Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Ninth Ward By Jewell Parker Rhodes Little, Brown and Co., 2010. 217 pages. Fiction. Ninth Ward , by Jewell Parker Rhodes, is a gem of juvenile fiction. This novel is about Lanesha, a twelve-year-old girl living in New Orleans with her grandmotherly caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya. Mama Ya-Ya is a believer in visions, and is able to correctly predict the future. Lanesha has the gift of seeing and speaking to the dead- specifically her mother, who died in childbirth. Mama Ya-Ya dreams about a big storm coming. Her dreams prophesy that something darker lies beyond the devastating hurricane. Lanesha becomes a true heroine of this story, as she cares for Mama Ya-Ya and their home during the storm. After Hurricane Katrina passes, they experience a short-lived reprieve until the prophesied dark day happens. As the levees break, the Ninth Ward floods and hundreds of people die. There are some truly heart-wrenching scenes as Lanesha experiences the dangers brought on by the hurricane and flood....

Little Owl Lost By Chris Haughton Candlewick Press, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book. Little Owl Lost , written and illustrated by Chris Haughton, is the familiar story of a child separated from its mother. Little Owl falls from his nest, and begins the search to find his way back to his mother. Squirrel tries to help him by bringing him to nearly every animal in the forest, insisting each time that he knows just who Mommy is. This is a perfect book for reading out loud with preschoolers. It has repetitive text, with Little Owl's predictable response, "That's not my mommy," to every case of mistaken-mommy identity. In the end, it is Frog who reunites him with his real owl mother, and Frog, Squirrel, Little Owl, and Mommy Owl all enjoy a snack of cookies together. The book ends with Little Owl teetering on the edge of the nest- again! Children will want to hear this one over and over. Haughton brings new life to this oft-told tale with his unique illustrations. Some page...

Chicken Scratches: Poultry Poetry and Rooster Rhymes By George Shannon & Lynn Brunelle Chronicle Books, 2010. Unpaged. Juvenile nonfiction/poetry. Who knew poetry could be this fun? Shannon and Brunelle have created a wacky and sometimes irreverent collection of poems about chickens. The poems are in a variety of forms, but most rhyme and most are very short and snappy, like "A chicken ate a pack of seeds/before she read the label./ Next day she laid a cantaloupe/upon the breakfast table." They are creatively typeset with a variety of colored fonts. Menchin's colored cartoon drawings are a perfect match for the text. The little chicken characters are full of life and mischief and Menchin always captures the essence of the punch line. This is a great book for anyone who might be a reluctant poetry reader, or who just wants to smile.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz Dutton, 2010. 256 pgs. Fiction Hansel and Gretel wander in and out of a number of the grimmest of Grimm's fairy tales in this star turn of a first novel. Though Publishers' Weekly suggests the book is suitable for Grades 3 (what!) and up even the narrator suggests that young children should be escorted from the room from time to time and indeed, the story is filled with parental cowardice and betrayal, deaths and transfigurations, and chopped off heads. But, on the whole, this is a lovely and affirming story at last, as Hansel and Gretel's care for each other, and resourcefulness in terrifying circumstances, brings everyone home at last in a deeply satisfying way. Certainly not for third graders, but fifth and up should be fine. Good reading for the grown-ups as well.

Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman Holiday House, 2010. 88 pgs. Nonfiction. Many of us have the vaguest of impressions of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette: that he came from France to America to help during the Revolutionary War, that he hung around with George Washington and that they really liked each other. But who knew, as Russell Freedman tells us in his usual masterful way, that Lafayette was the youngest ever Major General in the United States army and that he was commissioned without ever having had any previous military experience. Or that he performed bravely--and brilliantly--on the battlefield, and that Washington considered him to be the son of his heart if not of his blood. Lafayette provided not only monetary and military support to the patriots' cause, but was highly instrumental in bringing France into the conflict on the side of the Americans. Most surprising to me was what happened to Lafayette when he returned to Revolution...

Don't Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table by Vanessa Brantley Newton Blue Apple Books, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book. I have to admit, this book brought a smile to my face, though it might be a bit sacrilegious to some. The familiar scenario of a prayer going a bit too long is colorfully brought to life. Auntie Mabel has set a glorious table for Sunday dinner, and friends and family have arrived bearing even more food for their feast. Before they begin to eat, Auntie Mabel blesses the food, starting with the corn and black-eyed peas. After she has blessed each individual dish, she expands her prayer to give thanks for the various other people and things. As the prayer goes on from page to page, it shows those sitting around the table in various stages of long-suffering. (I am sure I have seen the kid who is rolling his eyes sitting at my own table.) Auntie Mabel finally winds down, but now the food is cold and needs to be reheated, after which Auntie Mabel volunteers to sing a song...

