Children's Book Reviews

Hello everyone! I am a 24 year old library science student, currently taking a course in Children's Reading and Literacy. This blog will consist primarily of notes on children's literature that I will read as part of that course. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like to chat about the books!

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Reading Log

I’m back again with another reading log. This week, I read 3 books with very specific qualities, as per the assignment. I was supposed to look at a book which proposes a theory of some kind, a book that invites decision making or action steps, and finally a historical fiction book. Let’s get started!

Mission Planet Earth: Our World and its Climate - and How Humans are Changing Them by Sally Ride and Tam O’Shaughnessy

This book, published by Roaring Book Press, is directed at ages 9-14. This seems quite appropriate for the following reasons. It is a nonfiction book with 4 chapters, plus a list of sources and an index. It is quite long, with 80 pages in total. It does include a lot of pictures, including photographs, diagrams, and charts. All of these factors may well overwhelm younger readers.

The visual media are quite beautiful, but there are times when I questioned the font choice, such as a black font on a fairly busy sky background that was very hard to read; the text would have been better isolated from the picture.

Overall, the book provides an excellent, accessible breakdown of climate science, human caused climate change, and the consequences of those factors. It does not provide any sort of action steps or things that kids can do to help, but it does very clearly indicate that humans are contributing to the problem, as science has been telling us for some time.

This book would be great for curriculum support or homework, or for kids who are particularly interested in ecology and climate science to read on their own. I think the fact that it is written by an authority figure, Sally Ride, that adults will recognize, is also interesting; for some readers and audiences, it may lend additional credence to her words. However, it is worth noting that there are still individuals who consider climate change to be a political issue or, worse, a hoax, or a conspiracy of some kind. The science, however, is quite clear.

Meatless? A Fresh Look at What You Eat by Sarah Elton, illustrated by Julie McLaughlin

This book, published by OwlKids books, covers vegetarianism from a broad range of angles, and is directed at ages 4-8. It is significantly shorter than Mission Planet Earth, but even so, I think this age range is way too low. The book has 6 chapters, each of which is divided into subsections. The very first chapter covers the killing of a chicken. There is a ton of text on each page, and the rhythm of the text makes it clear that it is not designed to be read aloud.

This book addresses, on the first page of text, complex ethical issues - the phrase “you are taking a life to support your own” appears on the first page. I cannot imagine trying to explain that to a four year old.

Age range issues aside, the book is really interesting. The author is a meat eater but claims she is conflicted about it. The text addresses why people eat meat, what vegetarianism is, religious factors surrounding the topic, animal welfare, greenhouse gases, and gives alternatives to eating meat and how to become a vegetarian while ensuring that enough protein is still included in the diet.

It was an interesting approach, because it was very educational, but it doesn’t feel overly prescriptive. It is a great book for helping kids learn about what vegetarianism is, and what they should be thinking about with regards to their food, and may help kids understand the diets of others even if they do not become vegetarian themselves.

It would be a good book for kids to read, but I wouldn’t want to make it required reading; peoples’ diets are an extremely personal issue, and I would not want parents to feel that something like vegetarianism was being forced on their families.

The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

This book won the Scott O’Dell award for historical fiction. It is directed at middle grade kids, ages 8-12, which seems appropriate. It is definitely a chapter book and would be best for confident readers, so this should definitely be looked at on an individual basis.

This book is about the development of the atomic bomb during World War II which was used in Japan. Obviously, there is a huge potential for discussion and curriculum incorporation, as well as further teaching. i love that Klages incorporated the real scientists, like Oppenheimer.

I think this would be a good book for kids interested in history or science. It also incorporates some discussion questions and ideas for further reading, which is great as well. I really appreciated that it offers a slightly shifted narrative of WWII than we usually see. I also like that the author has developed it into a series which addresses some of the issues the American people dealt with during the ensuing Cold War.

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Reading Log

This week, as before, I was assigned to select books from a few categories for the log. These were illustrated folktales, a folktale collection, a book of poetry by a single author and a poetry anthology surrounding a particular theme. I will say that while I never enjoyed poetry much as a child, aside from the usual Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, I was fascinated by the variety of books available! I found poetry books about geology, airplanes, and animals - I don’t know if those were available when I was a kid, but I certainly do not remember anything like that! So with that, I’ll jump into the books.

