chrisholliman

Children's Librarian

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  • “Firstborn” by Tor Seidler

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Maggie is a magpie born on a ranch in southwestern Montana.  Unsatisfied with her narrow life, she takes up with a pack of wolves who have recently been reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park.  Led by the alpha named Blue Boy, Maggie and the wolves struggle to survive and carve out their territory in this new land.  Blue Boy’s son Lamar challenges his father’s wishes by falling in love with a coyote and threatening the purity of the bloodline.  Threats both inside and outside the pack will test the bonds of these wolves to the limit.

    My Take: Much of Firstborn is caught up with portraying the various tense dynamics among the wolves: the rupture of the pack when the alpha is challenged for dominance, the friction between father and son, the clash with a neighboring pack, etc.  This is all set against the larger story of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park. Seidler deftly explores this controversial program and the great toll that it takes on the wolves that are caught up in it.

    Fans of the Wolves of Beyond by Lasky series will appreciate this book and in general I thought that this was an excellent recommendation for elementary aged readers looking for animal fiction.  Librarians may want to be aware that there is a good deal of animal violence in this book before recommending it.  Ages 9-12.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to his website, Tor traces his love of storytelling back to his childhood when his stepfather and brother would spin fantastic yarns involving animals.

  • The Flowers Are Calling by Rita Gray

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less: A poem describes the different insects and animals that may, or may not, visit flowers for pollinating.  Interspersed between the verses are facts about the flowers and insects.

    My Take:  The strength of Flowers Are Calling lies in its alternation between verse and nonfiction.  Each of these elements is strong enough to stand on its own, but the book really broadens its appeal by combining the two.  One could engage younger children by just reading the poem, which is characterized by short, simple text, but also interest older readers by going over the fact based sections of the book.

    The poem’s structure stands on the repetition of the phrase “Flowers are calling…” and the quick correction when whatever is named turns out to be unfit for appreciating the flowers.  One verse, for example, states “Flowers are calling a loud blue jay./  No, not a jay! He wouldn’t stay.”  The quick turnaround lends an element of whimsy to the book.

    The nonfiction parts of the book help to deepen the reader’s understanding of what is occurring in the poem.  For example, when a “bee fly” is mentioned in a verse, we learn on the next page that “bee flies look like bumblebees but have two wings instead of four.”  I found myself confessing that there was a lot that I did not know about the pollination of flowers.

    Special mention should be made of Kenard Pak’s beautiful art.  The muted colors and use of blank space on the page ask the reader to take seriously what is occurring.  We imagine that each animal and flower is significant and has a part to play in this story of pollination.

    I’m always looking for quality books that are stand-alone (as opposed to a series) nonfiction that will appeal to younger children.  I’d happily recommend this book to most any library collection that is looking to develop a substantive juvenile nonfiction section.

    One Interesting Note About the Author/Illustrator:  According to Rita Gray’s website, she “love[s] all types of poetry, especially haiku, and [is] the Northeast Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America.”  Pretty neat!

  • “The Lost Track of Time” by Paige Britt

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:   The one thing that Penelope wants to be is a writer, but she has no time in her busy schedule to put her thoughts on paper.  But that’s all about to change, because one day, while looking at her schedule, she falls into the Realm of Possibility.  It’s a magical place filled with people who do nothing all day but moodle–sitting around thinking, daydreaming, letting your mind wander so you can come up with marvelous ideas.  But all is not well in this land because a man named Chronos has taken over with his army of Clockworkers and these guys make things run on time.  They don’t believe any time should be wasted and when they realize that Penelope is a threat, they vow to track her down and lock her in the great clock tower.

    My Take:  If you like fantastical places, if you like the Wizard of Oz, if you like Alice in Wonderland, you will love The Lost Track of Time

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to her website, Paige Britt’s favorite place to write is her local public library!

  • Summer Reading School Visits

    everyherohasastoryEvery year around this time, Children’s Librarians in my library system venture out into the local elementary schools to promote the public library summer reading club.  I just finished my visits last week and wanted to put forth my thoughts on how they went.

    I visited three schools in one week.  In one school I was on the morning announcements and for the other two schools I was able to speak to each grade at a time for 25 minutes each, either in the school library or the auditorium.

