Nuts to You (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Lynne Rae Perkins (US)
PUBLISHED: Greenwillow Books ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: 235 pages ; ill.

PLOT:
When Jed the squirrel get taken by a hawk, his two best friends go on an adventure to rescue him. When Jed manages to escape the hawk's talons, he falls into unfamiliar territory, meets an interesting species of squirrel, and makes a discovery which puts his home in danger. He and his friends must get back home to warn the other squirrels.

REVIEW:
This is a cute story told through an omniscient narrator, who comments and explains elements of the story through the use of end-of-chapter footnotes and interrupting inserts. Most of these work, but some don't. Some comments are unnecessary and don't add anything to the reader's engagement or enjoyment or understanding. The footnotes would have worked better at end-of-page rather than end-of-chapter - it's distracting having to flick pages to find out what is being referenced.

The author also uses a lot of sentence fragments, including those which begin with "because" (e.g. "He did look around to see if there was a wolf. Because he was irritated, but he was not stupid.") While I'll let a fair bit slide, I get annoyed with children's literature which does not model correct grammar and sentence structure.

When Jed meets the red squirrels, they speak differently (which is spelt differently). E.g. "Tell abowt the wolf" "You'll be roight b'fore y'knowit" "Be loik wooter" [Tell about the wolf / You'll be right before you know it / Be like water]. While I think this works well, some children may struggle to understand and decode this.

All-in-all, I liked this story a lot more than I thought I would, and would freely recommend it to most children aged 8-12, and read it to ages 6 and 7 (leaving out the footnotes, which generally just interrupt the story when reading aloud).

AGE: 8-12.
GENRE: Adventure.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

The Scavengers (Middle Grade Fic)

AUTHOR: Michael Perry (US)
PUBLISHED: Harper ; 2014.
PAGES/ILL: ~322 pages.

PLOT:
When the world started to fall apart, the government gave everyone two choices: move into the Bubble Cities...or take their chances outside. Maggie's family chose the latter, and they have been living off the land ever since. They have friends, and Maggie seems to have found her place, renaming herself Ford Falcon after the rusted out car in which she lives.
Then one day she returns from visiting their friends to find her family's house ransacked and her parents missing.
As she uncovers the secrets her father has kept from her, as well as the truth about how the government took over, she must find the strength to be true to herself and save her family at the same time.

REVIEW:
This story was a lot better than I thought it would be. It has very strong underlying political messages (such as big government, control, genetically modified foods, and the environment), so I would recommend parents or teachers reading it first so that they can discuss any questions that might come up.
This book has a strong heroine, and emphasises family and friendship. This is a middle-grade book and would be a suitable first-dystopia for children in upper primary school as an introduction to the genre. I've classed it as Middle Grade because it's below YA, but this is one where you would need to know the child and the book to make your own judgement about whether it is appropriate for a child at the younger end of Middle Grade.

AGE: 11+.
GENRE: Adventure, Soft dystopia.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

Cody and the Fountain of Happiness (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Tricia Springstubb (US)
PUBLISHED: Candlewick ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: ~150 pages ; ill.

PLOT:
Cody loves talking to ants, her family, and summer vacation. When her summer camp is cancelled, she thinks the summer might have taken a turn for the worse, with a teenage brother who is moping after a girl and a mother who has started a new job. But then she meets a new neighbour - a boy who is staying with his grandmother for the summer - and finds that that friendship and family is the fountain of happiness.

REVIEW:
This is a cute little story about a young girl and her relationships with her family and new friend. It would be an appropriate read-aloud for a year 1 class, or for children who are moving on to reading chapter books on their own.

AGE: 6+.
GENRE: Realistic fiction
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.

Grammar and Punctuation in Children's Books

I am a stickler for grammar and punctuation. No one is perfect, and I can pretty much guarantee that I've made errors in this blog, but I feel that any error detracts from the fluidity of a story because it 'catches' in your mind like a fish hook. Published works can and should be held to a high standard.

I feel no different about children's books. Children gain so much language by reading and being read to, that we shouldn't be reading them things which don't facilitate this.

These two books in particular really got my goat. I cringe just knowing that they exist.

The first is an obvious one.
Please burn any copy you may come across.

Hooray for hat.  No. Just no. No. No. No.
Hooray for hatS. Yes. Fine. Good!
Hooray for MY hat. Yes. Great!
Hooray for THE hat. Yes. Fine. Not as good, but perfectly acceptable.

'Hat' should not be used as a proper noun unless it is anthropomorphised (which it is not in this case).

The story is about animals which are upset and a friend gives them a party hat and they cheer up and say, "Hooray for hat".

Sure, perhaps the author was trying to connect with his audience by failing to use correct grammar, but he has failed if this was his approach. The only time this ploy works is when the story features direct speech from a toddler who can't speak properly.


Which brings me to the next example.

Did you notice? Missing quotation marks.

Reported speech does not need quotation marks, e.g.: Milana's grandfather noted that there were many children there. Milana's grandfather told her to look at all the people.

However, this is quoted speech and REQUIRES quotation marks.
"Wow! Look at all the people. And [there are] so many children," said Milana's grandfather.

This may be a small thing that children (and some adults) won't consciously pick up, but language is picked up subliminally in young children, and I could not have a child look at this without correcting it.


All I can say to these authors is, "Fire your editor", or maybe get one in the first place.

The Ant Patrol - books to teach social skills (PB)

This series came across my desk the other day, and I think they are worth sharing. This series, Ant Patrol, is primarily for parents and teachers to use with children who may require additional help with social skills, particularly those with ASD (but not exclusively).

They are published by M.A.ST.E.R, which has additional information and resources on their website.
They are also available from SkillBuilders, a site with extensive resources for building foundational skills, from socio-emotional to physical, etc.

The stories revolve around a colony of ants. Different ants have different traits.

 - Felix the Fire Ant struggles to control his temper and easily flies into a rage when things don't go his way.
 - Wilbur the Worry Ant is fearful of new experiences and is hesitant to participate.
 - Me-Me the Self-Focused Ant can only see her own perspective of things. She expects everyone else to do the things that she likes to do.
 - Hugo the Socially Unaware Ant also struggles to see others' perspectives. When another ant falls over, Hugo laughs because he thinks it looks like fun. He struggles to understand emotions in others.
 - Iris the Inattentive Ant can't concentrate. She is constantly day-dreaming and struggles to focus.
 - Alfie the Hyperactive Ant just can't sit still. He has so much energy and doesn't think before he jumps into something. He has a lot of trouble waiting for things.

Throughout the stories, big leader ants, Hoppy the Helpful Ant and Sergeant Ant, guide the other ants through life. Hoppy helps the other ants with their difficulties and teaches them ways to be more socially aware.
The books include significant information to help parents and teachers to guide their own children in learning the same lessons.
Some tips include focusing on breathing, being aware of and monitoring their own emotions (e.g. level of anger, and what situations may provoke angry feelings), and learning to tune in to others' feelings.

AGE: 4-8, with adult guidance.

RATING: 5 stars.