Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates 🟌🟌🟌

Peter’s family are shepherds, and they have a flock of over 100 sheep. The book details how the lives of sheep and Shepards are intertwined. A young Peter with the help of his mother saves a lamb that is close to death. Over the years the boy and his lamb become best friends and learn to trust and help each other when taking care of the flock. 

“Mountain Born” is a heartwarming historical fiction book that most of today’s readers will find boring. It moves slowly, the dialogue is not that enthralling, and the action is almost non-existent. If your child has an interest in farming and living off the land this is the book for them. If not, they should skip this one.

Published In: 1943
Publisher: BJU Press
Age Level: 6-10 years
AR Level: 5.6
Pages: 112
Stars: 3
Award: 1944 Newbery Honor

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 They do provide the reader with historical content and geography information, but they lack depth.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

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
 

The Wheel On The School by Meindert DeJong 🟊🟊🟊

I tried so hard to read all of this children’s classic but after 100 pages I was done with it. Six schoolchildren are on a quest to bring back storks to their small Dutch fishing village. They are looking for a wagon wheel which supposedly is where storks like to build their nests. The story moves very slowly, and it was not that interesting. Maybe in 1955 it appealed to elementary school students, but it will not engage today’s children.


Published In: 1954
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
Age Level: 8-12 years
AR Level: 4.7
Pages: 298
Stars: 3
Awards: 1955 Newbery Medal

Galaxy Zack Monster In Space ! by Ray O'Ryan 🟊🟊🟊

The “Galaxy Zack” books are perfect for the student who is just beginning to read chapter books, lots of pictures and big print, but that might be all its good for. I read the “Galaxy Zack Monsters in Space!”, number 4 of 18, with my grandson and he was not impressed. The book did excite him enough to want to read anymore in the series. The story is about a new kid at school who does look like anybody else in the class. Can Zack find it in himself to be friends with him? There are more engaging books for the beginner reader, get this one from the library before you purchase.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2013	Profanity: None
Publisher: Little Simon	Violence: None
Age Level: 5-9 years	Sexual: None
AR Level: 3.3	Mature Themes: None
Pages: 119	Series : 18 Books
Stars: 3

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller 🟊🟊🟊

 

Lily and her family move in with her dying grandmother. Lily is desperate to find a way to save her. Lily encounters a magical tiger on the journey to her grandmother’s house. The tiger offers her a deal that will save her grandmother, will Lily take it?

The intermingling of a Korean folktale and a young girl’s struggle with life is wonderfully presented in this novel. Not only is Lily dealing with her dying grandmother, but she wants to be heard. By the end of the book Lily finds her voice and learns to accept the death of her grandmother. Parents be aware the older sister is in a same sex relationship, which is something I don’t want my 10-year-old grandson to read about. So, I will pass on this book. 

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2020	Profanity: None
Publisher: Random House	Violence: None
Age Level: 10-12 years	Sexual: LGBTQ Characters
AR Level: 4.1	Mature Themes: Death
Pages: 297
Stars: 3
Award: 2021 Newbery Medal

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Pena 🟌🟌🟌

Milo and his sister are on the Subway to an unknown destination. To pass the time Milo makes up stories about the passengers on the train and he then draws pictures about what their lives might be like. He is enthralled with a boy in a suit and draws a picture of him living in a castle. At the end of the book Milo realizes you “can’t know anyone just by looking at their face” because the boy in a suit has the same destination as him.

This book is not for everybody. The game of making up stories about people on mass transportation is familiar to all “city kids”. Which, I understand having grown up in NYC but not all children will. The big problem is the ending when both boys end up at a jail to visit their mothers. Not a book I want to read to my young grandchildren.

Published In: 2021
Publisher: Putnam
Age Level: 6-8 years
AR Level: 4.6
Pages: 22
Stars: 3

How to Eat a Book by Mrs. & Mr. MacLeod 🟌🟌🟌

Based on the title of this book I could not resist checking it out of the library, “How to Eat a Book” what a great concept. Everybody knows you can get lost in a book but the thought of one eating the reader intrigued me. The girl, Sheila sits down to read a book and puff the book eats her. Then the same thing happens to her cousin and sister. After the children are eaten by the books the story lost me. It felt like a bunch of jumbled thoughts thrown together on the page and I couldn’t follow them. Many of the reviews called this book whimsical but to me it felt chaotic and confusing. The illustrations are clever, fun and in my opinion are the best part of the book.

My granddaughter enjoyed the book and there were lots of giggles from her when the children were being eaten. But like her Nana she could not follow the rest of the story. I asked her what was the best part of the book and her answer was the pictures. I would check this book out from the library, but I would not have it in my home library.

