Little Rooster's Diamond Button, by Margaret Read MacDonald

Illustrated by Will Terry
Rating: Recommended

Albert Whitman, 2007, $16.95

ISBN: 9780807546444

Grade Level: PreK-2nd grade

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This is a delightful retelling of a folktale especially popular in Poland, Russia, India, and Burma. In this story, a little rooster found a diamond button to take home to his mistress. As the king was riding by, he saw the button in the rooster's beak and took it to his treasure chamber. As the king tried to get rid of the indignant and tenacious rooster, the roosters magic stomach, as well as the rooster's ingenuity and resourcefulness cause the king to give up in the end. The loyal rooster comes home to his mistress with the diamond button and other treasures to live richly and happily ever after.

The acrylic on paper illustrations in Little Rooster's Diamond Button are bold and colorful, while the storyline and text is to the point, descriptive, and clear. The story and illustrations together make this title perfect for a preschool or young school-aged storytime.

Reviewer: Virginia Edwards, Orange County Public Library/Mesa Verde Branch

The Zombie Nite Cafe, by Merrily Kutner

Illustrated by Ethan Long

Rating: Very Good
Holiday House, 2007, $16.95
ISBN: 9780823419630

Age Level: 5-9 years
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The Zombie Nite Café is a great read aloud, that would give a storyteller much to work with. The words in this story-in-rhyme are very descriptive and visual, and the story has a rap-like beat to it. The story could easily stand alone, yet the illustrations make it more exciting.

Zombie Nite Café is not for the faint hearted. It is populated with Zombies, Ghouls, Trolls, etc., and brains and eyeballs are on the menu. However, it is scary, but not too scary and could be told to a young school-age audience.

Reviewer: Virginia Edwards, Orange County Public Library/Mesa Verde Branch

My Mother the Cheerleader, by Robert Sharenow

Rating: Very Good

Laura Geringer Books, 2007, $17.89

ISBN: 0061148970

Grade Level: 7th and up

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Louise Collins is a thirteen-year-old girl growing up in segregated New Orleans in 1960. She sees all kinds of prejudice, especially from her mother who is a member of the Cheerleaders; a group of women who protest integration. When a stranger comes to their rooming house, things get turned upside down. I would recommend this book as an older teenage read.

Reviewer: Kim Bell, Orange County Public Library/Cypress Branch