The Best Pet of All

LaRochelle, David. 2004. THE BEST PET OF ALL. Ill. Hanako Wakiyama. New York: Dutton. ISBN 0525471294 [Suggested Grade Levels K-3]

REVIEW
A story about a young boy who wants a dog, and a mom who stands opposed, is a common theme that will resonate with all children. To this common tale, LaRochelle adds a twist, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the boy asks for a dog and his mother says, “no.” On Thursday, he asks for a dragon, and she replies with a qualified yes. Underestimating her son’s persistence, determination, and fantastical possibilities, she is surprised when he finds a willing dragon at the drugstore and more than a little dismayed when the creature turns out to be a difficult pet, roasting hot dogs in the living room and eating spaghetti in the bathtub. Luckily, the dragon is afraid of dogs, so at the boy’s suggestion they advertise their doggy need and are immediately answered by a willing pooch. The dragon leaves, the dog stays, and both the mother and son are overjoyed to finally have the “best pet of all.”

LaRochelle keeps his text simple, straight forward and often understated. This approach allows the illustrations to do their part in telling the story, and Wakiyama’s pictures do just that. Her retro style lends the characters an immediate sense of humor and her juxtaposition of fantastical elements with a realistically drawn setting makes the story at once whimsical and familiar. Also, her ability to imbue the characters emotion through a few cleverly drawn lines breathes life into the boy and his mother. THE BEST PET OF ALL works because LaRochelle’s text and Wakiyama’s illustrations complement each other at all times and derive much from a deceptively simple style.

CONNECTIONS
Reread the pages that tell about the dragon being a pain in the house. Brainstorm all of the problems that could accrue from having a dragon as a pet, and have each child draw a picture of a dragon being a pest and then let them share their pictures with each other.

RELATED BOOKS
Other books about pets:
Day, Alexandra. GOOD DOG CARL. ISBN 0671752049
Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. MY PENGUIN OSBERT. ISBN 0763616990
Schneider, Howie. CHEWY LOUIE. ISBN 0873587650

By Erin Miklauz

The Living Rain Forest: An Animal Alphabet

Kratter, Paul. 2004. THE LIVING RAIN FOREST. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. ISBN 1570916039 [Suggested Grade Levels 2-6]

REVIEW
From A to Z, the creatures of the rain forest are spotlighted in this coffee table worthy alphabet collection. E is for eagle, a harpy eagle to be precise, which swoops through the treetops hunting a variety of animals including monkeys, opossums, sloths, and snakes. O is for Okapi, which strips leaves from the branches with its long prehensile tongue. Y is for Yapok, an aquatic marsupial with webbed feet to help it swim. The animals come from a wide range of rainforest habitats, including Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, Australia, and the Hawaiian Islands.

From the Anteater to the Zorro, Paul Kratter covers the more unusual animals of the tropical rainforest. Each animal is allotted a double page spread, with habitat, diet and behavior information on the left, and a colorful, detailed illustration on the right. Also included are the animal’s Latin names and size in inches. Unusual words like resplendent, prehensile, and proboscis are defined after the passage in which they are used. Lots of white space on each page, and short digestible paragraphs that are easy to read offer a perfect starting place to spark further projects or rainforest research. Kratter includes a page detailing the various layers of the rainforest canopy, as well as end pages with a world map showing the location of the world’s tropical rain forests and a legend of each animal’s country of origin.

CONNECTIONS
Have children pick one of the animals in the book to learn more about and draw a picture. The animal drawings could be placed around the library or classroom to create a tropical rainforest habitat. Each child could “present” their animal, giving a few interesting facts.

Choose a different habitat and have children pick an animal to profile for an alphabet book. As a classroom/group project, or an ongoing library activity, each illustrated page would go into a compilation book of animals from A to Z.

