Rapunzel and the Seven Dwarfs

Rapunzel and the Seven Dwarfs
Willy Claflin and James Stimson (illus.)

A Maynard Moose tale, so you know it’s going to be interesting!  Maynard faithfully relates the (sort of) familiar tale of Punzel and how she came to be in the company of seven (or eight or nine) dwarfs while trying to escape from the nasty witch.  Replete with moosey vocabulary, this fractured fairy tale will leave the reader scratching his head and doubling over with laughter.

So I’ve never read a Maynard Moose tale before.  Now I want them all.  For kids who loved Disney’s Tangled (I’m included), this silly version of Rapunzel is bound to be a hit.  Also adults who like lists in a John Cleese/Monty Python/cheese shop sketch kind of way will enjoy this book.  The names of the dwarfies are Clumsy, Snoozy, Cheeful, Fearful, Hyper, Hungry, Grizelda, Ambidextrous, and sometimes Bewildered.  *heart*  Stimson’s illustrations are perfect.  The details are dead on.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Because I Could Not Stop My Bike and Other Poems

Because I Could Not Stop My Bike and Other Poems
by Karen Jo Shapiro and Matt Faulkner (illus.)

***National Poetry Month Selection***

With apologies to many of the great poets (Blake, Tennyson, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, and Shakespeare, just to name a few), Shapiro has fashioned kid-friendly poems from some of the most well-known verses in English literature.  “How Do I Love Thee?” – not really of interest to kids.  “How Do I Love Ketchup?  Let Me Count the Ways” – I can think of at least three kids in .0047 seconds to whom this would apply.  From bike-riding to birthdays to dirty clothes, this collection covers a lot of every-day kid activities in a rhythm that will sound very familiar to them once they’re in high school English.

This collection was alright.  Nothing that made me laugh out loud.  But it’s silly in a way that kids can appreciate.  It could be used to introduce kids to classic poetry and then have them make their own silly versions.  If I were a teacher, that’s actually something I might do.  But I’m not.  As a reader… I’m kind of glad this book ends at 32 pages.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom

Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom
by Marilyn Singer and Lee Wildish (illus.)

***National Poetry Month Selection***

“Do animals celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Nobody knows for sure.  But this funny (and punny) little book imagines how some of them might declare their love, affection or friendship any day of the year.” — from the inside book cover.  I really couldn’t sum it up better than this.

A really quick and cute book, these couplet poems from the points of view of different animals are adorable.  If they came on valentines, they’re the ones I would pick out for my kids.  Two of my favorites:

Horses
Nose to nose, hip to hip
ours is a stable relationship.

Porcupines
Hugging you takes some practice.
So I’ll start out with a cactus.

Honestly, a book that can be read in less than 10 minutes.  But very cute.

Images taken from http://www.amazon.com

Interrupting Chicken

Interrupting Chicken
by David Ezra Stein

It’s bedtime for the little red chicken, but she can’t go to sleep without a bedtime story!  Papa says he will read her a story… only if she promises not to interrupt them!  She promises… but she just can’t help herself!  If Chicken hadn’t warn Hansel and Gretel that the old woman was a witch, she would have tried to eat them!  Or if she hadn’t warned Red Riding Hood about the wolf, he would’ve eaten her and her grandma!  And if she hadn’t warned Chicken Little about the acorn, people would’ve gotten upset over nothing!  Of course now Chicken is wide awake, and not all ready for bed.

The fun part about this book is the pictures.  Once Papa agrees to read a story, we get lovely classic sketches until BAM!  In comes warm, colorful Interrupting Chicken scaring away all the main characters.  It’s really quite adorable.  Children will love the abbreviated and interrupted versions of famous fairy tales by an excited barn fowl.  But be forewarned: you may notice your bedtime stories becoming more and more interrupted.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales

A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales
edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Really, I can’t describe this book more than the title does.  This is a collection of retold fairy tales.

I’ve been kind of on a fractured fairy tale kick lately.  I find them interesting.  Sometimes I learn about new fairy tales and folktales, and sometimes I remember ones I loved as a child, but had almost forgotten about.  It has taken me a long time to get through this little book of 13 short stories.  But I think that was my fault.  I started off trying to read them all at once and quickly got bored.  I finally finished it this week doing two or three stories at a time while I did my teeth whitening.  I enjoyed the latter experience much better.  Or maybe the stories at the end of the book are just better.  I don’t know.  I really enjoyed the first story, a take on “The Twelve Months,” a tale which I’ve only read once, and I liked this version of it better than the one I read.  I also really loved the retelling of some Portuguese folktales which I had never heard before about a lily and a hummingbird.  And there’s just enough gore to keep boys interested, too.  And the collection ended strongly with a retelling of my absolute favorite fairy tale from my Reader’s Digest collection growing up: “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”  Don’t know why I loved it, but I did.

So the moral of this story is I’m glad I stuck it through to the end.  I’m slowly learning how to read short stories.  Thank you for being patient as I figure this out.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The 39 Clues: Vespers Rising

The 39 Clues: Vespers Rising
by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordan Korman, Jude Watson

Warning!!  Contains spoilers for the 39 Clues series!!

