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Starred Reviews
Kid's
Stars 2000
June 18, 2008
Notable
Children's Books - A Selected List
The list includes both fiction and nonfiction books. The books
were selected from titles receiving more that two stars from major
review sources. Titles are arranged alphabetically by author.
Titles received starred reviews from
Booklist, The
Bulletin for Children's Literature, Horn
Book, School Library
Journal, Kirkus, Publishers
Weekly. Audience and age designations are approximate, parental
judgement should be used.
Annotations (notes) are from Advance, the Ingram
Book Magazine or use the
Library of Congress CIP description.
|
Audience |
2
to 6 year olds |
|
Stars |
PW,
Booklist, Bulletin |
|
Notes |
Alex
wants to be a "night worker" like his father who goes
|
|
to
work at a construction site after Alex goes to bed. Then |
|
one
night Papa has a surprise--a hard hat for Alex! He takes |
|
Alex with him to work, where excavators rumble and |
|
cement
mixers hum like a dream come true. |
|
Title |
Digging
for Bird Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar |
|
Audience |
9
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Booklist, SLJ |
|
Notes |
The
story of Cathy Forster's experiences as a member of a |
|
team
of paleontologists who went on an expedition to the |
|
island
of Madagascar in 1998 to search for clues to the |
|
mystery
of bird evolution. Here we see the labor of |
|
excavating,
jacketing, and hauling out fossil finds and the |
|
hardships
of camp life, as well as the rewards of discovery. |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Booklist,
Bulletin, Horn Book, Kirkus, PW, SLJ, Boston |
|
Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, Parents' Choice Winner |
|
Notes |
When
their father eats so much that he pops the buttons off |
|
his britches, each of his three daughters tries a different
|
|
plan
to find replacements. |
|
Audience |
8
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
Booklist,
Bulletin, Kirkus, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
On
the way to visit their grandfather, 13-year-old Sophie |
|
and
her cousin Codyrecord their transatlantic crossing |
|
aboard
"The Wanderer, " a 45-foot sailboatwhich is en |
|
Title |
Because
of Winn-Dixie |
|
Audience |
8
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
Bulletin, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
In
a first novel recalling the fiction of Harper Lee and |
|
Carson
McCullers, the narrator--ten-year-old |
|
Opal--describes
her first summer in the town of Naomi, |
|
Florida,
and all the good things that happen because of her |
|
big,
ugly dog, Winn-Dixie. |
|
Title |
America's
Champion Swimmer |
|
Audience |
5
to 9 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Booklist, SLJ |
|
Notes |
Describes
the life and accomplishments of Gertrude Ederle, |
|
the
first woman to swim the English Channel and a figure |
|
in
the early women's rights movement. |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
Booklist, SLJ, PW |
|
Notes |
Whether
at home getting ready for the day, enjoying the |
|
beach,
or at bedtime, Olivia is a feisty pig who has too |
|
much
energy for her own good. Of course, it's another story |
|
for Olivia's exhausted mother. |
|
Title |
The
Everything Book |
|
Audience |
2
to 6 year olds |
|
Notes |
A
collection of simple works that introduces colors, |
|
shapes,
numbers, animals, food and nursery rhymes. |
|
The
Everything Book is a complete preschool library in one |
|
Title |
Mammalabilia:
Poems and Paintings |
|
Audience |
5
to 10 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Kirkus, PW, SLJ |
|
Parents'
Choice Recommended |
|
Notes |
Florian
presents a collection of humorous poems about |
|
mammals
such as the tiger, gorilla, and beaver. |
|
Title |
Joey
Pigza Loses Control |
|
Audience |
9
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
Horn
Book, Booklist, Kirkus, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
Joey,
who is taking medication to keep him from getting |
|
too
wired, goes to spend the summer with the father he has |
|
never known and meets a grown-up version of himself. |
|
But
Carter Pigza believes Joey can be as normal a kid as |
|
he
wants without medication, and Joey wants to believe |
|
him
more than anything in the world. |
|
Title |
Osceola:
Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter |
|
Audience |
8
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Kirkus, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book |
|
Notes |
A
poignant and powerful oral history, comprised of a |
|
patchwork
of stories, songs, and poems, about the life and |
|
times
of an African American sharecropper's daughter. |
|
Title |
The
Seals on the Bus |
|
Audience |
2
to 5 year olds |
|
Stars |
SLJ,
Horn Book, Bulletin |
|
Notes |
Different
animals--including seals, tigers, geese, rabbits, |
|
monkeys,
and more--make their own sounds as they ride |
|
all
around the town in this hilarious new version of the |
|
children's
song, "The Wheels on the Bus." |
|
Audience |
2
to 5 year olds |
|
Notes |
A
visual surprise and a chance to explore new ways of |
|
seeing
things lie on every page of this exquisite picture |
|
book.