Fighting For Freedom by Peter Chrisp Scholastic Reference, 2010. 64 pages. Nonfiction. Peter Chrisp has created an absorbing and informative book that will appeal to even reluctant readers. The pages looks like they have come out of a war scrapbook and have a 3-D feel, with barbed wire on the corners holding the pages in. A date and an event are stamped on the top of each two-page spread, and then through photos, quotes, maps, diagrams and explanatory paragraphs, Chrisp lays out the facts of the event listed. The maps and diagrams are clear and easy to follow, and the photographs (most from the Imperial War Museum) are outstanding. I was amazed to see Finnish troops skiing in their battle against the Soviets--it makes sense, but I hadn't thought about it before. Chrisp's commentary was also fascinating--one example was on the page of the Battle for the Atlantic. Chrisp explains that wolf packs were large groups of German U-boats (submarines) that attacked allied convoys. T...

Dinosaurs?! by Lila Prap NorthSouth, 2010. Unpaged. Informational picture book. A chicken has found an amazing book that claims that birds are the descendants of creatures called "Dinosaurs." The chicken gathers the others from the hen house around and tells them about their incredible heritage. It is a very cute book and a new way to introduce the most common dinosaur names and facts. The book features one dinosaur per spread, with facts about the dinosaur in a side box and the chickens' funny comments in conversation bubbles. It is illustrated with bright colors in a bold cartoon style. Everything is fun and child friendly. Although all the facts mentioned are correct, the illustrations are stylized, and not intended to be biologically accurate. This is a great book for 4-6 year-olds who are going through their paleo-crazy stage.

Alfie Runs Away Kenneth M. Cadow, illustrated by Lauren Castillo Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book. There are several things around the house Alfie doesn't like to do, but when his Mom decides to give away his favorite shoes because they are too small, he's had it. "I'm going to run away," he tells her. She tells him not to run away in those shoes because they are too small for him. "They are not," he says and giving in to the inevitable, she helps him get ready. Will he need a flashlight? does he want his stuffed bear? will he need a drink of water? Alfie and Buddy Bear make it part way across the back yard when Alfie decides to stop because his feet hurt. When he and Buddy have had crackers and peanut butter, have read a story, and Alfie is hot and uncomfortable he looks in his sack for the hug his mother packed for him, and there she is coming across the lawn to give it to him! A delightful story of a determined young man and a wise ...

Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum By Meghan McCarthy Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010. Unpaged. Juvenile nonfiction. If you are a fan of random facts and crazy inventions, Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy is the book for you. This nonfiction title reads more like a picture book, but throughout the story and in the back of the book are amazing quotations and facts about the history of gum. For example, did you know that Ancient Greeks chewed sap from trees? Walter Diemer began as an accountant next door to an experimental laboratory- a secret lab where a recipe for chewing gum was being tested. Eventually, Walter got a job working for the lab, and simply by adding ingredients here and there, he invented a special kind of gum that you could blow bubbles with! The color of the bubble gum was pink, because that was the only color Walter had in the lab that day. School Library Journal named this book one of the best of the year, and I have to agr...

Spending Money By Dana Meachen Rau Gareth Stevens Pub., 2010. 24 pages. Nonfiction. Dana Meachen Rau's Spending Money is a smart choice for early readers. In 24 bright pages of photographs and text, Rau teaches about the different ways we spend money. The book follows the way money travels, and how it circulates from the Mint to your wallet. It also teaches children about all the different ways you can pay for things: coins, cash, checks, debit cards, and credit cards. The most important lesson taught in this book is how to save money, and how to make a budget for the things that you want. This is a fun and simple read, especially for transitioning readers who are new to nonfiction. There is a good amount of age-appropriate information and some fun facts, too. My favorite: Once it leaves the Mint, paper money can only survive about 18 months. Be sure to check out the other titles in the "Money and Banks" series: The History of Money Paper Money Saving Money ...

