Children’s Books – Page 10 – Looking For a Good Book

June 9, 2016

WHAT ELEPHANTS KNOW – Eric Dinerstein

I read/review approximately 200 books a year but very few of them are as simply beautiful as What Elephants Know, by Eric Dinerstein. Nandu is a child, abandoned in the jungle of the Borderlands of Nepal and watched over by a pack of wild dogs. He is found and raised by Subba-sahib, the head of… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, MEMOIR, Uncategorized, YA

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

May 25, 2016

BEHIND THE CANVAS – Alexander Vance

Claudia Miravista loves it when her class takes a trip to the art museum because Claudia loves art. But when she sees a boy go in and out of view in some paintings, she is ridiculed by her peers when she tries to tell them about it. But the boy, Pim, is real, and Claudia… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

April 29, 2016

TOTO’S TALE AND TRUE CHRONICLE OF OZ – Sylvia Patience

Too many people think that the Wizard of Oz story is essentially the remarkable film version. It’s a great movie (one of the few that I do still watch repeatedly), but of course there’s much more to the book upon which the move was based. This delightful little book, Toto’s Tale and True Chronicle of… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Entertainment, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

April 15, 2016

RUBY WIZARDRY – Eric Weinstein

Though I have a better than rudimentary knowledge of some basic computer languages (HTML, PHP, JAVASCRIPT) I will admit that I’d never even heard of Ruby before, so I was definitely curious to check this one out. I reviewed a companion book, Javascript For Kids here. As the subtitle says, and as the drawing on… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Reviews

March 17, 2016

THE STORYBOOK KNIGHT – Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty

Yes! Yes! Yes! I am not typically a fan of rhyming children’s picture books, and the rhyme here is a little forced at times (read it out loud and you will stumble a bit), but the story is SO sweet and the art so FANTASTIC that I would guarantee that this is a book that… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Picture books, Reviews

February 10, 2016

WONDER WOMAN: AMAZON WARRIOR – Steve Korté

Ah…I remember the days when I couldn’t wait for the Scholastic book fair that the school would have once a year. As a reader of comic books, this is precisely the sort of book that I would be drawn to. It appears that Scholastic is issuing a few of these books in a “Backstories” series,… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, comic book superheroes, Entertainment, Graphic Novels, Picture books, Reviews, superheroes, Young Adult

January 25, 2016

WARREN THE 13TH AND THE ALL-SEEING EYE – Tania del Rio and Will Staehle

Warren, the 13th, is a twelve-year-old bellhop in a strange hotel that rarely sees any guests. Warren will inherit the hotel, which was started by the first Warren in a successive line of Warrens. Also in the hotel is Warren’s Aunt Anaconda who has taken over the management of the hotel, but Warren knows that… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

January 20, 2016

LITTLE NEMO: RETURN TO SLUMBERLAND – graphic novel

Not too long ago I reviewed a book about Winsor McCay, titled Wide Awake in Slumberland (you can see that review here). Fortuitous timing as I would otherwise not understand the background for this beautiful graphic novel, Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland. King Morpheus’ daughter, the Princess of Slumberland, is looking for a new playmate.… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

December 4, 2015

ALISTAIR GRIM’S ODDITORIUM – Gregory Funaro

If Charles Dickens were writing today I can imagine him writing something very much like Alistair Grim’s Odditorium. Gregory Funaro has written a children’s book that evokes shades of some of the more youth-centered Dickens books such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, or Little Dorrit. We start with a boy named Grubb, an orphan who is… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

November 27, 2015

THE CHRISTMAS COAL MAN – Joe Kulka

What happens when Santa Claus decides that he’s no longer going to punish the bad boys and girls by giving them coal in their stockings, and instead reward the good boys and girls with something extra? Well, the man who has supplied Santa with coal for all these years is suddenly out of a job.… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Holiday, Reviews

October 28, 2015

JAVASCRIPT FOR KIDS – Nick Morgan

For kids? This book is great for ANYone looking to learn what Javascript is, and how to write it. In the vein of the “Dummies” books and “Idiot’s Guide” books come the “for Kids” books, which approach a topic, in this case writing Javascript, as if the reader has no background in it. And in the… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized, YA

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Reviews, Young Adult

October 27, 2015

LINCOLN’S SPYMASTER: ALLAN PINKERTON – Samantha Seiple

This teen and tween biography of Allan Pinkerton, by Samantha Seiple, is just the ticket to get students interested in reading non-fiction. Lincoln’s Spymaster is an easy, engaging read. Seiple’s writing moves along crisply, telling us what we need to know and making the work of the spy, Allan Pinkerton, sound exciting and dangerous (which… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized, YA

4 stars, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Reviews, Young Adult