The Story of Ruby Bridges

The Story of Ruby Bridges

By Robert Coles

Published by Scholastic Press (1995)

Reading Level: Ages 4-8 years

Pages: 32

Genre: Picture Book, Biography

Summary: At age six Ruby Bridges was selected to be one of the first African American Children to be integrated into an all-white Elementry School. She had to be formally escorted by federal marshalls becasue the community really upset and it was the only way she got get there and home safely. Ruby was teh only child in her school and she seemed unaffected by the persecution. Once on her way throug the crowd she stopped to pray for the people who hated her because she forgot to earlier. She would pray for them every day on her way there and on the way home.

My Reaction: I thought it was a very sweet telling of this story. I loved the illustrations.

Potential Problems: It mentions that the crowd wanted to kill Ruby.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to all elemantry school children.

The Jewish Kids' Hebrew-English Wordbook

The Jewish Kids’ Hebrew-English Wordbook

By Chaya M. Burnstein

Published by The Jewish Publication Society (1993)

Reading Level:

Pages: 39

Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference Book

Summary: This book teaches children Hebrew words. On most pages it has picture in the middle of the page and then on the border it labels things in the scene. The border has a small picture from the scene, the English word, the Hebrew word, and the Hebrew pronunciation. The scenes display thing like family, things around the house, school, stories from the Torah, and things around town. On every page you can find a monkey. It also teaches conversational words, numbers, holidays, days of the week, and seasons.

My Reaction: This book was the very first book I checked out with my own library card when I was eight years old. I enjoyed it then and now that I know a little Hebrew it is fun to see how far I have come. The words are fun and I like learning them.

Potential Problems: On one page it shows a picture of a man in a bathtub and on another is a picture of Adam and Eve, but none of the pictures show more than a bathing suit would.

Recommendations: I would recommend this to any child interested in languages.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

By J. K. Rowling

Published by Children's High Level Group (2008)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 128

Genre: Fantasy

Summary: There are five stories and each story is accompanied by a commentary by Dumbledore. The first story is called "The Wizard and the Hoping Pot". It is about a wizard that inherits a pot from his father. The wizard doesn't believe in helping muggles. The pot starts to hop and reflect the afflictions of everyone in the community until the wizard helps them all. Dumbledore said this story was changed so that it no longer reflected the same values. The next story, "The Fountain of Fair Fortune", was about three witches and a clumsy knight that are allowed into a garden to find a fountain with the hopes that drinking from it will cure their problems. They have to pass trials and at each one someone leaves their problems. The knight gets to drink form it, then the knight marries one of the witches and the fountain was not magic, they had solved their own problems. Dumbledore said they tried doing a stage production of this a Hogwarts and it ended in disaster. "The Warlock's Hairy Hart" was about a wizard that thought love was ridiculous so he took his out and hid it away. He decided to charm a girl and he offered to show it to the girl and when they came to it it was hairy, the wizard put it back in, but the heart had become warped and strong. It made the wizard kill the girl for her heart, then the wizard killed himself to stop the hairy heart. Dumbledore talked about the fact that we can't become invulnerable. "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump" is about a king that wants to do magic. He send out his hounds to find and kill all the magic folk. A slight of hand magician pretends to teach the king magic, but when the king wants to do magic on his own the magician goes to Babbitty, who is a witch, and makes her help him by hiding and then doing the spells he attempts. But when the king wants to bring someone back to life, Babbity is unable to do the spell and she is accused of stopping the kings magic. she runs away and is chased. They find a tree. Believing it is her they chop it down and the stump laughs and tells them to kill the magician which reveals he is false, and then tells the king he is cursed and if he kills any more witches or wizards he will feel intense pain like he is being chopped in half. They stop the killing and a rabbit hops off. Dumbledore said it is impossible to bring the dead back. The last story is "The Tale of the Three Brothers". It is about wizards that are met by death who offers each a wish. The first wants the most powerful wand ever, which he was given, he second wants to be able to bring others from death and he is given a stone with that power. The last brother wants to be able to hide from death and death gives him his own cloak. The first brother's wand was stolen and then he was killed, the second brother called the ghost of his dead love they weren't truly together so he killed himself to join her. The third brother hides from death for a very long time then passes the cloak on and then leaves life as death's equal. Dumbledore talks about the history of the items and that they may exist in his time.

My Reaction: The stories were fun, the one about the heart was disturbing but I enjoyed the rest. I also really enjoyed Dumbledore's commentary. I'm excited to read the Harry Potter series again with this new information.

Potential Problems: The hairy heart story is disturbing and a little scary. This is also death and fighting.

Recommendations: I would recommend this to all Harry Potter enthusiasts.

A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder

By Richard Peck

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers (2000)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Years

Pages: 130

Genre: Humor, Realistic Fiction

Summary: This is about a 15 year old girl named Mary Alice Dowder that is sent to live with her grandmother in a small town. Her grandma is big, mean, smart, and has a heart of gold. Everyone is afraid of her. After Mary Alice's first day of school Grandma gets rid of a bully by sending the girl's stolen horse back to the owner and making the girl walk home barefoot. On Halloween Mary Alice and Grandma steal pecans and pumpkins to make pie for the Halloween Party and helps Grandma prank the Halloween Vandals. For Christmas, Grandma gets he brother there and gets them tickets to see their parents. At the Christmas program there is a live baby in the manger. A new boy comes to the school and Mary Alice likes him. She invites him over to help her study and snake falls in the attic onto a a naked girl their tenant is painting. Grandma makes sure the whole town sees the girl. A tornado hits the town and afterwards Mary Alice and Grandma make sure the folks that old man Nyquist was alright and Effie Wilcox. At the end Mary Alice has to go home to Chicago, but several years later she marries that boy she liked.

