STAR WARS Dawn of the Jedi series - FORCE STORM!

Thousands of years before Yoda and Darth, before there were lightsabers and hyperspace travel, there were system bound peoples who were sensitive to the Force.  These peoples were drawn to mysterious 'monuments' that some called Tho Yor.  They gathered at their base and over time those that studied developed and increased their understanding of the Force.  And then one day the monuments activated themselves, becoming ships that took select people to the planet Tython.  

Over the next ten thousand years the sentients (who are variously humanoid) spread throughout the Tython system and become strong in the force.  But they were not without opposition, both internally within their star system, and externally, from beyond.  For while they were developing their skills, there were others working to breed their own sensitives.  In this case, not to use the Force, but to sniff it out, so that their masters could destroy anyone with even nascent power.

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Review: BATTLING BOY
Review: YUMMY: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
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The Dawn of the Jedi, as you can see from the above illustrations, is a beautifully illustrated book.  The backgrounds are lush and detailed, and even more importantly the humanoids are believable concocted.

This first volume introduces the  origins of the Je'daii and also the characters and opponents we'll see more of in the future.   There are the young people – Shae Koda, Tasha Ryo,  Sek'nos Rath– and their masters on the 'light side'.  As well as the enigmatic Xesh and his masters on the 'dark side'.

One of the things I really liked about the plotting is that there's depth to the societies.  There are parents and peers to deal with.  And neither side is so simplified as to being monochromatic.  There are some complex politics going on, even on Tython.

Now my take on this book is probably very different from the normal fan-review.  My interest in this series is as a parent and promoter of reading.  And in that regard I'm going to give this book a thumb's up.  I think teachers and parents ought to consider this graphic novel for their reluctant readers –and well, for any reader looking for a little fun escapism.

I wish I could say that there was reading level information, but there isn't.  My own children, currently 10 and 12, had no trouble with the text, and I had no problem with their reading this book.  There is mild violence and some bullying, but nothing excessive to what they've been exposed to on television. 

Notes:
--The beginnings a little slow as the greater universe of the book is constructed, but younger readers can just scan those pages, if necessary, and get the gist of what is going on.  After Shae and the gang make an appearance there is plenty of action to keep everyone enwrapped. 

A worthy library or classroom choice.

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs


Star Wars
Dawn of the Jedi Volume 1
Force Storm
by John Ostrander
Randy Stradley
Jan Duursema
Dan Parsons

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (December 25, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1595829792

Oink-a-Doodle-Moo by Jef Czekaj

Do you remember that game you played as child, or discussed in Psych 101, where you sit in a circle and someone whispers a message in the ear of the person next to them who then whispers it to the person next to them, and so on around the circle.

That's the textual concept behind Oink-a-Doodle-Moo. One day Pig decides to have some fun, and he/she goes 'psst' to rooster and says, "I have a secret". That secret turns out to be 'Oink'. Cute Rooster scurries off to tell adorable Cow. And 'Oink-a-doodle-doo' is the result. Cow then passes it on to frog, who passes it on crow... until there's a wide range of animals involved. Each of them adding a bit of sound to message until the end where Dog runs into a bit of a snag.

My Thoughts

The art work in this book is adorable. Sweet and playful. And the increasingly long message idea is funny enough to appeal to both small children and me.

How Would I Use

(Sorry, but you know me. A book has to be more than a pretty face if it's worth purchasing.) For very young children in the household you could use it to work on animal identification. There's owls, crows, horses, sheep, mouse, snake, donkey, duck cat, and dog shown besides the other animals I mentioned. A nice selection really and talking about what sounds they make will come naturally from the story,

I don't know that there's much here but entertainment for older children. The nature of the text doesn't make it a good 'practice' reader.

Overall, a cute book to share during lap time, or in a classroom, or at the library. The only thing you might consider is whether this concept is going to be amusing to you if you have to read it over and over and over again... which is likely to happen :]

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs


Oink-a-Doodle-Moo
by Jef Czekaj

• No reading level information available
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Balzer + Bray (June 12, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 0062060112
• no sample pages :(

DOG NUMBER 1, DOG NUMBER 10 by Ami Rubinger

DOG NUMBER 1, DOG NUMBER 10 is a hardback that features cute abstract drawings of fun-loving pups.

LIKES

--solid rhyme makes this book an easy read-aloud
--the text is structured so that it begs for the child to complete the couplet
--each dog displays their own number tag which accomplishes two purposes. First, it associates the phonetic sound with a digit. And second, it serves as a visual cue so that children learn to look at the artwork in books for clues as to what the words might mean, and of course, it helps so they don't get it wrong.
------I particularly LIKE that at the end ten cats are introduced so that children can practice reading to not only 10 but 20!

