The Eleventh Hour

By: Graeme Base

Published by: Henry N. Adams

Ages: 4-8

Pages: 32

This a fun mystery book about an elephant named Horace who turns eleven, and wants to throw a big party! So he invites all of his animal friends, and has a big feast for them prepared. But first they play a bunch of party games. When they go to eat the feast at 11, someone has eaten the whole thing. The reader has to solve the mystery through the MANY clues hidden in the book. When the mystery is solved, the reader finds out that it is the mouse who ate all of it, along with his friends that came in right before the eleveth hour.



Who would I recommend this to? Anyone who is bored, or wants a mystery to solve.



Possible Conflicts/problems? The reader might feel silly after not being able to solve the mystery.



My reaction: Everyone boasts about this book, but I didn't care for it much. I have no patience to sit down and figure out the mystery. I give this book 3 stars ***

Jacobs Fairy Tales

By: Joesph Jacobs
Ages: All Ages
Published on: www.authorama.com

I read The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstock, Molly Whuppie and The Story of the Three Little Bears.

The story of Jack and the Beanstalk- Is about a little boy whose mother tells him to go sell the cow but he trades the cow for "magical" beans instead. His mother is so mad that she throws the beans out of the window, and sends the little boy to bed. Jack(the little boy) wakes up in the morning and sees a big beanstock, and climbs it. He finds a house at the top, and he enters it and finds a women. The women tell him to leave because her orge of a husband will eat him. Sure enough the husband can smell the boy, but the boy hids good enough and is not found. But the next day, Jack tries to steal some of the Giant's precious things, and the giant chases him down the beanstock, but before the giant can get down the beanstock, Jack chopped the beanstock down.

Who I would recommend this to: Anyone, this tales aren't too bad.

Possible Conflicts/problems: Death, and Violence

My reaction: I really don't dig fairy tales, they drive me crazy. Not a fan.

Grimm Fairy Tales

By: The Grimm Brothers- Jacob and Wilhelm
Published in The National Geographic
Ages: all ages

I read Hansel and Grethel which is a story about a poor family who cannot afford to feed their children, so the mother decides to take the children and leave them there to fend for themselves. The children overhear and put rocks in their pockets to drop along the way into the forest so they can find their way home. They find their was home the first time, and their father is so happy. But the mother takes them further into the forest leaving them there. This time they cannot find their way back and end up at a cottage made out of candy. The old lady of the house takes them in and then turns out to be a mean nasty witch, and tries to eat the children. But before she can, Grethel pushes her into the hot oven, closes the door, and the witch is burnt to pieces. The children take all of her money and jewels and return home to their father and lived happily ever after.

I also read Cinderella, Repunzel, and Little Red Cap.

Who I would recommend these fairy tales to: Not young children that's for sure! Maybe older children, like over the age 9.

Possible problems/conflicts? I think there is a lot of conflicts that could arise from these original fairy tales. Like abandonment of children, a witch trying to eat the kids, step sisters who go blind, and a little girl who kills the wolf with rocks.

My reaction: I was a little stunned by the orginal fairy tales, but I am pretty sure that they are the same ones I read when I was a kid, and they didn't do any damage. Well at least I hope : )

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon

By: Patty Lovell

Illustrated by: David Catrow

Published by: G.P Putnam's and Sons

Ages: 4-8

Pages: 32 pages

Molly is a short little girl, the shortest in her class. But her grandma tells her to stand tall anyway. So she does. Molly has buck teeth, but her grandma tells her to smile anyway. So she does. Molly has a horrible singing voice, but her grandma tells her to sing anyway. So she does. One day Molly's family moves away from her grandma to a new school. The kids at her new school tease her for all her flaws, but she takes her grandma's advice and is herself. And she was accepted at her new school eventually!


Who I would recommend this to: Someone with low self esteem, or anyone who wants to smile.


Possible conflicts/problems: none that I saw


My reaction: I loved this book, I think it has a great message for kids of all ages, even for me. It tells that it is okay to be yourself! I give this book 5 stars *****

You Are Special

By: Maz Lucado

Illustrations: Sergio Martinez

Published by: Crossway Books

Ages: 5-9

Pages: 31

The Wemmicks all lived in a small village, they were all carved by a woodworker names Eli. Each Wemmick was different in shape and size. Everyday they gave each other stickers, the pretty and talented got stars but the ugly and clumbsy ones got dots. Stars made the wemmicks feel good, but the dots made them feel sad. Punchinello was a wemmick that always got dots, he would say something silly, or fall in a puddle-and he got a dot. He was covered in dots, and no stars. This made him so sad! One day he met another Wemmick who had NO STICKERS! She said that all of her stickers just fell off. Punchinello wanted to be like this, so he went to see Eli, the woodworker. Eli even knew his name! Punchinello expressed his concerns that he wasn't as good as the other Wemmicks. But Eli reassured him he was, and that he loved Punchinello just the way he is. He told Punchinello that the stickers wouldn't stick if he stopped caring about what other people said about him. And when Punchinello began to feel he was special, his stickers began to fall to the ground.

Who would I recommend this to? Any child or adult who needs a " pick me up" story!

Possible conflicts/problems? People could relate this story to religion. "everyone is equal in God's eyes." Parents might not want their child to hear or read this story because of this.

My reaction: This is one of my childhood favorites, and the copy in the library was well worn out, so it must be read alot, which is a good sign. I love the message that this book portays. GREAT BOOK! 5 stars *****

Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother?

By: Eric Carle

Published by: Harpercollins Publishers

Pages: 32 pages

Ages: 4-8

This book is a fun book, with lots of colorful illustrations. It goes through asking if different animals have mothers like we do. for example, Does a lion have a mother? Yes they do. Then it shows a fun picture of a baby lion with their mother. It goes through a list of animals like dolphins, cats, kangaroos, sheep, bears, elephants and monkeys. And they ALL have mothers, just like us! In the end it says, "All animals have mothers who love them, just like your mom loves you."


Who would I recommend this to: Preschoolers, or young readers.

Possible conflicts/problems? I didn't find any.

My reaction: I enjoyed reading this book, I thought the moral of this story was cute, and I loved the pictures. I give this book 4 stars. ****

Moo Who?

By: Margie Palatini

Illustrated by: Keith Graves

Published by: Katherine Tegan Books- (Harpercollins)

Ages: 4-8

Pages: 40

There is a cow, named Hilda, she is a horrible singer; usually off key. She was in the middle of a song when a cow pie hit her in the head. It knocked her out cold! When she woke up, she had lost her moo. She looked for it everywhere, but she found honks. She tried to see if she was a duck, but she wasn't. She found a peep, but she wasn't a chicken either. She tried to moo, but it just seemed so wrong. She continued to look to see what sound she should be making, but none seemed right. In the end she finds her moo again, and realizes she is a cow.


Who I would recommend this book to? Younger children, about kindergarten age.


Possible conflicts/problems? I didn't find any, this is a sweet innocent book.


My reaction: I enjoyed this book, it was better than I thought it was going to be. I especially like her name, Hilda Mae Heifer. I give this book 4 stars! ****