The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us By Tanya Lee Stone Viking, 2010. 130 pages. Nonfiction. Tanya Lee Stone's The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us is a fantastic look into the life and times of Barbie. Stone discusses the business savvy of Barbie's inventor, Ruth Handler, and the epic rise of Mattel. Handler created Barbie to fill a void in children's toys. She noticed that her daughter Barbara (the inspiration behind the name "Barbie") had only two options: to play mother to her plastic baby dolls, or to play with her paper dolls until they were ratty. Handler was inspired to create a middle ground between plastic baby dolls and paper fashion dolls. Thus, Barbie was born. This book contains photographs of Barbie throughout the years, as well as quotes from children, professors, celebrities, designers, and authors. The most interesting facet about this book is that it doesn...

Rise of the Darklings by Paul Crilley Egmont USA, 2010. 333 pgs. Fiction. Rise of the Darklings is the first book in the new The Invisible Order series. Emily Snow and her little brother William are orphans trying to survive on the streets of Victorian London. Everything in their lives changes the day Emily accidentally stumbles upon an injured piskie named Corrigan who demands that she help him. She and William quickly find themselves drawn into a three way war between the Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court, and The Invisible Order (a human group that fights against faeries). Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Emily isn’t so sure anymore. Unfortunately, the fate of the world just might hang in the balance if she doesn’t figure it out fast! This book is packed to the brim with action, and filled with a colorful cast of characters that will draw you in to the story right from the start. Emily is a bit of a spit-fire, and her would-be best friend, Jack the thief, is the pe...

The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett Putnam Juvenile, 2010. 32 pages. Picture book. This is a beautifully illustrated retelling of The Three Little Pigs folktale, set in Africa with dassies instead of pigs. Dassies are cute little guinea pig-like animals that eagles love to eat. These little dassies (just saying 'little dassies' is fun) are all dressed up and looking for a place to live. They each build a home at the base of a mountain, where they are welcomed by the lizard, Agama Man. The next morning, an eagle swoops down and flaps and claps and blows in Mimbi's house of grass, and carries her up to his nest at the top of the mountain. He then comes back down and does the same to Pimbi's little house of sticks, but when he tries to blow down Timbi's house of rocks, he is in for a surprise. Part of the fun is the secondary story, in which Agami Man plays a vital role, taking place behind the scenes which is told in pictures on the sides of each page.

If I Had A Hammer: Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity By David Rubel ; Foreword by Jimmy Carter Candlewick Press, 2010 164 pages. Nonfiction. David Rubel's If I Had A Hammer: Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity is a refreshing nonfiction read. Although the topic is a sad one, this book has an uplifting message, because Habitat for Humanity's mission is all about offering a "hand up, not a hand out." There are accounts from families who have benefited from their new homes, as well as from the volunteers who helped to build them. What I found to be the most interesting were the photos of different homes from around the world. The group faces challenges based on materials, family needs, environment and more. For example, some families were blessed for the first time with wells and indoor plumbing, while others needed window bars installed to prevent monkeys from coming inside. This is a great read for all ages. I really enjoyed the f...

A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes Simon & Schuster, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book Every child thinks a pig parade would be a good idea, with the pigs in their crisp red and white marching band uniforms playing their gleaming trumpets and trombones and big bass drums. But really, no. Because pigs don't like to march, they like to snuffle and they are likely to get old bubblegum stuck on their noses as they root and snort their way down the parade route. Also, pigs don't like floats (except root beer floats) and they don't like music, except "weepy" country western ballads, which are no fun for parades. All in all, as Black and Hawkes' bright new picture book rightly points out, pig parades are a bad idea. But a panda parade . . . . Now there's a good idea!

Sophie Simon Solves Them All by Lisa Graff Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010. 103 pgs. Intermediate. Sophie Simon, 3rd-grade brainchild, is studying calculus and wants more than anything a Pembo Q-60 calculator. Her parents want more than anything for her to be "well-adjusted" and to have friends. Horrified that she loves math and actually likes to go to the library, they say no to the calculator. Sophie's problem now is how to get the calculator without her parents' help. Unbeknownst to her, three of her classmates also have problems with their parents that would require a genius to solve. Luckily, Sophie is one. In exchange for the cold hard cash she needs to buy the Pembo Q-60, Sophie undertakes to help Daisy avoid dance recitals under the tutelage of the terrible Ms. Robespierre, to help Owen get the rabbit he wants for his birthday instead of the more "exciting" animal his mother thinks he should have, and to help Julia get the scoop that will keep her in the ...

Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald Knopf, 2010. 222 pgs. Fiction. Betty MacDonald, best known for her Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, also published the story of two orphan girls (of the title) in 1952. Lucky for us, Nancy and Plum (is/are) back. After their parents are killed in a train wreck, Nancy and Plum (Pamela) are sent by their Uncle John (who lives at his club and knows nothing about children) to Mrs. Monday's boarding house where he thinks they are being well taken care of when in fact they are virtual slaves living on burned oatmeal and prunes--really old chewy prunes--and having even that icky food taken away when they fail to complete their list of innumerable chores. Nancy and Plum's lives are made even worse by Mrs. Monday's niece Marybelle who constantly contrives to get them into trouble and who steals their packages from Uncle John (who hadn't the sense of a rabbit). Gentle, law-abiding Nancy is cared for and bossed around by her younger and feistier sister ...

Blue Fire By Janice Hardy Balzer + Bray, 2010. In this exciting sequel to The Shifter , Nya and her friends are on the run, trying to keep Nya from the clutches of the evil Duke who wants to use her unique powers for his own purposes. When Nya, her sister, and several of their friends are captured and imprisoned,  Nya manages to escape and then embarks on a dangerous mission to free everyone else. She uses her strength of will and her unusual power to take and shift pain as her weapons, managing to overcome some of the most feared enemies and stickiest situations. This book was a fast-paced, adventurous story. Although at times I felt it was perhaps a bit too action-packed, I still enjoyed the book and found it a good follow-up to The Shifter . I am definitely looking forward to the final book in the series!

Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Robert Byrd Viking, 2010. Unpaged. Nonfiction. Though Genghis gets all the press, his grandson Kubla became the great Khan of everything, an extraordinary figure in his own right who expanded Genghis' Mongol empire to include almost all of Asia and even to the brink of Europe. Since the Mongols had no written language, not much is known about Kubla Khan except what was recorded by people he conquered and by Marco Polo, a somewhat unreliable source. But Kathleen Krull has still managed to flesh out a fascinating account of the man who ruled a large chunk of the known world for thirty-four years. Though he was himself a gifted military leader and "unusually fair" conqueror, his mother and his second wife made sure he made strategic alliances and kept to the path of their ambitions for him. At the height of his power lavish parties and spectacles characterized his reign, including a New Ye...

The Path of the Pronghorn by Cat Urbigkit, photos by Mark Gocke Boyds Mill, 2010. 32 pgs. Nonfiction. Fastest land mammal in North America and second fastest mammal in the world (cheetah is number one), the pronghorn is an animal Utah children may see or have seen in real life as well as in this fascinating new book. Pronghorn, you may be interested to know, have four stomachs, begin to run days after birth, are the smallest ruminant game animal in North America (rarely weighing more than 120 lbs.), and as adults will fight off predators to save their young. One confusion is that the story begins with "a pronghorn antelope doe" giving birth to a fawn, but several pages later the author explains that pronghorn are not actually antelope and though they "resemble African antelope . . . they actually have no close relative." Still, a fine volume for young animal lovers (with great photographs) about a local species.

Mirror by Jeannie Baker Candlewick; Bilingual edition, 2010. 48 pages. Picture book. The cover of "Mirror" gives you a clue to the amazing and clever book(s) that is inside. The front shows a nighttime scene of a neighborhood in Australia with a young boy sitting in a window, the Sydney skyline in the background. If you turn the book over, there is another skyline and a young boy sitting in a window at night, but this neighborhood is in the Valley of Roses in Morocco. When you open the cover from either the front or the back, you find two books--one that opens from the left and one that opens from the right. Without words, they tell parallel stories of a day in the lives of two families, one that lives in Morocco and one that lives in Australia. As you go through the books--they are designed so that you can turn the pages simultaneously to see the contrasts and similarities each family experiences--you can see that despite different cultures and environments, there are t...

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh Scholastic (Chicken House), 2010. 326 pgs. The good news is that The Crowfield Curse is a rich, deeply felt medieval fantasy (think Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series, only for youngsters). The bad news is, this book is the first in a series, the next volume coming out later than we want it to. Will is a servant at the Crowfield Abbey where he has lived since the rest of his family were killed when their home and mill burned down. Gathering wood in the forest, he hears a creature in distress--a hob, whom he takes to the abbey to be nursed back to health. And that is only the beginning of Will's encounters with witches, wizards, fay creatures--even an angel. When a leper and his servant come to the abbey for a brief stay, Will is drawn into a hunt for an angel's grave, where the leprous man hopes to find something that will release him from mortality. The dark king of the forest and his dreadful minions want something else entirely and Wil...

Five Little Gefiltes Written and Illustrated by Dave Horowitz G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2007. Unpaged. Set to the tune of "5 Little Ducks," Dave Horowitz's Five Little Gefiltes is absolutely adorable. This tale is about 5 little gefilte fish who wander out of their jar and far away. Mama Gefilte cries out "OY VEY!" in search of her little fish, but only 4 come back. It follows the pattern of the traditional tune, but parodies it in a hysterical way. What I loved most about this book are the Yiddish-isms throughout, such as "This stinks, I'm totally schvitzing..." from a hot and sweating little gefilte. Although I'm sure this book is appropriate for Hanukkah, it is sure to be a favorite for any time of year. Horowitz is a gifted artist and wordsmith- I find myself wanting to hug each of his characters because they are all just so lovable!

The Twelve Bots of Christmas Written and Illustrated by Nathan Hale Walker and Company, 2010. Unpaged. This picture book is easily one of my favorite new Christmas titles! Written by local author/illustrator Nathan Hale, The Twelve Bots of Christmas is a surefire hit for young boys and fans of all things robotic. Hale re-wrote the classic "Twelve Days of Christmas" specifically for modern children, with much better gifts of course. This story hits its climax with "FIVE BOT-TO-RIES! Four Calling Borgs, Three Wrench Hens, Two Turbo-Doves, and a Cartridge in a Gear Tree!" The illustrations are as full of life as the story itself. Although the gifts are robotic and technical, there is no lack of color highlighting the wonderful world of characters that Hale has created. This story is an especially fun read (or sing) aloud tale! Nathan Hale will be coming to Provo Library for a book signing on December 14th, from 4:00-5:00pm, and this title will be for sale ...

How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. 32 pages. Nonfiction So, do you know why a giraffe lets an oxpecker climb into its ear? How about how a turtle keeps a hippopotamus clean? How to Clean a Hippopotamus explains these and a host (no pun intended) of other amazing symbiotic relationships in nature. The graphic novel format is colorful and interesting, and you are able to follow the progression of the relationships through multiple panels on each page. Some symbiotic relationships are fairly gross, such as the plover being a crocodile's toothpick, or seagulls prying worms and parasites from a grateful sunfish, and some are fairly violent, such as the teaming up of a badger and a wolf to hunt prairie dogs. However, the beautiful illustrations are collages of cut and torn paper--they are clear and detailed, but not graphic. This book is interesting and delightful at the same time. To get a taste of what is in s...

Beautiful Yetta: the Yiddish Chicken by Daniel and Jill Pinkwater Feiwel and Friends, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book. Probably not many free-range chickens live in Brooklyn. Yetta is a happy exception. An escapee from a crate headed for the (kosher, no doubt) meat-packing plant, Yetta at first can't get her bearings in Brooklyn. Where is the grass? where are the trees? Rats tell her to get lost, pigeons tell her to beat it, and she is almost run over by a city bus. But by and by she comes to the aid of a parrot threatened by a cat. "Go away, you stinky cat!" she cries in Yiddish: gay avVEK, du fahrSHTUNkehneh kahtz! The cat does and lonely Yetta is taken in by a flock of wild parrots who do truly live in Brooklyn and who speak Spanish. Beautiful Yetta is nothing if not a multilingual book with dialogue balloons filled with English, Hebrew script, Yiddish phonetic transliterations, as well as Spanish and Spanish phonetic transliterations. Reading this book takes a bit of...

Ugly Pie by Lisa Wheeler and Heather Solomon Harcourt, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book. When Ol' Bear wakes up one morning "with a hankerin' for pie. Not just any pie. Ugly Pie ," he can't find the proper ingredients at his house so he starts around the neighborhood asking for ugly pie. Grampa Grizzle has pumpkin pie. Nope. Ma Hickory has rhubarb pie. Nope. Even Sweet Cicely's honey pie doesn't make the grade. But at each house, Ol' Bear also picks up what his neighbors have to share: bumpy brown walnuts, sour green apples, and wrinkled red raisins which, combined with his own sweet molasses, make up into a lip-smackin' Ugly Pie. Solomon's colorful, page-filling pictures perfectly portray Ol Bear's cheery spirit and when at the end of the story all his neighbors and animal friends show up for a piece of truly ugly pie, a grand time is had by all. (An ugly-pie recipe ends the book. Myself, I would have gone for the rhubarb.)