Lewin, Ted Books

The Secret of the Indian (Indian in the Cupboard)

Lynne Reid Banks

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

The Secret of the Indian 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Secret of the Indian
By: Lynne Reid Banks
Reviewed By: P. Shah
Period 1

Omri and Patrick are forced to reveal their secret to Patrick's cousin. At first, they couldn't trust her one bit, but as things got out of control, they realized they needed Emma. It all starts with Omri sending Patrick to the time of the cowboys. But when Omri brought back the indians and cowboys to life, they were all injured from a war. Omri only had one nurse so he didn't know what to do. There were about 30 injured and half dead indians in Omri's room. that's where Emma came into help. She knew of a plastic figure that was a surgeon that her sister had. By bringing him to life, the indians were helped and headed back to their own time. Meanwhile, Patrick was in the cowboy time and he wasn't having a good time. When he came back, he figured out that he had injured his best friend, a plastic figure of a cowboy. At first the nurse and surgeon thought he was dead but with Omri's strong fingers he stared breathing again. At school Omri read an essay that he wrote about his experience about his magical cupboard. No one thought it was true...except for the principal. The principal said to Omri," They were supposed to make an invention exactly like that and I have a reason to believe that you have that invention." At the end everyone thought the principal was crazy. So, the secret is being kept secret by Omri, Patrick and Emma.
I really like this book because there was so much activity going on in the story. And it's so secretive! It just makes you want to read more and more! There is nothing that i disliked about this book. Quotes: Clinging precariously to the bottom rim of the ceiling, Boone shouted a yell of help before he fell. I liked this quote because it showed action and awe. Another quote: " You need to send us back," Boone shouted. " We can't! We lost the key!" Omri replied. This quote is scary because omri can't find the key so the indians are stuck in the future.
My favorite part of the book is when Omri and Patrick try to keep Emma from learning their secret. But nothing works out and she finds out. I like this part because it is so suspicious of Emma and it's fun to see what they do.

Editorial Review:

The adventure deepens . . .

In The Return of the Indian, Omri found he could transport himself and his friend Patrick back in history to the dangerous days of his miniature companions. Now, in the secret of the indian, Patrick time-travels back to the rough-and-tumble frontier age of his cowboy friend, Boone. When he returns to the present day, he's accompanied by a disastrous bit of Texas weather that devastates half of England.

Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War

Yukio Tsuchiya

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Beautiful 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I just attended a Peace Prize Forum in Sioux Falls, SD, and this book was part of a curriculum for teaching children about peace and war. I think it is one of the most powerful books I have ever read.
This is a tender book about how war affects life, in a way accessible for children, and equally vivid and profound for adults.
The illustrations are also beautiful.

What a brutal book! 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I read this after reading Roland Smith's Elephant Run, an excellent childrens/young adult book involving elephants in World War II. While that book was even-handed, I found this book to be just plain gut wrenching for adults and even worse for children who often have such a special bond with animals. This bond may be, as my children's lit professor suggested, due to the vulnerability animals and children feel at the hands of bigger and stronger (in most cases) adults. If that idea is true, then the premise of this book is even worse.

Although the author attempts a tenderness in the writing style and the illustrations are well done, the deaths of the elephants seem so cruel and pointless even in war, a war I might add, where the Japanese were aggresors as often as victims. I'm probably more of a pacifist than most (two years in the Peace Corpse should count for something!), but I think there are a lot more effective books to be used to promote peace. There are also a lot more effective books to promote courage and hope against all odds.

Editorial Review:

A zookeeper recounts the story of John, Tonky, and Wanly, three performing elephants at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, whose turn it is to die, and of their keepers, who weep and pray that World War II will end so their beloved elephants might be saved.

One Green Apple

Eve Bunting

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Immigrant empathy 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Eve Bunting portrays a warm look at the plight of one immigrant girl transitioning to an American classroom for the very first time. I read this book with second graders yesterday (who have a brand new student from Norway in their midst) and I think all of them felt compassion for their friend's situation. The illustrations are amazing and Ted Lewin has used his wife Betsy to portray the role of the teacher. This is truly a book that should not be missed.

