Tsunami: Review Haiku

Topical drama!
But time shifts, bland prose dull it.
A good read, not great.

Tsunami: The True Story of an April Fools' Day Disaster by Gail Lange Karwoski. Darby Creek, 2006, 64 pages.

A Cybils nominee.

I'm Still Scared: Review Haiku

Small scale, big feelings.
Memories are powerful --
but truly nonfic?

I'm Still Scared: A 26 Fairmount Avenue Book by Tomie DePaola. Putnam, 2006, 83 pages.

A Cybils nominee.

Part of Me: Review Haiku

Sweet but uneven,
this love letter to books: great
librarian gift.

Part of Me: Stories of a Louisiana Family by Kimberly Willis Holt. Holt, 2006, 208 pages.

Something Out of Nothing: Review Haiku

Groundbreaking Curie
discovered, suffered, and fought.
Too bad book is dull.

Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium by Carla Killough McClafferty. FSG, 2006, 134 pages.

A Cybils nominee.

Freedom Walkers: Review Haiku

Freedman scores again:
Strong, elegant intro to
civil rights movement.

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman. Holiday House, 2006, 114 pages.

A Cybils nominee. Correction: Cybils 2006 MG/YA Nonfiction Winner.

One Kingdom: Review Haiku

Of mice and men and
dolphins, too: thought-provoking,
but focus muddy.

One Kingdom: Our Lives with Animals by Deborah Noyes. HMCo, 2006, 144 pages.

A Cybils nominee.

The Wand in the Word: Review Haiku

Fantasy writers
sound off on craft, childhoods.
Great read, but for kids?

The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy by Leonard Marcus. Candlewick, 2006, 202 pages.

A Cybils nominee.

Isaac Newton: Review Haiku

Genius or weirdo?
Krull shows us apple target's
a little of both.

Isaac Newton (Giants of Science) by Katheen Krull. Viking, 2006, 126 pages.

A Cybils nominee.

You Can Get Arrested for That: Review Haiku

If they were older,
would this have been funnier?
Not bloody likely.

You Can Get Arrested for That: 2 Guys, 25 Dumb Laws, 1 Absurd American Crime Spree by Rich Smith. Three Rivers, 2006, 243 pages.

83

All right, I'm game.

The rules: Mark the selections you have read in bold. If you liked it, add a star (*) in front of the title, if you didn't, give it a minus (-). Then, put the total number of books you've read in the subject line.

*Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
-The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
*Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
-The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (Even as a child I hated the pointless anarchy.)
*Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
-Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
-The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (ooh, Christian allegory for toddlers!)
*The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
*Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (sob)
The Mitten by Jan Brett
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (only as a parent, not as a kid)
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
*Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
-Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
-Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss (sadly, I confess I also have the "in utero" version. It was a gift, I swear!)
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr. (teacher always creeps me out)
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
*How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
*Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
*Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The BFG by Roald Dahl
*The Giver by Lois Lowry
-If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
*James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
*Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
*The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
-The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (gaaaaaak)
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
*Corduroy by Don Freeman
-Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
*Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
*Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (I. Am. Ramona.)
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
*The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (luuuuuurve)
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
*The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titus
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
*Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
*Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes (though I love JULIUS more)
*Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
*Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Stuart Little by E. B. White
*Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
-Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
*Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (the Munchkin was Emily Elizabeth for Halloween this year)
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
*The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
-Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (No, don't guess. Please.)
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

American Born Chinese: Review Haiku

No NBA, but
powerful, uncomfortable
identity quest.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. First Second, 2006, 233 pages. Cybils 2006 Graphc Novel: YA Winner.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: Review Haiku

Commies and TVs
and beer, oh my! Reliving
idyllic fifties.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. Broadway, 2006, 270 pages.

All Mortal Flesh: Review Haiku

Father Tim, she ain't.
Unorthodox -- but killer?
Sucker punch at end.

All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming. St. Martin's, 2006, 322 pages.

Storky: Review Haiku

Dork-tude, lost love, and
boners (physical, mental).
Perfect teen boy angst.

(And I'm not just saying that because the author once commented on this blog.)

Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl by D. L. Garfinkle. Putnam, 2005, 192 pages.

I Like You: Review Haiku

Like a good party:
Exhaustively detailed, yet
easy to enjoy.

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris. Warner, 2006, 304 pages.

Life's Little Annoyances: Review Haiku

Ever wanted to
Exact revenge on the world?
These folks show you how.

Life Little Annoyances: True Tales of People Who Just Can't Take It Anymore by Ian Urbina. Times Books, 2006, 191 pages.

Kiki Strike: Review Haiku

Under Manhattan,
pre-teen girls' A-Team fights crime.
Slooooooow start, fast finish.

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller. Bloomsbury, 2006, 250 pages.