Review: Katie Woo Has the Flu by Fran Manushkin

Having the flu stinks.  You're hot, you're cold.  Your stomach hurts, your body aches.  All you want to do is sleep.  In her book, Katie Woo Has the Flu, author Fran Manushkin explored this and helped kids understand having the flu a little better.

Here is the summary from Goodreads:

It all starts with a sneeze! Katie Woo catches the flu. She feels yucky and has to miss a few days of school. Will she ever feel like herself again?

Poor Katie Woo has the flu.  She's achy.  She's hot, she's cold.  She's grumpy and she doesn't want to eat.  I hate to spoil the ending, but she does eventually get better and makes it back to school!

Kids get sick, but do people take the time to explain that the symptoms are normal, and that they will get better?  Unfortunately, not always.  This book does a great job explaining that its ok to feel sick, that these symptoms are normal for the flu and that it will eventually go away. 

I liked that this book was an easy reader (easy words), but was divided into chapters.  This makes the book immediately more appealing to older readers.  The illustrations were somewhat cartoonish, but cute.   

Nominated in the Easy Readers Category by Jennifer Glidden of Capstone Connect

*Opinions expressed in this review are mine, and not that of the Cybils judging panel.* 

Review: Fly Guy vs. The Flyswatter! by Tedd Arnold

"A boy had a pet fly.  He named him Fly Guy.  And the Fly Guy could say the boy's name---"BUZZ!"" pg 1.

The 10th book in the Fly Guy series, Fly Guy vs. The Flyswatter offers the same humor, short chapters, easy words and fun illustrations as the other nine Fly Guy books.

Here is the summary from Goodreads:

A hilarious new Fly Guy adventure — when Fly Guy joins Buzz's class on a trip to a flyswatter factory, it's the "best field trip ever!"
When Fly Guy goes to school with Buzz, they learn that his class is taking a field trip to a flyswatter factory! BAD NEWZZ! Fly Guy tries to hide in Buzz's pocket, but when the tour guide starts insulting flies, Buzz cannot help but stick his head out. A robotic flyswatter named the Super Swatter detects Fly Guy, and Fly Guy causes a hilarious ruckus in his efforts to escape.
At the end of this zany adventure, the flyswatter factory announces an end to its factory tours and the students use their free flyswatters as art to celebrate the "best field trip ever!"

I'm a huge fan of the Fly Guy series.  The books are cute and funny, Buzz and Fly Guy are great friends and nice to people, the words are easy AND there are chapters!  This installment teaches us to be brave and help those who might not be able to help themselves.

These books are perpetually popular in my classroom---I always have at least one checked out.  For those wondering, Fly Guy's are usually a late first grade/early second grade reading level, but I have 5th graders checking these books out.  I can't wait to get my own copy for my classroom. 

Nominated in the Easy Reader Category by Laura Wadley  

*The opinions expressed in this review are mine and not that of the judging panel.*

Review: Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins

Who hasn't had an invisible friend?  Oh sure, when we're about 6 (ok, maybe 12 for some of us), everyone has that "friend" that we can share with, blame our mistakes on, etc.  But for Hank (or Wolowitz as he likes to be called), his invisible friend actually exists...you just can't see him.

Here is the summary from Goodreads:
The thing about Hank's new friend Inkling is, he's invisible.
No, not imaginary. Inkling is an invisible bandapat, a creature native only to the Peruvian Woods of Mystery. (Or maybe it is the Ukrainian glaciers. Inkling hardly ever gets his stories straight.)
Now Inkling has found his way to Brooklyn and into Hank's laundry basket on his quest for squash—bandapats' favorite food. But Hank has bigger problems than helping Inkling fend off maniac doggies and search for yummy pumpkins: Bruno Gillicut is a lunch-stealing dirtbug caveperson and he's got to be stopped. And who better to help stand up to a bully than an invisible friend?

I must admit, when I first read that summary, I was like..."WHAT in the WHAT?!?!"  Bandapats?  Peruvian Woods of Mystery?  I KNOW there aren't any glaciers in the Ukraine.  But, once I actually started reading, not only did everything make sense, but I really enjoyed it.

Hank has a great personality, all boy and pure fun.  I loved that his parents were caring and involved.  Inkling is that imaginary friend that we all had---the one who we can blame all our bad ideas on; but in this situation, he actually cares for Hank and genuinely wants to help him. 

I guess what I like best about the book is it shows us that we can make mistakes (in dealing with people, or make poor decisions) and its ok!  But also that friends come in all shapes and sizes.

