The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books

Rating: 3.5 stars

Billy Miller finds himself at the end of summer vacation, about to start second grade when he suddenly realizes that he might not be smart enough for second grade. The worrying creeps into his mind and he just can't shake it.

He starts second grade anyway--as if he has a choice!--and throughout the book he has small, second-grade-sized challenges that he worries about then overcomes, and Billy realizes that everything turns out okay in the end, and sometimes it turns out even better than okay.

Billy finishes the book at the very end of second grade just a little more confident and a little more capable than when he started.

I solidly liked this book, but Lorelei solidly loves it. She's read it a few times and recommended it to several of her friends. She read it the summer before her second grade, which I think is the perfect time to read The Year of Billy Miller, especially if that second grader has some (normal!) frets about school. There's nothing objectionable in this book and Billy has a yesteryear quality about him--he's a rule-following kid, a sweet big brother without a bit of sarcasm or eye-roll in his body. 

My favorite aspect of the book is the fact that there is no huge problem Billy needs to overcome. His parents don't fight or go through a divorce, no family member or friend dies, he doesn't lose his favorite pet. Billy's challenges seem bite-sized to us grown-ups but seem giant-sized to a kid barely four feet tall. And I like that a lot, because those little daily problems (such as your sister ruining a school project or reciting a poem in front of the whole school) are what life is chock full of for kids. 

What I don't love about this book: I think his parents help him too much. It's his super-hip artist dad that helps him redesign his school project after his sister douses it in glitter. And it's his always-patient mother who rescues him at the climax of the story, smack dab in the biggest small problem of his whole life. I love books where the kids have the total spotlight and the parents are in the background--I love watching kids solve their own problems, even if they create some problems of their own, too. 

But despite my misgivings, I enjoyed watching Billy grow over the course of the year, and this is a great one to read this summer with your soon-to-be second grader, or a book to let that kiddo read by him/herself.

Kate the Great Except When She's Not by Suzy Becker

Kate the Great Except When She's Not by Suzy Becker
Random House Kids

Rating: 3.5 stars

Meet Kate. Kate is a fifth-grader, a middle child, a girl who keeps a diary. In this whimsical coming-of-age story, Kate in Kate the Great Except When She’s Not (Random House, 2014) confronts the normal concerns of fitting in, friending the right kids, and doing the right thing. 

Kate is thrown for a loop when her parents ask her to be particularly kind to Nora, a girl she’s labeled as her “frenemy,” because Nora’s father is on an extended business trip and whose mother works a lot. But when an obligatory project ends up in an actual, authentic, albeit fragile friendship, Kate is forced to rethink her own assumptions about Nora and her own values. Kate reminds the reader that admitting you’re wrong about a person or yourself takes courage and humility. 

There is plenty to like about Kate, and plenty of other sub-plots in this middle grade novel to appreciate. She’s a fine flutist who plays in the school band, a budding artist who has trouble drawing noses, a Girl-Scout-esque member who doesn’t love the new troupe leader, and an imperfect, sometimes-swiping sister. Her family is a creative bunch; her overworking lawyer mom and always fun novelist father get along swimmingly and lead their trio of girls in conversations about little and big things (with the help of questions and quotations in “Bob,” the Big Old Bowl in the middle of the table). Kate learns plenty of good little life lessons throughout the book both in school and at home; therefore the reader picks up plenty of good little life lessons as well.

Kate the Great Except When She’s Not falls into the new-ish genre of “humorously illustrated diary novel.” This genre is not to be confused with a graphic novel, which is a book written and drawn entirely in comic strip format. Think Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries. There is something light-hearted, fun, and different about having drawings all over the page that definitely earns two thumb’s up from most kids.

The drawings alongside (or after, or under, or over, or…completely covering the page) the text usually illustrate the author’s thoughts or actions. In my experience, most of the books in this genre have drawings and text that are related, and the pictures help draw out or augment a particular scene or idea. 

Yet in Kate the Great Except When She’s Not, the doodles are sometimes fairly random, and I was left scratching my head for the connection between story and drawings. Or maybe adult readers don’t see the connections, and young readers—the audience of this particular genre—don’t need the connections. Maybe they find these random scratchings “hi-lar-ious!” in my daughter’s parlance without needing a reason for their existence. The book’s target audience is, after all, kids age 8 to 12, not adults in their mid- to late-thirties.

This is a fine book to give to a child in your life. It’s not one that you’ll keep on your shelf for generations because the themes and writing are so universal and phenomenal you can’t bear to part with it. It’s one your child will read in a long, lazy afternoon, chuckle at, appreciate, and then pass along to the next reading pal in their circle. 

And that’s not a bad thing at all.

Don't Push the Button! by Bill Cotter

Don't Push the Button! by Bill Cotter
Sourcebooks, Inc.

Rating: 3.5 stars

My kids, especially 3 1/2 year old Kiefer, don't care at all that his book borrows heavily from the incredibly creative and super successful Press Here by Herve Tullet. Critical comparisons is not something Kiefer cares about when he sits down in my lap and asks me in his sweet voice, "Will you please read this book to me?"

(Shame on me that I let a critical comparison decrease some of sweetness of this moment!)