RELATED BOOKS
Other books about the rainforest:
Brett, Jan. THE UMBRELLA. ISBN 0399242155
Cherry, Lynne. THE GREAT KAPOK TREE. ISBN 015200520X

By Tammy Korns

Margaux with an X

Koertge, Ron. 2004. MARGAUX WITH AN X. Cambridge. MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 0763624012 [Suggested Grade Levels 7 and up]

REVIEW
Margaux has a problem. She is drop-dead gorgeous and academically brilliant, but she is immensely unhappy. Her dad is a compulsive gambler and her mom is addicted to the shopping network on TV. These superficial adults have no inkling of what is going on with their daughter.

Margaux is tired of her life and Koertge hints in a series of foreshadowing events that she has endured something horrible. Neither of her parents is willing to listen to her. She accidentally meets Danny Riley who is an animal activist and a nerd. Each of them suffers a painful secret that is eventually confided. Their unlikely friendship propels the plot.

What makes MARGAUX WITH AN X such a standout is Koertge’s language. He has created a character that finds solace in words. Because of her love of language and her brilliance, words fall from her mouth as gracefully as poetry. In fact, the language here is more poetic than most verse novels. Danny, too, is good with words and provides Margaux a much needed break from boys who are overawed by her good looks: “She loves that he knows that word [incarnadine], has seen it in context, looked it up or divined its meaning, remembered it, found a place for it talking to her” (Koertge, 2004, 57).

The topic of characters at the opposite end of the social strata finding friendship is not a new one, but Koertge manages the juxtaposition of the two main characters with exquisite sensitivity. He never talks down to his audience, instead treating his characters with the intelligence and understanding that they deserve – a rare gem.

CONNECTIONS
Compile a vocabulary list of unfamiliar words used by Margaux and Danny. Try using them in sentences.

Compose blank verse using lines and phrases from the text.

RELATED BOOKS
Other books on abuse and family violence:
Mazer, Norma Fox. Silver. ISBN 0688068650
Oates, Joyce Carol. Freaky Green eyes. ISBN 0066237599

By Cay Geisler

Wonders and Miracles: A Passover Companion

Kimmel, Eric A. 2004. WONDERS AND MIRACLES: A PASSOVER COMPANION. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439071755 [Suggested Grade Levels 5-10]

REVIEW
This work is indeed a companion suitable for older children as well as young adults who want to understand why Passover is celebrated and why certain rituals take place. This book is a wonderful compilation of stories, illustrations, poems and commentary about a holiday that many non Jews may reduce to being the equivalent or comparable to Christmas but which is entirely different. The book’s text is presented in the order that a traditional seder takes place. Past the table of contents, the page facing it is a verse from Exodus: “It shall be that when you come to the land that God has promised, you shall serve this service….” Each section typically has a full color reproduced illustration taken from various times in history which depicts some aspect of Passover.

On a basic level there is a one page listing of the fourteen parts of the Seder meal that is a part of the Passover celebration followed by a description of the items of food which traditionally are on the “menu.” This counterpoises a few pages which take up Jewish mysticism or Soviet Jewry in the 1960s. These varied levels are recognitions from the author that there can be no sane way one book can cover so much material so the author attempts to present the most visually interesting and the most thoughtful stories rather than to present watered down material. In short this one book revels in the Passover as liberation which makes the resulting book both spiritually enriching but also socially thoughtful. The bibliography lists the most useful sources in the book’s creation. The index appears to include most major terms or concepts which are covered in the text itself. Matzel Tov indeed for such an outstanding creation.

CONNECTIONS
Gather a variety of books, both fiction and nonfiction, on cultural celebrations. Afterwards, the group will discuss what some of the common traits of all celebrations are and what makes certain ones especially unique.

RELATED BOOKS
Books about celebrations or holidays observed all over the world:
Livingston, Myra Cohn. CELEBRATIONS. ISBN 0823405508
Robson, Pam. HOW I CELEBRATE. ISBN 0761319522

By Andrea L. Williams

Kira-Kira

Kadohata, Cynthia. 2004. KIRA-KIRA. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689856393 [Suggested Grade Levels 5-8]

REVIEW
Told with humor and honesty, KIRA-KIRA is narrated by Katie Takeshima and tells the story of one Japanese-American family’s experiences in the fifties and sixties. The novel shares the family’s experiences with poverty, prejudice, illness, and death as Katie’s older sister is diagnosed with a terminal illness and slowly deteriorates before her family’s eyes. It is both painfully poignant and honest and at times laugh out loud funny.

The strength of Kira-Kira is the growth of the narrator Katie who ages from four to twelve during the course of the novel. As Katie experiences life’s harshness from prejudice to poverty to being the victim of school bullies and teasing, her narrative changes. Her relationship with her sister also changes over time. As a child, she absolutely idolized her sister. She literally believed every word her sister told her. As the sisters grow up, however, Katie learns that things can’t stay the same. Suddenly, her sister becomes more interested in spending time with friends her own age and even more shocking to Katie boys. Her sister no longer has time to play games with her; her interests have changed. It is about this time in her life, that Lynn becomes sick and slowly weakens and dies. Her sister’s death leaves a hole in her life and Katie is unsure of how to cope with all the changes and losses in her life. The novel is one of strength and hope despite its sadness.

CONNECTIONS
“Kira-Kira” is the Japanese word for “glittering.” Discuss its symbolism in KIRA-KIRA. What does the word or concept represent to Katie? How did her concept of the word change over time?

KIRA-KIRA shares one family’s experiences with prejudice. Read “Waiting at the Railroad Café” from GOOD LUCK GOLD and have readers compare that experience to occurrences in the novel. (For examples, see pp. 27, 34, etc.)

RELATED BOOKS
Other books about Asian-American families:
Na, An. A STEP FROM HEAVEN. ISBN 0142500275
Wong, Janet S. GOOD LUCK GOLD. ISBN 0689506171

By Becky Laney

Actual Size

Jenkins, Steve. 2004. ACTUAL SIZE. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618375945 [Suggested Grade Levels K-4]

REVIEW
The Goliath birdeater tarantula is 12 inches across and big enough to eat birds and small mammals! The giant anteater has a two-foot-long tongue! The giant squid’s body and tentacles can reach up to 59 feet long! Steve Jenkins highlights these and many other unique animals with his signature cut paper collage style. Several of the animals are too large for their entire body to be shown actual size, which merely reinforces their larger than life quality. The Siberian tiger is vivid orange, with fangs bared, and leaps out from the double-page spread. This “biggest of the big cats” is 14 feet nose to tail, and can weigh up to 700 pounds. The double-page spread of just teeth reads, “This is too close to a great white shark! A spectacular triple-page foldout reveals the world’s largest reptile, a man-eating, saltwater crocodile.

Jenkins illustrations are bold and colorful and invite the reader not only to read the book, but also to touch and experience the book as well. The pygmy mouse lemur and the gorilla both have hands like humans, and the life size gorilla hand invites readers to place their hand on the page for comparison. The end material gives more detailed information about each animal, including their habitat, eating habits, and different behaviors. Readers will learn that gorillas are vegetarians, Siberian tigers will eat porcupines if larger prey can’t be found, the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any animal, and the goliath frog can weigh up to seven pounds and doesn’t croak. Readers will enjoy the almost tactile sense of the pages, and the vast array of information about each animal.

CONNECTIONS
Children can trace their hands or feet, or lie down and have someone trace their whole body, to get a sense of their “actual size.” Have them write a caption with some unique feature about themselves.

RELATED BOOKS
Other books by Jenkins that could be compared to this one:
ANIMALS IN FLIGHT. ISBN 0618123512
SLAP, SQUEAK & SCATTER. ISBN 0618033769
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TAIL LIKE THIS? ISBN 0618256288

By Tammy Korns