My Hippo Has the Hiccups

My Hippo Has the Hiccups
by
Kenn Nesbitt and Ethan Long
children's poetry

book plus audio CD

I like goofy poetry and this book has it, but I tired of his poems after about 6 poems, however. They seem to not have quite the breadth and variety of other authors. I would probably like his work better as part of an anthology with other poets or maybe if there had been different guest readers on the CD.
The simple black and white cartoon drawings work well in the book.
It had a good layout with easy to read fonts and uncluttered pages.

Halloween Glow Books

Halloween Glow Books
by
Charles Reasoner
board books ages 1-6

Boo!
Whoo's There? (Not read).
Jack-oo-Lantern
Going Batty!
Mrs. Broom!
Funny Bones! (Not read).

I asked a 6 year old to choose some board books for her 2 year old brother. I was not expecting Halloween books in late December, but it turns out that she, her brother, and I all enjoyed these books regardless of the season. She checked out 4 out of 6 in the series. I don't know if the other books were checked out or if that was all that the girl could carry.
These are chunky, sturdy board books which have glow in the dark covers. (We tested them out in a dark room).
Reasoner pairs cheerful drawings of bats, ghosts, pumpkins, and other Halloween images with silly rhymes. There is nothing scary in these books so they should be safe to read during or before the average preschool, kindergarten, or first grade Halloween party. They were fun to read aloud - especially "Boo"! since the ghost repeats "Boo"! and "Ooo"! many times. They are also very short, so I recommend that libraries buy the whole set, and that patrons check them out the whole set, not just one.

Unmade Bed: Sensual Writing on Married Love

Unmade Bed: Sensual Writing on Married Love
by
Laura Chester
adult fiction
anthology of poems and short stories

This has some famous authors like William Carlos Williams, John Updike, and Gary Soto. The poems and tales are very uneven. Some poems don't make sense and some stories are downright boring. Maybe there are some good reads in this book, but I gave up on it. If you have not purchased this for your library - don't.

post - Halloween

I look at my jack-o-lanterns and think
"no one loves a Christmas tree
On March the twenty-fifth"
(Shel Silverstein)

Robots Are Coming!

Robots Are Coming!
by
Andy Rash
children's poetry
ages 7-9

If you are looking for some not-so-scary poems to read for Halloween, or for any time, this book of poetry and cartoons is a good choice. Rash takes a number of poems about werewolves, mummies, robots, etc. and pairs them with over-the-top illustrations.
I read this to 6 and 7 year olds. They didn't understand that it was a parody of late night movies, but they thought it was pretty interesting and funny.

Keep Climbing Girls

Keep Climbing Girls
by
Beah E. Richards and R. Gregory Christie
labelled as children's fiction ages 4-8 BUT I DISAGREE.

Sometimes it is a good idea to take a poem and make it into a children's book. This has been done a number of times with success. This time it was NOT successful. This may be a beloved poem from 1951, but the problem with making it into a children's book is that it uses a lot of words that children don't know.
My objections:

First of all, it starts with a really long introduction written for adults. That was my first hint that this might not be a good book for children.

Second of all, it uses these words: profound, confident, ambition, contrition, supposition, consternation, diplomacy, and disdain. My audience was confused. If we had just looked at the pictures and not read the text we probably would have been fine.

Third of all (this is when the person assisting me stopped reading it to the children) an adult threatens to kill a child. We thought we read this wrong and should change the wording, but no. The woman does threaten to kill a child.

If a college professor, or liberated teenager wants to have this book on their shelf, they should feel free, but it really isn't for children.

Apparently School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist all failed to notice these three points when they gave it rave reviews, focusing instead on the positive feminist and civil rights message.

Hello, Tree!

Hello, Tree!
by Joanne Ryder and Michael Hays
children's fiction, or maybe poetry/prose, ages 3-5

The joy of a tree! This book celebrates all the ways we can enjoy trees - leaves, bark, climbing, fruit, shade, and more. It shows children enjoying trees.
I thought this was a fine book, but if I were the editor I would have had a tree identification guide in the back showing the leaves and fruit of the trees that were mentioned. Maple, oak, willow, pine, gingko, and sassafras were mentioned and there is a buckeye on the back cover but it is not labelled.
Teachers can add these to the book and use this in class. It would be a good choice for supplementary reading for science class.
This was on a reading list from our local park system.

Thanks a Million

Thanks a Million
by
Nikki Grimes and Cozbi A. Cabrera

Children's poetry, ages 7 - adult.

I was looking for a poem to read for Thanksgiving and found the right one at the end of this book - "A Round of Thanks". It is not particularly religious and not particularly serious. It is just right for the modern family composed of people with differing religious viewpoints who want some kind of grace., but nothing King James-like. There is an appropriate picture of an African American family sitting around the table giving thanks.

If you are looking for other Thanksgiving poems, see if your library has the current issue or back issues of Ideals magazine. Many times I have recommended Ideals to people who want something they can read aloud at a family or religious gathering as a grace, devotion, or benediction.

A teaching and activity guide for Nikki Grimes' book can be found here.
http://www.nikkigrimes.com/teacher/thankdq.html
http://www.nikkigrimes.com/teacher/thankmip.html

3nd Annual Fain Poetry Contest - 2008

Announcing the Third Annual Fain Poetry Writing Contest

This contest in memory of Alfred P. Fain, sponsored by his family, is open to grade 9 –12 students of Grand Valley High School and home-schooled students of Hartsgrove, Rome, Orwell, Colebrook, and Windsor.Mr. Fain worked his way through high school and enrolled in college as part of the G. I. Bill after serving in the Army Air Force. He became an English teacher and school superintendent, writing poetry in his spare time. In his later years he was a resident of Roaming Shores, enjoying board games, Rotary Meetings, organic gardening and occasionally portraying Santa Claus.

Rules

*Authors must be enrolled in G.V.H.S. or home-schooled residents of the Grand Valley School District.*Authors may submit up to three poems, but can only win once per year.*Poems must be submitted on a CD or by email. When printed, the poem should fit on an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper using a font from 10 - 16 points. The maximum length of poems is one page. There is no minimum length.*The theme for 2008 is "Heroes". This is in honor of the 70th anniversary of the first Action Comic featuring Superman. Superman was created by two young men who met at Glenville High School, one of Cleveland's Public Schools.Your poem may tell the judges who your heroes are, what villains you fight, when you were someone's Supergirl, how heroes act, etc.*Any style of poetry may be used.*The use of profane language or topics is discouraged.*Poems will be judged on1. Originality - freshness of imagery2. Grammar (Please note that typing errors can be mistaken for spelling or grammatical errors-check your work!)3. Spelling4. Comprehensiveness - use of the topic, the wholeness and finished feel of the poem, including image development.5. Adherence to the Rules
*The author’s name, address, and telephone number, and the name of his or her English teacher should be on a separate page submitted with the poem.*The author agrees to have his or her poetry displayed in the Grand Valley Public Library, Star Beacon newspaper, and/or Valley News newspaper and respective websites.*CD entries must be submitted to the Grand Valley Public Library (1 North School Street) by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2008. Email entries may be submitted by e-mail as MS Word or Works documents or included in a plain text format to cherylfain@alltel.net or fainpoetrycontest@gmail.com *Winners will be contacted by telephone or letter by Tuesday, April 22, 2008 no later than 10:00 p.m.

Prizes:
1st $50
2nd $25
3rd $10