WASN'T CRaZy ABOUTS

--I thought some of the rhymes might not be all that meaningful to very young children. "Call me Buddy, I'm dog number...(six), as nighttime falls we're a happy mix." Okay I suppose.

This would be a good selection for a classroom where children could pick it up on their own after it's been read aloud to them a few times.

Special note: I read this one as an ebook, so cannot comment on how sturdy the book is.

Pam T
mom and fur-mom


DOG NUMBER 1, DOG NUMBER 10
by Ami Rubinger

Page Count: 28 pages
No Reading Information available
updated March 2014

UP Dog! and UP CAT! by Hazel Hutchins

Up Dog and Up Cat are two new books from HJ (Hazel) Hutchins. They came out in January of 2012 and comprise a sort of set, in that both books focus on the many uses of the word 'up', as well as image driven stories that show two frisky pets making a mess, getting put into a sort of timeout while their fur-parent cleans up after them.

The pup, for example, digs holes and chews up things he/she shouldn't. The kitten, on the other hand, leaps up on a chair and attacks a ball of yarn. Here's some sample text from several pages from both books.

(cat)
toss up
bat up
tear up
rip up

(dog)
drag up
muddy up
mess up
chew up

while the people
gather up
wash up
... snuggle up

I would use these books in two ways. The first would be to reinforce the notion to toddlers that after it's playtime, that it's time to clean up. The second way would be as a reading aid. Every time we read to very young children we should be pointing at the words on the page, helping them to connect the sounds we make to the symbols we point at. And with such short sentences --mostly 2 and 3 words long-- this is good practice material and they should be able to 'pretend to read' in no time.

If you want to check out only one, get UP CAT. It's definitely the better of the two.

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs


Up Cat

• Board book: 26 pages
• Publisher: Annick Press (January 19, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 155451388X

Up Dog

• Board book: 26 pages
• Publisher: Annick Press (January 19, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1554513898

The Long Forgotten Gary Paulsen Adventures for ADULTS

It's hard to believe but Gary Paulsen did write books that were not for children or young adults.

But The Murphy series is a gritty western that is definitely not for children. Violence and Adult Subjects! I've included the information on this series here because as far as I know it's not available anywhere else on the internet.

Murphy series

We haven't found out much about this series. In fact it took a while to even track down the descriptions of the books.

Some are available for pennies. Others for over a hundred dollars.

Murphy
Al Murphy is the sheriff of mining town that didn't find paydirt. Run down and struggling the small community still manages to had big town problems. is overcome with a feeling of chaos as a string of meaningless murders .... The n a young girl is found murdered, and the killer continues to strike, piling death upon death. But in Murphy's town nobody gets away with murder!

Click on the image to see this excerpt

Murphy's Gold

Al Murphy, sheriff of Cincherville, Colorado, searches for Wangsu, a missing Chinese man, and discovers the case involves a secret gold mine

Murphy's Herd

Al Murphy and Midge's plans to homestead go awry when an incident occurs that escalates into a bloody feud.

Murphy's War
When the lawless inhabitants of Fletcher, Wyoming, lynch a powerful Texan's son, Sheriff Al Murphy takes on the power-hungry feed store owner and his rowdy hired hands

Co-authored by Brian Burks

Murphy's Stand

Grieving over the death of his beloved Midge, Al Murphy, former sheriff of Cincherville, gets a new lease on life when his investigation into murder and intrigue involving a lucrative government contract leads to a struggle for survival.

Murphy's Ambush

In New Mexico, retired sheriff Al Murphy pins on his badge again after a rancher and his family are murdered by a band of Apaches. By the author of Murphy's Stand.

Murphy's Trail
Sheriff Al Murphy rushes to the aid of his friend Risa when her husband and sons disappear while on their way to report that cattleman Ben King has murdered two Mexican goat-herders, but he finds that going up against King is no easy task until he gets help from unlikely allies.


Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs

Celebi Rescue (Books Boys Love) (Battle Frontier- Scholastic)

A Pokémon book finally made it's way home, which was all the impetus I needed to finally read one and see what-all was involved. Not that I expected swearing or anything, but I was wondering about the quality of the writing and what, if any, violence there might be.

