The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

This is wonderfully irreverent collection of mixed up nursery rhymes. This book takes traditional nursery rhymes the Gingerbread Man becomes the Stinky Cheese Man, and the Ugly Duckling does not grow into a beautiful swan, but an Ugly Duck instead. I really love the dark humor that Scieszka and Smith use to season this collection of stories.

I would incorporate this book into a library program by reading it aloud. The library would have a selection of five short nursery rhymes written out of papers. Then have each participant in the program select their own rhyme to fracture.    

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Grade-school irreverence abounds in this compendium of (extremely brief) fractured fairy tales, which might well be subtitled "All Things Gross and Giddy." With a relentless application of the sarcasm that tickled readers of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs , Scieszka and Smith skewer a host of juvenile favorites: Little Red Running Shorts beats the wolf to grandmother's house; the Really Ugly Duckling matures into a Really Ugly Duck; Cinderumpelstiltskin is "a girl who really blew it." Text and art work together for maximum comic impact--varying styles and sizes of type add to the illustrations' chaos, as when Chicken Licken discovers that the Table of Contents, and not the sky, is falling. Smith's art, in fact, expands upon his previous waggery to include increased interplay between characters, and even more of his intricate detail work. The collaborators' hijinks are evident in every aspect of the book, from endpapers to copyright notice. However, the zaniness and deadpan delivery that have distinguished their previous work may strike some as overdone here. This book's tone is often frenzied; its rather specialized humor, delivered with the rapid-fire pacing of a string of one-liners, at times seems almost mean-spirited. Ages 5-up. 

Scieszka, J., & Smith, L. (1992). The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales . New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking.

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson,  was the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award in 2010. The book tells the life of the unsung hero, Bass Reeves. Reeves was a Deputy U. S. Marshall in the American Indian Territory. Reeves was known for his bravery and honesty. The book tells of the many techniques he employed to catch outlaws, included using disguises. The book is very effective in creating a biography that is interesting and accessible to children. The illustrations in this book are very wonderful. The style really seems to capture the essence of the days of Bass Reeves and the Wild West. 

Bad News for Outlaws would be a good book to incorporate into a library's celebration of Black History Month. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM LERNER PUBLISHING GROUP

“Vaunda Micheaux Nelson’s intensely researched text and R. Gregory Christie’s vibrant artwork pair perfectly to portray the life of a fearless African American hero of the Old West,” 

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux, and R. Gregory Christie. Bad news for outlaws: the remarkable life of Bass Reeves, deputy U.S. marshal. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2009.

American Born Chinese

I have recently been swept up in the graphic novel craze with books like Persepolis and Maus. So I was very excited to read the book American Born Chinese, and I was not disappointed. American Born Chinese was awarded the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature for ages 12 - 18. The book is a graphic novel with three stories that are intertwined and all come together at the end of the story. A boy of Chinese origin who was born in the United States named Jin Wang. Jin Wang spends his life trying to live down the Chinese stereotypes, and deny his origins, until he finally manages to completely transform himself. The only thing that is left of Jin Wang's heritage is a yearly visit from his mysterious cousin who seems to embody every stereotype associated with Chinese people, both the negative ones and the positives. Mean while there is another story of the Monkey King who is trying to prove he is human so he will be accepted as a deity, and respected by the other immortals. In the end both Jin Wang and the Monkey King realize that the only way to make it through life is to embrace who you are as an individual and be that person.

Libraries could use this book to promote a diversity appreciation program. It would be a good opportunity for the library to bring in an outside presenter. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Graphic novels that focus on nonwhite characters are exceedingly rare in American comics. Enter American Born Chinese, a well-crafted work that aptly explores issues of self-image, cultural identity, transformation, and self-acceptance. In a series of three linked tales, the central characters are introduced: Jin Wang, a teen who meets with ridicule and social isolation when his family moves from San Francisco's Chinatown to an exclusively white suburb; Danny, a popular blond, blue-eyed high school jock whose social status is jeopardized when his goofy, embarrassing Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, enrolls at his high school; and the Monkey King who, unsatisfied with his current sovereign, desperately longs to be elevated to the status of a god. Their stories converge into a satisfying coming-of-age novel that aptly blends traditional Chinese fables and legends with bathroom humor, action figures, and playground politics. Yang's crisp line drawings, linear panel arrangement, and muted colors provide a strong visual complement to the textual narrative. Like Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this novel explores the impact of the American dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama. 

Yang, Gene, and Lark Pien.American born Chinese [pbk] . New York: First Second, 2006. Print.

The Westing Game

The Westing Game begins when a mysterious new apartment building, Sunset Towers is opened and the tenants are specially selected for reasons unknown. Sunset Towers is owned by by the Westing Estate. As the mystery plays out Westing Senior dies. As the tenants are gathered to hear the reading of the will it is revealed that Westing was murdered, and not only murdered, but murdered by one of the people in the room. Each of the people in the room is assigned to a two person team to attempt to solve the mystery. The team that wins will become the heir of the Westing Estate. Each pair is given a clue and $10,000. The groups must decide if it is better to work together and share clues, or keep their clues secret and figure it out on their own. 
Each group must work through their personal struggles, and learn how to work together.  They work through a series of bombs, hard feelings, and being snowed in to find the murderer.
A good way to use this book for a library program would be to have a scavenger hunt event. The participants would be asked to read the Westing Game before coming to the program. Then at the program the participants would be given clues to find certain objects hidden around the library and the library grounds. The first person to finish the scavenger hunt would be awarded a copy of the Westing Game for themselves. 

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FROM THE HORN BOOK
"A fascinating medley of word games, disguises, multiple aliases, and subterfuge -- a demanding but rewarding book." 


Raskin, E. (1992). The Westing Game . New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Puffin Books.

The Twenty-One Balloons

The Twenty-One Balloons is a Newbery Award winning book written by William Pene Du Bios. The book is the story of Professor William Waterman Sherman's epic adventure in his hot air balloon. Sherman plans on taking a round the world journey, but finds himself shipwrecked on an unknown island full of amazing inventions, inventors, and treasures. Sherman uses a combination of his balloon and other inventions on the island to create a contraption made up of twenty-one balloons to save the island's inhabitants from the erupting volcano. 
I loved this book, I enjoyed reading it very much. I think it is a wonderfully written adventure story. As a librarian I would have no reservations about recommending it to readers, child or adult.  
One library programming idea is to have a young readers book club where children would read the book over a period of a month or so, and have weekly meetings about it. The theme of the month could be traveling, or dream vacations. Throughout the month the readers would be asked to put themselves in the position of Sherman and make plans for their own trip. At the very last meeting each member could give a short presentation about their trip. 


PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"An absurd and fantastic tale... Truth and fiction are cleverly mingled. 


Bois, W. P. (20051947). The Twenty-One Balloons (Puffin Modern Classics ed.). New York, N.Y.: Puffin Books. 

The Little House

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton is a very touching story about the life of a little house. The house is built by a farmer way out in the country. The house is beautiful and happy, and the farmer and his family are pleased with it. They promise that they will never sell the house for any amount of money. The house enjoys the changing seasons, and the years go by and the house begins to wonder what the city lights are and how it would be to live underneath them. Then changes begin to happen in the house's quiet little country. There is a road built and the lights of the city begin to get closer and closer to the house, until one day the house finds itself in the middle of the city. Buildings are built up around the house, and it cannot see the stars, or the changing seasons. The house becomes obsolete and no one takes care of the house for many years. The house becomes very sad and run down. One day the grand daughter of the man who built the house walks by it in the busy city, and recognizes the house. She has the house moved back out into the country and restores the house. The house is happy, and never again wonders about city life. The house is content to live in the country.


A library could incorporate The Little House into their programming with a program about the joys of farming or country life. I think this would be a good opportunity to have a guest speaker involved in the program. The library could find someone who is either a farmer, or a historian that works with old farm equipment. Things that could be discussed are what is grown on a farm, farm animals, how the seasons effect farming, and canning.  


PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FROM BOOKLIST


“This engaging picture book cleverly presents a wealth of information-the changing seasons in the country, the advancement in architecture and transportation, growth in population, and the accelerating tempo of city life.”


Burton, V. L. (1942). The Little House; . Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co..

Flotsam

Flotsam is a wonderful story that is told entirely with pictures! The story starts with a young boy at the beach who finds a camera. After trying to find the camera's owner the boy has the film in the camera developed. The pictures on the roll of film are fantastical images of magical underwater worlds. There are mermaids, mechanical red snappers, and octopuses in a living room. Towards the end of the roll of film there is a picture of another child holding a picture. The boy gets out his microscope too look closer at the picture and realizes that in each child is holding a picture of another child. Through the children's dress and the style of photograph you can see that this camera has been around since about the 1920's or 30's. Then you realize that each child has taken a picture of themselves holding the picture of the other children, then thrown the camera back into the water where the sea creatures take amazing pictures for other children to find. 


I thought this story was very beautiful. I feel like the lack of words helps the story to transcend age, language, and time so that anyone who appreciates beautiful illustrations would love this book.  One thing that I felt like could limit the story's life is that the camera uses film. This is crucial to the story, however it is a technology that is becoming obsolete, so children in the future may have a hard time realizing what is going on.


An idea for a library program that incorporates Flotsam could be a photography program. It would work especially well if it was a two part program, maybe during a summer reading program. Each child could be giving a disposable camera to take pictures of things that they feel are beautiful. They should be instructed to try and take pictures that will tell a story, like in Flotsam. Then after the pictures are developed they can use the pictures they took and arrange them in a scrap book to tell a story. 


PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FROM ONEMINUTEBOOKREVIEWS.WORDPRESS.COM

By Janice Harayda

David Wiesner won the 2007 Caldecott Medal today for an eloquent, wordless picture book that encourages children to find the magic in everyday life. Flotsam tells the story of a boy who finds an underwater camera that washes up on a beach at the New Jersey shore, where the artist spent summers as a child. (The book doesn’t name the location but shows a beach tag reading “LBI” that, along with other visual references, situates the story clearly on Long Beach Island.) Wiesner’s young hero rushes to have the film developed and finds that it reveals a fantasy world of remarkable images, beautifully rendered in lush watercolors — a red wind-up fish, an undersea flying saucer full of miniature aliens, a starfish carrying a mountain Atlas-like on its back. The boy also sees photos of children from other countries and times, including one that appears to show the Jersey shore at the turn-of-the-century (a tribute to the artist’s great-grandparents?).

After taking a photo of himself, Wiesner’s hero throws the camera back into the ocean, where it takes another fantastic journey before being found on the last page by a young girl in a tropical realm where nobody needs a beach tag. As in his wordless picture book Tuesday, Wiesner invites children (and their elders) to make up their stories to go with his images. And he provides material rich enough to captivate a variety of ages. Toddlers and younger preschoolers may enjoy simply looking at the vibrant images and pointing to creatures they recognize while adults fill in the story. Older preschoolers and young school-age children may want to make up their own tales to explain, for example, how an octopus came to be sitting on underwater armchair. (They get help from clues such as an overturned “Moving and Storage” van also resting on the bottom of the sea.) Throughout Flotsam, shifting perspectives encourage children to see the world from many angles and, above all, to find the extraordinary in ordinary life.

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam . New York: Clarion Books.