A Gift For Mama
By Esther Hautzig
Published by The Viking Press
copyright 1981
56 Pages
Children's Chapter Book

Sara is tired of always making gifts for her mother on Mother's day so she decides to save up money and buy her mother a nice pair of slippers. To earn money, she mends clothing for some of her aunt's friends and when she has enough she buys the slippers. On Mother's day, she is so excited to give her mother the gift but is disappointed when her mother doesnt wear them. Later that day Sara's aunt and friends come over to dinner and they all show Sara's mother the mending she did on all of their clothes so that she could by the shoes. Her mother goes back into her room and comes out wearing the slippers.
I thought this book was very cute but it was a little too boring for me. I felt like it needed a little more depth. i dont think i would recomend this book unless someone asked me about it.
i dont see any problems coming from it.

The Sausy Boy
The Brave Tin Soldier
The Elf of the Rose
The Snowdrop
By Hans Christian Andersen
http://hca.gilead.org.il/
copyright 2007
Fairy tales

I have chosen the story of the Brave Tin Soldier. it is the story of a tin soldier who only has one leg because they ran out of melted tin to give him another leg. After the people in the house go to sleep, the toys come alive and the tin soldier notices a beautiful balarina princess. He gets up the nerve to go talk to her but is stopped by a goblin in a snuff-box who tells him to stay away from the princess. The soldier ignores him. the next day the soldier is placed by the window and nobody knows if the goblin had anything to do with it, but the soldier falls out the window. he is then picked up by some boys and put on a paper boat to sail down the road. He floats into a tunnel and when the paper boat falls apart sinks into the water. He in then swallowed up by a fish which is then caught and opened up by a cook that lives in the house he used to live in. He is then returned to his spot but one of the boys playing with him throws him into the fire. as he lay there melting, he stares up at the beautiful balarina and suddenly witha gush of wind she also comes flying into the fire. the next day when the maid is cleening out the fireplace she sees a small tin heart.
I absolutly love this story. it is one of my favorite books. I love that even though the melted, they melted together. You cant stop true love.
I would recomend this story to everyone. i baught the book and am saving it to read to my own children.
i see no problems with this story.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Runaway Pancake
The Giant Who Had No Heart In His Body
By Peter Asbjornsen
published by Harcourt, Brace and Company
copyright 1957
fairy tales

The three billy goats gruff is a cute story about three billy goats all named gruff. They are on their way to the meadow to eat and get fat when they come across a bridge. The littlest goat starts to cross when an ugly troll comes from under the bridge and threatens to eat the goat, but the littlest goat tells the troll that his brother is bigger than he is. the troll lets him pass and then threatens to eat the middle goat when he tries to cross. the middle goat tells the troll that his brother is even bigger than he is so the troll lets him cross. When the troll threatens to eat the biggest goat, the big goat pokes his eyes out with his horns and beats him into little pieces. then all three billy goat gruffs go to the meadow and get fat.
i really liked this story because i grew up on this story. i had it read to me so many times when i was a child and i love how smart the goats are.
i would recomend this book to everyone and i will read it to my children.
the only problem i see is the gore when the biggest goat kills the troll.

Blue Beard
The Master Cat or Puss in Boots
The fairies
Little Tom Thumb
By Charles Perrault
http://www.angelfire.com/nb/classillus/images/perrault/perra.html
Fairy tales

The fairy tale i chose from Perrault is The Fairies. It is a story about two sisters. The oldest is loved by the mother while the youngest, who is more beautiful, is hated and made to work all day. One day while fetching water from the stream, a fairie disguised as an old hag asks the beautiful daughter for a drink. When the daughter does, she tells the daughter that because of her kindness diomonds and precious stones will come out of her mouth when she speaks. When her wicked mother sees this she sends her oldest daughter to go out and give water to the old hag. The fairy disguises herslef as a beautiful woman this time and asks for water. The oldest daughter refuses to give her any water because she is waiting for an old hag. The fairy curses the oldest daughter so that whenever she speaks snakes and lizards come out of her mouth. The mother is so mad when she finds out that she blames it on the youngest daughter and goes to beat her, but the daughter has run off into the woods where she meets the Prince and he falls in love with her beauty. They get marries and the oldest daughter is trown out of the house and dies in the forest because no one will take her in.
I really liked this fairy tale because it the good daughter had to go through hard things but she was a good person and got her reward for it. I really liked the happily ever after. I would recomend this story to everyone and even read it to my kids.
i dont see any problems coming from this story.

