Self-Esteem & Self-Respect Books - Page 6

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards))

Karen Beaumont

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fun for the whole family 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is one of the funniest childrens books I have read in a long time. My daughter loves the sing song way the book flows and she laughs everytime we read it. I have recommended this book to others and they have purchased it because their kids love it!!

Simply Wonderful! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I absolutely love this book! The illustrations and colors are just fantastic. This is by far one of the greatest children's books I have come across.

That being said, I am a little surprised by the negative comments regarding this book. First of all, everyone knows that the phrase "I ain't gonna paint no more" is not proper english. It's just an expression... lighten up.

Second of all, maybe the child in the book is "unruly." The story, and the title for that matter, isn't meant to be taken literally. Most books, TV shows, and movies aren't meant to be taken literally either. If you have several kids under the age of 6 who hit each other with bricks and abuse animals, then you've got far more serious things to worry about besides criticizing a children's book.

Editorial Review:

A dab of blue here, a splash of red there, a goopy smear of green . . . everywhere. To the tune of "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," one creative kid floods his world with color, painting first the walls, then the ceiling, then HIMSELF! Before this feisty artist is through, he'll have painted his head, back, hands, legs, feet, and . . . Oh no--here comes Mama!

Karen Beaumont's zippy text and David Catrow's zany illustrations turn an infamous childhood activity into raucous storytime fun, giving a silly twist to the fine art of self-expression.

River Secrets

Shannon Hale

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hilarious & thoughtful 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

pre script: [This is not the last book of the Books of Bayern! There is a fourth book coming out.www.shannonhale.com!!] This book is the most humorous of the three that Hale wrote. Razo, the main character, seems to be born to be funny! If you read the other two books, you might note that the plot is quite fast-moving. The plot for this book is not as fast as those, but perhaps has more amount of surprises. It gets a little boring, maybe, in the middle bacause it is slow. Each surprising information that Hale reveals doesn't really come together until much later in the book. In that case, read the book again later, sometime not too soon. You will find that you enjoy the book more. Do remember to read all the way to the end; do not skip some pages when bored.

About Razo: Short(he grows later in the book), uncertain, seventeen years old (in the beginning of the book), easygoing, hilarious(or at least funny), black-haired. Socializes a lot, a prefect spy, an experienced slinger(Finn helps Razo find that out), flexible. The main character; fun to see the book in close third-person view of him. Caught up in the intrigue between Bayern and Tira, solves everything out(with some help) at the end. Likes food!

Enna: Eighteen years old(again, at the beginning of the book)
Finn: Very patient; Eighteen years old

Isi/Ani: Twenty-one years old (I thought she was 20...)

Geric: Twenty-five

Megina: 20
Talone: I guess he is at least 40

Napralina: Eighteen years old; the second daughter of Kildenree

His Radiance the Prince: I guess he is 20 or something

Editorial Review:

Razo has no idea why he was chosen to be a soldier. He can barely swing a sword, and his brothers are forever wrestling him to the ground. Razo is sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission--escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy.
But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, Razo discovers the first dead body. He befriends both the high and low born, people who can perhaps provide them with vital information. And Razo is the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.
Newbery–Honor winner Shannon Hale returns the reader to the intrigue and magic of Bayern, first introduced in her critically acclaimed novel, The Goose Girl. Enter a world where even those with no special magical skills find in themselves something they never imagined.

How to Steal a Dog

Barbara O'Connor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Half of me was thinking, Georgina, don’t do this. Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. The other half of me was thinking, Georgina, you’re in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it.
 
Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is “borrow” the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected.
 
With unmistakable sympathy, Barbara O’Connor tells the story of a young girl struggling to see what’s right when everything else seems wrong.

Tacky the Penguin (A Tacky Book)

Helen Lester

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

If you have a quirky kid....... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My son from an early age marched to a beat of a different drummer. We discovered this book when he was 5, and it was a great thing in his life. I was recently asked to name the most influential non-religious book in our lives and believe it or not this was it. Tacky helped our son believed that there was a place in the world for both the straight-laced run-of-the-mill kids and the more creative types. He is leaving to college today, his third year , and I just had to write this review in thanks. Our son has a lot of self-esteem and this book helped him find it. If you have a quirky kid, this book is a must. If you have a 'normal' kid, but they have a quirky friend this is a good book too, because it doesn't put down either sets of people, or penguins as the case may be. We of course have the whole book memorized and can make any of us smile by starting any of the phases in the book. If we save one of the children's books in our library, Tacky would be by FAR it.

