Oh No! by Mac Barnett

Barnett, Mac Oh No!, PICTURE BOOK.  Disney, 2010.  $16.99.  Language-G (0 swears, 0 “f”), Sexual Content-G; Violence-G;  This book is about a girl  who builds a robot for the science fair.  It destroys her city.   She spends most of the story telling what attributes she shouldn’t have given the robot.  She then creates a toad to stop it, which it does, but then it becomes the new threat.  The illustrations are wonderful.  The writing in balloons is a nice touch.  The story line wasn’t a real winner. EL – OPTIONAL.  Reviewer:  BMN

The Ultimate Dino-pedia by Don Lessem

Lessem Don “Dino” The Ultimate Dino-pedia, illustrated by Franco Tempesta.  265 p.  Lessem and Tempesta have created an irresistible and fairly wide-ranging look at the new science of dinosaurs.  The graphics are stunning and the book is worth looking at just for those.  But, while the information on each dinosaur may not be exhaustive, it is at least well-researched and informative.  Over 70 dinos have their own two-page spread and hundreds have little scientific fact blurbs.  I can’t wait to get this on my shelf.  I hope it is sturdy enough to handle the wear and tear it is sure to get!  EL, MS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher

Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner

Messner, Kate Sugar and Ice, 288 pgs. Walker & Co. (Bloomsbury), 2010. $16.99. Sexual Content-G; Language-G; Violence-G.

Claire Boucher is a small town girl who loves to ice skate and collect sap on her family’s maple farm. She performs in the local Maple Show and is offered a scholarship to train in Lake Placid. Claire immediately makes friends with another skater named Tanasee, but is given the cold shoulder by the other girls. After Claire performs well in a competition, she comes back to her locker to find nail polish all over her jeans. The sabotaging continues to escalate, as does Claire’s nervousness about competition. Meanwhile, she misses out on local events and never has time to see her best friend Natalie because of all the practices. Claire has to decide what she really wants and what she is willing to give to get it.

The characters are well-rounded and original. The skating details and competitions are cutting edge. Claire’s story is sure to find an audience on and off the ice.

EL – ADVISABLE. Samantha, Public Librarian.

Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan

Sullivan, Laura L. Under the Green Hill, 308 pgs. Henry Holt & Co., 2010. $16.99. Sexual Content-G; Language-G; Violence-PG. Four American siblings and two acquaintances are sent to stay with distant relatives in England because of an epidemic fever. They arrive at a great house called the Rookery. Great-great-aunt Phyllida gives them a few rules, some normal, some odd about places to avoid. She specifically asks them to stay in the house the first night. The children of course disobey and go out to the forest and see the Green Hill and the entire fairy court. Rowan is mesmerized by the Fairy Queen and promises to be her champion—fight to the death in the Midsummer war against the other fairy faction’s champion. Meg is horrified and does everything she can to stop her brother, especially when she learns who the other champion is. The basic premise of four siblings sent to a magical English country estate is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia; however, author Sullivan creates a new spin on English fairies and fantasy that is sure to find fans. Also recommend this title (and the sure to be sequels) to fans of Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series. EL/MS– ADVISABLE. Samantha, Public Librarian.

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai

Iwai, Melissa Soup Day.  PICTURE BOOK.  Christy Ottaviano (Henry Holt), 2010.  $12.99.  A little girl and her mother carefully craft a yummy vegetable soup for their family to share on a  cold, snowy day.  Bright colors, counting, shapes, and the steps to making the soup captivated my test audience (friends over for dinner) – so they will be receiving this book (once it is published) with some soup-making related fun items as a gift!  There are so many good things about this book – playing with Mom, cleaning up before meal time, I can’t wait to share it.  And yes, the recipe is included in the back.   EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

Shoe-La-la by Karen Beaumont

Beaumont, Karen Shoe-La-la, illustrated by LeUyen Pham.  PICTURE BOOK.  Scholastic Press, 2011.  If you have a shoe-crazy little girl (and who isn’t, really) then this is a perfect book to share and enjoy.  Four little girls are getting ready of a fancy party, but they need the perfect shoe.  After trying on a wealth of colorful styles, the girls are still at a loss for what to wear.  Despite what you may assume, this is not an ode to commercialism – instead it is a tip-of-the-hat to ingenuity.  Pair this book with a pair of shoes, glitter, feathers, glue and some sparklies and you have a great present for a young girl.  GIFT, EL(K-3), EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark by Deborah Diesen

Diesen, Deborah The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark, PICTURE BOOK.  FSG, 2010.  $16.99.  Language-G (0 swears, 0 “f”), Sexual Content-G; Violence-G;  This is a wonderful story that has a bunch of friends helping one another to find Ms. Clam’s lost pearl.   Mr. Fish sets out on the quest and even when he gets scared he keeps going with a little help.  It has a nice poetry feel to the story with the rhyme.  The illustrations are nice color penciled like style.  The storyline is sweet with a happy, but predictable ending.  It has lots of ways a teacher can relate the problems to student’s own problems.  This book was very, very enjoyable.  EL – OPTIONAL. Reviewer:  BMN

