Read, Write, Repeat.

Calvin is my kind of bird.

His favorite place to be is the library. And, he’d rather read than do just about anything else — even learn to fly.

Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie (Sterling, 2010) is written by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Keith Bendis. It tells about the trouble not knowing how to fly causes Calvin.

His starling friends tease him, calling him names like “geeky beaky.” And, if that weren’t bad enough, when it comes time to fly south for the winter, Calvin doesn’t know what to do.

But his friends rise to the occasion and help Calvin migrate. Even though he still can’t fly, all the knowledge he gained reading books helps him get his friends out of a jam and reach their destination safely.

And does Calvin eventually take wing? Let’s ask today’s reviewer.

Our reviewer: Nikole  (That’s the girl with the barred rock chickens sitting on her shoulders. She didn’t have easy access to a starling and thought they were a good substitute.)

Age: 11

Things I like to do: Play basketball, swim, listen to music, and show my chickens at the fair.

This book was about: A starling named Calvin.

The best part was when: He learned how to fly.

I laughed when: His cousins called him funny names like “geeky beaky.”

I was worried when: The hurricane hit.

I was surprised when: He learned how to fly.

This book taught me: Being smart comes in handy.

Three words that best describe this book are: “Funny.” ” Creative.” “Cute.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “The air had an odd smell to it . . . the smell of DANGER!”

Other kids reading this book should watch for: How different Calvin is.

You should read this book because: It is a funny book.

Thanks, Nikole!

If you’d like to learn more about Jennifer Berne and her other books, visit her website.

If you’d like to learn more about Keith Bendis and his other work, visit his website.

You can find other reviews of this book at:

• Reading to Know
• There’s a Book
• Rick Librarian

Judith Viorst’s  classic children’s book describes a boy named Alexander who survives a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Julie Sternberg’s debut book describes a girl named Eleanor who makes it through an awful month.

Alexander’s bad day is made up of a series of small slights and insults. He gets gum in his hair, he doesn’t get a seat by the window in the car, and the cat wants to sleep by his brother, and not him. There’s even kissing on TV, and he hates that.

Eleanor’s month is ruined by one momentous event. Bibi, the babysitter she’s had since she was — well — a baby, is moving far, far away.

And that’s so bad it’s Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (Amulet, 2011).

As Eleanor’s world is turned upside down, she’s forced to cope the best she can.  And, she learns that life goes on, even when it’s not the way she always thought it would be.

Now, let’s hear from today’s guest reviewer. Her babysitter moved to Arizona several years ago, so she could relate to the story:

Our reviewer: Sonia

Age: 9

I like: Coloring, playing on the computer, playing with my DS, reading Highlights magazine, and snuggling with my blanket and my cat, Vince. 

This book was about: A girl named Eleanor. Her babysitter, Bibi, moves to Florida to help her Dad get better. They have a good-bye party, and all of Bibi’s friends cry. Then, they all go outside to get Bibi a taxi. Now, Eleanor doesn’t like taxis because they took Bibi away. Then, Eleanor gets a new babysitter, Natalie. Eleanor doesn’t like her like she liked Bibi, but then she gets used to her.

The best part of the book was: When Eleanor writes a note to Bibi while her dad is singing with Agnes, a neighbor. Once Agnes leaves, Eleanor wants to put the letter in the mailbox. So she gives it to the mail carrier, Val. Later, Val gives Eleanor a letter from Bibi.

I was surprised when: Bibi’s letter didn’t come sooner.

I was worried when: Eleanor had a big tantrum because she wanted her old babysitter back.

Three words that describe this book are: “Bibi.” “Eleanor.” “Natalie.”

This book taught me: You will always miss your first babysitter. But, you’ll probably get a new one that you like.

Other kids should read this book because: It’s a good book. I liked all the characters. I liked the picture where Val is waving the letter from Bibi.

Sonia has never put pickle juice on a cookie. But she concedes that it probably wouldn’t taste very good. She adds that the worst month she ever had was this very month because there was one day in it where she threw up five times. But she’s feeling much better now.

Thanks, Sonia!

To learn more about author Julie Sternberg, visit her website.

To learn more about illustrator Matthew Cordell, visit his website.

And, here’s a delightful interview with both of them at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Would you like to see more reviews of this book?

• Here’s one from the New York Public Library.
• And, here’s another from This Kid Reviews Books.

When I was a child, my sister and I spent our summers reading.

Sometimes, we’d hop on the city bus and go to the main library, but mostly we’d walk to Congress Park – a rundown playground near our house with monkey bars that would be deemed unsafe by today’s standards. 

There, we’d wait for the bookmobile to chug its way around the corner. Once it arrived, we’d check out as many books as we could carry, stagger home, and start reading. I don’t remember being especially discriminating. If the book had two covers and pages inside, it was all right by me.

Once we had each read our books, we’d swap stacks and begin again. But in a day or two were were always back — waiting for the bookmobile.

We were such frequent visitors, the bookmobile librarian didn’t think we actually could have read the books were were claiming on our summer reading club sheets.

But after she’d quizzed us and realized we truly had, she became concerned and wanted to speak to our mother about getting us adult library cards instead of our children’s versions. We obviously weren’t being sufficiently challenged.

I still remember my mother’s response.

“It won’t make any difference,” she said. “They’ll read the adult books just as fast.”

And she was right.

When I became a parent myself, in another city, I was thrilled to live near a bookmobile stop — also by a park as it happens — and giddily took my daughters. (One even followed in my footsteps by completing her reading sheet on the third day of summer vacation.)

They came home with stacks of books, but I usually left empty-handed. The bookmobile was big on cookbooks and romance novels for adults, which, while nice, weren’t my preferred subject matter.

Then I found out I could request books that the bookmobile would have on hand the next time it stopped. Bingo! I’d hit paydirt.

Once, I was even interviewed by a newspaper reporter who was getting citizen input on whether my suburb needed its own library. I said no, because we had the bookmobile.

Now, we are getting a lovely library within biking distance from my house. And I cannot lie. I am excited. I’m sure I will want to move in once it opens.

But I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the brightly colored, diesel-fueled bookmobiles that fed my need to read as a child.

So in that spirt, I recommend Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston (HarperCollins, 2011).

It’s the true story of librarian Dorothy Thomas who started a bookmobile for rural families. And, it’s altogether lovely. From the moving story of Miss Dorothy’s devotion to books to how she shared that passion with her neighbors, young and old, and how that passion influenced their lives, the book exudes nothing but love.

And the illustrations by Susan Condie Lamb are killer.

So check it out when you get the chance. And if it happens to be from your local bookmobile, so much the better.

Max is a baseball player.

And, at least in America, eating hot dogs at the ball game is tradition.

So he was a great choice to review Hot Diggity Dog (Dutton, 2010), a nonfiction picture book about the history of the hot dog.

The book, written by Adrienne Sylver and illustrated by Elwood H. Smith, shares a lot of hot dog history, and it’s a juicy read.

It’s full of fun facts. For example:

• Most hot dogs are eaten in July.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt fed King George VI a hot dog when he visited America in 1939.
• Oscar Mayer has a car shaped like a giant hot dog called the Wienermobile. (I’ve been inside it, but that’s a post for another day.)

The book also has cartoon illustrations and some photography which … um … tastefully bring Sylver’s words to life. There are even two family recipes in the back.

Now, let’s hear from today’s guest reviewer Max. He puts mustard and ketchup on his hot dogs, but they’re not his all-time favorite food. He likes plain macaroni better.

Our reviewer: Max

Age: 8

Things I like to do: Play football. I’m also really good at baseball. I play outfield and third base.

This book was about: Hot dogs. On one page, there was a spaceship that looked like a hot dog, and a dog was in it, and the dog said some crazy stuff.

This book taught me:  That at first, hot dogs were sold without a bun.

The best part was when: There was a list of all the different kinds of hot dogs and the different toppings people put on them.

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: When the turkey is holding the sign saying, “Say yes to veggie dogs.”

Three words that describe this book: “Funny.” “Tasty.” “Cartoon.”

Other kids reading this book should watch for: All the interesting things in the pictures — like coins and spaceships.

You should read this book because: It has really funny pictures.

Thanks, Max!

Are you hungry yet?  If you want more details, you can:

Learn more about the author by reading this interview or visiting her website.

