Category Archives: Reviews

Review: How to Defend Your Dragon

The Basics

howtodefendyourdragon
Title: How to Defend Your Dragon
Author: adapted by Ellie O’Ryan
ISBN: 9781481437110
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Reader Brand: Ready to Read
Level: Level 2
Series: Dreamworks Dragons (All About the Dragons, Dragon Mountain Adventure, How to Build a Dragon Fort (upcoming 2/23/16), How to Pick a Dragon, How to Raise Three Dragons (upcoming 9/29/15), How to Start a Dragon Academy)

Thoughts

The village of Berk thinks that Thor is mad at Toothless the dragon for living with them after a series of storms threaten their safety. Will Hiccup be able to save his friend?

If that summary made absolutely no sense to you, no worries. It will make sense to your young patrons though! I don’t know about you, but “How to Train Your Dragon” the movie and subsequent television show is doing nothing but gaining popularity at my library. I did a bit of research to help review this title. It’s based off one of the television episodes, so while the words may be harder than very easy readers, kids familiar with the franchise will have no problems reading the names of their favorite characters and maybe even remembering the episode for extra reading help.

It’s hard to judge media tie-ins against traditional beginning readers because their existence and success depends on the success of another medium (television, movies, games, etc.). If your library has large amounts of “How to Train Your Dragon” fans then I would say go for this title. If not, you can probably skip it. I think it would be too difficult for most readers without that background knowledge.

Review: I Will Take a Nap!

The Basics

iwilltakeanap
Title: I Will Take a Nap!
Author: Mo Willems
ISBN: 9781484716304
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Reader Brand: N/A
Level: N/A
Series: Elephant and Piggie

Thoughts

Gerald wants to take a nap, but Piggie keeps interrupting his nap! Will this tired and cranky elephant ever be able to fall asleep and get his nap?

This is the first Elephant and Piggie that felt a bit like a reach to me. I thought the set-up of the joke and twist was fine until the twist was revealed. Piggie having a floating turnip head to prove that Gerald was dreaming the whole time was a bit too much for me. And this might me being a stodgy old adult. I haven’t had a chance to read this in front of a proper test audience. Turnip heads might result in hysterical child laughter. I don’t know yet!

I did think that the green background helped provide context clues to readers that Gerald was dreaming. I was wondering if the average child would know what a turnip looked like and whether or not that would be a difficult word for the kids. Otherwise, the words are just on par for what a beginning reader is looking for. As always, the uncluttered background is wonderful for readers just learning to decode words and the pictures provide enough support to the text.

Review: Cork & Fuzz Wait a Minute

The Basics

corkandfuzz-waitaminute
Title: Cork & Fuzz Wait a Minute
Author: Dori Chaconas
ISBN: 9780670014811
Copyright Date: 2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Reader Brand: Penguin Young Readers
Level: Level 3 Transitional Reader
Series: Cork & Fuzz (Best Friends, Short & Tall, Good Sports, The Collectors, Finders Keepers, The Babysitters, The Swimming Lesson, No Fooling, Wait a Minute, Spring Cleaning)

Thoughts

Cork knows how to wait, but Fuzz just knows how to be Fuzz — impatient to the core! When a yellow balloon enters the picture, the friends try to figure out what it is and it might involves waiting again.

A longer, multi-chapter reader that’s very reminiscent (to me) of Frog and Toad. These two friends are in many ways opposites like Frog and Toad and even more recently, Elephant and Piggie. This book features them working together to solve a problem.

This is definitely a title for older readers though. It’s a Guided Reading (Fountas & Pinnell) level J and a Lexile level of 320L. Recommended for libraries looking for more friend books to introduce to kids!

Review: Mittens

The Basics

mittens
Title: Mittens
Author: Lola M. Schaefer
ISBN: 9780060546595
Copyright Date: 2006
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reader Brand: I Can Read!
Level: My First Shared Reading
Series: (Mittens, Follow Me Mittens, What’s That Mittens?, Happy Halloween Mittens, Mittens Where’s Max, Mittens at School)

Thoughts

This book has a really simple storyline: Nick brings home a new kitten, but Mittens is scared in his new house. Can Mittens find a safe space?

I feel like this book series is the equivalent of Biscuit for cat lovers. I do really like that Mittens and Nick are boys though since this will increase readership for the series.

The text is large and easy to read. Sentences are short and there’s only one three syllable word: everything. This book is a great opportunity for shared reading between parent and child.

Recommended for public libraries who need low-level beginning readers.

Review: Gideon

The Basics

gideon
Title: Gideon
Author: Olivier Dunrea
ISBN: 9780544430587
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reader Brand: Green Light Readers
Level: Level 1 Start the Engine! Getting Ready to Read
Series: Gossie & Friends (BooBoo, Gideon & Otto, Gossie, Gossie & Gertie, Ollie, Ollie the Stomper, Peedie)

Thoughts

Gideon does not want to take a nap and he’d rather keep playing. Will his mother ever see him settle down?

I was not familiar with Olivier Dunrea’s Gossie & Friends series until I arrived at my new library where we have multiple copies of each title. Many of them work well as beginning readers: Peedie, Ollie the Stomper, and Gossie & Gertie. (These three were the only ones available at my library at the time of this review.)

While I really enjoy this predictable series that’s perfect for read-alouds, I did not think that Gideon made a particularly good reader. Words like ruddy, sneaks, scurries, scampers, and ewe seemed too hard for a true “Level 1” reader. I also thought that the hyphenated phrases like “chase-the-piglet”, “finds-the-eggs”, and “tags-the-mole” might confuse beginning readers who will likely try to read that as one word.”

And while the storyline works well as a small picture book (very easy for toddlers to relate), Gideon trying to avoid his nap may not resonate as well with the kindergarten/1st grade crowd.

