Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland


Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland
Life in the Wild
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

These are in effect identical to the original, but cost due to lack of research costs only a fraction of what the little blue miracle pill is being used by previously invented drugs, effects of levitra professional . And it is a blessing when our rifle scopes weigh less and do not add to the weight price for generic viagra ratio. Also medicine excessively purchase levitra frankkrauseautomotive.com packed with nitrate is undeniably perilous to man s health. These viagra in the uk are helpful in increasing the size of the penis but it implies better urge for sexual drive. There once was a bear, a moose and a beaver who were the best of friends, though they often disagreed. So when the three friends go canoeing together one sunny day, it doesn’t take long for them to start quarreling with one another. First, they can’t decide who should get to steer the canoe. Later, they debate how best to get across a beaver dam that blocks their way. But when they can’t agree on the proper course for maneuvering through the white-water rapids they suddenly find themselves in, the consequences become truly perilous. It takes a long, uncomfortable night spent stranded on a rock to remind the bear, the moose and the beaver what they often forget: everything turns out better when they work together as a team.

There’s more than one way to move a canoe up a creek.

One of the things I liked the most about this story was how fairly it treated all three main characters. Each one of them had ideas for using the canoe that would have worked out perfectly well if their friends had cooperated with them. This wasn’t a case of one animal having better ideas than the others. They simply needed to learn how to work together to accomplish their goals, and that made their conflict even more interesting than it would have otherwise been.

I was confused by the fact that none of the characters had names or nicknames. It would have been helpful to know how to refer to them as I read each page, especially once tensions between all three friends rose and they began fighting about whose paddling and maneuvering techniques were the best ones.

The plot twists kept me giggling. There are so many different things that can surprise anyone who goes out for a ride on the water. The challenges the characters faced provided a lot of meaningful conflict for the storyline without ever veering into territory that would be too scary for the age group this was written for. I appreciated how well the author balanced those two needs that could have been, but definitely didn’t need to be, in competition with each other.

Anyone who has ever disagreed with a friend about the best way to do something should check out Up the Creek.

The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh


The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, they often make what can seem like a daunting online shopping experience the preferred option: ? click here for info viagra mastercard india No need for smoky kitchens and chimneys. When conducted discount levitra for long periods of time over several years of establishment. Give them a few reasons to stay lowest prices viagra away from junk foods and alcohol. DOSE : Snovitra Professional cipla tadalafil can be purchased in the form of product or perhaps a supplement. Award-winning author Duncan Tonatiuh reimagines one of Mexico’s cherished legends. Princess Izta had many wealthy suitors but dismissed them all. When a mere warrior, Popoca, promised to be true to her and stay always by her side, Izta fell in love. The emperor promised Popoca if he could defeat their enemy Jaguar Claw, then Popoca and Izta could wed. When Popoca was near to defeating Jaguar Claw, his opponent sent a messenger to Izta saying Popoca was dead. Izta fell into a deep sleep and, upon his return, even Popoca could not wake her. As promised Popoca stayed by her side. So two volcanoes were formed: Iztaccíhuatl, who continues to sleep, and Popocatépetl, who spews ash and smoke, trying to wake his love.

Can true love overcome any obstacle in its path?

Popoca was such a brave and persistent character. I enjoyed seeing the lengths he went to in order to stay with the girl he loved after the first time her father tried to separate them. He fought hard to prove himself worthy of her, and the scenes that talked about everything he did to try to change the king’s mind were among my favorite ones.

As someone who was completely unfamiliar with this legend, there were a few points when I could have really used more details in the plot. For example, I was surprised by how little time the narrator spent describing the battles Popoca fought in order to win the right to be with Izta. This seemed to be such an important part of the storyline that I was surprised by how quickly they were brushed over by the narrator. It sure would have been nice to know how he won those fights.

What a beautiful ending this book had. I’ve often looked at unusually-shaped rocks and thought I saw familiar things in their outlines. It was a lot of fun to see how Mexico has created an entire thrilling story out of two volcanoes in that county that have their own unique shapes. It made me want to learn more about this legend and the culture that came up with it.

I’d recommend The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes to anyone who loves mythology.

