February 17, 2013

You are here: Home / Archives for Books & Media / Reviews / Pick of the Day

Pick of the Day: Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead

By on October 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
Red cover with insects eating other insects

JOHNSON, Rebecca L. Zombie Makers: . 48p. bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. notes. photos. websites. CIP. Millbrook. Oct. 2012. RTE $30.60. ISBN 978-0-7613-8633-9; ebook $22.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0125-9. LC 2011046181.
Gr 5-8–Ratchet up your ick-factor and practice your eeyuw’s because Johnson’s researched text will reveal enough details to cause squeamish (or highly imaginative) readers to quail. Hairworms that cause crickets to commit suicide; jewel wasps that turn cockroaches into walking pantries for their larvae; and a fungus that drives its ant host [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Grades 5 & Up, Nonfiction, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: Private Tutor: Your Complete SAT Critical Reading Prep Course (DVD)

By on October 12, 2012 1 Comment
DVD cover SAT study guide

Private Tutor: Your Complete SAT Critical Reading Prep Course with Amy Lucas. 2 DVDs. with workbook. Private Tutor SAT. 2012. complete package: $74.95; DVD: $29.95 ea., workbook: $29.95.
Gr 10 Up–Amy Lucas, an experienced private tutor, acts as a personal guide to the reading comprehension portion of the SAT, keeping students invested in and focused on content and practice exercises. Teens will easily relate to her upbeat and friendly approach. Topics covered include vocabulary, sentence completions, and reading comprehension techniques. She [...]

Filed Under: Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: The Fever of ’57: The Sputnik Movie (DVD)

By on October 11, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover Fever of 57

The Fever of ’57: The Sputnik Movie. 2 DVDs. 88 min./three 30 min. episodes. with tchr’s. guide online. Prod. by Varied Directions Int’l. Dist. by Amazon.com. 2007, 2012 release. ISBN unavail. $179.
Gr 7 Up–By the end of World War II, our rocky relationship with our former ally, the Soviet Union, was a primary concern. This incredible program recounts how Cold War tensions peaked with Russia’s surprise launch of the first satellite to circle the planet and its dramatic effect on [...]

Filed Under: Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: , , ,

Pick of the Day: The Monsters’ Monster

By on October 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
Book cover of Frankenstein and little monsters

MCDONNELL, Patrick. The Monsters’ Monster. illus. by author. 40p. Little, Brown. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04547-6. LC 2011042742.
PreS-1–Three little monsters love to CRASH!, BASH!, and SMASH! Every day they argue over who is the best monster, until they join forces to “make a MONSTER monster. The biggest, baddest monster EVER!” At first, their efforts look successful, but to their horror, the creature’s first words after tearing off his bandages are “Dank you.” The enormous Frankenstein look-alike contents himself with breathing [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Pick of the Day, Picture Books, Preschool to Grade 4 Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion (DVD)

By on October 9, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD Cover of little girl stuffed bunny

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion. DVD. 13 min. with tchr’s. guide. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-044753-9. $59.95; CD, ISBN 978-0-545-044758-4: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44810-9: $29.95.
PreS-Gr 1–Mo Willems’s conclusion (Balzer + Bray, 2012) to his Knuffle Bunny trilogy begins with a photographic sequence of Trixie’s growth from previous books and closes with a similar sequence chronicling Trixie’s journey of maturation. Trixie and her family take a plane to visit her grandparents, Oma and Opa, in Holland. When [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: The Bear in the Book

By on October 8, 2012 Leave a Comment
Blue book cover with black bear

BANKS, Kate. The Bear in the Book. illus. by Greg Hallensleben. 40p. Farrar/Frances Foster. Oct. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-30591-8.
PreS–In this deceptively simple bedtime story, a boy snuggles up with his mother to read his favorite book. It is about a bear going to sleep for the winter, and together they look at the pictures and talk about the text. “‘Do bears really sleep all winter long?’ asked the boy.” He turns the page and notices the snow. “‘Snow is [...]

