AUGUST 31, 2011
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Mr. Popper is an absent-minded house painter who often paints a kitchen in three different colors. He loves to daydream, dreaming about the Arctic and the Antarctic is his favorite pastime. When he isn’t painting or decorating, he reads all about the Arctic. His favorite radio program is listening to Admiral Drake talk about his expeditions to the North and South Pole. Imagine his surprise when he actually gets to speak to the Admiral. A few days later, Mr. Popper receives a package. He opens it, and out pops a penguin! Life with a penguin is never dull, and from making a home for Captain in the refrigerator, to making an indoor ice rink, the Poppers have lots of adventures. Eventually, they receive a girl penguin so that Captain is not lonely. Then, along come 10 baby penguins. So many penguins are very expensive, so the Potters train the penguins in a theatrical act. They tour the country and make money. They have a lot of fun, but miss Stillwater. Pretty soon, the money runs out and poor Mr. Popper ends up in jail. Admiral Drake comes to the rescue! What a fun story! This Newbery Honor book is sure to delight readers in grades 3-6.
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AUGUST 24, 2011
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This is the classic tale of Mary Lennox, born in India and orphaned at 10-years-old. She is sent to England to stay with her uncle in his 600-year-old house along the edge of the moor. She is told that it has 100 locked rooms! Mary is thin and pale when she first arrives at Misselthwaite Manor but grows fatter and stronger as she plays outside with her new skipping rope. Then a robin shows her the entrance to a secret garden and, with the help of a local boy named Dickon, she begins to bring it back to life. One night, she hears crying down the hall and follows the noise to a room where she discovers a sickly boy her own age, who is thought not to live. His father, Mr. Cravens, is Mary's uncle and they are cousins. But he is spoiled and throws many tantrums. He is convinced he will also develop a hunchback like his father and does not allow anyone to look at him. Still, he seems to like Mary. Since being outside has improved her own health so much, she wonders if it might have the same effect on Colin. She worries, though, can she trust him with the secret of the garden? This was one of my favorite books as a child and I enjoyed rereading it again as an adult. Is it written with an English Cockney dialect where those characters speak it, which might be difficult for some readers to decipher. It has a fairly high reading level, but the content is suitable for grades 4-8.
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AUGUST 23, 2011
Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice
When his Army Reservist parents are deployed to Iraq, Erik Carlson is sent unwillingly to live with his barely known grandparents, Oma and Big Darrell. They live in vast, mostly unoccupied, rural North Dakota. Although his grandmother loves and welcomes him from the start, she seems fearful of his uncommunicative, gruff and forbidding grandfather. Shortly after his arrival Erik discovers a dog, an expensive purebred German shorthaired pointer, suffering from an earlier encounter with a porcupine. She has a snout full of quills. By the time a vet comes and removes them, Erik is smitten by the dog and determined to keep her which he feels would make his months away from home somewhat more bearable. When his grandfather returns home, he makes it clear that there will be no dogs, ever. Left alone the next day, Erik discovers a sealed bedroom obviously being kept as kind of a shrine to his mother's brother, his uncle who was killed years ago in Viet Nam. Discovering there a gun, bullets, camping equipment and then stocking his backpack with food, Erik and the dog he has named Quill set out to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the house. For the next few days, alone in the wilderness, the two manage to survive - but it is not easy and given time to consider what he has done, Erik begins to have second thoughts. Suitable for sixth to ninth graders - will be of interest especially to those who love the challenge of conquering the great outdoors.