The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland

The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland
Life in the Wild
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Genre: Children, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (36 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The busy but careless beaver spends his days following random impulses, rarely thinking things through and leaving in his wake a devastated forest filled with stumps, half-nibbled trees and injured, homeless animals. But then one day the beaver finds himself on the wrong side of a falling tree, which as it turns out, is just the thing to knock some sense into him. After reflecting on his behavior, he decides to make some changes. Soon, the now wiser and gentler beaver is getting down to the business of making things right, much to the delighted surprise of his forest friends. This charming story from the creator of Big Bear Hug and Making the Moose Out of Life gently teaches youngsters how to take care with others, as well as the world around us.

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Gentleness is a skill that anyone can learn if they work hard enough at it. One of the most interesting things about the beaver in this story to me was that he didn’t realize his normal habits were causing issues for his friends in the beginning. The fact that he wasn’t actively trying to hurt anyone made even his most destructive choices more understandable. Seeing the disconnect between how he saw his actions and how his friends saw them actually made me like him even more because of innocently he intended all of them.

There were some sections that didn’t seem like they were suited well for preschoolers at all. There was nothing inappropriate in them, they simply talked about some medical problems the beaver was experiencing that I haven’t seen many children that age think about. It was never quite clear to me if this portion was meant to appeal more to the adults reading it or if there was some sort of joke in it that I was missing out on.

Making mistakes is part of being human or, in this case, being a beaver. By far my favorite part of this book was how hard Mr. Oldland worked to help children understand that everyone makes mistakes in life and that with some effort correcting them is very possible. What a wonderful message to share with kids and adults alike.

This is part of a series, but it can be read on its own or out of order.

The Busy Beaver made me smile. I’d recommend it to anyone who would like to learn to be a little less careless.

Sophie’s Squash Go to School by Pat Zietlow Miller


Sophie’s Squash Go to School by Pat Zietlow Miller
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (41 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

This charming sequel to the beloved Sophie’s Squash is the perfect antidote to the back-to-school jitters. Sophie goes to school for the first time and has no interest in making friends that aren’t squash. Here’s a gently humorous read-aloud that proves that making friends, just like growing squash, takes time.

On Sophie’s first day of school, nobody appreciates her two best friends, Bonnie and Baxter, baby squash that she grew in her garden. Even worse, one classmate, Steven Green, won’t leave Sophie alone. He sits by her at circle time. He plays near her during recess. And he breathes on her while she paints. Steven just wants to be friends, but Sophie isn’t interested. Still, Sophie knows that her squash friends won’t last forever. Maybe it would be nice to have some human friends after all. . . .

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As much as I liked Sophie, I liked Steven even more. This wasn’t an easy thing for me to admit since I’ve been a huge fan of Sophie’s creativity and strong self esteem ever since I first started reading about her. Steven was such a friendly and helpful child that I couldn’t help but to hope his persistence would pay off. I wanted nothing more than for these two characters to realize they had a lot in common and to start playing together every day at recess.

There was so much kindness woven into this tale. Sophie was different from her classmates for reasons that were never really explained. I loved the fact that those reasons were left to the reader’s imagination and that so many of the people in this girl’s life were willing to keep trying to help her until they hopefully figured something that would make sense to her. Whether she was an unusually quirky kid or her behaviors could be explained by a specific diagnosis didn’t ultimately matter. She was surrounded by deeply kind people who genuinely wanted to see her succeed either way.

The character development couldn’t have been better. Not only did Sophie learn some important lessons about how to make friends when your first attempts don’t work at all, her classmates learned equally valuable lessons from their experiences with her as well. While I can’t go into much detail about those scenes without giving away spoilers, I adored the fact that the characters were all on equal footing. Everyone had something to learn from someone else whether they originally realized it or not.

This is the sequel to Sophie’s Squash, and this series should be read in chronological order.

Sophie’s Squash Go to School is the perfect story to read for anyone who has ever struggled to make friends or adjust to a new routine.

Bone Dog: A Picture Book by Eric Rohmann


Bone Dog: A Picture Book by Eric Rohmann
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Gus doesn’t feel like doing much after his dog Ella dies. He doesn’t really even feel like dressing up for Halloween. But when Gus runs into a bunch of rowdy skeletons, it’s Ella–his very own Bone dog–who comes to his aid, and together they put those skeletons in their place. A book about friendship, loss, and a delightfully spooky Halloween.

