Human Torch Burn

Human Torch- Volume 1: Burn

By Karl Kesel and Marvel Comics

Published by Marvel Comics (2005)

Reading Level: Young Adult

Pages: 136

Genre: Modern Fiction, Comic Book

Summary: Johnny Storm is a nobody until he gets his powers and becomes the Human Torch, then he is the most popular guy in school. Mike Snow gets upset with Johnny and they get in a fight, during which Mike gets burned and is permanently scarred on his face. They never tell anyone the truth about what happened that night. Years later Mike, now a firefighter, finds Storm and asks for his help to find out who made his coworker spontaneously combust. There are a few other weird fire instances where fire is chasing someone. Johnny secretly teams up with a reporter to figure it out. The reporter becomes firefox and is caught. They do this to put the real person off gaurd. The reporter, Donner, snoops around the fire station. Storm finds out it is Mike's girlfriend Rosie that did everything. Rosie doesn't want to hurt anyone so she destroys herself. Johnny tells Donner about how Mike got his scars to the reporter will leave the other story alone.

My Reaction: I don't read comic books and I'm not familiar with the superhero movies and TV shows, so I was a little surprised how violent it was. The story was okay, but not my favorite.

Potential Problems: This book is violent and there are several disturbing images of people being burned.

Recommendations: I read this because we were told we should read one for the class. I wouldn't recommend this to children, I would probably only ever recommend it to teenage boys.

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O

By Shel Silverstein

Published by HarperCollins (1981)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 104

Genre: Poetry, Picture Book

Summary: A missing piece is trying to find someone to roll with. He has a hard time finding

someone that he fits with. He finally find someone he fits with, but then he grows and is all alone

again. He meets a O that needs no missing piece and inspires the missing piece to try rolling in his own. The missing piece learns to roll on his own.

My Reaction: I thought this story was very cute, but it had a profound meaning.

Potential Problems: I don't see any problems

Recommendations: I would recommend this to older children

on up. I think anyone can learn from this book.

If you like this you might also like the following books, also by Shel Silverstein:

• The Missing Piece
• The Giving Tree

Checkout Shel Silverstein's Website! www.ShelSilverstein.com

Ramona the Pest

Ramona the Pest

By Beverly Cleary

Published by HarperCollins Publishers (2006)

Reading Level: Ages 4-8 years

Pages: 211

Genre: Fiction

Summary: Ramona gets to start kindergarten. She loves her teacher because her teacher understands her. Ramona tries really hard to learn and be good. She loves writing her name and turning her Q into a cat. She likes a boy and she chases him around every morning. A girl in her class has curly hair that Ramona likes to pull, and Ramona has to wear brown boots to school when it rains. For Halloween she dresses as a scary witch and "boings" the hair of the curly haired girl. When Ramona gets new shoes she also gets new red boots! but she gets stuck in the mud and Henry Huggins has to save her. In the end she loses a tooth and gets in trouble again for pulling the girls hair. When she can't promise the teacher that she won't do it again she is told only girls that don't pull hair can be in kindergarten so Ramona stays home for several days, until her teacher sends her a note asking when Ramona will come back and Ramona knows her teacher loves her.

My Reaction: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Ramona is such a real little girl, Cleary does an amazing job bringing her to life. I love how Ramona thinks and that the reader is able to understand it and almost feel and think with her. The book is hilarious and really sweet.

Potential Problems: I don't see any problems in this book.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to younger elementary school kids. It would be a great read aloud book for many ages.

These are all the books with Ramona Quimby in them. She started as a character in the Henry Higgins books.

