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The Whipping Boy

Sid Fleischman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 137 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The Whipping Boy 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This title was on a Summer Reading List. It was a great, quick read for my son. He is in 6th grade. It kept his interest, he understood it, and he didn't get bored away from reading it. Boys his age were characters in the story.

A really good book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book certainly deserved the Newberry Medal. Its a good and interesting story. One that is harsh at first but has a moral in the end.

Excellent Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was purchased for my son. He says that it is a great book, and he enjoys it alot!

Whipping never was so pleasant 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Sometimes I have a couple of minutes that I have nothing to do. This happens rarely. Usually it's because I'm waiting on something else, or I have something to do but it would take more time than I have at that moment. Last week, I had one of those moments where, for a couple of minutes, I had nothing to do. I sure hate to waste those moments, so I saw a book that my wife and I had picked up at a community center for free, and I started to peruse it. The book, as you might imagine, was The Whipping Boy, and the effect was that, after picking it up, I had to search very hard for more free moments so that I could finish the book. I don't know that I would call the book a page turner, but I can say that I was very impressed by it. The Whipping Boy is a young adult novel, but it is written cleverly and uniquely, and while it resembles a lot of good literature, it is a style and a story all its own. Several times in the story I thought I knew what to expect, and in the end, it does turn out that way, but Fleischman does a good job of taking a non-traditional path to get there. He also shows a good understanding for the language and culture of the setting he presents, but he knows how to not bog down the reader into those things either (essential, I think, for a young adult novel). All in all, the story holds up well on its own, fills up the pages nicely, and wraps up appropriately. Maybe I should find another Fleischman story to carry with me in case I stumble across another couple minutes where I have nothing to do.

Editorial Review:

A Prince
and a Pauper

Jemmy, once a poor boy living on the streets, now lives in a castle. As the whipping boy, he bears the punishment when Prince Brat misbehaves, for it is forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. The two boys have nothing in common and even less reason to like one another. But when they find themselves taken hostage after running away, they are left with no choice but to trust each other.

Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out

Ralph Fletcher

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This is a Great Book for learning how to write poetry! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Hi, I really enjoyed reading Ralph Fletcher's book "Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the inside out." He gives lots of good examples. He has interviews with two other poets in the book for ideas on poetry. He makes poetry interesting and fun to learn! I also enjoyed his poetry!

Editorial Review:

Maybe you've heard before that poetry is magic, and it made you roll your eyes, but I believe it's true. Poetry matters. At the most important moments, when everyone else is silent, poetry rises to speak.

I wrote this book to help you write poems and to give practical ideas for making your poems sound the way you want them to sound. We're not going to smash poems up into the tiniest pieces. This book is about writing poetry, not analyzing it. I want this book to help you have more wonderful. moments in the poetry you write. I want you to feel the power of poetry. it's my hope that through this book you will discover lots of ways to make your poems shine, sing, soar...

-- Ralph Fletcher

The Great Brain Is Back

John D. Fitzgerald

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

So-so entry into the Great Brain series... 2 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I would only give this 2.5 stars out of 5. As someone who grew up with the Great Brain series in the '70s I was quite pleased to hear about this "lost" book surfacing a few years ago. These were my favorite books when I was a kid and I kept them for many years afterwards. Imagine my disappointment when I read the introduction by the "editor." If one were to believe what she writes here, she is the one who should be commended for the "Great Brain" series, not Fitzgerald.

Oh, please.

Her insulting forward aside, readers should know that this book was assembled (after his death) from Fitzgerald's notes and we will never know for sure if he intended for it to be published or not. It's a fair book, but it doesn't have nearly the spark of the original works, all of which I would highly recommend over this, any day of the week.

Editorial Review:

Tom Fitzgerald, The Great Brain, has turned 13 and pretty Polly Reagan has put a spell on him. When it comes to swindling the kids of Adenville with his great brain and his money-loving heart, Tom hasn't changed a bit.

How to Write Your Life Story

Ralph Fletcher

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

Fletcher pulls another gem from his ditch! 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Excellent resource written for young students. I teach fifth graders and read to them regularly from Fletcher's other books... A Writer's Notebook in particular. How To Write Your Life Story brings the task of memoir to their fingertips -- makes it feel doable, important, and exciting. Fletcher cites two of my favorite authors of other resources: Katherine Bomer and Barry Lane, whom my students know well by the time we finish our inquiry into memoir. Many examples of writing from Fletcher, and other 4 - 7 grade students enrich this book and bring it home. Great for read aloud, introducing mini-lessons, or even as a class reading book if you can swing a whole set. Any teacher who investigates memoir or autobiography with young students should have this book in the classroom.

Editorial Review:

Lies About Writing Your Life Story

• You have to be a famous celebrity.
• You must have an amazing life.
• You can't write your life story until you're old and gray.
• Nobody will read it, so what's the point?