I'm a little surprised and definitely happy to say that the writing is good. It's not Hemingway good, but for a book on this level, the story is well constructed, and the dialog and plotting is entirely reasonable. (Here's a sample)

Then a small green Pokémon flew toward the flames. Celebi's round head was pale green and shaped like a plant bulb. Small transparent wings flapped on it's green back. It scanned the flames with two big blue eyes, and its entire body began to glow with green light.

The huddled Pokémon spotted Celebi in the sky. They watched, suddenly filled with hope.

As far as the bad guys, they are perfect for younger kids. In this book they are characters named Jessie and James and Meowth, a cat-like Pokémon. And they say/sing stuff like the following:

"Prepare for trouble, we're the cleanup crew!
With an ambush custom-made for you.
An evil as old as the galaxy.
Sent here to fulfill our destiny."

They're the sort of baddies that know they are bad, exclaim that they are bad, and even have little ditties they sing about being bad. Which is to say, I didn't see any downside to this book. It's got mild adventure, good moral lessons, and I'm taking my boy back to the library to get more. This is good boy-stuff!


THE SKINNY:::

• Good book that promotes reading. Boy-friendly action.
• On par with the Rainbow Fairy books if you are familiar with those.
• The font is LARGE.
• There are the occasional black-and-white line drawings to keep things lively!

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs


Battle Frontier:
CELEBI RESCUE
adapted by Tracey West

Reading Information:
Word Count: 4973
Page Count: 48
Accelerated Reading level: 3.2 / points: 1.0
AR quiz: 150555

Shakespeare's Hamlet for Kids by Brendan P. Kelso

I have long been a proponent of 'The Classics' for kids. Not that we haven't read all about The Pigeon, and Thomas & Percy, and Knufflebunny; but there's room too, I think, for Odysseus and the Greek gods, the Little House on the Prairie, and the poetry of Sandburg and Frost, amongst others.

Shakespeare was on my list too, but after re-reading the Richard plays, I realized that they would be a bit much for my two children, even though they are now 8 and 10. But not willing entirely to give up, I girded myself for battle with the internet and I started on a search for kid-friendly 'takes' on the bard's tales, which is how I discovered Mr. Kelso's "Hamlet".

Mr. Kelso writes that his entire purpose is to instill "the love of acting and Shakespeare into kids", and from my home experience I think his strategy works. He essentially sums up what Shakespeare says and puts those thoughts into terms that kids can understand. (Go see the sample at amazon.com to see for yourself.)

And the nice bit is that he includes quotes from the original, highlighting the words that appear in the 'adult' version of Hamlet. So that if your children are paying attention they will actually note the lines that we Americans are most familiar with. Lines like: "something is rotten in the state of Denmark", and "neither a borrower and lender be."


Now, for how the book is organized. The interesting thing about Brendan's Hamlet for Kids is that the book actually contains 3 versions of the play. All of the versions take about 10-15 minutes to read, but the number of speaking parts varies according to how many people you wish to have involved. It could be a reader of one, or a cast of nearly 2 dozen.

But let me give you an example of how this works.

Here are the characters with dialog in the first version of Hamlet for Kids:

Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Polonius
Ophelia
Laertes
Ghost

**My daughter Laura and I read this version first and only had a little side-spliting confusion reading all the parts ourselves.


The Second version has all of the above characters plus:

Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
Horatio
--an unnamed actor
Osric
Forinbras
a Sailor

The final version adds Marcellus, Bernardo and the Grave Diggers, as well as a few other minor characters.


Having these different 'stagings' allows the adult(s) and child(ren) to pick the best version for them. Older children might prefer to read a longer version, younger children the shorter. Or vice-versa.

In any case, I'm excited by this series because it allows me to introduce Shakespeare to my children much earlier than I had thought possible. It allows us to discuss the plays on their level, and it introduces them to the Bard's best known lines so that when we hear them in other places, they will be reminded of where they come from.

THE SKINNY:::
Love this book. My daughter and I read it aloud together -- each taking parts -- and now we're in the process of re-reading it (acting it out?) with her little brother.

I really like that the grisly parts -- not to mention the 'adult' elements -- have been toned down and even made humorous, making Hamlet Totally Kid appropriate.

I also like that there are three different stagings of "Hamlet". By which I mean that there is a version that features just the 'basic characters', and then two others where the dialog is made more complicated, and where more characters are included. This allows you to adapt the reading to your child's age level. Or conversely, if you are a teacher or adult in charge of a large group of children, to include up to 20 of them in a production/reading.