• Henry Huggins (1950)
• Henry and Ribsy (1954)
• Beezus and Ramona (1955)
• Henry and the Paper Route (1957)
• Henry and the Clubhouse (1962)
• Ramona the Pest (1968)
• Ramona the Brave (1975)
• Ramona and her Father (1977)
• Ramona and her Mother (1979)
• Ramona Quimby age 8 (1981)
• Ramona Forever (1984)
• Ramona's World (1999)

I found the new movie, Ramona and Beezus, absolutely charming. I think that if you like the books you will love the movie and I think watching the movie doesn't ruin the books. This is a trailer for the movie.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends

By Shel Silverstein

Published by HarperCollins (1974)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 176

Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Summary: This is a collection of poems. Many of them are only a few lines long and some are longer than that. They are mostly humorous, like the one about the little girl pretending to be sick, or the one about the competition between Ma and God. Some have a more serious like the one about the boy that was teased until he flew away. They are silly and fun.

My Reaction: I laughed a lot, and I shared many of the poems with my roommates and who ever else happened to be around.

Potential Problems: Little kids might be afraid of the poems about giving away children.

Recommendations: I would recommend this to children who like fun poetry. It could also be good for someone with a short attention span because they can read a little at a time and not get lost.

Other books of poems by Shel Silverstein:

• Falling Up
• A Light in the Attic

This is a video of Shel Silverstein reading one of his poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures 4:

The Intrepid Canadian Expedition

By Jeff Brown

Published by HarperCollins Publishers (2009)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 112

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summary: Flat Stanley is a flat kid because he was squished by a bulletin board. Flat Stanley's family is on skiing vacation in Canada. Stanley's brother gets injured so Stanley pairs up with another kid, Nick, for a snowboarding competition. The wind catches Stanley (who is being the snowboard) and carries the boys away where they are found by a native and told by a shaman they they need to go to Niagara Falls. They get from a dog sled driver, then from a Mountie. The Mountie takes them to hockey game. Stanley and Nick win a prize there for shooting Stanley into a goal. They go to Niagara Falls and fall over. Stanley protects Nick by turning into a barrel. They find their families and go to a wedding. Stanley puts a news paper article about going over the falls on his bulletin board.

My Reaction: It was a cute story. Not my favorite, but I bet younger kids would love it. I really liked that the author included a couple pages of facts on Canada in the back of the book.

Potential Problems: The boys do lots of dangerous stunts.

Recommendations: I think that younger boys, around second grade maybe, would love this book. I know a elementary teacher that loves the series.

Other Books in Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventure Series Collection:

• The Mount Rushmore Calamity
• The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery
• The Japanese Ninja Surprise
• The Intrepid Canadian Expedition
• The Amazing Mexican Secret
• The African Safari Discovery

And if you like these you might like the original stories:

• Flat Stanley
• Stanley In Space
• Stanley and the Magic Lamp
• Invisible Stanley
• Stanley's Christmas Adventure
• Stanley Flat Again

To learn about the Flat Stanley Project click HERE.

Perrault's Fairy Tales

Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales

By Charles Perrault

Published by Dodd, Mead, & Company (1961)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 184

Genre: Fairy Tales

Summary: "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" is about a princess that is cursed to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die, but another fairy promises that she will only sleep. So the princess prick's her finger when she is about sixteen. She falls asleep and the fairy puts the whole castle to sleep. Hundred years later a prince learns about the princess and finds her and she wakes up. They get married, but the prince doesn't tell his family for a while because he didn't want his mom to eat his children. he finally brings his family home to his kingdom when he becomes king, but has to leave for war. The queen tries to eat the kids and princess, but they are saved by a steward that hides them away. The queen finds out and is going to have them killed but the king comes back just in time so the queen kills herself.

"The Fairies" is about a woman with two daughters. One is nice and pretty and the other is mean and ugly. The mother likes the mean one because they are alike. They send the pretty one out to get water and she gives some to an old woman who is actually a fairy. After that, whenever the girl spoke jewels came out of her mouth. The wicked daughter tries it but is mean a fine lady (that is the same fairy) and then whenever she spoke nasty creatures came out of her mouth. The pretty girl marries a prince and the wicked girl is cast away and dies.

"Little Red Riding Hood" is about Little Red going to see her grandmother. She talks to a wolf and tells him where she is going. The wolf races ahead and eats the grandma, then when Little Red get there he eats her too. The moral of the story is don't talk to wolves.

