bookview

I have returned

Karen — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:19:06 +0000

After a long absence, in which I was 1) writing my dissertation and 2) trying to remember how to log in to WordPress, I am back. The book reviews will resume. My apologies to those who have waited so long.

Review: Just a Snowy Day

Karen — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:32:01 +0000

Just a Snowy Day by Mercer Mayer (HarperFestival, 2006) Little Critter wants to go out and play in the snow. He puts on his smooth, shiny boots, his hat with the fuzzy pom-pom, and his coat with the warm, fuzzy lining. As he gets dressed, young readers can feel his boots, hat, and coat in this [...]

Review: Just So Thankful

Karen — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:24:30 +0000

Just So Thankful by Mercer Mayer (HarperFestival, 2006) From the well-known Little Critter series comes this new title, Just So Thankful. Little Critter wants a Super Streak Scooter, but doesn’t have enough money to buy it. Instead of being thankful for all the toys he does have as his mother suggests, he sulks because he can’t [...]

Review: I Am the Turkey

Karen — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:08:48 +0000

I Am the Turkey by Michele Sobel Spirn, illustrated by Joy Allen (HarperTrophy, 2004). Mark’s second grade class is going to put on a Thanksgiving play. Mark hopes he’ll get a good part: a Pilgrim, maybe, or an Indian. To his surprise, he’s assigned the role of a turkey. His teacher says it’s a good part [...]

Review: You Can Write Children’s Books

Karen — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:52:39 +0000

You Can Write Children’s Books by Tracey E. Dils (Writer’s Digest Books, 1998) You Can Write Children’s Books Workbook by Tracey E Dils (Writer’s Digest Boos, 2003) You’ve read your zillionth children’s books while putting your little cherubs to sleep and it suddenly hits you: “Hey — I’ll bet I could write something like this!” You have [...]

Review: Octagon Magic

Karen — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:55:26 +0000

Octagon Magic by Andre Norton (1967; reprint 2005 by Starscape) Second in Andre Norton’s Magic Books series, Octagon Magic is Norton at her best and most surreal in children’s fiction. Lorrie Mallard lived with her grandmother in Canada until her grandmother became sick and had to be cared for by a friend. Now living in the U.S. [...]

Review: Steel Magic

Karen — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:38:50 +0000

Steel Magic by Andre Norton (1965; Starscape reprint, 1995) Though the great science fiction writer Andre Norton has passed away, her work lives on forever. Norton wrote for all ages, and her works for young people received no less care, attention, and imagination than her books for adults. Starscape is now reprinting Norton’s beloved Magic Books series [...]

Review: Amazing Snakes! (an I Can Read book)

Karen — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:19:49 +0000

Amazing Snakes! by Sara L. Thompson, photographs by the Wildlife Conservation Society (HarperCollins, 2006). Big snakes and little snakes. Snakes that jump from trees and snakes that slither on the ground. Green snakes, black snakes, striped and spotted snakes. Poisonous snakes and harmless snakes. Snakes that eat mice or fish, snakes that eat birds or bats, [...]

Review: Six Fools

Karen — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:04:43 +0000

The Six Fools by Zora Neale Hurston, adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Ann Tanksley (HarperCollins, 2006) When a foolish bride-to-be and her parents let a cask of apple cider floods her basement while daydreaming about the name of her future child, her young man declares he won’t have her until he finds three fools [...]

Review: The Wright 3

Karen — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 03:41:37 +0000

The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Brett Helquist (Scholastic Press, 2006) In Blue Balliett’s sequel to the fantasy mystery Chasing Vermeer, Calder Pillay’s old friend Tommy Segovia returns to Chicago’s University School one week before the end of the school year. But everything has changed for Tommy. He no longer lives across the street [...]