Tom Tit Tot
The Golden Arm
The Rose Tree
The Fish and the Ring
By Joseph Jacobs
http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-1.html
copyright 2003
Fairytales

The story i have chosen for Jacobs is The Fish and the Ring. This is a story about a mighty baron who was also a magician. When his son was four years old he looked into the Book of Fate and saw that his son would marry a poor maiden. He went to the maidens house and when he saw that the parents already had five small children, he offerred to take the smallest girl and raise her. The parents agreed, and as soon as the parents were out of sight, the baron threw the child into the river. But the child's clothes kept her afloat untill a fisherman rescued her and raised her. Fifteen years later the baron was going hunting with some friends when he came upon the fisherman and the lovely girl who was now fifteen. The baron knows that she is the baby he threw overboard so he asks her to deliver a letter to his brother for him and offers her a large sum of money. She agrees and sets off to deliver the note. While she is sleeping, a group of robbers come across her. they read the note which says "Brother, when you get this note kill the messenger" the robbers felt bad for the poor beautiful maiden so they change the letter to "Brother when you get this note, marry this girl to my son" When the the girl delivers the note and the baron's brother reads it, he marries the girl and his nephew who was staying with him at the time. when the baron finds out that they have married, he takes the girl for a walk along some cliffs to the sea and tries to throw her over. When she begs for her life and promises to do anything he wishes, he takes his ring off of his finger and throws it into the water. he tells her that when she finds the ring she will be able to be with her husband again. She runs away and becomes a cook in a large catstle. One day the baron and his son visit the castle and she is in charge of cooking the meal for them. She starts to cut open a fish for cooking when she sees the ring in its belly. After the meal, the baron is so satisfied with the cook that he asks to see the cook to praise him. He is shocked to find out that the cook is the maiden and that she has his ring. She and the son live happily ever after.
I really love this story because the girl gets the guy in the end. its a happy ending even thought the story wasnt all that happy. i would recomend this story to everyone and i am goind to read it to all my children.
i dont see any problems in this book.

The Bremen Town Musicians
Brother and Sister
The Frog King
The Seven Ravens
By The Grimm Brothers
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/
copyright 1996
Fairytales

The Brothers Grimm fairytale i have chosen is The Frog King. It is a story about the youngest and most beautiful daughter of the King. She would always go out and play with her favorite golden ball. One day the ball rolls into the water and the Princess starts to cry. Hearing her cries, a frog shows up and asks why she is crying. When she explains that her favorite ball has rolled into the deep water, he agrees to get it for her on one conditions. She must love him and let him be her companion and sleep in her bed. She agrees and he soon comes back with her golden ball. The princess then runs back to the castle and forgets all about the frog. But he shows up later that night at suppertime and when the King finds out that she made a promise to the frog he tells her she must honor it. She brings him inside and lets him eat off of her plate, then she takes him upstairs to her room to sleep. The princess was to angry with the frog that she threw him against the wall. the frog then turns into a beautiful prince and explains that a wicked witch had turned him into a frog and that the princess was the only one who could break it. The next morning they are married.
I laughed really hard when i read the pard where she throws the frog against the wall and then turns into a prince. What a shock! This story is super cute and i love the happy ending. It was nice to read a Grimm story that didnt have gore or evil things. i would recomend this book to everyone and i dont see any problems coming from the story.

Sarah, Plain and Tall
By Patricia MacLachlan
Published by Herper & Row
copyright 1985
58 Pages
Children's Chapter Book

Sarah, Plain and Tall is a sweet story about a young girl and boy named Caleb and Anna, and their father Jacob. They lost their mother when Caleb was born and years later, Jacob puts an add in the newspaper for a wife. A woman named Sarah responds to the add and plans are made for her to come for a month to see if she would like to stay. The children are very excited to meet her, because she is from Maine and they hope she sings. When she arrives she brings seashells for them and tells them all about the sea. They get a little scared because they can tell she misses the sea and they dont want her to go home. They all teach Sarah things about running a farm and she in turn, shares stories about the sea and she sings. In the end, she decides to stay and marry Jacob.
I really liked this story because it was just so sweet and simple. Sarah is a really cool woman who can do almost anything, like mend a roof.
I would definitly recomend this book to everyone. I remember seeing the movie and i really liked it to.
i dont see and problems coming from this book.

