The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats - 4 Stars

 “The Snowy Day” is a very simple story about a boy, Peter who ventures outside after a night of snow fall. He makes tracks in the snow, he builds a snowman, he slides down a snowy mountain, and he has many other adventures in the newly fallen snow. I can understand why toddlers love the simplicity of the story, but older children will find it dull and tedious. I would like to give this classic children's picture book a 5-star rating but honestly it is a 4-star story. 

Published In: 1962
Publisher: Puffin
Age Level: 1-5 years                                                             
AR Level: 2.5
Pages: 28
Awards: 1963 Caldecott Medal                   
Stars: 4

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback - 5 Stars

 Joseph’s overcoat is “old and worn”, so he makes a jacket out of it, then a vest and on and on it goes. By the end of the book, all he has left of his overcoat is a button, but he loses it and he has nothing. So, Joseph makes a book about the overcoat and the different forms it takes over the years. The moral of the story “you can always make something out of nothing”. My granddaughter laughed throughout the book, and she loved the bold and bright illustrations. 

Published In: 1999
Publisher: Viking
Age Level: 3-6 years                                                             
AR Level: 1.7
Pages: 33
Awards: 2000 Caldecott Medal                   
Stars: 5

Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express by Megan McDonald - 5 Stars

Stink and his friends, Webster and Sophie find three stray guinea pigs while building the Great Wall of China with cereal boxes. At a loss of what to do with them they take off to Mrs. Birdwistle’s, who owns the local pet store. When they get there, they find a lot more guinea pigs and they have all escaped from their cages. Once everything is put back in order Mrs. Birdwistle explains that she had rescued the animals from a lab testing facility for shampoo and perfume that was performing experiments on the guinea pigs. The friends decide to help Mrs. Birdwistle to find homes for all 101 animals. Can they find enough kids to adopt all of them? The story is funny and engaging. Elementary School readers will want more of Stink and friends once they have read one of these books. My grandkids are hooked on the series.

Published In: 2008
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Age Level: 6-9 years                                                             
AR Level: 3.7
Pages: 118
Series: 14 Books                                        
Stars: 5

The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths - 5 Stars

 “The 13-Story Treehouse” is so ridiculous that every chapter makes you belly-laugh. It has just the right kind of humor for 7–12-year-old boys. Andy and Terry live in the 13-story treehouse which has many cool rooms and gadgets. They are constantly experimenting or building something, flying cats, giant bananas, sea monsters or enormous gorillas. They also write funny books and are working under a deadline to get one completed. Will they get their next book written on time or will they have to save the world? All three of my grandsons enjoyed the antics of Andy and Terry. Not only is the story wacky but the illustration back up all the shenanigans.

 

Published In: 2013

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Age Level: 7-12 years                                                         

AR Level: 3.8

Pages: 239                                                 

Stars: 5

Series: 13 Books

Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures The Mount Rushmore Calamity by Sara Pennypacker - 3 Stars

I read the original Flat Stanley books with both my children and grandchildren, which we all really enjoyed. Now Flat Stanley (he’s flat because a bulletin board fell on him) goes on worldwide adventures with his family. These books do not compare with the first books in the series. They do provide the reader with historical content and geography information, but they lack depth. The plots are predictable and the characters are too goody-two-shoes. I advise sticking to the original Flat Stanley.

Published In: 2009
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc
Level: 6-8 years
AR Level: 4.4
Pages: 71                                                   
Stars: 3
Series: 15 Books

Tackylocks And The Three Bears by Helen Lester - 4 Stars

Tacky and his friends are a waddle of penguins, and they are going to put on a play for Mrs. Beakly’s school. They will be preforming Goldilocks (Tackylocks) And The Three Bears. When it’s time for the play to start the penguins are rambunctious and cannot settle down. Will Tacky’s unusual portrayal of Goldilocks keep the audience entertained. It’s a cute book but first get one of these books in the series from the library to see if it will captivate your child.       

Published In: 2002

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Age Level: 4-7 years

AR Level: 3.3

Pages: 32                                                   

Stars: 4

Series: 10 Books

The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay The Pirate by Scott Nash -3 Stars

Wish I had read the reviews about this book before purchasing. It is not my cup of tea. First, I am not a fan of animals taking on human attributes. The birds in this book are pirates, farmers, villagers, and guards. Food is running low for the sparrows (non-pirate) and they have to protect their supplies from the marauding Blue Jay pirate.  Second, I hate birds, I have had a fear of birds since childhood. This was not the book for me, I only got through 4 chapters. Maybe other readers will find the adventures of Blue Jay more entertaining.

Published In: 2012
Publisher: Candlewick Press
AR Level:5.5
Age Level: 7-11 years
Pages: 212                                            
Stars: 3
 

Princess Posey and the First Grade Parade by Stephanie Greene - 4 Stars

Posey is not ready for the first grade. Two things scare her, first she must enter the school by herself. Everybody knows there is a monster in the “Blue Hall” which is the hall all first graders have to go down to get to their classrooms and monsters frighten her. Second, her mother will not let her wear her favorite tutu. The tutu makes her feel special and she can do anything when she is wearing it. How will Posey survive the first day of school?

My 8-year-old granddaughter is in second grade but the reading level for this chapter book is 2.9, so I decided to see if it would appeal to her. Surprise, surprise she liked it. Not a great read but enough humor and “how does Posey get out of this fix?” to keep my granddaughter interested. A 4 out of 5 stars from this grandmother.

Published In: 2010
Publisher: Putnam
Age Level: 6-8 years
AR Level: 2.9
Pages: 82
Stars: 4
Series: 12 Books

It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach - 5 Stars

 

A “poor unfortunate man” lives in a one-room hut with his family, a wife, six kids and his mother. The hut is very crowded, there is a lot of fighting, crying and noise. The poor man has had enough, he goes to the Rabbi for advice.  The Rabbi tells him to slowly bring all his farm animals into the hut. Things just get worse. Finanly when he could stand it no longer, he goes back to the Rabbi who tells him to put all the animals back outside. Then all of sudden the poor man’s life did not seem so bad. The moral, be thankful for what you have, it could always be worse. The story has a very serious message, but the silly illustrations give the book much needed humor. I liked the book more than my 8-year-old granddaughter, but I thought the point of the story so important that the book gets a 5-star review.

Published In: 1976
Publisher: Farr, Straus, Giroux
Age Level: 3-8 years
AR Level: 3.7
Pages: 26                                                   
Stars: 5
Awards: 1978 Caldecott Honor

Swimmy by Leo Lionni - 5 Stars

 

Swimmy, a fish gets separated from his school. They are eaten by a larger fish but Swimmy is faster than all his friends and he gets away. He is now on his own and he starts to travel throughout the ocean. He discovers amazing sights such as, “sea anemones, who look like pink palm tress swaying in the wind”. He eventually finds another school of fish like him, and he wants to share the fantastic sights with them. The school is too scared to leave their hiding place, can Swimmy figure out a way for them to travel without being eaten by a bigger fish?

“Swimmy” is an older book than I thought, it was first published in 1963. It’s over sixty years old. This book is one that has stood up to the test of time. Both my 4-year-old and 8-year-old granddaughters loved the book. Rarely do they both like the same book so it’s a win, win for my family.

Published In: 1963
Publisher: Knopf
Age Level: 2-8 years
AR Level: 2.9
Pages: 28
Stars: 5
Awards: 1964 Caldecott Honor