Bobby vs. Girls (Accidently)

Bobby has a great summer, but when returning from a month long separation from his best friend Holly, he sees she has changed a bit. Her new friend Jillian has made her all girly and competes for her attention. The book travels through their various classroom experiences that continue to lengthen the bridge between them.

I enjoyed the humor throughout the book and the unique situations Bobby finds himself in (training a goldfish and getting stuck to the smelliest tree on Earth on a field trip). I actually ended up Goggling the Koloff Tree to see what it was all about!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Demigod Files

Being a fan of the Percy Jackson series, and being sad it only had five books to the collection, I enjoyed reading The Demigod Files. This book has three mutually exclusive short stories involving Percy and other key characters from the series. This is a very quick read and perfect to squeeze in any time after The Lightning Thief. It was written between the 4th and 5th books though.

Now I have to wait for Rick Riordan's next book, The Red Pyramid which comes in May.

Ferdinand

Ferdinand the bull lives in Spain. Unlike his peers who enjoy sparring and butting heads, he prefers to smell flowers under his cork tree. When the men from the bull fights come to select the fiercest bull they can find, they think they have found him. It's Ferdinand! This is simply because gentle Ferdinand had been stung by a bee and was acting all bull-like.

All the townspeople and bull fight people are in the arena waiting to see the spectacle, but when Ferdinand enters, he doesn't buck or attack, he catches a whiff of all the beautiful flowers the ladies were wearing and enjoys them.

Hank Zipzer: Niagra Falls or Does It?

Fourth grader Hank Zipzer finds himself in trouble the very first day of school with both his crabby teacher Ms. Adolf and the principal. Hank has difficulty writing and is required to write a five paragraph easy and is expected to share it with the class first. Hank decides to "perform" his story rather than write it, taking the "show, don't tell" concept way to far as disaster strikes.

This series is a great 3rd-4th grade bunch of stories. Hank has learning differences which will make many students feel more comfortable with their own learning styles. It is as likable as the My Weird School series and can be a great next step for readers.

Tennis Ace

I hadn't read a Matt Christopher book until now. He did a nice job of combining lots of tennis action with a story about parental pressure to be good at a sport. If he tackles every sport the way he did tennis, then it is no surprise why the kids read so many of his books. I liked how he brought the tennis action to life and applied the strategies of the sport.

Steve plays tennis really well. He enjoys it but doesn't quite have the drive his father has for him. Having had the chance himself before a career ending injury, Steve's dad is always pushing Steve. Steve feels his sister, Ginny, is the one who should be pushed as she has talent and drive. He needs to speak up, but will he?

Swindle

Griffin Bing is a righteous middle school. He stands up for his rights as a kids and wants to be taken seriously. This pet peeve kicks into full gear when he discovers a Babe Ruth baseball card.

Turning to a local shop owner, Griffin sells the card for $120. He later sees the name S. Wendell Palomindo (aka Swindle) on TV carrying on about auctioning it off for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Griffin feels cheated and knows this money could really help his family and all their financial troubles.

Hoodwicked

When I picked this book, I was hoping it was the picture book based on the movie, which mixes in all the fairy tale creatures. Not the case.

It's about Mitzi, a young girl who likes creepy things, and longed for a creepy pet. None of them really worked out for her, and she was beginning to feel hopeless. A cute kitten shows up at her door, and despite its lack of creepiness, the kitten is perfect. He liked hunting for ghosts, watching TV on her lap, and she could tell him her secrets.

The Bookshop Dog

A book shop owner and her beloved dog are enjoying life. The owner likes tricking the callers who ask for Mary Jane's assistance, not knowing that is the dog's name. Everyone, especially the man in the green coat, who comes to the shop pets Mary Jane. When the owner gets hospitalized for her tonsils she needs someone to care for Mary Jane and everyone wants to do it. Ultimately, the dog makes her unspoken decision for the man in the green coat, whose loving care leads the owner to marry him!

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

This book was a Newbery Medal winner back in 1989 and is an excellent integration of science, narrowing a topic, and poetry. Paul Flieschman focuses exclusively on insects and their unique voice in nature. The descriptions are written in a partner poetry form to be enjoyed as a choral exercise or as a pair.

