I Don't Feel Tardy

Remember those days when you were a kid and you just didn't want to get out of bed? Now that I have a my own children I am quite often reminded of those days. As a matter of fact we were all dragging out of bed last week and I believe someone may have been tardy.

“Late for School”

By Steve Martin
Illustrated by C. F. Payne
For ages 4 – 8
A middle school stress dream, "Late for School" is based on the Steve Martin song by the same name. It's fast-paced and full of far-fetched antics. Rated 4 (school, slapstick, moral)

A teen boy wakes up late and makes a mad dash to school. From grandma’s blueberry pie facial to a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” inspired pool scene, this antic-filled romp to school makes your daily carpool line or bus stop seem quite mundane. You may be familiar with Martin’s comedy, acting, New Yorker commentaries or even his bluegrass music, but now you can introduce him to your children with this picture book. Payne’s illustrations bring a Norman Rockwell flare to this humorous adventure. Although children will giggle, the events are far too fun to inspire them to leave for school on time. So set your alarm a few minutes early and maybe you’ll have time to listen to the accompanying CD on the way to school.

'Tis the Season

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The Consumer Season has begun. The season of buying stuff. Buying toys, bikes, robots, games, pets, trains, and things that will end up int he garbage in less time than it takes to build them. Okay that's enough for my consumerism rant. Let's try to remember what all the fuss is really about. So before I review several Christmas stories I thought I'd cover a couple that just remind me of things kids might want for Christmas; robots and pets.

"Oh No! Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World"

By Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Dan Santat
For ages 3 – 7
What kind of book would you get if you crossed a comic book with a children's animated television show? Probably something similar to "Oh No! Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World." Rated 3.5 (misadventure, school destruction, science)

Being a super genius can cause problems, especially if you build a robot for your science fair project. Maybe you shouldn’t give it a giant claw or laser eyes. "Oh No!" is a classic comedy of errors that reads like a Disney animated television show on par with "Kim Possible." The comic book-style layouts ad to this fast-paced school adventure. It even has a message we should all follow – use your brain wisely. There are consequences to every action so think things through. But how many adolescent children do you know follow that rule? Fun. Fun. Fun.

"Children Make Terrible Pets"
By Peter Brown
For ages 4 - 6
A cautionary tale of pet ownership, this tale covers the good times, bad times and scary times. Rated 4 (pets, relationships, family)

Pet ownership has it's highs and lows. It all gets compounded when you keep an animal that is not meant to be a pet. Brown's illustrations are fun and inviting, especially for your readers. "Children Make Terrible Pets"
has a good message for all those people who want to own alligators, chimpanzees, tigers or even large pythons. Children may not get the message but they’ll laugh just the same.

Pumpkin Pie Time

I was just thinking about pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday and I have a great deal to be thankful for this year. I will thank God for my many blessing and make sure that my family knows how thankful I am for all that they bring to my life. i realize that Thanksgiving is not about food, but I just can't stop thinking about all the great desserts I am going to taste this week. Pumpkin pie got me to thinking about pumpkin books. So here are two quick reviews for this holiday season. 

“The Very Best Pumpkin”

By Mark Moulton
Illustrated by Karen Hillard Good
For ages 4 – 8
A gentle story about nurture and friendship, “The Very Best Pumpkin” follows a young boy named Peter as he helps raise pumpkins on his grandparent’s farm. While Peter takes special care of a lone pumpkin, Meg watches from afar. Meg’s family is new to the area so she spends most of her time reading. When October rolls around Peter’s lone pumpkin is ready for picking an d a friendship begins to grow.
Rated: 3 (values, friendship)
What’s good: Good for story times that lead up to preschool field trips.
What’s bad: Meg’s character is a little flat.

“How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?”
By Margaret McNamara
Illustrated by G. Brian Karas
For ages 3 - 7
The message for this story is, “Good things come in small packages.” Or maybe, “Don’t judge a book by its cover." Either way, it's a good message to teach your children.

Charlie is the smallest child in his class, which means he's usually the last picked for games and sports. But Charlie doesn’t let that stop him from enjoying school. One day Charlie's teacher brings three pumpkins into the class and asks the kids to decide which one has the most seeds. Naturally they guess it is the largest of the pumpkins. After scooping them out and using their math skills they find that some small things have a lot to offer. Rated: 3 (values, math, science)
What’s good: Good use of math and science facts.
What’s bad: Not much that's bad for this age group.

Everything's Coming Up Purple

Seeing all the Halloween costumes and make up got me to thinking about a book that was sent to me to review a couple months ago. I think now is a good time to review it.

"My Purple Toes"
By Blair Hahn
Illustrated by Tate Nation
For ages 3 - 8
A cute board book that tells the story of a father, with purple painted toes, enjoying his life with and happy to be different. Rated 3 (humor, charity)
Inspired by a father-daughter day at the nail salon, this fun story offers a good message about being different and enjoying life. "My Purple Toes" is a cute little board book that tells the story of a father with purple painted toenails. Everyone reacts to his toes differently to his purple toes. Some show surprise, some just laugh.

Nation's illustrations are cute and fit the tenor of the story well. The father's toes show up in a variety of environments. The family dog appears to have purple painted toenails as well. See if you can find them on each page.

A portion of the books is donated to Soles4Souls, which collects and distributes shoes at no cost to people in need in the US and around the world.  

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a safe fun and enjoyable Halloween.

In the past I am usually able find an interesting book to read and review for Halloween. I found one of my favorite authors Adam Rex, this way. Rex is an amazing illustrator and all around creative mind who really has fun with his books. Two of my favorite picture books are "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich" and Frankenstein Takes the Cake." both are humorous and wacky collections of poetry that tell the tale of Frankenstein and other monsters of lore. I also thoroughly enjoyed Rex's foray in to books for 8 to 14-year-old children, "The True Meaning of Smekday."

So I went looking for his newest book, "Fat Vampire." Unfortunately I was unable to find it at my local bookstore and will have to order it. Once I read it, expect a full review.

Until then, it is time to begin thinking about the holidays. If you have any suggestions for books I should review, I'd love to hear from you.

Here Comes the Judge

Back in February I wrote about how John Grisham was entering the world of children's literature. I said at the time I would withhold my final reviews until I actually read the book. Well, I read the book and wrote a review for the column I publish in family magazines. Now I'm offering the review here. Enjoy.

“Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer”

By John Grisham
For 8 – 12
Think Encyclopedia Brown on steroids. John Grisham puts his well-honed writing skills to work in this tale about a 13-year-old boy obsessed with the legal system, who finds himself embroiled in a murder trial. This well-structured story is fast-paced with interesting characters. Rated 4 (peril, topical issues, anti-climactic ending, murder)
Nancy Drew doesn’t stand a chance against the legal mind of Theodore Boone. John Grisham puts his considerable writing talents to work in this tale about a 13-year-old boy obsessed with the legal system. Theodore comes from a legal family. Both of his parents are lawyers and his uncle was a layer as well.

Theodore is not athletic, but he has a great legal mind and often helps his classmates with legal advice – at no charge of course. When one of his classmates comes to him with a problem Theodore soon finds himself embroiled in a murder trial. The story is well-structured with interesting and well-developed characters. The action is fast paced and the legal insight is entertaining. Although this installment ends in a seriously anticlimactic manner, future stories have been primed to include scary twists, turns and plenty of action.

Move over Hardy Boys, there’s a new mystery solving teen in town and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Falling for Fairy Tales

I'm still on a fairy tale kick. This week the fairy tale is a modern twist on an old theme. It uses a literary technique with which readers will be very familiar. Enjoy.

“Falling In”

By Frances O’Roark Dowell
For ages 9 – 12
Its not unusual for modern authors to find inspiration in childrens' classics, such as "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz." This tale follows Isabelle, a young girl, as she falls into another world, explores the themes of family, friendship, strength and finding one's self. Rated 3.75 (fantasy, implied peril,

Obviously inspired by “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wizard of Oz,” this tale follows sixth-grader Isabelle Bean, who feels out of place in this world. She believes she belongs somewhere else, so when she falls into another world she believes she has finally found her real home.

Isabelle discovers that the children in this mysterious world spend much of there time hiding in the woods from an evil witch. Unafraid, and a little intrigued, Isabelle sets off to find the witch. Along the way she makes friends with an peculiar girl and finds a healer that happens to be her grandmother. She discovers it is her grandmother that everyone believes is a witch. Since Isabelle knows there is not actually a witch she sets out to inform everyone, but things do not go as easily as she hoped.

This interesting narrative will appeal to non-fantasy readers and has a satisfying conclusion. The tale is wrapped in twists, turns and deeper plot points that explore family, inner strength and happiness. The only drawback is in the pacing, which finds the occasional chapter plodding along at a tiresome pace.