Childrens Books

LULU HAD COME OVER TO PLAY WITH BABY BEAR. "I'M PLAYING TIGER WITH RORY," SAID BABY BEAR. "I LOVE TIGERS!" CRIED LULU.A friend of my friend is my friend, right?Baby Bear's fuzzy orange tiger toy is his best friend, Lulu approves of his choice, and for a while all goes well with the playdate. But when Baby Bear gets rumbly in his tumbly and goes to fetch some snacks, things take a turn for the worst.LULU WAS PLAYING WITH RORY! BABY BEAR GRABBED RORY'S LEG. LULU HELD ON TIGHT!Suddenly the playdate isn't working out so well! Lulu is in tears, and when Mom tells Baby Bear to share, he tries to placate Lulu with a zebra toy. It's got stripes, too, right?But Lulu is having none of that. It's Rory or nothing.So Mom steps in, takes charge of Rory for the moment and suggests a diverting trip to the park.Grudgingly the two tots set off, but the playground is enticing. Studiously avoiding each other, Lulu tries playing solo on the see-saw, and Baby Bear sits down on the swing. Neither one of them seem to be going anywhere with their plans. See-saws that don't go up and down by themselves, and swings that don't swing are NO FUN! Lulu needs a partner, and Baby Bear needs a push! Hmmm!Luckily, Mom knows how to facilitate a quiet compromise in Tracey Corderoy's It's Mine! (Good Books, 2012). Artist Caroline Pedler's sweetly rounded little bears are beguiling, and the use of bright orange flocking on her illustrations of Rory Tiger make the little bears' rivalry for the fuzzy toy totally understandable. Sharing a beloved toy is hard (think having a friend over who demands to take your brand-new car out for a solo joyride!), and learning to share fairly is a big step in the preschool years. Pair this one with Anna Dewdney's latest best-selling Llama story, Llama Llama Time to Share (see my review here), which covers the same premise, managing to offer quite a bit of character development while sticking to a demanding but appealing rhyme that makes this life lesson go down sweetly.

Hold Fast By Blue Balliett Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0545299886 Ages 9-12 I honestly don’t think you can be a reviewer without being honest about your own personal prejudices first. When I pick up a book for children I have to cut through a thick swath of issues infecting my brain that may have little to nothing to do with the book in hand. Maybe I was forced to read Stuart Little when I was a child and that’s why I’ve never liked animal fantasies. Maybe a poorly constructed sports novel burned a small hole in my soul and that’s why this particular baseball novel isn’t ringing true to me. You have to own up right from the start to what makes you tick as a reviewer. So that’s what I’m going to do with Blue Balliett’s book Hold Fast. Here are the facts of the matter. I have read two other books of Ms. Balliett’s in the past and they were not to my taste. That’s fact number one. Fact number two is that when I am disappointed in a book it makes me even more critical of the title than would be normal for me. So read on if you like, but bear in mind that these two facts are at the forefront of this very review. I read Hold Fast by Blue Balliett. I did not much care for it. Sum, Dash, Early and Jubie. Four people in a single family. Take away one of them? Disaster. That’s how Early feels when her beloved father Dash disappears one night on his way home from the library. The police are willing to believe that he’s just another deadbeat dad but Early knows better. Surely his disappearance has something to do with a side job he got at the library. And what’s the connection to those scary men who threatened her family, forcing them to seek help in one of Chicago’s many shelters? Though she’s just a kid, Early is determined to solve the mystery for the sake of her little brother Jubie, her seriously depressed mom Sum, and the father who might be out there needing her help. You might wonder why I would suck on such bitter disappointment with this book right from the get-go when, as I’ve already stated, it wasn’t as if my expectations were high to begin with. But you see my expectations were high. Not because of the author necessarily, but because of the description of the plot. I work in the ultimate urban library system: New York City. I see middle grade books for kids waltz through my library’s doors every single solitary day. Sheer hoards of books are published for children in a given year. Now recount for me all the titles you can think of off the top of your head that deal with the shelter system. Not the foster care system (though that genre could certainly use a kick in the pants as well) but the kids and adults caught up in shelters. In all my years of librarianship I can tell you honestly that I have never read a single solitary middle grade novel, or picture book for that matter, that dared to explain, explore, or inhabit the world of shelters. The children living there might as well not exist for all that they don’t show up in books. So for Ms. Balliett to research and throw herself heart and soul into a book that dares to explore this remarkable topic is to her credit. For that alone she should be commended. And had I not read the book I could have left it at that. But I did read the book. That is where the trouble started. I recently wrote a post on my blog decrying the lack of African-American male protagonists in middle grade novels (particularly in the publishing year 2013). Balliett’s protagonist is female, but that’s fine and dandy with me. As much as we need boys, we need girls just as much. I’ve never had a problem with an author writing about a character outside their own race. Do your research and avoid the obvious pitfalls and you’ll have my support. “Hold Fast” starts out fine in this respect. The family lives lower-income lives (in part, perhaps, due to Summer’