Seedfolks
By Paul Fleischman
Published by Harper Trophy
Copyright 1997
69 Pages
Children's Chapter Book

Seedfolks is a book that talks about thirteen diferent people from completely different backgrounds that all come together when planting a garden in trash filled lot. Kim is a Vietamese girl who was born eight months after her father died. She never knew him and he never knew her. To try and make a connection with her father who loved to garden, she takes some lima beans and makes a little garden in the lot across the street. Little does she know that her small garden would start a networking of friendship. Ana is an old woman who never goes far from her window. One day she sees a small girl go out to the lot down the street and bury something. Ana, thinking its drugs or a gun, goes down after the girl leaves and digs the seeds up. When she sees that they're seeds she hurries and buries them again and noticing that the ground is a little dry she waters it for the girl. Wendell is the only white man in the building so he and Ana are pretty close. When Ana calles him to tell him that the girl's plants are dying, she asks Wendell for watch out for them because he knows about plants. He fills up a pitcher of water and goes downt to the lot to water them. As he's doing it, Kim comes by and sees him. They both stop and look at eachother and then Wendell smiles and finishes watering her beans. Then he backs off and watches her water them. He then decides that he wants a small garden too. The book goes on with Gonzalo, Leona, Sam, Virgil, Sae Young, Curtis, Nora, Maricela, Amir and Florence. They are all from different countries and all suffering different hardships, but they all start a little garden in the small lot and become friends. When the snow starts to fall they have to stop. Everyone is sad that they cant garden and see each other everyday. As soon as the snow melts away though, they are right back to gerdening.
I really liked this book and how it went through thirteen people's lives and how they were all changed because of the garden. I thought it was very creative.
I would recomend this book to anyone and i dont see any problems coming from reading it. its a really sweet book.

Hiroshima
By Laurence Yep
Published by Scholastic Inc.
copyright 1995
52 Pages
Children's Historical Fiction

Hiroshima is a book that goes through the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. It focuses on two sisters named Sachi and Riko. When the bomb is dropped, Riko who is working at the army headquarters, is killed, and Sachi is badly burned. So many people died that day but the number is unknown. Because it was an atomic bomb, those closes to the explosion just evaperated, leaving their shadow scorched on the pavement. Years after the bomb, many people died from the radiation. There are still people dying today because of it. Later after the U.s. and Japan became friendly towards each other, Japan allowed twenty girls affected by the bomb to go to the U.S. and have surgeries performed on them. They were called the Hiroshima Maidens and Sachi was one of them. The surgeries are succesful and Sachi returns home unashamed of how she looks now.
The book was very informational. It was like reading a non-fiction. It helped me understand more about the atomic bomb and how it affects people. I had no idea it was that bad.
I would recomend this book, but to an older child who loves history because it was a little gruesome.
The only problem i see is when they talk about the dead and how many the bomb killed.

Love You Soldier
By Amy Hest
Published by Puffin Books
Copyright 1991
47 Pages
Children's Chapter Book

This story is about a seven year old girl named Katie. Her father is shipped of to war during the second world war. At the train station, when they're saying goodbye, her father buys both her and her mother a rose and then he leaves. The next couple of months go by and Katie doesnt like hearing her mother cry at night. She writes her father every week and he writes both of them back. One day, her mother's old friend comes to visit. She is pregnat and her husband is also serving. Katie and her mother invite Louise to stay with them. She does and when its time for the baby to come, Katie has to walk with her all the way to the hospital in a blizzard because there are no taxi cabs. Katie starts helping taking care of the baby and soon starts seeing it as her siser. One day Louis's brother,Sam, comes and visits. He and Katie really get along but then he has to go back to the war. Years go by until one day when a message comes to Katie's mother that her father was killed in action. Her mother is devistated and Katie has a hard time accepting it. When Louis's husband comes back from the war he takes Louise and the baby back home so then it was just Katie and her mom. Then Katie gets a letter from Sam, he's living on a ranch in Texas. Katie finds out that Sam and her mother have been writing to eachother and she refuses to write back to Sam because she doesnt want her mother to love him. After a while she sends him a letter and her mother informs her that they are starting over, and that they're moving to Texas. Katie realizes that her mother still loves her father but that she has fallen in love with Sam and thats ok. She likes seeing her mother happy. They move to Texas and when they pull into the train station, Sam has a rose for both Katie and her mother.
I almost cried when i read this book, i love it so much. it is such a tender book full of emotion.
I would receomend this book to everyone. when i was finished reading it, i made all my roommates read it too.
i see absolutely so problems coming from this book.