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

Hooper, Mary Fallen Grace, 320 p. Bloomsbury, FEB 2011.  Mature Content: PG-13 (girl is raped and buries her stillborn baby).  Grace Parkes and her sister Lily used to live a wonderful life, with a loving mother and father and nice things.  Now both parents are gone and the girls have left the orphanage after Grace was raped by a hidden man.  Their fortunes are swiftly on decline and what meager lodgings they have are precarious at best.  Life is harsh and cheap on the streets of 1860’s England.  When Grace is offered a job as a professional mourner for a funeral company, she may have found a way to keep the little family together.  But her new employers know something that Grace doesn’t – and they are willing to go to great lengths to keep her in the dark and take what they want for themselves.  Grace will have to find a friend if she is going to survive.  Hooper takes us back to historic England, exposing more of the sordid underbelly of that society.  She draws a poignant picture of a girl struggling to hold on despite her lowly circumstances.  While the theme is very Dickens-ian, this book is more accessible to those not up to that challenge., but does not pander to its audience.  HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

Halloween Good Night by Doug Cushman

Cushman, Doug Halloween Good Night, 22pgs.  Henry Holt, 2010.  $12.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  Language-G (0 swears, 0 “f”), Sexual Content-G; Violence-G;  This book is a rhyming story about monsters.  It asks how you tell the monster good night.  It has wonderful creatures such as swamp scary guys, werewolves, witches, and ghosts.  It switches from mothers to fathers.  This is a cute child’s book.  It is very predictable and like many other children’s books.  It does have different languages to say thank you and a glossary in the back.  Enjoyable! EL – ADVISABLE. Reviewer:  BMN

Storyteller by Patricia Reilly Giff

Giff, Patricia Reilly Storyteller, 164 p. Wendy Lamb (Random), 2010.  $15.99.  Elizabeth’s father is off to teach at a college in Australia, so she is forced to live with her aunt Libby, her mother’s sister, who she hardly knows.  Now, back in her mother’s ancestral home, Elizabeth is drawn to a simple portrait of her many-greats grandmother, who looks eerily similar to her.  While Elizabeth struggles to find her place within this new ‘family”, parallel chapters follow the history of that early Eliza and the dangers she experienced during the Revolutionary War.  While the girls are separated by centuries, they both have their struggles to overcome.  Good for an upper elementary student who enjoys historic fiction.  EL – OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library Teacher

Restitution by Kathy Kacer

Kacer, Kathy Restitution, 311 pgs. Second Story Press, 2010. Language- G (2 swears, 0 “f”), Sexual content- G; Violence- PG; Right before the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, Karl Reiser and his family flee Europe and start a new life in Canada. They leave behind almost everything, including 4 valuable paintings that Karl’s mother loved. In an attempt to get them back, Karl goes through the black market and procures the help of an honest art smuggler. I believe that I can truthfully say that this is one of the best Holocaust-related books I have ever read. Although the subject in itself is very gruesome to read about, this story was extremely informative and touching, and taught me very much. MS-HS-ESSENTIAL. Student Reviewer: A.W.

The Ride: The Legend of Betsy Dowdy by Kitty Griffin

Griffin, Kitty The Ride: The Legend of Betsy Dowdy, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman.  Atheneum (Simon), 2010.  $16.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  There is a legend in North Carolina of a young girl named Betsy Dowd, who rode her horse hard through the night – more than 50 miles – to get word to a patriot general of a band of redcoats approaching the barrier islands.  Though there is no written evidence of Betsy’s journey, Griffin and Priceman together have constructed a compelling book that captures the spirit of the revolution.  It would be useful for any unit on the Revolutionary War and a good way to talk to students about doing good research.  EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

Rosa’s Bus by Jo S. Kittinger

Kittinger, Jo S. Rosa’s Bus, PICTURE BOOK.  Calkin’s Creek, 2010.  $17.95.  Language-G (0 swears, 0 “f”), Sexual Content-G; Violence-G;  This is a factual book about Rosa Parks’s act of refusing to give up her seat on a bus during those critical years of Colored vs. Not colored.  It has all the facts in it including bus number and year.  It even describes how old the bus was at the time.  It uses beautiful painting as the illustrations.  It is a superb book to teach how far we have come as a country and the importance that we are all special.  It teaches courage and resilience.  The bus was finally bought before going to the junkyard.  Interesting way to tell Rosa’s story.  This book is excellent for relating history in a unique way.  EL – ADVISABLE. Reviewer:  BMN

