Marley's Pride by Joëlle Retener

Marley's Pride by Joëlle Retener, 32 pages

​Marley is a nonbinary kid with sensory issues who desperately wants to celebrate at the Pride parade with their grandparent Zaza, but must first learn to quiet the butterflies in their tummy! 

​The story is sweet and encouraging with a positive message for youngsters, especially the NBs, but I think the illustrations are what makes the book shine. DeAnn Wiley's art elevates Retener's words, and she includes all types of bodies (sizes, colors, styles).  It was lovely to see. 

 

Stone Age Beasts by Ben Lerwill

Stone Age Beasts by Ben Lerwill - 47 pages

I read this book in preparation for a homeschool class.  I found the information interesting.  There were several animals that I had not heard of before.  I did think it could have had better writing and also included a little more information.  However, it was a good introductory text to the topic.

 

Someone Farted by Bruce Eric Kaplan

Someone Farted by Bruce Eric Kaplan, 48 pages

This book starts with a fart in a car, takes a quick pitstop to jail, and ends with love.  Flatulence literature at its finest. 

 

World's Scariest Prisons by Emma Carlson Berne

 

World's Scariest Prisons by Emma Carlson Berne - 109 pages

World's Scariest Prisons will explore the most terrifying prisons of all time. From the Roman Coliseum to the Bastille, the Tower of London to Alcatraz, World's Scariest Prisons will captivate young readers! Each prison will receive its own photo-intensive overview as well as a sidebar, a break out fact box, and a quote. Each prison profile will be followed by a feature spread that explores high-interest topics such as prison slang, prison clothes, and prison food, as well as little known details about kids in prison, famous escapees, and ghost stories. World's Scariest Prisons will be equal parts informative and fun. Perfect for reluctant readers, the text will be simple and engaging.

An informative book about some of the most notorious prisons in the world.  Pretty interesting.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

 Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, 32 pages

Chaos reigns in Farmer Brown's barn when the cows find a typewriter and start making demands. When he refuses to give in, they go on strike. Click, clack, moo: cows can type, too! 

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor 170 pages Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer This book was not anything that I thought it would be from the title!! A homeless family living in a car, the children try to make money so they can move into an apartment...even if it means stealing a dog. The narrator of the book, the daughter, is very disrepectful to her mother (not a good example since this is a childre's book) and some of the things I would not feel comfortable with my elementary student reading. The ending does show the strength in honesty and family.

Women Writers Hidden in History by Patrice Custance

 

Women Writers Hidden in History by Patrice Custance - 48 pages

This book is part of the Hidden in History series about women from the past who were ignored throughout much of history.  I saw this title in a Women's History Month booklist and decided to read it.  I thought it was very interesting.  I had only heard of one of the women authors before.  I think it would be great adapated into one of the Kids Learn classes I do for homeschoolers and am interested in reading the rest of the series.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

280 pages

★★★★

This classic science fiction/fantasy novel is one of the first books that inspired my love for reading. I hadn’t read it since 6th grade so I opened it and found that it is not only for children but was written for a universal audience.

Meg Murry, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O’Keefe are sent through a tesseract to another world by three ancient women who were once stars. They were sent in order to help Meg and Charles’ father who was lost after the government attempted to send him through a tesseract before they fully understood it. The world they are all sent to is a dark world, corrupted by a blackness that controls everything and everyone.

That's Not My Name by Anoosha Syed

That's Not My Name by Anoosha Syed 22 pages Mirha questions her name after her classmates continually pronounce it wrong on the first day of school so her mother helps her to learn the significance of her name and to be proud of it. This is a great book to read to students of a school with many different ethnicities. A wonderfully written book for kids with hard to pronounce names.

The Donkey Egg by Janet Stevens

The Donkey Egg by Janet Stevens 48 pages After fast-talking Fox leaves him with a large, green egg, Bear spends minutes, hours, days, and weeks lovingly caring for it with the help of his neighbor Hare. This book is so cute for grades 1-3. The Fox tricks the Bear into thinking a watermelon is a donkey egg. The Bear takes good care of the egg but it does not produce a donkey. The Bear realizes how to get a donkey another way and tricks the Fox in return. Love the ending!!

Will You Help Doug Find His Dog? by Jane Caston

 Will You Help Doug Find His Dog? by Jane Caston - 32 Pages

Help Doug find his dog by patting, tickling, and calling to the correct dogs based on Doug's clues! As the reader selects dogs, the pool narrows until a surprise ending reveals Doug's dog--and why he went missing. Featuring hilarious illustrations of funny dogs galore, this text is perfect for collaborative story time with beginning and reluctant readers.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl - 240 pages

This book contains seven stories by children's author Roald Dahl.  Six of the stories are fiction while the other two are rare nonfiction pieces by the author.  There are a variety of stories including fantasy (The Boy Who Talked to Animals), war fiction (Piece of Cake), magic realism (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), and a true story of treasure (The Mildenhall Treasure).  

I listened to this on audio and highly recommend that format.  The narrator does a great job of reading the stories.  While I didn't care for all the stories and one of them I found very disturbing (The Swan), I would still recommend this to fans of Roald Dahl.

