Duck at the Door

Author: Jackie Urbanovic (also the illustrator)
Rating:
Reading Level: pre-k to 2nd

Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

This is an absolute WINNER! The text is sparing and just right to convey the situations from page to page -- I enjoyed the individual thoughts from the animals mixed in with the straightforward text.

Each animal in the house is distinctly designed and incredibly adorable/attractive/expressive. Their body language speaks volumes!

The surprising second-to-last spread made me *GASP* with horrified delight.

This whole package just WORKS!

Lily Reads: Funny Frank

Author: Dick King Smith
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st and 2nd

fairrosa: So, how would you describe this book?
Lily: I would describe this book as funny, sarcastic, and cute.
fairrosa: Anything else you'd like to share?
Lily: Yep. I liked it because it was full of ideas that were cool.

Nothing but the Truth (and a Few White Lies)

Author: Justina Chen Headley
Rating:
Reading Level: 7th-9th

Pages: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

I had to try twice to finish this book. During the first attempt, I got SO annoyed by the piled-on, not-always-so-clever, made-me-cringe similies and metaphors (dried shitake mushroom of a heart?) that I simply had to put it down. I couldn't believe that the author was getting away with such a case of over-writing syndrome.

However, since I had to read it for the Asian Pacific American Award of Literature, I braced myself to continue reading. Gradually, I accepted that this habit of overusing figures of speech belongs not to the author but to the narrator, who is both an over-achiever and someone who does not recognize her own strengths. Lots of humor and cultural references (although they can be somewhat stereotypical) - both realistic and with quite a bit of exaggeration make the book eventually an entertaining read, albeit a bit of a mess in plot twists and tangents. But, hey, a half-half Taiwanese-White American girl whose father went absentee when she was just a tot, whose mother is pushy and demanding, whose brother just got into Harvard, and whose first love turns out to bit quite a jerk, is nothing short of a messy situation.

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah

Author: Fiona Rosenbloom
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th - 8th

Pages: 190
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover, 2005

It's a fun and quick read. Stacy Friedman's voice is lively and funny. The story, although utterly unbelievable, is actually charming at moments. However, it is highly predictable and sugar-sweet: everything works out in the end so do not worry about having to feel sorry for anyone.

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.)

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Author: David Sedaris
Rating:
Reading Level: High School and Adult

Edition: Audiobook, read by the author

This one, read by Sedaris, too, was thoroughly enjoyable. Witty, at times bitter, and other times revelational, it presents the modern American life's many quirky sides. (Of course, it's such life viewed via a very strange mind indeed.)