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Selfors. Suzanne Mad Love, 320 p. Walker Books, JAN 2011.  $16.99.  Language: G (3 swears, 0 “F”).  The Queen of Romance is hidden away in a very exclusive hospital to deal with her mental illness – the Princess of Romance, her daughter Alice, is barely holding things together, in fact, the publisher is getting upset and money is about to all run out.  Alice has a wild idea to write her mother’s next romance novel for her, but when the mysterious, obnoxious Errol appears, begging Alice to write his story, she is extremely reluctant.  When he tells her that he is the real Cupid, Alice wonders if she may have inherited her mother’s challenges.  But good neighbors and a real possible boyfriend surround Alice and will do what they can to help her with her struggles.  Another book about a child dealing with their parent’s mental illness – Don’t get me wrong, I think that is a good thing, a very good thing. Selfors weaves real life, problems and romance,  with some supernatural elements that combine for a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading.  I think this is even better than Coffeeshop Angel.  MS, HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

Butterfly Birthday by Harriet Ziefert

Ziefert, Harriet. Butterfly Birthday, illustrated by Mark Jones. Blue Apple Books (dist. by Chronicle Books), 2010. $16.99. PICTURE BOOK. Spring is here and insects are emerging from their winter nooks in the ground. All the insects are preparing for the party. Little Ant notices that the caterpillars aren’t helping, they just keep eating leaves. He tells them if they don’t help, they won’t get to eat anything. Finally all the preparations are done and everyone dresses up in their buggy best. The caterpillars emerge from their cocoons as beautiful butterflies. Big Cricket explains to Little Ant that the process is called metamorphosis. Everyone cheers and buzzes and continues to celebrate the first day of spring. The illustrations are colorful, vibrant, and the most enjoyable aspect of the book. EL – ADVISABLE. Samantha, Public Librarian.

To Whom the Angel Spoke: A Story of the Christmas by Kay Terry

Kay, Terry. To Whom the Angel Spoke: A Story of the Christmas, illustrated by Eileen Blyth. Peachtree Publishers, 2009 (1991). $14.95. Sexual Content-G; Language-G; Violence-G. The nativity story is told from the perspective of three shepherds; one was tall, one was short, and one was in-between. The shepherds were also different sizes (fat, thin, and in-between) and ethnicities (white, black, and in-between). The shepherds didn’t agree on many things, but they all heard the voice and agreed to go to Bethlehem where they saw the savior. The author uses quotations from the King James Bible and an overt didactic message. The dialogue is stilted and the characters are stereotypes. The acrylic illustrations are simple and lovely, but small and overwhelmed by too much narrative. EL – OPTIONAL. Samantha, Public Librarian.

Spring Fling by Sabrina James

James, Sabrina Spring Fling 352 pgs. Point, 2010. Language-G; Sexual Content-G. $6.99. Danielle, shy and super-studious, is invited by her sister to come to Florida for Spring Break. Danielle reluctantly agrees and invites her two best friends, Lindsey and Ava, to come along. Once there they meet up with two other groups of kids who happen to be from the same town. With romantic twists and turns at every page along with teenage mean-girl drama, this story shows that the possibilities are endless when it comes to Spring Break! With alternating stories from five different people this book was a very fluffy and superficial read and a bit on the too-good-to-be-real side for me. There was a lot of eye-rolling going on while reading but it was a cute, clean, romantic read that I'm sure teenage girls would love.  EL/MS-OPTIONAL. Whitney, Library-Teacher. 

Elephant Soup by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

Schubert, Ingrid and Dieter Elephant Soup 26 pgs. Lemniscatt, 2010. PICTURE BOOK. $17.95. When he is having a bad day, this little mouse gets all of his mice friends together to create the only remedy for bad days...elephant soup! This is a quick and cute story with a delightful surprise ending. The story mixed with the illustrations turns this book into a recipe for enjoyment! EL-ADVISABLE. Whitney, Library-Teacher.

My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil and Other Funny Classroom Portraits by Hanoch Piven

Piven, Hanoch My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil and Other Funny Classroom Portraits 40 pgs. Schwartz and Wade Books, 2010. PICTURE BOOK. $17.99. What a fabulous book to teach metaphors and similes! Using ordinary and every day objects, this little girl creates classroom portraits. For example her art teacher is someone who is as mysterious as dark glasses, as artistic as a paint palette and always so colorful like her crayons...then his portrait uses all of those objects. The artwork is creative and fun. It would be fun to use this book at the beginning of the year as a classroom introduction as the kids could create their own portrait describing themselves. EL-ESSENTIAL. Whitney, Library-Teacher.

The Monster Trap by Dean Morrissey and Stephen Krensky

Morrissey, Dean and Stephen Krensky The Monster Trap 40 pgs. Harper Collins, 2004. PICTURE BOOK. $6.99. Paddy gets to spend some time with his grandpa, Pops. Paddy is so excited but what he didn't expect is a house darker and spookier than he remembered! Paddy keeps getting woken up by strange noises so he and Pops decide to build a monster trap to catch the culprits! 

This is just an o.k. book. The story doesn't grab the reader, but luckily the illustrations do...they are fantastic! EL-OPTIONAL. Whitney, Library-Teacher.