    As you might think, being on the morning announcements was the easiest.  Because the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Club is superheroes, I came dressed in plain clothes, but then quickly put on a superhero mask and pulled open my shirt to reveal a giant, blazing “B.”  Yes, I was Book Man!  I stated that Book Man’s greatest arch enemy was boredom and that the best weapon against it was to join the library’s Summer Reading Club.  I then proceeded to rattle off the sheer awesomeness of the club.

    The other two school visits were more challenging.  Because I knew that I had 25 minutes with each grade (gulp!), I prepared a good deal of material ahead of time.  I wrote down some book talks and even created a short reader’s theater.  When I was actually in the auditorium with the first group, however, I abandoned almost all of this material.  Because it was the last week of school, the kids were rambunctious and book talks were simply not going to cut it.  I ended up telling them a story from my own past about how I grew to love reading and then performed the Jack and the Beanstalk string story–because Jack was one of the world’s first superheroes!– done by storyteller David Novak (giving David credit for it of course!).  Luckily I had memorized this story in the past, so it was not a big deal for me to do it.  I finished my presentation by having 4 volunteers come to the front–I always try to make my school visits interactive if possible–and quizzing the audience on the details of the Summer Reading Club.  If they got the answer right, I placed a funny article of clothing on one of the volunteers.  It could be a clown wig, pirate hat, silly glasses, etc.  The kids loved seeing their friends looking silly.

    I learned from these school visits that you really need to bring the big guns.  Booktalks won’t cut it in front of large audiences in the last week of school.  I’m proud that I was able to make the school visits successful even with these last minute changes in my presentation.  Let the summer reading madness begin!

  • “Stick Dog” by Tom Watson

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Stick Dog lives in a pipe that runs under Highway 16.  His favorite pastime is playing with his four friends Karen, Stripes, Mutt, and Poo Poo.  One day when the dogs are out playing, they catch a whiff of hamburgers being grilled over in the park.  This starts an adventure in which the 5 friends try to find a way to snatch the tasty hamburgers from the humans.

    My Take:  This is a funny book!  Tom Watson has a writing style that initially appears quite simple–and that mirrors the childish drawings–but that breaks out into elevated vocabulary at unexpected moments.  When one of the dogs–not one of which is known for being exceptionally smart by the way–tastes a new kind of potato chip, she describes it as a “powdery combination that is both enchanting and invigorating.”

    Kids will appreciate the light hearted humor and relentlessly positive spirit of Stick Dog.  He is a character that suffers under the circumstances of fate and the dim wittedness of his good friends, while always looking to win the day.  Or, in this case, hamburgers!

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to his website, Tom Watson once worked in politics for U.S. Senator John Glenn and the Governor of Ohio.

  • “Snoop Troop: It Came From Beneath The Playground” by Kirk Scroggs

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less: Logan Lang is a 4th grader super sleuth at Murkee Elementary who loves solving crimes almost as much as she loves reading about them in the school library.  Gustavo Muchomacho is a fellow student who was raised on crime fighting TV shows and has a set of specialized disguise mustaches.  When the merry-go-round at nearby Hurling Rivers Amusement park disappears into the ground, Logan and Gustavo are on the case!  Events heat up when an army of moles begins demanding the lunch money from students at Murkee Elementary.  Will Logan and Gustavo crack the case before the students lose all of their money to the underground rodents?

    My Take:  In line with his earlier book series “Wiley and Grampa’s Creature Features” and “Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet,” Kirk Scroggs blends outrageous humor with zany illustrations.  Never taking itself seriously, “It Came From Beneath the Playground” makes references to ancient custodial burial grounds and moustaches that sprout nostril lights.  Kids with shorter attentions spans will appreciate these funny, snappy books.  Ages 7+

    One Interesting Note About the Author: Kirk Scroggs was born and raised in Austin, Texas and studied film at the University of Texas.

  • “The Year of Billy Miller” by Kevin Henkes

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Billy Miller is entering second grade and is nervous that he may not be smart enough.  Sitting next to know-it-all Emma Sparks certainly isn’t helping his self esteem, but at least his teacher, Ms. Silver, seems nice.  His life at home can be problematic too as his artist father struggles with a creative block and his little sister Sal continues to annoy him.  Will Billy be able to navigate the challenges of 7 year old life?

    My Take:  This is a gentle book that follows a character through his second grade year.  The challenges that Billy faces are nothing too extreme, mostly fretting about homework projects and dealing with an annoying classmate.  For those looking for a longer chapter book on making their way through the second grade, this is a strong choice.  Ages 7+

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to his website, Kevin has been contemplating being a children’s author since at least his senior year in high school when “a public librarian introduced him to Barbara Bader’s American Picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to The Beast Within. ‘It was the first serious book about picture books, written for adults, that I had ever read,’ Henkes says, and he felt encouraged and emboldened by it.”

  • “The Island of Dr. Libris” by Chris Grabenstein

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  Billy’s parents are having difficulties in their marriage, so he is spending the summer with his mother in a lakeside cabin while his father stays working in New York City.  But this isn’t any normal cabin; it’s one built by the eccentric Dr. Libris, a scientist/professor who has installed security cameras all over the property.   Even more strange, when Billy begins reading some of the classic books from Dr. Libris’s ornate bookshelf, the books actually come to life on an island out in the lake.  Billy soon finds himself talking to Robin Hood and crossing swords with the 3 Musketeers.   As he unleashes so many classic book characters, Billy must find a way to put a stop to the madness.

    My Take:  Having greatly enjoyed Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, I was looking forward to this book.  While I didn’t find it as engrossing Lemoncello’s, I appreciated it for its own merits.  Grabenstein kept the plot moving and at no point did I ever feel that the book slowed down.  I think that kids will enjoy the imaginary dangers on the island as well as getting to know some classic book characters.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:   According to his website, Chris co-wrote the movie “The Christmas Gift” starring John Denver which premiered in 1986.  It often still played around Christmas time.

  • “Capture the Flag” by Kate Messner

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Anna, José, and Henry are three young strangers who find themselves snowed in together at a Washington D.C. airport.  As they begin to get to know each other, an important news flash is broadcast: the Star Spangled Banner has been stolen from the Smithsonian Institute.  The three realize that all of their parents are members of the Silver Jaguar Society, which has the mission to protect the most valuable treasures of the world.  Unfortunately, most of their parents are unavailable to help and the kids soon discover clues that lead them to believe that the Star Spangled Banner may be at the airport.  Can the kids figure out who stole the flag and bring them to justice?

    My Take:  I felt that this book had a good premise in that one of the nation’s most valuable treasures has been stolen and only a group of kids can track down the thief.  However, as the novel progressed, it began to feel a little redundant to me.  Messner chose to have all of the action take place in an airport.  This was a good choice for “Die Hard 2,” but not perhaps for this book.  After the third or fourth scene in the baggage terminal, I was getting a little distracted.  Still, it is a mystery to recommend to grades 3+

    One Interesting Thing About the Author:  According to her website, Kate Messner lives on Lake Champlain and enjoys kayaking.

  • “Surviving the Applewhites” by Stephanie Tolan

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Jake Semple is a problem child who has been kicked out of more public schools than he can count.  In desperation, his grandfather enrolls him in the Creative Academy run by the Applewhite family, a group of artistic eccentrics that run a school unlike any other.  In the beginning, Jake finds much to dislike about the place, especially E. D. Applewhite, a girl about his age who, unlike her family, enjoys order and structure.  When Randolph, the father of the clan, casts Jake in a role in a local version of “The Sound of Music, the young misfit finds that he takes quite well to acting and singing.  While Jake blossoms, E.D. finds herself increasingly unappreciated by her own family.

    My Take: I appreciated this book because it turned out much differently than I had imagined.  Of course, I knew that Jake would eventually settle in with the Applewhite family, but I imagined that the plot would contain a great deal of bad, perhaps borderline violent, behavior on Jake’s part that would induce a crisis in the family.  I was expecting something closer to the Great Gilly Hopkins.  I much enjoyed that, as the novel progressed, Tolan subtly shifted the focus from Jake to other characters.  This made for a much more enjoyable read about the role and power of artistic ventures to bring people together.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to her website, Stephanie Tolan is “also well known as an advocate for extremely bright children.  She co-authored the award-winning nonfiction book, Guiding the Gifted Child, and has written many articles about the challenges gifted ‘asynchronous’ children and adults face as they find a way to fit into their world.”