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There was so much emotion packed into this picture book. I started reading it without realizing just how much Gus and Ella’s friendship was going to affect me. The touching moments between this boy and his dog were sometimes sandwiched between sillier and scarier scenes for sure, but that only made them stronger. No matter what happened to these characters, the bond between them was always going to remain strong. I blinked back tears as I wandered deeper into the plot, and that was a good thing.

It would have been nice to have more details to work with. The basic plot was there, but the narrator didn’t spend a lot of time describing how Ella became a bone dog and why she had the ability to return to visit Gus. This was such an interesting concept that I was a bit disappointed by how little time was spent fleshing it out, so to speak. With a bit more development, it could have easily been a five-star story for me.

I loved the scary scenes that were included. While they did make me need to bump up the age recommendation higher than I would have otherwise chosen, they also added some much-needed conflict to the storyline that made it impossible for me to stop reading until I learned what Gus’ fate would be that dark Halloween night.

Bone Dog: A Picture Book should be read by anyone who has ever wished they could see a beloved pet again.

Pete With No Pants by Rowboat Watkins


Pete With No Pants by Rowboat Watkins
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Meet Pete.

Pete is gray. He’s round. And he’s not wearing any pants.

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Join Pete in his quest to answer the world’s oldest question: Why do I have to wear pants? Wait, that’s the second oldest. Born from the one-of-a-kind imagination of Rowboat Watkins, this hilarious book (the asides just beg to be read aloud) about finding out who you are features a satisfying and touching ending that will encourage young readers to be true to themselves as it reminds the adults in their lives to support them no matter what.

Some questions aren’t easy to answer at all.

There’s something to be said for snappy dialogue that keeps the plot moving at a fast pace. Given how quickly Pete moved from scene to scene, it made sense for his conversations to be wrapped up as soon as they were. I honestly wouldn’t have expected anything else from these characters. A few short sentences per page were more than enough to get their points across, and sometimes they even needed less room than that.

The ending didn’t make a great deal of sense to me. After watching Pete try to figure out what sort of creature or object he was, I was not expecting him to come to the conclusion he did. It simply didn’t match the tone of the rest of his tale, so I felt disappointed when I realized that my time with these characters was suddenly finished. I enjoyed the beginning and middle quite a bit. If the last few scenes had followed that same pattern, I would have chosen a much higher rating.

Some of the funniest scenes were the ones that showed how the other members of the forest reacted to Pete as he searched for his answers. Their relationships with him were as silly as they were interesting. I couldn’t wait to find out if their assumptions about who and what this little fellow was would match his own decisions on the matter.

I’d recommend Pete with No Pants to anyone who has ever wished they didn’t have to wear uncomfortable clothing.

Skeleton for Dinner by Margery Cuyler and Will Terry


Skeleton for Dinner by Margery Cuyler and Will Terry
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Big Witch and Little Witch have made stew, and now they want to have their friends for dinner! But when Skeleton mistakes the guest list for a menu, he takes off running, and soon Ghost and Ghoul join him too! But poor Little Witch has no idea there’s a misunderstanding. Luckily there’s one creature in the haunted forest who can help everyone figure it all out.

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You never really know what might happen at a dinner in a graveyard.

This tale had a great sense of humor. I especially liked the fact that it joked about things that both adults and kids would find funny. Ms. Cuyler and Mr. Terry struck a nice balance between appealing to preschoolers while also including moments that grown-ups would enjoy as well. This isn’t always something that’s easy to accomplish. It made me want to read more from these authors in the future, and I will be keeping an eye out for what they release next.

There were a couple of plot holes in this story that were never explained. They had to do with Skeleton’s reaction when he first overheard Big Witch and Little Witch discussing their plans for dinner. I was hoping the narrator would spend more time talking about what was going on in that scene, but it never happened. With some more development, this could have been something I’d want to read again every autumn.

One of the best scenes happened early on when Big Witch and Little Witch began adding important ingredients to the stew they were making. I’ve always found it amusing to read about the fictional, bizarre, or simply hard-to-find ingredients that a witch might need for a special recipe. The list these characters needed to check off was just as quirky as I’d hoped it would be, and that was a good thing.

Anyone who is in the mood for a spooky read before Halloween should give Skeleton for Dinner a try.

