READING FOR RESEARCH MONTH BOOK REVIEWS - Post #7

Today's post of book reviews from ReFoReMo 2017 covers the topic of Kids Being Kids.

AND TWO BOYS BOOED by Judith Viorst

"On the morning of the talent show, I was ready to sing my song." So begins this delightful tale of a

young boy who has entered his classroom's talent show. He is all geared up and ready to sing his song in front of the class because he has practiced "a billion times." But, when his turn comes, will he be able to go through with it?

This is a story any child will be able to relate to. We have all had stage fright at some time in our lives. It's good for a child to know that other children might feel the same way they do.

The text is full of wonderful repetition that keeps the story flowing and that kids will love. As an added bonus, some of the pages have flaps the reader can lift for additional illustrations.

HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOOD NIGHT? by Jane Yolen

 

Just how do dinosaurs say good night? Do they go act like human children and through the usual bedtime antics of wanting another story, throwing a fit or demanding more play time? You'll have to read the book to find out.

The text is written in rhyme, which works well with this book, as do the child-friendly illustrations.

SHH! WE HAVE A PLAN by Chris Haughton 

Four friends get together - three of them (the bigger ones) have nets, one (the littlest one) doesn't. They have a plan to catch a bird. But, their plan doesn't work very well.

The littlest one comes up with his own plan to catch a bird. Will it work?

SPARKY! by Jenny Offill

A little girl wants a pet. She asks for a bird or a bunny or a trained seal. Mom said no for all those. But, Mom said she could have a pet that didn't need to be walked or bathed or fed.

So, the little girl does some research at the library and discovered that a sloth, lives in trees, eats leaves, and is known as the laziest animal on the planet, might fit the bill.

She gets the sloth and puts him in a tree. She doesn't have to do much more than that. The sloth is the perfect pet, isn't he? Maybe not.

This is a great book, but I think the author (and the publisher) passed up a great opportunity to use this book as a learning tool. They could they have educated kids about the sloth's habitat and the dangers of having wild animals for pets. This could have been accomplished with some author notes in the back of the book.  With the exception of a small section of text in the story, there is no more information about the sloth.

THE FORGETFUL KNIGHT by Michele Robinson

When a little boy tells the story of becoming a knight, he keeps forgetting the little details: Did he carry a sandwich - or a sword? Did he fight a cat - or a dragon? It's hard to say when you're "the forgetful knight".

The story is written in rhyme which is difficult to do and do it well, but author Michelle Robinson has no problems with it. The cartoonish illustrations by Fred Blunt work perfectly with the text.