Katie Loves the Kittens

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Himmelman, John. 2008. Katie Loves the Kittens. NY: Henry Holt & company. ISBN: 9780805086829.

BOOK REVIEW
When here human, Sara Ann, brings three kittens home, Katie the dog is so excited. Every time she sees them her tail begins to wag uncontrollably and wants to play and howl. However, all of her exuberant attempts to play or even to control herself from eating their food only leave Katie sad for only scaring the kittens and being reprimanded for doing so. Only when she learns to control her excitement does everyone is happy and she begins to make friends with the new additions to the family. Himmelman's story will capture the reader's love and sympathy for the adorable Katie (and the three kittens) all the while the ink and watercolor illustrations add the appeal of the whole book, especially when seeing she become so excited that her wagging tail is a blur and she her body quivers. Katie Loves the Kittens is humorous and charming about excitement, confusion, sadness, self-control and making friends that everyone will love to read and share with others, whether they like cats, dogs, or both! A must for all libraries.

CONNECTION
*Ask the children if they were ever extremely excited about something or someone that they love.

Chasing Vermeer

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Balliett, Blue. 2004. Chasing Vermeer. Illus. by Brett Helquist. NY: Scholastics Press. ISBN:9780439372947.

BOOK REVIEW
When a mysterious person claims that some of the paintings attributed to the famed Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer are in fact not his and ultimately steals the painting A Lady Writing while it is transit from one museum to another, two sixth-graders, Calder Pillay and Petra Andalee are on the case. Mystery and intrigue is around every corner as Calder and Petra become friends and begin to find a connection between their free-spirited schoolteacher, a used bookstore owner, an old woman, Calder’s friend Tommy, and even their own parents. Putting together the history and art of a famed 17th century painter, a book about unusual phenomena, use of pentominos, and codes, Balliett’s first novel successfully captures the excitement of a crime solving with a smart and detectives that remind readers of K.L. Konigsburg’s classic From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Helquist’s detailed black and white illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book, which have their own puzzle for readers to solve, and adds to the overall thrilling book.

CONNECTIONS
*Read Balliett's other mystery art books: The Wright Three and The Calder Game.

The Tiger Rising

BIBLIOGRAPHY
DiCamillo, Kate. 2001. The Tiger Rising. Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763609110.

*2001 National Book Award Finalist*

BOOK REVIEW
Life isn’t so great for Rob. When his mother dies, he and his father move to Florida and are staying at the Kentucky Star motel. Plagued by an unusual rash on his legs and the victim of the school bullies, Rob keeps all his emotions deep down inside his “suitcase.” However, one day, hidden in the woods behind the motel, he discovers a real and very large golden tiger locked in a cage. That same day he meets the new girl, Sistine, in his sixth-grade homeroom class. Unlike himself, Sistine has no trouble showing her feelings and her discontent of living in Lister and how she is waiting for her father to take her away. When Rob finally decides to share his secret to Sistine, the ice the two of them breaks and they create a friendship that revolves around the tiger and how to free it. In this brief novel, DiCamillo has captures the strong and real emotions of pain and grief of a boy coping with his with the death of mother and the anger of a girl caught between her parents divorce. Secondary characters like Willie May, a worker at the motel and a wise woman that Rob asks for advice, are not flat and have a life of their own, and the overall narrative and language is very real and descriptive and will draw the readers in to this wonderful Newbery Honor book.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Numeroff, Laura. 1998. If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Illus. by Felicia Bond. NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 0060266864.

BOOK REVIEW
Following the now classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Numeroff continues her successful “If You Give…” series with If You Give a Pig a Pancake where an adorable piglet arrives at the home of a young girl at breakfast, whoc give the pig a pancake with some very sticky syrup. Of course, after eating she will need a bath with the bubbles and a rubber duck, which reminds her of the farm and her family. What follows is the comical progression of activities, such as tap dancing, picture taking, building and decorating a tree house, that will end where the story began with a pancake with syrup. Bond’s delightful illustrations wonderfully capture the fun and playful mood of the book, and will keep the readers equally visually entertained as with the text that will build humorous anticipations for all who read. Sure to be as popular as Numeroff’s previous books.

CONNECTIONS
*Read the rest of the “If You Give…” series by Laura Numeroff: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You Give a Pig a Party, and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake
*Read more of Numeroff’s books like: If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and If You Take a Mouse to School.
*Ask the children would type of food would they give to other animals.
*While reading, ask the children if they know what will happen next.

Not a Box

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Portis, Antoinette. 2006. Not a Box. NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 0061123234.

BOOK REVIEW
When is a box ever just a box? To the little rabbit in Portis’ imaginative picture book, a box is never a box. When an unseen narrator asks questions like “Why are you sitting in a box?” or “Why are you standing on a box?” the rabbit repeatedly replies with “It’s not a box.” Beyond the simple text, the illustrations are the element that creates the book. The bold black lines of Rabbit and his Not-a-Box on a white and tan background is used when Rabbit comes up with a new playful idea, and when the readers turn the back, the backgrounds changes to a pale yellow and red, and in bold red lines, which are superimposed over the previous illustration, will show what the not-a-box has turned into, such as mountain peak or a race car. The playful imagination seen in this fun little book, which itself is covered in brown paper and looks like a box, is reminiscent of Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon and equally fuels the creativity in every young children to think outside of the box.

