Archive for Fantasy

The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine

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Written and Illustrated by Henry Cole

Sammy Shine is a warm and loveable mouse who lives in a shoe box in Hank’s room. When Hank’s brother, Jimmy, decides to test his new airplane design by sending Sammy into the air, the mouse’s adventures begin. He crash lands in the big woods and meets a family of wild mice, including Phoebe and old Osmund. Naturally, they are being threatened by a weasel and some rats, who want Sammy’s plane. Sammy also meets a mole, a crow, a newt, a shrew, and a raccoon. With his new friends, Sammy eventually gets the plane back in working order. He loves his new friends, but he also misses Hank and is afraid of the weasel.

Cole’s beautiful and detailed pencil drawings are a big plus throughout this book. They have that three-dimensional feel that pulls the reader right into the action. Even the chapter headings are works of art.

Though this is a simple and somewhat familiar story, these are characters a reader can care about and want to follow to the end. Third graders will learn so much about friendship and working together. Because the story holds the readers’ attention, they will get a chance to practice literacy skills.

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  • Sammy ShineTitle: The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine
  • Author/Illustrator: Henry Cole
  • Published: Peachtree Publishers, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 160 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Friendship, Family
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-866-0
Posted in 2016, Animals, Family, Fantasy, Fiction tagged with ,

Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans!

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Written and illustrated by Gary Northfield

A fun and exciting way to explore the Roman Empire, this story about an unlikely hero will have kids wanting to be gladiators. Julius, a rebellious zebra, gets caught all alone at the local watering hole. When he is captured by Roman soldiers, he finds himself insulted, boxed, and transported a long way across land and onto a boat. He talks to and befriends other animals. Even the humans understand what Julius and the other animals are saying. Through a series of silliness, Julius is trained as a gladiator and is due to appear at the birthday celebration for Emperor Hadrian. There are a lot of details and terms that relate directly to the gladiator world, if you can weed out the obvious absurdities. The cartoonish illustrations add to the excitement and actually make this almost a graphic novel. Children younger than third graders would have fun reading this with a parent or teacher to learn more about Rome. An enjoyable read all around.

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  • Julius ZebraTitle: Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans
  • Author/Illustrator: Gary Northfield
  • Published: Candlewick Press, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
  • Grade Level: 2 to 5
  • Genre: Creative, fantastical historical novel, humor
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-7853-1
  • Extras: Primer on Roman numerals, extensive glossary
Posted in 2016, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Humor tagged with

Firefly Hollow

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Written by Alison McGhee
Illustrated by Christopher Denise

Kindred spirits are hard to find. Friends who truly believe in you and your dreams are just the kind we need.

In, Firefly Hollow, there is a whole nation of fireflies, but only one that wants to fly to the moon. There is a whole nation of crickets, but only one that wants to catch baseballs. Good thing they find each other. Even better, they find a miniature giant who really, really needs friends.

This beautiful book reminds readers of, The Wind in the Willows, with its exquisite illustrations done on glossy papers and with no text on the backside of the page. In some ways, it will also remind children of the Ice Age stories as these friends: firefly, cricket, and miniature giant form a nation of themselves just as the characters in Ice Age create a new kind of herd. What is most important is how each of them understands, supports and fulfills the needs of the others.

Peter, the miniature giant, has lost his best friend and doesn’t know how to cope. Readers will understand these feelings whether they have experience the death of a friend or had a close friend move away. The animals understand Peter much better than his parents do. The readers will pick up on the connection between the river vole and the father as a particular secret they hope will be revealed.

Middle grade readers will enjoy this as an independent read, a read-aloud or a book club discussion title. Literacy core curriculum standards will be fulfilled in several areas using this book, and it is definite the art teacher will want to do a unit revolving around these marvelous paintings.  Writing standards can be met as students branch off after this reading to write their own stories about kindred spirits, actual friends, or unspoken dreams.

