Celebrate! Connections Among Cultures, by Jan Reynolds

Did you ever sit and pour over the National Geographic Magazine as a kid? My brother and I used to sit in our family room for hours looking at the pictures of far away places and cultures. There is something fascinating about seeing the way people in other places live. Celebrate! Connections Among Cultures speaks to this fascination, but helps kids see similarities between different cultures - the way that no matter how different we are, we are essentially the same.

Celebrate! : connections among cultures
written and photographed by Jan Reynolds
NY: Lee & Low Books, 2006.
ages 6 - 10

Reynolds is a photojournalist, and her pictures are beautiful and captivating. Her field work has taken her to Australia, Bali, Tibet, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. In this book, she pulls together her real understandings of these different cultures to ask the essential question, "When people celebrate, what are they doing?" This book is organized into a series of simple statements, such as:

"When we celebrate, we gather together."

"When we celebrate, we eat and drink."

"When we celebrate, we decorate ourselves."

On the double page spread showing people gathering together in celebration, there is a picture of Tibetans from the Everest region gathering together for Mani Rimdu to receive blessings; there is also a picture of the Sami gathering together to celebrate the return of sunlight to the Arctic region of Northern Europe in the spring. Another picture a Yanomani village gathering together in honor of someone who has died. (To see some samples of the book, go to the publisher's website at Lee & Low Books.)

I loved the way Reynolds brought complex ideas to a level that young children in 1st or 2nd grade could understand. They can look at these pictures of people so different from ourselves and start to draw connections to their own lives. It's a beautiful book that children will look at again and again. It would also make a wonderful starting place for talking about the way we celebrate traditions in our own families.

Tomorrow I'll be reviewing Jan Reynold's new book Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life as part of her blog tour. It's also a very interesting book that looks at the traditional methods of growing rice in Bali.

Find it at the Berkeley Public Library or the Oakland Library. You can buy it from the publishers, Lee & Low Books, or from Amazon.

Interested in more nonfiction books for children? Check out Nonfiction Monday at Book Scoops. Cari posted an interesting review of Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, for any history and mystery lovers out there.

Hello, Baby! a beautiful new book for toddlers by Mem Fox

Mem Fox is truly one of my favorite authors for young children. She has such a gift of language, creating beautiful rhymes that carry you along, but keeping them simple enough to capture a young child's imagination. With her newest book, Hello Baby!, she has teamed with the imaginative artist Steve Jenkins to create a vibrant, engaging book for the younges children.

Hello, Baby!
written by Mem Fox, illustrated by Steve Jenkins
NY: Beach Lane Books, 2009.
ages 2 - 4

"Hello, baby! Who are you?" begins this book, with a picture of a baby's hand and a monkey's tail, enticing you to turn the page. “Are you a monkey with clever toes? / Perhaps you’re a porcupine, twitching its nose.” We see an eagle, a gecko, a lion and more - all done in Steve Jenkin's vibrant paper collages.

Baby then hears, “Wait, let me guess – Are you my treasure? The answer is…Yes!” And a parent's hand reaches toward the little baby's hand.

It's simple, but the vibrant pictures will fascinate young toddlers because they are so clear and uncluttered. Parents will enjoy reading the rhyming questions and responses. This reminds me of some of Eric Carle's classic books, like The Very Busy Spider, which my children wanted me to read over and over again.

This would make a great baby shower present, or birthday present for 2 and 3 year olds. It's available in bookstores now, and will soon be in libraries.

Skulduggery Pleasant - a perfect blend of fantasy and adventure, filled with wit and humor

I love fantasy novels that take the main character on a quest, a classic search to solve a mystery and find something out about themselves as well. Derek Landy's novel, Skullduggery Pleasant, The Scepter of the Ancients does this with plenty of action and humor. On top of this, the audio version is perfect - absolutely engaging and exciting.

