emvsmith's reviews
855 reviews

Summary (CIP): In 1942, a group of young men begin a seies of increasingly dangerous protests against the German invaders of their Danish homeland.

Review:
When thinking about war sometimes the details are hard to imagine. This book gives the reader insight into living in occupied Denmark during WWII, and how it affected the daily lives of its inhabitants especially a group of frustrated young men. This group is determined to do something, but exactly what becomes a subject of debate. Their diverse personailities, complicated relationships, and trust issues of trust add to the plot. A very strong male point of view and some femae readers may have a harder time identifying with the characters.

Positive reviews from SLJ and Kirkus

Summary(CIP): Each etter of the alphabet is representedby illustrations in a pop art style.

Review: Colorful illustrations for every letter, often incorporating zipatone (a vocab word I learned from an artist friend....it's the pre-polkadotted sheets for illustration...very pop art). Not your typical ABC book, but not too far out either. Each letter is depticted with an easily identifiable noun. Sometimes, the item is repeated in colors...very Andy Warhol, but also great for learning numbers along side letters. Fun, stylish, and cool.

Positive SLJ, "The energy and bright colors will captivate young viewers". Horn book says it well in their positive review,"Each letter is represented by an everyday object familiar to children, but subtle juxtapositions within spreads make the book simultaneously complex and unpretentious."

Summary (CIP): A greddy cat grows enormous as he eats everything in sight, including his friends and neighbors who call him fat.

Review: Lovely illustrations by a local artist add to this Danish folk tale. A fun read aloud, with lots of repetition, fun slurping sounds, and moral to boot.

Booklist agrees with me (or do I agree with them?),"The large, funny illustrations will carry well for a bigger crowd and, combined with refrain that invites chanting along, make this a surefire hit for reading aloud." Positive SLJ review.

Summary (CIP): A breif intorduction to tunnels-their types, shapes, and parts, and how they are built.

Review: Colorful illustrations are more like diagrams in this informative but fairly dry book about tunnels. May be appeal to young children curious about how things work and how things are built.

Unable to locate reviews of this particular book, but general positively reviewed as an author by Horn Book, and SLJ

Summary: The life of story teller and artist Hans Christian Anderson described, from birth to death, with special focus on his development as and artist and his creation of intricate paper cuttings.

Review: Personal in detail, yet very objective and grounded in research, this is a great biography. Those who have only every known Anderson as a story teller will be amazed at the intricate paper cuttings he created that were prized by his friends and acquaintances.

Horn book says it well in their review, "The text is thoughtful, informative, and well written, and the reader will want to pore over the black-and-white photographs of these small works that give insight into the mind of a great writer." Positive SLJ review as well, "An unusual book that combines biography and creativity".

Summary: A series of animals and figures that can be made out of dollar bills using origami. Also included are some facts about currency and dollars bills.

Review: As someone who loves origami I thought this was a fun book, perfect for upper elementary students who have mastered the paper crane and want to move on. Plus a great life-long skill for parties and a way to amuse your waitress with her tip. The added facts and dollar bill shape of the book are a nice touch.

Unable to locate published reviews.

Summary (CIP): Boodil the dog has many endearing qualities from his bottom-first climb down the staris to his nightly "Superdog" exercise routine.

Review:
I am not a dog lover, but this books reminds me of every dog I ever almost loved. Boodil and all her quirks are described so lovingly by her unseen owner. Readers will enjoy Boodil herself, as well as comparing her to their own pets.

Positive reviews from SLJ and PW

Summary (CIP): In this worldess picture book, a boy imagines himself inside some of the exhibits when he goes on a field trip to a museum.

Review: A fun worless adventure as a boy, separated from his class completes the mazes in the artwork. The desire to look at and compete the mazes is too strong to ever read this book with a group, but ideal for a one on one setting. Plus in such a setting you can be sure that the mazes are not drawn on. Illustrations are both simple and stunning.

Starred Booklist review, positive SLJ

Summary (Worldcat): Amelia McBride has to face even more changes. Her beloved she's moving again, her new friend Trish is hiding a terrible secret, and superhero-wannabe Reggie has vowed to destroy the evil Legion of Steves.

Review: This book is great fun and a great introduction to graphic novels. The medium is skillfully used to alternate character view point, to change tone, and even for parody. The characters are loveable and dynamic. The story line is dramatic but feel very authentic as well. However, some of the text is so small is it obviously made for young eyes.

Positive review from Booklist. I wans't able to locate any other reviews for this specific volume, but others have been positively reviews by SLJ, who is quoted on the cover as stating "A character to rival Ramona".

Summary: Owly and his friends learn about an Opossum, and that he's just as scared of them as they are of him.

Review: A sweet story about understanding and of course bravery. Though there are no words, it takes familiarity with story structure and at least punctuation to grasp the story line.

Postive review from Book Links, with reccomendations for being used by a teaching tool. Teacher Librarian calls this episode of Owly,"touching and sincere as always.