Fun Activities: Ask your child what book they would like to be eaten by and then re-read it.
                                                                     

Published In: 2022                         
Publisher: Union Square & Kids
Age Level: 3-8 years
AR Level: N/A
Pages: 48
Stars: 3

Watercress by Andrea Wang 🟌🟌🟌

With all the awards this book has received I really wanted to love it but… it was just OK. The target audience is for middle schoolers, not elementary school kids and definitely not preschoolers. The book’s message was clear, as parents and immigrants our lives were so much harder than yours. The author is lecturing the main character throughout the book and as a reader I started to feel sorry for her.

I read this book to my 9-year-old Grandson and while the book did hold his attention, there were a lot of follow up questions that I had to address. Not once in the book did any of the family smile. The book is dark and sometimes confusing. The death of the mother ‘s brother is never fully explained and the thought that a person could die from hunger was overwhelming for a 9-year-old.  The message in the book could have been delivered with a more hopeful future. Watercress is a book for the 5^th and 6^th graders, the content is too grave and sad for younger children. I give it 3 stars.     

Fun Activity: Find Watercress either at the grocery store or growing outside, then make watercress sandwiches.                

Published In: 2021                          

Publisher: Neal Porter Books
Age Level: 6-10
AR Level: 3.7
Pages: 32
Stars: 3
Awards:
Caldecott Medal Winner -2022
Newbery Honor Book -2022

Finders Keepers by Weill and Nicolas 🟌🟌🟌

Two dogs, Winkle and Nap find a bone together, one sees it first and the other touches it first. So, who does the bone belong to?  An argument between the two dogs breaks out and the dogs ask 4 different travelers coming down the road to help them decided who should get the bone. The farmer, goat and barber are of no help. Then a big dog came on the scene and is really interested in helping them and he wants them to show him the bone. Once Winkle and Nap dig up the bone, where they have put it for safekeeping, the big dog takes it from them. The two dogs fight the big dog to get the bone back. At the end of the book Winkle and Nap share the bone.

As with some books from the 1950’s” Finders Keepers” is not up to the 2020’s standards in both presentation and how to resolve conflicts. The biting and slashing that Winkle and Nap infect on the big dog might make this book a bit to aggressive for some preschoolers. But the story about cooperation and sharing between friends is compelling. My granddaughter tried to listen to this book but there was a lot of fidgeting while I read it to her. Even though it’s a Caldecott Medal Winner, I can only give it 3 stars.

Published In: 1951
Publisher: Voyager Books
Age Level: 4-7 years old
AR Level: 2.8
Pages: 32
Award: Caldecott Medal Winner -1952
Stars: 3

Ricky Ricotta'a Mighty Robot Series by Dav Pilkey 🟌🟌🟌

Dav Pilkey’s books are amazing and children around the world have enjoyed such series as Captain Underpants, Dog Man and Dumb Bunnies. However, the Ricky Ricotta series was a no go for my grandson and me. A mouse named Ricky has trouble making friends at school and the neighborhood kids are always bulling him. Through a series of events Ricky rescues a mighty robot who becomes his friend and protector. In the series Ricky and his Robot fight bad guys from various planets in our solar system. Currently there are 10 books in the series.

The series has a comic book feel to it with no more than two or three sentences per page which makes the books an easy read. New readers will feel a sense of accomplishment reading these books but should not look for any meaningful substance. My grandson age 7 at the time read 2 of these books and told me not to purchase any more. They did not hold his interest. The story line was not complex and honestly boring.  My version of these books was the black and white, so maybe the newer color publications would have made a difference. I know the illustrations would have been more dynamic. I would obtain these books from the library before making any purchases.

Fun Activity: Make a Robot from recycled materials. 

                                                                                    
The first in the series was Published in: 2014
Publisher: Scholastics Inc.
Age Level: 5-7 Years
AR Level: 2.9 – 4.1 (depending on the book)

Stars: 3

What Moms Can't Do by Douglas Wood 🟌🟌🟌

A child dinosaur lists numerous things that its mom can’t do but really, she can. The story line is cute but predictable and the humor in the story is missed on the children. The one point that comes across loud and clear is that a mom’s love for her child is absolute. She will help her child with anything, even if it seems impossible.

My granddaughter, age 5 was OK with the book. She was engaged but not enthralled. More than half of the things that moms can’t do her dad does. He wakes her in the morning, he makes her lunch, he does the grocery shopping, etc. My grandson thought that the dinosaurs looked more like lizards. Overall, an OK book but would rather get this from the library then have it in my grandchild’s bookshelf.

Fun Activities: Make a list with your child of things they things you can't do and then tackle them together.

Published In: 2001
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Level: 2-6 years
AR Level: 2.0
Pages: 32
Star: 3