Poetry Book by a Single Author

I chose all the small poems and fourteen more by Valerie Worth, illustrated by Natalie Babbitt. I chose this book because the short poems with the simple line drawings reminded me of Rupi Kaur, my current poetry obsession. Obviously the content was quite different once I actually dug in, but it seemed like a good option. Additionally, it was originally published in 1987 and has since been picked up by several publishers, and also seems to be popular with teachers. There are 194 pages of poems, which may seem intimidating for some readers, but as it is intended for grades 3-5, it seems appropriate. The poems are very short, less than a single page in length. Not all of the poems rhyme, and those that do use very flexible rhyme schemes so we are beginning to explore some of the flexibility of poetry. This may help to interest some reluctant readers. They also cover a wide variety of subjects, so that is awesome. Overall, I think this is a great book to introduce kids to the idea that poems can take on a wide variety of formats and be about literally anything, while still maintaining a more serious tone than would Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein.

Thematic Poetry Anthologies

I had a hard time choosing one here, so I ended up going with two. The first is Dragons, Dragons & other creatures that never were, compiled by Laura Whipple and illustrated by Eric Carle. This is part of a series that began with Animals Animals, and given Carle’s immense popularity I thought it was worth exploring. This book is so cool. It includes Chinese nursery rhymes, poems from famous authors like Anne McCaffrey, and more. There are poems written for two voices, and illustrations that fold out. The pictures are beautiful and provide consistency throughout the highly variable work. This book is recommended for 6-9 year olds, which seems appropriate given the formatting and illustrations. Some of the vocabulary might be difficult for younger children, so this may be better suited to reading aloud in a group setting.

Second, I looked at Got Geography! compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Philip Stanton. I have no interest in geography and never have, so I thought it would be interesting, especially given the poetry format. This is the first book that I looked at this week that had a table of contents which lists the titles of the poems and their authors. Some of the poems here are several pages long, which is also unique to this work of those I looked at. The publisher recommends this book for ages 4-8, which definitely affirms my conclusion that this book is meant to be read aloud and would not be well suited to independent reading. There is no white space on any of the pages, and many of the poems are written in white font on dark backgrounds, and there is little space between the lines. The poems are interesting and each has its own voice, and they do make geography seem more interesting and broad, which may be of interest to children or educators.

Illustrated Folktales

Here I was directed to look at two books, so I chose one Aesop’s fable and one from another culture. First, I looked at The Lion and the Mouse adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. I did not realize when I picked it up that it was a wordless picture book, but I think that makes it really interesting! The illustrations are stunning and Pinkney manages to convey the entire, beautiful story without any words (the animal sounds are occasionally noted). It is recommended for pre-kindergarten through second grade, which seems appropriate; there is no vocabulary to master here, and the pictures and message are quite simple; the lion is nice to the mouse, so the mouse is then nice to the lion, setting him free when he is trapped by hunters. Taking Aesop’s fables, which are fairly simple, conceptual stories, and adapting them into wordless picture books is an excellent idea.

Next, I looked at How Snowshoe Hare Rescued the Sun: A Tale from the Arctic by Emery Bernhard and illustrated by Durga Bernhard. It was adapted from a Yuit story out of northern Siberia. This book is absolutely stunning. It is recommended for ages 6-8, which seems like an appropriate read aloud audience. It was not designed for young readers, with the colorful background behind the text and narrow spaces between lines, and many words packed into the blank spaces on each page. With that being said, the story is sweet and simple, and will resonate with children of all cultures. I really enjoyed this book, and it was interesting to see where the Bernhards got their ideas and inspiration from; the drawings were inspired by tribal art, and that definitely helps to bring the story to life while remaining true to the culture from which it came.

