Where We Live Books - Page 12

Harris and Me

Gary Paulsen

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( P ) -> Paulsen, Gary

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 177 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not Your Typical Children's Writer 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Gary Paulsen never shuns writing about real life to spare your kiddies' artificial innocence. His books deal with the pains and joys of childhood - parental quarrels, alcoholism, abusive behavior, etc. - more forthrightly than any other children's writer I encountered with my own son as he was learning to read, and my son loved Paulsen's book enough to choose them for himself.

"Harris and Me" is a first-person narrative, told by a boy whose dysfunctional family has sent him to live with kinfolk on a backcountry farm in Minnesota. Harris is the bigger boy whose family has the farm. He becomes the narrator's surrogate older brother and role model for devil-may-care enjoyment of boyish wildness. The narrator sense that his own nature is different from Harris's but he treasures Harris's spirit. It's a quick read for an adult, a kind of hyper-condensed adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. It's funny fun for the right kid to read silently or out loud, but children raised in a household devoted to propriety may find it incomprehensible, since propriety is not a virtue on Gary Paulsen's farm.

One might suspect that this narrative, like many of Paulsen's, is semi-autobiographical. I'm very certain, however, that Paulsen has somehow gotten ahold of my unwritten memoirs, and used MY childhood for his model. I've seldom read anything that depicts the experiences of farm life, in Minnesota or in Sweden, fifty years ago or today, as accurately as this short book. I mention Sweden because I lived as a boy on a diary farm near Nykoping that was identical to Harris's. Like Paulsen, I've traveled very far, physically and culturally, from that farm, but in my heart of hearts I'm still Harris, and/or his admiring sidekick, myself. For a writer like Paulsen, "home" is not so much a place but rather a time of life.

Paulsen's most popular books are imaginative adventure tales featuring intrepid boys. "The Hatchet" is his best seller. Shorter, more personal books like "Harris and Me" are, in my opinion, better choices for kids to read, offering flashes of insight into maturity, however challenging, instead of day-dream invulnerability.

Editorial Review:

A young city boy is sent to spend the summer on his aunt and uncle's farm. Though he has lived many places over the years, he has never experienced anything like farm life . . . and he has never met anyone like Harris, his daredevil of a cousin. If the two of them can survive wrestling three-hundred-pound pigs and mouse-hunting with toothless old Louie's fire-spitting pet lynx--which, unlike his master, has plenty of teeth--they just might make it through the summer!

The Saturdays (The Melendy Quartet)

Elizabeth Enright

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Meet the Melendys! The four Melendy children live with their father and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, in a worn but comfortable brownstone in New York City. There's thirteen-year-old Mona, who has decided to become an actress; twelve-year-old mischievous Rush; ten-and-a-half-year-old Randy, who loves to dance and paint; and thoughtful Oliver, who is just six. Tired of wasting Saturdays doing nothing but wishing for larger allowances, the four Melendys jump at Randy's idea to start the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.). If they pool their resources and take turns spending the whole amount, they can each have at least one memorable Saturday afternoon of their own. Before long, I.S.A.A.C. is in operation and every Saturday is definitely one to remember. Written more than half a century ago, The Saturdays unfolds with all the ripe details of a specific place and period but remains, just the same, a winning, timeless tale. The Saturdays is the first installment of Enright's Melendy Quartet, an engaging and warm series about the close-knit Melendy family and their surprising adventures.

Alphabet City

Stephen T. Johnson

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

Alphabet City minus the grunge 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

How successful an alphabet book is relies entirely on how well it conveys the alphabet to children. Sometimes books of this nature are so wrapped up in their own cleverness (like the wearily look-at-me-aren't-I-a-visual-delight, "Graphic Alphabet" by David Pelletier) that they forget who alphabet books are supposed to be FOR. Now "Alphabet City" is clever too. No question of that. But what Stephen T. Johnson has done here is whip up a book that inner city kids will immediately recognize and cling to. How many alphabet collections are there out there that form letters out of pastoral or countryside setting? Plenty. Johnson turns the idea on its head with near photo-realistic paintings of recognizable city objects and places.

In his forward to the book, Johnson explains that the roots of this project are based in his own love of the, "particular energy one senses in the people, sounds, and structures, old and new, that constitute a city". While out for a stroll on day, he found he could find letters in the most basic city structures, like fire-escapes and sawhorses. "Alphabet City" is the result. Each letter, always a capital, is presented as part of the environment around it. So the aforementioned sawhorse is the very first picture, with kids being able to readily recognize the "A" hidden in its crossbeams. No letter is going to be immediately easy to find. Johnson doesn't outline them in darker paints or even necessarily point them out in any way. The "R" hidden in leaf covered cobblestones is evident if sneaky. He also cheats a little here and there to get just the right shape. To find the "C" in the cathedral's beautiful window, a late afternoon shadow covers part of the circle. By and large, however, Johnson executes an extraordinarily clever conjunction of images. I would have thought it near impossible to find a "Q" in the city, but the wheel well of a stationary train proved me wrong. Johnson also flits back and forth between different kinds of light and shadow. You'll find yourself quite taken with his mysterious and towering "T", or the snow-covered bench that provides an "O". It makes for perhaps the most interactive alphabetic picture book out there.