Shakespeare's Hamlet for Kids:
3 Short Melodramatic Plays for 3 Group Sizes

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (September 20, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1453641548
• Look Inside
  
• amazon
  

OTHER Shakespeare for Kids books:

Julius Caeser for Kids | our review
Macbeth for Kids

See our Listmania list of Brendan's other books at Amazon

The Enchanted Flounder by Susan Meredith

The author of this work, Susan Meredith, has taken a number of the old tales told by The Brothers Grimm and "cleaned" them up just a bit; adding a few new twists here and there, and overall making them a bit less grim than the originals.

Now before we go further let me perfectly clear. I was raised on these fairytales; the original ones. I had them read to me many times before I was able to read myself. It must also be noted that I am a dyed in the wool traditionalist when it comes to the subject of folk and fairytales. I look with a rather jaundice eye on any work that tinkers with the originals; if indeed the originals can even be identified. I must admit that I began this work, and the other works by this author, with some trepidations...hey, I admit that I was quite prepared not to like them!

Well, I was wrong.

I do remember this particular story quite well, along with all the others, and I must confess to you that many of the old stories told by The Brothers Grimm absolutely terrified me as a child and haunted my dreams for years afterward. Now this did not do me any particular harm, as far as I can tell, and depending upon who you talk to, but trauma it was at the time.

This tale, entitled `The Enchanted Flounder' is the old tale of `The Fisherman and his Wife,' retold in a kinder and gentler mode. It was also just quirky enough to draw quite a few smiles form me as I read it. I can tell you that the original moral of the tale; a story of greed, love, non-love, and such, has not been in the least bit compromised in this new version. No, if anything I feel that the children of today will be able to identify with it even more than the old telling.

The story is simple. A fisherman catches a small white flounder who is actually an enchanted princess who can grant wishes. The fisherman is quite happy with his life and releases the fish without asking the flounder to grant him anything. He returns home and tells his wife. Wrong move! The wife is a rather superficial thing; a greedy woman and is obviously more in love with "things" than she is with the young fisherman. She insists that he return and start making wishes...over and over again!

No spoilers here, but I will tell you that all works out quite well in the end, even is a sort of weird way for the greedy wife. Lessons here are taught and it will not take your child very long to catch their meaning. The author is a very skillful writer.

Possibly new words to the young reader's vocabulary are added here and there in the story. These words are in bold letters and the author has included a delightful glossary in the back of the book explaining the meaning of these words.

THE SKINNY:::
All in all this is a delightful tale; a very old tale which has been enhanced to make it very child friendly. The author has also been blessed with a good sense of humor (Lucky for the adult reader), which makes the book a joy to read to the little ones.

The art work is simple but extremely bold and colorful...it is ideal for this sort of story and each illustration goes perfectly with the text.

Bottom line is that if this book can sway and change the mind of a crabby old traditionalist like myself, then anyone with a more open mind will be completely delighted with this work.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


The Enchanted Flounder: A new kinder, gentler telling of a fairy tale classic

• Accelerated Reading level:none available
  
• Paperback: 26 pages
• Publisher: Rocking Chair Publications, Inc. (October 5, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0984286667
• Look Inside available
  
• amazon
  

Other Newer Kinder Retellings by Susan Meredith:

The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb

Having been a long time Crumb fan, and I will admit that in many ways, he is an acquired taste, I have wanted to read/own this particular work for some time now. A good Amazon friend, knowing my desire for this thing and knowing my almost legendary tightness with a dollar, and knowing I was having difficulties acquiring this through our local library service, had pity on me and gave me his copy. For that I am truly grateful. This friend most certainly knows what love of books and literature is all about...it is the sharing. My thanks!

Well, after I got my hands on this work and got over the shock of it not being what I expected, I have to say that I am absolutely delighted; delighted cover to cover and through four readings in the short time I have had the book in my hands. This work is rather amazing.

As has been noted, Crumb has fully illustrated the entire book of Genesis. From chapter 1 through 50, the man has not missed a word, nor might I add, has done any fiddling around with the text. I understand that it took the author, Crumb, over five years of very steady work to produce the book and the reader will merely have to glance through it to understand why. Each frame is meticulously drawn, each frame flows flawlessly into the next. I am not sure how many characters have been reproduced via drawing here, but each and every one of them is unique. This fact alone is rather astonishing.

Now before we go farther, it must be noted that the author has placed a tag on the front of the dust jacket which specifically states "Adult Supervision Recommended for Minors." This may or may not be advisable, depending upon your view, beliefs and attitude. I will say that the few scenes depicting nudity and "love making" are pretty mild by today's standards. I can well remember reading these "juicy" parts when I was a "minor," and I can assure you that my imagination was far, far more x-rated than anything Crumb came up with here. I also feel that of the many books in the Bible, this book, Genesis, should be first read with the young child, with or without adult supervision. There are just too many issues of violence, rape, murder, sex, incest, etc. to be dealt with and many of our young need some explanation; guidance to put everything into prospective.