Possum Magic (Voyager Books)

Mem Fox

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

from Grandma Poss 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Delightful book with illustrations that takes kids 3-6 on an imaginative trip to Australia. I could identify with the main character, "Grandma Poss."

Classic Australian Childrens' Picturebook 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a classic Australian picturebook which is becoming popular again as those of us from the generation who were kids when it was first published (1983) now are buying it ourselves and reading it to our children or nieces and nephews. Granted there's always the hey I remember this book when I was kid factor that drives up sales but unlike a lot of books which have this factor of when you get home and read them you remember that you never really liked that book back when you were kid because it is infact not that good, Possum Magic is remembered and was popular back in the 80's because it was a good book. Although some of the food (remedies for Hush's invisibility) inside are no longer uniquely Australian (which is a good thing), learnign about them along with the uniquely Australian wildlife inside this book would make an ideal gift or purchase for any Australian now living overseas to read to their kids and teach them a bit about their heritage. For anyone whose not Australian it is a great opportunity to learn something about Australian culture.

The basic tale of this book revolves around a little girl possum called Hush whose grandma (named Grandma Poss) who was an expert in bush magic turned Hush invisible to prevent her being eaten by snakes (now of course in reality snakes don't use sight like we do to find their prey but see the heat from the body like someone wearing night vision goggles does so being invisible wouldn't have actually helped Hush but anyway this is a fiction book and that's a discussion/lesson probably left for an age group older than this book's target market). Although Hush gets into a few dilemmas as the result of being invisible such as being sat on by a koala she still gets up to lots of fun like riding down the back of kangaroos like a slippery dip. Hush however wants to know what she looks like so asks Grandma Poss to make her visible again which Grandma Poss has of course forgotten, although she remembers it has something to do with human food. This is the tale of finding the cure and travelling across (with a bit of poetic licence by riding a bike and in a floating umbrella the vast distances of) Australia to find it.

Other good children's books about invisibility if that's what you were after include My Best Friend Is Invisible (Goosebumps) by R. L. Stine, You Are Invisible: CYOA #48 by Susan Saunders, The Invisible Day by Marthe Jocelyn, Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex, you can even get an illustrated version of H.G. Wells 1897 classic The Invisible Man (Great Illustrated Classics).

Editorial Review:

Grandma Poss uses her best bush magic to make Hush invisible. But when Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums must make their way across Australia to find the magic food that will make Hush visible once more. “Another treat from Mem Fox that is sure to be treasured. The whimsical illustrations are a wonderful complement.”--Children’s Book Review Service

When Santa Fell To Earth

Cornelia Funke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

When Santa Fell To Earth 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

When Santa Fell To Earth is a strange book about a santa named Niklas Goodfellow who escapes an evil santa named Gerold Goblinch who wants Cristmas to be different,but some santas including Niklas disagreee with Gerold.So he takes there boots off witch turns them to choclet but he didn't get Niklas.
Niklas was on his way to the forest to hide with his raindeer Twinklestar and a caravan full of angels and elves,but somthing unexpected happens the caravan gets loose from Twinklestar and falls to the grond with a great thud!.Niklas and the elves start fixing up the caravan.
As there stay gets longer a boy named Ben and a girl named Charlotte learn more about Niklas.
Niklas feels bad becase the town there in never has good cristmases so he gives them the best cristmas ever.
If you are looking for a good cristmas story When Santa Fell To Earth is your book.

Editorial Review:

Scared by a storm, Twinklestar, the least reliable reindeer, bolts--causing Santa and his sleigh to crash-land. And though Santa has dropped into a friendly neighborhood, he's not safe: Jeremiah Goblynch, the ruthless new leader of the Council of Yuleland, is determind to put an end to children's wishes and turn the holiday season into his own personal moneymaking scheme. As the last REAL St. Nick around, only Santa stands between Goblynch and his grinchlike plan. With the help and hope of kids Charlotte and Ben, Santa must face Goblynch and his Nutcracker goons to save Christmas!

Corduroy's Christmas (Lift-the-Flap)

Don Freeman, B. G. Hennessy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good book for toddlers 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

My almost two-year-old son loves this book so much that on occasion I have hidden it so I could get a break. The illustrations are cute and very relevant. The story has only a few words per page so it is appropriate for young readers. My only complaint is that the flaps are not as sturdy as alot of other flap books. Still, we have definitely gotten our money's worth out of Corduroy's Christmas.

The Best Christmas Book For A Child. 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Every child needs a Christmas book in their collection and this is the perfect one. Join Corduroy when he writes to Santa and he goes out caroling. This beautifuly colored book is filled with flaps to lift and things to find. Corduroy is a cute little bear that your children will love forever. What better way to celebrate Christmas than with a cuddly bear. Your child will want to read this book again and again and so will you!

