Big Books

My daughter, Lena, 3 years old, loves this book. The title first caught her interest but she also enjoys the story. Gardens are intriguing to her and this story centered around a garden brings so many other positive lessons to light including cooperation, sharing, community spirit, family. I highly recommend this book to be included in any children's collection at home or teacher's collection at school.

Grandma Lena's Big Ol' Turnip is a soul-food picturebook adaptation of an old Russian folktale which is wonderfully illustrated by the fetching artwork of Jackie Urbanovic. A grand tall tail about woman who takes good care of her garden; the biggest turnip in it is so humongous that Grandma Lena, Uncle Isadore, Aunt Netty, and the dog can't make it budge! Who will make the difference? Exuberant color pictures add a whimsical touch to this cheerful tale with a positive message: "Anything worth doing is worth doing right".

I am simply amazed at this author's talents on a daily basis. What a wonderful addition to my baby's brand new book collection! Bravo Denia!

The Great Big Book of Children's Games is full of fun games of all sorts: Ball Games, Water Games, Chase Games, Card Games, and so on. Many of the games are well-known childhood classics, but many of them are either foreign or totally new.

The book offers lots of ways to play versions of popular games with a make-your-own version. Naturally, it doesn't tell you explicitly, "Don't buy game X, you can make your own!", but it does give great instructions on how to make paper playing boards for games like Shut the Box, Beetle (like a drawing version of Cootie), and also how to get the most out of a game like Checkers.

As far as outside games, it can't be beat, there are dozens of variations on classics like hopscotch, hide-and-seek, and that eternal favorite: tag!

This book is a great gift idea for Moms, Teachers, Daycare Providers, and it's a great one to leave around for the teenaged babysitter if you're going out and you don't want the kids to spend the evening in front of the TV. Wonderful!

This is such a great book! I was looking for some activities to keep the kids from being bored. What a wonderful surprise! This book was way more than I expected. There are tons of activities--card games, outdoor games, pen and paper games, travel games, table top games, blacktop games, and much more. As we looked through the book I remembered some of these from my own childhood, but I probably wouldn't have recalled them without this book to prompt the memories. I was very pleased and the kids love it. There are so many games that they will not be bored for a long time.

I do not own this book, but I put it on my "wish list". I currently have it checked-out from my local library for the second time. What a wonderful book for such a great price! I plan to use it for birthday party activities, kids church activities, etc. This book is well worth the price!

Being a long-time Grover fan, I had high hopes for "Grover's Own Alphabet" (which I ordered shortly after my son was born). Thankfully, I got what I wished for -- and then some! The folks behind this kid-sized book have captured Grover's whimsical nature in both the text and the illustration. He huffs and puffs and contorts his furry old body into letter after letter, using props from the ordinairy to the unusual to make his starting-letter points clear. Grover is drawn as the fuzzy creature he is (with none of the smoothed out edges that some illustrators give him), and his heart is as big as his body is flexible. I give this book the highest grade possible: "G" for (what else?) Grover!

This is a really cute book for young fans of Sesame Street. "Loveable, furry old Grover" uses his body and props to illustrate each letter of the alphabet. For example, he uses the reflection of himself in a mirror to create the letter M. He also uses words beginning with each letter in the text, e.g., for the letter A he uses four apples and says, "This is a little awkward, but is it not an absolutely adorable A?" It's a fun and creative book. I can imagine children tyring to use their own bodies to form the letters after reading this book. Excellent.

Great book! Especially fun for kids who are just getting the hang of the letters of the alphabet. And so nice to see Grover making a comeback. I for one have been saddened by the recent dominance of Elmo and the near disappearance of Grover. I don't know whether Rosie O'Donnell's histrionic shilling of Tickle-Me-Elmo was causitive or just another symptom of the craze, but I am not an Elmo-head. Elmo is too positive, too cute, too precious. When I watch Elmo doing his thing, I am forced to hold on to all my negativity and anxiety, it is very stressful. But Grover, he is much more human to me, even though I recognize they are technically both monsters. Grover struggles, he fails, he gets scared. I watch Grover and I can displace a wide range of emotions on him, it's far more freeing. And I never would have described Grover's voice as soothing before Elmo took over, Grover sounds like he could really use a mucolytic, but at least it is in a register that is not piercing.

