Review: Frog and Toad Are Friends

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book of short stories about Frog and his friend Toad is a time-tested classic and a good addition to any collection. Frog and Toad may not be having the kinds of adventures where they end up saving the world, but their stories of waking up from hibernation, losing buttons off of coats, and being worried about looking funny in their swimsuits is quite entertaining, and the large print, easy vocabulary, and short sentences make it easy for young children to read on their own or follow along with their parent or an older sibling that's reading the book to them. The illustrations, mostly in greens, browns, and grays, are done in a pen and watercolor style that many parents today might remember from their own childhoods, as the book received the Caldecott in 1971. Recommended for grades K-2.



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Review: Ivy and Bean

Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



In this illustration-rich book, Ivy and Bean are thrown together by situations outside of their control, and the unlikely duo become friends in spite of themselves. Bean, the unstoppable prankster and tomboy, didn't much care for the new girl, Ivy, who had moved in across the street from her. Ivy seems perfectly nice-- and nice is so boring! But when Bean plays a prank on her older sister and needs to get away to escape her wrath and parental retribution, Ivy surprisingly steps up to the plate and hides her. It turns out that Ivy is a lot more interesting than Bean initially thought. She knows how to get past her mom, her room is full of the coolest stuff Bean has ever seen, and she is an aspiring witch. Together they have fun re-imagining Ivy's witch clothing to make it more impressive (Ivy can't make very good stars; some of them don't even have five points, so Bean teaches her how to make them properly) and plotting how to get Bean out of the punishment that's waiting for her at home. Recommended for grades two to four.



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Review: The Wide Window

The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Full of clever word-play and repeating themes and jokes, the Wide Window is an entertaining book that could sneakily help younger readers learn vocabulary and turns of phrase. Though some of the words used in this book may seem a bit advanced, the narrator kindly takes the time to explain them in the text so that no external dictionary is necessary. For example: "Violet was kicking the creature from behind, and Sunny was biting its wrist, but the person was so Brobdingnagian-- a word which here means 'unbelievably husky'-- that the children were causing it minimal pain, a phrase which here means 'no pain at all.'" In this book, the third in the Series of Unfortunate Events, the three Baudelaire orphans are sent to live with their Aunt Josephine, a grammar-loving woman who is scared of stoves, realtors, telephones, doorknobs, and many other innocuous objects. The villainous Count Olaf, masquerading as Captain Sham, is out to get the children (and their family estate) again, and none of the grown-ups will believe the children when they try to expose his nefarious scheme. Will they manage to escape his clutches again? Recommended for grades 5 and up.



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Review: The Last Resort

The Last Resort by Roberto Innocenti

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



An imaginative tale of looking for lost imagination, The Last Resort is surprisingly complex, and may be too complicated for younger readers although it is a picture book. There are also cameos from famous characters and authors, and thankfully, an index of them on the last few pages of the book, as some of them might not be immediately familiar to the reader from the hints in the text and pictures. Even without knowledge of the allusions, the characters are interesting enough. There is a boy that speaks in rhymes, a sea captain missing a leg, and a little man who is in black and white. The Last Resort (a beautiful building by the sea) is run by a talking parrot. The art is very well done, with exquisite detail and color. Recommended for middle school and up.



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Review: Mercy Watson to the Rescue

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Mercy Watson's porcine hijinks are always worth a read. In this book, the first in the series, Mercy gets scared at night, and so decides to go sleep with her owners, Mr. and Mrs. Watson. Being the kind people that they are (the kind of kind people who would give a pig her own bed in her own room and sing to her every night), the Watsons have no problem with this, and they all blissfully fall asleep. Unfortunately, the added weight of the pig makes the bed start to fall through the floor, and all three are jarred from their peaceful slumber. Mr. Watson tells everyone not to move, but Mercy gets hungry, and jumps off of the bed to search for some of her favorite food, toast with lots of butter on it. The Watsons, convinced that she is going to get help, cheer her on. When Mercy finds no toast waiting for her in the kitchen, she is forced to take her search for snacks elsewhere-- to the neighbors. Mercy's unconcern for the predicament her beloved owners are in and her fixation on food above all else make for a very silly story. The artwork is very colorful and skillfully done. The style, and the shininess of people's faces, brings to mind the wholesome art of the 50's. Recommended for grades 1-3.




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Review: The Best Chef in Second Grade

The Best Chef in Second Grade by Katharine Kenah

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A great Easy Reader for children who like to spend time helping out in the kitchen, The Best Chef in Second Grade is a good choice for young readers who might still need a little assistance to get through a book. Ollie is a young boy who feels like he isn't the best at anything in his class. So when he hears that a famous chef is visiting the classroom and all the students will get to bring in their family's favorite dish, he's excited-- this could be his time to shine. Unfortunately, it's much harder to figure out what his Family Favorite is than he had anticipated. His little sister doesn't like anything! But Ollie perseveres and finds the perfect dish in the nick of time. The book has several good messages: First, that no one person is the best at everything, but everyone has their own particular set of skills. Second, though nothing was really made of it, having the main character being male showed that there's nothing wrong with being a boy and liking to cook. Recommended for K-2.



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Review: Rosa Parks: From the Back of the Bus to the Front of a Movement

Rosa Parks: From the Back of the Bus to the Front of a Movement by Camilla Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book tells the tale of one of the most impressive women in the civil rights movement in a manner that is very straightforward and easy to understand. It takes the reader from her childhood all the way up to near the end of her life, as it was published four years before her death in 2005. Rosa Parks was very under-appreciated in her heyday, downtrodden by the white majority and even the males that were her fellow fighters for equal rights. Both racism and sexism were huge issues in Parks' life, and she dealt with both in the same way: by not bending, and steadfastly and patiently doing what she could with what she had. Thankfully, her hard work was recognized within her lifetime. Her story is an inspiring one, and it is laid out clearly in this book. Highly recommended for grades 3-5.



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