Simple in format, with a single word per page and |
|
primitive-style
paintings of everyday items in a country |
|
setting,
this is a first word book for the very young. |
|
Title |
Henry
Hikes to Fitchburg |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Boston
Globe-Horn Book Winner |
|
Parents'
Choice Recommended |
|
Notes |
Inspired
by a passage from Henry David Thoreau's |
|
Walden,
this wonderfully appealing story follows two |
|
friends
who have very different approaches to life. When the |
|
two agree to meet one evening in Fitchburg, which is |
|
thirty
miles away, each decides to get there in his own way |
|
and have surprisingly different days. |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Booklist,
Horn Book, SLJ |
|
Notes |
When
Yoshi's neighbor, Sabu, the eel broiler, attempts to |
|
charge
him for the delicious smelling aromas he has been |
|
enjoying,
Yoshi hatches a plan to enrich them both. |
|
Audience |
6
to 10 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Booklist, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
As
Desta's father prepares for a trip back home to Ethiopia, |
|
Desta
begins to wonder where he truly belongs -- in the |
|
village
of his youth or in America with her Though there |
|
is
no simple answer, her father helps Desta to see that his |
|
love
for his family allows him to bridge both worlds. |
|
Audience |
6
to 9 year olds |
|
Notes |
Reluctant
Nicky spends a wonderful summer with |
|
Grandma
who introduces him to the joy of rafting down |
|
the
river near her home and watching the animals along the |
|
Title |
Wake
Up House! Rooms Full of Poems |
|
Audience |
2
to 6 year olds |
|
Notes |
Illustrated
in full-color glory, these 34 poems personify |
|
household
objects, from the bedroom window that greets |
|
the
sun's morning rays to the nightlight that watches over |
|
Title |
One
Lighthouse, One Moon |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Kirkus, SLJ |
|
Notes |
Simple
concepts were never so gloriously executed as |
|
Nini,
the cat, presents the days of the week, the months of |
|
the
year, and numbers from one to ten. Lobel is a |
|
Caldecott
Honor winner and National Book Award finalist. |
|
Audience |
5
to 9 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Kirkus, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
Set
in contemporary Tanzania, this variation on a |
|
traditional
tale describes how a young girl learns a lesson |
|
in
patience when a spirit woman sends her to get three |
|
Title |
Why
on this Night? A Passover Haggadah for Family |
|
Audience |
6
to 10 year olds |
|
Stars |
Booklist,
Kirkus, PW |
|
Notes |
This
unique haggadah brings the Exodus story alive for |
|
children
by asking them to participate. Filled with songs, |
|
plays,
poems, and activities, this inviting book explains |
|
the
holiday symbols and traditions and asks |
|
thought-provoking
questions guaranteed to make seder |
|
discussion
lively. Lavishly illustrated with vibrant |
|
Audience |
6
to 9 year olds |
|
Stars |
Horn
Book, Kirkus, PW |
|
Notes |
On
the Plenty Plantation, Momma Mary tells stories about |
|
a special young man with the strength of fifty, a heart as |
|
big
as all outdoors, and a special talent for spiriting slaves |
|
Author |
Peters,
Lisa Westberg |
|
Title |
Cold
Little Duck, Duck, Duck |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
PW, Bulletin, Horn Book |
|
Notes |
Bring
on spring, quick, quick, quick! Early in the year a |
|
little
duck arrives at her pond and finds it still frozen--but |
|
not
for long. An irresistible story that's also an unrivaled |
|
read-aloud
featuring enchanting rhyme and repetition and |
|
absolutely
winsome illustrations of the cold (but brave) |
|
Audience |
8
to 10 year olds |
|
Notes |
A
little boy turns life in London upside down when he |
|
appears
at the house of a lonely old couple and insists he |
|
Author |
Raschka,
Christopher |
|
Audience |
4
to 7 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
PW, Booklist |
|
Notes |
In
a conversation on the telephone, two friends, one black |
|
and
one white, have a disagreement and then make up. |
|
Title |
The
Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Bulletin,
Kirkus, PW |
|
Notes |
After
choosing a husband for his sweet singing voice, a |
|
beautiful
butterfly mourns the fact that he is swallowed by |
|
a
fish until a king in his underwear reunites the two. |
|
Audience |
5
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
Bulletin, SLJ |
|
Notes |
The
rain is coming! In Stojic's picture-book debut, the |
|
animals
of the African savanna use their senses to predict |
|
and
then enjoy the rain. Yet soon the hot sun dries out the |
|
land,
and the animals must again wait for the next big rain. |
|
Author |
Thomas,
Shelley Moore |
|
Title |
Good
Night, Good Knight |
|
Audience |
4
to 7 year olds |
|
Stars |
Horn
Book, Bulletin, Kirkus, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
A
Good Knight helps three little dragons who are having |
|
trouble
getting to sleep. |
|
Audience |
9
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
SLJ,
Bulletin, Kirkus, Booklist |
|
Notes |
When
thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated |
|
arranged
marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated |
|
by
India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it. |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
SLJ, Bulletin |
|
Notes |
Quack,
buzz, glug, and hiss along to this beloved song, |
|
brought
to life in picture book form by artist Joan Paley. |
|
Musical
notation is included. |
|
Audience |
3
to 7 year olds |
|
Stars |
Horn
Book, Bulletin, PW, SLJ |
|
Notes |
A
child's-eye-(and ear)-view of the sights and sounds of |
|
morning
-- from the bee buzzing outside the window, to |
|
the
noise of the rousing household, to the flurry in the |
|
kitchen
before the parents leave for work. Buzz has the |
|
warm
familiarity of a child's participation in the family |
|
routine,
as well as the childlike characteristic of finding a |
|
recurring
sound (buzzzzz) within the noises of daily life. |
|
Title |
How
Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? |
|
Audience |
4
to 8 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
SLJ, Bulletin, Booklist |
|
Notes |
Featuring
ten sleepy dinosaurs, this adorable book |
|
celebrates
the funny, endearing, naughty bedtime behavior |
|
of
young children . . . and young dinosaurs! |
|
Author |
Yue,
Charlotte & David |
|
Title |
The
Wigwan and the Longhouse |
|
Audience |
9
to 12 year olds |
|
Stars |
Kirkus,
SLJ, Horn Book, Parents' Choice Recommended |
|
Notes |
Describes
the history, customs, religion, government, |
|
homes,
and present-day status of the various native peoples |
|
that inhabited the eastern woodlands since before the |
Overbooked is a volunteer project undertaken by Ann Chambers Theis: Collection Management Administrator, Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library. 9501 Lori Rd. or P.O. Box 297, Chesterfield, VA, 23832. Phone: 804.748.1760.
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