 

The Witches by Roald Dahl

 

The Witches by Roald Dahl - 244 pages

Grandmama has told him everything there is to know about witches.  They hide in plain sight although they must wear disguises to cover their bald heads, clawed fingers, and squared-off feet with no toes.  They are also deadly dangerous to children.  It is their sole purpose to get rid of children.

While on vacation, he accidentally runs into the witches of England having their annual meeting.  At the meeting, the Grand High Witch shares her evil plan to turn all the children of England into mice.  Will he be able to stop them?


I listened to this on audio and enjoyed the story.  Like most Roald Dahl books it doesn't have a traditional happy ending but you are satisfied with how the story ends.  I would definitely recommend the book to most children.

New Picture Books for November

 Turtle Walk by Matt Phelan - 32 pages

Turtle family is going for a walk -- nice and slow.  Where are they going?  When will they get there?  And what's their plan once they arrive?

This was a very cute picture book.  I absolutely loved it.  The illustrations bring the story to life.  I would recommend this book to anyone!

Louis by Tom Lichtenheld - 32 pages

A teddy bear is mistreated by his boy and can't wait to escape.

While this book was fun I was really wanting more for some reason.

Dr. Tenth by Roger Hargreaves

The Doctor is on vacation when the Sontarans attack the planet.  Will the Doctor be able to stop them?

This is one of the Little Men series of Doctor Who books.  As a Doctor Who fan I loved it and can't wait to read the others.

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

 Fairest of All by Serena Valentino - 250 pages

The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling, the story remains the same—the Queen was jealous of the girl’s beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen’s attempt on the sweet, naive girl’s life.

Another tale far less often spoken of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen’s true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the King’s first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life.

In fact, the theories about exactly what cause the Queen’s obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen…

Bad Princess: True Tales from Behind the Tiara by Kris Waldherr

 Bad Princess: True Tales from Behind the Tiara by Kris Waldherr - 128 pages

Forget everything you thought you knew about princesses...

Welcome to Bad Princess by Kris Waldherr (author of Doomed Queens), where you'll discover what really happens after "Happily Ever After." From the war-torn Dark Ages of Medieval Europe to America's Gilded Age, and all the way up to Kate Middleton, Bad Princess explores more than 30 true princess stories, going beyond the glitz and glamour to find out what life was really like for young royals throughout history.

A mix of royal biography, pop culture, art, style, and pure fun, Bad Princess is a whip-smart, tongue-in-cheek spin on the traditional princess narrative, proving that it takes more than a pretty crown to be a great leader.

New Picture Books

These were my favorites of our latest new picture books at the Arnold Branch.

Hat Tricks by Satoshi Kitamura - 32 pages
A bunny in a magician's hat pulls out various animals. 
This would make a great story time book.  It is set up for the kids to guess what animal is going to be pulled out next.

Gnome by Fred Blunt - 32 pages
Gnome is rude on every occasion . . . but this time he runs into some consequences.
It's fun to read a book where the characters are apologetically rude.  This book made me chuckle out loud.

The Yawns Are Coming! by Christopher Eliopoulos - 32 pages
Two boys try to stay awake even though the Yawns are chasing them.
I both liked and didn't like this book.  There were parts of it that were absolutely hilarious.  And the illustrations of the yawns reminded me of little blue Pac-Mans.

Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse by Jonathan Stutzman - 32 pages
Llama replicates Alpaca and unleashes them onto the world.
This is the sequel to Llama Destroys the World.  I might actually like this one a little better.  I think kids will get it more than the original.  I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment about Llama.

What About Worms? by Ryan T. Higgins - 55 pages
Tiger is not afraid of anything . . . except worms.  Worms ruin EVERYTHING!
This is the latest Elephant & Piggie Like Reading beginning reader book.  I found it funny.  I especially liked the twist ending.

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones - 213 pages

"There's a witch in Class 6-B."
That was the note that started all the troubles.  Now five students are on the run from the Inquisitors and Chrestomanci must fix the world.

This book is in the Chrestomanci series although it takes place in a completely different world.  Chrestomanci also doesn't show up until almost two-thirds of the way through the book.  That might be why I didn't care for this book as much as others in the series.

The Chronicles of Chrestomance, v. 1 by Diana Wynne Jones

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, v. 1 by Diana Wynne Jones - 608 pages

This book contains two books in the Chrestomanci series -- Charmed Life and the Lives of Christopher Chant.  The Lives of Christopher Chant actually takes place 20 years previous to Charmed Life and tells the story of how Christopher became the Chrestomanci.  Charmed Life tells the story of Cat who turns out to be a nine-life enchanter and is to be trained to be the next Chrestomanci.

I really enjoyed these books.  They would be great for those looking for something after reading Harry Potter.

10 Plants That Shook the World by Gillian Richardson

10 Plants that Shook the World by Gillian Richardson - 129 pages

I read this book in preparation for one of my homeschool programs I lead.  It was a very interesting book.  It was almost more about history and politics than botany.