Welcome to our November 2007 children's books reviews
archive. We are always looking for new books to stimulate young readers. Whether it's a
simple children's storybook to read your kids to sleep, or a book that shows them the enchanting
worlds they can find only through reading, we continue to search for new treasures in
children's books, and hope you enjoy this backissue of our November 2007 reviews of books for children.
This is the latest chapter in the stories of Ji-Stu the Rabbit. This time, Ji-Stu
and his friend Wildcat are searching for the giant cottonwood tree to see the tribe
of unusual birds that are said to live there by an old Cherokee legend.
Its a simple story that introduces young readers to many features of the state of
Kansas, such as the cottonwood tree, the sunflower and the meadowlark, which are the state tree,
flower, and bird of the Jayhawk State. Brilliant illustrations by Murv Jacob bring the story to
life.
This is the second in "The Dark Reflections Trilogy". From the jacket: "Evil forces have invaded Venice - the city that Merle and Serafin call home. Luckily, the two friends hold
secrets that just might stop the pharaoh from destroying their ancient city."
It's a well-received thriller for early teens with an interest in fantasy adventures.
Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. Enola runs up against
the restictions on females in Victorian English society as she investigates the disappearance of young Viscount Tewksbury.
Its a grand tale for young girls with a modern morality in the background. The empowerment of young women through the example of self-confident characters like Enola is done with a light touch and a grand introduction to classic mysteries that get solved with brains instead of technology.
Our hero, Adam Canfield, is the editor of his middle school newspaper, The Slash.
Along with his co-editor Jennifer, they lead a very hectic life as teens do these
days. The many story lines involve a crusade to save a three-hundred year old
tree, and a scandal at the school science fair, but the focus is on the issue
of bullying. The lack of effective supervision in schools has made bullying
a very common problem, and this book assures the young reader that there is
help behind all of the cliches most of us grew up hearing as children. Its an
engaging, meaty story that will keep the 9-12 year olds rapt.
With cartoonish illustrations, Nicola Davies demystifies one of the ickiest
topics that 9-12 year olds ever have to deal with - parasites. Of course,
most of the parasites in the world don't affect humans directly, so the book
focuses on the role of the little beasties in nature, showing how they can
often be beneficial as well as destructive little pests.
Life is hard for teens. 15 year-old Evan Doyle created this comic-book view
of his family and his Walter Mitty imaginings of himself as a superhero, with
some more reasoned commentary by his poor mother. Its the kind of book that
will amuse both teens who will appreciate the honesty, humor, and simplicity,
and by parents who will find themselves giggling and nodding knowingly to themselves.
Here's a lively tale for children aged 9-12. Its the story of young Arthur Bobowicz
who brings home an enormous chicken instead of a turkey for Thanksgiving. For many
reasons, including the obvious difficulty in getting a 266-pound chicken into the
oven, Arthur adopts the ponderous bird as a pet and names her Henrietta. But, alas,
Henrietta has plans of her own and runs away from home, wreaking havoc on the stately
Hoboken.
This retelling of a 30 year-old classic by Daniel Pinkwater comes in a newly
illustrated edition that will give young readers many a chuckle.
Once again, the Payne family are striving to stay together and to simply make
ends meet as they travel with the Travelin' Nine exhibition baseball team.
The youngsters Griffith, Ruby, and Graham are given an old baseball by their
Uncle Owen, along with a cryptic message to "keep together" and to "see things
others don't see". Ruby is sure there is a real mystery behind the baseball
and tries her best to solve it before the rich, greedy Chancellor does.
Its a fun mystery for children aged 9-12 and a worthy entry in this new series
of children's books.
Have you met Romeo the penguin and Lou the polar bear yet? They call them "polar
opposites" because - obviously, there are no polar bears at the South Pole where
penguins live and there are no penguins at the North Pole where the polar bears
live. But no matter, these two are fast friends and one day they're outside
playing, piling up huge mounds of snow carefully sculpting it as they go until
they look back on their work and ask themselves what they've built. "It looks
like a rocket ship" cried Romeo. So they hop inside and imagine themselves
in outer space, when suddenly they hear a loud "click" followed by a roar.
