Book Bites -- November 2011
by Houston Family Magazine
HCPL Book Reviews — November 2011
Toddlers (Ages 1 – 3)
Big Brothers Don’t Take Naps by Louise Borden
Little brother Nick lists all the wonderful things his big brother does with him, preparing him to greet the new baby in the family.
Woof Meow Tweet-Tweet by Cecile Boyer
This book presents a humorous account of the differences between dogs, cats, and birds, detailing the sounds they make, how they behave, and what happens when they all meet.
Little Pig Joins the Band by David Hyde Costello
When Little Pig tries to join his grandpa, brothers, and sisters in a marching band, he discovers that, although he is too small for any of the available instruments, he can still play an important role.
Picture Books (Pre-K – K)
ZooZical by Judy Sierra
When the winter doldrums arrive at the zoo, a very small hippo and a young kangaroo decide to stage a “ZooZical,” a show to display their singing, dancing, acrobatic, and other assorted talents to the people of Springfield. Joyous enough to brighten anyone’s mood.
School for Bandits by Hannah Shaw
Ralph Raccoon looks perfectly normal, but he doesn’t act normal at all. He’s disturbingly well-behaved: clean and tidy, shockingly polite…he even brushes his teeth! Mr. and Mrs. Raccoon are worried—how will Ralph ever become a great raccoon bandit like Grandpa Cutlass and Uncle Whiskers? It’s time Ralph learned some bad manners at the School for Bandits.
Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis
At the playground, Lulu asks her friend Sam if he wants to play with her. They have trouble agreeing on what to play, until they share their compatible superheroes. They figure out that when they work together, they can create fun games that they both like to play.
Early Readers (Grades 1 – 3)
Sleeping Bootsie by Maribeth Boelts
A former stray, Bootsie is the beloved royal cat until a spell cast by a mean fairy causes her to fall into a deep sleep, and only “her happiest sound” will awaken her.
Fred and Ted’s Road Trip by Peter Eastman
Dogs Fred and Ted pack up their cars and go on a road trip, and their different ways of doing things have interesting results.
Lottie Paris Lives Here by Angela Johnson
Lottie Paris dresses up, plays on the slide, and eats cookies instead of vegetables. She loves to imagine new things and sees boundless possibilities in the simplest daily activities. A day in the life of a little girl who knows how to let her imagination take flight!
Children’s Fiction (Grades 4 – 6)
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer
Twelve-year-olds Duncan Dorfman, April Blunt, and Nate Saviano meet at the Youth Scrabble Tournament where, although each has a different reason for attending and for needing to win, they realize that something more important is at stake than the grand prize.
Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice
When twelve-year-old Eric’s parents are deployed to Iraq, he goes to live with grandparents he hardly knows in small-town North Dakota. When his grandfather’s hostility and the threat of losing the dog he has rescued are too much, Eric runs away.
Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham
Top-notch Boy Scout Max “the Wolf” cannot remember how he came to be in a strange forest, but soon he and three talking animals are on the run from the Blue Cutters, hunters who will alter the foursome’s very essence if they can catch them.
Teen Fiction and Nonfiction (Ages 12+)
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff
Fifteen-year-old Andrew Zansky, the second-fattest student at his high school, joins the varsity football team in order to get the attention of a new girl on whom he has a crush. His story of transformation is both funny and moving.
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Rory Deveaux, a teen from Louisiana, is spending a year at a London boarding school when she witnesses a murder by a Jack the Ripper copycat and becomes involved with the very unusual investigation.
Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
Seventeen-year-old Agnes Wilkins is about to make her debut into 1815 London society at a lavish party, where she meets Lord Showalter, a wealthy and eligible man who collects Egyptian antiquities and who is hiding a dangerous secret.