Editorial Review:

Tacky is an odd bird who marches to the beat of his own drummer. He's something of an eccentric, which wouldn't be a problem if all the other penguins weren't such . . . conformists. Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger have teamed up to tell Tacky's story, about the day when some hunters come to the penguins' Nice Icy Land, and how Tacky's individuality saves the day!

Loser

Jerry Spinelli

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 193 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

a must read for anyone who is, was, or will be a child 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Jerry Spinelli is probably the greatest young adult novelist (yes, novelist) for a very good reason. Not only are his books incredibly human and powerful, capturing those illusive essential truths of childhood and adolescence, but they are written in an incredible (yet accessible) modernist, lyrical, and, well--beautiful--prose that captures all the emotions, wonders, and confusions of childhood. His stories seem familiar, and yet they never fall into the trappings of predictability or neatly convenient packaging. In all of these ways, he writes novels that really are good for children of every age (from 0 to 118). In Loser, Zinkoff is one of those off-center kids (another Spinelli gem), messy and silly, a klutz and a joke, gets everything wrong and loses every race. And yet, he is an incredibly happy, innocent, and deeply loving creature. The book is really a character study of this kid, how the world views him, how he views the world. As such, it is incredibly beautiful and poetic, dreamy and childlike. It's an incredible novel, for any age. Grade: A-

Editorial Review:

Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like "Jabip."

Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become "hero."

The Colors of Us

Karen Katz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"Out of many, one people!" 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A far as race goes, there is but one race we belong to, the HUMAN RACE. Concerning skin color or pigmentation, we come in an assortment of shades: "brown," "olive," "cinnamon," "egg shell", etc. Never have I seen a "black", "white", "yellow", or "red" human being. It is ethnicity, culture, heritage, etc. that makes us as humans differ. COLORism, in my opinion, persists today because we refuse to acknowledge that we are at the core the same. Our pigmentation has nothing to do with anything: "out of many, one people!" The definition of race needs, as was the definition of sex vs. gender, to be amended.

Editorial Review:

"My name is Lena and I am seven. I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up."

Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when Lena and her mother take a walk through their neighborhood, Lena sees that there are many different shades and tones of brown. Seen from an artist's point of view, skin colors are subtle, varied--and cause for celebration!

Karen Katz created this book for her daughter, Lena, whom she and her husband adopted from Guatemala six years ago.

Tangerine

Edward Bloor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 461 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent book - especially for middle school boys 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I'm a 46 year-old Mom and I bought this book because of the great reviews, but I didn't know which son to give it to. My 4th grader falls into the age-range mentioned here at amazon, but based on the plot synopses here I felt it was more a book my 7th grader would like.

So I read it myself first. I LOVED it. What a great, moving, inspiring, different book. As stay-with-you as Hoot, or Terabithia, or Stargirl, or... to date myself ... as The Outsiders.

It's well-written, it's gripping, it's multi-layered, and it manages to keep track of multiple story arcs within itself without dropping any or using any sort of deux ex machina to get out of any. It presents it's villains without caricature, and it's heroes without pandering. It surprises you at nearly every turn - but not in a forced we-need-a-plot-twist way.

I won't describe the plot as it as been so well-described here. I'll just reiterate that this is an amazing young adult novel that I thoroughly enjoyed for myself as well.

And I personally would not give this to my 4th grader. Not that the reading level is too difficult, but I think the content is too dark and the layers perhaps too subtle for a 10 year-old. I'm giving this book to my 7th grader tomorrow (I just finished it tonight!) and I know he'll devour it.

