Ruby Flips for Attention

Barnes, Derrick. 2009. Ruby and the Booker Boys: Ruby Flips for Attention. Scholastic. 130 pages.

"Those are our seats. Right there! Right there!" I yelled, and pointed after I zoomed through the big red gym doors.

Ruby is super excited about seeing her cousin Kee-Kee's drill team perform. The uniforms. The dancing. The flipping. The stomping. Wow. Ruby is just wowed. She so wants to be like Kee-Kee. Wants to start her own drill-team. Wants to have her own flashy uniform. Wants to perform, wants to wow. But there are a few problems. There's not all that many kids in her neighborhood that are interested. And then there's the fact that Ruby doesn't know how to dance, flip, or cheer. Is there more to being on the drill team than dancing? performing? What is this spirit stuff all about anyway?

Can Ruby learn that it takes more than a few flips to be great? Ruby is an enthusiastic narrator with a big heart for her family and friends.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Little House

Burton, Virginia Lee. 1942 (originally) 2009 for the board book. The Little House. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

This board book is a classic children's picture book. One that I'd hope all readers would be familiar with. (Though it's never too late to meet a classic.) Originally published in 1942, this is a delightful little story about a little house in the country. It's a story of the times, of progress. How the lovely countryside became the oh-so-busy-and-congested city. It's a picture book about appreciating the simple things in life, the natural things in life. Things like apple trees, spring time, and the moon and stars.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Heat Wave

Spinelli, Eileen. 2007. Heat Wave. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin.

I am not a fan of hot-and-sticky summer days. Give me a nice, cold air-conditioned room and I'll get by....but the characters in Spinelli's Heat Wave don't have that option. No, this picture book primarily illustrated with oranges, reds, and yellows, is set in the days before air conditioning. The story is a simple one. It follows a town throughout a record-breaking heat wave. All the town folks suffer through best they can, but misery and discomfort abound. Towards the end of the week, the town starts dreaming the same dream...

I thought I would like this one more than I did. I don't know if it's me or the book, quite honestly. It's certainly hot enough in Texas to relate to the sentiments of Heat Wave. But for some reason, this one just didn't live up to my expectations. And the plot was a bit boring to me.