Amazon suggests that the reading level for Invisible Inkling be grade 2+.  While the chapters are shorter and the words somewhat easier, I would suggest that its actually for older children.  Not only is Hank older (going into 4th grade), but the ideas of an invisible friend who is actually real and how to deal with a bully might be better suited for older elementary students.  Now, use your discretion---if your child (or students) would be interested in this and can understand those ideas in a more concrete way, then by all means, let them read it.  I just think its better suited to older students.

 

*I read and reviewed this book as is was a Cybils nominee.  All opinions expressed above are mine and not that of the committee.*

This book was nominated by Katie Ahern of Secrets and Sharing Soda. 

Review: EllRay Jakes is NOT a Chicken! by Sally Warner

EllRay Jakes is NOT a Chicken! by Sally Warner was an interesting book for me to read.  The idea that EllRay, the smallest boy in his class, is bullied by his much larger classmate is one that many kids can relate to.  It is also a easy beginning chapter book.  However, I had a really hard time getting in to (into?) it and didn't really like it.

Here is the summary from Goodreads:

"Buk, buk, book," Jared whispers, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Eight-year-old EllRay Jakes is sick of getting picked on. But every time he tries to defend himself against class bully Jared Matthews, EllRay is the one who winds up in trouble. It's just not fair! Then his dad offers him a deal: If EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, they'll go to Disneyland! So now EllRay has a lot to prove - he's not a troublemaker, and he's not a chicken.
This humorous and true-to-life story kicks off the EllRay Jakes series, which is just right for boys (and girls!) who are beginning to read chapter books.

Like I said, the idea of the book was one that many kids can relate to, getting bullied for something that is out of your control (in EllRay's case, his size), but the way that the bullying was resolved just didn't seem "real" to  me; I don't see many kids ultimately solving the problem like EllRay (and his parents) did.  It seemed like the author, while well intended, was trying to think like a child to solve the problem, but really just gave a nice, adult solution.


That being said, I can see children enjoying the book.  It will probably appeal more to children in urban or suburban settings, rather than my rural kids as they would have more connections to the book---a major part of the book is the family going to Disneyland (world?)----many of the students in my school haven't been to the next biggest town, let alone a theme park the scope and size of Disney.


The words in the book were easy to read, but when I did a quick search for the reading level, I couldn't find it.  The closest I could find was Ms. Warner's other series about EllRay's classmate Emma, and those ranged from upper 3rd grade level to mid-4th.  So, kind of easy, but not as easy as I would have hoped.


All in all, it was just an ok book.  

*This book was nominated for a Cybils Award in the early chapter books category.  All opinions contained in this review are mine and not of the committee.  This book was nominated by Deb Nance at Readerbuzz*

In My Mailbox 35: Its October and it SNOWED!

 

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren, in which we post about the books (or bookish swag) we were sent, bought, borrowed, stole out of baby carriages, etc.

As for the snow, we got about 4-5 inches here in the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia).  Many of my friends were without power on Saturday.  The roads weren't bad, but I suspect that if this had happened during the school week, we would have had the day off because of so many power outages.

My car about 7:30 Saturday morning, and as you can see, the lot isn't that bad.  It was just slushy.

Just a tree in our backyard.  I thought it looked pretty.

This week was a banner week at Maestra Amanda's Bookshelf.  Not only was I sent Clatter Bash: A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard Clemenson Keep by Peachtree Publishers (muchas gracias!)

but I also attended the second meeting of the year for the Virginia Reader's Choice selection committee that I'm on, and picked up these books:

 *Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston
*Liesl and Po (ARC) by Lauren Oliver
*EllRay Jakes is NOT a chicken! by Sally Warner
*Zapato Power, Freddy Ramos Takes Off! by Jacqueline Jules
*3-D Thrillers!  Bugs and the World's Creepiest Microbugs by Paul Harrison
*Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke
*Bad Kitty Meets The Baby by Nick Bruel
*Marty McGuire by Kate Messner
*Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins
*Shark Wars by EJ Altbacker
*Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes (ARC) by Jonathan Auxier
*The Book of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West
*Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster by Ursula Vernon

 *Jingle Bells: How the Holiday Classic Came to Be by John Harris
*I am Tama, Lucky Cat: A Japanese Legend by Wendy Henrichs
*The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record Setting Summer of '41 by Phil Bildner
*Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo
*Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds
*My Uncle Martin's Words for America by Angela Farris Watkins, PhD
*The Ice Bear by Jackie Morris
*We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart by Walter Dean Myers
*The Story of Emma Lazarus: Liberty's Voice by Erica Silverman

*Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud (Galley) by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain

They were sent to our committee chairperson by publishers as books they felt we should consider.  A huge thank you to all the publishers and to our chairperson for bringing them.

What was in your mailbox?