Entries Categorized as 'Younger Readers'

Least of All

Our rating: ****

Raven Hannah is the youngest child in her family. She wants to help with the work on her family’s farm, but everyone always tells her that she is too little. Finally, Raven Hannah is given the job of churning butter. While performing this long task, Raven Hannah learns to do something that no one else in her family can do.

This is one of my favorite picture books. The ending is quite touching, especially because Raven Hannah’s desire to be strong enough to help with the farm work is so clear in the beginning of the story. Sadly, Least of All is out of print.

Blue Willow

Our rating: ***

Janey Larkin is a ten-year-old girl growing up in the Great Depression. Her one beautiful treasure is a blue willow plate. Her family moves from place to place, looking for work. One day they move into an empty shack and Janey makes friends with a Mexican girl who lives across the road. More and more things happen that make Janey want to stay. But when work gets scarce and with Bounce Reyburn demanding rent, it looks like they will have to move on again.

This book is okay. It’s not one of my favorites. However, it kept me pretty interested near the end. There was one part I didn’t appreciate, however, when Mrs. Larkin says that they can thank the Power that is for what had happened to them, and Janey wonders silently whether she means God or the blue willow plate.

You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum

Our rating: ****½

Balloons simply aren’t allowed in the art museum. But the kind door guard promises to keep an eye on the little girl’s balloon so she and her grandmother can continue their tour. The balloon is safely attached to the railing… until a pigeon unties it when the guard’s back is turned. And so a fantastic chase begins as the guard strives to recover the balloon before the little girl and her grandmother get back.

A hilarious story! The book is completely wordless, using only pictures to show the turns of events—which are comical to no end. As the balloon chase continues, more and more people get involved, and one of my favorite parts is that whenever it shows what the girl and her grandmother are looking at in the museum, that piece of art is paralleled somehow by the balloon-chasers.

McBroom and the Big Wind

Our rating: ***½

Josh McBroom is having trouble with a big wind that threatens to ruin his wonderful one acre farm that will grow anything (even his sons’ marbles). This isn’t just any old wind, though. This wind moves post holes, takes the milk bucket, and even sucks McBroom’s children up the chimney! What can he do to save his farm and his kids, and get rid of that bear jumping rope with the clothesline?

Once again, Sid Fleischman has written a story full of silliness that is just barely believable. I hardly scratched the surface of the goofy events that the story contains. Just try not to die laughing and you’ll be okay.

Elmer and the Dragon

Our rating: ****

After rescuing the baby dragon from Wild Island, Elmer starts his journey home. The dragon is happy to fly Elmer home, but a storm at sea lands them both on an island populated only by canaries. While there, Elmer learns something terrible: the king canary is dying of curiosity about a secret and the other canaries are curious to know what the secret is. Elmer knows that the only way to cure the canaries is to have the king tell his secret. But is the king willing?

Elmer and the Dragon picks up where My Father’s Dragon leaves off. In fact, all three books in the series could be combined into one book. Though this book is geared toward younger readers, it makes a fun quick read for the older audience.