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It's Kids' Books Week!
Books reviewed: The Seer of Shadows by Avi - SCARED ME!, Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach, Fancy Nancy's Favorite Words
Scaredy Squirrel is back in Melanie Watt’s “Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.”
Scaredy Squirrel, the squirrel who invents new things to worry about, never goes to the beach. It’s too scary and crowded. He might be attacked by flocks of seagulls, tribes of jellyfish, mobs of lobsters, packs of pirates or herds of sea monsters! It’s much better to recreate the beach from the safety of his own backyard.
But while he can turn kitty litter into sand and fill up an inflatable pool with water, one thing is missing - the sound of the ocean. He needs a shell to recreate that sound, and where do you find shells? At the beach.
As Scaredy overcomes his fears to get a shell, he finds there was nothing to be scared about and has fun, and children can learn that lesson as well.
“Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach” is published by Kids Can Press. It is $15.95 and is for ages 5 to 8.
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An alphabet book and an entertaining guide to “speaking fancy” comes in “Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Words from Accessories to Zany” by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.
The national best-selling team behind the “Fancy Nancy” stories is back and my kids couldn’t be happier.
Children can expand on their vocabulary with a helpful guide from Nancy herself and kid-friendly explanations. They also use the word in a sentence for better definition.
“Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words” is published by HarperCollins. It is $12.99 and is for ages 4 to 7.
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Newberry medalist author Avi brings a scary story for kids in “The Seer of Shadows.”
It’s 1872 in New York and Horace has been apprenticed to Enoch Middleditch to work as a photographer. Horace is thrilled to be working with the new science. They are commissioned by a wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht to take a portrait of herself - for her dead daughter, Eleanora. She believes her daughter’s spirit is restless and wants to put the picture up by her tomb to reassure her. Middleditch believes this is the perfect opportunity to make a bit of extra money using a double exposure and asks Horace to secretly take a photo of Eleanora’s picture to use. But in taking pictures, Horace unlocks something else - both in the spirit world and inside himself - that he may not be able to stop. Turning to the Von Macht’s servant girl, Pegg, he learns that Eleanora’s death cannot be explained away, and if Eleanora is back, she is back for one thing - revenge.
Blending historical facts about the time period and technology and a chilling ghost story, Avi will capture readers’ interest and will haunt them after the very last page.
“The Seer of Shadows” is published by HarperCollins. It is $16.99 and is for ages 8-12, however, I would only recommend it for the 12-year-old or older set. With themes of child death and a plotline that is comperable to recent horror movies like “The Ring” and “Shutter,” I’m afraid it would scare younger readers.
Contact Amy Mendenhall at amendenhall@newsandsentinel.com. Visit her blog at www.newsandsentinel.com or read past columns at amendenhall.livejournal.com
Scaredy Squirrel is back in Melanie Watt’s “Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.”
Scaredy Squirrel, the squirrel who invents new things to worry about, never goes to the beach. It’s too scary and crowded. He might be attacked by flocks of seagulls, tribes of jellyfish, mobs of lobsters, packs of pirates or herds of sea monsters! It’s much better to recreate the beach from the safety of his own backyard.
But while he can turn kitty litter into sand and fill up an inflatable pool with water, one thing is missing - the sound of the ocean. He needs a shell to recreate that sound, and where do you find shells? At the beach.
As Scaredy overcomes his fears to get a shell, he finds there was nothing to be scared about and has fun, and children can learn that lesson as well.
“Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach” is published by Kids Can Press. It is $15.95 and is for ages 5 to 8.
?
An alphabet book and an entertaining guide to “speaking fancy” comes in “Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Words from Accessories to Zany” by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.
The national best-selling team behind the “Fancy Nancy” stories is back and my kids couldn’t be happier.
Children can expand on their vocabulary with a helpful guide from Nancy herself and kid-friendly explanations. They also use the word in a sentence for better definition.
“Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words” is published by HarperCollins. It is $12.99 and is for ages 4 to 7.
?
Newberry medalist author Avi brings a scary story for kids in “The Seer of Shadows.”
It’s 1872 in New York and Horace has been apprenticed to Enoch Middleditch to work as a photographer. Horace is thrilled to be working with the new science. They are commissioned by a wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht to take a portrait of herself - for her dead daughter, Eleanora. She believes her daughter’s spirit is restless and wants to put the picture up by her tomb to reassure her. Middleditch believes this is the perfect opportunity to make a bit of extra money using a double exposure and asks Horace to secretly take a photo of Eleanora’s picture to use. But in taking pictures, Horace unlocks something else - both in the spirit world and inside himself - that he may not be able to stop. Turning to the Von Macht’s servant girl, Pegg, he learns that Eleanora’s death cannot be explained away, and if Eleanora is back, she is back for one thing - revenge.
Blending historical facts about the time period and technology and a chilling ghost story, Avi will capture readers’ interest and will haunt them after the very last page.
“The Seer of Shadows” is published by HarperCollins. It is $16.99 and is for ages 8-12, however, I would only recommend it for the 12-year-old or older set. With themes of child death and a plotline that is comperable to recent horror movies like “The Ring” and “Shutter,” I’m afraid it would scare younger readers.
Contact Amy Mendenhall at amendenhall@newsandsentinel.com. Visit her blog at www.newsandsentinel.com or read past columns at amendenhall.livejournal.com
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