Review: Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt

Anyone who follows Bookworm for Kids diligently...and I'm going to say 'Wow! Thank you!' to those individuals...might have noticed that I did a switch-a-roo, and today's review now hits that book I pushed back. I thank everyone, who was looking forward to this one, for their patience. This one is worth the wait, by the way. 

But go ahead and read further to see why I say that...

ONCE UPON A CAMEL

by Kathi Appelt

Illustrated by Eric Rohmann

Atheneum Books

Middle Grade Animal Fantasy

336 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

SEPTEMBER 7th!!!

An old camel is out to save two baby kestrel chicks during a massive storm in the Texas desert.

Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She’s won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion.

But those stories were from before. Now, Zada wanders the desert as the last camel in Texas. But she’s not alone. Two tiny kestrel chicks are nestled in the fluff of fur between her ears—kee-killy-keeing for their missing parents—and a dust storm the size of a mountain is taking Zada on one more grand adventure. And it could lead to this achy old camel’s most brilliant story yet.

GOODREADS   /   BOOK DEPOSITORY    /    B&N    /    AMAZON

MY TIDBITS

I always am a fan of little known historical events being brought to life, and this one does exactly that. Masterfully.

Zada is a camel, the last camel in Texas around 1910. Her herd has long disappeared, and she now hangs around with her 'family' of birds. When they tell her a huge mountain is swallowing everything up, she realizes the danger for what it is—a huge dust storm. During their attempt to flea, the bird mom and dad get swept away by the wind, leaving Zada with their two chicks. She swears she'll protect them and get them to the Mission, where they can find water and shelter. But this might be a bigger adventure than she can handle.

This is such a lovely read. A really enjoy Zada, and the author has done a great job on bringing her across in a way young readers are sure to enjoy. She's wise, and her thoughts and decisions are easy for readers to understand. Her determination to save the baby chicks makes her hard not to root for. And her friends are adorable.

Tension runs high in these pages as Zada faces various dangers and does her best to keep the chicks safe, and all of these are appropriate for the intended age group. But this story isn't ony about determination and fun adventure. There is a lot of history. The author swipes the reader across the world to Zada's birth place and let's the foreign desert unfold as well as the sea journey to reach Texas. And, of course, there's Texan history, too. These moments are brought across in the stories Zada tells the chicks to keep the calm. The author keeps the reader from growing confused not only through the different characters, but each chapter starts with the date. While I'm not always a fan of flashbacks, they flow well and enrich the tale step by step.

The writing fits the age group well, too, and even suits the younger side of the middle grade audience. There are lovely illustrations sprinkled throughout the tale, which are a treat and add a change-up from the text.

This one is definitely worth a read and will delight more than animal fans.

And here they are...

Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honoree, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the National Book Award finalist The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, Maybe a Fox (with Alison McGhee), Keeper, and many picture books including Counting Crows and Max Attacks. She has two grown children and lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband. Visit her at KathiAppelt.com.

Eric Rohmann is the Caldecott Medal–winning illustrator of My Friend Rabbit and received a Caldecott Honor for Time Flies. He has both written and illustrated numerous books for children, including Bulldozer’s Big Day, Honeybee, and most recently Bulldozer’s Christmas Dig, all written by Candace Fleming. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois.

Review: Good Night, Good Night by Sandra Boynton

 

GOOD NIGHT, GOOD NIGHT

by Sandra Boynton

Little Simon

Picture Book

40 pages

ages 4 to 8

COMING...

SEPTEMBER 7th!!!

Maestro of bedtime Sandra Boynton expands her bestselling The Going to Bed Book in this deluxe collectible picture book that will help a new generation of children get ready for bed.

The sun has set not long ago. So begins one of the most widely loved children’s books ever made.

The Going to Bed Book was first published in 1982 and has been a cherished part of many millions of bedtimes ever since.

Good Night, Good Night is the larger and longer version, now redrawn by the author for a fabulous new generation. Every copy comes with a free pair of imaginary singing rabbits.

GOODREADS   /   AMAZON   /   B&N   /   BOOK DEPOSITORY

MY TIDBITS

Rocking on the waves with this friendly group of animals invites to calming dreams.

It's bedtime on the ship, which is sailing at sea, and the animal crew needs to get ready. They run below deck, get dressed, brush teeth, and, at one point, settle into bed.