Bill Cotter has come up with a book for toddlers and preschoolers that is all about pushing that button that they shouldn't press. Anyone who has ridden an elevator with any young child already knows how, for kids, buttons are The It Thing and how pressing ALL of them is just so very fun. (And anyone with an older child knows how well they press OUR buttons, but that metaphoric button-pressing hasn't found itself in a book. That I know of.)

In Don't Push the Button!, Larry the Monster first tells the reader not to push the button that appears on the left-hand side of every double page spread. But a few pages in, he whispers, "No one is looking. You should give the button on little push."

A mischievous fellow, that Larry.

So Kiefer pushes the button and on the next page Larry is not purple but yellow. When Kiefer pushes the button again he's got polka-dots. Push it twice and there are two yellow-with-pink-polka-dotted Larrys. You get the idea. There's more button pushing and some book shaking, too, which makes Kiefer laugh.

This is a fun book for kids. Hopefully it gets all that button-pressing-desire out of them so they can leave those on the elevator unpressed...

I See Me! A Day in the Life of a Princess

I See Me! A Day in the Life of a Princess

Rating: 3.5 stars

I have several I See Me! books for my own children on our crowded bookshelves here in our home. My daughter received a customized My Very Own Name when she was born from family friends. It wasn’t one we read to her often until she realized that it was in fact, about her very own name, and then she chose it frequently for bedtime and anytime readings.

When our two boys came along, we purchased for them a book from the next iteration of I See Me! books, My Very Own Pirate Tale. This book is better than my daughter’s because it is, in fact, more of a story. A fearless pirate captain is needed, and a treasure map (of sorts) spells out the new pirate’s name (in other words, your child’s name). Both boys went through phases of loving the book. This book as well as My Very Own Name are still available through www.iseeme.com. 

I liked these books a lot, but they are just okay compared to the next iteration of I See Me! books which are just fantastic! In these books, the child’s name is not the only thing that is customized. Nope, it’s 2014, of course, and these books have photographs of your child of choice inside the actual pages of the book. The photographs aren’t slipped in (I’ve seen that before)—they are part of the illustration, part of the page. It’s one thing for a child to hear their names out loud by a grown-up; it’s entirely another (wonderful) thing for a child to see their own face jump out from the page. I See Me! was kind enough to have three books made for Washington FAMILY Magazine to hold, flip through, and review in order to tell you, parents everywhere, that these are fine, worth-the-money products. 
And that’s what I am here to tell you: Girls everywhere will go crazy over Princess: A Day In the Life of a Princess books. 

When you order this book from www.iseeme.com, you provide your child’s name, gender, hair color, birthday, city, and skin color. Uploading a photograph is actually optional and of the three books reviewed for Washington FAMILY Magazine, this is the book that needs the photo the least. It is used twice: on the dedication page (for maximum effect—what a hook for a child to see their face on the first page!) and in a frame on page four with their name along the frame. The cartoon princess in the book is made in their likeness. 

The story is a little tale of a girl who dreams about becoming a princess and then, POOF!, she actually wakes up as a crown-wearing royal. She has a breakfast (cupcakes and fruit!) and strolls around her castle, visits her horses, trots through the garden, and ends up having a tea party. There are details of your girl of choice sprinkled in the words: her birthstone, her birthday and the city where she lives. 

To read the rest of the review, please click HERE.

Friends by Eric Carle

Friends by Eric Carle

Rating: 3.5 stars

Should children's books (specifically, picture books) end with the two characters getting married?

This is the question that is bouncing around my head.  My star rating is arbitrary.  What's more important: will this book provide an interesting, worthwhile conversation between my children and myself?

I'm getting ahead of myself--it's something I do so very well, it's hard not to do!  But let me explain this new Eric Carle book to you, in case you've not seen it before…

With minimal words and bright, welcoming illustrations on big, oversized pages, Eric Carle introduces a simple friendship between a boy and a girl.  The boy, who also serves as the narrator, has a good friend.  They do everything together!  They play together!  They dance together!  They hold hands, they tell each other secrets.  They are best friends.

Then, suddenly, the girl disappears.  The reader is not told why; for better or for worse, we're left to guess.

"…and they got married."

And the boy-narrator decides: he must find her.  The biggest chunk of the book illustrates his search--he climbs tall mountains, swims through cold rivers, gazes up at the starry night skies actively searching for his long, lost friend.  He walks across a field of flowers and must sense her prescience because the bouquet he gathers up in this pretty field is given…to her.

And then they get married.  (Okay, as you can see from the picture, they are still kids and are wearing dress-up clothes.  But STILL!)

Hmm.  I would have been happier without that final page.  But wait: is this book written not for 4-6 year olds but 40-60 year olds?  Do I want Lorelei and Ben to Kiefer to look at their pals today and say to them, also today, "I'm going to marry you!"  That sort of schoolyard talk is already present, I guess.  Do I want to add to it?  Or should I start the conversation about what sort of mate they should look for?

A friend is a very good start, indeed.  I read a book last year that urged us parents (especially us children of divorce who are now parents) to start talking with their kids early about what sort of person makes a good friend.  And to urge those kids to choose deliberately when they choose a friend.  What I tell my kids is this: Choose a person who makes you laugh, who is kind to you, who genuinely cares for you--not just your physical whereabouts like the boy in Friends but also if you're happy or sad, and what you want to be when you grow up.

