In the Sea by David Elliott-OPTIONAL

Elliott, David.  In the Sea.  Illustrated by Holly Meade. 32 pgs.  Candlewick, 2012.  $16.99. PICTURE BOOK Content: G.  Filled with poetry and bright illustrations, early readers can be challenged to read this fun book about life in the sea.  The illustrations are bright and colorful.  The information on each sea creature is fun and interesting. The poems are short and catchy.  “Anemones: Gotta lotta zing! By which I mean, Watch out! They Sting.”  This book could be used in a unit on sea animals.  Pre-K. EL (K-3).  OPTIONAL.  Reviewer: SL. 

House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser- ADVISABLE

Koose, Ted.  House Held Up By Trees.  Illustrated by Joh Klassen. 32 pgs.  Candlewick, 2012.  $16.99. PICTURE BOOK Content: G. This is a tender story about the changes that not only happen to a particular family’s house, but also their individual lives.  When their house was new, the children played in the yard and in the neighboring trees.  These trees blew seeds onto the lawn that their father painstakingly plucked or trimmed daily.  But as the children grew and left, the father was alone and continued his task of caring for the lawn until it became too hard for him.  He also eventually moved away.  Without anyone to kill the newly bursting tiny trees in the lawn, the trees eventually took over and overpowered the house.  In addition to the story being fascinating, the undercurrent of family ties and relationships is also apparent.  We enjoyed the illustrations.  They are unique and remarkable.  Pre-K.  EL (K-3).  ADVISABLE.  Reviewer: SL. 

Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts- ADVISABLE

Boelts, Maribeth.  Happy Like Soccer.  Illustrated by Lauren Castillo. 32 pgs.  Candlewick, 2012. $15.99. PICTURE BOOK Content: G.  Sierra loves soccer.  Everything about the game makes her happy.  But one thing really makes her sad: her Aunt is unable to get work off each Saturday to see her play.  Sierra watches all her teammate’s family members sitting on blankets and chairs on the sidelines.  They don’t even know her name; they just call to her by the number on the back of her jersey. More than anything, Sierra would like to have a loved one cheering her on at her games.  This is an unexpected emotionally packed book.  I really wasn’t excited to read it, maybe the title threw me off.  But both my son and I were quiet and reflective when the story was over. This is a tender story and one that would spark many discussions about families, social differences, and dealing with the sadness that sometimes occurs in life.   EL (K-3).  ADVISABLE.  Reviewer: SL. 

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook - OPTIONAL

Cook, Eileen  Unraveling Isobel Simon Pulse, 2012.  $16.99  290 pages.  Content: Language R (35 swears; 4 “F” words; 10 Gods); Sexual Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13).  

Isobel is moving for her senior year of high school because her mother has married a wealthy man who lives on an island.  Although she is bummed about leaving her friends, she is excited about living with her new hot stepbrother Nate.  While she sets up her new room, she learns that her new family has a past which is very suspect, involving the deaths of at least three people, as well as her new stepdad’s previous wife and young daughter.  Isobel’s room is haunted by the young daughter’s ghost and she starts to uncover the mystery behind the deaths that have happened in the house through the help of a local librarian.  As she is uncovering these mysteries, she and Nathan start to draw closer together and have to face the wrath of the local high school students who are criticizing their relationship.  

I liked the storyline and felt like the ghost story was just the right amount of creepy.  I didn’t like that the minor characters were so underdeveloped and I felt like the seriousness of the romance between the two characters was rushed.  

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler - ADVISABLE

Cuyler, Margery Skeleton Hiccups, illustrated by S.D. Schindler.  Aladdin (Simon), 2002.  PICTURE BOOK.  $7.  

Skeleton has the hiccups and it is wreaking havoc on his day.  His pal Ghost has some friendly advice, but since Skeleton is only bones, nothing seems to be working.  

I know this book is old, but it is so funny to see Skeleton earnestly trying each of Ghost’s standard hiccup ‘cures’.  Very fun for a Halloween read aloud. 

Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

Song for a Sunday

Well, I couldn't pick anything else this week, could I?  Adele is back with a Bond theme!  It's in classic Bond theme territory, but still definitely got the feel of an Adele track.  Over to Adele and 'Skyfall':

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks - ESSENTIAL

Banks, Anna  Of Poseidon  Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), 2012.  $17.99  326 pages.  Content: Language: PG-13 ( 9 swears); Sexual Content: PG; Violence: PG-13 (shark attack).  

Galen is a prince from an undersea kingdom and his people are known as the Syrena and their heritage is of Poseidon the Greek god.  Galen is an ambassador for his people and he keeps abreast of the goings on of the human world, so when he hears about a Syrena who is posing as a human, he comes on land to check it out.  Emma, has no idea that she is a Syrena and if she did she might have been able to stop a shark from killing her best friend on their vacation.  Emma returns home after losing her best friend, to find a new kid at school named Galen, a kid that was at the beach the day she lost her friend.  Galen tries to figure out if Emma knows that she is a Syrena while not falling for her, because if she is a Syrena then she has the heritage of Triton and she would need to marry Galen’s older brother to unite the kingdoms.  Emma and Galen work together to try and understand who she is.  

This was a great story with an original storyline and great chemistry between the characters.  I can’t wait for the next book.  

MS, HS-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.