Jenn’s Books

Library Lion By Michelle Knudsen.
I am a sucker for beautiful art in kids books. This one is full of acrylic and pencil drawings that will just melt your heart. The story is just as beautiful and heartwarming. It is centered around this lion, no one knows where he came from. He walks into a library, and starts looking around at the books, sniffing the shelves, and finally finds the children’s sections. He decides to take a nap and when he wakes up, story time is going on. He loves every minute of it. When it is done, he becomes upset and roars. Well, we all know the number one rule of the library: no loud noises. So, the head librarian makes him a deal; if you don’t roar, you may come back for story time every day. It is such a cute book. I went over to the children’s section of my store one day, sat down to read it and by the end I had six children sitting around me. My family has a tradition to give books out at baby showers as we are all big readers. This may become my next gift book.

Title: Coraline Author: Neil Gaiman Format: Trade Paperbound

If you are a geek like I am, and you have kids, get them Coraline. Neil Gaiman has taken everything I loved about American Gods and then made it for kids. Coraline, the little warrior of our tale, is an explorer. She wants to find everything that she can; the deep well in the backyard, the creaky hallways and attic of her new home, and most importantly, the door. This door is locked by a dark black key and usually leads into a wall. The key is much, much colder then all of the other keys on the same key ring. When Coraline opens the door one day when her parents aren’t home, the door leads down a new hallway, one she hasn’t explored before. Through the long hall she comes into her kitchen, the kitchen that she just left. In the second kitchen are her parents, but they have buttons for eyes. They say they are her “other” parents. They want her to stay, and if she won’t, then they will just have to steal her real parents. Coraline proves to those that follow the story that being smart is much better then being big, that you can be much more clever then the adults.
If you would like more reviews on this title, please visit the Amazon website.

Title:My Side Of The Mountain Author: Jean Craighead George Format: Mass Market

Almost everyone has thoughts of running away from home, yet very few think about it after reading a book. Usually, it’s after a fight with one of the “adults.” This book still makes me want to run away, and I am 22. Sam Gribley goes further then most young kids. Most of us make it to the end of the block; the real determined ones go as far as their best friend’s house. Yet our Sam goes up into the mountains of New York and sets up home. He learns to be dependent on only himself and nature. While everything is pushing him to go back home, he will not. In the process of living out a year in the woods by himself, he grows up quite a bit more then that. I love this book and put it up there with Where the Red Fern Grows, although this one is not nearly as sad. If you need a present for a ten year old, this is it.
If you would like more reviews on this title, please visit the Amazon website.

Title:The Wuggie Norple Story Author: Daniel M. Pinkwater and Tomie De Paola Format: Trade Paperbound

I read this book the first time in the second grade. I have always loved animals, but cats and dogs especially. When I was 14, I was sitting on the porch of my parent’s house in the summer. We had just had a big talk that we wouldn’t adopt any more animals for a while. My parents were and are big supporters of animal shelters. They have always gotten their cats from the pound or adopted them right off the street. Well at that time we had two rottweilers, and about eight cats, so no more pets for quite some time. As I was sitting on the porch that day, around the corner comes the biggest orange tabby cat I have ever seen. He sees me and stops, I look at him and don’t move. I would get in big trouble if I called another cat to me. My mother happens to go by the door and asks me if the cat was friendly. I call to the cat and he comes bounding up the walk towards me. I had to name him Wuggie Norple. When we took Norple to the vet, he weighted in at 22 lbs, mostly muscle. He reminded me so much of this story. This family owns this cute little kitten. One day, the dad asks if the cat looks bigger to anyone. “No,” they all say, “he is still just a kitten.” The dad doesn’t think so, so he brings home a pit bull. They are the same size as each other, but the rest of the family swears that cannot be. Wuggie Norple keeps on growing. The next night he asks he family again, “Does Wuggie Norple look bigger to any of you?” Again they all say no. So he brings home a razor-back hog. The cat and the hog are the same size. This continues until the cat is bigger than an elephant. It is a very charming story, and if you can find it, put it in your child’s library as soon as you do.
If you would like more reviews on this title, please visit the Amazon website.

Title: Thunder Cake Author: Patricia Polacco Format: Trade Paperbound

Patricia Polacco’s Thunder Cake has always been a favorite of mine. It starts off with this little girl hiding under her grandmother’s bed because she is afraid of the thunder. Well, Babushka will have none of that. “Let’s make a thunder cake,” she declares. This brings our frightened young one out from under the bed to find out what that is. In order to have this special cake, she must venture out of the house where the big Midwestern thunder storm is, not to mention the goats and the geese and the big pig. Her babushka helps her along with plenty of patience and a lot of hugs. By the time this wonderful chocolate cake comes out of the oven, our little heroine is no longer afraid of the big thunder storm. And for those that are salivating over that cake, the author is kind enough to include the recipe. I would recommend this to anyone who has a child that is afraid of things that can be explained and worked away.
If you would like more reviews of this title, please visit the Amazon website.

Title: The Cat That Went to Heaven Author: Elizabeth Coatsworth Format: Trade Paperbound

This beautifully detailed book is a wonder for any child to read. It starts off with a poor artist and his house servant. He received a message that the high priest of the near by Buddhist temple was coming to visit him. He sent his servant out for food and flowers and she brought back a little bad luck. A cat, but not just any cat. A calico cat, tri-colored. The high priest tells the artist that he must paint a new mural for the temple, a mural of the Buddha’s life. Out of all of the of the animals in the world, the cat was refused by the Buddha. The cat that the artist became the owner of, constantly was at his side watching him paint the many lives and incarnations of the Buddha. But would the little cat ever be accepted into the Buddha’s paradise? It is a wonderful book for anyone trying to escape into ancient Japan through a child’s eyes. If you would like more reviews of this title, please visit the Amazon website.

Title: Where the Red Fern Grows Author: Wilson Rawls Format: Mass Market

When I read this book the first time, I was ten. Twelve years later, the book still gives me the same feeling when I read it the first time. This is still my favorite childhood book. I try to go back to it every year. It is about the bittersweet struggle of a young boy who grows up in the Ozark Mountains. He works all summer in order to afford a set of hunting dogs. He finds that all of his hard work pays off when he can afford not only both pups but gifts for his not-so-wealthy family as well. The book follows him on his adventures with his two dogs through the mountains and cities of Arkansas. Everyone, no matter what the age, can identify with this boy’s happiness and sorrows. It is an under appreciated literary treasure that should be read at least once by everyone.If you would like more reviews of this title, please visit the Amazon website.