Thursday, December 29, 2016

Book 549


Mog in the Dark, by Judith Kerr, Collins Picture Lions, 1986.

Despite having lived in England for a few years during my youth, and then, much later, growing up to be a children's librarian, I wasn't familiar with Mog books.  At least I wasn't until last year, and that infamous, glorious Sainsbury advert.  I was so in love with Mog from the advert, I had to buy my own Mog the cat.  Then my son wanted one.  And one thing led to another and to this book.

Even though this book isn't the strongest outing for Mog the cat, my son still loved it.  I suspect, however, he will love the ones he is getting for Christmas even more.


Book 548


Clara and the Bookwagon, by Nancy Smiler Levinson, illustrations by Carolyn Croll, HarperTrophy, 1988.

This book is delightful, from the sweet story to the absolutely charming illustrations.  There is even a hefty dose of humor in it, for those who know where to look for it.  My second grade son used this book as a study in comparing and contrasting -- it worked quite well.

Book 547

Stepping Stones -- Peter Pan, based on story by J. M. Barrie, adapted by Cathy East Dubowski, Random House, 1991.

I love J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan -- both the play and the story from the play -- but this version is not at all like J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.  Yes, it does tell the story of Peter Pan and Neverland, but in such a plain and dull way that all of the magic and intrigue is sucked out of the book.   Also, the illustrations verge on creepy.

I will say, however, that this version of the Peter Pan story may be slightly easier or beginning readers to read -- slightly.  If you do use this book, make sure to follow it up with the more exciting original version.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Book 546


The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, by John Erickson, Puffin Books, 1999.

Full disclosure:  I didn't buy this book.  A friend of mine bought this book and three others for my son.  But she bought them because she remembered how we used to read them out loud and laugh at them at work.  (Oh, we were both children's librarians, so it wasn't as weird as it sounds.)

This book was pretty darn funny.  I'm not sure that my son caught all of the humor, but a few times he laughed out loud, and he understood the plot.  Good enough for me.


Book 545

Volcanoes! Mountains of Fire, by Eric Arnold, illustrated Doug Knutson.

This book is a decent introduction to volcanoes.  The text is written at a second grade level, and the illustrations are all drawings.  It gives examples of a couple of different volcanoes, but really doesn't delve into the properties of the Earth's crust or how volcanoes are formed.

If you want to, er, dig a little deeper, check out a volcano book from the adult section of the library.