Scepter of the Ancients, Skulduggery Pleasant Book 1
by Derek Landy
NY: HarperCollins, 2007. 416 pages.
also available in CD and audiodownload.
ages 10 - 14

Twelve-year old Stephanie Edgely lives a fairly uneventful life in a small town in Ireland, until her uncle dies, leaving most of his wealth and estate to her. At the reading of his will, Stephanie meets her uncles friend, Skulduggery Pleasant. Something was different about him, but she couldn't say just what. On her first visit to his home, she is attacked by a man wanting a key - but just as he has her in a choke-hold, Skulduggery bursts in and fights him off. Stephanie and Skulduggery enter into a battle against the powers of evil, trying to find the scepter of the ancients before the evil Nefarian Serpine does.

Skulduggery is the perfect ally. He has a very dry wit, is an ace detective with hundreds of years of experience, and he can throw fireballs from his bare hands. But, he's also a skeleton. A skeleton who's a snappy dresser, but still, a skeleton.

The audiobook is wonderful - I would highly recommend it. Really, get the audiobook for this. It's read by Rupert Tween, who does all the voices pitch-perfect, in an Irish accent that makes me want to melt. He brings the magical caste alive, making Stephanie really sound like a tween Irish girl, and Skulduggery a dry, witty detective. On top of this, there's the great sound track, full of finger snaps, distant screams and drumming percussion.

As for the title, it was re-released in paperback in the U.S. last month (April 2009), under the title The Scepter of the Ancients. Personally, I like the original cover art much better. Just so you don't get confused, some libraries will call the first volume Skulduggery Pleasant, and others will call it The Scepter of the Ancients. The second volume in the series is Playing with Fire. The third installment, The Faceless Ones, will come out this summer.

This is a great choice for kids who loved Harry Potter or the Percy Jackson series. It does have some scary scenes and lots of fighting - but I don't think it was too gruesome, just action-packed. I think kids in 5th through 8th grade will really enjoy it, quite possibly 4th graders too.

Find it at the Oakland Public Library or the Berkeley Public Library. You can buy it at your local independent bookstore (it's in paperback!) or at Amazon.

Many thanks to the review by My Neighborhood Librarian to the suggestion!

This review was written by Mary Ann Scheuer for Great Kid Books. Copyright Great Kid Books, 2009.

Little sisters can have the last say! The Chicken of the Family, by Mary Amato

Did you ever tease your little brother or sister? Or maybe they taunted you?? All little brothers and sisters have to figure out how to deal with older siblings who try to pull one over on them. If you have a littlest one in your family, check out The Chicken of the Family. It is hilarious as it shows the youngest sister deciding what she wants to do.

The Chicken of the Family
by Mary Amato, illustrated by Delphine Durand
NY: G.P. Putnam Sons, 2008.
ages 3 - 7.

Henrietta's two older sisters always tease her, and she hates it. One night, her sisters tell her that she is really a chicken that their mom got from Barney's farm up the road. Henrietta finds an egg in her bed the next morning, and two brown feathers on the floor. Oh no, maybe her sisters were right...

So Henrietta goes searching for her real family ... up at Barney's farm. The chickens are actually happy to see her. They play games with her, they cluck with her - and Henrietta is full of smiles. But then, her sisters show up. This is a sweet, funny book that will have your kids laughing as Henrietta convinces her middle sister that life with the chickens is actually better than a life with a bossy big sister.

Find it at the Berkeley Public Library or at the Oakland Public Library. You can also find it at Amazon.

This review was written by Mary Ann Scheuer for Great Kid Books. Copyright 2009, Great Kid Books.

How do we help our kids read about the news?

I've been wrestling for a while about how I help my children read about the news. Clearly, my 7 year old isn't going to just pick up the Sunday New York Times - although she did like figuring out from the interview with President Obama in this Sunday's magazine that they got a dog recently. So my question is how do we help our children start reading the news and being interested in current events throughout the world?