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  • Firefly HollowTitle: Firefly Hollow
  • Author: Alison McGhee
  • Illustrator: Christopher Denise
  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-4424-2336-7
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Grade level: 3 to 7
Posted in 2015, Animals, Fantasy, Fiction, Friendship tagged with , ,

Lilliput

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Written by Sam Gayton
Illustrated by Alice Ratterree

Would you set a faerie free? How about a trapped orphan boy? Open the pages of this adventure book based on Gulliver’s Travels, and go along with three inch high, Lily, and the captured boy, Finn, as they rescue each other.

Supposedly, on Gulliver’s first return from his travels, Londoners called him a liar and lunatic for talking about lands with tiny people. So, on his second trip, he captured a tiny faerie to bring back to London as evidence. This is her story.

Short chapters, plenty of dialogue and good humor help the story to move along at a comfortable pace. Young independent readers will delight in the story. Teachers, librarians and parents will enjoy the literary quality of the work, as well.  London in the 1800’s is well represented in details of sight and smell. Friendship in all its trials and glories is explored as Finn and Lily struggle to free each other. Their adventure is one of twists and turns, failures and successes.

Realistic pen and ink drawings bring the characters, as well as the surroundings of the city of London to life before the readers’ eyes. Art teachers and librarians can use these drawings to begin discussions about illustrating a story.

Teachers and librarians can introduce this story with or without comparisons to the original, Gulliver’s Travels. Maybe it will piggy back with, The Borrowers, Stuart Little, or other such stories about the unseen little people of literature. Perhaps this will be the introduction for some students into the world of fantasy.  Standards in the core curriculum for middle school literacy will be satisfied. Grade four, grade five or grade six readers will enjoy this immensely. This book is recommended for all school libraries and it would be a wonderful present for fluent as well as reluctant readers.

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  • LilliputTitle:  Lilliput
  • Author:  Sam Gayton
  • Illustrator:  Alice Ratterree
  • Publisher:  Peachtree, October, 2015
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format:  Hardcover, 246 pages
  • ISBN:  978-1-56145-806-6
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Grade level: 3 to 6
  • Extras: Afterward by Author
Posted in 2015, Fantasy, Fiction tagged with ,

The Fourteenth Goldfish

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Written by Jennifer L. Holm

What if your grandfather found the Fountain of Youth and ended up a teenager barely older than you? Would you let him go to your middle school despite his two PhD’s? These questions and more are answered in Holm’s delightful new book.

Eleven-year-old Ellie comes home one day to find her mother with a thirteen-year-old boy in tow. Turns out the boy is Ellie’s grandfather, Melvin, who tested his anti-aging potion on himself. Ellie has to help him complete his research and adjust to middle school. When the potion works, Melvin is kicked out of his own lab by an enthusiastic guard. Denied access to his research, Melvin enlists Ellie’s help plus the help of Ellie’s friend. Absurd details such as Melvin wearing “old man” clothes, or whatever is clean, and using Ellie’s hair bands on his pony tail give the book kid-appeal. Ellie’s mom and grandfather experience a sort of incomplete role reversal, where she grounds him and he tells her to be in by a certain hour.

Although this book is pure fiction, the author manages to sneak in many scientific and historic facts and philosophical questions. Who was Robert Oppenheimer? Are scientific advancements inherently good or do they often carry elements of good and evil? What is the responsibility of the scientist to recognize those elements? Isn’t it important to maintain the circle of life? Third graders and above will enjoy the outrageous ideas in this story and gain literacy skills. Reading activities include research of the many topics introduced and discussion of other topics that might be explored.

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  • Fourteenth GoldfishTitle: The Fourteenth Goldfish
  • Author: Jennifer L. Holm
  • Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 208 pages
  • Genre: Fiction, fantasy
  • ISBN: 978-0-375-87064-4
  • Grade level: 3 to 6
Posted in 2014, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction tagged with , ,

Fortunately, the Milk

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Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Skottie Young

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Middle grade readers will giggle all the way through this silly tale through time and space. Supposedly, all these adventures and time travelers happened to father on his way home from the store with the milk. The children wondered what took him so long.

It is a typical kind of story that parents often try to make up for children using what they see about the kitchen as far as labels or character ideas.

One child is quite skeptical about father’s adventure tale, but the daughter just hopes that somewhere in the story there will be ponies. So, of course, father puts in some ponies.

