Reviews
A Review of "Smudge and the Book of Mistakes: A Christmas Story" in School Library Journal
A talented but easily frustrated young man is transformed by the encouragement and belief of the right mentor. Like many boys, Cuthbert is impatient, lacks discipline, and doesn’t like making mistakes. After his annoyed father sends him to a monastery, he ends up in the scriptorium,… View →
A Review of "Smudge and the Book of Mistakes: A Christmas Story" in Publishers Weekly
National Book Award–winner Whelan (Homeless Bird) writes a substantive story about the value of perseverance. It’s set in a medieval monastery, where the hard-of-hearing and vainglorious abbot mistakenly appoints young “Smudge,” so-called for his sloppiness and tendency to give up… View →
Review of The Boy and the Moon
At midnight, a boy steps outside to howl and dance with animals under a swirling periwinkle sky in debut author/illustrator Carroll’s story of moonlight revelry and a boy’s ingenuity. When the moon gets stuck in a tree, the boy bravely ascends, feeding it apples and allowing… View →
A Review of "Elena's Story" in Kirkus Reviews
Elena narrates this touching story set in Guatemala, about a girl’s longing for… She lives with her mother and younger siblings in a rural village while the father of the family works far away. Elena attends school and is trying to learn to read in Spanish, but she finds View →
A Review of "The Quilt Walk" in SirReadALot
Children’s Books / Historical Fiction / Ages 9 &… The Quilt Walk by Sandra Dallas (Sleeping Bear Press) “I’ll go. Pa, me and Skiddles.” I said, hugging my cat. I talked in a smatl voice, because Pa didn’t usually like me to speak up. Child View →
A Review of "Surviving the Hindenburg" in School Library Journal
Gr 1-4–The story of the disaster is told through the eyes of the last surviving member of the crew, Werner Franz, who was only 14 at the time of the crash. He was a cabin boy aboard the luxury airship and moved freely about the zeppelin as he completed his regular duties. On May 6, 1937, View →
A Review of "G is for Gold Medal: An Olympics Alphabet" in Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review
Long ago in ancient Greece, wars between the city-states were a common occurrence. The only time peace could be guaranteed was every four years, when the citizens of the city-states would lay down their arms for a month and come together to compete as athletes. The games were hosted in… View →
A Review of "Lipman Pike: America's First Home Run King" in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Lipman Pike was a Dutch Jewish immigrant who played baseball professionally in the 1800s. This interesting biography picture book written for 6 to 10-year-olds tells his story beautifully. Not only did Lipman become a baseball player, but he went on to become America’s first home… View →
A Review of "S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet" in Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review
Humans began telling stories thousands of years ago, sharing tales and passing them on from generation to generation. Then people started to do something that changed human society forever; they began to write, first using pictures or symbols, and later using alphabets. Once writing was… View →
A Review of "Stella Batts: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" in The Midwest Book Review
“Stella Batts: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” is a chapter book with immense appeal for kids age 7 and up, second in a series. Life starts out positive for Stella, child of candy store owners who gets to be an Official Batts Confections Taste-Tester. But after she goes to sleep… View →
A Review of "F Is for Fenway Park: America's Oldest Major League Ballpark" in Booklist
Paying well-deserved tribute to 100-year-old Fenway Park—the oldest major-league park still in use—Pallotta proffers both soaring (OK, florid) verses (“It isn’t just a ballpark; it’s Boston’s sacred ground. / From the furthest bleacher seats to the pitching mound”) and side comments on… View →
A Review of "The People of Twelve Thousand Winters" in The Midwest Book Review
Part of the “Tales of the World” series, The People of Twelve Thousand Winters is a children’s picturebook in which award-winning author Trinka Hakes Noble portrays the life of a Native American boy growing up among his people, the Lenni Lenape, as they once lived… View →
Vegbooks.Org - Compost It
Compost It is part of Cherry Lake Publishing’s Save the Planet Series. This book walks kids through the steps of composting in a logical, straightforward manner. For kids who are unfamiliar with or rusty on the basics of composting, the linear order will be especially welcome when… View →
A Review of "The Quilt Walk" in Kirkus Reviews
When 10-year-old Emmy Blue Hatchett’s father announces that the family will be traveling from their home in Illinois to the frontier town of Golden, Colo., the reaction to the news is as varied as the colors in one of their beloved hand-pieced… It is 1863, and the Colorado G View →
A Review of "Delia’s Dull Day: An Incredibly Boring Story" in Kirkus Reviews
An amusing visual riff on the frequent refrain “nothing ever happens to… Delia recounts the details of her incredibly dull yesterday. While her words describe a pedestrian day from breakfast to bedtime, the illustrations tell a completely different story. While Delia’s eyes are View →
A Review of "Pardon Me" in Kirkus Reviews
Back for her third outing, Stella reports, “If you write at least three books that are all connected then you have a… All is not well for Stella: Her BFF has moved far away, leaving a serious sense of loneliness and loss, which is made all the wors View →
Library Media Connections - History Digs
Stories in each title are told through the eyes of a student who acts as a historian gathering facts, artifacts, and photographs from interviews, museums, and other locations. A mission is given at the beginning of each book. Although the chapters are short, these are good starter books… View →
Library Media Connections - It's Cool to Learn About the United States
Bright colorful images highlight the areas featured in each of these volumes, making it a very inviting series. Each volume is written by a different well-known nonfiction author and discusses topography, state capitals, the history of the region, the government and economy, people, and… View →
A Review of "The People of Twelve Thousand Winters" in School library Journal
Gr 2-4–Walking Turtle and Little Talk are children of the Lenni Lenape, living in an undetermined time in a region now part of New Jersey. They seem wise beyond their years as they convey the way of life and some of the cultural practices of their people. Ten-year-old Walking Turtle… View →
A Review of "Track That Scat!" in Publishers Weekly
Stepping in animal poop is rarely cause for celebration, but it is for a girl named Finn in a story that invokes not one, not two, but three meanings of the word “scat.” On a wildlife walk with her basset hound, Finn introduces her brand-new sneakers to a potpourri of animal scat:… View →