I have had the pleasure of teaching bible classes over the last 40 years or so in the various churches we have attended over the years, all the way through teaching this subject at the university level. My specialty has been the Old Testament. I would not have hesitated for a minute using this work as a supplemental text. As a matter of fact, looking back, I wish I had had access to it years ago.

There is something in this work for everyone. For those that that consider Genesis as a part of our Christian Mythology, and every major and minor religion in the world has one, then this work will fit right in. (I myself fall into this category). For those who are literalist, I find nothing in this work that should offend in the least. For die-hard Crumb fans, the work is (from an artistic view), pure Crumb.

On the other hand....

There will be readers who will be disappointed. Some will fall into the camp of wanting Crumbs biting sarcasm to be present and not finding it. Those folks will indeed be disappointed. Some will be looking for a through trashing of the Bible. They will be disappointed. I can see, due to the "imagery" belief, where some Jewish folks may quite well be offended, not by the words certainly, but by the fact that God is indeed depicted.

Another aspect of this work which certainly should not be overlooked is the fact that it makes the reading or rereading of Genesis a true pleasure. As many times (and it has been many) that I have read this chapter, I was delighted in the new take and prospective this work gave to the old, old story.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

The Book of Genesis

Accelerated Reading level : unknown

Hardcover: 224 pages

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

ISBN-10: 039306102

Tech Stuff:
(We found a reference that said the King James version of the Bible is at the 7th Grade level.)

Bambi Gets Lost

Like all Disney books, this one is well thought out, beautifully executed and pleasing for not only children, but pleasing to the adult reading the book to the wee ones.

Bambi and Thumper decide to play in the woods. Bambi's mother warns them to be careful and not to get lost. Of course the two friends leave on their play trip with all good intentions of following mom's advice, but kids being kids, they are just what she told them not to be...lost!

The two little guys then go from animal to animal asking the way home. They run into several of their old and familiar friends in their journey; Flower the Skunk the most notable, and all kinds of other young animals from moles (who gets his head stepped on by Thumper), to fish and owls. Some of the young forest creatures seem to know the way home and either give advice on how to get there, while others simply refer to other dwellers in the forest. Others, like the pond full of fogs, really do not have all that much to say.

Needless to say, all ends well.

THE SKINNY:::
This is a happy and cute story, typical Disney of a later era. The art work is precisely executed per usual and the text is quite easy to follow.

This is a perfect bedtime story for the little ones as that is how the story ends...Bambi snuggled down in his bed having very pleasing dreams of their adventure that day. Nothing scary, violent or harsh here folks, just a kind and mellow story. I like that.

Hard to go wrong with Disney in this area and genre.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Bambi Gets Lost

• Accelerated Reading level : n/a
• Publisher: Disney
• ISBN-10: 0717287114

Maze Mania by Patrick Merrell

I have long been impressed with the publications coming off the presses of Troll Communications. This little maze book by Patrick Merrell only adds to my enthusiasm for this company. This is a good product folks, and you get what you paid for in this case.

We have his collection of 23 highly imaginative and rather unique mazes; all with different settings and themes. Included in this collection we find mazes designed around:

Cities
Schools houses
Numbers
The Human Brain
Cactus Gardens
Forrest and Gardens
Old Housing Complexes
Rail Roads
Pretzels (You have to be pretty good to figure this one out)
Ant Hills
Hills
Super Highways
Maps
And many, many more.

Each is cranked out in a charming way by "The Maze Machine" and each is introduced by funny and amusing comments. Of course there is a key in the back of the book. The colors used are very mellow, but clear and concise and quite stunning in contrast.

This book, and others of its ilk published by the same company, are ideal for working with kids of various degrees of ability. Some are quite simple, while others are complex enough to challenge even the most jaded maze expert. I like the variety in the themes.

Now reader take note: When working with larger groups of children you run into the problem of running out of books quite quickly, or at least having them thoroughly scribbled on with in a matter of minutes. Now despite the fact that these pages are very easily reproduced using even a very primitive color printer, you must be aware of the fact that to reproduce these puzzles without the companies permission is against the law! DON'T DO IT.

