Killer Creatures (Book)

Llewellyn, C. (2008). Navigators: Killer creatures. New York, NY: Kingfisher.

Interest Level: Ages 9 to 12
Genre: Non-Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Predators, Feeding Habits of Animals

Summary: Learn about the different hunting habits of killer creatures found around the world.  Learn about the hunting packs of wolves to the solitary scorpion.  Learn about the dangerous animals found in the air and in the water.  Animals use teeth, claws, speed, stealth, poisons, and brute strength to capture their prey.   

Personal Thoughts: Tons of detailed information can be found in each two page spread.  The information is divided into small blurbs or paragraphs scattered across the pages and linked to particular photos.  This makes for easy quick reading of what would otherwise be difficult and scientifically dry information.  A small book fact is included on the bottom of the spread and a website suggestion for further exploring on the right hand side.  The pictures are a mix of digitally created cross sections and high quality photos.  This title is definitely not for the squeamish as a lot of the photos show close ups of the animals eating with muzzles covered in blood.  A great book suggestion for tweens with an interest in deadly animals.   

Series Info: The "Navigators" series by Kingfisher is a series of informational non-fiction books that contain high quality photos and graphics.

Other books in the series include: Stars & Planets by Goldsmith; Human Body by Smith; Knights & Castles by Steele;

 

Book's Website: http://us.macmillan.com/navigatorskillercreatures

Similar materials: Dangerous Creatures (2003) by Angela Wilkes (Kingfisher) 

Complete Origami (Book)

Mitchelle, D. (2009). Complete origami: Easy techniques, 25 great projects. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books.

Interest Level: Ages 9 & Up
Genre: Non-Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Origami, Crafts

Summary: This book contains a collection of step-by-step instructions for 25 different origami projects.  The instructions are each full of color illustrations and pictures of finished projects.  Each project is labeled in difficulty from beginner to intermediate to advanced.  An introduction to the books contents as well as a brief overview of the history of origami is included at the beginning of the book.  A column on the left hand side provides tips, history, and relevant information about origami or the tecniques being illustrated.  Each project starts with a small overview of the model's history, development, and its relation to helping the artist train for future projects. 

My Top 5 Favorite Projects: Tsuru (p. 50); Clingons (p. 56); Fish Bowl (p. 72); Tato (p. 82); Dresden Bowl (p. 122);

Other Books by the Author: Origami Chicken and Other Animals (2005); Paper Airplanes: How to make and how to fly them (2006); Sticky Note Origami: 25 designs to make at your desk (2005)

Author's Website: Origami Heaven by David Mitchell

Hop! (Board Book)

Root, P. (2005). Hop! Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Interest Level: Ages 3 & under
Genre: Board Book
Subjects/Themes: Bunnies, Animals, Stories in Rhyme

Plot: Five little bunnies play in a meadow.  When they hear a strange noise they run to their hole to hide.  Afterwards they come back out to play and find some clover which they eat for lunch. 

Personal Thoughts: The five little bunnies are sweetly illustrated using a mixture of watercolors and collage techniques.  The rhymes, "Bunnies scratch and bunnies scritch.  Whiskers wiggle, noses twitch.", are short but have a nice sing-song tune.  A good introduction to some common bunny activities such as running, playing, twitching, hiding, and eating clovers.    

Author Bio and Bibliography

Camp Babymouse (Graphic Novel)

Holm, J., & Holm, M. (2007). Camp Babymouse. New York, NY: Random House.

Interest Level: Ages 9 to 12
Genre: Graphic Novel
Subjects/Themes: Camping, Animals, Mice, Comics, Humor

Plot: Babymouse is off to Camp Wild Whiskers for two weeks.  She starts off enthusiastic and ready to take on all the challenges of camp.  Little by little though Babymouse finds out that she's not as good as she imagined she'd be at the different camping activities.  But Babymouse doesn't give up and ends up helping her cabin win the camp scavenger hunt.

Personal Thoughts: The inner monologue of Babymouse is simply hilarious.  The storyline is something that a tween who's been to camp (or who has imagined going to camp) can relate to.  The black and white illustrations with bright splashes of pink depict the scenes wonderfully.  I particularly love the scenes depicting Babymouse climbing to the top bunk while imagining she's Babykong or imagining herself as a pirate while canoeing.  Definitely a great graphic novel choice for tweens.  Don't let the pink let you think that only girls will like this book, boys will enjoy the humor as well. 

Series Info: Book Six of the Babymouse Books.

Prequel: Babymouse: Heartbreaker (2006)
Sequel: Babymouse: Skater Girl (2007)

Book's Website: http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/babymouse/homepage.htm

Similar materials: Babysitter's Club Graphic Novels by Ann Martin; Pokemon Graphic Novels by Yumi Tsukirini; Fashion Kitty by Charise Mericle Harper;

Five Little Monkeys Sitting In A Tree (Book)

Christelow, E. (1991). Five little monkeys sitting in a tree. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Interest Level: Ages 5 & under
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Monkeys, Crocodiles, Teasing, Disappearing/Reappearing, Counting, Stories in Rhyme

Plot: Five little monkeys go on a picnic with the mama down by the river.  All five monkeys climb a tree over the river and start teasing Mr. Crocodile.  One by one, as Mr. Crocodile starts snapping at them, the little monkeys go missing.  Mama monkey finds all five little monkeys hiding and tells them not to tease Mr. Crocodile again.