My reaction: I laughed, I thought the book delightful. I laughed so hard at the snake part. I love Grandma and Mary Alice.

Potential Problems: The snake part could be a problem, there is talk about the great depression, and Grandma does do dome things that many could consider dishonest.

Recommendations: I would say this is a good book to read to younger kids, maybe first or second grade, but i would recommend it to children starting about third grade.

Encyclopedia Brown

Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective

By Donald J. Sobol

Published by Scholastic Book Services (1967)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 75

Genre: Mystery

Summary: Encyclopedia Brown was called that because he is super smart and knows as much as an encyclopedia. He helped his father solve crimes over dinner. He decides to open his own detective agency. In the first case Encyclopedia helps his father figure out who robbed a store. The store owner claimed it was Natty Nat, but some of his story didn't fit with facts about Natty Nat so Encyclopedia knew that the store owner made up the story. In the next story Encyclopedia helped a boy get a tent that a group called the tigers had stolen from them by proving it wasn't theirs. Then he stops the tigers from selling a fake civil war sword. He then has a battle of wits with a girl named Sally that has beat the boys at nearly everything and wins. Then he helps identify a bank robber, and a bakeshop robber, and diamond necklace thief. He also figures out who broke into a store room and stole money, who stoles Sally's roller skates, and and finally why the egg spinner kept winning (it was a hard boiled egg).

My Reaction: I enjoyed trying to solve the mysteries before the end of the story and I was successful half the time, it was fun.

Potential Problems: I don't see any.

Recommendations: I would start recommending this to third graders through maybe fifth to sixth graders. Especially ones that like mysteries or problem solving. Although I think the problem solving would be fun for some adults too.

Lincoln: A Photobiography

Lincoln: A Photobiography

By Russell Freedman

Published by Clarion Books (1987)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 160

Genre: Nonfiction

Summary: Abraham Lincoln had simple beginnings as a kid, he was tall and skinny and his father would hire him out to chop wood because he was also really strong. He didn't have much time for formal education, but he was an avid reader. As an adult he got involved in politics and studied law. He eventually opened his own law office with a partner and he was a very popular lawyer because he would defend anybody. Lincoln married a lady named Mary Ann Todd, even though her parents didn't like him. They had four children. Abraham Lincoln eventually ran for president. he was open about how he felt about slavery, that he was opposed to it, but he didn't plan on setting the slaves free. He was elected president and the South part of the United States decided to separate from the rest of the union. Lincoln wanted to save the states and they went to war. He had a hard time finding a general that would do what he wanted he finally found one they one the war. during the war Lincoln signed the agreement that freed the slaves throughout the union. Lincoln was murdered when he was at the theater by John Wilkes Booth. Thousands came to see the deceased president.

My Reaction: I didn't think I would like it, when I first looked at the book i thought it looked boring. It wasn't. I actually enjoyed it and it kept me engaged. The pictures were interesting as well.

Potential Problems: It does talk a lot about the war. Some of the photographs show the battlefields and the corpses could look a little scary.

Recommendations: I would recommend this to children around fourth grade on up. Also to anyone with an interest in American history.

Ender's Shadow

Ender's Shaddow (Audio Book)

By Orson Scott Card

Published by Macmillan Audio (2005)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Length: 15 hours 41 Minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

Summary: Bean spends his first few years on the streets of Rotterdam a very cut-throat, survival of the fittest place. He is smart and helps a crew get a bully to watch over them and get them into the soup kitchen. They are called a family and the bully, Achille, is called papa. They catch the eye of the nun and they start being tested by Sister Carlotta because they think everything was Achilles idea. Achilles kills Poke and Bean knows and tells Sister Carlotta, so sister Carlotta takes Bean off the street and tests him for battle school. He has the highest test scores ever. At battle school Bean scores the highest in everyhting again and selects a roster for Ender Wiggins battle crew. Everyone believes Ender will help defeat an alien race called the Buggers. They win every battle against all odds and unfair disadvantages. Ender kills someone in self defense and is sent to command school. Bean get his own army and Achilles is in it. Bean knows Achilles wants to kill him and captures him in an out of the way place and forces him to confess everything (there were many murders) so that he will be taken away. shortly after that Bean and several others that were close to Ender are taken to command school and then told to play a game that simulates a war against the Buggers, but Bean knows that they really are fighting the Buggers. Ender leads them to victory. The world is almost plunged into war over the kids from battle school and Ender has to live in space. Bean learns that his genes were changed to make him ultra smart, but his parents, or the closest thing he has to parents, are his best friend's (technically his twin's) parents also.

My Reaction: At first I thought what have I gotten myself into because the first part of the book is very much like Lord of the Flies, but as Bean grows and matures I grew to love the story more. I can't wait to read the next one.

Potential Problems: Swearing, Murder, Fighting, Violence, Infanticide, there is also some mention of pedophiles and prostitutes.

Recommendations: I wouldn't recommend it to children. I read Ender's Game when I was in high school and I didn't like it. I would probably only recommend this to adults because I feel it is better suited for older audiences.