Tricky business, this friend-finding and partner-pairing.  I guess starting earlier is better.

But maybe we could wait for the tween years (at least!) to begin talk of the whole wedding day with the poofy white dress?

Take Me Out to the Bat and Ball Factory by Peggy Thomson

Take Me Out to the Bat and Ball Factory by Peggy Thomson, illustrated by Gloria Kamen

Rating: 3.5 stars

A few weeks ago, at my sister's 40th birthday party, I found out that my Uncle Bob and his high school friend are making baseball bats in their garage.  I listened, totally intrigued and fascinated, at the whys and the hows of the story.  I watched a few videos of his bats being turned and smoothed and was just entranced.  This was a part of baseball--a nitty gritty detail that could so easily get overlooked--I really didn't know much about.

I could hardly believe my eyes when, the very next day, the kids and and I were at our local library and this book was propped up on the stacks.  What a coincidence!

I have to be honest: It's not the most well-written book and it's certainly not for everyone.  Thomson tries to create a story around how bats and balls are made in a very The Magic Schoolbus sort of way.  A group of kids travel together (without a parent or teacher, I amusingly noted) to this bat and ball factory to meet Hank.  Hank guides them around the factory, giving them a ton of facts that they smilingly lap up with a few important questions to help Hank tell them even more.

To me, the back history of bats is really interesting: what sort of wood is used and why, what is the history of the size of bats, how long they are dried, which players had out-of-the-ordinary relationships with bats (for example: The Padres' Tony Gwynn used an extra small bat, just 29 inches long; Roberto Clemente got his first bat from a guava-tree branch)?  Thomson also explains how aluminum bats are made, too--with plenty of interesting comparisons between wood and aluminum, and why players choose one over the other.

Then Hank guides the kids to the ball section, and he explains how a chemical, gooey mix is put into a sphere-like mold.  After it hardens, the ball is covered with either fake or real leather and these covers are sewn into place.  Interestingly, when a worker starts to stitch a ball, it takes nearly 45 minutes.  After a whole lot of practice, that time is reduced to 8 or 9 minutes!

There's a lot of information in this book.  I admit: I think it put Ben to sleep--I read it one night to him, and while I was genuinely enthusiastic about and fascinated by nearly every sentence, he didn't protest when I turned the light out after the last page.  His eyes were already closed.  So…maybe this book is best for a slightly older reader.  Or maybe this just is not the best bedtime book!

Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos

Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos

Rating: 3.5 stars

Throwback Thursday…sort of…!

I just don't know about this Rotten Ralph guy.  I'm totally on the fence.  On the one hand, it might be fun to have a character that is naughty and rotten and "makes bad choices" (to use today's parenting lexicon) in order to point out his flaws to my kids.  So that they avoid being naughty and rotten and so they don't "make bad choices."

On the other hand, Ralph is so selfish, haughty, and full of himself I don't like his example lying around my house!

On the other hand (hmm…somehow I have three hands this morning…), I am a huge fan of Jack Gantos' middle grade books.  I think Deadend in Norvelt is a masterpiece of story-telling and writing and I couldn't put down his autobiography Hole In My Life.  But Rotten Ralph and I are not friends--despite Ralph being as old as I am.

Ralph was still dreaming when
the ball thumped him on the head.

In this book (a beginner reader with short, manageable chapters) Ralph and the ever-patient Sarah go out for the team.  Whereas Sarah tries hard, practices, and shows up on time, Ralph is certain of stardom even before he dons a uniform.  Instead of practicing his swing, he practices writing his autograph.  Instead of paying attention on the field, he dreams of stardom and gets bonked with the ball.

Therefore, the outcome is no surprise to the reader: Sarah makes the team while Ralph gets cut.  But Ralph gets a second chance when Sarah's teammate is sick and the coach needs Ralph, now the bat…er, cat…boy, to step up and step in.  He actually gets a hit but doesn't remember to run hard and make the play BEFORE you celebrate your greatness, so…he is tagged out at home plate.

It's Sarah who is the hero with the winning home run.  "You are my superstar," purrs Ralph.  "Oh, no," replies Sarah.  "I'm a team player.  But don't worry, Ralph.  You will always be number one on my team."

I appreciate how Sarah still loves him despite his rotten, ego-driven behavior.  And I like how the book gives ample examples of what NOT to do--I get that sometimes kids listen and learn better that way.  Ben and Kiefer would give this a higher rating because they think Ralph is bad but his full-of-himself ways are hilarious.  Alas, I'm in charge of the typing for now, and I don't love Ralph.

What about you--whose side are you on?

Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean

Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book takes nearly five minutes to read.  I know that because I timed myself last night reading it.  With no kids around.  (After this review, feel free to join in a brief discussion about the state of my mental health…  Let me know if there are any useful conclusions.)  I cannot imagine how long it would take if Kiefer wanted to sing the whole thing with me.  I realize that, as a good mama, I would want to encourage this sort of engagement and musical interest.  But as a tired mama at the end of a long day, that sort of engagement and interest might push me over the edge!

And, despite the fact that there are 14 animals in it, James Dean doesn't even help me out by explaining what on earth a good mama like me is supposed to say when your kid yells out "giraffe!" or "turtle!" from the peanut gallery in the backseat while singing this song.  The nerve!

