Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Remembering Mrs. Rossi By Amy Hest Candlewick Press, 2007. 143 pgs. Chapter book. This is a wonderful little book with simple endearing illustrations about coping with the loss of a family member. Eight year old Annie's mother, Mrs. Rossi, dies when everyone was expecting her to get better. Mrs. Rossi taught school. As a surprise, Mrs. Rossi's students write a collective book about their memories of her. They present the book to Annie and her father at a school assembly. Annie frequently turns to this comforting book as she faces her birthday, a visit to the beach, and various school escapades, all without her mother. The story is both realistic and optimistic, letting the reading know that getting through loss is difficult but possible. The letters written by Mrs. Rossi's students are published at the end of the book.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret By Brian Selznick Scholastic Press, 2007. 533 pgs. Chapter book. This delightfully unique book features an orphan boy who lives a reclusive life behind the walls of a Parisian train station. He maintains the clocks of the station from behind these walls while struggling to survive through thievery and remaining as unnoticed as possible. However, when one of his attempts to steal brings him in contact with a sour toymaker and his inquisitive goddaughter, his secrecy is blown and a chain of fascinating events follow. This book is in its own field as a highly image-driven novel. It has the feel of a picture book for older children or adults. I felt that although the concept of the book was interesting, the text of the book fell rather flat. The pictures were also a fun addition but felt somewhat unfinished and, at times, a bit repetitive. However, despite these drawbacks, I was still intrigued enough to finish the book and enjoyed it for what it was. I think ...

Beegu By Alexis Deacon Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. Unpaged. Picture book. Beegu accidentally crash lands her UFO on earth and finds herself alone. All she wants is to make a friend, but no one speaks her language--not the trees, not the leaves, not even the rabbits she finds hopping around the forest. So, Beegu heads into town—where the humans live. Cute as can be, Beegu resembles something like a glow-in-the-dark bunny with three eyes. The story of her search for love and friendship among strangers is touching and even laugh out loud funny at times. (Beegu’s pictograph description of all her adventures at the end of the book is fabulous!) This picture book makes a great read aloud for boys and girls of all ages.

Indigo Blue By Cathy Cassidy Viking, 2005. 215 pgs. Chapter book. Cathy Cassidy delivers another book full of a young girl's trials and triumphs. In Indigo Blue , we get to know 12 year old Indigo Collins. We experience her confusion and frustration as her free-spirited mother makes the tough decision to flee an abusive relationship. We are also along for the tumultuous ride of Indigo's friendship with Jo and Aisha. Though Cassidy is a British author who writes about British youth, her topics are applicable to pre -teen girls worldwide. She writes with a fresh, clear style that makes a reader feel the emotions of the main character. Indigo Blue will surely be a good read for many young girls dealing with the emotional upheavals of the early teen years.

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH A GIANT By Gennifer Choldenko; illustrated by Amy Walrod G.P. Putnam's, 2006. Unpaged. Picture book. Gennifer Choldenko's chapter books for young people are legendary, and now we find she shines in a picture book as well. How to Make Friends with a Giant tells the story of Jake and Jacomo, neighbors and opposites, who become friends against all odds. Jake is short stuff--"shrimp" to his classmates, and Jacomo is so big he can't get into the school bus. Not to be denied a new friend, Jake figures out ways to help Jacomo fit in at school, even after he picks the teacher up to greet her face to face, kicks the soccer ball over the trees, and crowds all the other kids out of the story circle. Jake teaches Jacomo to kick gently, four kids sit on Jacomo's lap for story time, and two good friends arrive home after school, because Jake knows how to make friends with a giant. Amy Walrod's illustrations are funky and funny--Jacomo carr...

Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill. Deet Aafedt is a young Alaskan boy who wants nothing more than to be organized and invisible; drawing no attention to himself. He loves his parents, but is rather embarrassed by their sometimes childish and irresponsible behavior. When his father is arrested for drug possession, Deet's first thoughts are for himself and how he is going to deal with the other kids at school. As he visits his father in prison, Deet becomes acquainted with various other people visiting inmates. He realizes that they are all real people, not evil bad people that are a disgrace to their families. Helping Deet throughout this trying time is a book of quotations given him by his English teacher. Deet discovers that numerous people throughout history have had reason to make statements that also have an impact on his current situation. All this combined makes for an intelligent book about a young boy realizing there is more to life than just what shows on the sur...

BLIND MOUNTAIN : Jane Resh Thomas: Clarion: 2006: Children's Fiction: 117pp. Blind Mountain tells the story of a resentful twelve-year old, Sam Flynn, who would rather be playing guitar back home than hiking with his father. Sam's father is critical and demanding, always riding Sam for not being outdoorsy enough, and for preferring music to adventure. As they move up the mountain, Sam accidentally flips a branch back into his father's face, temporarily blinding him. Sam must figure out a way to get them both down the mountain safely, challenging enough without the sudden added threat of a starving, stalking cougar. Blind Mountain is a story with good messages, but they are delivered with a heavy hand. The outcome of Sam's encounter with the cougar seems forced and unlikely, as does Sam's dad's blindness being caused by a smack in the face with a branch. However, kids who won't notice those inconsistencies may enjoy this short but tense story of a young...

Until I picked up this book, I hadn't given any thought to how people learned music before music was written down. Now I have a good idea. I say "idea" because Do Re Mi is a picture book with author Susan L. Roth's watered down version of history about some real people and real events. Guido d'Arezzo, justly known as "the Father of Music", was responsible for creating a way to write down music. No simple task. His thoughts about written music were not popular during his time (he was born in 990) and he faced a lot of criticism and discouragement. His is a story of perserverance. It's an interesting, small piece of important history. Even if you're not a music lover, though, give this book a good look. The illustrations are wonderful! Roth uses a collage style of art with paper from all over the world to bring d'Arezzo's story to life. Each page incorporates music lines within the picture. Backgrounds are musical notes, staff ...

