Guest Review: Doors

Doors by Roxie Munro
R

Book Review by Marcus Taylor (part of the TAP In series of guest reviews)

Doors is a perfect book for kids around the ages of 6 to 12. I say this because it has a decent length of words for the kids to read, and lots of color and texture as to where they won't lose attention. Within the reading the children are asked to find an apple and a hat or other random stuff  from different scenes as you turn the page.  The opposite page has little doors, or pop-ups if you will, for kids to lift and find these items. So, over all this book is an attention-grasping, worth-your-time book to read; and I give it a R.

Note from Alysa: Ooh, this sounds fun! My older son no longer wants to rip the flaps off of books like this, I wonder if he'd like it. That reminds me that I've been meaning to read Press Here by Hervé Tullet, which sounds similar. Thanks for letting me read (play?) Tullet's other book, The Book With A Hole, with you!

Guest Review: You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman.
R*

Book Review by Clorisa Mainor  (part of the TAP In series of guest reviews).

The book I read was You Read to Me, I'll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman. I want it to be an all star book. It's short fables that have really good morals at the end.

I believe this is a great book to start off reading to children because the morals will teach them wisdom and the illustrations are really on point. The pictures can tell the same story as the writing in the book. I think the pictures are for the children who can't read yet so they won't be missing out on anything. They will be reading alone but through pictures. I also love this book because it rhymes and I know children love books that have a rhythm.

Even as a 17-year-old this book appeals to me. So not only is it for children, but adults can also have fun reading along. Most of the fables in the book I heard when I was young, and I really like that they are still being told and in different patterns. I really love to read to children; my little cousins, their friends, even random kids I see in Douglass library when I go. And I really think the theme "you read to me, I read to you" gives the child to time to read along and be engaged instead of sitting there and watching and looking at the pictures.

I think more books like this should be made for a child's imagination. This book should be recommended to all elementary schools and all libraries.

Note from Alysa: One thing Clorisa didn't mention is that the narrative inside is split into two parts -- presumably so that two people can read it together.  Of course one person could read both parts, or more than two people could rotate. I think it would be fun to use this book for choral reading. In the workshop we also talked about the interior design of books and this one has a great design that makes it easy to use.

Guest Review: Chester

Chester by Melanie Watt.
R*

Book Review by Christina Coleman (part of the TAP In series of guest reviews).

I really enjoyed this book, it was creative and cute. It had nice pictures, the concept was understandable and held my attention.

The book was about a cat named Chester that is self centered and rude, and takes over the author Melanie Watt's book. He re-writes the book with a red marker and doodles on it too. He really just wants the story to be about him and not about what she's writing about. Also kids will enjoy a laugh.

What I liked about the book, was that the author was having problems with her own character, and really couldn't handle him. There was nothing that I didn't like about the book.

I recommend this book to young kids ages 7- 10 years of age. Also this book would be great as a read aloud and a read alone book.


Note from Alysa: Hmm, a character who takes over your projects, doodles on things with red markers, and wants everything to be about him? Sounds like parents of toddlers will enjoy a laugh, too! I'll definitely pick this one up soon.

Guest Review: The Little Red Pen

The Little Red Pen by Janet Stevens

Book Review by Jessica Heath (part of the TAP In series of guest reviews)

In the book a red pen takes on the task of completing a huge task alone but in the end only bad comes from the situation.

There are many characters in this book. There is a pen, a stapler, a highlighter, a ruler, a yardstick, an eraser, and other basic office supplies. This is a helpful book because it shows the value of teamwork. It also shows that not one person can do a job that requires many.

This is a good book to read to children because it shows the different dialog by using different colors and font type for each different character. This can allow the reader to use different voices to entertain the children or audience that they are reading to.

The illustrations are good in the book also. They have a lot of color and even though the characters are inanimate objects you can still see the facial expressions.

Note from Alysa: I haven't read this one yet, but I'm guessing it plays on the story of The Little Red Hen. Sometimes I identify pretty well with that bossy chick, so I'll have to pick this one up!

Guest Review: Mirror

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Book Review by Jonathan Diaz (part of the TAP In series of guest reviews).

There are two different places that create two different stories. One family lives in the country of Australia and the other family lives in Morocco, North Africa.

Each story has many differences and maybe some similarities -- just like some things in families are the same for each family. The book Mirror describes and shows the differences between how people live in each country; how they cook, eat, getting to places, what transportation they use, their different lifestyles at home, different religious views, and many other differences in life using pictures side to side.

As a critic, I think this book was very useful to any age. It was realistic and creative. The story was realistic and simple because it did not use words; it just showed images to describe each action the picture creates. This book would be useful to any person and it makes you think of how different each person’s life is.

Notes from Alysa: This was a favorite of several in the group, and there was some discussion about how it would be great for classroom use. It is not constructed like a typical book, so when my 11 month old opened it up he got frustrated. :D Within the cover are two books that open up side by side, to show the parallel lives Jonathan talked about. Check it out!

Guest Review: It's Christmas, David!

Today I'd like to introduce to you the first of our guest reviews in a new series! It comes from high school student Jazzlyn Carter. Fun fact: Jazzlyn and I share a birthday.

It's Christmas, David! by David Shannon

R (see note*)

Everyone loves the David books. The little boy does various bad things and gets yelled at over and over again.

I feel the opposite. David books are all the same. He does everything in the book to defy the rules, and every page says, "No, David." He's constantly yelled at but never in real trouble, and there's never really a full story. By the end everything's fine and everybody's happy- until the next David book comes.

In It's Christmas, David, David steals cookies, peeks at gifts,breaks ornaments, and everything else there is. But once again, he is forgiven when it's all over. While he books are very repetitive, I will say they touch on things children do everyday, and the responses they normally get. They are bright and colorful, and very realistic. David is the typical little boy, and it's good for kids to know that at the end of the day they'll always be loved.

Because of the positive side of the never-ending "David" collection, I recommend this book to young kids around 1st grade. They can read it, understand it, and they won't get bored too easily.

-Jazzlyn Carter

*Note: R stands for "Recommended." This review is part of a series of guest reviews by students in the Tap In Leadership Academy.  Read more about this series of guest posts, here!

Upcoming Guest Reviews

Over the next week or so, we'll have several guest reviews! These come from high school students that Alysa has been working with at the Center for Children's Books at UIUC. The students are part of TAP In Leadership Academy. 

Here is what one student, Jazzlyn Carter, has to say by way of introduction.

TAP In Leadership Academy is a summer enrichment program for grades 5-12. The program focuses on different cultures to broaden the mindsets of children to things they may not be familiar with. Each week TAP In highlights a different country and does projects relating to the culture. There is also a strong literary piece. Over the past 6 weeks, the high school scholars of TAP In have delved deeper into the world of literature. They have read books upon books, done mock review, and even created awards for books chosen by them. They have learned to look beyond the colors of the cover and analyze true literary merit. It has been a real learning experience, and they've gotten information that will forever change the way they read.

So! We will get to peek at some of those reviews and get a taste for the "books upon books" that they've read.  As a note, TAP In reviewers rated the books they reviewed according to the guidelines that The Bulletin (the review journal published by the CCB) follows:

R* (Recommended book with special distinction)
R (Recommended)
Ad (additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area)
M (Marginal Book that is so slight in content or has so many waknesses in style or format that it should be given careful consideration before purchase)
NR (Not recommended)

Update: You can now find all of these guest reviews under the Tap In label, here!