Ok, seriously.  Enough kidding around here.  This book is, straight-up, a version of Old MacDonald Had a Farm.  There are no silly twists or unexpected turns.  It's just the song, and a whole lotta verses to the song.  If you love Pete the Cat, you might not be able to resist buying it.  If Old MacDonald Had a Farm is your kid's favorite book, you might not be able to resist buying it.  Of course it's great to have a book that kids can sing to; little ones like Kiefer can "read" every single page because he knows the song by heart and therefore he can "read" along with it.

And the illustrations are, as always, wonderful.  (I'm a big Pete the Cat fan!)

But know this! Pete the Cat Old MacDonald Had a Farm is a loooong, repetitive song book.  If your child is one of those "read it again, please!" types--which we all know, and we all sort of want--you will want to pretend like the dog ate this book at bedtime.  Because you'll be saying E-I-E-I-O 42 times!  You'll be maa-ing and baa-ing and cock-a-doodle-do-ing ALL NIGHT!

Don't say I didn't warn you!



P.S.  Click HERE for a fun twist-of-a-book on Old MacDonald had a farm for preschoolers.

Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Rating: 3.5 stars

Second to the incredibly wonderful winner Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown, Nino Wrestles the World recently earned a 2014 Golden Kite Award illustration honor.  I think this award is noteworthy because peers--fellow authors and illustrators--nominate and vote for books.  Familiar with Brown's but not Morales' book, I ordered it up at the library and happily lugged it home with us in our always-heavy book bag.  My trio and I read the book together at some meal--me, standing in the kitchen with the book, pausing to refill milk and get yet another dipping sauce that makes meals tastier and them, sitting at the counter, rocking back and forth on the swivel bar stools while they chomped and listened.

Morales provides some background into lucha libre in an author's note at the end of the book.  He explains that it is "a theatrical, action-packed style of professional wrestling that is popular throughout Mexico and many other Spanish-speaking countries."  They represent mythical figures and ancient heroes and villians.  Many luchadores wear masks to hide their identity--the most famous luchador, El Santo, never revealed his true identity.

Nino makes his Puzzle Muzzle move
and Olmec's mind is blown!

The story: Nino is a lucha libre wrestler whose costume is (as you can see above) underwear and a red mask.  He fearlessly takes on frightful opponents one at a time, and dominates them with silly moves like the tickle tackle or the Popsicle Slick (in which he cleverly uses a melting popsicle to make El Chamuco slip).  Nino's last opponents are his two little sisters, awake from their afternoon nap.  Rather than competing against them, they join forces to become invincible.

This is not your typical story with full sentences and plot development.  It's best read in your best WWF announcer voice (think: "Let's get ready to rummmmmm-ble!") and you better be prepared for some wrestling action afterward, particularly if you have, like me, more than one boy-child in your house.  It is, without a doubt, a lot of fun to see a little boy defeat these huge villians in such clever and creative, kid-appealing ways.

El Chamuco

This is definitely an out-of-the-box book that will appeal to some, but not to others.  For me, it's just okay--I can appreciate it but I am not crazy about it.  I think I'm missing a cultural link that might make it more special or meaningful, or at least provide more personal context.  The pictures are really cool with out-of-this-world graphics that jump off the page, having the devil in a children's book definitely throws me off a little.  In fact, having to explain who the devil is the devil (ha ha) to Lorelei and Ben while they slurped milk and tried to get away with using their fingers was not what I expected in my evening.

That said, this book has cool appeal I can't deny.  The illustrations are completely award-worthy, the story inspiring and funny, the ending a cute twist on the rest of the book.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, illustrated by Mary Shepard

Rating: 3.5 stars

Lorelei and I read Mary Poppins for two reasons: First, it was on a How Many Of These Children's Books Have You Read quiz and I wanted a higher score; second, I haven't seen the movie in nearly 30 years and thought it would be a good one to view.  Reading the book first would make a movie a literary experience, at least in my book, and therefore the extra screen time would not induce any mommy guilt.

I loved the movie as a child but had never read the book.  There's a reason for it: the movie, I think, is better than the book.  The book was just okay.  There were a handful of really wonderful parts, including:

After Mary Poppins first arrives, she takes them to visit her uncle who is unburdened by gravity.  He simply floats on air.  The children and Mary Poppins are lucky enough to share in this magic and they float up towards the ceiling, too, and have a tea party high in the air.  They also have a bit of laughing gas, so they roll around the air, laughing hysterically.  Lorelei and I loved that part, and we talked about what it would be like to go to school or hang out in our house without gravity.

We also liked the chapter "Full Moon."  In it, the children wander to the zoo in the middle of the night, only to find that the humans are behind bars and the animals are walking about, visiting them and feeding them and commenting on how wild the humans are acting.  It's a scene where the switching of humans and zoo animals really has dark implications, but Lorelei didn't pick up on anything but the funny mixed-up-ness.  Why did this happen, you might wonder?  As it turns out, it is Mary Poppins birthday, and this mixed-up zoo happens under the direction of a Snake King once a year to celebrate.

What I didn't like was actually a who.  I didn't like Mary Poppins much at all.  As a child, I loved her character (played by the delightful Julie Andrews, of course); I remember her to be a stern woman who would give a wink on the sly so as to assure you that she wasn't so uptight.  And she would laugh and smile as she sang--I still have a warm feeling thinking about her.  In the book, she's stern without the reassuring, warm wink.  She sniffs (is this a British thing?) to show her displeasure--and she sure sniffs a lot.  There is hardly any warm feeling at all.