But that being said, I have found that if you dismember the book, i.e. cut the pages out separately, enclose them in a plastic document protector, give the kids washable markers, you can use the things over and over again. If you have several of these books/puzzles and use them a lot, you can cut appropriate size pieces of plex-i-glass, tape the puzzles to the back, and again, use them over and over again with washable markers.

This is a fun book and the kids like it.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Maze Mania

• Accelerated Reading level : n/a
  
• Publisher: Troll Communications
  
• ISBN-10: 0816741115
• Sneak-a-Peek
  

Show-Me Herps! by John Miller, (Photos) Steve Buchanan

While I am one of those individuals who over the past few years certainly have had issues with the Missouri Conservation Commission, I certainly cannot fault them for their publications. I have yet to run across one, and I have used most of them, that I did not find extremely useful; or at the very least, downright helpful. This little booklet is no exception and as a matter of fact is one of the most delightful of their publications in recent years.

For those of you familiar with the format and quality of Show-Me Bugs, you will be delighted that this book is of the same quality and is just as stunning visually.

Now I must confess to being a very enthusiastic fan of the illustrator of both of these books; Steven Buchanan. In my opinion he is one of the best, if not the best, illustrator of wildlife practicing his art today. More about that later.

This 152 page book includes pictures and addresses 18 of the 43 species of amphibians found in Missouri and 32 of the 69 species of reptiles. This is a pretty good representation of what we have to offer in this state, but do be aware that this is not a complete comprehensive field guide to all of the species which inhabit our area. It was not meant to be. There are many, many other publications which do quite a nice job of this.

No, this is a wonderful introduction to the amphibians and reptiles in Missouri. While it certainly falls into the category of "basic," it would be a mistake to think of it as only a book for children. This work is what I like to refer to as a "seed book." It is so well done, and gives so many little interesting facts, that it is bund to plant seeds of curiosity into anyone reading it and encourage them to expand their knowledge via observation (something this book stresses) and further reading. Like anything else, it is easier to learn; to develop a life long interest in anything, by first taking baby step and not allow yourself or your children to become overwhelmed.

Anyway, after a wonderful introduction to the world of Herps, each featured species is given two pages, facing each other. One page includes a picture, the other a short text which includes species name, habitat and interesting facts. The text is very well done, easy to read, accurate and informative.

Now more about the art work. Steve Buchanan's illustrations are of the types that appear, at first glance, to be actual photograph. I have never seen critters drawn, colored and presented in such a realistic fashion as offered here. Each animal simply jumps from the page. The printing and reproduction quality, on slick paper, is the best. You can spend literally hours just looking at the pictures in this book. They go beyond illustrations into the realm of fine art.

This is an ideal book go give to your child and grandchild and is ideal to use in nature study for both the young and the not so young. I grant you that I would be nice to have a book of this quality covering each and every species; indeed, even subspecies, but perhaps this will be coming down the line in the future.

This is certainly one you will want to add to your natural history library.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Show-Me Herps!

• Accelerated Reading level : unknown
  
• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Missouri Department of Conservation (2010)
• ISBN-10: 188724770X

See Don's review here.

Show-Me Bugs! by Michael Reinke

As I write this there are approximately 900,000 species of insects/bugs/spiders/etc. that have been identified in our world. Many specialists and folks in the know estimate that this is only scratching the surface and that there quite well could be 10 million species when all is said and done.

I note these figures so that this little book can be placed in perspective. Here in a few pages, 50 different species of the above named critters are named and identified. Now if you live in Missouri, or have spent any times in any part of the state, you will no beyond a doubt that we have many more `bugs' in our state than that. I sometimes feel (literally) when I am working a river bottom on a hot summer evening that all 10 million species have decided to visit me all at once. Fifty is not many, but for the purposes of this book, is plenty.

Be that as it may, this is another wonderful work produced and published my Missouri Conservation Department. As I have said before, I certainly have had many issues with this department in the past, and indeed, more so at present than ever before, but I cannot fault their many fine publications. They do a class act in this area from start to finish.

This little book is an absolute gem. It is geared more for the younger set but I can assure you that any person, at any age who has the slightest interest in natural history will find this work to be an absolute delight.

Steve Buchanan, the illustrator of this and other works, is simply one of the best in the business. His paintings of these fifty animals are some of the most realistic I have ever seen and are a joy to the eyes. The drawings/paintings are of the type that are difficult to distinguish from actual photographs and in many ways, are superior to most photographs I have reviewed as to allowing the reader to identify a particular species.

This little book addresses insects, bugs, spiders and their like. Probably the only objection I have with the book is its titles which include the word "Bugs," which is technically quite misleading. That is a miner beef on my part and of little moment.