Folktale Collection

In keeping with the idea of exploring stories from other cultures, I chose to look at How Rabbit Tricked Otter and other Cherokee Trickster Stories by Gayle Ross and illustrated by Murv Jacob. This book is organized with a table of contents noting the title of each story and the page on which it begins. Rabbit, we are told, is the most important character in Cherokee folklore, and most of the stories center on him. This book is indicated as meant for all ages, which seems true to an extent. Few of the pages are illustrated, with pictures sprinkled here and there throughout the text but not serving a principle role. There is a very large amount of text on each page, and the lines are quite close together. I would suggest that while young children might enjoy the stories, this book is best for story time or a similar activity, rather than independent reading; older elementary school children might enjoy reading it alone. The stories, like Aesop’s fables, are simple, relatable, and enjoyable. The pictures, when they do appear, are incredibly beautiful and evoke both the story and the Cherokee culture.

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Reading Log

This week I focused on Easy Readers for those up and coming young readers! I chose books from a variety of categories as follows: pets, nonfiction, limited vocabulary, and gender-specific. I will note that I was required for my class to find a “girl-oriented” and “boy-oriented” book, and I had, and have, no real idea what that means (they’re children’s books!), so I guessed and did the best I could.

Pet-Focused Series

For the pet focused series of easy readers, I looked at 3 of the Henry and Mudge books from the Ready to Read series. All are listed as Level 2, which is for readers who are somewhat comfortable but not yet reading independently.The series focuses on a boy named Henry and his large dog Mudge, with each book illustrating a new adventure.

The books, by Cynthia Rylant, do have chapters, but only three per book, which feels manageable for young children. There is significant white space on each page, and the words and lines are both appropriately sized and spaced. The lines are short and the words are fairly basic, with longer words seeming recognizable, like basement and mustache.

These books follow the rules outlined in the literature well for young readers, and seem to do a good job of seeming like “big kid” books, while not overwhelming them by being too difficult.

Nonfiction

For the nonfiction book, I chose a National Geographic Kids Reader called In the Forest by Shira Evans, which is a Level 1 Co-reader. This was a really fascinating book, with one page of each spread meant to be read by the parent and the other page meant for the young reader. The parents’ side has longer sentences and more complex vocabulary, which I thought was a really interesting setup!

There are breaks between each section for an activity where the kids can look at a picture and identify things, which seems like a fun way to break up the hard work of reading!

As a result of the unique formatting, the book is longer than most easy readers, with 47 pages in total, but because it is structured so differently I did not really see this as a problem. More concerning, to me, was the lack of white space on the pages for kids to rest their eyes, and the use of white text on dark backgrounds, which may be harder to read.

Overall, I really thought this book was a fun way to get families reading together and get kids interested in reading.

Limited Vocabulary

For the limited vocabulary readers, I chose to look at a couple of different books. First, I looked at Peedie by Olivier Dunrea. This book is for kids getting ready to read, with simple words. The pages are mostly white, and the text is very large, with only one sentence on each page. The words and lines are spaced far apart. Peedie is a gosling, but it is made clear through context and pictures that he is a baby goose. The pictures are cute and comfortable, but provide additional information that helps the new reader understand the story.

I also looked at Aaron is a Good Sport by P. D. Eastman, who also wrote Go Dog Go. Like Peedie,  this book is intended for children just starting to read. The pictures are simple with large, white areas encompassing most of the page. The words are simple and familiar, and the pictures help provide context to help decipher the words.

Both of these books seem like good choices for children and parents to look at together as they work on learning how to read.

Gender-Specific Books

Like I said, I really did not know where to start here. I more or less went with the stereotypical books, but I really do not agree that some books are only for girls and others only for boys. Children can enjoy all sorts of things that have nothing to do with, and even seem to oppose, their assigned sex. I enjoyed learning about insects and trucks as a child, and many little boys enjoy ballet, but for the sake of the assignment I chose books that follow the normal stereotypes to evaluate.

Angelina Ballerina: Angelina Takes a Bow was based on a popular children’s series by Katharine Holabird which was adapted into an easy reader by Penguin. It is marked as a Level 2 for “progressing readers” who can read longer sentences and simple dialogue while understanding context clues and complex plots.

This book uses a lot of pink; Angelina wears a pink leotard and tutu throughout the book, and all of the text boxes are pink as well. There is a great deal of space between the words and lines, and the pages consist of very short simple sentences.

The story was fun and engaging, incorporating elements of dance and theater along with themes of teamwork, and I think it would be great for any child interested in ballet or dance, or even theater.