Lynn:  It’s pretty exciting when a new baby first comes home but for a toddler, that magic often diminishes as reality sets in and the baby gets a lot of attention.  Phoebe & Digger (Candlewick 2013) is a wonderfully funny, nuanced look at that common situation from the toddler’s point of view.  In our story there has been some parental planning at work here: “When Mama got a new baby… Phoebe got a new digger.” Phoebe loves her new toy but it’s clear that she is less than enchanted with the new baby.  One afternoon, Mama is very busy with the baby and Phoebe is equally busy with Digger.  Jeff Newman’s funny illustrations show what Phoebe and Digger are up to and it is no wonder that Mama decides a trip to the park is in order.  All is fine for a while until Phoebe tries to explain a perfectly reasonable situation to a “crybaby boy” and ends up in time out.  Released, Phoebe next has an encounter with a “big girl with mean teeth” who takes Digger away from her.  Happily, in steps Mama and much is resolved in an ending that is sweetly reassuring. This little slice of life is a delight – as much for the little ones adjusting to a new sibling as for the adults also adjusting.  I adore Newman’s illustrations that reveal the reality behind the toddler-perception of the story.  I’ll leave more about that to Cindy and will just say that my favorite illustration is of Phoebe in time-out. This is the perfect book for little ones and families!   The spacious pages and large illustrations make it great for a story-hour as well as being a lap-time treasure for parents and toddlers to read while a new baby sleeps.  I’ve already ordered this for the youngest member of our focus group, Henry, who is going to be a big brother in a few months! Cindy: Digger is quite the expressive construction toy with facial moves that are sure to elicit laughter and Phoebe’s imagination doesn’t hurt. Earthworms become boa constrictors and the sandbox holds mountains. The day is full of adventure…and conflict. When confronted with the bully, Phoebe tried using her words (oh, did I say that a lot over the years…”use your words!”) But that doesn’t work this time…nor does her knuckles (just a little) or her foot (not too hard). Sometimes the presence of an adult can smooth things over. Mama might seem preoccupied with the new baby, but she has eyes everywhere and she sizes up situations all throughout the story in subtle ways, ones that will surely amuse the adults reading this book to young children. Thank you for a family with brown skin. For a girl who plays with toy trucks. For a story that shows acceptable limits of behavior with enforced consequences. For a funny but reassuring story about new babies. For the simple but dual look at bullying behavior. Rarely do we see a character who is both bullied and bully in books for the very young. This is a story with love at its heart, expressed in words and art on every page.

“You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you.” -The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Today is Armed Forces Day, the day on which we honor our fellow Americans currently serving in the five branches of the U.S. military—Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The holiday was first observed in 1950, shortly after command of the five branches of the military was centralized under the Department of Defense. Despite this, Armed Forces Day didn’t become an official holiday until 1962. Many of us have friends and family who are in the military, and most people probably know at least one person with a friend or family member in the military. While every day is likely Armed Forces Day for those with loved ones serving overseas, today is the official day when we all band together to show our support of, and respect for, the members of the U.S. Armed Forces. So to all those brave men and women who make the choice to wear the uniform and potentially risk their lives in order to protect ours: thank you. You can find some great Armed Forces–themed reads below. Military Branches Pack Available in SeeSaw May 100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison Available in Arrow May An Inside Look at the U.S. Navy SEALs by Joe Funk Available in Storia eBooks Military Machines Pack Available in SeeSaw June No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen Available in BookBeat Dogs on Duty: Soldiers’ Best Friends on the Battlefield and Beyond by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent Available in Club Shop

BLACK BLOP WHITE BLOP !POLB REVOCSIDBLOP is a blob--a four-lobed blob, a shape that can be almost anything the mind can imagine--a flower, a cloud, a butterfly, a Blop family, a classroom of blops in neat rows, what-ever-you-want blops.Herve' Tullet's latest, I am Blop! (Phaidon, 2013) explores what can be done with a faithful shape like the blop. Blue blop teaches colors with an acetate overlap of yellow which yields a green blop which works both ways, forward and back. Pink and purple overlays play with a touch of red.There are blops with faces, blops becoming animals, broken blops, measled blops, even invisible blops, blops as famous paintings, blops seen on a mirrored page. There are fill-in-the-blank blops and even punch-out blops that kids can take away to put into their own blop stories.Herve' Tullet's books play with the very idea of the book, extending the two-dimensional page into the non-dimensional world of the imagination, as he did in in his 2011 best-seller Press Here (see my review here) and his equally imaginative The Book with a Hole. Tullet's little books have broken new ground--genre-breaking, interactive books with deceptively simple art on traditional white pages which nevertheless become interactive when mixed with the imagination of the child. This one is no exception. Publishers Weekly puts in "... even the format is a novelty," and Kirkus Reviews quips "Tullet will intrigue children and encourage them to think outside the blop."

