Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings

The art work coupled with the witty poetry by Douglas Florian create a beautiful and fun picture book. The book is a collection of poetry all about space. My favorite of the poems is the poem about the planet Pluto:

 Pluto was a planet.

But now it doesn't pass.

Pluto was a planet.

They say it's lacking mass.

Pluto was a planet.

Pluto was admired.

Pluto was a planet.

Till one day it got fired.' 

The artwork in this book is done in collage style. It is incredibly detailed. The more you look at the pictures the more things you discover about them. There are also little things to be learned from each illustration. Like in the picture of Uranus each of the moons has its name written around it. 

This book would be great a great base for a library program about stargazing. The program would be best in the summer and have to take place at night. A telescope could be set up and participants would be able to use it and view some of the heavenly bodies they have read about in the book. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM CURLED UP WITH A GOOD KID'S BOOK

The poetry informs and entertains beautifully. The first poem, “Skywatch”, promotes and encourages stargazing, with the admonition “Most of all: Have lots of fun!” The remaining poems take a tour the universe, with emphasis on our solar system (the verse about Pluto and its recent demotion is priceless) and ends with an astronomical pun in the last poem, “The Great Beyond.” The short, clever, rhyming verses could easily be memorized by elementary-aged children for a school or library astronomy class or program. For parents and detail-hungry older children, the “Galactic Glossary” at the end of the book provides additional facts and information on each of the cosmic bodies and terminologies represented in the poems. 

The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

"Hank the Cowdog here, Head of Ranch Security..." These words are the words that began every family road trip I went on as a child. The day before we left my mother would head to library to stock up on Hank the Cowdog books on tape. We loved them! They made the trip seem shorter, and we would even sit in the car to listen for a few more minutes even after we arrived. So when I went to the library to get my books for the week I felt like I was reliving a fun memory from my childhood. The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog is the first of a fifty-seven book series. It introduces a Texas panhandle world of memorable characters including the star Hank the cowdog, and his sidekick Drover. The chaos starts when Drover confuses a cow for a monster. Next the duo find a dead chicken that is too tasty for Hank to resist. He eats it, and ends up getting blamed for the chickens death. Hank decides he must leave the ranch in his shame. Hank has a tangle with a group of wild coyotes and some how finds himself engaged to one of them. Hank is saved when a gun goes of and startles the coyotes. He then decides he can reinstate himself as Head of Ranch Security. 

This book is a wonderful way to get children excited about reading chapter books. I think it would be a good idea to have a library raffle where this first book in the Hank the Cowdog series is raffled off to a young reader in the hopes that after reading this book they would be excited to continue the series. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM USA TODAY

Hank is a scruffy, smart-alecky supersleuth with a nose for danger and an eye for the ladies. And as Head of Ranch Security on a West Texas ranch, he's usually up to his ears in all kinds of amusing trouble. Whether he's called upon to bark up the sun, investigate suspicious goings-on, or defend the ranch against marauders, Hank's hilarious, hair-raising adventures will delight readers young and old alike. 

Erickson, J. R. (1983). Hank the Cowdog;The original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog . Texas: Maverick Books.

Strong Man: The Story of Charles Atlas

Charles Atlas went from being a ninety-seven pound boy who was bullied to becoming the World's Most Perfectly Developed Man. This picture-book biography tells the story of his transformation. Strong Man starts with Atlas a boy immigrant from Italy coming to the United States. The story goes on to explain that bullying inspired Atlas to become stronger. Atlas developed his own method of becoming strong, and spent the rest of his life helping other people become healthy and strong using his method. The colorful simple illustrations in this book perfectly compliment the story. The book ends with a few exercises for readers to try out on their own. 

This book would be excellent to center a fitness program for children around. This program encourage children to stop watching TV, stop playing their computer and video games, and get active. The book can be read then the participants would be asked to go through the exercises in the book, along with others that have been planned before hand. Depending on the length of the program, an entire field day of activity could be planned. Then after the program the participants would be given a chart to record their activities for the next month.

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

An entertaining introduction to a fitness guru and entrepreneur. Beginning with young Angelo Siciliano's arrival at Ellis Island, the book describes the scrawny Italian immigrant boyhood in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood-and when he was older-the storied seaside encounter with a sand-kicking bully (witnessed by his date). Humiliated and determined  ø change his life, the young man decided to change his body. While at the zoo, he watched a lion stretch and noticed its muscles rippling beneath its skin. "Eureka!" He devised and followed an exercise routine that pitted one muscle against another, gradually becoming "Strong as an ox! The rest of the book covers his new name (for his resemblance to a statue of Atlas), his success as a sideshow strongman and bodybuilder, his famed fitness course, and his emphasis on healthy living. An author's note makes it clear that Atlas's story has been much mythologized and that little is known about his private life. McCarthy cleverly makes the most of this, smoothly weaving facts, quotes, and dialogue balloons into a comic-book-like narrative that perfectly suits its subject. Similarly, the acrylic illustrations feature cartoon characters and appropriately over-the-top humor. One scene shows skinny youth locked in a staring contest with a muscle-bound statue of Hercules, while another shows the pumped-up Atlas, google eyes bulging, straining to pull a train. This colorful book captures both the essence and mystique of an American icon.

McCarthy, M. (2007). The story of Charles Atlas, strong man . New York: A.A. Knopf. 

What if you met a pirate?: an Historical Voyage of Seafaring Speculation

This book was such a fun read! I learned so many things about pirates that I had never known before. Did you know that pirates hardly ever flew the Skull and Crossbones flag, they usually flew the flag of a peaceful country to fool the ships they were attacking? Did you know that Black Beard wove slowly burning fuses into his hair as he went into battle to intimidate his enemies? What if You Met a Pirate was full of fun interesting facts, and dispelled the romantic image pirates have been given through modern media. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM THE DATABASE OF ALL REVIEWS

In this excellent book, many pirate myths and fables are laid to rest but that does not mean that pirates come out looking boring. Far from it. Readers discover that they had a fascinating history, that they lived in interesting times, and that many of their number were very colorful characters indeed. If you have ever wondered how pirates attacked their quarry, how they sailed their ships, what they did all day, and how they lives their lives, then this is the book for you. Packed with facts and filled with colorful annotated illustrations, this book is a must for young pirate fans.

Adkins, J. (2004). What if you met a pirate?: an historical voyage of seafaring speculation. Brookfield, Ct.: Roaring Brook Press.

Heather Has Two Mommies

This book has so much controversial surrounding it, that I was surprised by how tame, and normal the story line was. Then I realized that it just shows that being a family is normal and acceptable, even an untraditional family. Heather Has Two Mommies is the story of a young girl named Heather who is the daughter of a lesbian couple. Heather goes to playgroup and realizes that her family is different than the other children's families who have a mother and a father. Heather eventually realizes that there are many types of families and she is able to accept her own family. 
I am not sure that there are many libraries that could use this book for active programming, because of social constraints. However this would be a good book to have to recommend to children who may need to read it. 
PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM AMAZON.COM
This handsome 10-anniversary edition of a minor classic presents the story of Heather, a preschooler with two moms who discovers that some of her friends have very different sorts of families. Juan, for example, has a mommy and a daddy and a big brother named Carlos. Miriam has a mommy and a baby sister. And Joshua has a mommy, a daddy, and a stepdaddy. Their teacher Molly encourages the children to draw pictures of their families, and reassures them that "each family is special" and that "the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." In the afterword, the author (whose other children's books include Matzo Ball Moon) explains that although she grew up in a Jewish home, in a Jewish neighborhood, there were no families like hers on the television or in picture books. She came to regard her family as somehow "wrong," since there was no Christmas tree in the living room and no Easter egg hunt. Whatever the religious right may wish to think about nontraditional families, there is no denying that any child enrolled in an American school will encounter friends with single parents, gay parents, stepparents, or adoptive parents. This new, revised version of Heather Has Two Mommies offers an enjoyable, upbeat, age-appropriate introduction to the idea of family diversity. The book is essential for children (ages 2 to 6) with gay parents or family members, and a great addition to a Rainbow Curriculum. --Regina Marler
Newman, L., & Souza, D. (2000). Heather has two mommies (2nd ed., 10th anniversary ed.). Los Angeles: Alyson Wonderland.

The Wednesday Wars

 The main character of The Wednesday Wars is a boy named Holling Hoodhood. Holling is in the seventh grade. Holling is a Protestant in the middle of a community that is half Jewish, and half Catholic. Every Wednesday afternoon the seventh grade class is dismissed to attend catechism school for the Catholics or Hebrew School for the Jews. Holling is the only kid left behind. Holling spends the first part of the book trying to convince the reader that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him for being the child that prevents her from having a free period ever Wednesday. Holling is even more convinced of Mrs. Baker's hatred when she concocts the idea of having him read Shakespeare every Wednesday afternoon. However when Holling begins to enjoy the Shakespeare he is able to develop an unexpected relationship with his teacher. Holling begins to see how Shakespeare can relate to what he is going through in his own life. The Wednesday Wars is set during the turbulent year of 1967. The book shows how the presidential election, the politics of the time, and the Vietnam war touched every aspect of life, and every person, no matter how young. 

I really enjoyed reading this story. The funny anecdotes mix well with the more serious side of the story. It helps people to realize there is always more than one side of a story, and to see that there is always more to a person than we will know. It also provided a historical look at a family living during the 60's.

The Wednesday Wars could be used for library programming in a number of ways. One way would be to have a day in the life of a seventh grader in the sixties. This would probably be best for a school library because of the narrow age range. There are many things that could be discussed at such a program like hippies, the Vietnam War, politics during the 60's, and so on. It would also need to incorporate some fun events, for example patrons could dress up as the character they most identify with in the book. Another idea is to have the participants practice an atomic bomb drill. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM SCHOLASTIC INK SPOT 26

I highly recommend The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt to anyone going into or already in middle school/junior high. Schmidt does an amazing job of conveying all the obstacles, struggles and complexities you face during seventh grade. From school bullies to crushes to terrible homework assignments and then craziness at home, The Wednesday Warsis a great coming-of-age novel. While reading this book, you will not only enjoy a great story, but you'll also be encouraged to discover who you really are and what you really want to be.

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars

Schmidt, G. D. (2007). The Wednesday wars . New York: Clarion Books.