Geronimo Stilion The Fastest Train in the West

Title: Geronimo Stilton The Fastest Train In The West
Author: Geronimo Stiltion
Illustrator: Ennio Buffi
Publisher: Papercutz
ISBN: 1597074489

In this graphic novel, this is a story of Geronimo the mouse, has to save the future from the pirate cats. This story goes back in time to the trans-continental railroad and Geronimo and friends must save the railroad from being blown up.

Honestly, I was not crazy about this book at all. It is part of a series, so I was unfamiliar with the characters. I found it to be very confusing and jumping around a lot. The illustrations are great, but there is A LOT going on in this book. I like that it had some history and explained things like the trans-continental railroad to readers. However, I was confused as can be reading it and really had a difficult time focusing. I think it is a book better suited for a child who is familiar with this series and is also interested in trains and history. I give this book 2 stars.  

Everything is a Poem

Title: Everything is a Poem
Author: J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrator: Maria Cristina Pritelli
Publisher: Creative Editions
ISBN: 1568462409

This is a great poetry book. The poems are broken down into different subjects which include animals, people, reading, sports, Mother Nature, riddles, places, and a mix. These poems are light and fun and the illustrations are great that go along with them.
I really enjoyed this poem book. I liked that there were different topics and these poems were designed especially for children. They are light and imaginative. The pages are colorful. It was easy to read along with and the pages are colorful and fun. I definitely recommend this for young readers or reading some of the poems to young children as a bedtime story. I give this book 4 stars. 

The Future of Medicine

Title: The Future of Medicine
Author: Lori Dittmer
Publisher: Creative Education
ISBN: 1608182223

This is an informative text that provides detailed information to the history and the future of medicine. The text contains a lot of pictures of parts of medicine and also includes captions further explaining the pictures. Some of the text includes difficult words in medical jargon, but the text defines these words for the reader to better understand. The text explains things in the medical world including vaccines, transplants, and controversies like cloning and stem cell.

Being as I work in the medical profession and am studying nursing, I found this text to be very interesting. However, I did find some if it challenging to read myself, and feel that this is for advanced readers of older age that have an interest in science and medicine. I think its great that they define some of the words for the reader to help understand some of the complicated medical jargon.  I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. 

Girl in the Hay- Historical Fiction

Title: Girl in the Hay
Author: Brittany Canasi
Illustrator: Ludovic Salle
Publisher: Rourke Educational Media
ISBN:1681917742

In this historical fiction chapter book, the reader is taken back in time to the Civil War. The O'Neill's are a family with three children, Patrick, Sam and Julia, who work for the Walker's, a very wealthy family in Maryland. The O'Neill's are a poor Irish family who make ends meat by working for the Walkers. One day in the barn, Sam, who is a young boy, finds a runaway slave named Eliza. Sam talks to her and asks what she is doing here and promises to take care of her and not let her get caught. The Walker's son Levi gets drafted into the war, but they pay the O'Neill's to have their son Patrick go to war instead. Right after Patrick goes to war, his parents take the money that the Walker's gave them and move to New York for a better life and once they get settled, Sam and Julia will go with them. But until then, they are stuck working for the Walker's and for Mr. & Mrs. Blake, the two whole took his parent's position. Sam and Julia sneak Eliza into the Walker's house and hide her in the closet of Patrick and Sam's room. They bring her food and keep her safe and hidden. Until one day Mrs. Blake is on to something and plants books in the room. Sam's room gets searched, but Eliza is no where to be found, just her doll. Sam and Julia realize they are no longer safe and decide that they need to escape to New York, a free state, to be with their parents and for Eliza to be safe. Sam and Julia take Eliza with them and take the train to New York but not without some bumps in the road. Eventually they are reunited with their parents and Eliza becomes part of the family. 

I thought this was a great story. It was easy to read along with and was not too challenging. It provided insight on the Civil War and what life was like for the poor and slaves. It showed how controlling the owner's were and how hard the poor had to work just to get by. The end of the story provided detailed information on the Civil War. This story is great for readers about 10-13 years old. I really enjoyed reading it and was able to follow along well. It was a light read that I had a hard time putting down. I gave it 4 out of 4 stars.

Picasso (Famous Children)

Title: Famous Children: Picasso
Author: Tony Hart
Illustrator: Susan Hellard
Publisher: B E S Pub Co
ISBN: 0812018265

In this informal text, we get a glimpse into the younger years of Pablo Picasso. It delves into detail about how quiet he was from birth, his siblings, and the life of his father. It also discusses how he got into art and some of the illustrations include some of the pictures that he drew and at what age he drew them. The main focus of the story is on his art from a young age and how he got into his career. It also has some interesting facts about his younger sister who he adored and the fact that he got married at age 80.
I thought that this was a great read for younger children. The words were simple and it was easy to read along with. The illustrations were very good and I love that it also included pictures of Picasso's illustrations from when he was a child so that readers can see how truly remarkable he was.I learned a lot from this text and I think that children can too. Overall I give this text 4 stars.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Author & Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-06-029169-3

This book of poems by Shel Silverstein has been a staple in my life and many, many children's lives for as long as I can remember. It is filled with wonderful poems, some short, some long, some silly, and some with meaning, The illustrations are all drawn by Shel Silverstein himself and are just as fun to look at as the poems are to read. Over the last month, we've been reading Where the Sidewalk Ends to my son at bedtime and just finished it last night. My husband and I both loved the fact that we were reading a book to him that we both read as a child and it held such a special place in our hearts when we were kids. Even though it has been years since we both read the book there were certain poems that we both remembered, one of them for me being Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out. For some reason, I loved this poem as a child and the illustration with it is something that always stuck with me over the years. This is a book I would give 4 out of 4 stars and highly recommend for every parent to read and for every child to have for years to come! 

Charlie's Big Break - Realisitic Fiction

Title: Charlie's Big Break
Author: Reese Everett
Illustrator: Sally Garland
Publisher: Rourke Educational Media
ISBN: 978-1634304764

Charlie's Big Break is a story about a girl, Charlie, who while swinging with her best friend Leo breaks her leg. She is taken by ambulance to the hospital where she finds out she fractures her leg and needs to be in a cast and have crutches for 6 weeks. Because she breaks her leg, she can not lead her gymnastics team in the parade at the Blueberry Festival. While she is drowning in her sorrows of her broken leg, her best friend Leo is not talking to her much. Thinking the worst, Charlie is very upset with her friend. Charlie comes to find out that Leo was acting so weird with her because he was making her a float for the parade so that she could still participate and lead the parade. Charlie was thrilled that her best friend did this for her! She got to lead the parade and throw out beads and wave to all of her friends from school. She was so happy that her best friend did this for her. After the parade, Leo goes with Charlie and her parents to the hospital to meet Leo's new sibling (they thought it was a boy since Leo has 4 brothers), but they ended up having a girl! Charlie is so excited and offered to babysit since she will be out of commission for 6 weeks.

This is a great realistic story. Many people have broken legs or limbs by jumping off the swings, and we all can relate to the disappointment that follows of not being able to participate in things following a broken bone. Hopefully all of us are fortunate in life to have a great friend or family member who will go to all ends to do something to make their friend happy when they are really sad like Charlie was after she broke her leg. This is a great chapter book for beginning readers with minimal illustrations. The story line is easy to follow along with and the reading is light and fun. Overall I give this book 4 out of 4 stars.

Old MacDonald Had A Farm

 


Title: Old MacDonald Had A Farm
Author: Golden Books
Illustrator: Anne Kennedy
Publisher: Golden Books
ISBN: 978-0307979643

 In this traditional sing a long story, we learn about the animals at Old MacDonald's farm. We learn what type of animals he has and the noises they make, and the vowels e-i-e-i-o. The book is fun, it is a great sing a long to help children learn what noises different types of animals make and has pictures of the animals throughout. This is a book most of us read as a child and remember as an adult and beyond. It is a true classic. 4 out of 4 stars!

My Dad Loves Me! - Picture Book

Title: My Dad Loves Me
Author: Marianne Richmond
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
ISBN:  978-1-4926-9431-1

This sweet book tells a simple story of all the wonderful things that dads do with their children. The story does have few words and also pictures that go with each gesture. The pictures are all of different animals with their dads. This book is very simple and sweet, very straight forward. The illustrations are colorful and detailed. I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

Giraffes Can't Dance - Picture Book

Title: Giraffes Can't Dance
Author: Giles Andrear
Illustrator: Guy Parker-Rees
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 978-0-545-39255-6

Giraffes Can't Dance is a story of Gerald the giraffe. Gerald wants nothing more than to dance in the jungle dance. However, as an awkward giraffe, he struggles to dance and the other jungle animals give him a hard time about his dancing. He then gets some inspiration to keep dancing from other animals in the jungle and once he finds his rhythm he can't stop dancing.

This is a great story that is great for young children. The story line is good and the pictures in it are very colorful and really help to tell the story. It is a great bedtime story or a story to read aloud to young children. I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars.

On The Night You Were Born- Picture Book

Title: On The Night You Were Born
Author: Nancy Tillman
Publisher: Fiewel and Friends
ISBN: 978-0-312-60155-3

I LOVE THIS BOOK! The pictures are wonderful. The moon has a great face in almost every picture, the music notes in the pictures are awesome. The pictures themselves are beautifully drawn. The story is so special, it reminds every parent and child of how special and wonderful they are and how special the night that they were born was. This is a book that will pull at every parent's heart strings and bring them right back to the night their child was born. I give this excellent book 4 out of 4 stars!