Review: Who the What?

I'm seeing a small trend in my TBR pile...

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Two Clark the Shark books today...

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Clark is really growing on me, as a big lovable - toothsome - lug. In "Tooth Trouble", we learn there is one thing sharks might be afraid of...dentists! ("It took his mother, two dads, and a dental assistant to get Clark into the dentist's chair.") Of course, it turns out this dentist isn't scary at all - she even tells really HORRIBLE jokes, just like our dentist! (Sorry, Dr. Westover, but we have to call it like we see it.) It's great to see a beginning reader that is actually a good story, not a forced collection of vocabulary words. Another great passage:

"Billy-Ray Ray says dentists are mean and scary," said Clark.

"Billy-Ray also told you that whales can fly," said his mom.

"Oh, yeah," said Clark.

In Clark the Shark Takes Heart, Clark wants to impress Anna Angelfish, but he tends to go a bit overboard, with some unintended results. When he finally goes with sweet and simple, he of course gets the girl. Er, fish.

Then we have:

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Splat can hardly wait to put on his uniform, tie knots, and build a fire. But when a new member of the group does everything just a bit better than everyone else, Splat wishes he could have a chance to shine. Thanks to some sticky mud, he might get to show what a great outdoors-cat he really is!

I am not as big a fan of Splat, as his books tend to be hit-or-miss. Reviews of a couple I liked can be found here and here. This one is thankfully without the gimmicks of lift-the-flaps or stickers, and I was equally thankful that the author (actually Laura Driscoll) did not take the path of Scott, the impressive new scout, being arrogant, or Splat being peevishly jealous. Splat admires Scott's abilities, Scott is happy to help Splat out, and when Splat gets the chance to return the favor, nobody has to feel bad about it. Definitely one to circulate among the kids (and maybe the grown-ups!)

Hey - say, "Rob Scotton's Cat Scout Scott" three times fast.

Never mind, I can't say it once.

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Charlie has a new picture boo out, too, which we are waiting on. The first thing my kids do upon picking up any Charlie the Ranch Dog book, is look for the chipmunk on each page. A couple spreads don't seem to have one, which will cause no end of consternation in my household. Other than that, I think the kids will enjoy the story - heck, anything involving mud makes them happy!

Picture Book Reviews - with Activities!

Continuing our summer suggestions for book and activity pairings:

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Mouse has baked a special treat for Little Bird's birthday! But delivering it to his friend isn't easy—not when everyone he meets along the way offers to trade something for a piece of cake. . . .

Pham is well-known as both an author and illustrator, with Big Sister, Little Sister being one of our favorite books. Cake, of course, is also one of our favorite things. Thinking outside of the box, though: that's one of our best things of all, and there is plenty of that in this funny and clever story!

Follow-up activity: go on a treasure walk with the kids and see what you can find to bring home, then challenge everyone to come up with at least three ways each found object can be used.
Available in stores May 27.

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Hip, hop, skiddly-widdly-wop!

Clark the Shark loves learning, but sometimes the lessons are bewildering—especially sharing. Clark shares his funky shark dance with the class, but Mrs. Inkydink tells him he's interrupting. Clark shares his reef hockey skills, but his teammates would rather Clark share the puck.

With a little help from his friends, Clark the Shark discovers how breaking and taking is different from sharing and caring, and that we should all dare to share!

Clark the Shark is still enjoying school, but still a bit confused about manners. At our house we occasionally need to remind people that "sharing" doesn't mean the other person has to give you whatever they have that you want. Anyone else? If so, this may be another useful tale to...share. A bit cheesy, still, but like we said about the first title, right up the intended audience's alley.

Follow-up activity: bake a cake or other goodies to share! These days you can't bring home-made foods to most schools, but how about a neighbor? A friend who is having a rough week? A local service organization of some sort? I'm sure you can think of someone!
Available in stores now.

Picture Books for Halloween

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While I absolutely loved Grogan's original novel, I have felt so-so about the picture book series. The things that happen in the stories are just as funny as those in the novel, but they are just too wordy and stiff for preschoolers. In this one, Marley's family is trying to host a Halloween party, with Marley 'helping' along the way. I would use it as a one-on-one read-aloud, when you have plenty of time to just talk about the pictures and what Marley is doing, in between reading the text.

 

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Lift-the-flap books are usually popular with the younger set, but this was a bit disappointing. Rather than the inside of each flap answering a question or in some way relating to the outside, the publishers just seem to have taken a regular picture book and alternated the pages that way. I think it would have worked better as a plain old picture book, as the story is still cute. Seymour disappears into a haunted house, and Splat and Spike must go in and find him. Again, I think this would work best as a one-on-one.

 

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Here's one I can recommend! C., in second grade now, has recently discovered seek-and-find books, so this one was right up his alley. The second in a series by Bruce Hale and Dave Garbot, the illustrations are not quite as tiny and detailed as Where's Waldo or Marzollo's I Spy books, but still busy enough to keep him searching for a bit. In the Seek and Solve series, readers are given pictures of suspects for some sort of crime, and follow a detective-type character as he searched for clues. These are summed up on a final page before the answer is revealed. A great start for those who might be frustrated by the other series we mentioned.

 

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Saving the best for last, this title by Marjorie Daniels Murray will be working its way into our read-aloud list. Silly and just a little bit creepy, an easy cadence loosely following the pattern of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Brandon Dorman's illustrations are wonderful, managing to be both colorful and dark atthe same time. Kids will enjoy picking out all the gory details (my favorite is the happy little rat peeking out of the soup du jour.)

 

Thank-you to HarperCollins for these Halloween treats!

New Picture Books from HarperCollins

I can't believe publishers are still sending me books. I have been SO sporadic this summer with my reviews, you woul think they would have written me off by now! Summer Reading and the book fair are over, though, and today I started my VACATION - so, hopefully, I'll be posting more than once a week again!

 

"Clark" seems to be a popular name for sharks in children's books. Go ahead, open a new window and google "Clark the shark". See what I mean? This, however, is the one you will want for your back-to-school crowd:

 

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Especially if the back-to-school crowd in your household happes to include a very enthusiastic 7-year-old boy. A sometimes TOO enthusiastic 7-year-old-boy. Who sometimes ends up breaking things and/or siblings as a result of his enthusiasm.

 

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

 

While there are some cheesy bits that may make the adults cringe, they are right up the intended audience's alley, and will hopefully get the message across with fun. It is also nice to see a child who might otherwise be seen as a bully, as someone who just needs to learn some boundaries. Hmm, maybe I should be recommending this for adults, as well.

 

While everyone LOVED the original Pete the Cat picture books, the junior readers were met with...a bit less favor.

 

Okay, they are terrible.

 

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It's hard to go wrong with a classic children's song, though, and Dean's illustrations bring a nice freshness. Children looking for new words of wisdom from Pete won't get them, but those into earworm songs will love it.

 

These two are available in stores now, and on the library shelves shortly!