Children's Books
Welcome to the Youth Services Children's Books blog. We encourage you to give feedback and share.
Children's author, Patricia Polacco, has graced us with another captivating historical fiction book. This book retraces the Crosswhite family's escape from Kentucky to Marshall, Michigan in the 1840's. As a slave family, they wanted to live in a free state. Marshall, Michigan seemed to be just that until the "paddy rollers" came to fetch "fugitives" (run away slaves) back to their original plantations. The main character is the youngest child, Sadie, in the Crosswhite family. Sadie holds on to all hope through a wooden sparrow made for her by someone special. She had to leave that sparrow behind in their escape. However, the wooden sparrow shows up at the door of their new home in Michigan.
What is it precisely that amuses us - that makes us laugh? For twelve different but highly thought-provoking answers, consult Funny Business, Leonard Marcus's fascinating conversations with twelve accomplished children's authors. The theories that they share about what constitutes humor are as unique as can be imagined. They cite such influences as childhood experiences, careful observation of children and other adults, and book characters who almost seem to speak for themselves. Especially enlightening are their varied approaches to work and the time they all spend on successive drafts and revisions. Many acknowledge indebtedness to their editors. Reprinted copies of manuscript pages which accompany each chapter, as well as childhood photos of the authors augment their responses to the carefully presented questions posed to each. This is not in itself a humorous book, but rather an insightful one in which twelve authors such as Jon Scieska, Louis Sachar, Carl Hiaasen, Dick King-Smith, Christopher Paul Curtis, Beverly Cleary and others recount their very distinct and interesting approaches to the writing process. Middle school students and those who are older and their teachers will find these interviews interesting and informative. 
This book is about you. You are the main character. You can fill in your name in the book when it talks about you. You live on a beach in Hawaii, pretty nice so far. You have built your biggest and best sand castle today. At the dinner table your parents tell you a big storm is predicted to come to the island tonight. Your concern is your beautiful sand castle. Your parents say you can build another one. It is this one that is special. What do you do? Do you wait until morning and survey the damage? Do you leave your warm, dry bedroom to check out what is happening on the beach? Should you go explore the sunken ship or the haunted cove down by the beach? These are options in the ten possible endings the book will offer you. Sand Castle is a book in the series Choose Your Own Adventure written for the younger reader. You have options as to how you want your story to end. You can read the book in all endings and decide your favorite. Remember you are the main character. Most suitable reading for children in grades 1-3. 
Winner of the 2010 Batchelder Award, this book is the second in the Children of Crow Cove series. Readers who enjoyed "Crow Girl" (reviewed here in February) will not be disappointed in this sequel. Eidi, the young girl who Myna had brought back home with her in the first book, is the protagonist in this story. It is a few years later and Eidi's mother has just given birth to a baby boy. Feeling there isn't enough room for her, she leaves Crow Cove hoping to over-winter with friend Rossan and help him spin his wool into yarn. Upon her arrival, though, she learns that Rossan is planning a trip to the Eastern Harbor where he hopes to sell his wool. Traveling with him, they stay with Rossan's sister in town. But a sudden sickness leaves Rossan unable to complete his duties. Eidi steps in to sell his wool and takes on some weaving with a rich man in town named Bandon, while Rossan recovers. It is at his house that she encounters a mistreated boy named Tink. Gradually, she learns of Bandon's heartache, and of Tink's, and makes a decision that affects them all. Recommended for grades 4-6. The sparse text makes this attractive to reluctant readers, but the depth of the story will interest those who enjoy historical tales or those set in small communities with family ties and seemingly uncomplicated lives. 
This is a wonderfully sweet story set in Texas in 1899. Eleven-year-old Calpurnia Tate is not interested in sewing, knitting, cooking, or playing piano. But she is interested in science. After her oldest of six brothers gives her a notebook, Calpurnia writes down observations and questions she has. Why the big yellow grasshoppers were living while all the small green grasshoppers seemed to be dying, is the first question she considers and the one that leads to a special bond with her grandfather. No one else dared to enter his laboratory. But Grandaddy seems pleased with her interest and begins to fill in the gaping holes that are becoming obvious in her education. Things like Darwins' theories about evolution. Against a backdrop of the arrival of the new century, including the likes of seeing an automobile, and the location of a telephone in their town, Calpurnia's joint discovery of a new plant species with her grandfather looms large as she questions her role in society. This book recently was a recipient of a 2010 Newbery Honor Award. Highly recommended for readers in grades 4 and up. This was hard to put down. 
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