"Princess Rosette" is about a princess with two brothers that love he dearly. Princess Rosette decides she wants to marry the king of peacocks, so her brothers go find him. They send for her and tell the king that their sister is beautiful and the king falls in love with the picture. On the journey there, a maid puts Rosette out on the ocean while she is asleep and then the maid send her ugly daughter in her place. The king is furious when he sees the fake princess, thinking the princes had lied about their sister's beauty and send them to the deepest dungeons. Rosette floats to shore and is saved by a nice old man, who tells the king what happened and everyone is united and happy.

My Reaction: They were good. Not as violent as Grimm, the stories were still good and liked the different version of the story.

Potential Problems: Little Red dies, the ogre queen is kind of scary

Recommendations: Little girls would enjoy these stories because they are mostly happy and not as gruesome as some of the older ones.

Asbjornsen and Moe's Folk Tales

Norwegian Folk Tales

By Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe

Published by The Viking Press, Inc. (1960)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 189

Genre: Folk Tales

Summary: "Butterball" is about a fat little boy and a troll-hag that wants to eat him. She ticks him to come with her several times but he gets away each time until the third time. The troll-hag asks her daughter to make Butterball into soup while she's gone. Butterball tricks the daughter and chops off her head and uses her body to make the soup. When the troll-hag comes back with friends, Butterball drops a giant rock on them all and they all die. Butterball takes the Troll-hag's treasure and becomes rich.

"The Companion" is about a man trying to find a princess he dreamed about. On the way he makes sure a dead criminal receives a proper Christian burial and then he meets a man that wants to be the mans companion. The companion helps the man get past trolls and get magical items from the troll. They make it to the castle where the princess lives and the princess gives him items to hide from her for a day and not lose them, then she would steal them and take them to a troll she was in love with. The companion would follow the princess and get the items. Finally the princess asks for the troll's head and so the companion cuts off the troll's head and the young man gets to marry the princess, but the princess tries to kill the man and so he bathes her in the way his companion told him to and she lost her troll hide and became sweeter and more beautiful. The companions leaves and comes back later for his reward and the man gives it to him and the companion gives it back because he is really an angel and was the dead criminal that the man had made sure received a proper burial.

"The Three Princesses in the Mountain Blue" is about three princess that were not supposed to go outside until they were 16. They go out earlier and are kidnapped by a troll. A soldier joins a lieutenant and a captain in their search for the princesses. The soldier gets them past the animals on the bridge and then they come to an empty manor. When two go out hunting the other gets beat up by little old man with crutches. This happens to the lieutenant and the captain. When it's the soldier's turn to stay home he tricks the little man and finds out where there princesses are. He has to go down a hole and finds both princess who help him kills their troll captors. They take a bunch of money and after the princesses get out they leave the soldier in the hole. The captain and lieutenant make the princesses promise to say that they had saved them. The youngest refuses to marry them and the old ones agree. The soldier finds a whistle that calls ravens. The ravens help him get out of the hole. He apprentices himself to an old goldsmith. The princesses want a game like they had at the troll's place and a reward is promised to the person that can make one. The soldier has the raven bring him the original. It is given to the princesses and the duplicity of the captain and lieutenant are found out and they are put to death. The soldier marries the youngest princess.

"The Mill that Grinds at the Bottom of the Sea" is about a poor man that gets a mill that magically grinds out food or what ever you want. It can only be stopped a certain way. The man's brother tries is and can't stop it so it goes back. Then a merchant buys it and he can't stop it and it falls into the sea where it is still grinding salt.

My Reaction: I've read these tales before so I enjoyed them. Some I haven't read i a really long time, so it was fun to rediscover them, but I really enjoy these stories.

Potential Problems: They are violent. Many heads get chopped off. The trolls could also be scary.

Recommendations: I was young when I first heard the story of Butterball and I loved it. I think that elementary school kids would enjoy listening to these stories.