Staff Favorites Books - Page 2

Tuesday

David Wiesner

Amazon Price: $11.56 List Price: $17.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clarion Books Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $0.27

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 74 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fun "read" 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book and the first night we were to read it, it was read 4 times over and my son still did not want to put it down. The illustrations tell a wonderful imaginative wacky tale of frogs flying into a suburb and having their "night out". We can create the length of the story by spending only as much time as my son wants on each page, taking either seconds or several minutes, since there are no words to read.
I liked it and I know my son loved it. A nice "out of the box" story.

Terrific Tuesday! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love the books of David Wiesner, they are imaginative and fun. He has amazing talent. Even as an adult I enjoy looking back through his books, just to admire the gorgeous scenes. It's a classic for any children's book collection.

Utterly random and wonderful 5 out of 5 stars.
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A total winner in the way of quirky randomness. Hooray for frogs! This is a charming story that is able to survive on a few words and beautiful illustrations that do the proper storytelling of a wonderous and whimsical idea.

Editorial Review:

The unpredictable events of a particular Tuesday unroll before the reader with the precision and clarity of a silent movie. A Caldecott Medal book.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

Amazon Price: $12.23 List Price: $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Collins Publishers - Model: 8840-1 Amazon Marketplace: 96 new & used starting at $0.19

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fun and emotionally educational 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A very fun and whimsical story that illustrates Lilly's emotional experience and how she deals with her emotions. I highly recommend. My 3 year old son loves it, and is a common birthday gift, especially for girls.

Adorable, funny book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book, especially if you have an independent, free-thinking, stong-willed little person to share this with. Lilly is a spunky little mouse that exhibits typical traits of every 4, 5 and 6 year old. This is one book that I don't mind reading over and over again.

Editorial Review:

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her cool teacher, Mr. Slinger. But when Lilly brings her purple plastic purse and its treasures to school and can't wait until sharing time, Mr. Slinger confiscates her prized possessions. Lilly's fury leads to revenge and then to remorse and she sets out to make amends.

Lilly, the star of Chester's Way and Julius, the Baby of the World, is back. And this time she has her name in the title - something she's wanted all along. If you thought Lilly was funny before, you are in for a treat. So hurry up and start reading. Lilly can't wait for you to find out more about her.

Stellaluna

Janell Cannon

Amazon Price: $11.05 List Price: $17.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HARCOURT TRADE Amazon Marketplace: 164 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 106 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

yikes! 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

wow - I just read this book to my son (almost four and adopted) and was so upset at myself that I didn't read it first! I should know this by now! When we got to the page where the mother bird says, "I will not let you back in to this next unless you promise to obey all the rules," my son said, "would you ever say that to me?" UGH! Of course I gave him a hundred kisses and reassured him that I would NEVER say that to him. It won't say in our house and I can't even loan it to others. So, to the recyling bin it goes. Bummer.

Deserves to be a children's classic 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It took my years to get around to reading this charming little book. It's a tender story about a bat that makes friends with a family of birds, in spite of so many differences. The illustrations are bright and gorgeous.

Editorial Review:

Knocked from her mother’s safe embrace by an attacking owl, Stellaluna lands headfirst in a bird’s nest. This adorable baby fruit bat’s world is literally turned upside down when she is adopted by the occupants of the nest and adapts to their peculiar bird habits. Two pages of notes at the end of the story provide factual information about bats. “Delightful and informative but never didactic; a splendid debut.”--Kirkus Reviews

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

List Price: $16.00 By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Delightful! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I'm not quite sure what's behind the criticism from other reviewers of this book; it's fairly innocuous compared to some of the Disney animated features in which the parents of cute animal characters are violently murdered. My granddaughters both love to pick up "pretty rocks" and will bring home pounds of them when we walk in the woods. I bought this book for them--but read it first, because of what other reviewers had said. I loved it--and the girls will, too, I'm sure, as it ends happily. The theme, of course--Be careful what you wish for!--is timeless!

Editorial Review:

On a rainy day, Sylvester finds a magic pebble that can make wishes come true. But when a lion frightens him on his way home, Sylvester makes a wish that brings unexpected results.