Editorial Review:

A season with the toughest soccer team in the county gives a teen the confidence to stand up to his wicked brother. "Smart, adaptable, and anchored by a strong sense of self-worth, Paul makes a memorable protagonist in a cast of vividly drawn characters; multiple yet taut plotlines lead to a series of gripping climaxes and revelations. Readers are going to want more from this author."--Kirkus Reviews

Cinder Edna

Ellen Jackson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Attitude, it's all attitude! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is the story of two neighbors, both overworked sisters to mean, wicked, old step-sisters. Cinderella is the pretty one who sits in the cinders and daydreams after she finishes her chores. Next door Cinder Edna, the spunky one but not so pretty, sings while she works. She doesn't like sitting in cinders--gets her clothes sooty--so she takes on extra chores from the neighbors who pay her, enabling her to put a lovely dress on lay-away, her just-in-case dress.

One day the two princes announce a big ball and invite all the women of the kingdom to attend. The six wicked sisters ready themselves through the help of the abused step-sisters. Cinderella's fairy godmother comes along to poof the pretty lass ready. Cinderella's lack of imagination, lack of spunk, lack of proper attitude cannot see a way to the ball. GM has to turn a pumpkin, you know the rest.

Meanwhile, Cinder Edna gets her dress off lay-away, decides to wear her comfortable loafers to dance in, and takes the bus to the ball. There is no effort except her own good attitude. At the ball she finds the handsome prince too stuffed full of himself. Boring, she decides of him. Then she meets Rupert, the younger prince, head of waste recycling and keeper of orphaned kittens and master joke teller. She is known to tell a joke or two herself. They dance the night away.

All good stories must come to an end. The usual hunt for the right foot for the glass slipper, and a woman who can recite 17 tuna casserole recipes play a major role. There is a double wedding (surely this is not a spoiler!). But the big question is: Which couple lives happily ever after?

Editorial Review:

Once upon a time there were two girls who lived next door to each other. Cinder Edna was forced to work for her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, just as her neighbor, Cinderella, was. But Edna had learned a thing or two from doing all that housework, such as how to make tuna casserole sixteen different ways and how to get spots off everything from rugs to ladybugs. And she was strong and spunky and knew some good jokes. Now, one day the king announced that he would give a ball ...

Ellen Jackson and Kevin O'Malley team up to bring young readers the delightful story of what can be done without the help of a fairy godmother.

Roxie and the Hooligans

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

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

Survival of the fittest (i.e. person with the largest ears) 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Shhh! Don't make so much noise. I don't want you to scare it off. What I am holding in my hand, at this very moment, is something so rare and precious that I'm afraid to make any sudden movements for fear of startling it. What we are witnessing is the very rarely sighted Phyllis Reynolds Naylor stand alone children's book. It's not part of a series or the first in a great long line of "Roxie" books. No sir. This here's an only once-in-a-lifetime glimpsed... what's that? You want to point out that Ms. Naylor has produced AT LEAST twenty-four stand alone novels for kids in her lifetime? Oh fine. Be like that. I was trying to make a point about how many series titles Naylor has produced since she began writing (six series with forty-four books in total by my count). It's amazing she has time to eat, let alone come out with anything of quality. I guess that's the most striking thing about Ms. Naylor. Some authors who shall remain nameless (unless you e-mail me, and then I'll spill everything) write tons of books and their quality goes down. Ms. Naylor writes tons of books and if anything they get more and more original and enjoyable. "Roxie and the Hooligans" is just the latest example.

"Roxie Warbler was neither fat nor thin, short nor tall, pretty nor plain, smart nor stupid". Her ears, on the other hand, were extraordinary. Large and lovely, they unfortunately attract attention from the wrong sort of people. Hooligan-type people. For you see, at Roxie's school are four nasty bullies (or hooligans) that like nothing better than to tease poor Roxie whenever they get the chance. And as intolerable as such a situation might be, it's made all the worse when the hooligans and Roxie accidentally wind up on an abandoned island when an attempt to glue underwear to Roxie's head goes awry. Now our heroine is trapped with the four people she fears the most on an island where there are murderous cutthroats who are perfectly prepared to kill ALL the kids if they can get their hands on them. Roxie hasn't any food or any water, but she does have one thing. A cool head and lots of knowledge from the book, "Lord Thistlebottom's Book of Pitfalls and How To Survive Them". Everything is up to her.

