Category Archives: Book Reviews

Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet by Paul Thurlby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although this alphabet book contains the typical Dog and X-ray, it also surprises with Fierce and Trapeze. Each letter is integrated into the illustrated object or action, and yes, there is a lot of action. Many of the illustrations also have unexpected surprises, like the road sign beside the Island telling how far away the letter J is, or the single leg on the Q as the “missing” leg presumably gets sucked down into Quicksand.

ESL students can benefit from the simplicity and predictability of alphabet books, but many are too old for the frequently chosen items. Thurlby’s Alphabet mixes it up with some basics and some surprises. Besides, even elementary school students will find Awesome more useful than Apple when trying to make friends.

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Miss Bridie chooses one special item to take with her when she moves to the U.S..  Not a beautiful, small statue but a shovel.  Thoughout her life, she uses the shovel to make money, to have fun, when she gets married and builds a farm and raises a family.  One of those deceptively simple stories that connect to so many questions we ask about our values, our histories, and our choices.  (Grade level 2)

Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel by Leslie Connor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the first sentence – “She could have picked a chiming clock or a porcelain figurine, but Miss Bridie chose a shovel back in 1856.“ – I knew this would be a rare picture book. The sentences contain ample information without laying it out too obviously, they are complex and rhythmic, and they build on each other smoothing, inevitably, like the steps in a journey. The illustrations, too, provide more information than a reader may at first realize, with a figure on one page becoming the husband on another. A particularly good example of the beauties contain within the English language. read it aloud to some one you love!

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Raiders’ Ransom by Emily Diamand

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Objectively, a really good book that I will not hesitate to recommend. Subjectively, however, it just never grabbed me. It had everything that should have made me love it: dystopic, environmental message, historic view of technology, changing language… I don’t know what it is missing, and hopefully others will feel that nothing is missing at all.

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Larf by Ashley Spires

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With all the recent conversation about introverts, this book makes a nice offering for kids who like their solitude but still want a friend or two. Further important lessons learned? I did not realize that Sasquatches carried their pet bunnies in Snuglis. Sadly, Spires does not clarify whether this is for all journeys or merely those in which the Sasquatch is in disguise.

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Gossamer by Lois Lowry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lowry’s understanding of how to pack a message or a little self-help into children’s novels continues to amaze me. Too often in books, the message is simply spoken by one character to another, a la Glinda’s “You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas […but you] had to learn it for [your]self.” (The ending did skate a little too close to that for me, but the bulk of the work is more subtle and respectful of the reader.) By making the plot the message here and in other books, Lowry allows young readers to decide for themselves whether and how much to adopt the message for themselves. She is inspirational, not didactic. Here, the struggles of an abused boy and the individuals who want to help him may be fodder for anyone trying to cope with their own bad dreams.

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The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic by Avi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was lovely, really, and I have no major complaints about it, but a few hours after finishing it, I can’t remember how it ended. Parts were enjoyable, and I liked the concept and plot, but never really cared about the characters.

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