November 2009

TITLE: I’m Your Bus
AUTHOR: Marilyn Singer
ILLUSTRATOR: Evan Polenghi
PUB DATE: June 2009

From the Publisher
Howdy, you can count on us. Morning, evening, I’m your bus! Welcome to a day in the life of a school bus and his road-hugging buddies. Morning, noon, and nighttime, too, that golden four-wheeled friend is at your service. Ready to drive you to and from school safely. Cause he’s your bus. And in between those pick-up and drop-off moments, your bus spends time with his friends, other vehicles who drive around town doing what they do best. Sweeping, zipping, parking, creeping.

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS
This was another favorite of Michael’s. He takes the bus to school and loves it, despite the incident that happened the second day of school.

I’m Your Bus is all about the day in the life of a school bus. The buses wake up early in the morning to pick up the children to take them to school.

Michael so far has been lucky not to forget anything on the bus but we all know that kids will loose something on the bus and that they can be found on the bus.

When the buses aren’t use to take kids to school they are used for field trips.

Finally the end of the day is done and the buses pick the kids up to bring them home. When all the kids are home the buses go back to the lot to sleep so they can start the day all over again tomorrow.

TITLE: Leaf Trouble
AUTHOR: Jonathan Emmett
ILLUSTRATOR: Caroline Jayne Church
PUB DATE: August 2009

From the Publisher
When he wakes up one morning to find that his home tree is changing, the little squirrel is scared! Why are all the leaves falling off? Quickly he corrals his sister and they gather up the leaves in colourful pawfuls. But try as they may to stick them back on the branches, it’s hopeless: Yellow, orange, red, and brown, all the leaves keep falling down! It’s only when their wise mama explains what happens in autumn that the two little squirrels understand the seasons are changing. Green leaves will sprout anew in spring!

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS
The illustrations in Leaf Trouble were beautiful. It seemed like they were popping out of the book.

This is a great fall story about the leaves falling and changing color.

Pip is a little squirrel who wakes up one morning to discover the leaves are falling and changing color. He is very scared and panics trying to gather all the leaves to put back into the trees. When he is over whelmed he gets Blossom his sister to help.

Their mother comes up to them to see what they are doing. They tell her and she explains to them how the tree worked really hard to take care of the leaves all summer and now the tree needs a break. The squirrels want the leaves back and she tells them in the spring they will return.

This was a great story that was used to explain why trees loose their leaves. Now if only they had another way to get rid of the leaves instead of me having to rake them.

TITLE: Appleville Elementary Book 2 Fire Alarm!
AUTHOR: Nancy Krulik
PUB DATE: August 2009

From the Publisher
In this book, Miss Popper’s first grade class is taking a field trip to the firehouse. Carlos wants to play a trick on his classmates, so he hides in the back of the fire truck. But the joke is on Carlos when the alarm rings, and the firefighters are called to an emergency. Lucky for Carlos, it’s not a fire it’s a cat stuck in a tree. The firefighters are too heavy to climb the tree, so it’s up to Carlos to save the day!

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS
I think we found another series that Michael really enjoys. The only down side is that we got these books in September and discovered that Book 3 The 100th Day is only being released December 1, 2009 and Book 4 Fooled You is only coming out March 1, 2010. So needless to say these are being read all the time.

All kids love playing hide and seek. That is the one game I noticed that they love playing. Michael is like Carlo’s because he always gets upset when he is found, although Michael is getting much better at the game now.

Mrs Popper is teaching the kids about fire safety and what to do. Stop, droop and roll. After school that day they kids all go to J.B’s house to play where they decide to play fire fighters.

The next day at school the kids are excited because they are going on a field trip. Can you guess where they are going? If you guessed the Fire Station you guessed right. How many of our kids have gone on a tour of the fire station? Michael’s school never went which is too bad because I think they kids would have enjoyed it.

Thankfully we live down the street from the fire station and the fire men have been really nice and gave him the tour when we have walked by when he was younger. So he got to see it and was always intriqued by fire men and fire trucks.

The fire man talks to the kids about fire safety and shows them around. This is the time Carlo’s thinks it would be a good idea to play a trick on everyone and goes off to hide. Shortly after that there is an alarm and the fire men leave.

When they are ready to go back to the school they realize that Carlo’s is gone and he is no where in the fire station. Where is Carlo’s? Is he the best hidder after all?

TITLE: Appleville Elementary Book #1 First Day
AUTHOR: Nancy Krulik
PUB DATE: June 2009

From the Publisher
Its the first day of first grade at Appleville Elementary, and the kids who are going to be in Miss Popper’s class are really excited. Well, everyone except Carlos, that is! He’d rather stay in kindergarten. Carlos decides he’ll go to first grade for one day only, and he’ll never come back. But when Miss Popper reveals that someone new will be arriving on the second day of school, Carlos can’t help but return. Who will the new arrival be? The simple vocabulary and sentence structure make this new series a perfect fit for readers who are ready for their first chapter book.

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS
This was a great book as we received this book shortly after school started. Thankfully we had no problems like Carlo’s did.

There was even illustrations in the book that Michael enjoyed.

All the kids were excited to be at school but Carlo’s. Mrs Popper’s has a way to draw Carlo’s in. He talks the day in a stride and keeps quiet trying not to take part. Its only at the end of the day when the teacher announces there will be someone new tomorrow. Everyone is excited wondering who it will be? A boy? A girl?

The kids are surprised when they go to school the next day. Will this new person/thing make Carlo’s feel differently about school?

TITLE: The Christmas Magic
AUTHOR: Lauren Thompson
ILLUSTRATOR: Jon J Muth
PUB DATE: September 2009

Far, far north, when the nights are longest and the stars shine brightest, the spirit of Christmas fills the air with Magic. Santa gathers his reindeer, feeds them parsnips and berries, and polishes his bells and his sled. Then, with great care, he chooses toys for every child in the world. For Santa loves them all dearly and he knows what each one desires more than anything.

Lauren Thompson, known for her extraordinary ability to touch the hearts of the very youngest children, has created an uplifting and beautiful Christmas experience. Jon J Muth?s warm, enchanting artwork thrums with the kind of magic that makes reindeer fly!

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS:
This was a great book for this time of the year because Michael has been asking if Santa is real. He is only 6 years old so we are bad parents and said yes Santa is real. I want to see that sparkle in his eye on Christmas morning. Yes I admit I am being a selfish mom but I am not ready for him to know the difference just yet.

The Christmas Magic takes place way up North at Santa’s house. Santa feels the tingle in his whiskers and nows that Christmas will soon be here.

How does Santa begin to prepare for the Christmas magic?

He firsts calls in the reindeer to come home and brings them in the barn to remove the burrs and feeds them. Then he goes out to his sleigh to clean it up. Next comes the bells to polish. Once that is done he goes inside to oil the boots so they are shiny and mends his thickest wool socks, trims the beard and moustache.

We saw that Santa has a room filled with toys and the book with all the names of the boys and girls. He is checking the names. He loves all the boys and girls and picks out toys just for them.

Michael got to see his sack was huge and was asking how Santa actually got that in his sleigh and I said its magic.

Then Santa began his journey.

This was such a cute book that I have to send a huge Thank You to Scholastic Canada for sending it too us.

The Christmas Magic was sent for review from Scholastic Canada.

TITLE: On This Special Night
AUTHOR: Claire Freedman
ILLUSTRATOR: Simon Mendez
PUB DATE: September 2009

From the Publisher
On a silent winter’s night, one star burns brighter than all the rest. “That must be a special star,” Mother Cat whispers. When Little Kitten and Mother Cat join the animals journeying toward the starry light, they discover that it is a special star indeed shining with peace, love, and joy on this very special night.

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS:
I have to first start off and say that the illustrations are truly beautiful in this book. Some of the paintings are so life like that you just want to reach in and touch the animals.

The story is about a little kitten who is having a hard time to fall asleep because of the stars. The mother cat tells the kitten its special star. They are interrupted by a donkey looking for water and he tells them he is on a special journey.

A lamb cames in next looking to sleep on the hay. The lamb too is on a special journey. The kitten asks the lamb why is the star so bright and do you know why? The lamb knows and tells the kitten about the star but before the lamb can tell the kitten they were interrupted by three mice. unfortunetly the lamb had to leave.

The kitten is curious to know about the star is hoping to find out about it when a cow and calf come in looking for food. All that they will tell the kitten is that is a special night and that they should follow them. Up on the roof that kitten and cat see three camels in the night.