Thor and Loki : in the land of giants : a Norse myth : Jeff Limke and Ron Randall: Graphic Universe: 2007: 48 pages. Graphic novels have recently become more popular for all reading levels. Most noticeable have been the number of graphic novels published in non-fiction subjects. This is a fun, memorable way to learn about significant historical events or important stories from mythology. In this volume from the Graphic Myths and Legends series, Thor and Loki, brothers from Norse mythology, travel to the land of giants. Adventure ensues because the brothers can't decide which is better, brains (Loki) or brawn (Thor). This was an enjoyable book to read, the art is a perfect partner to a well-written story.

Extreme pets! : Jane Harrington: Scholastic: 2006:163 pages. I am not in the market for an extreme pet, but I was fascinated with the cover of this book. Also, I was curious as to what kinds of creatures are considered "extreme pets" and why people would want to own them. This is a fun guide book to some very bizarre pets. The book is divided into four categories: Cold-Blooded, Pocket Pets, Insects and Slimy Pets! Within each category several pet possibilities are explored. Each entry is given a report card with grades given in five different categories: coolness(Wow! factor, not temperature), aroma, neatness, ease of care and cost factor. Each section also provides detailed information on how to create a comfortable living space for each individual pet. as well as their specific dietary needs. This book is written for kids to study, with their parents, to help determine if any of these "extreme pets" are right for them. After reading this, I can see the attracti...

THE MIGHTY STREET SWEEPER : Patrick Moore: Henry Holt: 2006: Picture Book: unpaged. For most of this bright and delightful picture book, the street sweeper doesn't seem so mighty. For instance, the road grader has six large tires, but the street sweeper only has four medium-sized tires. While the street sweeper has a tank capacity of 180 gallons, the tanker truck can hold 4,000 gallons of water. And let's not even talk about the top speed of the street sweeper. In any case, the street sweeper exhibits his unique strengths by the end of the book but not before truck (and animal) lovers of all ages have taken a colorful tour of big rigs and small, including the three-wheeler driving the barcode label off the back cover. Comparative books such as these are also helpful in teaching children math and reading skills, according to our resident emergent literacy guru, Carla Morris.

The Children of Topaz: The Story of a Japanese-American Internment Camp, Based on a Classroom Diary by Michael O. Tunnell and George W. Chilcoat . After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many people saw the Japanese-Americans as a threat to national security. The solution our government came up with was internment camps, one of which was in Topaz, Utah. All people of Japanese descent were relocated from the West Coast. It did not matter if they had been made citizens or were born here in the United States, they still had to move to the camps. Using one classroom's diary, complete with drawings by the students, the authors have provided us with a look into daily life in the internment camp. It is refreshing to see the determination of these children and their teachers to carry on a normal life in the face of adversity. The most amazing thing to me was that despite being forced into this lifestyle by the government, the people of Topaz still fully supported the United States and did eve...

FIVE LITTLE GEFILTES : Dave Horowitz: Putnam's: 2007: Picture Book: unpaged. Five Little Gefiltes is my favorite new picture book, even though it is meschugana , or because it is so meschugana . A Yiddish version of Five Little Ducks , this book will likely be pleasantly incomprehensible to most Utah children, but who can resist the little gefiltes' Jewish Mama crying " Oy vey !" when her little gefiltes don't come home ( kvetch, kvetch, kvetch ), or the talking pickles at Ken's Deli. Adults who appreciate the joys of Yiddish will love this book, and should think about sharing it with their uninitiated children. It couldn't hurt.

SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT : Derek Landy: HarperCollins: 2007: Fantasy/Mystery: 391pp. Here's a new one: a skeleton detective. Skulduggery Pleasant has suffered an Agonizing Death at the hands of archvillain Nefarian Serpine, but has (partly) come back to take vengeance and to battle the Forces of Evil wherever they may be found. He is accompanied in his quest by Stephanie Edgley, a precocious twelve-year old, heir to Gordon Edgley's home and fortune, and a lot of other things she didn't expect. Together, she and Skulduggery battle really icky vampires, a Cleaver gone wrong (more like the Dementors than Wally and Beaver), and the dreaded Hollow Men (headpieces definitely not filled with straw). Fortunately they are aided in their adventures by Skulduggery's use of a bit of magic here and there, and by friends like Ghastly Bespoke, an Elemental and tailor to the Mages and Adepts. Skulduggery Pleasant is a ripping yarn, filled with memorable characters, clever wordplay, and no...

Gator is a carousel alligator who goes through some life changes. At first, he is on the carousel, surrounded by lights, color, and, his favorite thing, laughter. But, times change, and people quit coming to the amusement park and the laughter fades. After a deep sleep, he decides to leave the carousel and go out into the world. He comes to a deep, dark forest, a bridge, a zoo, and eventually finds himself on a bench, tired and lonely. A little boy and his father, who used to ride Gator when he was young, come upon Gator and end up following him back to the old carousel, which suddenly springs to life and is filled with children, all laughing. While I enjoyed Cecil's illustrations, except for Gator's head never being down unless he's crying, I found the text somewhat disjointed. The fact that Gator walks through a deep, dark forest does nothing for the plot of the story. His encounter with real alligators at the zoo is quite anti-climatic since the real ones sleep r...