Dear Toni

Dear Toni
by Cyndi Sand-Eveland

Gene is the new kid.  She misses her old school where everyone knew her and her old friends who always laughed at her jokes and never where she lived.  Her 6th grade teacher has given them a journal project.  They must write in this journal for 100 days.  Then they will all be sealed in a time capsule in the museum to be opened 40 years from now.  Gene thinks this is a dumb idea, since there’s nothing interesting going on in her life and she doesn’t like writing.  Eventually she creates the person of Toni to write to and confide in.  As drama unfolds, “Toni” is the one person she trusts and confide in.

I came across this title in a bibliography of books for what to give kids after they’ve devoured The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and I decided to read it because I love the idea of time capsules.  Anyone who works with elementary aged children or in a public or school library will know what I mean about Kinney’s series, though.  I can see the similarities – journal style with scattered doodles, being an outcast during the awkward middle school years.  But the similarities end there.  There’s something about the voice that doesn’t quite evoke relatability, or at least it didn’t for me.  And it’s probably that boys wouldn’t be interested in this book either, because it’s about a girl.  In 6th grade, if boys want to read, they don’t want to read about girls.  So if you know a girl who finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid and is ready for something more wordy, this is a possibility.

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

Seeing Redd

Seeing Redd
by Frank Beddor, read by Gerard Doyle

Warning!!!  Contains spoilers for The Looking Glass Wars!!!

Alyss Heart is now Queen of Wonderland, trying to rebuild from all of the devastation caused by her Aunt Redd.  But things are far from precarious – after Redd and the Cat flung themselves through the Heart Crystal, no one knows what could have happened to them.  And King Arch of the neighboring borderland is also plotting against Wonderland’s new queen.  Using her closest friends as weapons against her, Arch is working to destroy the flimsy peace Alyss is working hard to preserve.

I’ve finally gotten around to listening to the next installment in The Looking Glass Wars.  I am once again captivated by Beddor’s turn of phrase.  Listening to these books, I’m wondering if I’m missing an element not seeing the wordplay.  However, Doyle’s embodiment of the characters keeps me coming back to the audio version.  I was surprised at how much more violent Seeing Redd was than its predecessor.  I felt like gruesome deaths were being described left and right, which isn’t something I remember from the first book.  That was one of the drawbacks of listening to it – hearing Doyle’s vocalizations of explosions and clanging blades was more annoying than having it set the mood.  But I still love these characters, and I am anxious to find out how it concludes.

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

Bone: Out from Boneville

Bone: Out from Boneville
by Jeff Smith

Fone Bone and his cousins Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone find themselves wandering around in uncharted territory.  Phoney Bone has been kicked out of Boneville for fraudulent activity, and his cousins helped him escape the raging mob that was chasing him out.  But in a locust attack, they get separated.  Fone Bone ends up in an idyllic valley, staying the winter with a young woman and her grandmother until he can go look for his cousins.  He is also occasionally chased by rat monsters.  But he seems to have a dragon guardian that’s always got his back when they show up.  Something more is definitely going on here.

Like Babymouse, this is another instance where I felt like I needed to see what all the hype was about.  And I can definitely see the appeal.  It’s fast-paced, hilariously drawn, and the beginning of an epic story that leaves you wanting more.  I would honestly read more just figure out Fone Bone’s fascination with Moby Dick – I’m sure someday he’ll find someone who won’t fall asleep while he raves about it.  While I may not rush for the next collection of Bone comics (these were originally published serially in the early 90′s), I am super excited that kids do – anything that gets them into a library and reading is okay in my book.

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

Incredibly Disgusting Food Series

Incredibly Disgusting Food Series

Fake Foods: Fried, Fast, and Processed
by Paula Johanson

If you’ve never wondered what was in your kids’ meal or your value meal, well… maybe it’s time you should take a look.  Fast food may be convenient, but at what cost to your health?  So much salt and sugar goes into that meal, it could really damage your body.

Carbonated Beverages
by Adam Furgang

And what about delicious, refreshing soda?  All that bubbly has absolutely no nutritional value.  Even the diet ones use unnatural ingredients that were never really meant to go into your body.  You see what it can do to your teeth, but it can be bad news for some other parts of your bodies, too.

Mystery Meat: Hot Dogs, Sausages, and Lunch Meats
by Stephanie Watson

There’s a reason people joke about what goes into hot dogs… you used to never quite know what you were getting.  Now companies have to put everything on the label, but there still some unpleasantness that you might not know about.

Salty and Sugary Snacks
by Adam Furgang

Snack time!  Who doesn’t enjoy a handful of chips or some cookies?  Well, what about all that stuff that goes in it to keep it fresh longer?  That’s certainly not natural.  They say that Twinkies and cockroaches will be the two things that survive the apocalypse.  This incredibly disgusting story will tell you why.

The over-arching attitude of this series is not preachy.  While yes, modern Western food can be quite disgusting and bad for you, the authors openly admit that once and a while, a soda, chicken nuggets, or some Oreos are not going to kill you.  What they are trying to crack down on is the unhealthy lifestyle so prevalent in mainstream American culture.  Childhood obesity is staggeringly common, and that’s triggering other diseases that kids didn’t used to get.  There are enough gross and disgusting pictures (diseases and organs and whatnot) to interest most boys and totally gross out some girls (I’ll admit, I got squeamish when I saw the gangrene picture), and it’s written in straightforward language.  There’s a glossary in the back for unfamiliar words, as well a list of resources for anyone who has more questions after the books.  And since they are such a brief overview, kids might have questions.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book
edited by Anita Silvey

Whether it’s something you discovered as a child or something you didn’t learn until you had kids of your own, the world of children’s literature is rich with life lessons and inspiration.  More than one hundred “notable people from all walks of life” have contributed to this collection.  From actors and musicians, to award-winning authors, scientists and and inventors, it can all be traced back to the wisdom spelled out plainly in a children’s book.  Each essay also includes an excerpt from the book discussed.

