false 10 956 956 true 5628290 read 0 true 892668 currently-reading 0 true 892667 to-read 850 false 1820194 younger-kids 83 false 1820182 teens-and-adults 35 false 1820193 older-kids http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78665079 to: In Grandmas Attic (The Grandma's Attic Series) by Arleta Richardson
bookshelves: older-kids, younger-kids
This book is similar to the Little House on the Prairie series. A grandma tells stories from when she was little. Usually the stories involve her getting into trouble and learning a lesson from it. It is a charming little book. The best part is that the chapters are short enough that very young children can enjoy listening to this book, but the stories are interesting enough that older kids will like it, too.

I believe it is published by a Christian publishing company, and there is a slight, but obvious, religious slant, along the general lines of "God answers yours prayers." ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78609965 to: My Own Two Feet: A Memoir (Paperback) by Beverly Cleary
bookshelves: older-kids, teens-and-adults
I read "A Girl From Yamhill" which is her first biography, and loved it. So I was excited to read this second book about Beverly Cleary's life.

I loved it, but I think it is only for diehard Cleary fans, or people really interested in the life of a young woman during the thirties and early forties. She goes into quite a bit of detail about her college days (how did she remember it all?) She is such a good girl that there is not a lot of suspense, but the second half of the book is more interesting with rebellion against her parents and her various jobs as a librarian and book store staff member. It ends with how she developed her first book.

The book gives only one sentence to her miscarriage--it would have made good material, but I get the feeling it was too painful for her to write about. I also wanted to hear more about the "rebellion". What did Clarence's family think of it? Did it cause conflict in their marriage?

Hopefully she will publish a third book! I would love to hear about raising twins and becoming rich and famous! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78343249 to: How Do You Lift a Lion? (Paperback) by Robert E. Wells
bookshelves: younger-kids
This book explains machines with wonderful illustrations. The text was a little difficult for my six year old--words like "fulcrum".

First it shows a lion being lifted using a lever.
Second it shows a panda being pulled on a pallet using wheels. (Downhill allows you to go even faster.)
Third it shows lifting bananas into a tree to a baboon party using two pulleys.

I would love to know if this could really be accomplished by two kids!!!! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78342464 to: All the Colors of the Earth (Mulberry Books) by Sheila Hamanaka
bookshelves: younger-kids
This book doesn't have a story. It just a line on each page. For example: "The roaring browns of bears and soaring eagles." I found it a little simplistic for my elementary school kid, it felt more like a toddler book. But the illustrations are great, with lot of different kinds of kids.
Two sets of parents appear--interracial couples with the male darker than the female. I thought the illustrator could have varied it a bit more than that, if she was going to include parents. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77611817 to: The Jane Austen Book Club (Paperback) by Karen Joy Fowler
bookshelves: teens-and-adults
This is a nicely written book about the lives of six people in a book club. I've never actually read any of Jane Austen's books, but I didn't really feel it made a difference to understanding this book. It did make me want to pick up Pride and Prejudice and try it out!

At the end of this book, this was a brief summary of each of Austen's books, which I thought was pointless. The summaries should have been included at the beginning or just left out completely since they contain spoilers. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77245989 to: Why do whales sing? (Mickey wonders why) by Alexandra Parsons
bookshelves: younger-kids
This book for young children contains scientific facts about various animals. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77077008 to: The family Christmas tree book (Paperback) by Tomie dePaola
bookshelves: older-kids, younger-kids
This picture books shows a family explaining the history of Christmas trees. I found it very interesting, but my six year old son was less than impressed. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/236583-the-bobbsey-twins Kirei made a comment in the Children's Books group:

I loved Betsy, Tacy, and Tib when I was little!

Marv looks good. I have never heard of it. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76952010 to: Santa's Crash-Bang Christmas (School & Library Binding) by Steven Kroll
bookshelves: younger-kids
Santa finds a polar bear in his sack! This is a good enough, but not great, Christmas book. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76931145 to: "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity (Paperback) by Beverly Daniel Tatum
bookshelves: older-kids, teens-and-adults
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