Learn more about the illustrator by reading this interview or visiting his website.

I hang out with second graders regularly – reading them books and helping them complete reviews for this blog.

But last week, I got to spend time with 15 middle school students talking about writing and story structure. I’m never nervous about meeting with the second graders — they’re always happy to see me — but I was worried the middle schoolers might be different story.

I have one middle schooler at home, and know how hard it can be to keep her engaged and on task. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with a whole group.

I shouldn’t have worried.

The kids I spent time with were excited about writing. Most of them wrote on their own one way or another — whether it was journaling, poetry, short stories, books (!) or as one seventh-grader said, “just random junk.”

And, they had lots of enthusiasm and thoughts to share, whether we were discussing the initial incident in The Wizard of Oz, why Harry Potter had to struggle for his story to succeed or how to learn more about our characters’ backstories.

I was amazed by how readily everyone participated in the getting-to-know- your-character exercise. Everyone chose a picture of a teenager and then responded to questions about that person to come up with a robust character outline.  

And the thoughts they came up with were impressive. Some created very serious scenarios about broken homes, jailed parents, murder and drug use. Others took a humorous approach with unrequited crushes, Barbie and Ken fixations, and a desire for swag.

Most impressively, it seemed like everyone wanted to share what they had done.

My favorite moments of the session were when:

• The girl who told me she wrote “just random junk,” later said, “You make me want to write a book.”
• A boy who had been very quiet during the session stayed after to privately show me the character sketch he had created.
• A teacher said another student in the class asked if he could stay in and keep working on the project instead of going out for noon recess.

And my daughter (who I think was privately worried I would embarrass her) even heard some good comments from her peers. 

I brought a copy of Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter and held a drawing to give it away. Response was so enthusiastic, I wish I had been able to give a book to everyone.

I also wish I had remembered to bring my camera. Then, I could have shown you all their smiling faces.

Jane Yolen rocks.

She’s written more than 300 books and numerous poems, and has been referred to as the American Hans Christian Andersen. Her book, Owl Moon, which was illustrated by John Schoenherr, won the 1987 Caldecott Medal, and Jane’s other books have received numerous awards.

David Small rocks too.

He’s illustrated more than 40 picture books (some written by his wife, Sarah Stewart). He’s also created a graphic memoir and won the 1997 Caldecott Honor for The Gardener, written by his wife, and the 2001 Caldecott Medal for So, You Want To Be President? by Judith St. George.

So chances are any collaboration between them is a book worth checking out. And, Elsie’s Bird (Philomel, 2010) definitely is.

It’s the lovely story of Elsie, a Boston girl, who’s transplanted to the Nebraska prairie with her grieving father after her mother dies. Now the sounds of the ocean and the bustling city are replaced by the sounds of prairie grasses and nature.

Elsie doesn’t like the change at first, Her only comfort is her canary, Timmy Tune. But when Timmy escapes from his cage, Elsie runs after him, and — in the process – starts to feel at home.

The publisher calls it, “A remarkable, poetic, vividly rendered book about finding one’s place in the world.”

And reviewers agreed. It received starred reviews from the School Library Journal and Kirkus.

Now, let’s hear from today’s guest reviewer.

Our reviewer: Ellie

Age: 7

Things I like to do: Play sports, make arts and crafts, and listen to music.

This book was about: A girl who lived in Boston a long time ago. Her mother died, and her dad was sad. So they moved to Nebraska.

The best part was when: She found her bird out in the prairie. And when her dad brought home the hound, the banty hens and the rooster.

I smiled when: Everyone was singing.

I was worried when: The bird was lost.

Three words that best describe this book are: “Sing.” “Town.” “Bird.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book: “Timmy Tune began to sing back, circling and circling overhead.”

You should read this book because: It helps you learn about nature.

Ellie adds that she has a dog, a cat and two frogs, but not any hens or roosters.

Thanks, Ellie!

If you’d like to learn more about Jane Yolen (and you really should) you can visit her website or watch this video interview. Or, read this written one.

And certainly don’t forget David Small. Here’s his website, and an illuminating interview.

You can find other reviews of Elsie’s Bird at:

• Fuse Eight.
• Through the Looking Glass.