The Princess and the Three Knights by Karen Kingsbury

Hear Ye, Here Ye, this is a book for all princess lovers! The Princess and the Three Knights by Karen Kingsbury has everything a girl could want; a beautiful princess, a handsome knight, the king who is trying to pawn his daughter off to the knight who best proves himself, beautiful illustrations, and of course a pink cover with sparkles and glitter! Ahhhh!!! Haha, but really the story was predictable but cute. I really did enjoy the illustrations and I thought the illustrator made the princess look stunningly beautiful. As a lover of princesses myself, I fell in love with this book and would gladly give it to any little girl.

All God's Critters by Bill Staines

We all know the song “All God’s Critters”, however the illustrations in this book make it a hilarious song and a book to definitely check out. Throughout the entire books All of God’s Critters are putting on a show for the audience. My personal favorite is the hippopotamus who is also on the front cover. Kadir Nelson is the illustrator and I always love his people and the seriousness of his illustrations, but this particular book is completely different from his other work. However, I enjoyed it just as much. Make sure as you read this book to take the time to notice all the animals facial expressions and dance moves, you won’t be disappointed!

Distant Waves: a novel of the Titanic

Distant Waves: a novel of the Titanic
By Suzanne Weyn
Scholastic Press, 2009. 330 pgs. Juvenile/young adult fiction.

Raised by a strong, spirited mother who works as a ghost medium, Jane Taylor's life is far from ordinary. Along with her sisters--Mimi, Blythe, Emma, and Amelie--she finds herself transplanted at a young age to Spirit Vale, a gathering place for all people who claim to be mediums for the spirit world. Despite such an environment, Jane manages to maintain strong common sense and even develops skepticism towards spiritualism. When she travels with her sister Mimi to New York in order to interview the fascinating scientist, Tesla, the lives of all the Taylor women are affected by the chain of following events, most particularly by Mimi's invitation to sail on the Titanic.

It is rather misleading that this book is titled "a novel of the Titanic." Although the infamous ship does make its appearance in the story, it doesn't surface until the later portion. It makes for a dramatic ending but may be a bit disappointing for readers who expect the book to be all about the Titanic. That being said, I actually preferred Weyn's decision to leave the Titanic scene for the end. The reader gets the chance to know the characters as they grow up and develop a stronger feeling for them rather than being thrown into their lives only while they are on the ship. I thought the constant stream of two dimensional famous characters was too forced and really detracted from the story, although some readers may be delighted with such references. The thread of romance was a nice touch and the tie between history and the supernatural was quite intriguing. This book might be most appropriate for 5th and 6th grade readers and could definitely be an option for readers needing historical fiction but wanting an interesting story. Although not Weyn's best work, it was still worth reading.

CW

In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog

In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog

by Gail Donovan

New York: Dutton, 2009. 180 pgs. Fiction

Fifth-grader Joshua Hewitt is often in trouble at home and at school for his motormouth ways. He can't seem to stop talking, even when it is in his best interest to do so, and his parents and teachers finally get to the point where they shush him without ever hearing what he has to say. This is a big disadvantage after he finds a five-legged frog in the pond in his backyard and tries to a) save the frog's life and then b) wants to find out why the frog died so he can save the tadpoles living in the marsh behind his house. His teacher won't let him explain that his frog is sick and needs to be taken out of the terrarium in the classroom; his Mom doesn't want the dead frog preserved in her refrigerator, and he is soon in trouble with everyone for making a ruckus that brings down the worst punishment of all on the whole school: SILENT LUNCH. With the eventual support of his classmates, Josh finally gets enough people to listen so that Gorfman T.'s life will not have been in vain. A fun, low-key story with much to say in a not-too-heavy-handed way about children, grown-ups, and the hazards of being a frog in the modern world.

The Underwear Salesman: and Other Jobs for Better or Verse by J. Patrick Lewis

What would you like to be when you grow up… an underwear salesman? Or a highway line painter? Or maybe even a bubble bath tester? The Underwear Salesman: and Other Jobs for Better or Verse is a humorous poetry book on different occupations. The thing I like the best is that the first poem is about librarians! Some of the poems were just okay, but many of them made me laugh out loud. The Sword Swallower was my favorite! The collage type pictures that accompany each poem are fun and go great with the poems and the mood of the book. If you like poetry make sure you check this book out! Maybe in these times of economic struggles it may even encourage you to change jobs! Haha!

