The BFG by Roald Dahl

Reviewed by: Bronwen, age 8 

I think you will love this book. It made me want to read more! It helps me want to be nicer to my siblings and family members.

Genre: Fiction

Setting: Giant Country and London, England

Introduction: A little girl named Sophie meets a friendly giant. He takes her to his home and she finds out that the other giants are much taller than her friendly giant. The other giants are also bullies who like to eat children. Sophie and the BFG try to trap the other giants so that they won't eat any more children.


Themes: Friendship, kindness, bullies, friends can be different

Recommended Age: 7-11

Rating: 5 stars

Other books : The Magic Finger, The Twits, The Witches, and    George's Magical Medicine, Matilda, James and The Giant Peach, and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Reviewed by: Bronwen, age 8

I love this book because it inspires me to read more. My favorite characters are Hermione and Harry because they are smart and brave. I like Dumbledore because he is funny and wise and intelligent. I hope you love this book.

Genre: fiction

Setting: present-day England

Introduction:

Harry Potter is a eleven year old  boy who lives  with his horrible aunt  and uncle, but one day, his life changes ...

Themes: family, bravery, smart is good, magic

Recommended Age: 8 and up

Full Disclosure: none

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books:  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Pottery and the Deathly Hallows

Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue by Tom Angleberger

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This book was the conclusion of the FunTime story arc in the Origami Yoda series. The ending is brilliant

and the message is stronger than before. This book will change your perception of characters from the previous books. This book also directly links its analogous "FunTime" program (a parody of Common Core) with Common Core itself by stating that FunTime meets the Common Core standards. I think this book does a very good job of forcefully expressing the author's views in a non-partisan way.

Genre: fiction

Setting: McQuarrie Middle School

Introduction:

Someone has stolen Tommy's latest case file and given it to Rabbski in an attempt to prove the Origami Rebel Alliance are the good guys. The mysterious person's notes to the principal are pasted throughout the book-- but if Rabbski doesn't listen to them, the students are in huge trouble.
The students have won a major victory against the FunTime Menace-- but it doesn't feel major anymore. Nothing's really changed, because they're still watching FunTime and haven't gotten their electives back. Rebels are losing resolve and support for the Origami Rebellion is dropping. And to make matters worse, Origami Yoda's advice starts taking a turn for the dubious. He wants them to show the case file to their evil principal! But they can't follow or ignore the usually wise puppet's advice, because someone steals it anyway, and the one question in Tommy's mind is-- who?

Themes: don't judge people until you really know them, standardized curriculum is not a good thing, stand by your friends

Recommended Age: 12 and up

Full Disclosure:

There is a controversial chapter in the book in which the word "gay" is used. Two bullies pick on Murky for wearing a pink shirt. They prank him so that he doesn't end up getting into the school picture. Tater Tot, who knows these bullies, tells Sara about it, and the students Photoshop Murky into the school picture and give the bullies pink shirts. The reason the author included this chapter was because of an incident from his own childhood in which a friend was bullied in the same way, and the story didn't have the happy ending as shown in the book. The chapter's message is that people should be tolerant of others, not whether homosexuality is right or wrong.

Rating: 4 stars

Other Books:  The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Darth Paper Strikes Back, The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett, Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus

Author Spotlight: Jan Brett

One of our favorite author and illustrators is Jan Brett. Her work is mainly focused on retelling folk tales and fairy tales with incredibly rich and detailed illustrations. Young and old will enjoy snuggling together and reading aloud from these books, taking time to explore the margins, borders, and expressive characters. Some of our favorite Jan Brett books are:

You can explore Jan Brett's website together as well! 

What is your favorite Jan Brett book?

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This is the third book in the Origami Yoda series. This book foreshadows the evil Common Core-type program that will be implemented in the next book as a primary antagonist. 

Genre: fiction

Setting: McQuarrie Middle School

Introduction:

Dwight Tharp has changed schools, and that means his friends won't have the guidance of Dwight's paper Yoda to help them get through the school year. And it is a time when they need Jedi wisdom the most. Mysterious things are happening. Teachers are packing up their classrooms more than seems necessary for Christmas vacation. Something about "FUN-damentals" is somehow involved, but none of the kids know what it's about. But the students aren't just worried about that-- they're worried about the mistakes they'll make without Origami Yoda and how bored they are without Dwight's weirdness.
But in a way, they still have Dwight with them. Dwight's neighbor Sara brings a new puppet to school one day, folded by Dwight: A paper Chewbacca. The Fortune Wookiee gives great advice just like Yoda-- but Harvey smells a rat. And from what they hear of Dwight, he's becoming less like Dwight every day. He's almost... normal. Can the kids at McQuarrie save their friend from becoming boring, and find out why everything's changing-- and how the Fortune Wookiee is as wise as Yoda?