This book does work on the premise that the children reading it already recognize the alphabet as it stands. How hard would it have been for Johnson to have place a large black letter in the corner of each page, allowing kids the chance to learn as well as explore? If you're a four-year-old and can't remember if "Q" comes before or after "R", this book will be no help to you. That said, for those kids already familiar with the shapes in this collection, "Alphabet City" can become a game in their off hours. They can walk down the street pointing out the letters they see in their own neighborhoods. Some pictures admittedly feel like Johnson is cheating. He obviously could have located an "L" anywhere, but did he have to make it so difficult for the readers by constructing such a convoluted image? Try flipping randomly to some of the pages and see whether or not you can figure out what letter you're on. Betcha bottom dollar you don't guess "F" or "G".

I complain, but only because I love. Truth be told, "Alphabet City" blew me away. There are all kinds of seasons here and a true love for city living that rings true. Johnson has a keen eye for the beauty inherent in urban living. Rust and peeling paint and moldering iron and missing tilework all combine into truly beautiful portraits. The alphabet has never been done so eclectically. Alphabet books with a designer bent always leave me a touch cold, but "Alphabet City" is different. Like its sequel, "City By Numbers" it's original and lovingly rendered. Consider pairing it with "Achoo Bang Crash" by Ross MacDonald and "New York, New York: The Big Apple From A to Z" by Laura Krauss Melmed for a truly urban and urbane alphabetic threesome.

Editorial Review:

A 1996 Caldecott Honor book

The urban landscape will never look the same again. As Stephen T. Johnson demonstrates in a series of strikingly realistic pastels and watercolors, a simple sawhorse can contain the letter "A"--while lampposts alongside a highway can form a row of elegant, soaring Ys. A 1996 Caldecott Honor book, this sophisticated, wordless alphabet book is sure to appeal to young and old alike.

"Imaginative, stimulating, and striking." --The Horn Book

"Sure to intrigue." --Booklist

* A Picture Puffin
* Full-color illustrations
* 32 pages
* All ages

The Wheels on the Bus (Raffi Songs to Read)

Raffi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A great book with many things to talk about 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I bought this when my daughter was 13 months, and after 7 months she still loves this book. There are different people in the bus - adults, kids, elderly, pets, etc., and many things happening on and off the bus.

When my daughter refuses to drink her milk, I'll turn to the page where the baby is happily drinking from the bottle, then she will take her cup and start drinking.

Try Raffi's CD as well. He sang the song to a cheerful tones with kids in the background - my daughter loves it.

The Pages of This Book go Flip and Turn 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Timing is everything to read this book, which is really a song. Although the notes are at the end to hint how the words should be read, without hearing it sung first and reading it out loud in a dull monotonous fashion a toddler may look at the reader as if to ask "Why bother?" Then I heard it on one of the CDs and now the words flow beautifully and make me read and read, read and read, all through the night.

Editorial Review:

Illus. in full color. "With a jovial bus driver as host, readers have quite

a ride ahead of them as the bus bounces through what appears to be a French

town. In her first book the artist humorously injects the familiar song with

cheerful new life."--Horn Book.

Roxaboxen

Alice Mclerran

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

Great book for all audiences! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I read it to my 5 and 2 year old children, and they each sat through the entire story. In fact, once it was over they grabbed it from me to look at the pictures.

There was one thing I didn't like about the book, and it's only because it provokes a lot of questions from my 5 year old(has to do with the lizard). So, if your child has a tendency to ask lots of questions, you can skip that page. Otherwise, this is an excellent choice, and I'll read it again.

Editorial Review:

Marian called it Roxaboxen. (She always knew the name of everything.) There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill -- nothing but sand and rocks, some old wooden boxes, cactus and greasewood and thorny ocotillo -- but it was a special place: a sparkling world of jeweled homes, streets edged with the whitest stones, and two ice cream shops. Come with us there, where all you need to gallop fast and free is a long stick and a soaring imagination.

In glowing desert hues, artist Barbara Cooney has caught the magic of Alice McLerran's treasured land of Roxaboxen -- a place that really was, and, once you've been there, always is.

Stormy, Misty's Foal

Marguerite Henry

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful historical fiction for young people......!!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

My seven year old daughter and I finished this book last night. She was very sad to have it end. What a wonderful account of the devastating storm that hit the islands of Assateague and Chincoteague and the relief efforts to rebuild the islands and the devastated wild pony population.

