Provo Library Children's Book Blog

EMMY AND THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING RAT By Lynne Jonell Henry Holt, 2007. 346pp. Juvenile Fiction. Emmy is a good girl--smart, thoughtful, obedient, and kind--but no one seems aware of her existence. Her schoolmates and teachers treat her as though she were invisible, and her parents are almost always traveling to bizarre out-of-country events, leaving Emmy with Miss Barmy, an icky governess. Emmy makes the best of things but is very lonely, until the day she strikes up a conversation with the pet rat in her school room. When she sets him free, she and Ratty begin a whirlwind of adventures that will lead them to shocking discoveries about Miss Barmy, Emmy's parents, Ratty's early years, and the nature of rodentkind. Emmy is a delightful heroine, Ratty is a truculent and melodramatic sidekick, and with lots of help from Joe and Brian, good things come to pass. Although things get a bit muddled and frantic towards the end of the book, Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat is inven...

Walt Disney's Cinderella Retold by Cynthia Rylant, illus. Mary Blair Disney Press, 2007. Unpaged. Picture book. This book is the compilation of Mary Blair's retro, yet fresh renderings of Cinderella. Blair was the original artist for the animated Disney classic. Together with Cynthia Rylant's retelling, this is perhaps one of the best Cinderella books ever. Just listen to Rylant's description of the cruel stepmother: "This woman hated anything beautiful: the small yellow birds in the trees, the soft rabbits in the gardens, even the roses that bloomed in the summer fields. And she hated Cinderella most of all." Or the description of Cinderella herself: " Cinderella was a young and lonely girl, with no father to protect her, no mother to nurture her, and no dear sister with whom she could share secrets." This book begs to be read aloud and each phrase savored.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen By Marlane Kennedy Greenwillow Books, 2007. 181 pgs. Chapter book. Mildred dreams of growing a pumpkin large enough to win the Pumpkin Show contest. Every year something prevents her from having an entry. This summer she is 11-years-old, she thinks this just might be the year. Every waking moment is devoted to her goal, much to the dismay of Aunt Arlene. As Mildred's pumpkin vine grows and changes, so do her relationships with various family members and her peers at school. The summer turns out to be a monumental one in many ways for Mildred. The reader will also learn many interesting facts about the proper way to grow an award winning giant pumpkin.

HERE IS THE TROPICAL RAIN FOREST By Madeleine Dunphy, illustrated by Michael Rothman Web of Life Children's Books, 2006. Unpaged. Juvenile nonfiction. Told in the incremental style of "This is the House that Jack Built," Madeleine Dunphy's explication of rain forest life and climate is gentle, but memorable, and Michael Rothman's pictures are lush and atmospheric--one can almost feel the oppressive humidity. Chosen by the National Science Teachers' Association as one of the best nature books of 2006, Here is the Tropical Rain Forest is a lovely introduction for young children to the great forests of the world.

Llama Llama Mad at Mama By Anna Dewdney Viking, 2007. Unpaged. Picture book. Llama Llama's playtime is suddenly interrupted by Mama who needs to go shopping, and must take Llama Llama with her. The long shopping lines, store discounts, trying on itchy clothes, and other llama mother's who "smell way too sweet" are endured just so long....then the famous "llama drama" is manifested in a full blown temper tantrum. Llama llama does not want to shop. He wants to go home now! Mama (who is much more patient than I ever was) calmly puts all the thrown groceries back on the shelves and explains sweetly to her llama offspring that "I think shopping's boring, too---but at least I'm here with YOU." From then on it's teamwork and togetherness. The resolve at the end? "Llama llama loves his mama!"

Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl By Tonya Bolden Harry N. Abrams, 2005. 47 pgs. Biography. This book is a biographical history of an extraordinary girl who lived as a free born black in New York in the mid 1800’s. The great-niece of the famous abolitionist, Fredrick Douglas, and the daughter of two conductors along the Underground Railroad, Maritcha, lived an exciting life even as a young girl. At fifteen Maritcha and her family managed to survive an assault on their home by rioters during the Civil War draft protests and were forced to flee New York for their lives. At sixteen she went to court to fight for her right to attend an all-white high school—and won. Filled with photographs of Maritcha, her friends, family and illustrations of what life was like in the time she lived, this book is a brief, fascinating slice of history.

