No Biting, Louise is the latest from Margie Palatini, the author of several funny children's books. Louise is an alligator (it never states that specifically, she could be a crocodile, I suppose) who is in a "biting, gnawing, chomping" stage. Parents of "biters" are all too familiar with this stage in childhood development. Louise cannot resist biting other animals' hindsides and/or limbs when they come close. Even Grandmama Sadie gets her finger caught in Louise's sharp chompers. The turning point in the story, when Louise learns to stop biting, comes and goes. Just like that, she stops biting. I felt let down with this lack of resolve in the storyline. The author missed a golden opportunity to have Louise learn her lesson when, earlier at the beach, Louise grabs hold of one particular animal who gives Louise some little souvenirs as reminders to not bite him again. The best part of this book is the illustrations. Reinhart does a wonderful job bringing Louise and her family to life. Bright, bold, sharp figures and colors on every page will hold any child's attention.
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013. 336 pgs. Fantasy Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life. He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines. Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
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