This is an original twist on good night stories, which does call for calm and sweet dreams. The idea of having animals at sea...without saying much but just placing them on a boat...is fun. The animals range from elephants to rabbits, a large bunch. They do everything together, which makes for a bit of chaos but so much familiar warmth. There are a lot of good feelings in these pages, which give security and the sense of belonging.

The words are very simple, allowing the illustrations to carry much of the tale. These portray the animals in a way, which is great for young listeners and makes it hard not to want to be friends with these animals, too. There's a lullaby toward the end of the book with the notes, which can then be sung right along as the rabbits do their singing. 

All the elements needed to soothe young bedtime goers into sleep seem to be in these pages...and it left me also wondering what other adventures this group might have someday.

And here she is...

Sandra Boynton is a popular American cartoonist, children’s author, songwriter, producer, and director. Since 1974, Boynton has written and illustrated over sixty children’s books and seven general audience books, including five New York Times bestsellers. More than 70 million of her books have been sold, “mostly to friends and family,” she says. She has also written (with Michael Ford) and produced six albums of renegade children’s music. Three of her six albums have been certified Gold (over 500,000 copies sold) and Philadelphia Chickens, nominated for a Grammy, has been certified Platinum (over 1 million copies sold). Boynton has also directed twelve music videos of her songs, including the award-winning “One Shoe Blues” starring B.B. King, “Alligator Stroll” starring Josh Turner, and “Tyrannosaurus Funk” (animated) sung by Samuel L. Jackson. She lives in rural New England, and her studio is in a barn with perhaps the only hippopotamus weathervane in America.

Review: Friends to the End by C.L Colyer

 

Friends to the End

by C.L. Colyer

The Wild Rose Press

Publication date: September 27th 2021

Middle Grade Action, Adventure, Supernatural

COMING...

SEPTEMBER 27th!!!

 

Zach doesn’t believe in ghosts…but he should.

Twelve-year-old Zach is convinced he’ll never be happy without his best friend Jeremy by his side. But both of their lives changed with a bang five months ago, and as far as Zach’s concerned, it’s his fault Jeremy will never see his twelfth birthday.

When Zach moves with his family to a Chicago suburb, he quickly becomes friends with a group of thrill-seeking kids trying to find a disappearing haunted house. But Zach’s not worried. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, so he follows them into a wild, dangerous encounter that becomes a battle to decide what’s real and what’s not.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

Professional network technician by day, novelist by night, Cherie lives a quiet life in the Chicago suburbs with her charming husband. She has four amazing sons who she loves dearly. Cherie magically weaves together stories with a paranormal twist. She’s the author of the Embrace series (Embrace, Hold Tight, and Entwined), Challenging Destiny, Damned When I Didn’t, and Friends to the End. She waltzes into the adult novel world with this enchanting holiday romance, Merry Little Wishing Spritz.

She happily visits schools, libraries, and book clubs, and is a member of SCBWI (Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators).

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Hosted by:

Review: Bear Boy by Justin Barker with Foreword by Jane Goodall

I was touched when the author of today's read reached out to me with his new book. I believe this is the first memoir that I've had on Bookworm for Kids. And while I'm not usually a fan of memoirs, this one is well done and does keep the intended age group in mind. Of course, a foreword from Jane Goodall is an extra treat. 

But go ahead and read on to find out more.

BEAR BOY

The True Story of a Boy, Two Bears, and the Fight to be Free

by Justin Barker

Foreword by Jane Goodall

Brutus & Ursula LLC

YA Memoir / Nonfiction

240 pages

Bear Boy is a true-life coming-of-age story of two bears who inspire one boy to stand up for animals, question authority and discover the power of activism.

Justin is a typical teenager, dodging school bullies and waging an endless war with his parents. But when he discovers Ursula and Brutus-two sibling black bears being kept in horrific conditions at a nearby zoo-his life begins to change. He finds a cause that ignites his passion and an animal sanctuary willing to take the bears. But there's a catch: he'll have to cover the quarter-million-dollar cost.

Undaunted, Justin takes his seemingly insurmountable quest to an international audience, gaining media attention and support from celebrities. With television cameras rolling, Justin fights to free the bears, and it turns out himself.

Justin Barker's surprising and moving YA memoir offers the optimism of the 1990s while exploring timely issues of activism, animal rights, and LGBTQ identity with tenderness, unblinking honesty, and heart.