So I highly endorse this book, not just from a pro-Grover stance but it also gives plenty of fodder for active reading with your children. You can focus on Grover trying to contort his body into all the letters and his eventually collapse into exhaustion, you can focus on the unnamed pictures on each page that start with the letter in question, or you can try and find how many words on each page start with the same letter.

I can't say enough about this series. It's amazing. I have actually bought the whole series & just put it away. Every time my daughter gets a new one she has to read it over & over again.

Henry takes his loveable, unruly dog to obedience school. Henry is terribly nervous. Will Mudge sit on a puddle? Will he drool on the teacher's foot? Mudge might flunk dog school! At the end of the eight weeks Mudge and Henry must take the "Big Test". Henry and Mudge are top choice for my 8 year old son who is a reluctant reader. Mudge has definitely found a place in his heart! Short chapters, adorable pictures and funny story make this book a hit!

This is a very fun book with wonderful pictures drawn in pen and ink and watercolor. After seeing a very obedient dog walk by his house, Henry and his mom decide it might be a good idea to take Mudge--their big, slightly wild and sloppy dog--to obedience school. Henry is worried: "He thought Mudge might drool on the teacher's foot. Or sit on a poodle by mistake. Or not even stay awake long enough to do anything."

The book is funny and teaches kids some fundamentals about training dogs. If Mudge can do it, maybe your dog can do it too!
The book is rated at "level 2--reading with help" by the publisher, and it has enough repetition and short sentences for the beginning reader. However, the humor and great picture make an interesting as well as readable book!

This is a book that I found not hard to put down, but difficult to pick up. My father is Bill Lawrence (Mr. LaCivita's buddy) from Rhode Island. The book gave such a clear account of what actually happened to these brave, young men and what they had to endure. My father never speaks of the war so this was an excellent source of information for me. I took it for granted that he came home safely. Now I thank God every day that he did.

After reading Heroes Under The Big Dipper, I have a greater appreciation of what our men and women endured in being part of World War II, the single most important event of the twentieth century. This book is a must read for everyone!

I always wondered what it was like to be in a full-fledged war. Now I have a sense of what it was like: a bunch of 19 year olds--scared, bored, idealistic, and playing lots of tricks on each other. This is a soldier's detailed account- reminiscent of Ernie Pyle's interviews-- of how the defensive Marine battalions in the Pacific lived from day to day. I especially enjoyed the humane contact with the Japanese soldiers hiding in the island's caves --- Marine soldiers trading coffee & water for a pile of the Japanese's unused grenades. Incidents like that of a young man going beserk throwing bed feathers in the air -- dreaming of the snow back home. Or looking out a trian window on the way overseas and seeing your dad standing behind a pole, crying. "Heroes" is real, heartfelt, and even historical because it expresses the minds and hearts of this WWII generation--my dad's generation. I enjoyed it enough to want to keep those images in my heart.

My daughter & I really enjoy this book. Not only is it fun (and Kadir Nelson, as always, does not dissapoint with his illustrations), but the message comes through clearly. It doesn't matter if you are different, we each have our own unique giftings & abilities that are valuable. Not to mention the unconditional love between the child & parents. Beautiful book you will want to read over & over.

Jerdine Nolen's story of a normal-sized boy born into a community of giants is funny and heart-warming. Her language is beautiful and would be fun to read aloud. Plus, Nolen includes funny little references to the Jack and the Beanstalk tale. Illustrator Kadir Nelson does a marvelous job. A number of the illustrations are from Hewitt's point of view; we see how Hewitt's mom and dad are overwhelmingly huge, but completely loveable, from his perspective.

Have you ever felt like a little person amid a group of giants? This was Hewitt Anderson's everyday existence in the book HEWITT ANDERSON'S GREAT BIG LIFE. His parents, descendents of a long line of giants, have lived their life with the belief that bigger is always better. So when their son was born tiny and didn't seem to grow, they were so concerned that they took him for medical evaluations. Yet, they loved their son unconditionally and did all they could to ensure he could survive as a little person in a great big world. In the process, they all learned to appreciate Hewitt's unique talents and abilities.