Each of the fifty insects or bugs included in this work are given two pages; one for the wonderful illustration, the other which includes the species (including scientific name), the habitat and food, and the life cycle. The book is filled with very interesting little facts.

As I said, this work is geared toward the younger crowd and should not be considered a comprehensive field guide by any means. It should though be considered a good starter kit to stimulate the interest of the child, and adult too, for that matter.

I not that this work is in several of the class rooms where I act as substitute teacher (third and fourth grades) and I note that during free time and reading time that this work, along with Show-Me Herps are in constant use and extremely popular.

This work belongs in your child's nature library, and unless I am completely wrong, I suspect that you, the parent or grandparent, will be fighting the little one over reading time with it.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


Show-Me Bugs!

• Accelerated Reading level : unknown
  
• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Missouri Department of Conservation
  
• ISBN-10: 1887247491

See Don's review here.

"The Pokey Little Puppy" or Why Golden Books are Still Golden

I grew up with a shelf full of Little Golden Books in my house—they were inexpensive and fairly sturdy and my parents must have gradually acquired quite a few. Just about all of those have bit the dust by now, though I still cling to a worn out coverless copy of The Bouncy Baby Bunny Finds a Bed by Joan Bowden and Christine Westerberg.

According to my mother this book was the worst thing ever written down. Mostly because for a time it was my absolute favorite book to he ar and it’s a long book with lots of words on every page. I freely admit to being a read-aloud tyrant. I wanted the book I wanted and I knew every word so my mother had better not try to skip pages or sentences! As an adult I pulled out the book and found it just so-so, but I still hold onto it for nostalgia’s sake. Now I’m sure a large number of Golden Books were less than stellar books, but there are some out there that have remained great stories over the years, and I’m rediscovering them with my son.

My son’s favorite book these days --next to Where the Wild Things Are -- is The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey and Gustaf Tenggren. Reading it to him the first time was like hearing my mother read it to me once more—her voice echoing in my head as I read it. It’s a simple book about five naughty puppies who keep digging holes under the fence and how they lose out on dessert because of their behavior until they learn their lesson.

Of course the Poky little puppy makes out like a bandit until the other four puppies learn that lesson. What makes this book work so well is the repeated lines that fall easily from the tongue. For instance, these books contain one of the best descriptions of the movement of a group of puppies ever. “So down they went to see. Roly-poly, pell-mell, tumble-bumble, till they came to the green grass and there they stopped short.” My nearly 2 yr old son will sit patiently on our laps through this whole story, and we often can’t escape a day when both of us don’t read it to him at least once.

Unlike some Golden Books which have been forgotten with time and never seen the light of republishing (like my own notorious favorite), this book has gone on to be reprinted time and time again. In fact, I was in the grocery store the other day, only to discover a whole rack of Golden Books, including The Poky Little Puppy.

It’s easy today to overlook some of these books—there are so many fantastic picture books out there to be read and viewed and absorbed. But some of these are little gems, nuggets of gold in the stream of debris. And while they might not be able to compete full on with the artistry of many modern picture books, they’re still worthwhile to have and share with the next generation.

Remember These?

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

The Pokey Little Puppy

• Accelerated Reading level : unknown
  
• Hardcover: 52 pages
• Publisher: Golden Books
  
• ISBN-10: 0375839208
• sample pages available
  

A Nuisance of Cats by HC Fargot

I notice that in the Amazon product description this book has been designated as appropriate for ages 4-8, and indeed it is!

But my goodness I can assure you that this little work is just as appropriate for any age and in many ways an adult reader; a cat lover, will have a much higher appreciation for this book that the younger reader. It is most certainly one of those books that young and old alike can share...perhaps on a different level, but share they can!

To be honest, this is one of the most unique and quirky books that I have had the pleasure of reading in a long, long time. It is an alphabet book; from A to Z...that much is traditional. It is a small picture book of cats; that too is traditional. But the author, working in apparent perfect sync with the artist, Wrolf Bronesby, has come up with a most enchanting, amusing and delightful formula; the likes which I simply have never seen before.

The author, H.C. Fargot has used the first letter in each cat's name to roll through the alphabet. As an example we have:

"D is for Dahlia debating a snail." This is accompanied by a painting or drawing showing a cat who is in an apparent deep conversation with a snail that is setting on the rim of a pot of red flowers. Here I am at a loss for words! I am having a lot of difficulty describing this illustration. The use of blended reds, yellows, browns, and dark shades along with the expression in the thin yellow lines of the cat's eye sort of defy description. Visually the picture is stunning yet in an odd way the author's use of the word "debating" adds a new dimension to the already unique and picture. This is one of those cases where you would simply have to see and read it to know what I am talking about.

