Book Reviews for Children's Folklore/Fantasy Books

I decided to post my reviews on Children's books that I am completing for class. I have many friends with children and I hope this helps you find some fun new reads!

Folklore-Chapter book

“Where the Mountain meets the Moon”

Author/Illustrator- Grace Lin

Publisher/Year- Little Brown Books for Young Readers- (2009)

Ages-

In this lovely blend of fantasy and folklore, author Grace Lin introduces us to a brave young girl Minli who sets out on a quest to change her family’s fortune. The story is told using folktales along with the story text and beautiful illustrations. As Minli seeks to bring life back to her home she meets a enchanted goldfish, a talking dragon and other characters that help her find the Old man of the moon. Readers will enjoy the lyrical flow of the story and the mini tales that accompany it. The illustrations add meaning and great beauty to the story in traditional Chinese fashion.

  

Folklore Advanced beginning to read

“Tales from the Odyssey Part 1”

Author- Mary Pope Osborne

Publisher- Hyperion Book CH; Original edition (May 4, 2010)

Ages- 8 and up

Odysseus must brave raging seas, one eyed giants, hungry cannibals and a six headed serpent if he wants to make it home to his family.

Osborne retells Homer’s Odyssey in this short rewritten version. She breaks down the epic tale into short chapters that even early to intermediate readers can enjoy. The story is also broken down into three books with short epilogues at the ends. Included at the end of the book is a dictionary of sorts about the gods and goddesses in the story with a guide on how to properly pronounce their names.

Folklore Beginning Reader

“The Jewel Fish of Karnak”

Author/Illustrator- Graema Base

Publisher- Abrams Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2011)

Ages- 5 and up

Jackal and Ibis are thieves who are brought before the Cat Pharaoh to be punished. Taking pity on them she sends them on a quest to retrieve the Jewel Fish that was stolen from her. They are warned not to take anything else from the treasure and not to get the magical fish wet.  Will they succeed or will greed take over?

In this cautionary fable readers learn the meaning of honesty. This is a short charming book with lovely illustrations. Readers can try to figure out the secret hieroglyphs that accompany the text and enter the message on the website to get the full ending of the story. 

Fantasy Picture Book

“Princess Hyacinth (The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated)”

Author- Florence Parry Heide

Illustrator- Lane Smith

Publisher- Schwartz & Wade (September 22, 2009)

Ages- 4 and up

Princess Hyacinth would really like to be just an ordinary princess. Instead she has a rather difficult problem... she floats! Her clothes are weighed down, she wears a heavy crown and she can never go outside. She spends her days daydreaming of playing outside with a boy she sees in the garden. One day she spies a balloon man and sets off on her own amazing adventure! Will she ever come down again?

This is a fun quirky book with fantastic illustrations. Children will love how the floating text matches the little flying heroine!

Fantasy Advanced Beginning Reader-

“Tuesdays at the castle”

Author- Jessica Day George

Publisher- Bloomsbury USA Children’s; 1 edition (October 25, 2011)

Ages- 8 and up

Castle Glower likes to change its rooms every Tuesday. It might add a new room, turret or an entire wing! No one loves Castle Glower more than Princess Celia, who has attempted to map all the new rooms and changes the castle. When the King and Queen disappear and the castle is taken over by the council and a evil foreign prince; Celia, along with her brother Rolf and sister Lilah must work together to save the kingdom.

An easy book for advanced/beginning readers, with likeable characters and nasty villains that will keep the pages turning. This book is the start of a new series by Jessica Day George. 

Fantasy Chapter book

“Tale of two Castles”

Author- Gail Carson Levine

Publisher- Harper Collins; First Edition (May 10, 2011)

Ages- 8 and up

As Elodie travels to the town of Two castles to seek an apprenticeship to become a mansioner (an actress), she finds that her luck has completely run out. She is saved from starvation by a rather ugly dragon named It and finds herself on a mission inside an Ogres castle. She quickly finds herself wrapped up in a plot of murder and intrigue in this tale of good versus evil. 

Elodie is a likeable character with plenty of spunk. This is not a tale of romance but one of mystery and friendship in unlikely places. While the publisher suggests that this is a book for ages 8 and up it is fairly substantial, with large words and complicated plot twists. I would recommend it for ages 10 and up as younger children may find many of the words hard to understand.

Fantasy Chapter *Bonus read*

“Brother Band Chronicles- The Outcasts”- Book 1

Author- John Flanagan

Publisher- Philomel (November 1, 2011)

Ages- 10 and up

This is the second series by Flanagan who wrote the popular Rangers Apprentice Series. Instead of Will and Halt we meet the Skandian (think Viking) outcast Hal who is of mixed parentage living in the town of Hallasholm. He and eight other boys become a team in the annual Brotherband training that all Skandian boys must go through. He finds himself the leader of the group and must prove himself worthy. Add a side story of dangerous pirates and you have another epic adventure series in the making.

This is a fast moving well written story with characters that boys and girls can relate too. I highly recommend this author and his new book for advanced chapter readers and reluctant boy readers. If you know me at all, then you know this is one of my favorite authors. Flanagan has a superb writing style that works with many age levels. I love his books!