Personal Thoughts: A cute little rendition of the "five little monkeys" finger play.  As you may have guessed, the book counts down from 5 to none and back again form 1 to 5.  Children will love joining in to repeat the monkeys' "Can't catch me!" and the crocodile's "Snap!".  As each monkey disappears, the children will be able to find them hiding in the tree which turns a scary concept into a cute game of hide and seek.  While this story is labeled as a "Rhyming Story" only the counting part rhymes, the beginning and end pages of the story don't.  The story also has a nice message of listening to your mom and not teasing others.  The illustrations, done in ink pen and watercolor crayon, are soft and express the energetic movements of the monkeys wonderfully.

Some Other Books in the "Five Little Monkeys" Series: Go Shopping (2007); Play Hide-and-Seek (2004); Jumping on the Bed (1989); Bake a Birthday Cake (1993)

Author Website: http://www.christelow.com/index.html

Other Books by the Author: Letters From a Desparate Dog (2006); VOTE! (2003) - Booklist Starred Review; Where's the Big Bad Wolf? (2002)

Bone Soup (Book)

Evans, C. (2008). Bone Soup. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Interest Level: Ages 8 & under
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Halloween, Monsters, Sharing, Food

Plot: Everyone knows that Finnigin has a very large appetite.  So large in fact that all the other monsters hide their favorite foods whenever he comes to town.  Finnigin goes from house to house looking for food for the Halloween feast but every house claims to have no food.  Finnigin fills a cauldron with boiling water, adds a bone, and begins singing about his wonderful bone soup.  One by one the townscreatures add their hidden food to the soup to help make it better.  All the monsters end up sharing the wonderful bone soup and having a Halloween feast.     

Personal Thoughts: A cute Halloween themed rendition of the "Stone Soup" tale about food and the importance of sharing.  Children will love the different monster foods such as eyeballs, batwings, and frog legs.  The little werewolf (pretty much tattling) tells Finnigin about all the yummy food the other monsters have hidden away, forcing them to do the right thing and share.  Its also very obvious that Finnigin is tricking all the other monsters into sharing their food in order to have a feast, but his trick is a kind one as everyone ends up sharing.  The illustrations are a mixture of the dark colors of fall and night-time mixed with glowing lights and eerie greens.  This story is probably best for one on one reading with a parent as there is quite a bit of text.  Some clever editing to shorten the story and keep the plot would be suggested if you wanted to include it in a storytime. 

Author Website: http://www.cambriaevans.com/

Other Books by the Author: Martha Moth makes socks (2006)

The Future of Reading

Overview and reflection of the article, The Future of Reading: Don’t worry. It might be better than you think. By John Green

Published in School Library Journal on January 1, 2010.

            Author John Green writes about how the future of books and reading is in the hand of children’s and young adult librarians.  “How librarians choose to build [their] collections, whom [they] buy from, and how [they] discover the works [they] want to share with [their] patrons will shape what Americans—whether or not they ever visit libraries—will read and how they will read it.”  Green calls children’s librarians gatekeepers because they collect books and strive to offer the best books.  We have the power to support the status quo (established publishers) or embrace radical change (support more self publishers).  Either way Green argues, how librarians choose the books or ebooks we offer our patrons and the types of reading we support will dictate how reading will develop.  I feel that this article is a call to take up the challenge of sorting through the different forms of digital reading, just as we have for the printed form.  The challenge is a daunting one as the realm of digital books is just being developed and even now in its infant form it is so vast.         

            The author offers an example of how reading might change with technology through his experimental online novella, This Is Not Tom (TINT), where the reader must solve riddles in order to access the different chapters. While the author admits that his novella is not the best example of the future of reading, as the riddles are extremely difficult and the story sucks (his words not mine), he using it more as an example that how we read is always changing.  The author does not seem to think this type of reading will catch on anytime soon due to his own failure.  Whereas an article by Tom Peters  in the Library School Journal supports the idea that those very interactive genres, such as books via cell phone texting, are becoming highly popular.     

            Both Peters and Green feel that reading is in no danger of becoming obsolete.  Instead they both feel that it will flourish in this digital age.  While some might argue that the large amount of videos online will replace text, both authors feel that text both supports and is supported by video.  I agree with them that reading is in no danger, but libraries do need to evolve with the changes occurring in how people read.  Peters particularly believes that libraries need to be advocates and provide clear organized information as new forms of reading are developed.  I think that libraries have already begun to take this step through the adoption of e-readers and downloadable books.  In understanding the different ways that reading is evolving, librarians will understand how they themselves need to evolve in order to meet their patrons, the ever growing mass of readers, needs and wants.  It is my hope that I am able to rise to such a challenge and keep my knowledge up to date.