Editorial Review:

Farah feels alone, even when surrounded by her classmates. She listens and nods but doesn't speak. It's hard being the new kid in school, especially
when you're from another country and don't know the language. Then, on a field trip to an apple orchard, Farah discovers there are lots of things that
sound the same as they did at home, from dogs crunching their food to the ripple of friendly laughter. As she helps the class make apple cider, Farah
connects with the other students and begins to feel that she belongs.

Ted Lewin's gorgeous sun-drenched paintings and Eve Bunting's sensitive text immediately put the reader into another child's shoes in this timely story
of a young Muslim immigrant.

Day of Ahmed's Secret

Florence H. Parry

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Everything Has Its Time to Be 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful.

An especially beautiful and thought-provoking book. The story transports us to Cairo, Egypt, where we are invited to observe a day in the life of a young Egyptian boy who sells gas canisters to help his family, all the while, harboring a secret. A must read if you are interested in learning about other cultures, and about the lives of millions of children around the world. The authors capture the culture, a sense of the language (poetic), the spirit of the people, as well as their philosophy of life. We even get some idea of the geography and history of Egypt; and all of this in a children's book. This is truly an wholistic piece of work. The illustrator does a marvelous job of capturing the sights and colors of Cairo. I have been so impressed by this book as to have recommended it to countless students and teachers in the school system where I teach. I have even been moved to write and thank the authors, who graciously responded.

I would also highly recommend the authors' other two books in this trilogy of stories set in the Middle East: 'The House of Wisdom' set in ninth-century Baghdad, Iraq (poetic), and 'Sami and the Time of the Troubles' set in modern day Lebanon. [Read an interview with the authors in November 1999 issue of 'Book Links' magazine.]

Editorial Review:

As Ahmed delivers bottles of propane gas, he treasures a special secret he can't wait to share with his family. "Skillfully, the authors use the secret to sustain suspense...and to highlight the significance of Ahmed's poignant joy in his accomplishment....A handsome, affectionate book."--Kirkus Reviews.

Peppe the Lamplighter

Elisa Bartone

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Stunning artwork makes this book special 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

"Peppe the Lamplighter" combines a story by Elisa Bartone with illustrations by Ted Lewin. The story takes place "[a] long time ago when there was no electricity and the street lamps in Little Italy had to be lit by hand." The hero of the book is Peppe, who lives with his widowed father and sisters in a tenement. Peppe's decision to get a job as a lamplighter leads to conflict between Peppe and his father.

This is a good story that is greatly enhanced by Lewin's superb artwork. Most of the illustrations are two-page spreads that are packed full of energy and emotion. Lewin's realistic style is well-suited to capturing many colorful details: the sausages hanging in the butcher shop, a crowded street scene, the old-fashioned iron stove in Peppe's home, etc. Overall, a memorable celebration of Italian-American history.

Editorial Review:

Peppe becomes a lamplighter to help support his immigrant family in turn-of-the-century New York City, despite his papa's disapproval. But when Peppe's job helps save his little sister, he earns the respect of his entire family.

The World's Greatest Elephant

Ralph Helfer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Best True Story! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a wonderful "trip" through the lives of the two main characters. It is so awesome, you have trouble believing everything that happens to both of them on their life journey. You will not be able to put this book down. My husband, who hardly ever reads, would not put it down until he was finished. It brought tears to his and my eyes. Can't say enough.

Editorial Review:

It’s unbelievable but true! Born on the same day in the same small, German circus town, young Bram and his elephant, Modoc, had a lifelong friendship that spanned over eight decades. But it was never easy. From the breakup of the circus to the shipwreck in the Indian Ocean that nearly cost them their lives, the bond between the boy and the elephant survived the most unimaginable trials. This true story of their adventures together, and eventual rise to circus stardom in the Ringling Brothers Circus, will be a treasure for animal lovers everywhere.

The beautiful, life-like illustrations by Ted Lewin make the perfect backdrop to this amazing chronicle by Ralph Helfer.

Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu

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

An extraordinary testimony to archaeological history 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Accessibly written and very beautifully by Caldecott Honor Winner Ted Lewin, Lost City: The Discovery Of Machu Picchu is a picturebook history presentation about a 1911 journey into Peru in search of Vilcapampa, the lost city of the Incas. What was actually discovered was the forgotten city of Machu Picchu, resulting in an extraordinary testimony to archaeological history and a Native American legacy, in this wonderfully illustrated, deftly told, and strongly recommended story.

Editorial Review:

Caldecott Honor-winner Ted Lewin takes readers on a thrilling journey to the wilds of Peru in this story of Hiram Bingham, who, in 1911, carved a treacherous path through snake-filled jungles and across perilous mountains in search of Vilcapampa, the lost city of the Incas. Guided the last steps by a young Quechua boy, however, he discovered not the rumored lost city, but the ruins of Machu Picchu, a city totally unknown to the outside world, and one of the wonders of the world.

Ted Lewin traveled to Peru and walked some of the same jungle and mountain paths as his characters to research this story and create the powerful paintings of this remarkable ancient city.

The Girl on the High Diving Horse

Linda Oatman High

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A "SHORE" Thing for Grade 3 and up! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Reading this book to my third graders evoked a powerful discussion with many layers of thinking. My students noticed the author's use of powerful words, strong verbs, great imagery and an emotional point of view. Discussion also centered around various topics brought up by Ted Lewin's pictures: the rolling chairs, steel pier, diving horses, bathing suits, boardwalk, and other items during that era. His illustrations recall a simpler time when "linen postcards" were used during the early 1930's. This book has inspired us to write our own "poetry" and "dive" deeper into that time in history. We LOVED the book! :)

Editorial Review:

Ivy Cordelia is plain lucky. It's the summer of 1936, and she gets to stay in Atlantic City all summer long, where there's so much to see: boxing kangaroos, human cannonballs, card-playing cats . . . and high-diving horses! If there's anyone luckier than she is, it must be the girl on the high-diving horse, who daily performs her dangerous-looking act while the crowd cheers. Ivy's dream is to be that girl. But could she ever be that brave?

The spun-candy-and-sea-spray world of the Atlantic City boardwalk in the 1930s once again comes powerfully to life under the nostalgic artistry of Ted Lewin and Linda Oatman High.

Illustrated by Ted Lewin.

The Always Prayer Shawl (Reading Rainbow Books)

Sheldon Oberman

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

A moving celebration of famiy and religious tradition 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This is a beautiful, moving story that was a gift for our son on his bris. (It moved me to tears when I first read it.) Exquisitely illustrated and well-told, the story celebrates values, tradition, and intergenerational relationships. It will be a great conversation starter with our son, when he is older, about our own family history. It would make a great gift for a bar mitzvah or any occasion.

A Bar Mitzvah Gift 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I got this as a pre Bar Mitzvah gift and at first I thought it wasn't what I wanted because I figured it was for younger kids but when I read it I felt it was for everybody, even people who aren't Jewish. It was a story about a person's whole life and how they change which was pretty neat to think about especially when you are having a bar mitzvah. My grandmother gave it to me because she said it was like her dad's life. It is sort of getting me ready for my bar mitzvah to think about the importance of tradition in your life

Editorial Review:

When Adam's family leaves Russia for America, Grandfather gives him an ancient prayer shawl that has been passed down from generation to generation, and in time, an older Adam passes the prayer shawl down to his own grandson. Reprint. AB.

Pennies in a Jar

Dori Chaconas

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Editorial Review:

When his father goes off to fight in World War II, a young boy promises to be brave. But it isn t always easy. Especially now that he and his mother are alone and the air is punctuated by bursts of loud noises from air raid siren tests.

Lots of things scare him, but especially the street horses: Josephine, who pulls the ragman s wagon and Nell, the milkman s nag, frighten the boy with their big teeth and wild eyes. Even Billy and Bucky, the garbage wagon horses whose feet are as big and heavy as buckets full of iron, make him nervous.

Then one day a stranger with a small pony and a camera comes down the street and gives the boy an opportunity to do something special for his father. But that means digging down deep inside and finding the courage.