Review: Otis by Loren Long

by Carol6 Comments
(Suggested reading level: Preschool through grade 2) Otis is an adorable picture book with a great message. Friends are there for you, no matter how deep in the mud you are. Otis is a little tractor who loves his farm and works hard for the farmer. He also loves to play and his best friend is a young calf who sleeps in the stall beside him and plays in the fields with him. One day a big, new yellow tractor arrives on the farm, taking Otis' place. Otis is left out back, weeds grow around his tires, he feels old and useless and doesn't even want to play anymore. Then the poor calf gets stuck in Mud Pond. No one can help her, until Otis puffs his way down the hill and rescues her. From that day on, the farmer learns that while the new tractor is great in the field, Otis still has a special place and use on the farm. I have...
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Review: Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola

by Carol1 Comment
(Suggested age range: 3 - 1st grade) I have to take a stack of books back to the library tomorrow, and as I was putting them in the car, I ran across this one. I read it several weeks ago, not long after St. Patrick's Day, but just never got around to posting any comments. To be honest, I tend to really like dePaola's books, but this one was just okay. The illustrations are his usual delightful, colorful, homespun style, but the story didn't charm me. Jamie O'Rourke is lazy, period. His wife does all the work around the house and in the garden until she hurts her back and is laid up. Jamie is sure he'll starve to death with his wife unable to get out of bed. Instead he stumbles across a leprechaun and catches him. The leprechaun talks Jamie out of taking the gold, and instead gives him a seed that is guaranteed to grow into the biggest potato in...
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Review: Muppet Robin Hood by Tim Beedle

by Carol5 Comments
(Suggested reading level: Grades 4 and up) I actually learned one thing from this comic- I need to read Robin Hood. Apparently all I actually know about Robin Hood comes from cultural references and the Disney movie where Robin Hood is a fox. Of course, I'd like to see that movie again too. I wonder if our library has it. Anyway, the story was cute enough. Robin is of course Kermit and the merry men are an odd assortment of Muppets. Maid Marian could be none other than Miss Piggy. It's fun, but not my favorite of the Muppet graphic novels I've read. The art in this one, done by Armand Villavert, Jr., just wasn't my cup of tea. Some of the characters, especially Gonzo and Sam the Eagle, just didn't look right to me. It was an enjoyable read though. And I do love the Muppets. Muppet Graphic Novel 112 pages Published 2009 3 out of 5 stars Purchase at Amazon or an Indie bookstore. I borrowed...
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Review: Coral Snakes by Linda George

by Carol7 Comments
Coral Snakes by Linda George (Suggested reading level: Grades 3-5) I've mentioned before that Amber (11) is an animal lover and she picked this book up on a recent trip to the library. We read it together before bed the other evening. It's a decent book, but not outstanding. It covers a lot of information about coral snakes, from where they live and how they hunt to how deadly their venom is. One thing that I did find interesting is that can't open their mouths super-wide like other snakes, so they can't eat prey larger than their own heads. There's a lot of facts here, but it's rather dry and can be repetitious in spots. The photos didn't impress me either. It's definitely not worth going out of your way to find. Animals and the Environment: Snakes 48 pages Published 1998 by Capstone 2½ out of 5 stars Purchase through Amazon. Our copy was borrowed from the library and the above is my honest opinion....
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Muppet Peter Pan by Grace Randolph and Amy Mebberson

by Carol5 Comments
Muppet Peter Pan by Grace Randolph, Amy Mebberson, and other very talented people (Suggested Reading Level: Grades 4 and up) I love the Muppets, as just about anyone who knows me will tell you. I have almost all the various movies and DVDs of The Muppet Show, I have at least two Muppet t-shirts, have worn out two Kermit purses, have a Muppets in Space playset with Miss Piggy, a Kermit puppet, a Gonzo Pez dispenser, not to mention my Kermit hat that totally embarrasses Amber every time I wear it. Wow, when I list it like that it seems a little crazy. Anyway, so when I saw this book at The Written Word, I had to read it with Amber. This graphic novel was just a blast. It's based on Peter Pan, but takes plenty of liberties with the story as you can imagine. Kermit is Peter Pan, selfish, but still cute. Miss Piggy is a bossy, karate master Piggytink, who is...
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Meet the Quagga

by Carol12 Comments
One benefit of reading, whether it's fiction or non-fiction, is learning new things. This week I learned about an extinct animal, the quagga. Amber picked up a bunch of animal books at the library last week, one of which was The Quagga by Tamara Green, part of the Extinct Species Collection. I had never heard of this subspecies of zebra before, but apparently it lived in the grasslands of  southern Africa up until the late 1870s. I learned a lot from the book and from doing some quick research on-line. The quagga had stripes like a zebra on it's head and neck, but a little way down it's back, the stripes fade into a solid brown color. It was an herbivore, horselike in many ways, with slim hooved legs and good hearing. Quaggas could be trained and were used by farmers as guard dogs to protect their livestock. They were brought to England in the 1820s, where they were taught to...
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