Finishing up 2012 with some Children's Books, Part 2

Title: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books!

Author: Lucille Colandro; Illustrated by Jared Lee

Publisher: Scholastic / Cartwheel Books

Series: There was an old lady..., Bk 9

ISBN: 9780545402873

Obtained: Library copy

Comments:

This was another Wowbrary find.  I've always had a fondness for the original "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" bit.  And this was about books!  Unfortunately, the book wasn't what I hoped for.  It didn't seem to flow right.  She swallowed school supplies and eventually had a snazzy book bag made of and holding the supplies.  Maybe I'm just a traditionalist.  I've never read the rest of the books in the series, so perhaps if you've enjoyed them you might appreciate this one.  But it wasn't for me.

Title: Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books

Author: Susan L. Roth and Karen Leggett Abouraya

Published: Dial Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 9780803737471

Obtained: Library copy

Comments:

Collage art makes for interesting textures that just work for the book.  The story itself tells of people working together for knowledge and community and their passion.  Educational about Egypt, the library, and how people standing together can make a difference. Includes pictures of the actual people/event referenced, some information about the Alexandia library, and some words in Egyptian found on protest signs at the end.

Title: Cat Tale

Author: Michael Hall

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

ISBN: 9780061915161

Obtained: Library copy

Comments:

Lillian, Tilly, and William J. flow from one word to the next, using a different meaning (and sometimes different spelling) of the word the next time around (ex: new, gnu, knew) until they lose there way.  But this Cat Tale is meant to go on and they soon find their way again.

I found this book amusing.  There has to be a word for the word use part, but I don't know what it is.  My ma read it to my niece and she didn't really get it, so I guess you'd need to find wordplay fun?  (My mother admits she has no imagination...I'm sure that didn't help.)

Title: Good News Bad News

Author: Jeff Mack

Publisher: Chronicle Books

ISBN: 9781452101101

Obtained: Library copy

Comments:

This book is simple and yet interesting.  "Good News." "Bad News." is repeated over and over and over again.  But each time is due to something else happening.  It's basically a story about looking on the bright side of things and friendship.

I read this to my niece when I first checked it out, but I read it to my 5 yo nephew more recently.  With him I explained this word is "bad" this word is "good" and had him read it for himself (adding in why it was bad or good for each scenario).  He was so proud of himself for reading it.  The only part that tripped him up (both when I read it and when he did) was when they're all electrocuted.  He kept saying that was bad and good.  I kept saying,  "It's bad news!  Wait till the next page, you're going to fast for the story!"