It was very heartwarming to read in the epilogue excerpts from actual letters of children that sent in their hard earned money to buy back the ponies sold at previous Pony Penning Days to replenish the wild herds of Assateugue. These children and others like them preserved a tradition that had been maintained for over 100 years and because of them continues on today. In fact, Marguerite Henry dedicated this book to those very children that made it all possible.

Marguerite Henry does an excellent job of using local dialect in the telling of the story, especially with Grandpa and Grandma. You can not help but become involved in the characters and their concerns become very real to you.

I read this book many many years ago and had forgotten a great deal of the story. One of the things I did remember was Misty being put in Grandma's kitchen to wait out the storm.

If you are like me and read this book many years ago I encourage to reread it. You will be glad you did.

Editorial Review:

A foal, born in the aftermath of a great storm, and her famous mother help raise money to repair the storm damage on Chincoteague Island and restore the herds of wild ponies on Assateague Island.

Houses and Homes (Around the World Series)

Ann Morris

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

Informative and Stimulating! 5 out of 5 stars.
32 of 32 people found this review helpful.

Houses and Homes is a great book to stimulate conversation for young beginning readers! The photos alone are worth a thousand words. I used this book as a lead in for a discussion with first graders about different types of homes around the world. The text is simple enough that they'll read it unassisted over and over. The index in the back of the book, along with a world map, is very informative! It states the specific country where each photo was taken and gives detailed information on the uses of the types of homes shown. The descriptions also include information on the relationships between homes, cultures, and climates around the world. My 5 year old nephew, a beginning reader, would not put the book down. If he wasn't actually reading the book, he was spending time looking at the real-life photos!

Editorial Review:

The world is full of houses. Big houses and little houses. Houses that stay in one place and houses that move from place to place. Some houses are made of wood or stone; others are made from mud or straw. But all of them are made for families to live in.

Oh the Things You Can Do That Are Good For You (Cat in the Hat's Lrning Libry)

Tish Rabe

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

Oh the things you can do that are good for you 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I like this book because it taught me all different things when i was littler. Like how to brush my teeth, floss, wash my hands, wash my hair, get exercise,how to deal with a cold, the right food to eat, and how its important at the end of the day to get your rest. This book taught me so much and im thankful for that.
Alyssa Seifferly

cute and fun but out of date 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book is great and has wonderful healthy positive messages. My kids love it and ask to read it over and over. The only dissapointment is that it still has one page with the old food guide pyramid.

Staying healthy and self esteem 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Some really important messages in this Seuss style beginner book including
the importance of hygiene, exercise, good nutrition, body safety, recognising and talking about own feelings, everyone is special and unique.
Sometimes the rhymes lose a bit of their rhythm, but overall I think it is a fair adaption of Seuss style, but most importantly it is a fun way to begin concepts of taking care and valuing yourself with young children.

Editorial Review:

With the help of the staff and equipment at a Seussian spa, the Cat in the Hat explains the basics of healthy living, from eating right and getting enough exercise and sleep, to having a positive body image, to the distance and speed of a typical sneeze!

Little Critter: Grandma, Grandpa, and Me (Little Critter)

Mercer Mayer

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

Great childrens book! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My daughter loves all the little critter books. It's great to see her enjoy the characters I enjoyed as a kid too! I also recommend the Bernstein Bears.

What is more important than Grandpa and Grandma? 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Books like this one promote family and togetherness. A very good bedtime story for the young child thinking about Grandpa and Grandma.

grandma's best 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I loved to read this book with my granddaughter. She only gets to visit so rarely. She always picks this book for her bed time story.

Editorial Review:

Little Critter is having a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's farm! He's excited—there is so much to see and do. Join Little Critter as he helps his grandparents milk the cows, pick blueberries, and bake a pie for the contest at the Country Fair. There are many delicious pies in the contest, but Little Critter's pie has a secret ingredient that is sure to make it a favorite!

The Little Red Hen

Paul Galdone

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Traditional telling of a classic tale with a more positive ending 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Her ability to cook empowers this little red hen to motivate her housemates. Help me with some of the housework if you want cake. A final illustration shows all the animals working, sweeping and dusting!

After reading the story as it is written, follow along with Heather Forest's Little Red Hen from the album, Sing me a Story. End on that final illustration with her words, "Sharing the work makes working fun."

Different versions may use different characters. This one uses the traditional Dog, Cat, Mouse.

Timeless Classic 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book for my children and did it bring back memories! I had it read to me when I was little. So the story line is cute and teaches a valuable lesson with the moral the lazy cat, dog, and mouse do not get the snack. All of my children from 2-6 love this story, it never grows old.

The Little Red Hen 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This version is a classic one. The story and illustrations are very inviting for any child. I love the classic moral of the story too.

Editorial Review:

Galdone's dynamic, amusing pictures add much humor to the familiar tale of the industrious hen and lazy cat, dog, and mouse.