The one constant in the whole silly escapade is the bottle of milk carefully protected in father’s coat pocket.

Teachers and librarians will use it successfully for read aloud time.

The cartoon type pencil sketched drawings add greatly to the fun and silliness. It would be of particular interest to low readability/ high interest students. The many drawings and large amounts of dialogue make for a great deal of white space in the book that will help to encourage newly independent readers.

  • Fortunately the MilkTitle: Fortunately, the Milk
  • Author: Neil Gaiman
  • Illustrator: Skottie Young
  • Publisher: HarperCollins, 2013
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover,128 pages
  • ISBN:  978-0-06-222407-1
  • Genre: Humorous Fiction/ Science Fiction
  • Grade level: Third up
Posted in 2013, Contemporary, Fantasy, Humor, Science Fiction tagged with ,

Secrets at Sea

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Written by Richard Peck
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy

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Whimsical and unpretentious, this tale has the reader believing that mice really do think like humans. Set in the late 19th century, this is a story about a mouse family who know where their bread is buttered and who do their best to help their human family. When the humans plan a trip to Europe to help their daughter find a husband, three mouse sisters and their mouse brother decide their best chance for survival is to go along, even though they’re terrified of water. Poor Helena, the oldest, is stuck with the job of getting her siblings where they need to go, helping the humans, and dealing with some very bad incidents. She is nearly flipped into the ocean during a safety drill, thrown through the air into a man’s pocket during a royal reception, chased by a one-eyed cat, and squashed by the sweets in a young boy’s bed. Mousely romance dominates the end of the story, but it’s so well done, kids may not even notice. The fact that Helena survives all this is testament to her perseverance and heart.

Murphy’s illustrations are perfect additions to the tale, helping to give life to Helena and her family.

Third graders can easily follow the mouse adventures. As in his other work, Peck includes many plays on words and running gags, allowing kids to play with the language they are still learning. Meanwhile, teachers will recognize that reading activities related to the history of the Hudson Valley, the Victorian Era, and the British monarchy can develop from the pages.

  • Secrets at SeaTITLE: Secrets at Sea
  • AUTHOR: Richard Peck
  • ILLUSTRATOR: Kelly Murphy
  • PUBLISHER: Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers Group, 2012
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • FORMAT: Hardcover, 238 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-8037-3455-5
  • GENRE: Fantasy, Humor, Family, History
Posted in 2012, Family, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Humor tagged with ,

Horrifa’s Magic Makeover: “Witch” Way to the Ball

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Written by Susan L. Krueger
Illustrated by Nadia Komorova
 

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Horrifa’s Magic Makeover: “Witch” Way to the Ball is a laugh out loud story about a scaly, warty, young witch who dreams of becoming a pink-fleshed mortal wearing a lacey, sparkly dress to attend the prince’s ball. Although her mother, Dragunda is not crazy about her daughter, Horrifa’s wish to meet the prince, she helps her “downgrade” her look from a gorgeous, beautiful witch dressed in black to a dreadfully despicable and ugly “princess-like” mortal. Despite the chaos and pandemonium that ensue from her mother’s efforts and the disappointment Horrifa feels at not meeting the prince in this spin of a Cinderella tale, Horrifa learns to accept and love her scaly, warty self for who she is.

Susan Krueger’s language is rich and her descriptions are both funny and creative in a twisted kind of way that will make kids laugh. Nadia Komorova’s spooky illustrations complement the text and bridge the gap between those words that might prove challenging for some readers to understand. Aimed at both girl and boy readers between the third grade reading level through the fifth grade reading level, Horrifa’s Magic Makeover: “Witch” Way to the Ball is sure to entertain readers and send home a key message: accept yourself for who you are. Warts and all! Kids, even reluctant readers, will be hard pressed to put this book down and will certainly read Horrifa’s Magic Makeover in one sitting from start to finish!