The Jazz Man
By Mary Hays Weik
Published by Aladdin Paperbacks
Copyright 1966
42 Pages
Chilrens's Book

Th Jazz Man is a story about a young boy named Zeke who lives in Harlem. Everyday he sits by the window and watches the window across the street waiting for any signs of life. One day he sees a piano being brought up into the room and a man sits down and starts playing it. Zeke's father calls him a jazz man because of the type if music he plays. Zeke and his mother and father sit by the window everynight listening to the Jazz Man and his band play. It makes them feel happy even thought they are going through a rough time. Zeke's father is unemployed and his mother is always working. One day his mother holds him on her lap until he falls asleep and when he wakes up she's gone. He waits all day but she never comes in from work. Zeke and his father try to carry on without her but his father starts drinking and coming home late. Then one day his father doesnt come home. Zeke is left alone for a couple days. One night he realizes that he has forgotten all about the Jazz Man and how the music used to make him feel happy. He goes downstairs and outside. Across the street he notices a building with musice coming out of if. When he walks in, he sees the Jazz Man and his band playing. Everyone turns to look at him and smile as if they've been waiting for him. Suddenly his father wakes him up and he realizes it was a dream. But was isnt a dream was his mother standing next to his father. His father had left to go find his mother and now they were all back together again.
When i first started reading this book i was a little sceptic at first. I didnt like the fact that the mother left or that the father started drinking and then he too took off. but the end is so good and it brings everyone back together. i also love how the jazz music that the Jazz Man played really affected everyone's attitudes.
I would recomend this book to anyone. i really liked it.
The only problems i see are the fact that the parents left and Zeke was by himself for days.

Frog and Toad are Friends
By Arnold Lobel
Published by Harper & Row
Copyright 1970
64 Pages
Children's Book

Frog and Toad are the best of friends and are always there for eachother. In the first story Frog is excited for spring and wakes Toad up. But Toad wants to sleep until May so he goes back to sleep. Frog, not wanting to be alone till May, goes over to the calender and turns it to May. He then wakes up Toad and the two of them go out to play. The second story is about Toad trying to tell Frog a story while he is sick in bed. Toad tries so hard to think of a story that he ends up getting sick, so the two switch places and Frog ends up telling Toad a story. Toad loses his button in the third story and makes Frog look everywhere for it. They find so many different buttons but none of them belong to Toad's jacket. When toad storms off to his house he sees his button laying on the floor. He feels so bad that he made Frog look for it that he takes all the other buttons and sews them on to his jacket. Then he gives the jacket to Frog. The fourth story is all about how Toad is too embarrased to show anyone his swimming suit that he makes Frog make all the other animals go away. But they are too curious to go away that they all stay and wait for Toad to get out of the water. When he finally does, everyone laughs at him because his swimsuit does look funny. Finally the last story in the book is about how Toad gets sad everyday at mail time because he never gets any mail. Frog goes home and writes Toad a letter, then he gives it to the snail to deliver it. Frog hurries over to Toads house to see his face when he gets a letter but the snail is taking too long. Finally Frog just tells Toad that he wrote him a letter and Toad is very happy. Four days later the snail finally delivers the letter.
I used to read Frog and Toad all the time when i was little and i loved them. i am happy to say that i still do. They are just cute little stories that have good morals to them.
the reading is easy enough that i would recomend this book to children who are just learning to read. i am sure they would enjoy them.
I dont see any problems coming from reading this book.

