We the Children

We the Children
by Andrew Clements
J CLE

Sixth-grader Benjamin Pratt is dealing with many changes in his life. His parents recently separated, so he moves back and forth every week between his mother’s house and his father’s boat. His school is about be bulldozed to make room for an amusement park. And now Mr. Keane, the head custodian at the Captain Duncan Oakes School, has died leaving Benjamin a mission to save the school from destruction.

We the Children, the first installment in Andrew Clements’ new series Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School, wastes little time setting up the conflict that Benjamin must face. At the beginning of the story, Benjamin is running late for class when he sees that Mr. Keane has been seriously injured. While waiting for the ambulance, Mr. Keane makes Benjamin promise to keep a secret and then gives him a coin made by the school’s founder that reads “First and always, my school belongs to the children. DEFEND IT. Duncan Oakes, 1783.” This coin had been handed down janitor to janitor since the school’s founding. Because Mr. Keane knew that Lyman, the other janitor could not be trusted and the situation was urgent, he chose Benjamin to be the next person to be trusted with the secret.

Benjamin is puzzled by the conversation and stunned when the principal announces a few hours later that Mr. Keane died in the hospital. Benjamin, with the help of his smart friend Jill Acton, begins to unravel the meaning behind the coin, which leads them to a series of clues left behind by the school’s eccentric founder. The more Benjamin and Jill research the deal between Edgeport, their seaport town, and company building the amusement park, the more suspicious things look. What is so important about the school? What is the company behind the theme park really up to? Is Lyman watching their every move? Can Benjamin and Jill figure it all out before the school gets torn down? They have 28 days.

The story does not focus solely on how Benjamin and Jill try to save the school. Benjamin is rounded out into a three-dimensional character. He excels in social studies and sailing. The last chapter of the book is devoted to Benjamin’s sailing club competition on the weekend and how he handles his rival Robert Gerritt. Children can relate to Benjamin as he navigates through the tremendous upheavals in his life and strives to stay afloat.

The book is short (perhaps a little too short) and great for readers ages 7-10 who like mysteries. The second book, Fear Itself comes out January 4, 2011.


Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
J WIL


Sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are sent to California to spend a month with a mother they have never met. Instead of taking them to Disneyland, Cecile greets them with “No one told y’all to come out here.”

It is 1968, the summer when Black Panther founder, Huey Newton was jailed and member, Bobby Hutton was gunned down by police. It is a year when racial tensions are high and changes in the fabric of society are coming to fruition, sometimes in peace, sometimes in violence.

Rather than care for the kids, Cecile sends them to the Black Panther youth program each day. For meals, the girls use their Disneyland money to order take-out from a neighborhood restaurant. She does not allow them into certain parts of the house where she is working on her poetry.

Slowly, over the month, Delphine makes inroads into understanding her mother’s life and past and why she is the way that she is. The sisters also make friends with various children and a few adults in the Oakland community. They are all impressed by Hirohito, the half-black, half-Japanese, young heartthrob of the youth program.
In a presentation given at a Black Panther rally, one of the sisters finds her own poetic voice and expresses it before the cheering crowd.

Delphine is self-sufficient and practical; patient, protective and supportive to her younger sisters. During the month that she spends almost completely without adult supervision, she proves her resourcefulness and her loyalty to her family, including to her new found mother. She experiences her first interest in a boy and the interest is returned. She is exposed to many points of view on many different aspects of life. She forms new friendships and begins a hard won connection with her mother. Her identity as a young African-American woman begins to shift and she learns to refer to herself in new terms.

Reviewed by
J’Ann Peacock Alvarado
June 15, 2010

The Word Snoop

The Word Snoop
By Ursula Dubosarsky
J 420.0 DUB

Do you like words and wordplay? Are you curious about how English evolved and the origin of some its wacky quirks? The Word Snoop, the titular narrator, explains all that and more in a fun conversational tone. Each chapter ends with a secret message for the reader to decode using the concepts presented in the chapter. Learn about anagramsl palindromes, euphemisms, spoonerisms, and more.
If you enjoy The Word Snoop, try Eats, Shoots, & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference by Lynne Truss and Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook by Shel Silverstein.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types

Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types
by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss
E WER

Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types is not your average alphabet book. Each page features an animal for each letter of the alphabet. However, this book goes a step further by creating the pictures out of the corresponding letter. For instance, the alligator for the letter "A" is composed of a mix of capital and lower case "a" typefaces. Some animals, such as the octopus and the giraffe, are so large that the reader must fold out the pages to see the alphabeast in its entirety. This is a fun book to peruse.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

Older Than the Stars

Older Than the Stars
by Karen C. Fox
illustrated by Nancy Davis
J 523.1 FOX

Older Than the Stars creatively presents how the atoms that make up the reader came into being, taking the reader on a journey from the Big Bang to to the present.

