Journey of a Book-Addicted Librarian: book tie-in

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: How do you know what's good?

While there are many places (especially on the internet) where you can read book reviews, how do you really know if it's a good book or not when a single book might receive anywhere from one to five stars?
The answer: read the reviews of a book-addicted teacher librarian.

NOTE:
** The age recommendations are guidelines only; whether or not a certain book is suitable for a particular child depends on multiple factors, including their maturity, reading level, interests, and in some cases their experiences.
** While the ratings are largely based on my own personal appreciation/enjoyment of the book, they are also influenced by my experiences as a teacher and the potential attraction for the target-aged child (acknowledging that what one child may love, another may find exceptionally boring). A rating of 5 indicates the book is likely to be popular with the majority.

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Saturday, July 25, 2015

The Lost Thing (video)

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan is a picture book for upper primary school students about a teenager who finds something (a cross between a robot, a dog, an octopus, a crab, and something unknown) lost and looks for a place where it could belong. It has quite a lot of social commentary embedded in the pictures and sub-text.

It was made into a short 15-minute film.

This book and film could be used together in a literature study for middle school students.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Guards! Guards! (GN)

AUTHOR: Terry Pratchett (UK) (2000)

PLOT: A group of sorcerers summon a dragon to terrorise a village. The survival of the village is in the hands of a motley group of police.

NOTES: This graphic novel is based on Pratchett's books of "Discworld". The language is quite advanced (average 5th grade level). Unlike some graphic novels, this one is pleasingly devoid of the nudity, sex, and language so prevalent in this genre.

AGES: 9+.
GENRE: Fantasy, Adventure.
RATING: 5 stars.

Series: Deltora Quest

AUTHOR: Emily Rodda (AUST) (2000)
PAGES: ~ 120 pages, 16 chapters.
PLOT: A group of young people search for the keys to release their land from the clutches of the evil Shadow Lord. In their travels they must discern good from evil, and learn that what you see initially is not always the truth.

NOTES: Deltora Quest 1: 8-book series. The characters must solve puzzles that children will delight in (mirror-image writing, people talking backwards, riddles). Some parts could be quite scary for some young children.
There are several sub-series. Deltora Quest 2: 3 books; Quest 3: 4 books.
Also includes How to Draw Deltora Monsters/Dragons books, Deltora Quiz book, Tales of Deltora, Deltora Monsters.
Includes a website, card game, video game, cartoon (anime).

ISSUES: good vs evil, friendship, trust, responsibility, courage, coming-of-age.

AGES: 8-13.
GENRE: Fantasy, Adventure.
RATING: 5 stars.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Daniel X: Alien Hunter (GN)

AUTHOR: James Patterson, with Leopoldo Gout (USA)
PUBLISHED: 2008

PLOT: A young teenager seeks out and destroys the nasty aliens who come to terrorize Earth. Being an alien himself, he's well equipped with a "magic" list of the aliens he needs to find, and an imagination powerful enough to create real objects, even imagining friends who help him in the hunt.

NOTES: A graphic novel that connects with a novel, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.

ISSUES: loss of parents, loneliness, good vs evil, power of imagination, feeling of isolation and responsibility.

AGE: 10+.
GENRE: Graphic Novel, Thriller, Fantasy
RATING: 5 stars.