Next, I looked at there was an Old Lady who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold, which had a metallic, comic book-like cover and was listed simply as a level B by Scholastic. Unsurprisingly, the book is a twist on the classic story to incorporate the popular children’s character Fly Guy. The vocabulary in this book was very limited, using simple words, but it had chapters and a fun font, which would make it more appropriate for older children who are more comfortable with reading. The pages are mostly white, with engaging pictures that help the reader to decipher any unfamiliar words, and the words and lines are well spaced without looking to wide and babyish.

Some of the pictures could readily be described as gross, something which always seems to appeal to children.

Summary

Easy readers are quite a different animal from picture books, and it seems like they are much more complicated to evaluate, with each publisher using a different rating system that cannot help but confuse parents. Many of the books are still well done, with every topic imaginable seemingly covered to appeal to a wide variety of children.

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Reading Log

This week’s books were a little different and fit into three distinct categories. First, I read two alphabet books: C is for Coyote: A Southwest Alphabet Book written by Andrea Helman and illustrated with photographs by Art Wolfe and Gavriel Jecan, and D is for Dreidel written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Dawn Apperley. Second, I read a book originally published in The United Kingdom, which was White Owl, Barn Owl written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Michael Foreman. Finally, I looked at two wordless picture books: Waltz of the Snowflakes by Elly MaCkay, and Bee & Me by Alison Jay. I really have to say, wordless books definitely have a special place in my heart. I did not quite realize it until I experienced MacKay and Jay’s works.

C is for Coyote: A Southwest Alphabet Book written by Andrea Helman and illustrated with photographs by Art Wolfe and Gavriel Jecan

This book was a bit of a struggle for me to get through. It was published in 2002 by Rising Moon Books, and it attempts to offer facts alongside the alphabet. I was unable to find an age range for the book; the publisher seems to have disappeared, and I had trouble deciding for which age group the book is appropriate. It is an alphabet book, which lends itself to young children, and the book incorporates sound words and repetition which would be appealing to little children. Facts about UV radiation and the age of the grand canyon, however, seem more appropriate for older, science-minded children. I would lean more towards children in the 5-7 year range as a result.

The photographs used to illustrate the book are quite lovely, but the fonts and layouts used for each page were, at best, distracting. It also seemed as though the author struggled a bit to come up with all 26 words. For example, while he refers to Native Americans throughout the book and for the letter ‘N’, for ‘I’ he uses the phrase “Indian Ruins,” which is not only inaccurate and insensitive, but may also be confusing for children given that different terminology is used for the same people throughout the book. Additionally, for ‘X,’ he uses “San Xavier del Bac Mission,” which is a stretch at best.

Overall, this book felt a bit forced, and for that reason alone I would not recommend it. The additional problems with the alphabet, cultural insensitivity, and layout seem quite unforgivable.

D is for Dreidel written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Dawn Apperley

After C is for Coyote, this book was quite refreshing. It was published by Price Stern Sloan. The author indicates on her website that the book is intended for ages 4-8, which I believe is appropriate. The rhythm and rhyme schemes seem comfortable to read aloud, and the drawings are both cute and detailed. It would be a good book for children who celebrate Hanukkah as well as for other children to learn about the holiday; the back cover includes an explanation of the history of the holiday, and the book is indicated to have been reviewed by a Rabbi.

One small problem with the alphabet is that they use the word “eight” for ‘e,’ which while technically appropriate may confuse very young children who are still learning their letter sounds. 

This book is quite fun and engaging, as well as educational; it feels well put together and thought through.

White Owl, Barn Owl written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Michael Foreman

This version was published by Candlewick Press. According to the original UK publisher, Walker Books, this book is meant for ages 5+. This seems appropriate, though there is some specific information about owls and their digestive habits (spitting out bones and fur) that may be frightening for some kids; additionally, there is one illustration of an owl catching prey that may be concerning. The pictures are colorful and lovely and fit well with the story, which is a dialogue between a girl and her grandpa about owls. Additional, relevant facts are noted, in a unique font, separately from the text, which I appreciated. In the back, an index of the facts is provided, as well as information about building nest boxes.

This book beautifully integrates the text and pictures, and teaches about owls without feeling too detached or factual, which sets it far apart from C is for Coyote.