Then we have the letter "K" which reads:

"K is for Kafka killing some time." A picture of a smallish maniacal cat with wild deep blue eyes attempting to dismantle a coo coo clock with the bird very nearly in his clutches tells a story that could last for pages and pages. Such detail! Such conservation of words! But between the two; the picture and the text, we learn oh so much! Add to that the fact that it is rather cute and funny.

The entire book, gives us example after example; all in alphabetical order, of the foibles, silly situations (some not so silly), and messes our feline fur people are constantly getting themselves in.

It should also be noted that this author has a wonderful offbeat sense of humor. While the simple text along with the funny, whimsical and in cases, profound illustrations will have the little ones giggling, there is also some very sophisticated humor, subtle though it may be, that will give adult readers a good belly laugh, while at the same time, the lines the author uses will fly right over the heads of the younger crowd.

If you are a cat lover (I am double blessed, being a cat and dog lover), this is a little book you should really consider adding to your collection. I might add that the physical aspects of this book, printing, binding, paper grade, etc. is some of the best that I have seen in recent years. Folks, this little book is a class act all the way.

You might also want to check out two other books by this author:

Little Known School of Thought - The Fine Art of Jewish Suffering Without Guilt

A Deluge of Dogs - Hounds Without Bounds

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

A Nuisance of Cats

• Accelerated Reading level : not known
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Little Known School Press (May 3, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0982515014

The Sunday Salon - This Week in Books will return next week. After the vacation-lag diminishes ;)

A Deluge of Dogs by HC Fargot

I review and read a lot of children's books; I like them. I am also a dog lover and have literally had one all of my rather lengthy life (I am currently owned by four of them). I love good writing; witty writing, and have been a fan of illustrative art for more years than I care to tell you. You can imagine my absolute delight when I received one small book that covered each and every one of these important aspects of my life.

This is an alphabet book, and even though library shelves across the world groan with such work, there is always room for yet another, especially if it is new, innovative and a joy for children to read and learn from. Having spent quite some time in the class room with younger children, I can assure you that the one universal topic that can always led to endless discussion, and can always keep and hold their attention is pets...really any pet, but dogs always top this list with any group of students.

The author has used the name of the pet, dogs in this case, to introduce each letter of the alphabet. `W' is for Wishbone, `P' is for Pharoah, `J' is for Jasmine, `G' is for Genghis and so on. Each letter and name is introduced in a simple sentence such as, "C is for Cujo chewing the fat." Now to appreciate this you must view the pictures which accompany each sentence. In this case we have the kitchen floor, and on this floor we have a very large dog food bowl with a gigantic bone in it and on top of it all, a very small, and I might add adorable puppy, about half the size of the bone doing his best to demolish it.

Most of these sentences and illustrations, when taken together as a whole, are quite amusing and even funny. The author has let the dogs be what they are, intelligent, mischievous, and curious creatures full of love. One of my favorites here is "R is for Riley realizing the wurst," and we see the picture of a typical Irish Setter running down the city street with wurst links in his mouth!

Now for the art work; my goodness. Wrolf Bronesby is something of a new comer to the field; at least I was unfamiliar with his work, but folks I can assure you that you are going to hear a lot from and about this talented man in the future. Each frame of work, each individual picture is near perfection. The artist uses darkish mellow colors which sort of glow. While each painting is precise, there is no unneeded clutter scattered throughout the painting which cause the primary subject, in this case various dogs, to snap and standout from the background as they should.

The author has a way of playing with words in an understated manner and the child is introduced to new vocabulary words with almost each offering. There is a rhythm here and if the reader takes close note they will find that each proper noun is immediately followed by a verb beginning with the same letter...example: "S is for Simon sailing the lake." Word patterns are important and the little ones learn this through osmoses, if nothing else.

A perfect (or should I say `purrrrfect") companion for this work is A Nuisance of Cats - The Curious Collective by the same team; writer and artist.

The quality of these books, hard cover, is excellent. I suspect that we will not only hear much more from this author and artist, but also this publishing company, Little Known School Press.

Overall, thanks guys for offering us up some pure delight!

Also by the same author: Little Known School of Thought - The Fine Art of Jewish Suffering Without Guilt


Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

A Deluge of Dogs

• Accelerated Reading level : not known
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Little Known School Press (May 3, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0982515022