This is a project I can really get on board with.  I mean let’s face it – I pretty much only read children’s books.  But that’s because of how much wisdom, truth, and insight are jam packed into these treasures.  This is a book you can read cover-cover-to-cover or jump around in (I skipped the excerpts and just read the essays).  Some of the books (as well as the essayists) are well-known, while others I had never heard of.  Of course the overriding thought in my mind was “Which book would I choose?”  There are several that have shaped me into who I am today, and I’m sure there will be more.

But I can also answer that question right away.  Really the most influential children’s books in my life have been The Chronicles of Narnia, which I’ve been reading since I was a kid, and The Phantom Tollbooth, which I read only a few months ago.

What about you?

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

Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat

Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat
by Philip C. Stead

Frederick is a stuffed bear.  Jonathan does everything with Frederick.  Their favorite thing to do is to go down by the docks and watch the boats.  One day, Jonathan comes home to some terrifying news: thinking him too old for teddy bears, Jonathan’s parents have traded Frederick in for a toaster!!  So Jonathan hitches a ride on the Big Blue Boat to sail across the world looking for Frederick.  But it’s not an easy journey.  New friends and new enemies are bound to pop up.  But will he ever come across his best friend again?

This was kind of an accidental find.  I don’t often get the chance to browse my collection – I usually request books I see reviewed in journals.  Well this one was a stumble-upon.  It caught my eye because of Philip C. Stead.  And his A Sick Day for Amos McGee is probably one of my favorite books of all time.  So how does Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat measure up?  It’s a cute, young adventure story.  It’s excellently paced for reading aloud and the illustrations are bright and winsome.  One could easily get caught up in the details of the prints, papers and stamps used to make the pictures.  But for some reason, I just wasn’t feeling this one.  I would suggest it in a heartbeat, but it’s not one that I could sing praises of.

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

Mitchell’s License

Mitchell’s License
by Hallie Durand and Tony Fucile (illus.)

Mitchell did not like going to bed at all.  That was until his dad told him he could drive to bed!  When Mitchell was three years, nine months and five days old, he got his first drivers license.  It took him a little while to learn how to maneuver his new vehicle, but eventually he became pro.  And bedtime wasn’t quite such a chore any longer.

Holy adorable!  And wholly adorable.  This is a great father-son bonding book, bedtime book, and picture book.  But be forewarned: this may turn into a bedtime game and you may find yourself issuing drivers licenses to your preschoolers and toddlers.  The story was sweet, and I loved the illustrations.  It made a lot of sense when I realized that Fucile has worked for Disney – these illustrations immediately made me think of The Incredibles.  A total win.

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

Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia

Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia
by Jeanette Winter

Biblioburro is a picture book account of Luis Soriano, a former teacher in Columbia.  There are many remote villages in the jungles of Columbia, and most of the kids don’t have access to  books.  So he decides to bring books to these tiny and isolated places on the backs of his two burros (kind of like donkeys): Alfa and Beto.  He travels to a different village almost every week, bringing books for the children and staying for awhile to tell them stories.  He’ll be back again in a few weeks so they can change their books; in the meantime, there are more villages to visit and more kids hungry for Luis’ books!

This is a great story.  It’s even cooler because it’s true.  One man has taken it upon himself to be a portable library for the jungle villages of Columbia and is doing an amazing thing.  It’s like a rustic book mobile!  The pictures are bright and engaging.  This is a great way to introduce kids to how other children in different countries live – especially if you work in a library!  While our libraries may look different, kids everywhere love reading books!  I’m looking forward to more publications about the Biblioburro because I’m eager to learn more about it.

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

Three by the Sea

Three by the Sea
by Mini Grey

Dog, Cat, and Mouse all live happily in a quaint cottage by the sea.  Dog takes care of the garden, Cat does the housework, and Mouse cooks.  One day, a stranger from the Winds of Change Trading Company shows up at their door, and he starts shaking things up.  True friendship is put to the test in this heartwarming story.

In general, I found this to be a really sweet picture book.  It’s well-paced to be read aloud, and the illustrations are my favorite part about it.  And maybe Cat’s eye patch.  It’s not overly didactic in its message that friendship can survive changes, and may even be good for them.  The only thing keeping this from being a 5-star book is my confusion regarding the stranger.  Grey doesn’t villainize him, but I have in my mind.  So he suffers nothing for his rudeness and the bringing of discord, and that didn’t sit well with  me.  But it’s still super cute, and kids probably won’t over-analyze it like I have.

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

Monkey: A Trickster Tale From India

Monkey: A Trickster Tale From India
by Gerald McDermott

Monkey loves to eat mangoes.  Crocodile loves to eat monkeys.  While Monkey tries to get the best mangoes from the island in the middle of the river, Crocodile tries to get Monkey.  But Monkey says it best when he cries, “Your teeth may be sharp… but your mind is dull!”

This is what I was talking about yesterday.  Monkey is an excellent character, and what I expect when I hear the word “trickster.”  He outwits Crocodile at every turn in some very funny ways.  This is a book I wouldn’t hesitate to read aloud as part of a story time.

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