11 Experiments That Failed

11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.

Question: Can a kid make it through the winter eating only snow and ketchup?
Hypothesis: Ketchup and snow are the only food groups a kid needs.
What You Need: Ketchup, Snow
What to Do: 1. Make snowball, 2. Dip in ketchup, 3. Eat, 4. Repeat three times a day until spring.
What Happened: Stomachache, brain freeze, love of ketchup wavering.

And that is just the first (failed) experiment our passionate young scientist is trying...

I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. I did. I loved it because it was funny. It was just hilarious. It was fun and quirky and unexpectedly wonderful. (Though if you're familiar with 17 Things I'm Not Allowed To Do Anymore, then it may not be so unexpected. I'm not completely sure I've read the first book with this oh-so-quirky, oh-so-trouble-prone heroine, so I plan on reading it soon--just in case!)

There were MANY great experiments in the book. My personal favorite just happens to be:

Question: Can a live beaver be ordered through the mail?
Hypothesis: A live beaver can be ordered through the mail.
What You Need: Five dollar bill, envelope, stamp.
What to Do: 1. Fill out mail-order beaver form. 2. Attach five dollar bill, 3. Place form in stamped envelope. 4. Mail.
What Happened: Allowance withheld until further notice. House declared No Beaver zone. 

All eleven experiments are great. And the book is just FANTASTIC. I just loved, loved, loved it cover to cover. I would definitely recommend this one!!!

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

All The Way to America

All The Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel. Dan Yaccarino. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.

My great-grandfather Michele Iaccarino grew up on a farm in Sorrento, Italy. When he was a boy, his father gave him a little shovel so he could help tend the zucchini, tomatoes, and strawberries that his family sold in the village. They worked very hard but were always very poor. And so when he was a young man, Michele left Italy and went all the way to America in search of new opportunities. "Work hard," his father told him, handing him the little shovel. "But remember to enjoy life." "And never forget your family," his mother said. She hugged him and gave him their few family photographs and her recipe for tomato sauce. 

Dan Yaccarino tells a very personal story in All the Way to America. He shares his family history--the history of four generations: his great-grandparents, his grandparents, his parents, and himself, how he's passing on the legacy to his own children. It's a picture book that celebrates family, family values, and life. The good advice being passed on through the generations just as much as that one little shovel. It was a very simple, very sweet story. (I really liked seeing how the shovel was used by each generation.)

I would definitely recommend this one. I really loved it.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Best Birthday Party Ever

The Best Birthday Party Ever. Jennifer LaRue Huget. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.

My birthday is 5 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, and 8 hours away. Today I started to plan my party. It is going to be the best birthday party ever. I will make the invitations myself. They will have a picture of me dressed like a princess on the front. My mother will help me color them in. We will put gold glitter in the envelopes so when people open them they'll get showered with fairy dust. I am inviting all my friends--57 of them, counting some kids I just met at the grocery story. Plus my grandmas. And the mailman. And the lady at the bank who gives me lollipops.

So begins this charming picture book by Jennifer LaRue Huget. The heroine of this one is super-super excited about turning seven. As the months, weeks, days, and hours go by, readers get to learn all about her plans for celebrating the big day. The heroine is very exuberant, very passionate; she is very easy to love! And the thing is she can "plan" all of this party without being a big brat, without whining or crying. Does she get her elephants? Does she get her two magicians? Does she get a birthday card from the President or the Queen? No, no, no. Her real birthday party is great enough, simple enough, to treasure. It's the little things that matter--like how her mom makes extra frosting just for her so she can eat it out of the bowl--that make this party a big success.

I loved this one. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. It was funny and sweet and just about perfect. I just loved the illustrations. LeUyen Pham is without a doubt my favorite, favorite, favorite illustrator. I just LOVE and ADORE her work. I do. I can't help myself. I am just a big, big fan of her work. And the illustrations make this one extra special.

It really makes me happy to see a book with a great story AND great illustrations. That isn't always the case.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Edwin Speaks Up

Edwin Speaks Up. April Stevens. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.

Mrs. Finnemore was racing around the house.
"Gloo poop SHOE noogie froo KEY," Baby Edwin was babbling. He was all dressed and ready to go to the supermarket.
"Mommmmmy," Finney whined. "Can't we just go?"
Suddenly Mrs. Finnemore stopped short.
"Oh, for Pete's sake, there they are!" she said, and she reached into Fergus's shoe on the hall table and pulled out her car keys.

Baby Edwin, the youngest of five Ferret children in the Finnemore family, can't talk yet, so everyone thinks. But if he can't talk, why does he have all the answers?! Time and time and time again his babbling reveals that he is much more OBSERVANT than his distracted mama. And he does try to help her out all he can. For example, when she loses her pocket book, she just can't see how helpful Edwin is being when he says: "Figbutton noo noo POCKY BOOKY froppin ROOF."

So Edwin Speaks Out is a picture book about a family trip to the grocery store. Mrs. Finnemore is taking all five children to the grocery store with her. And she's told everyone to remind her to buy sugar so she can make Edwin a birthday cake. Well, of course one thing after another after another distracts her from the task at hand, and well, they are almost out of the store when....

Will Edwin finally get everyone's attention?! Will Edwin get the recognition he deserves?!

I honestly don't know how I feel about this one. I haven't read it aloud yet; I haven't given it an audience. And Edwin's babble could prove funny or amusing especially when read aloud. But the book definitely is a bit odd as well. I've seen really, really, really odd and peculiar books--this isn't that odd. But it's not quite your usual picture book either. A scatterbrained mom who just doesn't have it together--at all. And a babbling baby that can be a charmer.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 2 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Zoozical

ZooZical by Judy Sierra. Illustrated by Marc Brown. 2011. Random House. 40 pages.

One blustery morning, when frosty winds blew, 
When families stayed home, and when field trips were few,
The midwinter doldrums arrived at the zoo.

The zoo animals are bored, bored, bored. It's winter and the weather is keeping visitors away from the zoo. But with one little bounce--or hop--all that changes. The hop in question--from a small hippo--not the bounciest animal, perhaps, but wouldn't you hop out of the way if a BIG hippo was about to collapse on you? Inspired by this hop, the animals decide to put on a show. And this show--this talent show--brings in visitors once more.

I am not a big fan of Judy Sierra. I think her rhyming--her rhythm--is lacking quite a bit. The rhymes feel unnatural and the story feels forced in places. The rhymes hold this story back. The premise of this one--performing animals, silly animal tricks, animals singing, dancing, laughing, etc. isn't a horrible one. It could actually be fun (think Dooby, Dooby Moo). And I always appreciate a good zoo story.

The strength of this one is in the illustrations by Marc Brown. I thought they worked well with this one. The illustrations alone kept me reading this one.

Have you read ZooZical? What did you think? Do you have a favorite zoo book?

Text: 1 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 4 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers