Month: December 2018

Fergus and Zeke at the Science Fair

Fergus and Zeke at the Science FairFergus and Zeke at the Science Fair by Kate Messner, Heather Ross
Published by Candlewick Press (MA) on September 18th 2018
ISBN: 0763678473
Pages: 48
Goodreads
three-stars

Fergus and Zeke are two classroom mice. They are very interested in what the students are doing and when the teacher announces a science fair, they want to join in! Unfortunately, they can’t quite figure out how to do that. After a few failures, Lucy, a student, brings over a cardboard maze. She wants to teach Fergus and Zeke how to run the maze for her science project! Fergus is happy to do it, but Zeke is upset because he wants to do his own experiment. Eventually they figure out a way that they can both be part of the experiment and run their own experiment!

Heather Ross’s  illustrations are colorful and funny and add to the humor of Kate Messner’s text. This is a good early chapter book aimed at grades 1 to 4. “Fergus and Zeke at the Science Fair” is a solid addition to an early chapter book collection, but not a must-buy. You do not have to have read the other book in the series to understand this book.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

three-stars

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow FlagPride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders, Steven Salerno
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on April 10th 2018
ISBN: 0399555315
Pages: 48
Goodreads
four-stars

“Pride” is a short biography about Harvey Milk’s political career, but mostly focuses on the creation of the rainbow LGBTQ+ flag. Written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Steven Salerno, this inspiring book shows how Harvey worked hard to make his dreams of equality for LGBTQ+ people a reality through politics. Before a large march, Harvey thought, “we need a symbol,” and when he asked artist Gilbert Baker, Baker responed, “we need a flag!” So Gilbert worked on designing a flag and volunteers helped dip fabric into large vats of dyes and cut and sewed until they had a flag with eight colorful stripes.

The images in the book are bright and eye-catching and the text doesn’t shy away from difficult events, like Harvey’s assassination, but manages to maintain a positive and upbeat theme throughout. Change has happened and will happen and thanks to the rainbow flag, people have hope and pride. This is a picture book-style biography aimed at grades 1 to 3. This is a must-buy for any youth services non-fiction section!

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

four-stars

If you Had a Jetpack

If you Had a JetpackIf You Had a Jetpack by Lisl H. Detlefsen, Linzie Hunter
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on April 24th 2018
ISBN: 0399553290
Pages: 40
Goodreads
four-stars

“If you had a jetpack” is a fun cause-and-effect picture book, similar to “if you give a mouse a cookie,” but with more chaos and busier illustrations. Written by Lisl H. Detlefsen and illustrated by Linzie Hunter, the story follows two bunnies who create jetpacks and fly them around. It starts off with the bunnies flying the jetpacks around school, then to their grandmother’s house, and eventually into space!

The illustrations are colorful and filled with animals doing silly things. Kids who enjoy detailed illustrations will have fun looking over all of the different things going on in each page. The text is humorous and could be used to introduce the concept of adverbs. Recommended for preschoolers to third grade, this picture book is fun, but not a must-buy. If your child really enjoyed the “if you give a mouse a cookie” series, they may like this crazier version.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

four-stars

Stegothesaurus

StegothesaurusStegothesaurus by Bridget Heos, T.L. McBeth
Published by Henry Holt & Company on June 12th 2018
ISBN: 1250134889
Pages: 40
Goodreads
five-stars

“Stegothesaurus,” by Bridget Heos and illustrated by T. L. McBeth, follows three stegosaurus brothers as they go about their lives. But one brother is not a simple stegosaur. He is a stegothesaurus! Whenever his brothers use one word, Stegothesaurus uses three different words to say the same thing. When an allosaurus jumps out to attack them, his brothers run away, but Stegothesaurus is frozen, thinking of different ways to describe the allosaur’s pointy and terrifying teeth!

McBeth’s illustrations are simple and colorful and very humorous! Kids will repeat the words that Stegothesaurus uses to describe things (don’t be surprised if the next time it’s hot out, your child says it is “blazing, blistering, broiling!”) Heos takes an idea that has been done in the past (“Thesaurus Rex” comes to mind) and makes it original and very funny. This book is a must-buy for a library’s picture book collection, or for kids who enjoy funny read-aloud books. With the hilarious plot, quotable dialogue, and simple and silly illustrations, I can see this book becoming a favorite for many children.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

five-stars

Mysteries of Machu Picchu

Mysteries of Machu PicchuMysteries of Machu Picchu by Elizabeth Weitzman
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1st 2017
ISBN: 1512440183
Pages: 32
Goodreads
three-stars

Elizabeth Weitzman’s “Mysteries of Machu Picchu” starts with Hiram Bingham’s discovery of the ancient Incan city high in the Andes mountains and continues through the work of archaeologists and preservation efforts today. The book is filled with photographs and interesting facts about Machu Picchu; I particularly liked the “Myth Alerts,” which described previous ideas about the city that were proven to be false. A glossary and “further information” section in the back of the book offer more info for curious readers.

This book is aimed at readers in grades 3 through 6. While it was interesting, I would say that this is not a must-buy for non-fiction collections, unless you have a lot of readers who are very interested in archaeology or history.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

three-stars

The 91-Story Treehouse

The 91-Story TreehouseThe 91-Story Treehouse: Babysitting Blunders! by Andy Griffiths
Published by Feiwel & Friends on July 10th 2018
ISBN: 1250104882
Pages: 384
Goodreads
three-stars

This is the seventh entry in the “13-Story Treehouse” series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. The treehouse has had more floors added and is now a 91-story treehouse! The main characters, Andy and Terry (loosely based off of the author and illustrator), are trying to write another book for their boss, Mr. Big Nose, but they keep getting interrupted!

Just when you think that they’ll be able to start working on the book, Mr. Big Nose asks them to babysit his three grandchildren. Andy doesn’t think this is a great idea, but Terry thinks it will be fun. When the kids go missing, Andy and Terry enlist the help of a fortune-teller to find them, but of course a lot of chaos ensues.

The drawings are filled with funny details and the adventure moves along swiftly. Kids who have enjoyed past “13-Story Treehouse” books will love this one as well. A good addition to middle-grade graphic novel collections.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook

three-stars

What the Woods Keep

What the Woods KeepWhat the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra
Published by Imprint on September 18th 2018
ISBN: 1250124255
Pages: 384
Goodreads
four-stars

What the Woods Keep

 

Ever since Hayden was eight and her mother died she has been homeschooled and seen by a therapist.  She was believed to be responsible for a child being cut by a mirror and was expelled from school.  But now she is eighteen and has seen her mother’s last wishes for Hayden—to go back to their home in Promise, Colorado and destroy her mother’s darkest secrets.  Hayden and her best friend, Del, go to Promise and from their first moments there are fog, rain, suspicious strangers, and a feeling of connection to the Nibelungs of Germanic lore.   The Nibelungs want to be released to inhabit and take over the world.  They are not friendly sorts at all, but are cruel and evil.  In a horrible twist of fate Del’s pinky finger is cut off.  There is a slight bit of romance with Hayden and Shannon, who had been Hayden’s best childhood friend.  But Hayden solves her own problems and defeats the Nibelungs.

There is a strong friendship between Hayden and Del, but the finger amputation takes things too far.  The atmosphere of the story is set with the ever-present fog and sinister rain storms.  It may make readers want to find out more about the Nibelungs.

It is for grades 9-12.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

four-stars

The Supervillain and Me

The Supervillain and MeThe Supervillain and Me by Danielle Banas
Published by Swoon Reads on July 10th 2018
ISBN: 1250154359
Pages: 378
Goodreads
three-stars

The Supervillain and Me

 

Abby and her brother, Connor, live with their dad in a city that is racked with crime.  Her mother had been murdered and the pain of this is still fresh.  Connor has special powers that cause him to be a Superhero called the Red Comet.  He knows when people are in trouble and zooms in to save the day.  But there is a Supervillain called the Iron Phantom who appears to be causing mayhem and the townspeople are uniting to get rid of him.  Abby is trying to live a normal life as the star of the school’s play, but when she begins to have feelings for a boy in the tech. crew and may or may not be attracted to her co-star, either of whom could be the Iron Phantom, things become more complicated.

The true identity of the Iron Phantom is a major plot point, but one that was easily guessed.  It was hard to keep my interest when it was easy to tell what was going to happen and the writing quality wasn’t engaging.

This would be for grades 8-12 students.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

 

three-stars

Apollo 8: The Mission that Changed Everything

Apollo 8: The Mission that Changed EverythingApollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything by Martin W. Sandler
Published by Candlewick Press on September 19th 2018
ISBN: 0763694894
Pages: 176
Format: Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Full of color and black and white images along with glossy pages, this nonfiction book offers an historical glimpse at the successful launch that put the United States at the front of the space race in the late 1960s.  The book begins with a look at the engineering evolution of rocket launches dating as far back as the 1920s and the creation of NASA in Huntsville, Alabama in 1958. Focusing on the three astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, as pioneers and daredevils helps explain just how uncharted and dangerous this mission was.  Interviews with the wives of these pilots gave a unique perspective as to what an impact this space program had both on the nation and at a personal level. The layout is at times problematic with inserted articles interrupting the flow of the chapter’s body of text. It can be several pages before you can pick up with the writing. This is a better fit for a high school nonfiction collection due to complex text and historical references that are not often taught at the middle school level.

Reviewed by Suzanne Dix, Westbrook Middle School, Westbrook

four-stars

Ra The Mighty Cat Detective

Ra The Mighty Cat DetectiveRa the Mighty: Cat Detective by Amy Butler Greenfield, Sarah Horne
Published by Holiday House on September 18th 2018
ISBN: 0823440273
Pages: 224
Goodreads
four-stars

Ra is the Pharaoh’s cat and does pretty much nothing  other than sleep and eat. But when young Tedimut, a servant girl, gets accused of stealing jewelry from the Pharaoh’s Wife, Ra decides to help solve the mystery of who did it with the help of a dung beetle friend Khepri. This is a great choice for a read-a-loud or young readers looking for a mystery. Ra and Khepri are are the perfect duo to get the job of solving the mystery done. Humor, illustrations, big font and a fast paced but solvable mystery make this a good choice for young readers. It would also work nicely as a read aloud. An added bonus are the cool bits of Egyptian daily life and history. Grades 2 and up.

Mary Lehmer, Freeport Community Library, Freeport

four-stars