Filed Under: Pick of the Day, Picture Books, Preschool to Grade 4 Tagged With: , , ,

Pick of the Day: Titanic’s Final Mystery (DVD)

By on October 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover Titanic hit by iceberg

Titanic’s Final Mystery. DVD. 92 min. Prod. by Bedlam Prods. and Airborne TV & Film. Dist. by Inception Media Group. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.98; Blue-ray: $19.98.
Gr 9 Up–It’s been over a century and people are still talking about the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. Through the years, legend has overtaken fact when it comes to what really happened that fateful night. Tim Maltin, a “Titanic Detective,” leads viewers across the globe as he pieces together a new theory on why the ship [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: ,

Pick of the Day: The Light Bulb Conspiracy (DVD)

By on October 4, 2012 1 Comment
DVD cover of clear light bulbs

The Light Bulb Conspiracy. DVD. 75 min./52 min. Video Project. 2011, 2012 release. ISBN unavail. $89.
Gr 9 Up–Using historical photographs, film footage, and interviews with people in Europe, the United States, and Ghana, the female narrator takes viewers from the beginning of mass production in the 1920s with Henry Ford’s Model-T to General Motors’ annual car models to Bernard London’s proposal during the New Deal era for compulsory planned obsolescence that he believed would keep people working and create a [...]

Filed Under: Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: Their Skeletons Speak: Kennewick Man and the Paleoamerican World

By on October 3, 2012 1 Comment
Purple cover with skeleton

WALKER, Sally M. & Douglas W. Owsley. Their Skeletons Speak: Kennewick Man and the Paleoamerican World. 136p. bibliog. diags. further reading. illus. index. maps. notes. photos. CIP. Carolrhoda. Oct. 2012. RTE $22.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7457-2; ebook $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0001-6. LC 2011051329.
Gr 8 Up–This detailed study of the discovery and forensic evaluation of the skeleton dubbed “Kennewick Man” puts forensic TV shows to shame. From his accidental discovery in 1996 through multiple examinations by scientists with ever-improving forensic tools and years of [...]

Filed Under: Grades 5 & Up, Nonfiction, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Pick of the Day: Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct (DVD)

By on October 2, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD pink cover with illustrated dinosaur

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. DVD. 7 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-37414-9. $59.59; CD: ISBN 978-0-545-37498-9: $ 12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44813-0: $29.95.
PreS-Gr 2–Edwina the dinosaur helps out in her community, bakes chocolate-chip cookies, and everyone loves her, except for Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie, the class know-it-all, who is positive that dinosaurs are extinct. When Reginald makes it his mission to force the townspeople to accept that fact, no one bothers to listen to [...]

Filed Under: Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: The Raven Boys

By on October 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
White cover with flying raven

STIEFVATER, Maggie. The Raven Boys. Bk. 1. 408p. (The Raven Cycle). Scholastic. 212. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-42492-9; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-46979-1.
Gr 8 Up–Blue was born into a psychic family with the misfortune of having no psychic ability of her own. However, her presence helps others “see” more clearly, which has led to every psychic she’s ever met predicting that if Blue were to kiss her true love, he would die. Not interested in boys yet and especially repulsed by the [...]

Filed Under: Grades 5 & Up, Pick of the Day, Teens & YA Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: The Fairy Ring, Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World (CD)

By on September 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
Audiobook cover with Girl staring at a fairy

The Fairy Ring, Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World. By Mary Losure. 2 CDs. 2:26 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-5194-2. $49.97.
Gr 4-8–This is the true tale of Elsie Wright, 15, and Frances Griffith, 9, who concocted a fairy hoax in the early 1900s that grew well beyond their expectations. Tired of being teased by their parents for their stories, Elsie painted and then cut out detailed illustrations of fairies. The girls photographed the “fairies” with themselves in the [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: All on a Sunday Afternoon (CD)

By on September 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
CD cover of two men lounging on a porch

All on a Sunday Afternoon.  CD. 36 min. with DVD. Sugar Free Allstars. 2012. ISBN unavail. $12.99.
PreS-Gr 3–On their third CD for families, the Oklahoma City-based Sugar Free Allstars—Chris (Boom!) Wiser and Rob (Dr. Rock) Martin—add to their bluesy, funky catalog of music. Many songs feature the talent of guest artists: vocals by Jack Forman (of Recess Monkey) and Shawana Kemp (of Shine & the Moonbeams) on “Gotta Get Up” (a kicking song sure to get you up and on [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With:

Pick of the Day: A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return

By on September 26, 2012 2 Comments
Graphic novel cover of a Middle Eastern family

ABIRACHED, Zeina. A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return. tr. from French by Edward Gauvin. illus. by author. 192p. diags. maps. CIP. Lerner/Graphic Universe. Sept. 2012. PLB $29.27. ISBN 978-0-7613-8568-4; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-57505-941-9; ebook $21.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0047-4. LC 201103891.
Gr 5 Up–Zeina and her younger brother are growing up in Beirut, where civil war is a part of daily life. To protect against strikes and sniper fire, the family’s living space has been reduced to the relative [...]

