Book Review - The Great Moon Hoax by Stephen Krensky

The Great Moon Hoax by Stephen Krensky

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Buffalos on the moon? Volcanos erupting into vast oceans? In 1835, the New York Sun reported sightings of just such things. Charlie and Jake were delighted. As newsboys, selling the Sun was their only way of filling their pockets and filling their bellies. How well they did selling newspapers would determine if they slept on crates or in beds that night. So when the Sun reported herds of small animals much like bison roaming on the Moon's surface,and strange creatures rolling along the Moon's beaches, Charlie and Jake knew they were going to be eating and sleeping well. Follow Charlie and Jake through this exciting time as more and more astonishing sightings are reported in The Great Moon Hoax.

I enjoyed reading this book but really enjoyed the artwork that went into the pictures in the book. Their whimsicalness went along well with the idea of moon beaver and moon bison.



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Book Review - I'd Choose You by John Trent

I'd Choose You by John T. Trent

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Poor little Norbert the Elephant comes home from school moping and drooping having had the worst day of his life. It seems no one wants to sit by him at school or pick him for their team in sports. But his mother reminds Norbert that there is someone who would pick him each and every time, for the rest of his life.
I'd Choose You reminds us, and every child who reads it, that although we have tough days, we are loved and blessed everyday just because of who we are. It is a book that will be pulled out and read over and over to those children who come home like Norbert: feeling like there is just no one who likes them. The only thing Norbert doesn't do when he gets home is eat some worms, like in the song - "Nobody likes me; everybody hates me; I'm going to eat some worms."



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Book Review - No Place Like Holmes by Jaosn Lethcoe

No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Move over Sherlock Holmes, Griffin Sharpe is in the house! "How did Griffin Sharpe get his limp? Did he really meet Sherlock Holmes? Is it true that he carried a walking stick that belonged to the greatest villain in history?" These are questions which start the book No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe.

We meet Griffin Sharpe in the year 1903, on his way to meet his uncle who resides at 221 Baker Street, London. Could Griffin be the nephew of the great detective Sherlock Holmes? Griffin has long been wishing for someone with a mind like his own: a mind which notices everything and stores it for later use. Maybe Sherlock Holmes will be the answer to his prayers. Or maybe not...

I am a Sherlockian - someone who loves Sherlock Holmes stories with a passion. I like to believe he was a real person - out there somewhere solving crimes, maybe in an alternate reality or something. I read everything Sherlockian, and have even watched the cartoon Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century. So I was very happy to find another book in which Sherlock Holmes plays a role, even if it is not the major role. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Griffin, a younger character who rivals Sherlock in wit and intelligence. But with Griffin we get someone who has a softer heart which makes him even more love-able.

Along with a sympathetic character, Lethcoe gives us a fast paced plot which grabbed and kept my attention throughout the entire story. The action is carried along with just enough inner dialog to reveal Griffin's thought processes, but not so much a reader will lose interest. I am hoping Griffin will lead younger readers to the great genre of mystery, and eventually to the master himself.

I am looking forward to a sequel in which we meet the estimable Griffin Sharpe again.



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Book Review - The Seer of Shadows by Avi

The Seer of Shadows by Avi (single name author)




The year is 1872 and the United States is coming to grips with the end of the Civil War. Horace Carpentine has been raised to believe in equality and science. In fact he is named after Horace Greeley, a strong abolitionist force in New York City. So when Horace is apprenticed to photographer Enoch Middleditch, he looks forward to his new life. He firmly believes he will be surrounded by science in one of its purest forms. He resolves himself to be nothing short of the best photographer in this world. So when Horace is presented with his first chance at actual photography, little does he know that his apprenticeship will lead him to question the science and ethics he so loves. Horace soon finds himself encountering things not quite of the world he is so firmly grounded in.
I really enjoyed this book. It has a little bit of history, a little bit of philosophy and a little bit of gothic all rolled into one. I found the information about the science of photography very interesting but was really intrigued with Avi's ideas of spirit photography even more.
I recommend this book for children 10 and up. It might be a bit too scary for anyone younger simply because of the nature of the ghost in the story.



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Book Review - Cooking With Henry and Elliebelly by Carolyn Parkhurst

Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly by Carolyn Parkhurst

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Whether you are 5 or 45, this book will make you laugh! Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly is uproariously funny. Henry and his little sister Eleanor (or as Henry likes to call her Elliebelly) are hosting their own live cooking show. The treat they are making for us today - Raspberry-marshmallow-peanut butter waffles with barbecued banana bacon. YUM!
Henry is a very imaginative boy who is pretending to host his own cooking show. As he tries to go through the various steps to making his raspberry-marshmallow-peanut butter waffles, his little sister Elliebelly interjects with her own special brand of commentary. Elliebelly wants them to wear pirate not chef hats and would like to add a little pizza to the mix. Such is the way of little sisters and Henry learns there is not way to argue with a 2-year old. This is great book to read aloud, especially if you can do it with two readers or two voices.
I recommend it for reading aloud for all ages.



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Book Review - 13 Words by Lemony Snicket

13 Words by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Bird - Despondent - Cake. These are words Lemony Snicket uses in his new picture book 13 Words.

Okay - enough said about the book's premise. I did not like this book. Mainly I do not think it should be a picture book. At least that is where our cataloger chose to place it. The book actually gave me the creeps. The bird is despondent. It reminds me of the Raven of Poe fame. The pictures are colorful but remind me of an Edvard Munch painting. (Think The Scream.) I don't believe children will appreciate or even get the imagery presented by way of a book on a table by Kafka or an angel playing a tambourine. I don't even understand some of it.

My recommendation for this book is - give it a miss.



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Book Review - Daily Comet: Boy Saves Earth From Giant Octopus! by Frank Asch

Daily Comet, The: Boy Saves Earth from Giant Octopus! by Frank Asch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is "Go to Work with a Parent Day" for Hayward Palmer and he is accompanying his father for the day. His father is the lead reporter for the Daily Comet, a less then believable tabloid. As Hayward tags along with his dad on various news stories, he soon realizes that maybe the Daily Comet is not so fake as he believes.
This is a wonderfully written and illustrated story for kids and adults alike. I was delighted to find "old friends" in the illustrations. I must admit that I am a big tabloid reader. Not the National Inquirer tabloid, but the World Wide News. The "newspaper" that brought us such greats as Bat Boy and "I Was Bigfoot's Love Slave." Adults reading this book can find all kinds of allusions to tabloid stories in the past. Kids will love this book for the funny, fantastic story and adults will love it for the wonderful illustrations and tongue-in-cheek poke at the tabloids we all peek at in the grocery aisle.



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