Editorial Review:

Youngsters lift the flaps to help Corduroy trim the tree, bake cookies, wrap presents, hang stockings, and prepare for the arrival of Santa.

Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever

Mem Fox

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A new and revised edition! Bestselling children's author and internationally respected literacy expert Mem Fox reveals the incredible emotional and intellectual impact reading aloud to children has on their ability to learn to read.
          With passion and humor, Fox speaks of when, where, and why to read aloud and demonstrates how to read aloud to best effect and how to get the most out of a read-aloud session. She discusses the three secrets of reading, offers guidance on defining and choosing good books, and addresses the challenges that can arise. And this new edition boasts twenty pages of fresh material, including two new chapters on boy readers and phonics, a foreword, and a list of "Twenty Books that Children Love."
          Filled with practical advice, activities, and inspiring true read-aloud miracles, this book is a favorite of educators and parents and a must-have for anyone interested in how children learn to read.

(20080726)

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Paul Fleischman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Written to be read aloud by two voices--sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous--here is a collection of irresistible poems that celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse. Funny, sad, loud, and quiet, each of these poems resounds with a booming, boisterous, joyful noise.

In this remarkable volume of poetry for two voices, a companion to I Am Phoenix,Paul Fleischman verbally re-creates the "Booming/boisterios/joyful noise" of insects. The poems resound with the pulse of the cicada and the drone of the honeybee. Eric Beddows's vibrant drawings send each insect soaring, spinning, or creeping off the page in its own unique way.

Paul Fleischman has created not only a clear and fascinating guide to the insect world--from chrysalid butterflies to whirligig beetles--but an exultant celebration of life.

Winner, 1989 Newbery Medal
Notable Children's Books of 1988 (ALA)
1988 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1988 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book for Fiction/Poetry
1989 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
1988 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)
Children's Books of 1988 (Library of Congress)
1988 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
100 Books for Reading and Sharing (NY Public Library)

Shh! We're Writing the Constitution

Jean Fritz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The story of the Constitution Convention for young readers 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful.

The point of Jean Fritz's "Shh! We're Writing the Constitution" is that contrary to popular opinion, America had to be dragged kicking and screaming into becoming a new nation. While it is true that Americans were happy to be independent of Great Britain, the colonies that were now states had become used to being sovereign and many of them wanted to keep it that way. Illustrated by Tomie de Paola,, this engaging juvenile history tells how fifty-five delegates gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to attempt to draw up a plan for the future of the United States. The result was the writing of the Constitution, despite the fact that initially no one agreed to either what should be in it or even if a constitution should be drawn up in the first place.

Fritz makes it clear that there were Founding Fathers, such as Patrick Henry who refused to attend the convention, who did not want a strong federal government, as well as those like Alexander Hamilton who dismissed the current confederation as "nothing but a monster with thirteen heads." The "Shh!" in the title has to do with the agreement of the delegates to keep the proceedings a secret. One of the great things about this book is that young students who already know about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin will learn about other Founding Fathers who were important in framing the Constitution, such as Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, William Paterson of New Jersey, Luther Martin of Maryland, and Edmund Randolph of Virginia. Again, not all of these men would sign their names to the finished document, but they were important during the debate. They will also learn why James Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution," and how Hamilton and another stronger Federalist, John Jay, played important roles, along with Madison, is getting the public to support the Constitution.

In telling the story of how the Constitution came to be written Fritz focuses on why certain points were adopted. So students will not only get to hear about the shouting matches and emotional outbursts, but also the political divisions and complex issues of the convention from which emerged the basis of the American government. Even at the end of the story students will be surprised to learn that the vote to adopt the Constitution was closer in Massachusetts (187 to 168) and Virginia (89-79) than it was in South Carolina (149-73) and that North Carolina voted against ratification and Rhode Island did not even bother to hold a convention (i.e., political divisions were just as strong back then as they are today). In addition to reprinting the Constitution of the United States based on the engrossed parchment sent by the Federal Convention to Congress on September 18, 1787, the back of the book also has four pages of informative notes on details from the Annapolis Convention, the debates over how the president should be addressed and how slaves should be counted, and what became the "Federalist Papers."

"Shh! We're Writing the Constitution" is an informative book that is well presented by Fritz, who served on the National Education Advisory Committeee to the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, which is a pretty good credential. This is one in a series of interesting biographies of the American Revoluiton such as "And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?", "Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?", and "Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?" There is little question that the title of Fritz's books fit a definite pattern.

Editorial Review:

The award-winning author takes readers behind the scenes at the Constitutional Convention for a good-humored history lesson, enlivened by dePaola's quirky illustrations. Full color .