I do, however, really love Green Light Readers. They have a recommended age (4-6), grade (1st), guided reading level (E), reading recovery age/level (7-8), and a Lexile level (260L) on the back on their books. This makes a librarian’s job easy to help parents find exactly the right level book for a reader.

Recommended for purchase if you have a devoted following to the series. Other libraries may want to pass on this one.

Review: Ballet Cat The Totally Secret Secret

The Basics

thetotallysecretsecret
Title: Ballet Cat The Totally Secret Secret
Author: Bob Shea
ISBN: 9781484713785
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Reader Brand: N/A
Level: N/A
Series: The first!

Thoughts

Ballet Cat and Sparkles the Pony are deciding what to play today when two secret secrets are revealed that may change their friendship forever!

I’ve been waiting for this book since I found out about in January. Bob Shea is one of my favorite picture books artists and I had hoped that his humor would translate well to the beginning reader arena. And I think it more than did. Shea’s jokes shine in the beginning reader format making me laugh out loud.

The text can occasionally be distracting as the speech bubbles change color randomly instead of depending on which character is speaking. For those used to Elephant and Piggie books, they may think that more characters are speaking than are in the book.

I love the bright colors and illustrations and I know that kids will too. Highly recommended for all libraries.

Review: Froggy is the Best

The Basics

froggyisthebest
Title: Froggy is the Best
Author: Jonathan London
ISBN: 9780448483818
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Penguin Group/Penguin Random House
Reader Imprint: Penguin Young Readers
Level: Level 2 Progressing Reader
Series: Froggy (1st reader)

Thoughts

Froggy doesn’t know what he is the best at — kayaking? Surfing? T-ball? He spends a morning daydreaming about what he is the best at until finally he realizes it and goes off to do the activity he is best at!

This is a treat for fans of the Froggy series. Readers will see familiar activities from many of the beloved Froggy picture books and be able to journey with a familiar friend to a new world of reading on their own.

The vocabulary once again (like with Pig and Pug, another Level 2 Progressing Reader) starts off harder and gets easier as the book goes on. Readers will have unfamiliar words like “kayaking” and “surfing”, but the pictures help give context clues.

While it will never top my favorite Froggy book (Froggy Gets Dressed), I did enjoy the read. Recommended for Froggy fans everywhere!

Review: Sofia Martinez Picture Perfect

The Basics

pictureperfect
Title: Picture Perfect
Author: Jacqueline Jules
ISBN: 9781479557738
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Picture Book Windows
Reader Imprint: N/A
Level: N/A
Series: Sofia Martinez (The Missing Mouse, Abuela’s Birthday, The Marigold Mess)

Thoughts

Sofia is feeling left out. No one can tell her and her two older sisters apart and her baby cousin is stealing all the attention at family gatherings. When school picture day arrives, Sofia comes up with a plan to stand out from her sisters.

This is a higher level beginning reader for confident kiddos. (I’d put it on the same level as “Ling & Ting” personally in terms of chapter length.) Each chapter builds on a central story with a conclusion at the end of three chapters. Additionally, Spanish words are intermixed with the mainly English text. This may be confusing for non Spanish readers, but a helpful glossary is provided in the back.

So here’s why I think this is a worthwhile buy: Sofia is a great character with a high relatability factor. (Yes, I just made up a word.) I cannot think of another beginning reader series with a Latino/Latina main character except for media brands like Dora and Diego. Also, I think this would be a *great* sell to ESL students. A bit of Spanish may make the transition easier.

Three other Sofia books were released simultaneously and I hope to see more in the future.

Review: Olivia and the Pet Project

The Basics

oliviaandthepetproject
Title: Olivia and the Pet Project
Author: Adapted by Lauren Forte; Screenplay by Matt Negrete
ISBN: 9781481428965
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Reader Brand: Ready to Read
Level: Level One Star Reader!
Series: (Olivia and Her Ducklings, Olivia and the Kite Party, Olivia and the Rain Dance, Olivia and the Snow Day, Olivia Becomes a Vet, Olivia Builds a House, Olivia Goes Camping, Olivia Measures Up, Olivia Plants a Garden, Olivia Plays Soccer, Olivia Takes a Trip, Olivia Trains Her Cat)

Thoughts

Olivia’s dog Perry is misbehaving. When Olivia’s friend refuses to play with her and Perry until Perry is better trained, Olivia opens up a dog charm school.

For a book adapted from a screenplay, it makes a pretty good reader. The text is large and has two to three sentences per page which is on par for a Level One reader. I do think that the full color background on each page was distracting to the text in a couple of page spreads.

While the readers are not nearly as charming as the picture books, Olivia’s fans will definitely follow her into the beginning readers.

Review: Fly Guy Presents Insects

The Basics

flyguypresentinsects
Title: Fly Guy Presents Insects
Author: Tedd Arnold
ISBN: 9781480671782
Copyright Date: 2015
Publisher: Scholastic
Reader Brand: N/A
Level: Level 2 (on the back of the book it says it appeals to K-2nd grade but is a 2nd grade level)
Series: Fly Guy

Thoughts

An upper level, informative, non-fiction reader. Buzz and Fly Guy learn all about insects in this volume.

The book is presented in a classic throwback style to the Magic School Bus. There are photographs mixed with the story, hand-drawn journal entries, labels, dialogue bubbles, etc. The layout could potentially be distracting to a young reader, but will draw in older readers. It measures at a 570 Lexile level.

Difficult words have phonetic pronunciation guides embedded in the text. I think they could have been a few more pronunciation guides — words like thorax and abdomen are not words that have a guide — and I wish that a lot more of the insect names would have had guides.

Overall, I absolutely love this set of non-fiction readers and think that readers will too. Highly recommended for all libraries, but especially those with a Fly Guy fan base.