The Armadillo from Amarillo

Told through narrative and postcards, an armadillo discovers many features and locations within Texas. During the trip, the armadillo introduces us to cities, landmarks, landforms, indigenous animals and plants and more. With the help of an eagle, he soars higher and higher to see the state as a whole, and then the region. Finally, they manage to get themselves on the space shuttle as it blasts into space (?????) and appreciate Earth from the Moon.

This book can be used in Texas and world lessons as you move from a local site to more global.

The Lion and the Mouse

This 2009 Caldecott Medal winner speaks volumes without saying a word. The only text would be the sound words that result from movements or animal "talking." The illustrations are excellent(of course), and together they effectively communicate the fable of The Lion and the Mouse.

The story itself tells the basic tale, but I loved how some of the "holes" were filled in to round out the story. Besides the traditionally brief narrative, you have the mouse retelling his account with the lion to his family, the hunters arriving onto the savanna, the trap being set and the lion roaring in fear as he becomes wrapped up in a rope net. The mouse hears the cries and heads out, chews through the rope, and is able to free the lion, thus making things "even."

Open the cover back to front for the full illustration spread. You will notice the two characters looking at each other. I also like how the author chose NOT to add a title to the book on its cover.

The Tiger Rising

I have read all of Kate DiCamillo's books now. She is in my top two for favorite authors. Again, her writing brings out strong emotions from me.

This time we learn about Rob. His mother has passed and he and his father have moved to Florida for a fresh start. The dad works at the motel they live in, and while exploring the grounds, Rob comes across a caged tiger on the property. After its discovery, he boards the school bus to 1) be harassed by some horrible brothers, and 2) meets a new girl who needs a friend as much as he does.

Rob packs away his feelings in a "suitcase" while Sistine could probably work on a filtering system for hers. He shares his tiger secret with her and their friendship blooms. When its owner, Beauchamp, employs Rob as the tiger feeder and gives him the keys, he and Sistine debate over whether to let the tiger free or not.

The Uglified Ducky

This fractured fairy tale is based on the The Ugly Duckling. As one of its twists, there is a moose who falls asleep by a ducky nest and is mistaken by the Mommy Ducky for the first egg to hatch from one of her own.

Mommy Ducky tries with all her might to make him a true ducky, but the Uglified Ducky just can't seem to waddle, quack, or swim like his "siblings." Frustrated, she takes him to the doctor who offers some suggestions, but basically only makes the story more funny! Really, "brandages" to stop his antlers from growing?

Ultimately, the lesson learned is to appreciate individuality. The book is written in Maynard Moose's own specialized lingo called "Moose Words" and is preceded by a glossary featuring the English equivalents. If you can, this would be the story to listen to rather than read. Willy Claflin is an outstanding storyteller who engages his audience with wonderful voices and silliness.

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea

I'm not sure what to call this kind of art, but it reminds me of paper mache and Eric Carle's style of paper illustrations but almost realistic. The book follows a decent into the sea to examine the lifestyle and physical features of aquatic life.

The book is great for studying animal adaptations and what is necessary for these unique creatures to thrive and survive. I was interested to reading about bioluminescence. I had heard of it, but was stunned to learn it is the most common type of animal communication on earth. It makes sense since over 2/3 of the world is covered in water up to 2.5 miles deep. One awesome feature of the book is when it presents the creatures and discusses bioluminesence on one page, then repeats the illustration in its lit up form.

Sparrow Girl

This book is written by the author of the Clementine series. Unlike the crazy Clementine, this story is based on real events that took place in China in the 1950s.

Ming-Li, a young girl, is very disturbed by the villagers and their quest to get rid of all the sparrows in the land. They feel the grain crops are being destroyed because these birds are eating it. Their plan is to make so much noise that the birds become terrified and leave. Feeling horrible as she witnesses tons of birds falling from the sky, she manages to save one. With its weak body in tow, she talks her brother into helping the wounded sparrows. They are able to rescue and nurse seven of them to health and hide them in the barn.

The farmers meet to discuss crops and share that there are now locusts and other pests infiltrating the crops. They determine the sparrows had eaten these creatures, and with the sparrows gone, the crops and farmers are expereincing new troubles.

A great lesson in not disturbing the balance of nature and food webs/chains. It is not based on theory, it is based on fact. Although the sparrows were dealt with in three days, it triggered the locust population to escalate which led to 30-40 MILLION people dying due to famine over three years.