Cruise Control

Less than a year ago I read Terry Trueman's Stuck in Neutral (see December 17)...The story is
about Shawn McDaniel a 14 year-old boy with Cerebral Palsy which limits him from any voluntary movement and the whole thing is told from Shawn's point of view.

Yesterday I just completed Cruise Control, a companion book to Stuck in Neutral. In this book, Paul McDaniel, Shawn's older brother, tell his side of the story. Paul is a hard and bitter young man who is especially angry at his father for abandoning the McDaniel family. Throughout the book, Paul deals with his anger via sports, fighting, and alcohol...primarily through sports. Paul has a change of heart near the end of the book, but readers will have to see what happens.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought that Trueman did a fantastic job of showing Paul's anger throughout the book. However, I had one big problem with the ending. As a high school coach for many years and someone who has been around sports his whole life, I found the state title basketball game much too unbelievable. Persoanlly the ending turned me off.

Rating: (due to the ending)

Happy reading,
Dr. Quinn

A Taste for Red

I was recently sent a copy of Lewis Harris' new book titled A Taste for Red. I believe this book will be released in June of '09. It is always nice to have an opportunity to read a text prior to the release date...thanks Marjorie.

First of all, I would like to share what a fun read this was for me. I enjoyed listening to the protagonist, Svetlana Grimm, share her story. She kept me engaged, and I was excited to turn the pages.

Svetlana believes that she is a vampire and to confirm this theory she shares her reasons: she likes to sleep under her bed, she has a taste for red foods (red peppers, red potatoes, tomatoes, red velvet cake, etc.), she has ESP, she is fair skinned, and her senses are perfectly attuned after hours. By combining her sharp senses and her ESP, Svetlana discovers that one of her teachers, Ms Larch, is a vampire as well. However, Svetlana has difficulty discerning if her teacher is good or bad. With the help of an unique elderly neighbor, Ms Bones and Svetlana's new friends, a discovery is made that will impact the all their lives.

In this book, Harris integrated the hot topic of vampires with friendships, self identification, and the thrill of suspense to create a engaging mystery for children.

Rating:

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Mock Caldecott: Allotment #5

Lincoln Shot
By Barry Dennenberg & Ill. by Christopher Bing

Rating:

· Wow!
· Oversized book with an aged look to it
· The story is told through various newspaper articles
· An abundance of information…may seem overwhelming to some
· Each section (topic/chapter) has a new heading
· Authentic photographs, letters, and wanted signs are integrated into the newspaper
· Time Line, Index and credits are provided at the end of the book




Madam President
by Lane Smith
Rating:
· A young girl shares here fantasy of being Madam President
· Typical Lane Smith illustrations filled with humor
· Mixed media and computer usage to create the illustrations
· Fun, engaging, and educational

The Day Leo Said I Hate You
By Robie Harris & Ill. By Molly Bang

Rating:

· A young boy is tired of being told “no” and out of frustration he tell his mother he hates her
· A lesson for all young children
· A nice mix of media
· Bang does a wonderful job with the fonts
· Text and illustrations blend well

Hogwash
By Arthur Geisert

Rating:

· Complicated machine is used to wash hogs
· Wordless picture book
· Imaginative
· Lots of detail, yet the illustrations are not overwhelming
· Take your time with this one

Cool Daddy Rat
By Kristyn Crow & Ill. by Mike Lester

Rating:

· Cool Daddy Rat travels around town to scat & play his jazz while Ace, his son, tags along by hiding in his father’s bass case
· Watercolor, pencil, and a Mac
· Creative use of language...scat
· The scat could get old to some, but others will enjoy the language throughout the whole book




My Friend, the Starfinder
By George Ella Lyon, Ill. by Stephen Gammell

Rating:
· Once there was a man that found a falling star and was at the end of a rainbow
· Watercolor, pastel, colored pencil, and gouache
· Gammell’s illustrations were fantastic
· The abundance and/or lack of color worked great

There is Nothing to Do on Mars
By Chris Gall

Rating:

· A boy and his dog are bored while living on Mars until they discover…
· Hand creating-clay coated board
· Fantastic pictures
· Space-age look and feel
· Would be stronger as a wordless picture book
· Fun endpages



Wild Boars Cook
By Meg Rosoff & Ill. by Sophie Blackwell

Rating:

· Four hungry pigs make a Massive Pudding
· Chinese ink and watercolor
· Illustrations mix well with the white-space on the pages
· Fun and messy
· Recipe for Massive Cookie is found at the end f the book

Big Bad Bunny
By Franny Billingsley & Ill. by G Brian Karas

Rating:

· Baby Boo-Boo transforms into Big Bad Bunny (in his mind)
· Big Bad Bunny gets lost and Mama Mouse searches for him
· Mix of Gouache, acrylic with pencil
· Two formats of pictures: Big Bad Bunny & Mama Mouse
· A variety of fonts are used

Mock Caldecott: Allotment #4

Old Bear
By Kevin Henkes

Rating:

· Old Bear dreams of the seasons during his winter hibernation
· This book could easily be a wordless picture book
· Fantastic colorful water color and ink paintings
· The color vividly sets the mode for each season in Old Bear's dream
· Loved this book



The Pigeon Wants a Puppy
By Mo Willems

Rating:

· As always Willems sets up extends the book with its endpapers
· Traditional Willems Pigeon book, but just as good as ever
· A slight twist to the climax and ending of this story






Too Many Toys
By David Shannon

Rating:

· Spencer has too many toys and his mother is making him get rid of some.
· Another great book by David Shannon
· Shannon’s paintings are consistent with many of his latest books, such as Alice the Fairy & Good Boy Fergus
· A variety of perspectives and layouts are used throughout the book
· Readers will find classic toys as well as toys of the day
· Classic ending!



Not a Stick
By Anoinette Portis

Rating:

· A follow up book to Not a Box
· Creative uses for a stick
· Every child can relate to this one
· Very simplistic in text and illustrations






The Little Yellow Leaf
By Carin Berger

Rating:

· A leaf is not ready to leave his tree until he finds support in another leaf
· A story of apprehension and friendship
· Illustrations are done in collages
· Several collages use notebook, graph, chart paper
· Love the colors




Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tales
by Betsy Franco & Ill. by Steve Jenkins

Rating:

· A creative informational book about animals and insects
· Franco uses a rhythmic meter to share the information
· Jenkins created the collages that absolutely extend the text
· The text is creatively oriented several different ways throughout the book





Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
By Andrea Davis Pinkney & Ill by Brian Pinkney

Rating:

· “Blues infused tribute to the men and women of the Montgomery bus boycott”
· Great illustrations
· Colored inks on clay board
· Mode and tone are a strong point of this book




A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
By Marla Frazee

Rating:

· Two boys spend a week at nature camp by day and at grandparents house by night
· Typical boys having fun together
· Illustrations were done in black prismacolor and gouache
· Illustrations definitely extend the text




Drive
By Nathan Clement

Rating:

· A young boy tells about his father’s day as a truck driver
· Simple text; usually one sentence per page
· Colorful pictures probably created with photoshop
· Unique perspective in the illustrations





The Dog Who Belonged to No One
By Amy Hest and Ill. byAmy Bates

Rating:

· A stray dog and a young girl find companionship together
· Two stories combine into one: story of the dog, story of the girl
· The text seemed a bit trite to me
· Warm watercolor pictures support the text.
· Nice detail in the paintings

Mock Caldecott: Allotment #3

Scoot
By Cathryn Falwell

Rating:

· The illustrations are absolutely fantastic!
· Paper collage complimented with a few textured prints
· Detailed and magnificently intense
· Wonderful use of language
· Informative author notes on the last few pages



Dinosaur vs. Bedtime
By Bob Shea

Rating:

· A story in which all children and parents can make a connection
· A young dinosaur can take on about any challenge and win…but what about bedtime?
· Humorous
· Shea uses mixed media with bold pictures and even bolder text
· Not only does Dinosaur win, but Shea wins with this book



Grace for President
By Kelly DiPucchio & Ill. By LeUyen Pham

Rating:

· After noticing that no girls have ever been president, Grace decides to run for office
· Great book for election time
· Informative in regards to the Electoral College
· “…the best person for the job.”
· Fun and colorful illustrations
· A variety of page layouts are used throughout the book



A Kitten Tale
By Eric Rohmann

Rating: 3.5

· A good story about an adventurous kitten who is excited about snow when three other kittens are not so optimistic
· Love the artwork: black borders and outlines positively compliment the colorful prints
· A mixture of relief and monotype prints; 32 separate runs for each image




Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures
By Julie Larios & Ill. By Julie Paschkins

Rating:

· A collection of poems written about mythical creatures
· The illustrations were done in gouache
· Each picture is colorful and outlined in black
· Creative illuminated letters bring attention to the title of each poem




Little Hoot
By Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Ill. by Jen Corace

Rating:

· Little Hoot wants to go to bed, but his parents want him to stay up late like owls should
· Watercolor paintings outlined in ink set against a white background
· An abundance of whitespace is used for a clean look
· Paintings are colorful with supportive detail




Building Manhattan
By Laura Vila

Rating:

· A time line of Manhattan; from 50,000 B.C.E to the present
· Colorful acrylic paintings
· Love the various perspectives Vila used
· Paintings are excellent
· Storyline is average





One Boy
By Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Rating:

· A boy creates 10 paintings that all together make a counting book
· Cutouts are used for each painting connecting the pictures and words
· I would have liked a stronger connection among all ten paintings…seemed a little random
· The artwork is bold, simple and colorful



Bye-bye, Crib
By Alison McGhee & Ill. by Ross MacDonald

Rating:

· A young boy wants to stay in his crib rather sleep in a “big bed”
· Fun story
· Illustrations have a nostalgic look; middle 1900s motif
· Not a fan of the illustrations…due to the style
· Watercolors and pencil crayon





Potato Joe
By Keith Baker

Rating: ???

· I have no idea how I feel about this book…I need to see how children will respond
· Sing-song lyrics, “one potato, two potato, hello Joe…”
· Illustrations are done with photoshop
· Brown endpages support the story
· Unusual looking personified potatoes lead the reader through the story
· Again mixed emotions with his one…check it out yourself