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AUGUST 23, 2011
Wild Wings by Gill Lewis
Callum and Iona, residents of adjacent farms in Scotland, spot the aerie (nest) of an endangered osprey. Fearful of poachers who sell osprey eggs for exorbitant amounts, they pledge to keep their find a secret. Unfortunately the female bird becomes entangled in old fishing line which necessitates informing Callum's family and the technician, Hamish, from a nearby nature center. Following the rescue operation, he equips the osprey (newly named Iris) with a GES satellite transmitter so that her moves may be tracked. Some months after the birth of her chick, Iris sets out for her winter nesting grounds in Africa. By logging into his computer using a special code, Callum follows her lengthy journey southward through France and Spain and over Gibralter. But as she heads for Gambia it becomes clear that she has come to grief somehow. Is she injured or dead? How to find her - - e-mails are sent out giving her location and almost unbelievably they are answered by Jeneba, a young, hospitalized Gambian girl. Together, she, her village, and Callum and his neighbors cooperate to try to save Iris's life. This is an excellent retelling of how dedication to a good cause can have far-reaching positive effects. It will be of interest to sixth through ninth grade young people, especially those who are committed to saving endangered wildlife.
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AUGUST 18, 2011
Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten
Many of us are familiar with the beloved Walt Disney film of Bambi. It is a wonderful movie to watch. However, to truly experience Bambi, one needs to read the book.
Bambi tells the story of a young deer's life, as he grows from child to adolescent to an adult. He learns from many teachers, including his mother, his cousins, Gobo and Faline, and his father, the great old stag of the forest. Bambi learns how not to make a sound as he walks, to be careful upon entering the meadow, where he tastes the sweet grass, and most of all, to fear man. As he becomes older, Bambi realizes that man can be both the enemy and a friend.
Bambi is exquisitely written, with such feeling and respect for the animals of the forest. As you read, you feel like you are with Bambi in the forest. The beautiful watercolor illustrations could stand alone, but they do give life to the characters in the story. Just a gem, and highly recommended for students in grades 4-7.
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AUGUST 3, 2011
The PS Brothers by Maribeth Boelts
Two sixth grade boys, Russell and Shawn, are close friends and even call themselves "brothers." They both want a pet dog badly. They think a dog might protect them from bullies and being picked on in the community. Russ spends most of his time at the library reading and dreaming about owning a dog.
Shawn lives in a typical family with six brothers. Russ lives in the backyard of a pop-up camper at his Uncle Cory's house ever since his mother died and his father had "legal" problems. The boys went to look at a puppy for sale at a rather strange, very strange, house as it turns out to be.
As the boys look at the cost of a new puppy, it becomes apparent that they will have to raise the money themselves to purchase a puppy. The issue now becomes how to earn the money. Shawn had recently purchased a "pooper scooper" in hopes of use with his own dog some day. That gave the boys an idea. They decided to create a business of cleaning up after people's dogs outside in their yards. The boys decide to name their business
The PS Brothers. While making payments on a puppy from that strange house, Russ and Shawn uncover an unexpected illegal situation. It gets more interesting at this point. Read to find out what is uncovered and how it is resolved. Mystery, humor, friendship and personal struggles are all in this story most appropriate for boys (girls would find interesting, too) in grades 1-3.
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AUGUST 3, 2011
A Nation's Hope The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis by Matt De La Pena
This book is more than a story about the sport of boxing or the life of a boxer. Joe Louis was a man who took on a challenge that united the nation during a segregated period in American history. Ironically, America was about to be involved in fighting a war against discrimination in Europe.
As a young boy, Joe had speech problems and did not talk until age six. His parents sent Joe off to a violin lesson when he detoured into a boxing gym. Joe was drawn to the use of his large hands and thus the sport of boxing. In the beginning, Joe had many visits to the floor. With training, he began to win in the sport of boxing. Joe was an unusual boxer, as he often helped his opponents up from the floor and made sure they were alright. He had the ideals of true sportsmanship. On the eve of World War ll, June 22, 1938 at Yankee Stadium, Joe fought his famous victory fight against Max Schmeling, a German boxer. This fight was far more than just a title for the championship of world heavy weight. This fight was an event in which African Americans and Caucasian Americans came together putting aside prejudices to become "a nation of hope."
This book is most suitable reading for those in grades 3-6, formatted in picture book style and beautifully illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
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