Her abrupt departure is odd to me in two ways: First, who leaves children without saying good-bye?  I know that she forewarned the children (and us, the readers) that she would leave--fly away with her magical, posh umbrella--but the end seems abrupt and cold.  Second, the kids are totally distraught, and as a reader I'm surprised by their emotional response to her leaving.  Having a magical nanny does have its perks, but she was so quirky and cold and unpredictable that their attachment to Mary Poppins seems unearned.

Julie Andrews was so delightful as Mary Poppins!

And yet, I'm glad I read this book with Lorelei, because the book's ending, unsatisfying though it was for me, was priceless because of what happened while we read it.

Lorelei and I were lying on her little twin bed, on a quilt bursting in little girl pink and butterflies. I lay flat on my stomach, reading the last chapter.  She lay next to me, on her side, propped up on her left hand, which meant her right hand was free.

As she listened, she doodled on my arm with her small finger.  She ran her finger up and down my arm, first in circles and then in zig-zags.  She made her pointer and middle finger walk along my arm.  She played with my shirt sleeve, seeing if she could push it up and then down again.  When she had had enough of that she moved on to my hair, which is usually unruly in its current state.  She tried to pull it behind my ear. It flipped back out.  She tried to pull it behind my ear again, then giggled when it flipped back out.  She brushed the hair on my forehead out of my face with her whole hand, just playing with it, maybe wondering what it felt like, and then letting her hand figure out the answer.

I didn't remark on any of this.  I didn't want to break the spell.  Honestly I didn't want the book to end because I loved these sweet gestures.  I loved that Lorelei felt so comfortable she could twirl my hair in her fingers just as easily as she could twirl her own.

We finished the book and talked about the ending a little; I was honest about how I didn't like the last few pages.  It didn't seem like a true ending to me in a few ways, I explained.  I tried to explain why I thought it was unsatisfying--didn't give me that aaaahhhhh sighing-out experience that great books have at the end.  But in my head I knew that the whole experience was very satisfying.  Lorelei's sweet little touchings on my arm and in my hair made the book's ending very memorable to me.

It reminds me that I read books with her and with my boys for literary purposes, sure, but also because sharing a book together can be a sweetly intimate, completely priceless experience.

I Am Abraham Lincoln by Brad Meltzer

I Am Abraham Lincoln (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book is smaller than most picture books.  Rather than standing the usual 12 or 14 inches, and being a standard rectangle, this book is a small square, about 6 by 6 inches.  That smaller-than-normal stature is ironic because by its contents, it is a bigger-than-normal book.

Meltzer (a thriller and mystery novelist who also hosts "Decoded" on the History channel) aimed to create a biography series of individuals that should and could be the heroes for today's children.  Right now, the Ordinary People Change the World series has two published books--Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and one soon-to-be-published Rosa Parks.  As a proven author, I'm betting that Meltzer will write at least a dozen.

I think he does a pretty good job of packing in a LOT of information in this book that's aimed for 5-8 year olds.  He teaches about Lincoln's young life; he includes a specific example of how Lincoln steps in to stop a group of boys torturing (my word, not his) a poor turtle.  Courageously, he spoke up, and demanded the turtle be released.  "When you're ten years old, it's hard to do the right thing.  But someone has to."

Another vignette Meltzer includes: when Lincoln was 22, a gang of bullies challenged him to a fight.  Lincoln lost, and was angry about the fight--not because he lost, but because his opponent had cheated. He called him out on his poor sportsmanship, calmly and confidently pointing out that he'd fight all of them if he had to.  "Sometimes the hardest fights don't reveal a winner--but they do reveal character.  Especially when you're fighting for something you believe in."

I preferred to read.

The book includes the tough and true topics of slavery and war (but not of assassination), which is to be expected in a book about Lincoln.  With Lorelei we've discussed these topics, but with Ben we've only begun to explain the definition of the words, let alone the heartache they caused both then and now. The book ends by teaching kids how Lincoln used words in Gettysburg ("all men are created equal") and elsewhere to explain his personal conviction and, ultimately, to change the law that ended slavery.

I'm trying to put a finger on what it is about this book that makes it not resonate with me.  I'm not a fan of comic books, and the illustrated Abraham Lincoln in this book is a kid version of the adult--he's small but has a beard and top hat from age 6 to age 60, so...the missing aging process is a little odd to me.  The book is told in first person; I think it's pretty gutsy to actually put words in a man like Lincoln's mouth.  I'm not such a fan of that (but would kids really care? Probably not).  Meltzer is VERY preachy, taking a few pages at the end to talk about how "strength takes many forms.  But there's nothing quite as strong as standing up for someone who needs it." Maybe it is preachy for me as an adult reader, but on par for 6- and 7-year old readers?

Even though I think this book is just okay, I certainly support a Ordinary People Change the World series.  I like how Meltzer starts Lincoln's story--and his conviction, his practice of sticking up for people or animals that can't speak for themselves, his love of words--as a child.  I love that my kids can glance towards their future and wonder where they'll end up.  I know I sure wonder, too.