Loosely inspired by the fairy tale Jack in the Beanstalk, this book was a lot of fun to read. The author has penned a story that implicitly reminds children that it is okay to be different. The warm, inviting illustrations are detailed enough to hold a child's interest and further draw them into this gargantuan story. However, word count and vocabulary may be a little too difficult for very young children to read without assistance. This book is so much more than a mere retelling of a classic fairy tale with black characters, it is a story destined to be a classic on its own merits.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

My husband & I just returned from a fantastic trip to Big Bend National Park. We used this excellent, handy, easy-to-use book as our primary resource for deciding what hikes we were capable of taking in the park. The book proved very useful in showing numerous shorter, easier hikes that older people like us with foot and back problems could take as well as longer, harder trails for those who want them and are able. It also gave very interesting, accurate, readable, and useful descriptions of such matters as how to drive to the trailhead and whether parking is available there, some things (mainly scenery & geological features) one is likely to see on the trail, trail length, elevation gain, trail traffic etc., to allow use to decide which trails would most interest us. Further, it contains some useful black and white photos. And it provides some information about neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park which we also at least drove through. Thanks in large part to this book, we were able to enjoy some the best hiking of our lives despite our current physical limitations. I only wish we had visited the park a decade ago or more when we could have done some of the more strenuous trails described as well. I would recommend this book for virtually anyone planning a visit to Big Bend.

Gives a great synthesis of hikes of all levels in the park. Well-organized and thus very easy and quick to use.

It does the job it was purchased for, ie finding trails in Big Bend National Park

I have the book and have taken the class with Dr. Malphrus. Both were extremely "Ben"eficial to my physics eduacation. This book is interesting on both the historical and scientific level. An excellent view into an evolving science.

We haven't really read the book but we're students of his and we love him. He's an awesome guy. GO DOC!

This book offers an excellent look into the history and making of the science we now know as radio astronomy. Dr. Malphrus' book is also easy to understand, you need not be a physics major to make sense of the science he discusses. A great book for a interesting look into the once invisible world of radio astronomy.

Highly recommended for coaches and players at all levels. A truly outstanding book.

Hit Like a Big Leaguer gives great, in-depth instruction on both the physical and mental aspects of hitting. From the head to the feet and everything in between Jack walks you through the proper techniques of an effective Major League swing. Organized and easy to follow I highly recommend it for every coach at all levels.

This book was a very easy read and more importantly it helped me coach my nephew. I wish this book was out when I played baseball. It provides a bunch of tips for hitting; everything from body position (feet, eyes, legs, hands, and shoulders) to the mental approach.

Whitney is a loud-mouthed,energetic, and small eleven year old girl. She has been bounced around from foster family to foster family throughout her life, and has lost all faith that such a concept of home exists. Her next foster family, #12 is located in the middle of no where. Population 1,639 and a few bazillion trees. This does not please Whityney at all. She plans on making her stay a short one. Little does she know, that maybe she can find home in the last place she'd think to look- in a broken family.
Home and Other Big, Fat Lies is a funny and quircky novel that will have you cheering for the Mighty Termite the whole way through. Can an outsider become an insider? Well, you'll have to see.

Whitney has been in so many foster homes she considers herself an expert on their connected qualities, from happy ones to purely evil foster parents - but she doesn't know anything about trees, and her next foster home is located in them. She's convinced she won't be any more welcome in the middle of nowhere than anywhere urban - or is there a place in the country for a hyper, loudmouthed kid to fit in? A fine story of a spunky personality seeking a place to fit in.

One technique your average children's book reader can use when they want to fill space in a review is to compare the book at hand to already well-known titles. I do this all the time, partly because it's a space filler and partly because it gives you a feel for the book as a whole. Yet when it came to Jill Wolfson's newest title for the young `uns, "Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies", I found myself wanting to say something like this: The only way I can describe it is to say that it's basically "The Great Gilly Hopkins" meets "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" with an eco-message that "Hoot" fans will enjoy... and there's a dog that seems straight out of "Surviving the Applewhites". There. Have I cleared anything up for you? No? Well then buckle up and hold tight, kiddies. This book was one of the most enjoyable titles you'll find this year, and it's all about foster kids and unemployment. No lie!

