Nic Bishop Frogs

How often does someone with a PhD write an interesting and attractive book for kids? I haven't found many, and this one, frankly, was fantastic. The photos are incredible (Nic Bishop is also an outstanding photographer and raised many of the frogs pictured in the book) and the text is informative and interesting. I learned a lot about frogs and enjoyed myself. When I showed the kids the book, there were instant requests to check it out.
A few months ago, Mr. Bishop published Nic Bishop Spiders, which is also good, but if you are squeamish about spiders, be warned! You'll see every eye or even hair on the spider, and you'll see a dragonfly becoming lunch, among other spectacular and detailed photos. (Many of the kids think these are fantastic details, of course, and we nearly had a fistfight over the book this morning. Yikes!)

Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley

I have read and enjoyed many of Robin McKinley's books (in fact, I've lost count of how many times I've read The Hero and the Crown), so I was excited to start this one. Unfortunately, I have to admit that if I hadn't read any of her other books, I would have given up after about 40 pages. The beginning is very slow (and the word "like" is used way too often and in all the wrong places. I've NEVER heard a kid talk this way!) The plot is an interesting one, though. 14-year-old Jake goes alone on an overnight stay in the dragon preserve his father runs and finds a dying dragon mother and a soon-to-be-orphaned newborn dragon. He takes the baby to try to keep it alive, but apparently saving the life of a dragon is a serious federal crime. So Jake has a serious dilemma: he can't let the dragon die, but he has to make sure that no one finds out what he is up to. But it took 50 or 60 pages before Jake even meets the dragons, so I wonder how many people even make it through to the fascinating and intricate main plot?. I'm not sure if any of my 5th or 6th graders would be interested in the book. Any comments or suggestions?

Hurricane Force: In the Path of America's Deadliest Storms

HURRICANE FORCE: IN THE PATH OF AMERICA'S DEADLIEST STORMS; Joseph B. Treaster; New York: Kingfisher, 2007; 128 pgs.
In this gripping and informative book, Joseph Treaster shares his own experiences with hurricanes, both as a young man growing up in Florida, and as a reporter for the New York Times. His account of trying to get into New Orleans as everyone else was leaving during Hurricane Katrina, and then trying to find a safe place to ride out the storm, is frightening and suspenseful--great non-fiction reading for middle-graders and up. What sets this book apart from most others in the genre is that it deals less with the science of hurricanes than it does with forecasting and logistics. Katrina, Camille, Andrew, along with the Galveston monster of 1900, the deadliest of all, fill these pages with fascinating stories of disasters suffered and averted.

Who Was First? Discovering the Americas

WHO WAS FIRST? DISCOVERING THE AMERICAS; Russell Freedman; New York: Clarion, 2007; 88pgs. Non-fiction.
Russell Freedman has done it again with this elegant volume about the "discovery" of the New World. He begins with Christopher Columbus (clearly not the first) and works his way back through the Chinese admiral Zheng He (who gave us the Seven Voyages of Sinbad under his alternate name, Sin-Bao), to the Vikings, and to the Native Americans who are thought to have come across a land bridge from Asia, or by sea from Africa. Eye-catching photographs and drawings complement Freedman's typically readable, even fascinating, text. What might be of most value to history-minded youngsters is that much of the research in support of Chinese and Viking arrivals in America has been done by "obsessed amateurs," people who believed in earlier arrivals and searched out the evidence for themselves. It might have been helpful had Freedman explained to his readers that human life is supposed to have originated in Africa, so that they would know why settlers had to come to the New World, but that is a quibble in an otherwise very fine text.

Violet Bing and the Grand House

VIOLET BING AND THE GRAND HOUSE; Jennifer Paros; New York: Viking, 2007; 106pp. Intermediate

Violet Bing, seven going on eight, says "no" to lots of things--lumpy pancakes, going swimming, eating out. In fact, Violet's mantra is "I don't want to go anywhere or do anything," which is why, when she refuses to go on vacation with her family, she is sent to stay with Aunt Astrid at the Grand House. (Whatever happened to "Quit whining and get in the car," one wonders?). In any case, Violet refuses all adventures with Aunt Astrid, too, saying she doesn't have time, but when she finds the time to help a neighbor girl catch a dog, things slowly begin to change. Ms. Paros dedicates her book to " . . . Those Who Don't Get Out Much But Who Really Ought. . . ," and the point is well taken (and presented) in this delightful beginning chapter book about a very cautious little girl.

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous

Merilee Monroe is a 13-year-old who keeps a very strict schedule (her Very Ordered Existence, or V.O.E.) and doesn't quite fit in with her peers. The reviews say that she has Asperger's, but this is never mentioned in the book. A poet moves to their small Texas town with his 8-year-old son Biswick who has fetal alcohol syndrome (this is actually mentioned near the end of the book; previously everyone refers to him as retarded.) Biswick latches on to Merilee and disrupts her V.O.E., which she eventually comes to accept. The town has a fabulous cast of characters: one woman wishes she were Audrey Hepburn, so she always dresses like Audrey from her movies; two sisters have been feuding so long that they have to schedule days to come into town so they don't overlap; Biswick's daddy is often found passed out drunk, once in the cemetery; and Merilee's family includes a crotchety grandma and a mysterious uncle. The book might be too slow-moving for some, but it is just a simple story about life and families and love and being different. I loved it.

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider is back in his 7th novel, Snakehead. This book picks up with Alex in Australia (where he crash-landed at the end of Ark Angel.) This time, the Australians want to get a piece of the action. They use Alex to infiltrate a snakehead (a criminal organization found in Southeast Asia) to find out how they are smuggling people into Australia. We finally learn more about Alex's parents and how they died, as Alex finally gets to meet and work with his godfather. All in all, it was a good book, although I preferred Ark Angel. My main gripe is that Alex always knows the answer to everything. He beats the snakehead's highly accomplished (and much more skilled than Alex) martial-arts expert, knows just what to do when his boat goes over a huge waterfall, and puts together some spare electrical wires (in the middle of the jungle, no less) to bypass a missing battery and send a signal out to MI6. It gets kind of obnoxious when the 14-year-old needs no help, and always saves the day, but it's still a fun read.