Book Review and Giveaway: THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition

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Rules for entering this giveaway

are at the bottom of this post.

THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition

by David Borgenicht, Nathaniel Marunas, and Robin Epstein

Publisher: Chronicle Books

6 x 8 in; 128 pp ; 1-color throughout, ages 8 and up
Guided Reading Level: Q
Paperback
Published in September, 2010
ISBN 9780811875707
ISBN10 0811875709

Description (from the publisher):
Leave it to the authors of the best-selling Worst-Case Scenario series to serve up a hilarious and totally "gross" handbook that will guide kids through all things slippery, slimy, and stinky. Find out how to survive boogers, bloody noses, barfing emergencies, and more. The tips in this book will have kids laughing out loud, while gearing them up to tackle all that's utterly disgusting in life, Worst-Case Scenario-style!



Click image to enlarge.

 My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars - Kids will love it - you will, too!

My Thoughts:  Want something to grab and hold the interest of your reluctant middle-grade reader - especially boys? Have I got the book for you!  THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition is so chock full of disgusting yet worthwhile information that no boy on earth will be able to put it down. O.K., so realistically, I can't guarantee that claim, I can only speak for myself and what I witnessed with my 10 y.o. nephew. I breezed through it in one sitting (I am, after all, an adult). It took him a few more.

When reviewing a book, one has to consider not only whether it lives up to one's expectations but also whether it lived up to it's own claims. Let's take the most attention-grabbing claim first. Right on the front cover, THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition claims it will tell the reader how to survive: Nightmare Boogers (check - see page 12); Barf Emergencies (check - see page 16); and the School Bathroom (check, check - see page 82). In all, the book discusses 30 of the grossest situations a kid (or anyone -- even you!) could find themselves in. Everything is discussed in kid-friendly language. If you cringe when a nearby child uses words like "fart" and "poop" and "nose loogie", well, then, cover your ears because the authors do not mince words. If your kid doesn't know enough variations on the word "vomit", this book will quickly bring him up to speed, offering an alphabetical listing of alternatives from "blow chunks" to "yak." So, yes, this book definitely covers all things gross.

But is grossness enough for me to recommend this book to you? Of course not - we are, after all, civilized, as well as maybe just a bit snooty. Many would argue as to the value of purposeless play -  our jobs as adults is to educate the younger generation and foster their survival. Exposing our children to a whole tome of grossness just for the sake of entertainment would be a waste of precious educational time not to mention just plain irresponsible. But wait! What is the secondary claim put forth by the authors? The one that will initially slip past the attention of kids as they race to find the grossest of all possible gross scenarios? Ah, yes. It was "survival" wasn't it? See, it's right there in the middle of the title: THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition. This book not only details most gross situations, it explains to kids how to survive them. So the reader is not just going to become comfortable with terms such as "nose loogie" but will also learn what exactly is a nose loogie, why they exist, and what to do about them. In the guise of entertaining grossness, kids will learn lots of useful information about health and hygiene.

Both my nephew and I had a lot of fun reading THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition. It's appealing to kids because the subject matter is gross and the illustrations are funny. Adults will be happy to know the kids are learning exactly why it's a bad idea to stick a wad of chewed gum under your desk. This book is a great way to sneak a little education into your kid's entertainment. We plan to check out more titles in this series.

About the authors (from the publisher):
David Borgenicht is a writer, editor, publisher, and co-author of all the books in the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series. He lives in Philadelphia.

Nathaniel Marunas is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York.

Robin Epstein is the co-author of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Middle School. She lives in New York City.

I have one (1) copy to offer for giveaway. Here's what to do:

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. The publisher is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• PLEASE NOTE: One win per household. If you win this title in another contest hosted at another blog, the publisher will only send one copy per household address.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 16, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Lara
at Chronicle Books

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Book Review #40: THE MOON LADY by Amy Tan; illustrated by Gretchen Schields

THE MOON LADY

by Amy Tan

illustrated by Gretchen Schields

Pub. Date: November 1995

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Format: Paperback, 32pp

Age Range: 6 to 9

ISBN-13: 9780689806162

ISBN: 0689806167

Edition Description: Reprint

Description (from the publisher):
A magical night when secret wishes can come true.
On a rainy afternoon, three sisters wish for the rain to stop, wish they could play in the puddles, wish for something, anything, to do. So Ying-Ying, their grandmother, tells them a tale from long ago. On the night of the Moon Festival, when Ying-ying was a little girl, she encountered the Moon Lady, who grants the secret wishes of those who ask, and learned from her that the best wishes are those you can make come true yourself. This haunting tale, adapted from Amy Tan's best-seller The Joy Luck Club and enhanced by Gretchen Schields's rich, meticulously detailed art, is a book for all to treasure.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

My Thoughts:  THE MOON LADY by Amy Tan is a sophisticated story of a young girl's maturation woven around an actual character from Chinese folklore. Tan originally told a version of this story in her novel, THE JOY LUCK CLUB. It's been years since I read that novel (definitely in line for re-read), and I don't specifically recall this story from that source. My review is based solely on this picture book.

In this book, richly illustrated by Gretchen Schields, a grandmother recounts an incident from her childhood to her three restless granddaughters.  On the day her family travels to Tai Lake to celebrate the Moon Festival, 7-year-old Ying-ying is so excited she can barely control herself. She can't understand why everyone else isn't as excited as she or as eager to be on their way. Like most children her age, she is by turns sulky and sweet, selfish and loving, distracted and introspective -- basically, naughty and nice. Throughout the day, these aspects of her personality lead her into many adventures, some quite dangerous and scary. Everything culminates with Ying-ying's encounter with the Moon Lady who, on this one special day of the year, has the power to fulfill a secret wish. But what is it that Ying-ying desires most?

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. I loved how the language easily transported me to another place and time, another way of describing the world: ". . . the fifteenth day of the eighth moon."  You can't read those words and think you are in modern day America. I loved Ying-ying's spirit and her curiosity, her sense of wonder of the world.  There is a lovely scene where she plays with her shadow and speaks of it as though it is a little friend.

There are also darker elements to this tale, so that even though the story is presented in picture book format, I think it is more appropriate for older children and adults. One scene describes a toothless old woman gutting eels for making soup. When Ying-ying accidently gets some of the blood on her clothes, she naively thinks she can hide the stains by smearing even more blood all over her outfit. Fortunately, in the accompanying illustration, the blood is more magenta in color as opposed to red so that it's not so frightening to look at! Subsequently, Ying-ying is separated from her family. The story enters into a dreamlike phase where Ying-ying is rescued and returned to her family, only to have them deny her because they don't believe she is lost. Ying-ying actually sees her doppleganger on the boat with her family. And then there is the encounter with the Moon Lady herself . . .

Of course the story ends on a happy note - Ying-ying is obviously reunited with her family as she is telling this story to her granddaughters. I read this book to my 9-year-old nephew who has a fascination with Asian cultures. The moral and messages were lost on him - it is a rather convoluted tale. He enjoyed certain passages and was very interested in the detailed illustrations.

I enjoyed this book but can see that it would not be to everyone's taste. As a fable, it is more apt to appeal to adults. For sheer narrative, some children will enjoy the adventuresome nature of the story; I think others will get bogged down by the twists and turns. I'd recommend THE MOON LADY to adults and older children who are interested in Chinese culture and folktales.

About the author (from the publisher):
With her acclaimed 1989 novel The Joy Luck Club and its successors, Amy Tan succeeded in revealing the Chinese-American sensibility to readers in unprecedented numbers. In mystical, winding prose, she draws the boundaries and commonalities between generations of women who are related, but born worlds apart.

I read this book for the Middle Grade Book Challenge hosted by
Linda Ellen at Bambi Reads. Despite its picture book format, I think it qualifies because of the sophisticated language and story strucuture.

My review copy came from the Portsmouth Free Public Library, and I read this as part of the 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog.

Book Review #37: KIDNAP AT THE CATFISH CAFE by Patricia Reilly Giff; illustrated by Lynne Cravath

KIDNAP AT THE CATFISH CAFE

by Patricia Reilly Giff

illustrated by Lynne Cravath

Pub. Date: October 1998

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Format: Hardcover, 80pp

Age Range: 7 to 11

Series: Adventures of Minnie and Max Series

ISBN-13: 9780670881802

ISBN: 0670881805

Description (from the publisher):
From the creator of the best-selling Kids of the Polk Street School series comes The Adventures of Minnie and Max, a new series about a spunky female detective and her trusty feline sidekick, Max. In Kidnap at the Catfish Café, Minnie's detective business is kind of slow--until one day a stray cat drops into her life, along with her first case. Soon Minnie is investigating a crime wave, and she's hot on the trail of a thief who would steal anything--even a cat!

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars - not this author's best work, but entertaining nonetheless

My Thoughts:   I thought this was a fun little book, not without flaws, but nevertheless engaging, interesting, and entertaining. Minnie is an orphan who lives with her older brother, Orlando, owner of The Catfish Cafe. She's roughly 10 or 12 years old and allowed a tremendous amount of unsupervised wandering - not typical of today's average kid. Having attempted to get a number of "businesses" off the ground, Minnie has currently hung her hopes on being a detective. Since no one will hire a kid, she finds a case of her own to solve right in the neighborhood.

