Bonnie Ferrante's Blog, page 94

Falwell, Cathryn. Shape Capers. Book Review.

This book is an exploration of shapes, specifically circle, square, triangle, semicircle, and rectangle. In order for the child to genuinely connect with this book, I would strongly recommend that they have several copies of each of these shapes to play with. When the children in the text explore circles, the child can explore them as well. He or she can imitate the structures being built in the narration. After each shape is individually explored, all of them are put together to make a scooter, race car, rocket ship, dragon, and boat. It would be well advised to have enough shapes for the child to imitate these more complex structures.

One of the things I really liked about this book was that the children were of mixed races. The shapes were brightly colored and the children manipulating them wore patterned (with the shapes explored in the book ) black and white clothing. However the patterns were so vivid and intriguing that I found my eyes drawn much more to the children than the shapes. It was as though they were both fighting for my attention.

This would be an excellent book for a teacher or parent to use when helping a child to recognize and explore basic geometric shapes. In the second last page, children are told to look for shapes in a double-page spread featuring children at a party. An adult could extend this into the actual room in which the child is reading. The last page is an encouragement for the child to use scrap papers and create figures made from the shapes they have learned.

This book would be a valuable addition to a primary classroom.

Well recommended.

Collins, Mark C. Ben’s Day! Book Review

Mark Collins’ greatest talent lies in his illustrations. The cartoonish exaggeration will make children laugh out loud. It is the first day of holidays, and Ben is going to make the most of it. He rides his bike, hunts for sharks, paints a picture, jumps in puddles, and does far, far more. The little boy’s exuberance and delight with his experiences is clearly apparent on every page. His gentle enthusiasm for life is contagious.

The story is more of an anecdote than a plot. Ben is happy that it is the first day of summer and he isn’t going to waste a minute. He enjoys the day to the fullest and collapses happily into bed when night arrives. The rhyming text, sometimes ABAC and sometimes rhyming couplets, are well matched to the fast, fun filled pace of the child’s adventures.

There is no conflict in the story, no rising tension, no problem to solve. It is a simple romp from dawn till dusk. Not once does Ben resort to any screens for entertainment. Many of his toys and activities could be done by any child. This would be a great book to share with the child on holiday who says, “I’m bored.”

Well recommended.

Kempa, Maura. The Amazing world of Cats – Children’s Picture Book About Cats. Book Review

The best part of this nonfiction book is the wonderful photographs. I don’t know if the author took all the photographs herself because there is no credit mentioned.

The book is broken into three sections: the cat family, our amazing bodies, and playing in showing affection. In simple words with accompanying photographs, the author explains how cat body parts can show their mood, and many other interesting facts.

I do think the actual writing needed to be checked by an editor before publication. For example, the story is written in first person from the point of view of a cat but occasionally broke this pattern. The author taught us the meaning of the words such as pupil, and then went back to calling it the black center of the eye. She wrote “We can see good at night” instead of we can see WELL at night. Some things are little unclear such as, “Whiskers help us to judge distance.” There are occasional slipups such as changes in verb tense.

However, most children who love cats will enjoy this book. It contains just enough information to hold their interest throughout.

Recommended.***

Lesser, Rika (retold by). Hansel and Gretel. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. Book Review.

 

On the cover of  Hansel and Gretel, Paul O. Zelinsky’s name comes first and is in larger print. The author has translated the story from a transcription by Wilhelm Grimm but it is the illustrations that star in this book. Zelinsky is well knowing for his amazing oil paintings. He again produces full page color illustrations that are fit for framing as works of art. The characters seem alive and the settings are vivid enough to enter. The muted color, shading, and perspective suits the story line perfectly.

Rika Lesser tells the story in the traditional style. She holds nothing back. The parents abandon Hansel and Gretel twice in the forest. The witch is a cruel, frightening cannibal. Interestingly, she looks like an ordinary woman – no black robes or pointed hat. The words and illustrations show us that children are at the mercy of adults, even harmless looking ones, even ones who are supposed to love and protect them.

The version I am most familiar with says that the mother, who convinces the father to abandon his children in the woods, is actually the stepmother. In this story, she is their biological mother. This makes the concept more frightening and disturbing. The matter of fact way she sentences her children to a harsh and lonely death is chilling.

Because of the disturbing nature of the story, I would not recommended for children under nine years of age. It would be suitable for older students studying traditional fairy tales.

Feiffer, Jules. Bark, George. Book Review.

Bark, George is a hilarious little book. George’s mother cannot get him to bark. Her pup says meow, quack, oink, and moo, but never arf. She takes George to the vet who pulls out a cat, a duck, a pig, and even a cow. Finally George is able to bark. On the way home, George gives his mother another surprise.

Pictures are simple but highly expressive and comical. Two delightful illustrations are when George barks for the first time and when  George gratefully licks the vet for solving his problem.

Each page contains 1 to 3 sentences. There is one challenging word – latex. This book would be perfect to read to preschoolers or for early readers to enjoy themselves. It’s guaranteed to bring a lot of giggles. Children might like to discuss what other animals George could swallow and what other sounds he could make.

This book would translate well into an interactive oral storytelling. Children could provide the sounds. The adult can say, “Bark, George.” And the child could respond with an animal sound.

This book could easily become a bedtime favorite. Highly recommended.

Last Day to Enter Almost Here

Tomorrow Goodreads picks the two winners of paperback copies of Rayne Shines. Make sure you enter on time.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/93328-rayne-shines

Wilson, Janet. Severn and the Day She Silenced the World. Book Review.

