emvsmith's reviews
855 reviews

Summary (worldcat): A child relates a long list of things he would do before he'd say boo to a goose.

Review: Having been frightened as a toddler by a goose I identified with the main character. I love the rhyme and rhythm of the poetic content. I found it fun to read aloud, and that some of the rhymes bring out almost an accent in the reader, "I'd eat all the butter from here to Calcutta.."
"I'd take a long walk from here to New York...". Not to mention that the illustrations are FANTASTIC!!

School Library Journal ina postive review suggests that students would enjoy writing their own additional lines, and Booklist states that toddlers will enjoy shouting the refrain.

Summary (by me): After an acorn drops on his head a small chicken leads all the farm's poultry on a death march to the fox's lair.

Review: What?!! Is this how the story ends? I thought it was a story about being embarrased about being wrong or confused, or learnging not to exaggerate. I didn't like how to me it seemed ultimately the chickens fault. I understand animals eat other animals, but this just seems to be a more manipulative circle of life. I guess the rhyming names and repetition are good. Illustrations are adequate.

Publishers Weekly acknowledges the "dark spin" this version takes in the ending, while SLJ has nothing but good things to say, describing its "wondrous intensity" and that "this noteworthy interpretation of an oft-illustrated tale demands sharing with story-hour audiences."

****"Fullcast" unabridged audiobook****

Summary (CIP): A shy twelve-year-old girl must solve a puzzle involving characters from Greek mythology to free herself from a spell which makes her irresistible to boys.

Review: It was fun to listen to the FullCast audio, but the voices of the rat characters were irritating to the point of distraction. I thought that shy Juliet was a relatable character, and I found the rest of her family to be quirky but real. I enjoyed the integration of mythology into the mystery.

Positive Horn Book Revewiew, "The lighthearted fantasy will entertain fans of the popular series."
SLJ reviewed the audiobook calling the voices "destinctive and well acted".

Summary (CIP): Third grader Judy Moody is in a first-day-of-school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece, the Me collage.

Review: What I liked best about this book, is Judy's voice and attitude. She sounds a bit like a third grader I know. Some of her slang sayings I have never heard used, such as "rare", but her tendency to interpret a situation in the most dramatic terms feels very authentic. Judy is a likeable and relateable character. It is entertaining to watch how she deals with her "bad moods", she is creative and often exudes self-confidence. Thought the book looks rather substantial, the type font is large and the illustrations also fill pages to help along the early chapter book reader.


SLJ, in a positive review calls Juday "independent, feisty, and full of energy." Booklist remarks that the book is,"An entertaining story that portrays challenges and pleasures from a kid's perspective."

Summary (worldcat): When her best toy mysteriously disappears, Olivia the feisty pig is determined to find out who is responsible.

Review: Olivia is hilarious and supercute. She perfectly reflects the short attention span and impatience found often, but not exclusively, in preschoolers and young children. The illustrations really make the story, and often make me laugh....out loud. I love how Olivia looks when she is so tired of waiting, and the silliness of her practicing a piano on dark and stormy night, the candleabra is a nice touch. There are so many other little details that when brought together make this a rather fabulous book.

Lukewarm review from SLJ, they call the plot "meandering" and Olivia "more like a bratty bully than the charming nonconformist we know and love".

Horn Book gives a slightly more positive review. "Falconer pads the slender plot with some more of Olivia's characteristic mugging. The drawing is superb.."

Summary (Worldcat): While looking for his friend Art, a boy wanders through the Museum of Modern Art and is amazed by what he discovers there.

Review: This book was fun and interesting. It made me very sad that MoMA was closed while they moved to the new building during my one and only visit to New York a few years ago. This book showcases the new building and its art. I thought it was funny how the little boy looking for his friend Art is lead around the museum by those trying to share with him what they think is art. I like how everyone he meets defines art differently. Ultimately they are successful and he sees that it is all art, and then luckily he runs into his friend Art outside. The illustrations were stylish and fun, and the inclusion of a large variety of art pieces made it a great guide to modern art, which can be hard to understand and appreciate. The additional information on each piece at the end is helpful and necessary. The pieces and artists are not named, only discussed in the story itself.

The SLJ review remarks that it would be usefull to those planning a trip to MoMA but also that it is "deliberately repetitive but becomes somewhat tiresome as the book's length appears to be determined more by providing a broad overview of the museum's holdings than by a compelling plot."

More positive review in Horn Book. "The book's extra-wide pages become museum walls featuring crisply reproduced masterworks by Picasso, Warhol, etc."

Summary (Worldcat):After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

Revew: I never read this growing up and recently a friend was designing a unit on it for student teaching, so I thought I should give a try. I liked it. It held my interest,and I liked the survival aspect and his ability to focus and plan on what needed to be done. I think readers who identify with the temptation to be overwelmed and want to give up. I know I did. I thought the side story line with the secret he was keeping for his mom was undeveloped, unresolved, and pretty much unnecessary.

Positive SLJ review, and postive Horn Book review;"He's candid about the dangers of the wild, but the writing is never sensationalized, and the tone is always modest."

Summary (CIP): A lyrical evocation of Phileppe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.

Review: I found this book in the biography section of my library branch, and was intrigued enough to throw it into my bag to checkout. I was interested to see how the towers would be incorporated into the story, which is a kinds and reverant nod on the last few pages. The story is fun and suspenseful. I loved how he was punished by having to perform for the children in the park. The illustrations are excellent, and the fold out pages give emphasis to the height and danger. It is great to see factual content, tied to a complex subject matter, so well created for children.

Postive Horn Book review. SLJ had only good things to say. Such as, "With its graceful majesty and mythic overtones, this unique and uplifting book is at once a portrait of a larger-than-life individual and a memorial to the towers and the lives associated with them."

Summary (CIP): Becasue his farts create unpleasantness for everyone on a cruise chip, Walter the dog continues the journey in a lifeboat, but when the ship's computer crashes causing the liner to drift, Walter again proves himself a hero.

Review: A little graphic for a reader not totally comfortable with bodily funcitons. But since bodily functions are of course hilarious this book is bound to be loved and enjoyed by little farts everywhere. The plot is silly but with notes of sweet. The illustrations are detailed and sylistic, though the word prety does not apply.

Horn book reviews accurately, "In all its garish finery, the digitally enhanced art accompanying this fourth crass but comical Walter story shows off the multi-colored tropical skies and travelers' tacky cruise wear."

Positive review from Resource Links

Summary(CIP): after the deathe of her grandmother, an orphaned young girl leaves her house by the cove and begins a journey which leads her to people and eperiences that exemplify the wisdom her grandmother had shared with her.

Review: This story is a great survival story in so many ways. It deals with both physical and emotional survival. The advice given by the grandmother is honest and rings true and then is reflects in the story. The Crow-girl learns that people are neither good or bad, what is good for one is bad for another. The other lesson she learns from her grandmother is so beautifully worded I can not summarize and will include it here,"the door to a peron's heart can only be opened from within. If there is someone who will not let you in, it's no use hammering and kicking and lamenting and complaining. For what if the door is ajar and you push it shut? With some people it can never be opened again." The Crow-girl applies these rules and rebuilds her home and her family.

Positive review in SLJ, "Touching on universal themes, this quiet adventure story has the depth and flavor of a tale from long ago and far away." Starred Booklist review.