Call her Whitney. No, wait, call her Termite. You might as well. After all, she knows she's a bit on the shrimpy side, and she likes to embrace her nicknames right off the top. As of this moment in time Termite has lived in twelve foster homes and she knows the lay of the land. Now her social worker has taken Termite and her pet (a pillbug by the name of Ike Eisenhower the Sixth... no relation to the president) to Forest Glen, California. Emphasis on the forest. Once there she finds a town in trouble. Due to the discovery of a rare owl, the logging industry in Forest Glen has shut down, leaving the residents destitute and in need of cash by any means. So the town came up with an idea. Why not adopt a whole mess of foster kids and make money that way until something better comes along? Now Termite's going to school with a bunch of kids who've been through what she's been through and out of the blue she's joined the school's ecology club. But when the logging industry starts to come to life again, Termite finds herself defending something she loves deep in the heart of the forest. And she'll risk everything to keep it safe.

When an author creates a wholly new character, it's important that they flesh out that person to the extent that you truly believe in them. Termite is a spot-on example of how to do this. Every detail about her comes to vibrant manic life under Wolfson's pen. Her constant chewing and spitting of sunflower seeds. Her tiny stature, fear of all dogs, and upfront supposedly fearless nature. I kept picturing her as a tiny version of "House", from the television show of the same name. I couldn't help it! She says what she thinks, is incredibly observant, and definitely ADD. Part of her charm is that you never really feel sorry for her. It's such a relief to believe in a character that can take care of herself. Termite doesn't care what she wears or what she looks like. When she sees the popular girls in school she notes that, "It would take me about six more lifetimes to be that glossy". And from the moment you hear that she can climb and then finds herself in a forest of tall tall trees, you know something's gonna go down before the end of the book.

Of course one of the things I adored about this title was Wolfson's sense of nuance. This is not an all-environmentalists-are-good-and-loggers-are-bad book. Nor is this an all-loggers-are-bad-and-environmentalists-are-good book. This story takes all sides into account. As Termite's teacher Mr. Cator points out, there were a lot of factors other than the environmentalists that brought the logging industry to a halt. "Improved technology, cheaper timber from foreign countries, greedy corporations", for a start. Environmentalists are just the easiest scapegoats on hand. It's remarkable to see what a town without industry can resemble. Wolfson gets the bitterness and hopelessness right, while also filling this book to brimming with honest humor of the laugh-out-loud variety. Or, in Termite's words, it's a, "wacky-monkey, cackling-chicken, mad-scientist, sputtering-car-starting, snorting-through-the-nose, moth-wide-open-cawing-crow" laugh.

Wolfson would do well to teach a course someday on how to write comedic passages. Honestly, it's not easy but she makes it appear effortless. When Termite discovers the words vomica, vomit, vomitive, vomitory, vomitorium, vomiturition, and vomitus in the dictionary, she comments that, "Page 1,355 has got to be the best page of the dictionary ever. I recommend it". The descriptions are pretty swell too. Termite's best female friend at school, Honeysuckle, suffers from something Termite calls, "IVPS, Imaginary Vice Principal Syndrome. She felt eyes on her all the time, reading to scold her for something". Oh, and this is completely personal, but she puts in a "Get Smart" joke that only adults will get on page 33 that I think is just fabulous. Well done, there!

Not every detail in this book was ideal, of course. Termite has a habit of misunderstanding words, possibly purposely, that will either strike readers as amusing or a joke that pretty much played itself out the first time she said "decidingus" instead of "deciduous". On the other hand, it does lead to her character saying things like, "The Termite's powers of perversion must not be disrespected". I mean, that's pretty funny. I thought it was a little overdone, but it's easy enough to ignore if you're not a fan.

With the sheer number of foster kid children's books out this year, it's nice to find one that acknowledges both the bitterness a kid can feel when shuttled from place to place, as well as the humor found in every situation. Heck, I haven't even told you about the banana slugs or Termite's great foster father, or half the funny stuff in this book. For an evenhanded blend of good writing and hilarity, "Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies" is a must-read title. Good good stuff.