I found the characters and the setting of KIDNAP AT THE CATFISH CAFE to be extremely interesting. While the town is never named, it overlooks "Sharkfin Bay" and boasts a large Russian community. It's clear some people are second and third generation while others are more recent immigrants. Oddly, The Catfish Cafe specializes in southern cooking, which to Orlando, proprieter and chef, means each dish includes some form of peaches. There was quite a lot of discussion of amber, where it comes from and how valued it is within the community. The characters are many and varied; I quite liked the sympathetic depiction of Mrs. Vorr, an elderly woman living on her own.

There's a lot of detail, action, and themes in this little book, sometimes too much for middle grade readers and a book of only 80 pages. There's the fact of Minnie being raised by her brother, Orlando; Orlando's failing restaurant, bizarre recipes, and his interest in a mysterious red-headed lady--who really knows how to cook; references to their deceased parents and a story about how this brother and sister came to be named as they are. There's also the aging Mrs. Vorr, abandoned by her beloved Misha and victimized by a purse snatcher; the clumsy undercover cop, Kitty, who becomes a role model for Minnie; and Cash, the young boy who may or may not be behind the recent thefts, as well as Leo the Lazy, a pathetic man who hangs around, asks for handouts, and thinks wearing a necktie over his t-shirt is "sprucing up." Any of these characters or storylines would have been interesting if they were developed further, but they cannot all be contained comfortably within the framework of such a short novel. 

Another thing that I had difficulty with were the names used in the story. There are several boats mentioned frequently, The Comet, The Crab's Legs, The Amber Cat, and The Black Dog, as well as a truck called Lumber Jack. On my first reading, I found it hard to keep all the boats straight and remember which one belonged to whom. It was also disconcerting to me to have a human character named "Kitty" in a story in which an actual cat has such prominance. It's kind of funny to me that I felt so overwhelmed and confused by a kid's chapter book, but if it gave me trouble, it's bound to confuse at least some kids!

On the other hand, I really liked this book because the main characters are interesting and fun; sometimes the story even made me giggle. The community in which Minnie lives is populated with friendly personalities who look out for one another, making everyone seem like a member of a huge extended family. And there's more than one mystery solved by the time the reader reaches the (predictably) happy ending.

I read this book twice, once on my own and again with my niece and nephew. It seemed that like me, they were captivated by the characters and storyline, but sometimes got tripped up and "confuzzled." They do want to pick up the second book in this series, MARY MOON IS MISSING. I want to read it, too.

I also want to take a peek at this author's better known and best-selling Kids of the Polk Street School series. Patricia Reilly Giff has also written several historical fiction novels and the Newbury Honor winners PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS and LILY'S CROSSING. I'm particulary interested in reading those!

I read this book for the Middle Grade Book Challenge hosted by
Linda Ellen at Bambi Reads.

My review copy came from the Portsmouth Free Public Library, so this also counts toward the 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog.

Book Review #27: PALE MALE: Citizen Hawk of New York City by Janet Schulman; illustrated by Meilo So

PALE MALE: Citizen Hawk of New York City

by Janet Schulman

illustrated by Meilo So

Pub. Date: March 2008

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Format: Hardcover, 40pp

Sales Rank: 20,592

Age Range: 6 to 12

ISBN-13: 9780375845581

ISBN: 0375845585

Description (from the publisher):
The birdwatchers of Central Park were buzzing–a young red-tailed hawk had been spotted, would he stay? The bird they dubbed Pale Male not only stayed, he became one of New York City’s most famous residents. Pale Male and his mate built their nest near the top of one of Fifth Avenue’s swankiest apartment buildings. Nine years and 23 chicks later, Pale Male’s fame had grown so large that a CBS newsman named him Father of the Year! But Pale Male was less beloved by the residents of the building, and in 2004 the owners suddenly removed the nest–setting off an international outcry on behalf of the birds.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

My Thoughts:
We loved this book! PALE MALE: CITIZEN HAWK OF NEW YORK CITY tells the true story of how both a creature of the wild and so-called civilized humans adapted and came to live peaceably among each other. It's a wonderfully entertaining and informative picture book for older kids.

Red-tailed hawks are notoriously shy animals, so when one took up residence on the roof-top of a ritzy Fifth Avenue apartment building, most New Yorkers were thrilled and excited. They named him Pale Male and often gathered by Central Park to watch him build his nest and hunt for food. The apartment dwellers, however, were not so thrilled. As Pale Male found a mate and started a family, the fall-out was rather offensive -- literally! The human residents complained of bird droppings and the remains of dead animals from the hawks' feedings falling from above and littering the sidewalk in front of their building. They began a campaign to oust the family of hawks from their rooftop. By this time, Pale Male was becoming quite popular and also rather famous. He and his family had a lot of supporters, and they fought every effort to evict the hawks from their home.