Their rocket ship made of snow has actually blasted off! After a rough landing
they discover that they've landed in a strange place filled with unusual creatures.
Its a city full of silly humans, of course, and our two friends have an amazing
adventure. Youngsters will love this journey of imagination.
This gorgeous reprinting of the legendary Clement Moore poem could well become
a family keepsake for you. Its high-quality printing adds extra luster to the
exquisite die-cut silouhette illustrations of the Jolly Old Elf and the story of the magical night
of sugarplums and chimneys. The extra-heavy paper stock ensures this book will
last for many, many years. The children in your family will always remember having
mom, dad, or a grandparent reading this book to them and sharing the pictures and the dreams.
Here we have a fun little sticker book showing Diego from the Nick jr. television
series "Go, Diego, Go!" helping Santa Claus deliver the presents. This
fun little book would make a great stocking stuffer.
Its another story from the folks who wrote "Bear Snores On". We learn about
Mortimer the mouse who lives in a big house owned by a very nice family. Its
Christmas time and there are decorations to explore. Mortimer discovers a
Nativity display and after a bit of exploring, he curls up in the empty manger.
Very cute story with equally cute drawings of Mortimer - especially the cover
drawing of Mortimer dangling from a Christmas tree branch. Just full of "aww"s.
Here's just the thing to convince your 4-8 year-olds to keep the faith. It's a lavishly
illustrated book devoted to the reindeer that pull Santa's sleigh every year. Its
very detailed information about reindeer in general, with a small story about each
of the eight famous members of Santa's crew from Dasher to Blitzen. With this
book, you'll be able to show how elaborate Santa's operation at the North Pole
truly is and how the reindeer would really love to be chosen.
As the book says, "It's Christmas Eve in The Plaza", and Eloise is waiting
with her Nanny for the party that the adults are having finally ends so
she can go to sleep and wake up to all of the presents that Santa brought
for her. She's living at The Plaza Hotel while her parents are off
somewhere... her mother is apparently in Paris. But Eloise is dreaming
the dreams that all children dream on Christmas Eve, and we see her
dreams in charming illustrations. So much charm in such a little girl
who has been loved by children since 1955.
This is the story of Minerva the chicken who lives on a farm. Its Christmas Eve when
she's awaken by some noise. She starts to investigate and when she looks in the house,
she spies the Christmas tree in the house. "Its all decorated with eggs!" she
thinks. Then she spies Santa Claus himself!
Its a fun little book for children ages 3-7. Simple humourous text accompanied by
some simple, but charming illustrations will make this book memorable for your family.
Clara is a young deer who is worried about Christmas. A particularly nasty winter has
made it difficult to find food. But through her courage and the help of her forrest
friends, she discovers the true spirit of Christmas. It's old-fashioned values told
in a very special story for younger children.
You guessed it, "The Three Snow Bears" is the classic story of Goldilocks "re-imagined", as they say, to the Artic realm of polar bears. This time, Goldilocks is a young eskimo girl named Aloo-ki.
One day Aloo-ki is out with her sled dogs when the lines break and she loses them.
She searches and searches until she finds an igloo. She goes inside to see if her
dogs have taken shelter in the igloo, but she finds... well, its not porridge, but
you get the idea. Wonderful paintings in the Inuit style illustrate this new
version of the classic children's fairy tale.
It's Christmas time at the Moody house, and Stink and Judy are having a grand
old time. Their old mailman has been replaced by a jolly old gentleman with an
enormous white beard who loves to laugh and make jokes. Its the classic "Night
Before Christmas" retooled for the 21st century. Simple and funny, it will
keep your youngsters in giggles all through December.
Be sure to visit us again next month when we'll
review more helpful children's books. Our
children's book reviews are written by our Editor, Richard L. Trethewey.
Rainbo Electronic Reviews' children's books reviews are published monthly. Back issues of our
reviews are available from the Rainbo Reviews Backissues Archive.
We're proud to announce that the reviews archive is now searchable by category so you can find great children's books we've reviewed in the past.
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