Horrifa’s Magic Makeover: “Witch” Way to the Ball is Susan Krueger’s second book. To learn more about the author, please go to: http://www.fivestarpublications.com/book_detail.php?recordid=152&page=2&thistitle=About+Susan
Horrifa's Magic Makeover

  • Title: Horrifa’s Magic Makeover: “Witch” Way to the Ball
  • Author: Susan L. Krueger
  • Illustrator: Nadia Komorova
  • Editor: Jennifer Steele Christensen
  • Publisher: Little Five Star
  • Reviewer: Annemarie O’Brien
  • Paperback: 89 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-58985-088-0
  • Genre: fantasy, fairytale
Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor

Ghost Buddy: Zero to Hero

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Written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

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Winkler and Oliver have an incredible feel for the underdog and an even more incredible feel for the humor in any situation. Third graders should be able to grasp most of the language and all of the action. And they should identify with the not-so-perfect-but-lovable characters. The story will hold their attention long enough to increase comprehension and learn a thing or two.

Billy Broccoli is just learning to deal with his new family. Mom has remarried and his new sister is no help. They all move to a new house so they can be together. This means a new school for Billy. Besides, there’s a ghost residing in his new closet. A ghost no one else can see. His family and friends think he’s talking to himself. Billy considers himself cool, but Hoover Porterhouse III, the ghost, is there to tell him otherwise. Billy doesn’t quite understand why sixth graders don’t appreciate his “Varsity Farting Team” T-shirt or the fact that he’s saved his tonsils in a jar. Of course, Hoove has problems of his own. After 99 years as a ghost, he’s still failing at helping people. So the two of them set out to make Billy really cool and to battle the next-door bully/eavesdropper. Turns out even the neighbor has secrets. With Hoove’s help, Billy is able to defeat him. Now, if he can just get his stepfather to stop talking about dental floss, his mother (also the principal) to stop babying him at school.

This first-in-the-series volume sets the stage for some wonderful hijinks in future installments. What else does Hoove have up his … er … sleeve?

Publisher Scholastic provides a free teacher’s guide at Scholastic Teacher’s Guide.

  • Zero to HeroTITLE: Ghost Buddy: Zero to Hero
  • AUTHOR: Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
  • PUBLISHER: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2012
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • FORMAT: Paperback, 176 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0545298827
  • GENRE: Fantasy, Humor

 

 

Click here for Zero to Hero book trailer.

Posted in 2012, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor tagged with ,

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

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Written by Richard Peck

Illustrated by Kelly Murphy

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With his signature gentle humor, Richard Peck hits another one out of the park. Or maybe out of the barn, to be more accurate. A mouse, small for his age and not quite grown, lives in the mews adjacent to Buckingham Palace. The time is September 1896, two days before the diamond jubilee for Queen Victoria’s sixty years on the throne. The mouse doesn’t know who he is or even what his name is. But he does know he was raised by his auntie Marigold after his mother died in childbirth. Mouse Minor, as he’s called by his classmates, has a distinctively shaped tail and a penchant for getting in scuffles with much larger mouse children. He learns that there is a mouse doing every job a human does, only the mouse does it better. Also, clothed mice must never be seen by humans. So, as a result of his latest scuffle with the larger boy mice, he sets off on adventure around the palace. He befriends and talks to a cat and a horse, rides in the horse’s ear, gets flicked out into a flower bed, and becomes a yeomouse of the guard. Eventually, he learns of his true identity and destiny.

Kelly’s illustrations are perfect additions to the tale, giving a real dimension to Mouse minor and his cohorts.

Third graders will get a big kick out of the many adventures of Mouse Minor. They will also love the plays on words and the little running gags. Mouse Minor’s stories about riding in the horse’s ear and swimming in a punch bowl are never quite believed. Everyone wants to know if he’s not quite grown or just small. And why is he pink with black flecks after a swim in the strawberry punch and ride in a pocket? Meanwhile, teachers can sneak in some reading activities related to the Victorian Era and the British monarchy.

 

  • Mouse with the Question Mark TailTITLE: The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail
  • AUTHOR: Richard Peck
  • ILLUSTRATOR: Kelly Murphy
  • PUBLISHER: Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers Group, 2013
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • FORMAT: Hardcover, 223 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-8037-3838-6
  • GENRE: Fantasy, Humor, History
  • LEXILE: NA
Posted in 2013, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Humor tagged with ,
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