Waltz of the Snowflakes by Elly MacKay

As an aside, one of my favorite books as a child was a wordless picture book entitled A Small Miracle by Peter Collington. I loved that story, so wordless books have always had a special place in my heart.

Waltz of the Snowflakes was published just last year in 2017 by Running Press Kids. While the publisher did not specify an age range, Publisher’s Weekly went with a standard 4-8 years. I feel like younger kids might enjoy looking at the pictures, and older children might appreciate it as well; it could be used for a writing exercise to write about the story or the characters. I honestly do not believe an age range is necessary or appropriate for this lovely book.

MacKay does an incredible job of drawing you into the little girl’s mood through the colors and details she includes, including scuffing her foot on the ground. It is obvious she wants to be anywhere else. When the ballet starts, and her eyes light up with color, literally, it is incredibly beautiful, and introduces the rest of the ballet, which is drawn in color. We see her mood shift throughout the play, feeling the highs and lows along with the characters, and truly enjoying herself.

I thought it was really interesting that she chose to do a wordless book about a wordless art form, because ballet communicates through movement rather than words, but can still tell an incredible story. It translated beautifully to the wordless book.

I loved this book. I really cannot get enough.

Bee & Me by Alison Jay

Bee & Me was published by Candlewick Press in 2016, and they recommend it for 2-5 year olds. The colors are cheerful and lovely, and there are a lot of little details to explore in each picture. Older children might enjoy looking at it as well, but I think the range is appropriate; the story might seem very silly for older children (though personally, I find the idea of a bee slowly becoming large enough to carry a person slightly terrifying). There is also some great information in the back of the book about bees and how to help them. The story does a good job of emphasizing the importance of bees and what they do, and making them seem like harmless friends.

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Reading Log

This past week, I read three recent picture books that are Caldecott Medal winners - Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat, and finally Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick . What follows will be my assessment of each book.

I read Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe, author and illustrator. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company in 2016. The recommended age range is 4-8 years old, according to Publisher’s Weekly, which seems appropriate given the vibrancy of the pictures and the simplicity of the language, though some of the themes are quite advanced, including mental illness. It truly was a lovely biography. I found myself eager to learn more about the artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, given the incredible passion he obviously held for art even as a very young child. It saddened me greatly to learn, through the author’s note, that he died very young due to drug use. Perhaps that detail can be avoided with very young children, but it is a sadly commonplace occurrence among artists. The images were particularly entrancing, given the unique nature of the media used to illustrate it. Steptoe painted salvaged wood to create the imperfect images, which beautifully captured Basquiat’s childhood in Brooklyn and the chaos and messiness of his art. The book could be used for curriculum support or homework, since Basquiat is a very famous artist. The book also highlights diversity in a way that feels very real; you can almost feel the Brooklyn neighborhood coming through in the pictures.

I also read The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat, which was published in 2014, also by Little, Brown and Company. The author illustrated this book. This book is intended for younger children, with a range of about 4-6 years old, again according to Publisher’s Weekly. The book is lovely, with pictures that remind me of my own childhood and readily invite imagination. Beekle is an absurd little creature that, nonetheless, feels friendly and relatable. The colors of the drawings are lovely, and the story is simple, with only short sentences on each page. It would be well suited to story time, or for young children to begin to read books independently, but there is no significant academic merit to the work. The story is simple, sweet, and engaging, and young children will be able to relate to the themes around making friends and being lonely, with the pictures provide a truly entrancing backdrop to the story.

The final book, at least for this week, was Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, written by Lindsay Mattick and Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. It was published in 2015 by Little, Brown and Company; I am starting to suspect a pattern with that publisher and Caldecott winners. The recommended age range is 3-6 years old, according to Publisher’s Weekly. It was a fascinating true story about the bear that inspired Winnie the Pooh. The illustrations  throughout the book are sweet and detailed, but perhaps most enjoyable were the photographs and documents included at the end. This book could be used to teach about a lighter side of history or for story time. It made me a bit sad, even though this happened many years ago, to see the card indicating that Winnie had died in the zoo at the back of the book, so that may be of some concern for parents with little children, though it could be glossed over as it was a very small note in cursive. Children who like history, or animals, might enjoy the story; parents and educators might appreciate the educational nature of the true story.