There's a certain level of readership that gets ignored time and time again by publishers and authors alike. In my library system they're called Young Readers. They're the kids who have progressed to chapter books, but they still need simple words, pictures, and large fonts to help them through their reading. Books for this group exist, but they aren't always that ... um ... good. Lots of series books like "The Chronicles of Droon" or "A to Z Mysteries" fall under this definition. So you can imagine how happy I was to find "Roxie" not only a delightful read, but a rather thoughtful one as well. Characters begin as stereotypes (Roxie excluded) and then grow small souls for themselves through their sufferings. The book also has the amusing idea of having Roxie repeat advice taken from Lord Thistlebottom's book when she has the need. If I were to summarize this book, I might call it the practical application of all those how-to-survive-a-crocodile type books that adults seem so enamored of.

Now as a children's librarian I often get requests from concerned parents asking me to recommend books for their children that talk about dealing with bullies. This, obviously, would not be the first book to leap into anyone's head. Be that as it may, it's a great anti-bully statement. Naylor acknowledges right up front that for those kids that don't conform to the rigid sameness of their peers, they are bound to wind up bullied in some way at some time. The hooligans, however, are given their humanity when they constantly find themselves relying on their earful companion. Accompanied by amusing illustrations by artist Alexandra Boiger (of the recent smash hit picture book title, "While Mama Had a Small Little Chat) the book is pure enjoyment through and through. For any kid that likes adventure, cutthroats, and kids surviving on their own, this is a great read. And you know what? If Naylor wants to make this a series and add another chapter to Roxie's adventures, I don't think I'd mind one bit. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

Do not panic.

Lord Thistlebottom's Book of Pitfalls and How to Survive Them has taught Roxie Warbler how to handle all sorts of situations. If Roxie's ever lost in the desert, or buried in an avalanche, or caught in a dust storm, she knows just what to do. But Lord Thistlebottom has no advice to help Roxie deal with Helvetia's Hooligans, the meanest band of bullies in school.

Then Roxie finds herself stranded on a deserted island with not only the Hooligans but also a pair of crooks on the lam, and her survival skills may just save the day -- and turn the Hooligans into surprising allies.

Millions of Cats (Gift Edition) (Picture Puffin Books)

Wanda Gag

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Cat's Inhumanity to Cat 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

A tale of a man who, looking for a cat, finds too many. For any animal-lover, this is a secret dream, an embarrassment of riches. Millions of Cats sends that dream to the glue factory. The laws of nature state that, when a population becomes larger than available resources can support, conflict ensues. In a scene reminiscent of the enormous slaughter at Verdun, acres upon acres of fuzzy, fuzzy kitties flip out switchblade claws and tear each other apart. All for a chance to enter an exclusive Shangri-La: the happy home of the peasant farmer and his sturdy wife. The sole survivor is found hiding under a bush, the last of his race. He is an inverted Jesus, an unblemished lamb for whose sake all of his kind must die. A kitty Anti-Christ, if you will. Who, through his cunning feint, has gained dominion over the feline earth.

And where are the corpses of the slain? How can that hapless peasant keep his shoes dry as he surveys the site of the recent battle? The truth is clear to the careful reader: the Omega Cat has eaten the bodies and drank from the blood. A demonic Eucharist to profane the very soil, the anointing feast for a Dark Prince of Cats. The unwitting peasant knows not what evil he welcomes into his home. And yet, the final scene of domestic bliss offers hope to a world wracked with bloody regional wars: even after death on an incomprehensible scale, life goes on.

Great Christmas gift for your little ones. Goes great with a new puppy.

Editorial Review:

Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman who were very lonely. They decided to get a cat, but when the old man went out searching, he found not one cat, but millions and billions and trillions of cats! Unable to decide which one would be the best pet, he brought them all home. How the old couple came to have just one cat to call their own is a classic tale that has been loved for generations. Winner of a Newbery Honor, this collector’s edition—featuring a heavy interior stock, spot gloss and embossing on the cover, and a thread-sewn binding—will bring this beloved tale to a whole new generation of readers.