Day in the life of a Elementary Library Assistant/Owl wrangler

I decided to attempt to describe a typical day in the Elementary library where I work. This came about from seeing a friend post about  Library Day in the Life. It's a challenge to write about what you do as a librarian or library student to encourage and inform others. Little did I know how totally wild my first day would be. 


I work at an Elementary Library as the Library Assistant or Clerical. Basically I do everything the regular Librarian does except teach. I work three days a week and my Librarian works 2 1/2 days. 

Our school is made up of Kindergarten through 4th grade students. Something unique with our school is that we have a large number of English as a second language students (ESL). We have 71 ESL students from 13 countries. This can make things a bit challenging at times when helping children choose books. 

Today I started my morning with a short meeting. Susan my librarian and I meet for about 30 min every Wednesday to discuss things that have gone on the week before and to plan for the rest of the week. We discuss any issues that have come up with lost books, teacher requests, over due books, projects and lesson plans. Then we plot our tasks out on a chart. To do, Future endeavors, and Completed. This helps us keep track of everything going on since we do not work together most of the week. 

Next, the students bring their books down to be checked in before they have library time. I check them all in and run reports for Susan that list all the overdue or lost books that the students need to turn in. While she is teaching I check over the books that have been turned in to make sure they are not damaged. I don't do this every week, however we have been noticing that some of the art and drawing books are coming back damaged. 

After each class I help check out the students books and help them select new favorites. On Wednesdays we have 3rd and 4th graders who are my favorite age group. They love chapter books and are always looking for new things to try. Right now an entire 3rd grade class is obsessed with the Titanic! Today I had solve several fights over who gets to read the Titanic books next. This is pretty typical. If one or two things its cool then the whole class wants to read it. 

After the classes leave for the day I started to decorate for Valentines day. I had our volunteers pull all the Valentines Day books for a display. The previous weeks I had pulled all the African American Titles for African American month in February. I have to stay on top of all the popular holidays and celebrations for the teachers and students. 

Once decorating was complete I pulled the teachers requests for the week and requested books that we did not have from other libraries. I am not a fan of Inter library loans. We are a new school so we do not have our total collection built up yet. Sometimes a request form another school can deplete an entire shelf and leave our students without. I have to decide what to send and what to keep. Sometimes this can get a bit tricky when a certain school does not return books in a timely manner. They tend to not get as many requests filled!

Today started off typical but quickly nosedived into something from a Monty Python skit. Cue Val the Owl wrangler. ..

We had a fire drill today and as I was out with some of the students the nurse and I overheard them talking about a dead owl stuck in the Soccer goal netting at the playground. Another child said that it was alive and that after school they were going to come back and try to help it. RED FLAG!! If you have ever looked closely at an owl you know that they are built to kill. They have very sharp talons and a wicked beak. Since they use these tools to kill their prey you can imagine what they would do to a child's hands. Cue epic freak out.. 

The nurse and I decided to investigate and see if there was any truth to the owl rumors. As we rounded the building we saw a big brown lump of feathers all wound up in the netting. Then the lump moved! Anyone who knows me knows that I love owls and have a passion for animals. This  would not be the first owl that I have rescued and more than likely not my last. This one happened to be a Great Horned owl. 

The poor thing had his wings head and legs all tied up tight in the net and he was laying on his back. He was MAD! Hissing and clicking that nice sharp beak. I used to work at an Animal Museum and handled birds of prey for part of my job. I knew that I had to get him calm. One thing that keepers often do is cover the birds head to calm them down. I quickly shed my coat and attempted to cover his head. Bad choice he freaked out and nailed my hand with his foot. Ouch!

The nurse ran to get some wire cutters and another teacher helped me cover his head. Before I could get a hold of his legs he managed to grab my left kneecap and squeeze! HOLY OUCH!! Remember those talons? Yeah.. 4 of them made their way under my kneecap. Thankfully I was able to grab his feet and manipulate his muscles so he would let go. I may or may not have said a cuss word or two! Thankfully the kids were a ways away and the wind was blowing! 

When we got the cutters I had another teacher help me cover his head while I held his feet with one hand and cut the net with the other. I did not feel any broken bones but he was tied down tight. Poor baby! It took us a bit because it was wrapped around his neck but finally he was free. I then pulled him out (still covered with my now bitten up coat) from under the netting and let him go. 

He burst out of my coat in all his owl fury!! He hissed like crazy and jumped around. He was unable to fly which worried me. We pulled the soccer goal out of the way so he would not get tangled again. By this time my hand and knee were bleeding and I was under strict orders to get my butt to the doctor asap!! Mr. Owl scuttled his bum to the woods nearby hopefully to recover. 

I wish that I had had gloves with me and a blanket. I would have wrapped him up and taken him to the Zoo for rehab. However, due to liability at the school it was best that I leave him be as long as he was out of reach from the kids. 

My day ended with a trip to the Doctor to flush out 9 puncture wounds and to get a tetanus shot. You know.. a typical day at the library!