How Sylvester is eventually reunited with his loving family and restored to his true self makes a story that is beautifully tender and filled with true magic. Illustrated with William Steig's glowing pictures, this is a modern classic beloved by children everywhere.

A Hatful of Seuss: Five Favorite Dr. Seuss Stories

Dr. Seuss

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 98 new & used starting at $2.41

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Some of the best of Dr. Seuss 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Here's a rare book that gives you more than it promises. While it's titled "Five Favorite Dr. Seuss Stories," you actually get EIGHT stories. That's because there's three extra ones ("The Zax," "Too Many Daves," and "What Was I Scared Of?") included with "The Sneetches and Other Stories."

It's hard to say enough good things about this book. You have a collection of delightful stories, fun wordplay ("I'll go to the far-away mountains of Tobsk / Near the river of Nobsk, and I'll bring back an obsk"), nice life lessons ("A person's a person no matter how small"), and some of the most imaginative artwork anywhere. I enjoy these as much as my kids (ages 3 and a half, and 2).

The only negative I can think of is that the book is rather large for a child to easily rest on his or her lap. If you're reading to your child, that's less of an issue.

If I HAD to pick, I'd say that "Sneetches" is our household's favorite story in this collection, followed by "Horton Hears a Who." But occasionally we'll opt for one of the others. It's good to have a selection of stories, because kids' interests change and they can suddenly decide a different one is the one they want to hear all the time.

Most of these stories are good for reading to your kids right from birth, because the rhyming play and colorful pictures are fun no matter the level of comprehension. The one exception is "Bartholomew and the Oobleck," which is a bit more involved story that probably is best for ages five and up.

Editorial Review:

Come join us for the celebration of the Cat's fortieth birthday. Following

the stunning success of Six by Seuss, which has sold over 734,000

copies, is the delightful debut of A Hatful of Seuss--304 pages of

wonderfully nonsensical vintage material. This elegant bind-up copy consists of

complete versions of: Bartholomew and the Oobleck, If I Ran the

Zoo, Horton Hears a Who, The Sneetches and Other Stories, and

Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book. An exceptional gift to give and receive, A

Hatful of Seuss is being offered as a full selection by The

Book-of-the-Month Club (adult) for Christmas 1996.

Math Curse

Jon Scieszka

Amazon Price: $11.69 List Price: $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Viking Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 138 new & used starting at $3.59

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 58 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Math Curse 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Have you ever had the math curse? Well, in the book Math Curse, a young boy gets put under the math curse. It all started when his teacher said, "You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem." That got his mind turning. After that, EVERYTHING was a math problem to him. This little boy had a creative mind. 24 cupcakes, 25 students, 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months hmm... Will this curse ever leave him alone?
This story is realistic fiction. The author, Jon Scieszka, does a wonderful job explaining every thing. It is easy to understand and to follow. I think that anyone who knows how to read would enjoy this book. Never before have I read a book quite like this one. It is almost like a Roald Dahl book, where your mind will be wondering what will happen untill the very end. Personally, I loved this book, and I am sure that you will too.

Editorial Review:

"As close to genius as one gets in a picture book."--USA Today

* An ABBY Honor Book
* ALA Notable Book

* ALA Best Books for Young Adults
* The Horn Book Fanfare
* Texas Bluebonnet Award
* Publishers Weekly Best Books of 1995
* School Library Journal Best Books of 1995
* Booklist: Editors' Choice Award

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon

Ruth Stiles Gannett

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 81 new & used starting at $1.53

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Disappointed: a dissenting voice 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was looking forward to receiving this book, following rave reviews and awards. But both I and my twin nearly-five-year-olds have been very much disappointed, and are unlikely to finish the second book (or even start the third) in this three-volume compilation.

While the theme and content (a quest to rescue a baby dragon, subsequent adventures with dragon) was extremely appealing given this audience's passions, the poor execution of this story neutered the otherwise promising tale.

The first person narrator describing a third person protagonist (the protagonist is "my father" in each sentence) is a tortured device which annoys, and adds nothing (it's not as though this relationship ever plays a role in the story) and a red herring / non-sequitur is the informant cat.

There was little characterisation, so we didn't really get a sense of the heroic adventure that the plot called for and consequently, we failed to become engaged. And to this post-Pippi Longstocking generation there was a certain anticlimatic lack of ingenuity in the uses to which the backpack contents were put.

Most disappointing for me was the artlessness in the telling. I longed for language that would stretch or bounce or play, given all else that was missing in the book. But it wasn't there.

On the plus side, once the protagonist reaches the island, the adventure paces well with a single digestible adventurelet in each chapter. The final chapter worked well too, where the animals all band together in one last-ditch attempt to prevent the rescue.

Admittedly, they're reasonably bright kids - it could be that it would suit a younger mind. If we get through the second (and third) volumes, I'll post an update.

BTW this edition has pages that are more a paperback than a hardback quality.

Editorial Review:

The classic fantasy trilogy of Elmer Elevator and the flying baby dragon has delighted children and their parents for generations. Now, on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary, Random House is proud to bring the three timeless tales together in one beautiful commemorative edition, complete with the original delightful illustrations.  A Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, My Father's Dragon is followed by Elmer and the Dragon ("rich, humorous, and thoroughly satisfying"*) and The Dragons of Blueland ("ingenious and plausible, the fantasy well-sustained"*).  Each story stands alone, but read in succession, they are an unforgettable experience.*Library Journal, starred review            

George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends

James Marshall

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Good clean fun! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

After reading a few of these stories to my 5-year-old. I found that we both could enjoy and appreciate the messages within them. This led me to want to buy the entire collection. This is rare for me! Brilliant series!

George & Martha 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My son loved this Christmas gift! We've had to read a few stories every night since he opened it. It is a great value!! Mommy enjoys the stories too!

Editorial Review:

George and Martha: not, as one might think, the first president and his spouse, but two hippopotamuses created by the singular talent of James Marshall. For the past quarter century, these stories have entertained, intrigued, and delighted readers of all ages. The portly animals have also taught us, in a humorous and lighthearted way, about what it means to be a true friend. A man with a talent for friendship, James Marshall defined its very essence in his stories about the world's two best friends. In this volume, all thirty-five episodes are brought together to celebrate friendship and two of the most lovable book characters ever created.

The Rainbow Fish

Marcus Pfister

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 202 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

We love it 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is the original Rainbow Fish story which is a simple moral tale designed for very young children. The Rainbow Fish is beautiful, but arrogant and selfish. He has to learn that superficial qualities such as beauty and wealth cannot be valued over friendship and happiness.

It is at best an oversimplification to say this is a book about sharing, and I cannot agree at all with the reviewers who claim it is about being forced to give up one's unique identity in order to fit in with the crowd. To me that is yet another case of people impressing adult attitudes and ideals on to a children's book and I'm sad to see so many people seem to have missed the point, which is not that the Rainbow Fish gives away his shining scales, but that he learns humility. This is a charming and classic children's book from my home continent and I'm proud to have it on my daughter's bookshelf.

Editorial Review:

Rainbow-colored foil stamping glitters on every page of this unique book about a beautiful fish who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions-his shimmering scales.

Mad about Madeline

Ludwig Bemelmans

List Price: $35.00 By: Viking Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 127 new & used starting at $0.23

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Perfect Bedtime Storybook 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

For years, young girls have been entertained by the adventures of Madeline, and this collection of stories only adds to the Madeline madness!

A must have for every girl 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I usually borrow children books from my local library but there are some I do want my daughters to own, this is one of them. Madeline's character is so charming, the stories are easy to read and full of adventures little girls will love.

Rhyme and Reason 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A fine collection of the original 6 Madeline stories with all their glorious original illustrations and a decent foreword about the stories and their origin for the parents.

Our 2.5 yr old loves these and her parents love them too. And so will your children and even you.

Words roll off the pages with glee and delight and the beautiful artwork gives a lovely sight.

Editorial Review:

All of the classic Madeline sotires--in one handsome volume.

For sixty years, Madeline's adventures have enthralled her ever-growing audience. Now all six Madeline books have been collected in one volume. Every well-loved word and picture is here, in a book that will be a treasured addition to any child's collection.