Santa is Coming to Washington, D.C. by Steve Smallman

Santa is Coming to Washington, D.C. by Steve Smallman, illustrated by Robert Dunn

Rating: 3.5 stars

I just told Ben about the whole naughty and nice list.  I'm hoping he kicks it up a notch out of fear of coal.  I'm doubtful...he's in the throes of lack of impulse control and when he gets going...man, he's just a blur of giggles and dimples and glee.

But...  'Tis the season for reminding kids to be good for more than goodness' sake!  And this book does start with a funny line.  Santa asks one elf if children in Washington, D.C., have been good this year.  The elf replies: "Mostly."  Santa: "Mostly?"  Elf: "Yes...but they've all been especially good in the last few days!"

This is a cute book in which Santa goes out to deliver tons of presents to the Washington, D.C., area but, because of a crazy blizzard, he gets hopelessly lost.  Santa's GPS doesn't help him (it's 2013, folks, all these books have Santa holding a GPS), that "old reindeer with the red nose" is helpless (my heart goes out to old Rudolph), but a young reindeer hears a church bell (turns out to be the Washington National Cathedral) and tugs the sleigh thattaway.  The blizzard magically disappears in a nanosecond, and the reindeer and Santa realize they are flying straight into the Capitol building.  They pull with all their might to (successfully) avoid hitting it.

Lots of local places are listed in the book: Capitol Hill, the Mall, Dupont Circle, the National Zoo, Rock Creek Park, Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Georgetown. In all these places Santa either zooms over or stops to visit, often taking a bite of a cookie and grabbing a carrot left out for his reindeer.  At the last house, as the sun starts to rise, he gives each reindeer a carrot and they fly home.

It's a cute book if you live here--the illustration of Santa flying over the Capitol building and the White House are fun images for kids to see.  But the story is unoriginal and barely there; it's not some magical tale that you'll get wrapped up in every holiday season.  Instead of that, the author just found a series that would sell well...he's written books about Santa coming to many cities, including: Maryland, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Georgia, Texas, California, Austin, Albuquerque...


P.S.  When my Dad read this review, he commented: "In this post 9/11 world, it's a good thing Santa didn't get shot down."  Good point, Dad.  Good point.  If the author had included that, it'd be a hard one to talk through with kids...

Little Santa by Jon Agee

Little Santa by Jon Agee

Rating: 3.5 stars

How did Santa become who he is today?

It's a great, fun question for authors to ponder and write about.  My favorite book that answers this question remains Santa From Cincinnati by Judi Barrett--maybe that book is too front-and-center in my mind to fully appreciate the humor in Little Santa...?

Little Santa is the youngest of seven kids whose family lives in the North Pole.  Everyone grumbles about their cold- and snow-filled days, except Santa: his red little suit and smile stand out amidst his family's gray outfits and mopey demeanors.  Little Santa has Big Santa habits: he likes to crawl up the chimney so he can slide down it, for example.

They dislike the North Pole so much that they decide to move.  To Florida.  Santa is the only one who is sad about the upcoming move.

But then a blizzard strikes, and their house is completely buried in snow--all you can see is the chimney. They can't go anywhere, including Florida.  Little Santa heads up the chimney and goes looking for help.

He finds a reindeer (no ordinary reindeer as it can fly) buried in snow, and a whole colony of elves who build him a sleigh and travel back to his house with him to rescue his family.  The family stays a little longer in the North Pole and finds it a nicer place to live with industrious friends like the elves, but...eventually they move to Florida.

But Little Santa stays behind.  And, well, you know the rest of the story.

Thanksgiving With Me by Margaret Willey

Thanksgiving With Me by Margaret Willey, illustrated by Lloyd Bloom

Rating: 3.5 stars

Stockings, tree skirts, lights and holiday wrapping paper already overwhelm me.  We are a few steps into November, but stores are already throwing Christmas at me.  What about Thanksgiving? I want to yell in some effort to fight back.

Thanksgiving is a much simpler holiday; no one is making millions on it.  Everyone defines it a little differently; my definition involves family.  Years ago when my parents were first divorced and I was thousands of miles away at Seattle University, I found new ways to avoid returning home for Thanksgiving.  The "in between" holidays, as my sister and I called the years in between our childhood family that was now gone and the families we'd one day make on our own, were going to be tough.  They were but, thankfully, they are over.

Author Margaret Willey's definition of Thanksgiving must be similar to mine.

In Thanksgiving With Me, she writes of a mother and daughter waiting, not so patiently, for the girl's beloved uncles to arrive and take over the house with joyful chaos.  Willey provides a nice rhyme that lets the mother introduce each of her brothers to the reader, and tells of Thanksgivings past where they ate like wolves and lions and bears.  A feast is required for these hungry men!

Best of all, after dinner, the mother promises her daughter that the "kitchen will quake / the oven will roar / the music will flow / from the window to door!"  Her father will play his banjo and they will dance all evening. Their Thanksgiving promises to be delicious, heart-warming, and downright fun.

Finally, the girl looks out her window and her wait is over.  Her uncles--the life of the party--are here!

This is a sweet book about childhood impatience to see loved ones.  It and a few others are helping us get in the mood for the next holiday--we like to take it one holiday at a time around here and at least attempt to live in the moment while Target unpacks their tinsel!

