Showing posts with label gr 4-6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gr 4-6. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Publisher Review: Rules for School
by Alec Greven
The young author of How to Talk to Girls is back with advice for kids, from a kid - this time, some guidelines for making your time in school work for you.
He tackles topics like getting started on your year, staying out of trouble, when/where to have fun, the different kids you may meet, and how to get the most out of all of it. A lot of this comes down to not worrying too much, being yourself, and trying to balance the fun and the work by taking responsibility, but letting loose when you can. Sensible advice, all of it, and Greven has a level-headed, straight-up approach. His voice is that of a kid telling it like it is, so while parts may sound simplistic to an adult, I think this really works.
Great for a kid who may have had a little bit of a bad year before and need a pep talk, or for kids who are nervous about heading into more serious school years.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day: Bag in the Wind
by Ted Kooser
ill. Barry Root
This book is a picture book in format, but far wordier and older than your average picture book consumer - what we call in libraries an "advanced picture book." It follows a plastic grocery bag as it escapes the landfill on a breeze and makes its way from one place to another, until it ends up in the hands o fa girl who had found it at the start. This circle is not noticed, because, the book notes, this plastic grocery bag was just like any other.
This isn't a story that would lend itself to younger children, as there is little real action to hold them, but it is an interesting journey for an older child with greater concentration, and it is beautifully told. The language is lovely, the illustrations warm and nostalgic in feel, and the matte pages thick and substantial. The overall effect is in fact quite wonderful (as one might well expect from a Candlewick publication), and the environmental messages in the actual story are not strongly emphasized so as to detract from the bag's ramblings.
A message about plastic bags at the end gives those who would like to know more a bit of extra information, and encourages children to reuse plastic bags or forgo them altogether in favour of cloth.
ill. Barry Root
This book is a picture book in format, but far wordier and older than your average picture book consumer - what we call in libraries an "advanced picture book." It follows a plastic grocery bag as it escapes the landfill on a breeze and makes its way from one place to another, until it ends up in the hands o fa girl who had found it at the start. This circle is not noticed, because, the book notes, this plastic grocery bag was just like any other.
This isn't a story that would lend itself to younger children, as there is little real action to hold them, but it is an interesting journey for an older child with greater concentration, and it is beautifully told. The language is lovely, the illustrations warm and nostalgic in feel, and the matte pages thick and substantial. The overall effect is in fact quite wonderful (as one might well expect from a Candlewick publication), and the environmental messages in the actual story are not strongly emphasized so as to detract from the bag's ramblings.
A message about plastic bags at the end gives those who would like to know more a bit of extra information, and encourages children to reuse plastic bags or forgo them altogether in favour of cloth.
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