Much of this book is the story of how, after many years of battling the hawks, their fans, the Audubon Society, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the human residents of 927 Fifth Avenue eventually gave up their fight and accepted that the feathered family would be staying in the neighborhood.  We also learn quite a bit about the habits of red-tailed hawks and why settling down in New York City is both extraordinary and logical. An Author's Note  gives a little more detail about the background of the story as well as further developments which an adult can use to aid in a discussion with children about events in the book. A reference of selected sources for further study is also included.

The story of Pale Male would be fascinating if it were strictly text, but the accompany illustrations in this book are amazing. Beautiful watercolor paintings convey the grandeur of the hawks as well the gritty truths of New York City. The details of Meilo So's illustrations reveal the wide variety of people who came to love and appreciate the hawks as well as somewhat humorously demonstrating the very real aggravations and frustrations of the human residents of the building.                    

As I said at the beginning, we loved this book! It's entertaining and informative, colorful and fun. Highly recomended!

Click here to visit a site dedicated to Pale Male.

  About the Author and Illustrator (from the publisher):
Janet Schulman is a renowned editor and publisher of children’s books. She lives in New York City.

Meilo So has illustrated many acclaimed and award-winning books. She lives in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Click here to visit her website.

My review copy of this book was borrowed from the Portsmouth Free Public Library.

Review #9: GOOSED! by Bill Wallace

GOOSED!

by Bill Wallace
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pub. Date: May 2004
ISBN-13: 9780689866814
Sales Rank: 27,901
Age Range: 7 to 9
Grades: 2 - 4
128pp

Synopsis (from the publisher):
One dog too many. T.P. is Jeff's dog. Jeff is T.P.'s boy. That's the way T.P. likes it. Life is pretty good — until a stinky, thumping, yapping box turns up at the front door. Jeff's friend Mandy has given Jeff a chocolate Lab puppy. They name her Mocha, and everything changes for T.P. Mocha drives him nuts with her endless chattering and questions. On top of all that, everyone keeps telling him to "be nice to the puppy." If only things could go back to the way they were before....

But when Mocha gets "GOOSED," will T.P. have the courage and compassion to come to her rescue?

My Rating: 4/5

My Thoughts:

A few weeks back I saw GOOSED! mentioned on several different blogs and thought it would be a great book for my 8-year-old nephew to read this summer. I ended up reading it to him a few chapters at time in the evenings, but that's okay because we both enjoyed it. The story is told from the point of view of T.P., the perfect buddy dog. He lives contentedly with "his boy" Jeff, Mama, and Papa. T.P. knows that he's a dog and they are people, but he doesn't really have a grasp of the fact that the differences between people and dogs are significant. He thinks they're all pretty much on equal footing. He also gets along great with the family cat, Cord. Then one day, a strange and annoying creature comes for a visit, and T.P. begins to feel displaced.

Author Bill Wallace has a great sense of humor, and my nephew and I chuckled throughout this amusing little story. "J" particularly liked the explanations of how T.P. and Cord got their names. There's a lot of action to keep a youngster interested, and the story moves along at a pretty good clip. The goose itself doesn't make an appearance until almost the end of the book, but before that there's some cantankerous coyotes and a giant rabbit or two for T.P. to contend with.

At almost 9 years old, my nephew certainly didn't need me to read this book to him, but I'm pretty good with voices and dialogue (if I do say so myself!), and Bill Wallace provided me with an excellent script. I think the parallels between T.P.'s experiences and any sibling rivalry between "J" and his sister were completely lost on him, but that's what this story is really all about: T.P. has to learn to adapt to a new member of the family and basically learn how to be a "big brother."

This book is a lot of fun and provides some postive lessions in a wholesome package. Bill Wallace has written dozens of books for kids, and we're certainly looking forward to bringing a few more home to our family!

Click here to READ AN EXCERPT.

About the author:
Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun.

One of the most memorable trips took place on the far side of Lake Lawtonka, at the base of Mt. Scott. He and his best friend, Gary, spent the day shooting shad with bow and arrows, cutting bank poles, and getting ready to go when their dads got home from work.

Although there was no "monster" in Lake Lawtonka, one night there was a "sneak attack" by a rather large catfish tail. Checking the bank poles was not nearly as fun or "free" after that point, but it was the inspiration for this story.

Bill Wallace has won nineteen children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.