Halloween by Gail Gibbons

Halloween by Gail Gibbons

Rating: 4 stars

Question: Do you know where the word jack-o'-lantern comes from?

Answer: An old fable.  Who knew?  Supposedly, when a mean, stingy, old man named Jack died, he wasn't allowed to go to heaven.  There wasn't any place for him to go, so he carved a turnip (!), placed a piece of hot, glowing coal in it, and roamed all night long here on Earth.  People called him Jack of the Lantern.  Or, Jack-o'-lantern.

This is the most interesting factoid in this where-does-the-holiday-come-from book by Gail Gibbons, but the other facts are pretty interesting, too.  She explains how the holiday came about and the traditions around the holiday.

As always, Gail Gibbons produces a nice little book with plenty of fine illustrations and interesting facts.  This one is good for the younger crowd, too (many of her books involve so many facts that kids under 5 tend to lose interest with all the facts).

11 more days until Halloween!

The People in Pineapple Place by Anne Lindbergh

The People in Pineapple Place by Anne Lindbergh, cover illustrated by Marla Frazee

Rating: 3.5 stars

Young August Brown moves to Washington, DC, after his parents divorce.  He is adjusting to a new reality in many ways--his mother is back at work for the first time in his life, he lives in a brand-new city (specifically, a neighborhood in Georgetown), and he has no friends.  Until he meets April and her siblings and friends.  He stumbles upon them one day in an alley around the corner from his house, and is overjoyed that they have taken him in as their new playmate.

The funny thing is, they are not real.  They are invisible to everyone but him.  (Well, even more mysteriously, one of the kids is often seen by an adult or two, causing for massive confusion in both real and imaginary worlds.)  They have some fun adventures in their neighborhood and in Washington, DC, itself, and August begins to feel more at home in his new home and also within himself.  Amazing what friends can do, huh?

This book is not the best read aloud chapter book for younger (5-8) kids.  It is not the best book for a 6 year old to read on her own.  But it is the book that our local library selected as the book to be discussed at this afternoon's Kids Book Club.  Lorelei saw the sign and said, "I would love to do that!"  So...I read the book myself, decided it was fine for her to read, and then met with her to have our first Mother-Daughter Book Club.

My goal was two-fold: First, to spend time with our oldest, whose good behavior often means that she gets the least attention.  Mix that with the longest school day of all three children, and you get a mom who misses her daughter when the school year starts. We are both pretty crazy about books; why not share that passion with someone I'm crazy about?  Second, I wanted to give her an example of what a book club was about.  Sure, plenty of them are more social than literary, but I needed to gauge her interest and ability to talk about a book in a focused way.

Well, she did great!  And we had a great time.

Lorelei and her chosen treat: a cake pop

I couldn't find any study questions on The People in Pineapple Place so I got into Kate-the-teacher mode and made up my own.  Along with a fancy-ish invitation to join me for tea, I gave Lorelei a list of these questions about a week before we met so she could think about the answers, reread the book if she wanted (she did), and know what sort of thing we'd be discussing.

1. Pretend I've not read the book. What is the book about?
2. Which character do you like the best?  Why?
3. Why is August mad at the beginning of the story?
4. Do you think August is telling the truth--can he really see the kids?
5. What would be fun about being 10 years old for a long, long time?  What would NOT be fun?
6. What places have you been to that August has also visited?
7. Why can August's mom only see one child?
8. What was your favorite part of the story?

The book was fine, the afternoon with Lorelei was priceless.  We sat outside Starbucks--well, I sat and she twirled and flitted around the seating area while answering all these questions and more.  We laughed about the silly parts of the books, especially about the games the invisible kids could play and get away with, such as roller skating in the National Museum of Art.  A conversation with any child is a bit like sitting in the passenger seat and letting them drive a little--you've got to just follow their lead, take advantage of the focused moments and chuckle at the very random tangents that inevitably occur.

I'm really looking forward to next month's Mother Daughter Book Club!  I think Lorelei is, too, though she might be looking forward to the cake pop at Starbucks more than time with her mom.  That's ok, those things do look tasty.

Which Witch is Which? by Pat Hutchins

Which Witch is Which? by Pat Hutchins

Rating: 3.5 stars

Every now and then Lorelei gets all I'm-over-that with me and the boys.  For me, it's a sad moment when a little independence replaces the reliance on me, a little sass replaces the sweet.  Happily, it's rare, and almost always, it's fake.  She'll pretend to be beyond something (such as dancing like a fool in the kitchen, lip synching with any object that might happen to work as a microphone) but after watching the boys and I do it, she realizes she just can't miss out on the fun and usually joins in.

That's how it is with picture books.  Every so often, Lorelei decides she doesn't want to read a book Ben chooses at bedtime; she'd rather go read chapter books by herself.  I try and find the balance of letting her do her own thing (I really do get her need for a break from her brothers) and strongly encouraging her to come join us (ending the day together, along with a few good books is a habit I don't want to break for a long, long time).

Picture books like this--with simple illustrations of preschoolers on the front--can easily get Lorelei to walk away.  But when I started to read it aloud in the library (don't worry, I used my quiet library voice), she was instantly drawn in, as was Ben.

Ella and Emily looked the same and were often called by each other's name.
Ella likes pink, Emily blue.
Which witch is which?
They played tug of war, three on each side, and Mouse's mother had to decide
if Ella or Emily's team had won.
Which witch is which?