THE GIRL'S LIKE SPAGHETTI: WHY YOU CAN'T MANAGE WITHOUT APOSTROPHES By Lynne Truss G.P. Putnam's, 2007. Unpaged. Nonfiction. The author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots & Leaves lends a hand to youngsters (and many grownups) who may be confused by the uses of the multitalented apostrophe in this funny and informative book on punctuation. In a two page introduction, Ms. Truss explains the multiple uses of apostrophes, explaining clearly why their use is so confusing. Then comes the fun part: Bonnie Timmons illustrates the differences between sentences such as "The giant kids' playground" and "The giant kid's playground,"; and "Those smelly things are my brother's" as opposed to "Those smelly things are my brothers." An appendix at the end of the book explains in greater detail why each sentence is pictured as it is. Great fun, and good help, for children and adults.

First Light By Rebecca Stead Wendy Lamb Books, 2007. 328 pp. Chapter book. 12-year old Peter travels to Greenland with his scientist parents to study what global-warming is doing to the polar ice-cap. Peter is slightly disappointed that it isn't as exciting as he anticipated. Everything changes when he meets Thea and Mattias, two children from a secret society called Gracehope. Peter embarks on a strange adventure that will have a profound effect on his life. First Light will appeal to fans of The Giver , City of Ember and the lesser-known Journey Outside . Even after you are introduced to the characters and their surroundings, there is still an air of mystery that keeps you turning pages. Some readers might be bothered by the somewhat vague history of Gracehope, but if you can get past that you should find an enjoyable adventure story.

Children's Miscellany: Useless information that's essential to know By Matthew Moran and Samantha Barnes Chronicle Books, 2005. 126 pgs. Juvenile nonfiction. If you enjoyed The Dangerous Book for Boys , you might want to take a look at this book by Matthew Morgan and Samantha Barnes. It's been around a couple of years and is a smaller, less formal layout than Dangerous Book for Boys . However, I found the information it contained just as fascinating. I was even laughing out loud in several parts. Children's Miscellany is filled with jokes, skateboard tricks, optical illusions, mythology, word origins, first aid, strange trivia and ways to annoy other people. Everyone will find something of interest within this book.

Button Girl by Mikyla Bruder Chronicle Books, 2005. 60 pgs. Juvenile nonfiction. A girl "fun" book and a boy "fun" book - all in one review! These two books are new at our library and would appeal to girls, age 9 through teens, and boys, 7 through 12. Let's look at the girls' book first . . . Button Girl has more than 20 button projects, none of which are costly or require sewing machine skills. A few call for needle & thread stitching, the rest use a glue gun or craft glue. All of the projects are accompanied by a photograph of the finished product. Some examples are: Button Bobbies (decorated bobby pins) Simplest Button Barrette, Crazy Coasters, Nifty Napkins Rings, and many more. I made several Button Bobbies for my daughter who goes to Timpview High, using orange and blue, of course, and they were a big hit among her friends! How to Draw Aircraft by Rob Court Child's World, 2007. Unpaged. Juvenile nonfiction. How to Draw Aircra...

The Rise of the Evening Star By Brandon Mull Shadow Mountain, 2007. 441 pp. Chapter book. For anyone who has not yet read the second book in the Fablehaven series, go check it out or put it on hold! Although I found the first book, Fablehaven , to be a fun story, I thought the second far exceeded the first. The story begins with a bang and continues to be jam-packed with action, adventure, and mysterious magical situations. Lots of interesting twists and turns keep the story from being predictable. Although it is a book that will be enjoyed by those who have liked previous magical-fantasy stories, it has originality and a distinct flavor all its own. After I'd read the first Fablehaven book, I was expecting the second story to have about the same interest for me. I enjoyed the first book, but I thought it was slow getting started and wasn't really enthralled until the end. However, I was delightfully surprised when its sequel captured me from the very first page. I loved that t...

Enola Holmes Mysteries Series By Nancy Springer Philomel Books, 2006-2007. 216-234 pgs. Chapter books. Enola is the much younger sister of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. When her mother leaves home, Enola decides to become a detective. Her older brother does not approve of the decision, so throughout the novels Enola must not only investigate her chosen case, but also avoid her over-protective brother. Enola lives in nineteenth century London, and the author adds a lot of description of the time period emphasizing the differences between the wealthy and poor classes. Enola is an interesting and complex character, torn between her desire for independence and her longing for the mother who has deserted her. Each story is filled with exciting twists and turns, secret codes, disguises, and mistaken identity. To date there are two books in the series; " The Case of the Missing Marquess " and " The Case of the Left-Handed Lady ." This is a great choice for f...

Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Murtagh Paratore Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006. 207 pgs. Chapter book. This story is as light and fluffy as a cupcake with pink frosting. Like said cupcake, tween girls are going to eat this book up. Willa finds her social life blossoming when she takes on the project of trying to save the local library by using her family’s inn to throw fundraisers. Things get even more complicated when Willa’s best friend decides to match up couples for one fundraiser using a compatibility quiz. Will Willa be matched with Joseph, her secret crush, or will he be matched with beautiful, rich Ruby who has been trying to get her painted nails into him for years? Though there are no real surprises in the plot, this story is perfect for tweens who are not quite ready for books like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Princess Diaries . This book is a sequel to Wedding Planner’s Daughter , a story I was not as impressed with. (The story was cute but...

Pirate School Series Brian James Intermediate chapter books. Arrr! Another fun and exciting intermediate series is now here! Pirate School by Brian James is a must-read for all young buccaneers. Adults will most likely find them too simple, but beginning chapter book readers will love them. The first books is The Curse of Snake Island and the second is Ahoy! Ghost Ship Ahead ! Five young swashbucklers (children)are attending Pirate School aboard the Sea Rat . Their teacher is none other than Rotten Tooth, the smelliest, meanest pirate that ever lived. All he wants to teach them is how to swab the decks! Thank goodness Captain Stinky Beard is nice! The kids are out to prove to the ship's crew that they have what it takes to be full-fledged Pirates. Don't be a scallywag, get ready to speak like a Pirate and grab these books.

COWBOY & OCTOPUS By Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith Penguin, 2007. Unpaged. Picture Book. Tempers are already running high over whether Cowboy and Octopus is Scieska and Smith's best book, or their worst. I come down in favor of the former--from the moment Cowboy and Octopus come to life, cut with blunt-nosed scissors from a Western Heroes paper doll book and the comics section of the newspaper, respectively, randomness prevails. Cowboy and Octopus, happy to meet each other, "shake hands and shake hands and shake hands and shake hands and shake hands and shake hands and shake hands and shake hands." Cowboy invites Octopus over for a bean and bacon supper, which Octopus hates, but pretends to like. Octopus tries to tell Cowboy a knock-knock joke, but Cowboy doesn't "git" it. From start to finish, Cowboy & Octopus celebrates the hilarious and endearing irrationality of childhood as whoever brought these characters into being dresses them in doilies and n...

Diary of a Fly By Doreen Cronin Joanna Cotler Books, 2007. Unpaged. Picture book. Cronin's latest is Diary of a Fly . The little female fly starts her diary on her first day of school. Most of the time they are in "flight school" and they learn all sorts of fun facts about flies. Fly desires to become a superhero and with advice from guest stars Spider and Worm, she realizes she can become a special sort of hero. This book is an entertaining and informative read for kids of all ages.

Everybody's Revolution: a New Look at the People Who Won America's Freedom By Thomas Fleming Scholastic, 2006. 92pp. Juvenile non-fiction. When Thomas Fleming was a young man he thought of the American Revolution as a war between British men from England and British men in America. When he grew up and became a scholar, he discovered the contributions of Frenchmen, Irishmen, Germans, Poles, African Americans, and American-born women and children. In these pages you will become acquainted with Hercules Mulligan, a skilled tailor who made red coats for the Redcoats, but was actually a spy for General Washington; with James Forten, the black seaman who refused a free education in England because he wouldn't be a "traitor to [the] interests" of his country; and Agent 13, a woman spy who was captured, died, and was buried without passing her name down to posterity. Pictures from the time complement the fascinating text.

Dragon Slippers By Jessica Day George Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2007. 324 pp. Chapter book. Jessica Day George, a Brigham Young University graduate, weaves a charming tale of lovely blue shoes, a talented seamstress named Creel, and a host of dragons in her book Dragon Slippers . The heroine of this story, Creel, is sent to the dragon's lair to secure her future and her relative's fortune. All doesn't go as planned, however...in fact, it goes a completely opposite direction! Creel is sent away with an unusual piece of the dragon's hoard--beautiful blue slippers. As she goes about her adventures, these shoes play a key role in the events that occur. Dragons, intricate embroidery, and a supremely, rottenly spoiled princess all are threaded together to create a tapestry of words that will be sure to delight. This story definitely had a strong feel of Patricia C. Wrede's "Calling on Dragons" series. If you enjoyed those books, you will very likely love...