The Spiderwick Chronicles
Book Two: The Seeing Stone
By Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Pulished by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Copyright 2003
108 Pages
Children's Fantasy
Chapter Book

Book two in the Spiderwick Chronicles is about Jared and Mallory trying to save their brother Simon when he is taken by goblins. Unfortunatly thay cant see any of the goblins, or any other magical creature for that matter unless they find a magic eyepiece. When they find it, they go in search of Simon and encounter many scary creatures like trolls and griffins. They finally rescue Simon with the help of a hobgoblin and take a griffin home because it is injured. The hobgoblin spits in each of their eyes which then allows them to see everything without the eyepiece. the book ends when they get home at one in the morning and are grounded by their mother because they couldnt come up with a good excuse for missing.
I loved this book almost as much as i loved the first book. These books are just so funny and creative. The authors put a cool twist on the creatures. The books are short and simple but so much fun.
I would recomend this book to anyone and i see no problems coming from this series.

Missing May
By Cynthia Rylant
Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
Copyright 1992
88 Pages
Children's Chapter Book

Missing May is a story about a girl named Summer who at the age of six goes and lives with her aunt and uncle after her parents die. Six years later her aunt May dies and her uncle Ob has a hard time dealing with it. He feels that May is there trying to communicate with him. Summer's weird friend Cletus gives Ob the idea to drive three hours away to a woman who can communicate with those who have passed on. They take a little road trip and soon knock on the woman's door only to find out by her nephew that she died. Ob is heartbroken and Summer doesnt know what to do. On the drive back, Ob suddenly decided to stop by the Capital and spend the day sight seeing. When they got back home, Ob was diferent. He was happy and smiling. He was finally starting to get over his wife's death and start living again with Summer.
This book was a sweet story about learning to let go after a loved one passes on. Both Ob and Summer had to do it, but they did it in their own way.
I wouldnt go out of my way to recomend this book, just because it was a little boring. But if someone asked me about it i would tell them that it is a sweet story.
the only problem i see from this book is someone might have a problem with the fact that Ob wants to communicate with his dead wife, and there are a couple swear words.

The Devil's Arithmetic
By Jane Yolen
Published by Puffin Books
Copyright 1988
166 Pages
Historical Fiction

This book is a gripping story of a girl names Hannah. On the day that she and her family are celebrating Passover, she is chosen to be the one to open the door for the prophet Elijah. She then is taken back in time to 1942 Poland where she is Chaya and living with her aunt and uncle. The next day the Nazis gather up the small village and ship them off to a concentration camp. Hannah qickly learns to keep silent and not to question anything. She is amazed at the horrors that she sees. From the gas chambers to the ovens. She makes friends with other women, only to have them "chosen" as the Nazis call it, and taken to the "cave" which is the ovens. She witnesses her uncle being shot and children being taken away, never to be seen again. She soon loses track of the days and starts to forget her real life and family. One day, she is talking with some girls that she has made friends with, when the guards "choose" her three friends. Hannah quickly switches places with one of the girls and her and her two other friends are marched off towards the "cave". She tells the girls stories to calm them down and as she enters the "cave", she is then brought back to her time and her family. She then has a greater respect for her grandfather who survived the campsa and learns that Chaya was a real person who sacrificed herself for her friend.
I read this book when i was in fifth grade but reading it again really made me think. i really dont remember it being that graphic. I think that this book is an excellent book to help understand what happened in the concentration camps. It is descriptive but not too bad that it would gove someone nightmares.
i would definitly recomend this book, but to an older child who wouldn't be so scared of all the facts.
the only problems i see coming from this book is that maybe parents wouldnt want their child reading a book that talked about death and the horrendous things the Nazis did to the Jews.
i would like to see the movie that they made based on this book and see how they portray the camps.

Knuffle Bunny Too
By Mo Williams
Published by Hyperion Books for Children
40 Pages
Children's Picture Book

Trixie is back with her beloved Knuffle Bunny but this time she's older and headed to preschool. She is so excited to show all her friends Knuffle Bunny but is shocked to see that Sonja also has a Knuffle Bunny. They start fighting and soon the teacher takes both bunnies away until school was over. Later that night, Trixie is trying to fall asleep but she cant. Then she realizes that the Kunffle Bunny she is sleeping with is not, in fact, her Knuffle Bunny. She wakes up her parents and demands that this problem gets fixed. Just then the phone rings, it is Sonja's father saying that he has Trixie's bunny. Arrangements are made and they soon set off in the middle of the night to meet with Sonja and her father to switch the bunnies back. The next day at school the girls become friends decide to play with eachother's Knuffle Bunny.
I really cant get over these books. I love the story and the illistrations. Just like the first Knuffle Bunny book, the pictures are real but they have the characters drawn into them. Its so smart and creative.
I would definitly recomend this book to everyone and its one that i would like to have myslef.
i see no problems coming from this book at all.

Laugh Till You Cry
By Joan Lowery Nixon
Published by Random House
99 Pages
Children's Chapter Book
Fiction

When thirteen year old Cody's grandmother gets sick, he and his mother move into her house to take care of her. His cousin Hayden, who lives next door starts picking on Cody until one day, while Cody is running away from Hayden, he meets a police officer/stand up comedian who pays Cody for his jokes. His friendship with the officer comes in handy when Cody is blamed for calling the school and making a bomb threat. Cody beleives it is his cousin that is trying to frame him and sets out to prove it because no one will beleive him. After doing a little detective work he discovers that his cousin, is in fact, involved with the threats being made to the school. Cody uncovers the truth just in time to save his cousin from blowing up the gym with a smoke bomb and clearing his name. Afterwards, he and his cousin become friends and he starts making friends at school.
I liked this book but it wasn't my favorite. It was kinda short and didnt have a whole lot of depth. But it had a sweet message of family.
If someone asked me about the book I would say it was a good read but i wouldnt really recomend it to anyone.
i dont see any probems with this book.

Holes
Louis Sachar
Published by Frances Foster Books
Copyright 1998
233 pages
Children's Chapter Book
Fiction

Stanley Yelnats and his family believe that their family has been cursed because of their no-good-dirty-rotton-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather who forgot to take madame Zeroni up the hill to drink of the stream. One day a pair of shoes fall from the sky and hit him in the head. He gets arrested for stealing and sent to a camp for boys. The boys there dig holes to build character. There he meets a boy named Zero. After they are mistreated, the boys run off and try to survive in the desert. While out there, Stanley starts to uncover the truth about the feared outlaw Kissin Kate Barlow, who robbed his great grandfather, and why they are digging holes. The warden is looking for Kissin Kate Barlow's burried treasure. They survive on onions and Stanley breaks the curse put on his family by carring Zero, who is Madame Zeroni's great great grandson, up the mountain and letting him drink from the stream. They go back down to camp to try and dig up the lost treasure and find it, but they are discovered by the Warden. They are saved by the feared Yellow Spotted Lizards, which are deadly but dont like onions so they dont bite the boys, they just stick around and give Stanley's attorney enough time to come and pick him up. His name has been cleared and Zero actually confesses to the crime. They also find out that the buried treasure is actually Stanley's great grandfather's so he gets to keep it and he and his family become wealthy.
I love this book because not only is it really funny, but it is so unpredictable. Everything in the book ties together in the end.
I would recomend this book to everyone because it is really good at staying away from sides.
I dont see any problems coming from this book.

Bridge to Terabithia
By Katherine Peterson
Published by Thomas Y. Crowell Company
Copyright 1977
128 Pages
Children's Chapter book

This is a story about a boy named Jesse who wishes to be the fastest runner in his fifth grade class. He practises all summer only to be beaten by Leslie, the new girl who nobody likes. They soon become friends and create a wonderful kingdom called Terabithia. Jesse has a lot of problems going on at home. his father never gives Jesse any acknowledgment that he cares about him. His mother is always cranky and watching t.v. and his sisters are the biggest brats in the world except his little sister May Belle. One day he gets a bad feeling about meeting Leslie at Terabithia, so he accepts an invitation from him favorite teacher to go to a museum and doesn't invite Leslie. When he gets home, he finds out that Leslie died while swimming in Terabithia. He has a hard time accepting her death and then decides to work on Terabithia so that his sisters can play there.
I am still trying to get over this book. It really plays on your emotions. I was surprised at how deep it was when dealing with death and emotions surrounding it.
I would recomend this book to someone who is a little older who understands death and life.
Problems that see with this book would be the language. The characters swear and take the Lord's name quite often.
I am really interested in seeing the movie.