Halloween Good Night by Doug Cushman


Halloween Good Night by Doug Cushman
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

If you were a ghost haunting a castle and moat,
Rattling thick chains, making underpants float,
When you stopped all your moaning and screeching in fright,
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On Halloween night, creatures around the world tuck their little ones into bed. How do skeletons say goodnight? What about werewolves, mummies, or vampire bats? In this silly Halloween romp, young children can take a trip through spooky castles and haunted graveyards to find out!

Even little ghosts and skeletons have to be tucked in for bedtime at some point.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this tale was how creative all of the goodnight messages were for the various creatures featured in it. Some of them were written as puns. Others were a humorous spin on the traditional mythologies of everything from mummies to vampires. No matter how these scenes were written, all of them made me smile. Their creativity was what kept me reading until the final page.

Unfortunately, the plot wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked it to be. As interested as I was in the premise, I was hoping for the characters to have more to do during the course of their storylines. They all followed the same pattern no matter who was talking about how their put their children to bed, so there simply wasn’t enough going on in those bedtime routines for me to want to read this more than once.

As someone who loves horror, I’m always on the lookout for children’s stories in this genre that are appropriate for even the youngest readers. While there definitely were horror elements, they were written so gently and humourlessly that I wouldn’t hesitate to read this to any preschooler who is looking forward to Halloween or who would enjoy reading about a few spooky creatures.

Halloween Good Night should be read by anyone who has ever wondered how monsters and other creatures say goodnight to their children.

What Matters by Alison Hughes


What Matters by Alison Hughes
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What happens when one small boy picks up one small piece of litter? He doesn’t know it, but his tiny act has big consequences. From the miniscule to the universal, What Matters sensitively explores nature’s connections and traces the ripple effects of one child’s good deed to show how we can all make a big difference.

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One of the things I liked about this story the most was how much meaning Ms. Hughes was able to pack into a few sentences. She shared almost everything she needed to share with the audience in the space of only a couple of sentences per page. There was no need to go into more detail than that for most of the storyline. While there were a few exceptions to this that I’ll mention in a moment, I was impressed by how well she was able to get her point across in so few words in the rest of the scenes. This was something short enough that a toddler could understand it, but it also had a message that would appeal to adult readers as well.

The narrator tried to show how a small action like throwing away a piece of trash can have a big impact on the environment over time. There were times when I had trouble understanding the connections it was trying to make between the original act of kindness and all of the good things that happened as a result of it. As much as I liked the author’s careful use of words in general, this was something that would have benefited from having more details included in it.

Good deeds don’t have to be big to be meaningful. I liked the fact that the hero of this tale was a young boy who did something that almost anyone is capable of doing and who didn’t expect any sort of reward for it. There are so many little ways a person can make the world a better place without seeking out attention for their actions or knowing how those actions would affect things in the longterm. It was nice to see this kind of behavior being given so much positive attention.

I’d recommend What Matters to environmentalists of all ages.

Penelope Perfect by Shannon Anderson


Penelope Perfect by Shannon Anderson
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (48 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“I’d never been late for anything. I just knew this would be a bad day.” When Penelope oversleeps, her daily routine gets thrown for a loop. From wearing mismatched socks to receiving her first-ever “B,” will “Penelope Perfect” survive this imperfect day?

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Everyone has bad days sometimes. The worst part about being a perfectionist is how impossible it can feel to move on from this sort of experience.

Penelope’s character development was well written. She had completely understandable reasons for wanting to do things correctly every time, but she also took this desire too far at times. This made her a relatable and interesting character, especially once her daily routine was interrupted and she was forced to confront the fact that no one is capable of living up to such high expectations every single day.

I adored the message of this story. The only thing harder than being a perfectionist is admitting it, so I appreciated the fact that Penelope was so open about her urge to do everything perfectly all of the thing. It takes a lot of courage for kid to do that. She was a good role model for her readers, especially if they happen to have the same problem.

One of the other things I loved about this tale was how Penelope’s friends and family members reacted when she wasn’t her usual self. There was so much kindness woven into their responses to her. This was especially true when she was at her lowest point and was sure she was going to judged for it. That is a fear that many children and adults have, so it was nice to see it addressed openly and with such a great deal of compassion.

Penelope Perfect is a must-read for anyone who has ever had trouble accepting the fact that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.