They follow their new friends down the hill and stumble upon a manger with a baby inside.

The only downside of the book is that it doesn’t go into more detail so you have to fill it in but over all Michael enjoyed the book and he looks at it all the time.

Thanks to Scholastic Canada for sending us this great book.

A finished copy of this book was provided for us to read and review from Scholastic Canada.

TITLE: Perfect Snow

AUTHOR: Barbara Reid

PUB DATE: October 2009

From the Publisher

Barbara Reid delivers her most perfect story yet! A perfect snow has fallen, and first-grader Scott and fourth-grader Jim have been daydreaming the morning away, making plans, doodling sketches of snowmen and snow forts, all in anticipation of recess and the endless possiblities of this perfect snow. Barbara Reid uses her signature Plasticine style and blends it for the first time with ink wash panels to create a unique mixed media masterpiece. Drawing inspiration from the schoolyard of her own.

Barbara Reid uses her signature Plasticine style and blends it for the first time with ink wash panels to create a unique mixed media masterpiece. Drawing inspiration from the schoolyard of her own Toronto childhood and the ones she visits today, she manages to create authentic images to which readers of all ages will relate. Perfect Snow is a timeless Canadian tale that will beautifully enhance any snowy day!

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS:

This book was beautiful done. It was a mixture of plasticine and ink drawings.

Perfect Snow is about two books Scott and Jim. They wake up one morning to discover its snowed over night. They both were dreaming of the snow and what they would do it.

Scott wants to build snow mans and Jim wants to build a snow fort. When recess came Jim managed to find a perfect spot but Scott had to fight his way through the crowd.

The snow was perfect for a snow man and he set off to make it.

Jim was having a problem building his fort because the other kids kept taking his snow. He got mixed up in the tangle of the kids. He quickly spotted Scott’s snowmen. Thankfully the bell rang so all was safe.

At lunch time Jim went over to Scott to talk about his snowmen and offered to help make them stronger. The other kids were watching them and wanted to help. So with everyone’s help they were able to make a snowman fort.

The massive snowman fort was shortly lived because guess what happened?

Thank you Scholastic Canada for another great book to read and review. You gave Michael an idea for this winter.

A finished copy of Perfect Snow was sent for review from Scholastic Canada

TITLE: Stick Man
AUTHOR: Julia Donaldson
ILLUSTRATOR: Axel Scheffler
PUB DATE: September 2009

ABOUT THE BOOK:
(From the Publisher)
Stick Man lives in the family tree, with his Stick Lady Love and his stick children three. But one day Stick Man is separated from his family, and all he wants is to get back to them in time for Christmas. He dodges dogs, navigates rushing rivers, escapes dangerous fireplaces? but he’s farther away from home than ever. When Santa arrives with his sleigh and in need of help, is it Stick Man?s opportunity to save Christmas and find his way home?

MICHAEL’S THOUGHTS:
After we read this Michael turned to me and said he sees branches in a new way now. Even though he knows they aren’t real he said he won’t throw them around.

The story begins with Stick Man, his wife and three stick children. He decides one day to go for a jog where he runs into a dog who grabs him and he is thrown about until his owner gets into trouble because he doesn’t have a leash on him. Thankfully Stick Man runs away only to be picked up by some kids.

Kids being kids are throwing sticks into the water and Stick Man is thrown in. He floats and floats in the water until he comes upon a swan building her nest. The swan picks him up for her nest.

When he gets the chance he throws himself back in the water and winds up on a beach. He is picked up by a dad who is helping his son build a sand castle and he is used for a mast.

Poor Stick Man is upset and he goes on saying that sticks aren’t flags, or swords, or a bat or a pen.

Winter comes and a boy grabs him for a snowman’s arm. When the snow melts he is sad because all he wants to do is go home. Winter comes and Stick Man is lost. He is frozen and sad. Stick Man is unconcious and is picked up again. He dreams of his family.

He is awaken by hearing someone say they are stuck so he helps out. He realizes that the person is Santa. Will Santa help Stick Man get home?

Thank You Scholastic Canada for sending us this book to read and review. We love Scholastic Books.

A finished copy of this book was provided for review by Scholastic Canada.