

“…the others they have good luck, but in my life I don’t have luck…So for my future it is not clear what will happen.” (P10)

This book is concise and a great example of cross cultural communication. The pictures are vivid, the content is interesting and the presentation is fantastic. Text and images work wonderfully together to present a digestible yet challenging slice of life in a country that has been so linked with the western world recently, but that is also, so different. It’s been an honor to read and review this book and to hear the true voices of the children of Afghanistan.

ISBN-10: 1599902877 | ISBN-13: 978-1599902876| Bloomsbury USA Children's Books | October 2008