GOODREADS   /    AMAZON   /    B&N    /   KOBO    /    BOOK DEPOSITORY

MY TIDBITS

Every page inspires as the author reveals his amazing determination and effort to stand up for what he believed in and did everything he could to make a difference.

At age thirteen, Justin Barker accidentally stumbled across something in a used bookstore that changed his life. Learning where 'meat' came from and the sometimes terrible circumstances animals were raised under, he decided to alter his life. Not sure where to begin, he steered toward the living conditions of animals in zoos. After a success with his first attempts to help animals, he learned of two bears, who needed help, and despite the challenges, he refused to leave them to their fate at that time.

First off, this is a memoir. While I understood it was a true story, it wasn't clear to me that it would take this form...not that this was an issue. The book follows the real life account of the author's beginning teen years as he finds his calling and fights his first battles. His tale is inspiring, not only because of his own determination, but it does show that even younger advocates can make a difference. It's inspiring to see that the adults and organizations took him seriously, and that he was able to do what would normally seem as impossible. Books like this do open doors and, hopefully, give some readers the push they need to chase their own dreams.

This is written in an engaging manner and doesn't let boring passages sink in (which can be the problem with memoirs for this age group). The author allows himself to really remember how he was at that age and does keep this at that level. The tale takes place in the 90's, and there were obviously differences when compared to modern times, but the author doesn't forget this and makes sure to add needed explanations, while keeping them short and on point. My only comment is that this reads as a thirteen-year-old and stays in that swing...which makes it a bit on the low end for the YA audience and more for upper middle graders. But the material and language (when discussing his sexuality) is not really appropriate for the middle graders. So, I'd classify this one more as a tween read, but with caution for more sensitive readers. (It's really about several used terms more than anything else).

All in all, this is a well done memoir and does a wonderful job at inspiring young readers. The foreword for Jane Goodall is touching, and there was a lovely sense of honesty even in the author's ending words.

Review: Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby

 

CRANKY CHICKEN

by Katherine Battersby

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Children's Animal Humor

116 pages

ages 5 to 10

COMING...

SEPTEMBER 7th!!!

Narwhal and Jelly meet The Bad Guys in this heartwarming, brightly illustrated, and downright hilarious chapter book about what happens when a very cranky chicken is befriended by a very cheerful worm.

Cranky Chicken is, well, cranky. With one cranky eyebrow, cranky eyes, and even cranky, scratchy feet. But then one day, Cranky meets a very friendly worm named Speedy who wants nothing more than to be friends. Young readers will love seeing the mismatched friendship grow over the course of three charming and laugh-out-loud short adventures as Chicken and Speedy become BFFs (Best Feathered Friends) and Speedy shows Chicken how to look on the bright side.

GOODREADS   /    B&N    /    KOBO    /    AMAZON    /    BOOK DEPOSITORY

MY TIDBITS

There are books, which simply make one laugh, giggle, and snort. And this is one of them.

Cranky Chicken is...well, cranky and happy to be that way. When a worm pops up and says 'hi', the chicken tries to ignore it and head the other way. This worm is persistent and eve claims to like the chicken. Actually, it sees the chicken as its hero. An odd friendship begins.

I have a soft spot for chickens, and that's why I wanted to take a look at this one, but it was even better than I'd hoped. The Cranky Chicken is a grumpy-buns, and it's hard not to giggle with all of his grumbling around during the first pages. When he meets the worm, things really get funny. The dialogue between the two is what drives this one forward, and it's very well done. It does lean a bit to the sarcastic side, but it's along lines the age group will easily understand. Actually, I was even grinning through much of it. The two are made for each other, and the worm is impossible not to like.

Beginning readers will enjoy this one quite a bit. The text is kept simple enough for those who have just gotten a handle on their words, and it's short. Very short. The illustrations carry a lot of this one, and much of it flows in a mix of picture book/graphic novel style. But I love that it doesn't talk down to the reader. This one will humor even teens and adults, and still, it's really at the beginning reader level. I can see this one being a favorite.

And here she is...

Katherine Battersby is the critically acclaimed children’s author and illustrator of one chapter book and twelve picture books, including Perfect Pigeons and Squish Rabbit, a CBC Children’s Choice Book. Her picture books have also been shortlisted for numerous Australian awards, including the CBCA Awards for New Illustrator and Book of the Year. Katherine lives in Ottawa, Canada. Visit her at KatherineBattersby.com.