Filed Under: Grades 5 & Up, Graphic Novel Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: ,

Pick of the Day: Love, Mouserella (CD)

By on September 25, 2012 1 Comment
Illustrated book cover of mouse and letters

Love, Mouserella. By David Ezra Stein. cassette or CD. 30 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4034-1, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-4033-7. $15.75; book, ISBN 978-0-3992-5410-9. $15.99.
PreS-Gr 1–Mouserella’s letter to her Grandmouse describes her days with the meandering topics of a child, occasionally concluding “and that’s all…but” as she continues with descriptions of her daily activities. Listeners learn about her pet caterpillar and the ladybug she has taught to fetch, a visit to the zoo with a scary cat, a blackout, and [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: This Is Not My Hat

By on September 24, 2012 Leave a Comment
Fish wearing a hat on a black background

KLASSEN, Jon. This Is Not My Hat. illus. by author. 40p. Candlewick. Oct. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5599-0.
PreS-Gr 1–With this new creation, Klassen repeats the theme from I Want My Hat Back (Candlewick, 2011), but with a twist. The narrator here is the thief–a small, self-confident fish who has pilfered a little blue bowler from a big sleeping fish. He wastes no time or words in confessing his crime as he swims across the page announcing, “This hat is not [...]

Filed Under: Collection Development, Featured, Pick of the Day, Preschool to Grade 4 Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: Can You Canoe? A Mississippi River Adventure Album (CD)

By on September 21, 2012 Leave a Comment
CD cover with 2 men playing bajo on a canoe

Can You Canoe? A Mississippi River Adventure Album. CD. 38 min. with DVD (41 min.). RedEye Dist. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.99.
K-Gr 5–Grab your fishing gear and your tent, leave technology behind, and join the award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers (Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander) on a leisurely canoe trip down the Mississippi River. These mostly folk, country, and bluegrass tunes are enhanced by virtuoso performances on banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, upright bass, accordion, tuba, trombone, piano, organ, udu, balafon, auto-harp, melodica, [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: ,

Pick of the Day: Don’t Slam the Door! (DVD)

By on September 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover illustration of child with dog by door

Don’t Slam the Door! DVD. 10 min. with tchr’s. guide. Nutmeg Media. 2012. ISBN 1-933938-85-4. $49.95.
PreS-Gr 2–If the door slams it will wake the cat, who will tangle the yarn that is to be made into socks. Lumpy socks will cause dad to bump into a beehive. Who knows what will happen after that? In Dori Chaconas’s rhyming story (Candlewick, 2010), a young girl on an old-fashioned farm tries to prevent a cascade of uproarious cause-and-effect events. When, despite all [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: ,

Pick of the Day: Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!

By on September 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Yellow book cover with boy playing trumpet

MARSALIS, Wynton. Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! illus. by Paul Rogers. 40p. Candlewick. Oct. 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3991-4.
PreS-Gr 1–Who better to lead children in a celebration of sound than jazz virtuoso Wynton Marsalis? From the “tluck…tlock” of a dripping faucet and the “Chrrick chrrrick” of toast being buttered to the noises of trucks, drums, and washboards, the musician gives voice to the sounds enveloping an African American boy throughout the day. The setting, established by the wrought iron balconies [...]

Filed Under: Collection Development, Featured, Pick of the Day, Picture Books Tagged With: , , , ,

Pick of the Day: Racing Dreams (DVD)

By on September 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover of teen in racing helmet

Racing Dreams. DVD. 90 min. Prod. by Racing Dreams. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2010, 2012 release. ISBN 978-1-60883-668-0. $24.99.
Gr 6 Up–In this fast-paced coming-of-age documentary set in the competitive world of kart racing, three young drivers spend a season navigating each other and their dreams. Annabeth Barnes, 11, Josh Hobson, 12, and Brandon Warren, 13, aspire to race in  some day, but before they can reach their collective goal, they each must face their own challenges off the track as [...]

Filed Under: Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day, video Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »