THE KEEPING QUILT/ by Patricia Polacco

THE KEEPING QUILT by Patricia Polacco is a beautiful story about the author's Jewish family history and precious heirloom.  It was a quilt made of various articles of clothing belonging to family members. "We will make a quilt to help us always remember home," Anna's mother said.  "It will be like having the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night."  And so it was from page to page, the quilt was there for every occasion (special or not) playing an integral part - It served as a tablecloth for Sabbath and and birthday celebrations, the huppa for weddings, a blanket that warmly welcomed newborns and kept children and elderly comfortable, and sometimes a superhero cape or tent.  I loved the art work, and the way the quilt was accented by being the only thing in color.   At every family gathering it was the grandmother's pleasure to tell the story of the Keeping Quilt. 

Traditions are for keeping and whether in a quilt or a photo album or just memories it is a grandmother's pleasure to tell the story.

Bonnie R 
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Holes/ by Louis Sachar

The novel is telling a story of Stanley Yelnats, young man who through his bad luck (family curse) ended up in the correctional facility Camp Green Lake. There is not lake there, it is the place in the middle of the desert where prisoners have to dig 5 by 5 hole each day of their terms. Prisoners are told that digging helps to build character, but Stanley suspects they are looking for something. Holes can boast to have a very unusual plot, with a few twists and unusual plot turns. It is a quick read, and as I started I was never able to put this book down. The author skillfully mixes a modern day setting with 2 other stories from remote past, which are connected with Stanley’s present and his family’s mystery. Stanley’s character is memorable: he develops from a meek guy with low self-esteem to a loyal courageous friend, unlikely hero by all means. Zero, another main character of the book is mysterious and quiet, but the mystery has its purpose: he is connected to Stanley’s family story. Sachar’s novel is humorous, heart-breaking at times, thrilling and very engaging. The author’s writing style is appealing to readers, because it sounds very casual, laid-back. Grades 5-7

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Ksenia R

The new kid on the block/ by Jack Prelutsky

In this zany anthology of poems, Prelutsky covers a whole array of topics: bullies, brotherly love and hate, teachers, friends and strange creatures. The poems are very funny, sometimes with nonsense words and outrageous plots ( the author’s attention is on the situations and objects from life that are familiar to children). Each piece of poetry rhymes, and the author plays with the language quite skillfully, employing alliteration and onomatopoeia for many of the pieces. The layout is very minimalistic: 1 poem per page with blocks of text neatly organized. Illustrations are simple black and white sketches, which catch the “core” or the main theme of every piece of the poetry. I think this book could be perfect for preschooler boys who love disgusting staff, but language is quite challenging at times, so the book is suitable for older children. I would love to read more of Prelutsky’s poems: they are very appealing to both children and adults, and I think this anthology is great for development of vocabulary and phonological awareness. Children grades 1-8.

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Ksenia R

Why mosquitoes buzz in people’s years: A West African tale/ by Aardema V.

A folktale from West Africa about a mosquito who tells lies to iguana and how this lies brings a series of unfortunate events to the animal world. But as in most of folk tales, the good defeats the evil, and justice will shine. The reteller did a great job with the story through the use of rich onomatopoeic language. The text is arranged into poetry-like blocks when the repetitive pattern is introduced. This makes it easy for a child to participate in retelling the cumulative story. The artwork was done through using watercolors applied with airbrush in fine spray and spatter technique. Then, cut-out effects were achieved through cutting the shapes out of vellum and frisket masks at several stages. Indeed, very sophisticated techniques which pay off, as readers will be mesmerized with these captivating and soulful illustrations. The illustrator also played with black and white colors to achieve the effect of a day that never came. When the owl refuses to wake up the sun, the text background changes from white to black and remains so until the very last page. The book won Caldecott Medal in 1975 .Ages: preschoolers- 3d graders.

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Ksenia R

Jumanji/ by Chris von Allsburg

Jumanji is a name of a jungle adventure game that was found by Peter and Judy in the park. One has to read instructions to this game very carefully: once it is started it cannot be finished until players reach the Golden City. As soon the children rolled the dice, their house filled up with rhinos, monkeys, a lost tourist guide, a python and a scary lion. How will they manage to finish the game and clean up by the time mom returns home? This story is a real thriller for children: the plot is very exciting and well-developed with twists and enigma building up with every page.  Grey illustrations help to establish the mood, and the author-illustrator skillfully uses shades and shadows to build the suspense. Even though published in a picture book format, it is more suitable for children who are in the transition to chapter books, because the book has large amounts of text on each page. I noticed how the author skillfully arranges paragraphs: it is easy to follow the story when there are breaks on the page. Overall, Jumanji can be praised for its high-pace, unusual and very memorable plot and great way to introduce children to marvels of Africa. The book is recommended to children in 1-4 grades.

Ksenia R

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Miss Nelson is missing/ by Harry Allard

The children in room 207 are misbehaving: spitballs and paper planes are everywhere and they are rude even during story hours! Poor miss Nelson cannot cope with them and disappears one day. Now the children from the room 207 have a new substitute teacher: Ms. Viola Swamp! She is strict, she is mean, and she will give so much homework to children from the room 207! Now children from room 207 miss Nelson very much…… This humorous book is a perfect read for preschoolers and up. With the plot worthy of Hitchcock, and with funny quirky illustration filled with clues and sharks, this marvelous story will delight, puzzle and amuse every child who loves to read silly stories-thrillers. The storyline is very creative, and the illustrations made with crayon complement the text perfectly. I loved the description of dailies in school with all the flying airplanes, chewing gum and noise sounded so familiar! The author also uses “speaking” last names such as detective Mc Smogg( who smokes pipes on the pictures) and Viola Swamp( mean and nasty one). I also enjoyed the concept of probability gently introduce when children try to figure out what happened to their beloved teacher (“Maybe Miss Nelson went to Mars” – “but that did not seem likely either”)

Ksenia R

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Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?/ by Bill Martin Jr.

This minimalistic book that is perfectly suitable for toddlers presents a variety of colorful animals every page:”Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?” “I see a red bird looking at me”. Then a yellow duck, a blue horse and red fish appear on following pages. The rhyming is catchy and memorable, building on repetition and predictability. Large illustrations are centered, and there are no other details distracting the attention of a child. It is a wonderful introduction of colors and names of animals to a young child. The illustrations are presented in the form of colorful collage, in almost naïve style, a trademark of Eric Carle. This beautiful book has been around for a long time, with generations of parents and children also enjoying marvelous sequels Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what do you see? (1991) and Panda Bear Panda Bear, what do you see? (2003).

Ksenia R

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