Phooey by Marc Rosenthal

Rating: Very Good

Joanna Cotler, 2007, $16.99
ISBN: 978-0060752484
Age Level: 4-8

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This cute story has old-fashioned illustrations that remind me of classic comic strips of the past. The story itself features a restless child, a state of mind that we can all relate to, who unknowingly sets off a comedic chain of catastrophes through his frustrated actions. Very simple, yet laugh out loud funny, I recommend this book for children to read alone or even to have read to them during storytime.

Reviewer: Monica Barrette, Orange Public Library

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots by Michael Sandler

Rating: Additoinal
Bearport, 2007, $22.61

ISBN: 978-1597165358

Age Level: 4-8

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A very quick and easy non-fiction read, Tom Brady is a tidy football hero story for interested youth. Football terminology is broken down into easily understood vocabulary words, while the short story keeps the excitement up with the "will they or won't they improve their game to win the Superbowl" plotline. However, this is not a book for those who are already familiar with Tom Brady and the Patriots, as it only dramatizes the stories most of us know. It has very few facts beyond that, skimming over Brady's very early life and tactfully ignoring his recent activities. Overall, this is a very good book for a young football enthusiast who is just "starting out" with their interest, but not the most informative choice for children who are already familiar with Brady and the Patriots.

Reviewer: Monica Barrette, Orange Public Library

Tsunami Warning by Taylor Morrison

Rating: Marginal

Houghton Mifflin, 2007, $17.00
ISBN: 978-0618734634
Age Level: 9-12

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Tsunami Warning is great--for needlessly scaring children. The illustrations are devastatingly beautiful as they depict extremely realistic scenes of destruction and near death. These pictures are so detailed that one wonders why real pictures of the disaster were not used instead. Additionally, the reader may struggle with exactly what this book is teaching us about: the science of tsunami warning systems, or the heroism of the Coast and Geodetic Society. Granted, there is nothing wrong with writing a story to celebrate some unsung hero, but why then should the book pretend to do otherwise? I question both the subject motive and the wisdom of making it in a picture book form, because I fear it will trick a younger reader who will later be rewarded with nightmares of these crashing death waves.

Reviewer: Monica Barrette, Orange Public Library

Ruby Parker Hits the Small Time by Rowan Coleman

Rating: Additional
HarperTempest, 2005, $15.99

ISBN: 0060776285

Age Level: 10-14

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Enter stage right, Ruby Parker, Britain's thirteen year old soap star. Discovered at six, Ruby partakes in the young thespian's life, basking in inter-continental recognition. But life is no longer a dream, when adolescent angst, coupled with betrayal, combined with her parents' separation and anxiety over a first screen kiss come calling. Fan mail correspondence lends depth to the bildingsroman. Although the first pages are overly populated with "like" a lot of "likes," the writing becomes personal and engaging, the characters believable and the plot plausible. Ruby is a likeable character and readers with an eye for the limelight might enjoy reading the dramatic unfoldings of a young star.

Reviewer: Rebecca Porter, Orange County Public Library/Laguna Beach

The Baby Shower, by Eve Bunting

Illustrated by Judy Love
Rating: Additional

Charlesbridge, 2007, $15.95
ISBN: 9781580891394
Grade Level: PreK - Grade 1

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Ms. Brindle Cow is having a baby, and Chipmunk, Rabbit, Turtle, Pig and Duck are on their way to share in the happy event, each with a gift for this special occasion, which is even more joyous when they find out that she has given birth to twins. The animal characters from Eve Bunting's previous book "The Wedding" are celebrating the new arrival in gentle rhymes and a touch of humor, but the jolly, rather cartoonish illustrations (ink on water color paper) dominate the text.

Reviewer: Beatrice Carswell, Orange County Public Library/West Garden Grove Branch

Hey, You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitoes, and Other Fun Things, selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Illustrated by Robert Rayevsky

Rating: Additional
HarperCollins, 2007, $15.99

ISBN: 9780060523473

Grade Level: 2nd-5th grade

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A collection of 30 poems by various authors, all written TO things, all kinds of things, from a dustmote to an octopus, to a black hole, addressing their subjects directly, sometimes even admonishing them. They are presented to the reader to spark his imagination and spur him to try it on his own. An interesting endeavor, even though the poems are uneven and the sequence somewhat baffling. Occasionally similar subjects follow one another and the mixed media illustrations tie them together.

Reviewer: Beatrice Carswell, Orange County Public Library/West Garden Grove Branch

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

Hugo & Miles in I've Painted Everything, by Scott Magoon

Rating: Recommended
Marshall Cavendish, 2007, $16.00
ISBN: 0-618-6438-8
Age Level: 3-6 years
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Scott Magoon's illustrations are colorful and cute and the story he tells is well written. The story is about Hugo the elephant who is an artist that thinks he has painted everything. His friend Miles takes him on a business trip to Paris. There Hugo sees the world in different ways.

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