There are two components to Older Than the Stars. The first is the main text which is found in a colorful box on each page and is written in an informative easy-to-understand style. The second component, which is what makes the book so wonderful, is a narrative in the style of The House That Jack Built:

“These are the blocks
that formed the bits
that were in the bang
when the world began."

This narrative fills each page spread and is accompanied by vivid illustrations. This narrative’s rhythm is energetic and fun to read aloud. Each verse added is a summary of the main text. A timeline and glossary in the back are helpful references.

Recommended for students interested in science or fans of inventive verse.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

The Mysterious Howling

The Mysterious Howling
By Maryrose Wood
J WOO

In this first installment of the wonderfully quirky, funny new series The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, we meet fifteen-year-old Penelope Lumley, the brightest graduate from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, who has just been hired for a position as governess at Ashton Place. Lord Frederick, the master of the house, had recently discovered three children on his grounds while hunting for game. The children had apparently been raised by wolves and display lupine tendencies. Lord Frederick, for reasons not explained except for “finders keepers”, decides to keep the children and hire a governess to educate them. He names the foundlings Alexander Incorrigible, Beowulf Incorrigible, and Cassiopeia Incorrigible.

Penelope quickly bonds with the children and begins the task of educating the children while teaching them how to behave in a civilized manner in time for Lady Constance’s Christmas ball. Lessons include reading classic literature and poetry, learning how to dress properly, learning to refrain from chasing squirrels, and Latin grammar. During a poetry lesson, Beowulf composes a heartfelt poem that combines what he has learned so far about chasing squirrels and poetry:

“Yum, yum. Squirrel!
No! No!
Yum, yum. Cake?
Yes! Yes!!"

The narrator has a personality of her own and sprinkles her own opinions throughout the story. Though the story is set in the nineteenth century, the narrator is clearly modern and makes comments on modern society, including a snide remark about hyperbole and stock market bubbles. She does not underestimate the reader’s intelligence and makes multiple references and jokes based on classic literature (there is a joke about eavesdropping and Hamlet) and Newtonian physics.

The ending leaves many questions unanswered and sets up the series to resolve those questions. Why were the children raised by wolves? Why is Penelope’s past so mysterious? Is there a connection between Penelope and the children? Why is Lord Frederick keeping the children when his wife clearly wants to dump them in an orphanage? Fans of Lemony Snicket, Roald Dahl, and Lois Lowry’s humorous novel The Willoughbys will enjoy The Mysterious Howling and will be impatient for the next installment of the series. Recommended for children and adults with an off-beat sense of humor.

Games and quizzes based on The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place can be found at http://www.awesomeadventurebooks.com/.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman

April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman; Ill. by Nadine Bernard Westcott.
Holiday E BAT

Grandma and Grandpa are happy to have their grandchildren come to the farm for a visit, but they are prepared...after all, it's April 1st!

When the children come bursting in the door shouting "Grandpa, oh Grandpa, The cows have got loose - I think Big Brown Bessie just stepped on a goose!" Grandpa just shrugs and pours a glass of milk.

As more and more of the farm animals "escape" the children relay the bad news in excited (and rhyming) detail. Grandpa remains cool and calm until Grandma reminds him that April 1st isn't until tomorrow!

This illustrations are done with pen and watercolors in an exaggerated cartoon style. They are bright and colorful and tell quite a story all on their own. Be sure to check out the inside jokes...after Grandpa hears about the hens, he makes eggs! (then bacon, and cheese and milk....)

Be prepared for some big laughs!

Happy April 1st! And by the way...do you know where your cows are?

Reviewed by Marianne