The Book That Eats People by John Perry

Books that make me laugh out loud always quickly become one of my favorites. The Book That Eats People by John Perry fits into this category perfectly. Would you read a book if you knew if might eat you? I wouldn’t! However this particular book’s stomach growls and will eat anybody especially if you have peanut butter on your hands! After the book eats some people the book’s owner does the logical thing; gives it to the library. Then one night the book goes crazy in the library and eats other books and the janitor. After that the book trades covers with a book that is sure to get checked out and a sweet little girl, Victoria, checks it out. This isn’t the end of the story though and the book problem escalates. The story is hilarious, the illustrations are hilarious. The book is made to look so scary with his few teeth and sly smile. The illustrations of the people in the story are very comic book like and work well with the rest of the story. All combined with other elements is a masterful collage on each page. Perhaps you will be more careful next time you are reading and eating….

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na is a gorgeous picture book that is perfect for any sleepy child. The story is a simple one about animals going to sleep at night and an owl that doesn’t sleep at all during the night. The illustrations are fantastic. Dark colors contrast with bright colors in a perfect way. Also the textures and patterns within the pictures are beautiful. The illustrations are so wonderful that I don’t think any words are even needed. This is one of my favorites this year and definitely worth checking out!

Archie and the Pirates

Archie and the Pirates

by Marc Rosenthal

New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Unpaged. Picture Book.

Archie somehow falls off an ocean liner into the drink but since he is still asleep he doesn't notice until he wakes up, still in bed, on an island beach. A tiger scares him up a tree, but he is soon back down eating coconuts and drinking their milk. Soon he sets to work building a house and then welcomes a visitor, Clarice the Ibis, who plays checkers with him and teaches him to fish. Suddenly the tiger appears and Archie prepares for the end, but Beatrice the tiger likes him because he is wearing a sweater that reminds her of her cubs and the three animals soon become fast friends. All is peaceful until pirates arrive, capture Beatrice, and generally make a nuisance of themselves until Archie and his friends come up with a scheme to drive Captain Pequod (ha ha) and his mates from the island. Fabulous brightly colored, old-timey pictures should make this story a big hit with the little dudes (and their grownups).

The Crimson Cap

The Crimson Cap

by Ellen Howard

Holiday House, 2009. 177 pgs. Historical Fiction

When Pierre Talon leaves his destitute family to accompany the French explorer LaSalle in his search for the Mississippi River, he promises his family to return. But how could he know that LaSalle would be killed and that, overcome by a fever, he would have to take shelter with a band of Hasinai Indians? As the Hasinai care for him, and teach him their ways--how to hunt, how to fish, how to swim, how to run great distances without rest--he comes to consider them his family and postpones deciding whether to return for Maman and the children. Then sad news of the settlement and the sudden appearance of Spanish troops hasten his need to decide whether to continue in his new life or look for his lost family. Pierre Talon is an historical figure, a ten-year old boy who really did accompany LaSalle in his explorations, and Ellen Howard has done a remarkable job of fictionally filling in the blanks in the historical record to make Pierre the fully-fleshed and admirable character he becomes. Recommended for older children.

Tiny & Hercules

Tiny & Hercules

by Amy Schwartz

Roaring Brook Press, 2009. Unpaged. Picture Book

Tiny (an elephant) and Hercules (a mouse) are the best of friends and have a series of Frog and Toad-like adventures in this delightful new picture book. Hercules is horrified to be invited to an ice skating party because "I can't ice-skate my way out of a paper bag!" Don't worry, says Tiny, I'll teach you. Tiny is a slow learner, alas, but Hercules figures out a way they can both look good at Irma's party. Later Tiny helps Hercules when Hercules takes an art class and needs a BIG, STUPENDOUS subject to paint. And what to do when Hercules' 103 year old Uncle Roy blows and blows and blows at the candles on his birthday cake and leaves 102 candles still lit? Tiny can help with that, too. Friendship and fun are the twin engines driving Tiny & Hercules. May this be the first of many more.