What Amy and Dan found at the end of the clue hunt was not what they thought.  They thought there’d be rest, peace, family unity – or at least the beginning of that.  What they actually discovered were more secrets and dangers.  In Vespers Rising, the faithful scribes of the clue hunt introduce their fellow clue hunters to the Vespers, a secret society that has wanted Gideon Cahill’s secret for as long as his children have been hunting it.  They start in 1507 with Damien Vesper, an almost friend of Gideon Cahill, and the first of many horrible fires that the family would come to suffer throughout the generations.  Then we learn more about Madeleine Cahill, the founder of the Madrigals.  Then we see Grace’s debut onto the scene, guarding her family’s secrets from the dangerous Vespers.  And then finally Amy and Dan are back and they are introduced to the viciousness of the Vesper family.  The secrets they have to protect and guard now – will they ever have a normal life?

Oh, where to start.  I wished I enjoyed reading this book.  There were parts I did enjoy.  But I think maybe I’ve just been with Amy and Dan for too long, and I don’t care about them as much as characters any longer.  I found the reading experience choppy, as the four parts are written by four authors with very different styles and strengths.  I find myself wondering if I’ll start reading the Cahill vs. Vesper books when they come out, or if it’s too much of the same and not enough suspense or surprise.  I’m sure there will be twists and turns, but it’s just not fun any more.  Part of the reason it might not be fun for me anymore, though, is that I’m limited in the online experience now.  The newest “mission” is only accessible by adding the cards from the book.  Not cool if you borrowed the book from a library.  I also can’t do some of them because I haven’t purchased the card packs and therefore didn’t find all of the “clues.”  It’s kinda frustrating to say the least.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess

Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess
by George O’Connor

In the second title in the Olympians series, O’Connor looks at Athena, daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and strategy.  Unlike the Zeus chronicle, Athena’s story is told by the three fates.  And instead of one linear story, they tell brief excerpts from the mythology surrounding her.  Like the first book, Athena also has god and hero profiles included.

There are lots of reasons I think I liked this book better than the first one.  One, I learned about myths I’d never heard before.  I was already familiar with some of the myths about Athena, but O’Connor taught me some new ones, too.  Thank you.  Also, I liked the structure of the storytelling better.  I feel like it fits more with how mythology is told (since it was told long before it was written down).  Thirdly, I may just like Athena better as a character, especially since I never recognized the partnership she had with Hermes, who is probably one of my favorite Greek gods.  I still had trouble with some of the panels being too dark to see anything happening, but overall a satisfying follow-up to the first one.  More please.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Zeus: King of the Gods

Zeus: King of the Gods
by George O’Connor

Of all of the great Greek gods, Zeus’ name seems to stand higher than the rest.  And so it should – he’s the king.  In Zeus: King of the Gods, O’Connor tells us his history and his rise to the throne on Mount Olympus.  Each Olympians book also contains profiles on major players and places in mythology.

I love Greek mythology.  One of my favorite books as a kid was the D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, which chronicles pretty well the same stories related by O’Connor.  I think the idea of having these myths as a graphic novel series is an excellent idea.  I’m just not so sure about the execution.  Many of the panels are so darkly painted or they are so confusing that I can’t tell what’s going on during much of the action scenes.  That may be me as a novice graphic novel reader, but if I didn’t already know what was going on in the story, I would have no clue what happened.  A mildly frustrating read, but I will still hold out hope for the others.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Thesaurus Rex

Thesaurus Rex
by Laya Steinberg and Debbie Harter (illus.)

Little Thesaurus Rex goes about his day doing various things.  And he’s so excited about all of them, he shouts out different words that all mean almost the same exact thing.

Truthfully, I’ve always thought that “thesaurus” sounded like a dinosaur, too.  In fact a friend of mine drew me a picture of what he thought a thesaurus would look like if it were a dinosaur.  But that’s almost beside the point.  I thought this book was adorable, and it’s a great vocabulary stretcher for young readers and listeners.  Of course if you’ve read any of my posts re: Lemony Snicket, you already know how much I love wordplay in children’s books.  Adorable-saurus.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

How to Be a Zombie: The Essential Guide for Anyone Who Craves Brains

How to Be a Zombie: The Essential Guide for Anyone Who Craves Brains
by Serena Valentino

Almost every zombie survival guide you’re going to find out there is going to try to tell you how to avoid becoming a zombie.  But what if it’s too late for you?  Until recently, you’ve been left to shamble this world all alone, pretty much just winging the whole thing.  Well not any more!  With this guide, you’ll learn about the origins of your zombification, the necessary diet and proper care of your rotting corpse, or if you’re not quite undead yet, how to look like you are.  There are also tasty recipes that you can share with your non-dead friends – the ones whose brains you don’t really want to eat.

I feel like I would have gotten much more out of this book if I’d ever seen any zombie movies.  The truth is, I really can’t recall a single one I’ve seen, be it a cult classic, something horrific, or something I would have watched on MST 3000.  Pop culture references abound.  The first part of this book is the how-to guide for being a zombie.  Parts 2 and 3 are more for non-dead humans who want to be zombie-like, from zombie fashion and stage makeup to the hottest zombie playlists.  If you’re one of those people who keeps telling me I need to see Zombieland, you’d probably get a kick out of this book.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com