Themes: stay weird because being weird is better than being normal, education should not be limited to the fundamentals

Recommended Age: 9 and up

Rating: 4 stars

Other books: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Darth Paper Strikes Back, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett, Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue, Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus

Nora's Picks of the Week

What's the 2 year old requesting lately? Here's what she's had on the docket all week:

If you haven't read this one yet, it is rather delightful. The poor little llama gets stuck running errands with his mama and hits his limit. Mama Llama keeps her cool and helps him see that shopping is a necessary evil sometimes. They work together to clean up the mess he has made, finish their shopping, and go get a treat together. We love the rhythm and rhyming in the book, and every 2 year old loves to read about a tantrum!

We have several of the BabyLit books because I just can't resist classic literature. I do wish that the books had more quotes from the original classics, but these introduce characters and are just fun.

We love all things Rosemary Wells around here-- in fact, Nora's name was nearly Rosemary! This one is a library book that we hadn't read before, but it is getting lots of mileage at the moment. 

Barefoot Books has some delightful offerings, including this one, which has been loved at our house since Henry was the baby. Nora loves to recite along with us, and to laugh at the naughty, out-of-place animals.

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Talor

Reviewed by: Bronwen, age 8

This book is one of the best books I have read! I like that it's a family of all girls. It inspires me to be kind and more loving in my family, and to read more. I am also learning about Jews-- that they have different holidays, like Purim and Passover.

Genre: Fiction

Setting: New York City, early 1900s

Introduction:

All-of-a-Kind Family is a family with five little girls, their mama and papa. They live in New York City and they are Jewish. They are kind to one another. They sometimes do bad things but they correct them.

Themes: loving families, working with each other, doing service, living your faith

Recommended Age: 7-9 years old, 5 and up for read-aloud

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books:  All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown, All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, More All-of-a-Kind-Family, Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeliene L'engle

Reviewed by: Henry, age 13

A great book that has science and fantasy. I haven't read it in a long time, so I can't remember some, but I remember it was good. With cool time travel ideas, strange worlds, and interesting characters. This was my mom's favorite book as a kid, and she loved a lot of books. Read it.

Genre: Fantasy/ Science Fiction

Setting: Other worlds

Introduction:

A girl's father has not returned. He has not returned from a secret mission. They do not know if he's dead, because the government hasn't told them. He may still be alive. Meanwhile, she is living with her mother and brother. When three strange old ladies come into their lives and offer to help find their father, the girl and her brother follow them on an adventure they never would have dreamed of.

Themes: Family, kids, courage, 

Recommended Age:  9 and up

Full Disclosure: nothing I can think of

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time

Nora's Picks of the Week

Two year old Nora can (almost) always be convinced to cooperate if we offer to read a book. Here are her favorites this week:

This one is a library book and new to us. It's a cute story from an illustrator we love.

We have had Moo Moo, Brown Cow for years and it continues to be a favorite of my littles.

Looking for new shoes to wear to a party, the girls try on every pair in the store before deciding that they'll just glam up the shoes they already have. Fun rhythm and rhyme and lots of shoes to look at. 

Christian themed author Max Lucado's books are uber-popular. This one teaches that our value comes because we are God's children and creations, not based on what others think of us. I may not be popular for saying so, but I feel like his books are a bit heavy-handed for my taste in terms of driving their point home. However, they are points that I want my kids to internalize and perhaps heavy-handed isn't a bad thing in these situations. So when Nora picks this one, I sigh a little because I am very tired of it, but I read it anyway because I want her to know her individual worth and divine nature.

Margaret's Corner

Margaret is our sunshiny nearly 6 year old. She just finished kindergarten and loves books. We try to find books that are well-written but still at her reading level. Here are a couple she has been reading this week:

We love Poppleton for his silly but relatable ways. There are several Poppleton books out there that we have and enjoy reading. 

We recently discovered Iris and Walter and are having fun discovering what they like.

Margaret's pick this week for a read aloud? Anything from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle!

I loved them as a little girl, and I love them as a mom, too, as it gives me a chance to talk to my kids about the bad manners and bad habits that children often pick up and need to break. This week, we've read The Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker Cure, the Crybaby Cure, and the Bad Table Manners Cure. 

Nora's Picks of the Week

Nora is our 2 1/2 year old. She has a tendency to pick the same books over and over every time we read to her. Luckily, they switch up every week or so! We'll be featuring her picks of the week.

Mom's verdict: Olivia books make me laugh. Olivia is such a character that parents can enjoy her as well (if for different reasons than the kiddos do). Blueberries for Sal is a classic that never gets old. Nora has been insisting that I substitute her name for Sal's and my own for Sal's mother for the past couple of nights. Children Make Terrible Pets is a silly tale of reversal that you and your kids will love reading together. Verdict-- this week isn't so bad!