We subscribe to Time for Kids for 4th graders, and we keep it in one of our bathrooms. The kids (ages 10 and 7) do seem to like browsing through it and reading some of the articles. The most recent issue has a cover article, "The Afghanistan Plan: Can the U.S. make the country safe?" It is a basic introduction to the war in Afghanistan and why the U.S. is fighting there, includes a map of where Afghanistan is, and then a side article about a program that a nonprofit organization has started to provide skateboards to kids in Afghanistan. Other articles include: Finding Cleopatra, Ladybugs Lost, and Growing Hope: Jane Goodal's Roots and Shoots program.

Time for Kids
published weekly during the school year
http://www.timeforkids.com
to subscribe as a family (instead of a teacher)
you need to call: (800) 777-8600

My only hesitation about recommending this magazine is that it is pretty slim. My 4th grader's comment is that she wanted more articles. I would add that it could use more depth. It has a fairly neutral, a bit conservative bias. But I think it's a good start to exposing children to a range of issues in the current events, from the environment to the economy to foreign affairs.

World News for Children
BBC Podcast
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
podcasts/series/wnc/
subscribe on iTunes
or using your RSS feeder

A friend also suggested that we check out BBC podcasts: World News for Children. You can subscribe on iTunes, or download the podcasts to your MP3 player. The daily podcasts are four minutes long, and cover about 3 or 4 main events in the day's news. They're aimed at children ages 7 to 14 years old. Last week, they covered the Swine Flu, the war in Iraq, and more of the Swine Flu (not surprising). I haven't listened to this with my children yet, but my main observation is that they go very fast. I'm not sure how kids will take it in. But I could see listening to this for a short burst in the car as we were driving to school, and then talking more about whatever caught their interest.

My real question is for all of you: what news magazines do you have for your kids to read? What captures their interests, and is at their level? I'd love your suggestions - so please email me or leave a comment!

For other interesting recommendations for nonfiction books for children, check out today's Nonfiction Monday at Chicken Spaghetti.

We're so excited - the new Percy Jackson book comes out next week!

The students here at Redwood Day are so excited about the publication of The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan. This 5th installment of the Percy Jackson series will be published next Tuesday, May 5th. It's a great series that hooks kids looking for an exciting fantasy series, along the lines of Harry Potter.

The Last Olympians
by Rick Riordan
Disney Hyperion Books for Children, 2009. 400 pages.
ages 9 - 12.
audiobook by Listening Library, 2009 (available through iTunes)

Percy Jackson is the young hero of this exciting series. In the first book, The Lightning Thief, Percy discovers through a series of hair-raising encounters that he is actually the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Percy is a demi-god: the child of a forbidden encounter between a god and a mortal. Percy lives in the human world, but has special powers. In The Lightning Thief, Percy is chosen to solve the crime of Zeus's missing thunderbolt. A classic hero's quest ensues, putting Percy on the path of danger and adventure.

Girls and boys have loved this series. Here are some thoughts from my students:

"We've been waiting sooo long for this book to come out. All the books in the rest of the series are really exciting!" Claire

"I really like the funny chapter titles (chapter one of The Lightning Thief: "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher"). Whenever I read this, it's a new surprise because there are so many different Greek gods. I can't wait to find out what happens next, to see if Percy will make it and what happens to Luke." Sylvie

"It's exciting because there's always a new adventure coming around the corner, which is really fun. It's so good and juicy, but it's hard because it's such a long book - but I just have to keep listening. The audiobook is better than having to read it because you understand more. the reader does a really good job of being really dramatic and exciting." Simone

Do you love audiobooks? Listen to this clip of The Last Olympians from Listening Library. It's available through iTunes, and will also be available on CD starting May 12th.



Here's the list of all the books in the series:
1. The Lightning Thief
2. Sea of Monsters
3. Titan's Curse
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth
5. The Last Olympian

Are you in the Bay Area? Come see Rick Riordan at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park on Saturday, May 9th.

Find The Last Olympian at your local independent bookstore or at Amazon, starting Tuesday, March 5th.