Severn is the daughter of David Suzuki and a dedicated environmentalist in her own right. This book tells about her role as a grade school child in ECO. With the help of her friends, Severn raised enough money to buy a water purifier for a village in the Amazon. Through this experience, and other experiences with her parents, she realized that humanity’s behavior has sent the environment into a deathly spiral. The ECO (Environmental Children’s Organization )decided that in order to make the biggest impact, they needed to address the world leaders at the 1992 Earth Summit. Severn and her friends made many speeches and spoke to important leaders but the epitome of the event was when she received a standing ovation for explaining how the decisions of leaders are impacting negatively on their children and grandchildren.

In subsequent years, we may be tempted to say the speech had no effect. Earth, humanity, and every species on the planet are in grave danger of extinction due to human behavior. Every year we become closer and closer to the point of no return, and many scientists say we have already reached it. Severn and the Day She Silenced the World does not gloss over this. The book is heartbreaking. However, it is also hopeful. The girls’ work continues in a variety of ways as adults.

The amazing thing about this nonfiction book is that it shows how determination, commitment, and hard work can produce amazing results, even for very young children. This would be a wonderful book to share with your middle grade child and is sure to promote discussion and action. The style is approachable for young readers. The book includes photographs, newspaper clippings, drawings, and inspirational quotes. It has a helpful glossary and useful links.

In an age when we are trying to inspire girls to pursue careers in science, reading this book is an empowering experience. It clearly states the major reasons for the destruction of our environment and how a dramatic shift in attitude is necessary to save it.

This book is part of a series, A Kids’ Power Book. If they are all of this quality, they would be wonderful purchases for girls from grade 4 to 10.

I was given a copy of this book for review.

Vald, Charles and Rachael Vald. 6 Fantastic Fun Picture Books – Space, Dinosaur, Princess and More. Illustrations by Gary Lucken. Book Review.

The first story is called Space. The teacher takes her class on an adventure to the moon. The story reminds me of the kinds of tales my students used to write in grade 5. As well, it needed an edit. On the very first page, and several times throughout the story, the authors use “class were” instead of class was. Other mistakes such as “she walked passed” instead of past pop up periodically.

The illustrations are cute, simple, cartoonish digital graphics. They also could’ve been done by a grade 5 student.

The second story is entitled There’s a Mouse in My House. It’s written in rhyme, which might have worked for the story if the beat had been more consistent. A naughty mouse keeps getting into things and making a mess. Mom wants Jeff, the son, to get the cat and catch the mouse. Unfortunately, sentence construction is confusing, “Get the cat, Jeff, he’s footballing the eggs.” Although the sentence indicates the cat is footballing the eggs, the illustration shows the author actually means the mouse is. The ending is strange. Jeff makes the mother apologize.

The third story is entitled Why Knights Don’t Save Princesses From Tall Towers Anymore. There are some humorous escapades. The vocabulary level is too high for children who might find this story interesting. The picture of the dragon is deeply disappointing.

I stopped reading at this point. You don’t have to eat the entire cow to know the meat is tough.

Not recommended.

Rockwell, Anne No! No! No! Book Review.

The target age for this story is 3 to 6. It is told from a first-person point of view. A little boy wakes up grumpy. He doesn’t like anything he has to eat, do, or wear. “But I had to.” At school he dislikes his picture, his blocks fall down, and another child mocks his shoes. On the way home he falls in the mud. At home he can’t find his car, soup is too hot, pudding is the wrong flavor, and the dog eats his apple. He is forced to take a bath and wear itchy pajamas. He protests when the wrong cartoon comes on television and his mother says it’s time for bed. Here, the story takes a sudden twist. Mother reads a new book to him, which he loves. He falls asleep and has a beautiful dream. (I guess the pajamas stop itching.) He wakes up the next day with a smile.

While the message of the story is quite clear, I think it is overdone. For the entire day the child sees nothing positive. It is a sweet concept that his bedtime story is the best part of his day. Unfortunately, the child’s relentless negativity does not engage the reader or arouse his sympathy. Anne Rockwell may want the take-away to be that no matter how bad things get, good things are around the corner and even if you don’t like what’s happening, you still have to do it. I don’t see how this does much to help a child with a negative or demanding attitude. With a lot of input from an adult, this story could be a catalyst for conversation on how to cope with things you don’t like.

Illustrations are bright, chunky pastels or crayon drawings. They are simple and realistic enough for children of this age group.

A suitable book for children aged 3 to 6, although I think there are probably better ones on this topic.

Temperley, Howard – In the Days of Dinosaurs, A Rhyming Romp Through Dino History. Illustrations by Michael Kline

In the Days of Dinosaurs is a meaty book of 64 pages. Each page features a different dinosaur including a pronunciation guide, information in rhyme, and a cartoonish drawing. A nonfiction rhyming book is rather unusual, but Temperley does an admirable job of portraying scads of information in verse. However, I did find the rhyming lines distracted from my understanding of the information. A child would read this book more for the entertainment value than for research. The end of the book has a helpful two-page spread of the dinosaur timeline.

The illustrations push the book more toward the entertainment type. It has dinosaurs in a bed with a blanket and headboard, wearing a bib, and reading the sports page. The inclusion of humans interacting with dinosaurs may lead to more confusion for children interested in archaeology. Personally, I would’ve preferred realistic illustrations.

The author certainly gets across the magnificence, power, and unique qualities of dinosaurs. Because of illustrations, I would not use this book as a child’s first introduction to dinosaurs but it would be a lot of fun for kids who are familiar with these magnificent beasts and understands what they were really like.

Recommended with limitations.