Posted on by Maureen

Waddle Waddle by James Proimos

51xhbbcg2bhlI always look forward to being able to chat with my friend when our oldest children have Girl Scouts. Her children are the same age as mine, and get along nicely. The last time we were there, her son asked if he could read Waddle Waddle to me. I was so honored that he asked; it was such a sweet gesture.

Waddle Waddle is a picture book written and illustrated by James Proimos. As the story begins, a penguin is looking for his new friend. He meets a penguin who sings, and a penguin who plays a horn… but where is his dancing friend? The penguin doesn’t have much time to think about this; a polar bear wants to turn him into a tasty meal. The penguin is in trouble, but who can help him? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

American Girl Beforever Melody: No Ordinary Sound by Denise Lewis Patrick

71p00i80oflI found American Girl Beforever: No Ordinary Sound by Denise Lewis Patrick at the library. I was very surprised to find it because I didn’t even know that the book was available already. This is the first story featuring the new American Girl doll Melody Ellison.

Melody Ellison is a nine-year-old girl living in Detroit in 1963. She is the youngest of four children: her oldest sister Yvonne attends Tuskegee University, Dwayne loves to sing, and Lila is in middle school. Melody also has a dog named Bojangles. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Fox and Crow Are Not Friends by Melissa Wiley

51m5vgzfhslLast week, one of my first grade twins came home with two books. Her sweet classmate had noticed that she liked foxes, so he brought two books about foxes from his house for her to borrow.

Fox and Crow Are Not Friends is a level 3 “Step into Reading” book written by Melissa Wiley and illustrated by Sebastien Braun.

This story begins with Aesop’s fable about the fox and the crow, wherein a fox tricks a crow into giving up the cheese in her mouth by praising her beautiful singing. The vain crow cannot resist, but when she opens her mouth to sing, she loses her cheese. That is where the fable ends, but our story continues. The crow is annoyed about losing her cheese, so she seeks revenge. The fox is not happy about this development and insists, “No one outfoxes a fox!” There is something that the fox and the crow have not considered: who does all the cheese they keep taking belong to, and how will they react when they find out who has been taking the cheese? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Frozen: Across the Sea by Ruth Homberg

51exkwmm5plI found Frozen: Across the Sea at my town library, and I grabbed it because my girls are fans of Frozen. This is a level 2 “Step Into Reading” book.

Across the Sea is a brand new adventure featuring Anna and Elsa. The two sisters are going on a trip. They visit two different lands, and finally, they visit the Duke of Weselton. The land of Weselton is in the middle of a heat wave, so Elsa uses her powers to make it snow. Everyone is happy to be cooled off; the duke is allegedly happy too, but he still looks as grumpy as ever! The story ends with Anna and Elsa heading back home after a lovely trip. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The New Small Person by Lauren Child

61-3oiq052blI have been a fan of Lauren Child’s books for over ten years. There was something just something magical about her Charlie and Lola series. She took a pair of siblings, and placed them in ordinary situations like birthday parties and loose teeth. When complications arose, these siblings used creativity and their imaginations to solve their problems.

Lauren Child has written several picture books that do not feature Charlie and Lola, but most of these do not feature siblings. The New Small Person introduces us to Elmore Green, a young boy who likes things a certain way. He happily eats his orange jelly beans and lines up his toys, but then one day, a new small person arrives. Elmore is not happy about the intrusion, and does not appreciate that the small person is licking the jelly beans and wearing his fourth favorite outfit. Will Elmore ever find any use for this small intruder? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz

51jvrffsf3lI received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sanctuary Bay is a YA novel by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz. I love boarding school stories, so I was excited about the opportunity to read Sanctuary Bay.

Sarah Merson is a teen in the foster care system in Ohio, but she receives a scholarship to the prestigious Sanctuary Bay Academy. She goes from a nomadic life of rotating foster homes to a lush boarding school on an island of the coast of Maine. It seems like a dream come true, even if she never applied for the scholarship in the first place. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Little Tree by Loren Long

51fg2chjzmlI found Little Tree by Loren Long at the library. My girls love Long’s “Otis” books, so I brought this book for them to enjoy.

Little Tree is the story of a- wait for it- little tree. He is very happy to be amongst the other trees, and loves when the animals come around to play. The weather gets colder, and the other trees shed their leaves, but Little Tree is afraid. He clings to his leaves. As the seasons change, the other trees grow taller; Little Tree stays the same size, with his brown leaves. Will Little Tree ever drop his leaves? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Buckingham Babylon by Peter Fearon

71qgt050qzlI found Buckingham Babylon by Peter Fearon at my town library. I was looking for some British history books, and this book was in the same section. I love books/movies about the Royal Family, so I was pleased to have discovered it.

Buckingham Babylon is subtitled “The Rise and Fall of the House of Windsor”, and it was published in 1993. There are some major Royal Family life events that have happened since the early 1990s, so in some respects, this book is woefully out of date. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Hickory Dickory: The Fox Race by AJ Smith and Walter Tyler

51ujlwtyjhlOne of my twins loves foxes. She is a rather lucky girl- foxes seem to be a popular animal, and so there are many different children’s clothing stores that have released fox items. We also have fox books, fox stuffed animals, and much more.

There is a dear sweet boy in her first grade class. This boy was also in her kindergarten class. He noticed that my daughter liked foxes, and he asked his mother if he could bring some of his fox books to school for her to borrow. She was very excited when she came home, and we have been reading these two fox books.

One of the books is Hickory Dickory: The Fox Race written by AJ Smith and Walter Tyler. I am not familiar with the Hickory Dickory series, and I’m so pleased to have discovered it. The premise of this book is simple: a fox likes to race, and he is faster than any other animal. He embarks on a trip around the world, and beats a variety of animals in their natural habitat. Will he be satisfied once he has raced (and beaten) animals on all seven continents? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Contrary Woodrow by Sue Felt

There are plenty of picture books about Valentine’s Day; not as many as other holidays like Halloween and Christmas, but a fair amount. My favorite Valentine’s Day story has to be Contrary Woodrow.

 

I found Contrary Woodrow at the public library. We have a small section of donated books available for sale, and this was where I found Contrary Woodrow. This picture book was written by Sue Felt and was published in 1958.

Contrary Woodrow is the story of a boy named Woodrow Woodington. His family has declared that he is contrary, and the first part of the book is dedicated to establishing his contrariness. Woodrow is the third of five children. Maybe this is why he has such an alliterative name. His older siblings are named John and Sally, so maybe his parents wanted to get a little creative. Woodrow’s younger siblings are named Elizabeth and Pete, so clearly, his parents went back to more traditional choices for baby names. Maybe Woodrow is so contrary because he’s saddled with such a name. Read more