The Willoughbys

Author: Lois Lowry
Rating:
Reading Level: 3th-5th

Pages: 112
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine
Edition: Hardcover, 2008


This is a surprising and pleasant find. Lowry has done something very different from her usual style, although it certainly is not the only book of this kind: sarcastic (sardonic, even?) and warm and gentle at the same time. I enjoyed this one tremendously. Will definitely test it out on young readers -- as a read-aloud to start with and then gather their readers' responses.

Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems)

Author: Park, Linda Sue
Rating:
Reading Level: 3rd to 6th grade

Pages: 48
Publisher: Clarion
Edition: Hardcover

I am absolutely delighted and pleased by the collection of Sijo poetry (a traditional Korean form of short poems) paired with playful and often surprising illustrations. It will be fun to see children and grownups trying their hands on creating this kind of poems!

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County

Author: Janice Harrington
Illustrator: Shelley Jackson
Rating:
Reading Level: Pre-K - 3rd

Publisher: FSG
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

I would have to say that this is one of the most joyful picture books I've read this year. I adore everything about it. It's incredibly fun to read the text out loud and to hear it read. It is colorful and energetic, full of poetic inventions:

"wash away the dreaming and brush my teeth whiter than a biscuit"
"fast as a mosquito buzzing and quick as a fleabite"
and listen to the cadence and joy of these glorious lines:
"I think of all kinds of chicken thoughts so they won't know I'm up to something.
Corn, I think, bright, shiny knuckles of yellow corn.
Eggs! Eggs! Eggs! Goldy-brown eggs all warm, warm warm.
Corn bread, corn bread! Crumb and crumble bread.
Worms, Slurms, swishy, swishy-mishy, ickly-tickly worms"

Oh... I'm having so much fun just looking at these words and lines.

And then, of course, there are these glorious illustrations -- where the energy, the colorfulness, and sunshiny fun is captured and further expanded. The mixed media with real object collage illustrations convey the carefree high spirit of our heroine. The most effective compositions are the ones that explode outward:

The page with Pah-Quawkkkkk! and Quawkkkkkk exploding in the center of the spread.

And there are pages more subdued but no less pleasing. There is a great pacing of action verses internal thoughtfulness both in the text, and especially in the illustrations. This is just GLORIOUS! I said it a third time now :)

Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist

Author: Liz Kessler
Reading Level: 3rd - 5th

Publisher: Candlewick
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The third installment of the Emily Windsnap series. I didn't read the first two but would not consider seeking them out and reading them after scanning quickly (not quite worth my time or energy to read carefully) this book. I wonder if mer-people were real, would they be displeased at the general portrayal of their characteristics?

Genies, Meanies, and Magic Rings

Author: Stephen Mitchell
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd - 4th

Pages:
Publisher: Walker
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

The retelling is skillfully done -- although I do not see how "new" and "fresh" these versions are from the older version. To gain insight, I must see some of other retellings. There are only three stories and two of them are so familiar so I wasn't getting excited about them. The second, unfamiliar story, however, is definitely interesting and worth reading.

Lily Reads: Betsy-Tacy

Author: Maud Hart Lovelace
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd to 4th Grade

fairrosa: So.. you gave this book 5 stars. Is it that great?
Lily: Yes. Because I felt that it made you very emotional and so you had a connection with the book.

Lily Reads: All-of-a-Kind Family and More All-of-a-Kind Family

Author: Sidney Taylor
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st to 3rd

fairrosa: Why do you like All-of-a-Kind Family?
Lily: I liked this book because it's about five girls and they have adventures and it's very exciting.
fairrosa: Do you have something to say about the second book?
Lily: Yes. It has a lot of tension.
fairrosa: How? What happened?
Lily: There was a disease going around and they didn't want to catch it.

Gossamer

Author: Lois Lowry
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th

Pages: 140
Publisher: Hougton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

Since so many people love this book, I was unwilling to read it, afraid that I'd find it undeserving in some way. But, I, too, fell in love with it right away. My admiration of the author's skill in telling a simple and yet complex story sustains until the very last word on the very last page. What a refreshing experience.

The characters, major or minor alike, have such depth. Many things are unsaid about them, but the reader senses a strong "knowing" of their souls from the few key moments in life Lowry chooses to present. The elegant text, deceptively simple, reminds me of my favorite Dickinson poems: a few words, arranged just right, describing the most common personal experiences, can encompass the immensity of the collective human minds -- conscious or subconscious.

The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea

Author/Illustrator: Anne Sibley O'Brien
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd - 5th grade

Pages: unpaged
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

This picture book in comic book style is near perfect in every way. The narrative is fluid, the story is exciting, the cultural details are accurately portrayed both in text and illustraion, and the pictures are expertly rendered. I am impressed at how O'Brien effectively conveys varied moods by simple changes of each facial feature.

Lily Reads: Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants

Author: Sam Swope
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd - 5th

Pages: 99
Publisher: FSG
Edition: Hardcover, 2004

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean

Author: Lauren Child
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd - 4th

Pages: 160
Publisher: Orchard Books
Edition: Hardcover, 2002

Lauren Child's child-like voice manages to be both super innocent and highly savvy. Clarice Bean is utterly a little gem and utterly charming, in an I-might-find-her-a-bit-annoying-in-real-life-for-a-friend-or-a-student-but-it-sure-is-fun-to-read-her-thoughts kind of way. I love the illustrations and the creative typesetting.

The only slight gripe I have is the "fake" story that Clarice Bean loves to read so much (Ruby Redford mysteries) within the book does not grab me, but distract me from Clarice's story. However, Lily is reading it now and she actually likes the Ruby Redford mysteries better than the main plot. Shows how tastes dictate!

The Chocolate Touch

Author: Patrick Caitling
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st - 3rd

Pages:
Publisher:
Edition:

Lily and I took turns reading aloud to each other and had a blast. This is definitely a "messegey" book: don't eat too much junk food! but it works well as a highly entertaining and imaginative story. I read it a long time ago and this time around, I still enjoyed it.

Be A Perfect Person in Just Three Days

Author: Stephen Manes
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st - 3rd

Pages: 76
Publisher: Yearling
Edition: Paperback, 1996 (1982)

Lily read it and found it mildly amusing. (I had to nudge her to finish it, though.)

Ramona Books

Author: Beverly Clearly
Rating:
Reading Level: K-3rd

Pages:
Publisher: William Morrow / Yearling / Dell
Edition: Mixed, 1955 onward

This has been a favorite bedtime story series for the last 3 months. I read it to Lily when we were in Taiwan and David has been reading it to her every night for the last 2 months. The titles in the series are

Beezus and Ramona (1955)
Ramona the Pest (1968)
Ramona the Brave (1975)
Ramona and Her Mother (1977)
Ramona and Her Father (1979)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1981)
Ramona Forver (1984)
Ramona's World (1999)

We have finished all but the last two. I'm constantly amazed and reminded of Cleary's uncanny talent at capturing the inner workings of a small child as I listen to David's affective reading and watch Lily's complete emotional involvement with the story.