CONNECTIONS
*Read Portis’ other imaginative book Not a Stick and Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon.
*Have a fun craft time and have the children take a small box (e.g. an animal cracker box) and create whatever they think a box is.

Capes for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Slobodkina, Esphyr. 1985 (org. 1947). Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business. NY: Harper&Row. ISBN: 9780201091472.

REVIEW
One day when he was unable to sell any of his gray, brown, blue, red caps, a peddler takes a walk into the country. After carefully resting himself against a tree-trunk and making sure that all of his caps were still neatly stacked upon his head he decides to take a nap. When he wakes, however, he discovers his caps are missing, and finds them on the heads of some mischievous monkeys sitting in the tree, and a game of monkey see, monkey do ensues until the peddler gets his caps back. With the unique color combination of black, turquoise, blue, red, and ochre, the stylized illustrations add to Slobodkina’s classic tale, which together presents a wonderful essence of a folktale, and still continues to engage to children (and their parents) of all ages. A great book to share aloud whether at home or at storytime.

CONNECTIONS
*When reading aloud have the children help you recite parts of the story.
*Cut out circles out of gray, brown, blue, and red felt, and as you read place the “caps” upon your heads. Children can also do this for themselves.

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hahn, Mary Downing. 2004. The Old Willis Place. NY: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0618430180.

BOOK REVIEW
For years twelve-year-old Diana and her ten-year-old brother Georgie knew the rules. They weren’t supposed to go past the gate of the Old Willis Place, not to go into the Willis house, and they were not to make friends with anyone. But when the new caretaker, Mr. Morrison, and his daughter Lissa arrive, Diana wanted to break the rule and be friends. After living wild on the grounds for so long and seeing old caretakers come and go, seeing someone their own age who had a bicycle, many books, and a teddy bear was exciting to Diana and Georgie and brought them back memories of years before. Much to her brother’s disapproval, Diana finally meets Lissa and they form an interesting and mysterious friendship that revolves around the creepy and supposedly haunted Old Willis house. Through the narration of both Diana and Lissa (via her diary entries), readers, along with Lissa, will be piece together the illusive story of Diana and Georgie and what happened in the Willis house with its owner Ms. Lillian Willis. Once again Hahn has written a compelling story of haunting, friendship, and forgiveness that will keep its for ghost stories.

CONNECTIONS *Read more of Mary Downing Hahn’s ghost stories: Wait Till Helen Comes, The Doll in the Garden, Time for Andrew, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, All the Lovely Bad Ones.

People of Sparks

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Duprau, Jeanne. 2004. People of Sparks. NY: Random House Inc. ISBN: 9780375828249.

BOOK REVIEW
Picking up where City of Ember left off, readers follow the Lina and Doon as they and the others from Ember begin their new lives in Sparks, a small town on the surface. They are taught how to build fences and building as well as grow their own food so that the Emberites can go off on their own and establish their own town. As they work, Lina and Doon learn about the world outside of Ember and what had causes for The Builders to build their underground city. However, life quickly becomes more difficult than ever when everyone grows more and more intolerant of the ignorance and selfishness in others and blame is pointed for mishaps that occur. Duprau successfully continues the story of the Emberites journey of learning the truth and hardship about the world beyond their underground home. though the setting itself is a little vague in descriptions in some parts, the characters capture most of the readers attention. Some are simple as in the previous book while others are slightly more complex. People of Sparks is fun, at times thought provoking, and quick read for this interested in the and with only some questions answered while others remain hidden, readers will me looking for the next book in the series.

CONNECTIONS
*During book discussions, ask the readers about the differences between Sparks and Ember. How would they have felt if they arrived in a new place and/or received 400 people from an underground place.
*Ask the causes leading to the Disaster.

City of Ember

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Duprau, Jeanne. 2003. City of Ember. NY: Random House Inc. ISBN: 9780375822735.

BOOK REVIEW
It's the year 241 and the city of Ember is dying. The generator that produces the electricity is breaking down with great frequency, which leaves the city in complete darkness for any amount of time, and food and necessities are running out. As they begin their new jobs, twelve-year-old classmates Lina Mayfeet, Messenger, and Doon Harrow, a pipeworker, quickly learn about more history and truth about their beloved city. When Lina discovers a old torn and chewed-up document from the time of "The Builders" that may be instructions on how to leave Ember, she and Doon are under the watchful eye of the corrupt mayor and his friends. With the city near ruins, the two make the decision to try the escape route that may or may not lead them to the world outside of Ember. In her debute novel, Duprau has created a fun novel that is a combination of adventure and mystery wrapped up a post-apocalyptic setting. The characters are simple yet well-rounded and the readers will relate their thoughts and feelings. An excellent quick read for all to enjoy.

CONNECTIONS
*Have a compare-contrast reading discussion with similar books like The Giver by Lois Lowry.
*Have a movie book and movie night where, after reading the book, have a discussion on how well the movie reflects the book.