It's a little mystery involving clever word play and identical witch twins!  Cute and fun and thought-provoking in just the right way.  Just tricky enough that Lorelei and Ben asked me to read it again, more slowly this time, so they could figure out which witch was Ella, and which witch was Emily from the start.

This is a good little Halloween book that plays with language in just the right way--for preschoolers and their older counterparts.

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett

Rating: 3.5 stars

Here's a segue-way book: In between the years of picture books (those gorgeously illustrated tales, both simple and complicated) and the decades of chapter books (those wordy works both true and not-so-true), books like My Father's Dragon teach your kids to sit and listen to a story told over several nights, maybe weeks or months. It's a learned skill (we forget because we're old) to sit and listen a little to a story, recalling the previous night and put on hold knowing the end because we know that end isn't going to come for a few more days or weeks. 

My Father's Dragon is a good start to reading chapter books at night. It is just ten short chapters, and after the first few chapters (which, I've got to say, aren't entirely gripping from the start), each chapter involves a story of its own. 

Her father finds and rescues the baby dragon.

A child tells the story of her or his father traveling to an imaginary island to rescue a baby dragon which is being used--rather, abused--as a means of transport from one side of the river to another. The animals on this island, aptly named Wild Island, are unwelcoming and all want to eat her father up. But he tricks them all in a David and Goliath sort of way, thus teaching your kids that brains beat brawn every time. Even though there's a threat of death on every other page and a smattering of the word "kill" and "hate," the stories are still silly enough and therefore tame enough for a preschooler--both Ben (5 5/6) and Lorelei (6 1/2) enjoyed the book very much. (Though longer, Ben was more entranced by The Wizard of Oz...)

We read about two chapters a night, though the big kids got their books taken away one night after racing up to the bathroom one night, leaving one child triumphant and one child in tears. (The previous night resulted in the same race and the same result, and I warned them that I'd take books away if they repeated it. They did, and I stood by my threat. Sometimes they forget they have a Mean Mom; sometimes I have to remind them.) 

I liked it. Didn't love it, but a solid like.  There are two sequels to the book that I've ordered from the library--I doubt I'll read them but I'm sure Lorelei will inhale them in an hour...!

Let's Play Baseball! by Charles R. Smith, Jr.

Let's Play Baseball! by Charles R. Smith, Jr., illustrated by Terry Widener

Rating: 3.5 stars

Do you know the monkey-see-monkey-do effect?  If you do, I know you've got more than one kid.  And, like me, you might have more than one boy.  I know that girls see and then do just like boys, but...I'm shocked at and amused by the speed in which Kiefer repeats something Ben does--especially if that Something gets a hug or concerned look or, in most cases, something on the laugh-o-meter...  Anything from a hidden smile to outright belly laugh will get repeated twice.

And so, as Ben is into baseball, Kiefer is also into baseball!  Not shocking!

Let's Play Baseball! is a sturdy book--not as strong as a board book, but heftier than a hardback--that will withstand many reads, dozens of T-ball practices, and way too many trips to the dirty dugout.  It is a simple rhyme from a baseball's perspective inviting a boy to go outside and play ball:

THROW me...CATCH me, again and again.
PITCH me, HIT me...into the wind!
BLAST ME OFF your bat, into the sky...
SEE my red stitches SPIN as I fly.

Not much to it, in a really good way.  Perfect for the little brother aspiring to be his big brother--that's about as classic as the game of baseball itself.

Pete the Cat: Play Ball! by James Dean

Pete the Cat: Play Ball! by James Dean

Rating: 3.5 stars

It's no secret that we in this house love, love, LOVE Pete the Cat.  These books put a smile on my face like no other book, and his songs get my toes tapping and put all of us in a good mood (and that's a good thing, because we all know when Mommy is in a good mood, it's easier for everyone else to be in a good mood).

And we waited not-so-patiently for Play Ball! and James Dean's other Pete the Cat I Can Read books to arrive on the hold shelf for us in the library.

Alas, we are all a little disappointed.

It turns out that Pete actually stinks at baseball.  He can't hit, he can't catch and it seems he has trouble even drinking Gatorade in the dugout (I'm actually making that part up).  He does try his best--that point is pointed out in a redundant way that many I Can Read Books manage--and his sly face is indifferent as he fails at each and every aspect of the game.  His team manages to win the game despite Pete's lack of talent for the game, so I guess there is a happy ending.

It's got to be hard to have a good follow-up to three wildly successful books (I thought his fourth book, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, was not as great as the first three).  Yet I found myself thinking about Play Ball! after we read it--what does it mean when I don't like a book when the hero doesn't add anything to the victory?  Can there be a story when the hero is just a ho-hum guy leading a ho-hum existence?  Does the moral of the story have to be some triumphant victory every single time?

Clearly the answer is this: It's a good thing for books like this to lie around our children's shelves, so that they know that the hero (in their world, that's them, of course) doesn't always have to be uber-fantastic.  I didn't love the book, but I do appreciate the message--Pete still rocks even though he's not the best at baseball.  As my best friend Stacey says, we're all working on something, and it seems that Pete is still working on baseball.

Hopefully he won't give up his day job of singing catchy tunes while looking impossibly cool and hip!