Submitted by Ethan, Age 11 from Rhode Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars In the book Beasts and Monsters there is a legend called ”The Spotted Egg”. There is magic in the air. Two Cheyenne indians are lost and they find the spotted egg,but it has special powers and it doesn`t end well.The best part is the end of this legend. Any one who likes mythes and legends will love this book

I've read embarrassingly little for the Bout of Book Readathon....I was actually too sick to want to read in the middle of the week (the horror!) and work does get in the way something fierce...But for what it's worth, here's what I've read in the past five days:3 Terry Pratchett books--Small Gods, Lords and Ladies, and Soul Music, plus 104 pages of Hogfather (there's a reason why I am reading Pratchett straight through....but I'm not quite convinced its going to happen, so more later on that score....)The Secret of the Ginger Mice, by Frances Watts197 pages of The River of No Return, by Bee Ridgeway89 pages of The Bank of Bob, by Bob Harris (a nonfiction book about Kiva loans)56 pages of Penelope, by Penelope Farmer

WOOBY LOVED HIS GOLDFISH WENDY AND HIS HUMBLE HOME.HE LIVED ON A QUIET STREET WHERE THE NEIGHBORS MINDED THEIR OWN BUSINESS.UNTIL ONE DAY....Wooby and Wendy are happily living in Dullsville until Peep, the new next-door neighbor, blows into town like a tropical storm.Peep is Wooby's opposite number. Her pet is Ricardo the iguana. Her lifestyle is loud and rowdy."WOW, RICARDO! I HOPE THE NEIGHBORS WON'T MIND MY SOUND SYSTEM!"But it's not just her bass and tweeter that have even the backyard squirrel exclaiming "Oh, nuts!" Peep's idea of ingratiating herself with the neighbors is inviting everyone to her high-decibel housewarming:"ALL-DAY PAR-TAY!"All the neighbors nix the event. Sheep says "Bah!" Panda has to practice Zen meditation. Kangaroo has a boxing match, and Cow remembers she has a moo-sic lesson. . Wooby wants to stay away from the par-tay, too, but he's too polite to take a pass and finds himself the unfortunate only guest at Peep's festivities. Peep tries to be the life of the party and winds up spilling Wendy's goldfish bowl, knocking down Wooby's 547-year-old shade tree, and, trying to make amends, she finally brings down the house--Wooby's house--all by herself. Oops.Not an auspicious start for a friendship, but two lonely people find a way in Cynthia Liu's Wooby & Peep: A Story of Unlikely Friendship (Sterling, 2013). How Wooby and Peep become a "party of two" is a sweetly comic story that will charm kids completely, thanks in part to Mary Petersen's appropriately silly illustrations and Liu's light touch with her theme of friendship found in funny places. "Surprisingly affectionate," says Kirkus Reviews.

So this is what happened. On the first leg of my flight out west back in March, I started writing a response to Brandon grading us on our quizzes (Remember that back in the olden days?), but then I got stuck overnight in Detroit, which goofed up the beginning of my trip and derailed all my bloggy plans. A quick note now: Brandon, I loved that you graded us on our posts, and you are so right that I also read Manohla Dargis in the NYT. I always forget things when I try to make lists. You guys are all way better at that than I am. Also, you guys all saw and talked about Spring Breakers when I was on that trip. I have no interest in seeing that movie, but I wanted to mention how much I enjoyed John’s post about it. I suspect it’s better than the film itself. But, seriously, who watches movies anymore? Let’s talk about TV. On the aforementioned trip out west, my friends Tanita and David introduced me to The Middleman, which is an ABC Family show that only ran for one season. I know that makes it sound like it would be lame, but it is one of the funniest shows I’ve watched in a long time–sharp and witty and fast-paced. I’ve watched the whole run and am still attempting to deal with my grief over the severe lack of a second season. It all feels very Firefly to me. Then there’s all the TV I’ve been watching with Amy and Arthur. We finally got through season one of Game of Thrones, which I enjoyed–not as much as the book, but still. Some moments play out better on film than they do in the book, like Ned’s death, which almost made me cry when we watched it, even though I knew full well it was coming. We aren’t going to watch season 2 until Amy and I are done reading the second book. (Arthur’s already read all the books and watched all the shows because he’s kind of an overachiever that way.) Now that we’re on a GoT rest break, we’re watching three shows concurrently: Maron, season 3 of Louie, and Soap. You all know I’m a crazy Marc Maron fan, and so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that I’ve already heard a lot of what I’ve seen in the first two episodes of Maron. Still, I think the thing has promise. The second episode is notably better than the first, and I like a lot of the details on the show. The set design is particularly good, and, you know, I like Marc. Speaking of which, John, no more Mehroning out of you over there. Louie continues to be brilliant, my current favorite show. When I was about five years old, my favorite TV shows were Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Little House on the Prairie, and Soap. So I was super-excited to see that Arthur had discovered Soap and obtained it on DVD. We’ve watched two episodes so far. The last time I rewatched the series was probably about 20 years ago, when I was in college and made my late husband watch it (he wasn’t late then), and it still makes me laugh a lot. Maybe even more than Louie. All this is making me think I should make a list of my all-time favorite TV shows, but maybe we did that at some point? I was going to say that we’re the most disorganized Film Club That Seems to Have Turned Into a TV Club ever, but, really, it might just be me who’s disorganized. About this, anyway. Now I have to get back to Clash of Kings.