Pirate picture books

My latest book order came in a week or two ago, and I've been slowly reading through all my new library books. I don't know how I managed it, but I kinda maybe sorta bought THREE picture books with pirates. Um, oops? I must have had Johnny Depp on my mind. Anyhow, here they are!

A Pirate's Night Before Christmas written by Philip Yates, illustrated by Sebastia Serra (2008)

Quite the retelling, this one is! It begins, "'Twas the night before Christmas aboard the Black Sark / Not a creature was stirrin', not even a shark!" I love the invented pirate rhymes, but I love more the pencil & ink digitally colored illustrations. They're soft, yet vibrant, and rather tropical because of course instead of reindeer, we have seahorses pulling the sleigh. A pirate glossary at the end of the book will help translate some of the jargon to curious listeners (and readers), though the illustrations tell the story perfectly well.

 A Pirate's Guide to First Grade written by James Preller, illustrated by Greg Ruth (2010)

Add this to your collection of "first day of school" books to read and share with teachers. I love it because of its potential to jump right in with a discussion of how illustrations tell a story separate from yet complementary to the text. Yes, it's a book about a boy's first day of school, but on this journey, he brings with him a crew of pirates, drawn in sepia-like tones while the rest of the story is done in watercolor oilstick and pastels. Are the pirates really there or not? Students will catch on to the fact that they are a figment of the boy's imagination. The text is done in pirate-speak but the endpapers provide a glossary, and of course, the illustrations show what may get lost in translation.

The Pirate of Kindergarten written by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Lynne Avril (2010)

This one's not actually about pirates, but since it has pirate in the title, I thought I'd share anyway. Ginny always has her nose in a book, quite literally, and has trouble making out which bunny ears to cut. During her vision screening at school, she finds out that most people don't see two of everything like she does, so she goes to the eye doctor to fix her double vision - hence the eye patch. I like how the eye patch at the end turned her into a pirate, which was something positive and special for her. Great readaloud for kindergarten students before their own vision screening at school.

Other pirate favorites:
How I Became a Pirate written by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon (2003)
Pirates Don't Change Diapers written by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon (2007)
Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies written by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by John Manders (2005)
Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates written by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by John Manders (2009)

MLK Day Read-alouds

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a big deal around here.We have a special section in the library devoted to books about him (because goodness knows there are a zillion books published about Dr. King), and teachers have been checking them out all week. Just in the nick of time, one of my book orders came in today with four new books that I couldn't wait to read and share. :)

Coretta Scott / poetry by Ntozake Shange, paintings by Kadir Nelson
published January 2009 by HarperCollins

I absolutely love the paintings in this book! I love how they take up an entire two-page spread and are vibrant and, in some cases, larger than life. You can see this by the cover alone. The poetry puzzled me. There is no punctuation, which frustrated me and had me stumbling over my words as I read it aloud to myself. The words per page are sparse and let the artwork tell the story too, which highlights Coretta's childhood, marriage, and key events in her life. I learned that she went to school to sing, and the last page has her and Martin singing together cheek by cheek, my favorite painting in the book. So pleased with this book and plan to share it with students when we study the Coretta Scott King Award.

My Uncle Martin's Big Heart by Angela Farris Watkins, illustrated by Eric Velasquez
published October 2010 by Abrams

Yes, this book is written by one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s nieces. And that's what I love about it - its conversational tone and portrait of a man who we all know as someone who did Great and Important things for society but who she just knew as a loving uncle. Love the illustrations in this one too - similar style to Coretta, but what I like most is that many of them are ordinary. There's one of Uncle M.L. asleep on the couch (fully dressed and with shoes!), one hanging out in the backyard with all the kids, and another smiling as he sends a telegram. It's nice to see another side of him, one that isn't so solemn and serious (though of course there's some of that too). This would be a good choice to share with the little ones.

Martin Luther King Jr. by Joeming Dunn, illustrated by Chris Allen
published July 2008 by Magic Wagon

This book is part of a graphic novel biography series, but do not be fooled, it's not a graphic novel. Not in the sense of the word as I know it, at least. While the illustrations are drawn as comics, the story is narrated completely rather than being driven by dialogue. And it's not really a story either, as it's written very much like an informational book about Dr. King, with chapters for his education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, etc. That being said, I think this will appeal to students who wouldn't normally pick up a biography or any informational text, the students who read comics exclusively (and I have plenty of those), and who will read anything as long as it's shelved in the 741.5s. So now I have a dilemma - where do I shelve it?

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
published February 2010 by Little, Brown

Oh, how I love this book! I am just consistently amazed by the Pinkney family - they have talent oozing out of their ears, they really do. I think I may have cried when I first read this book. It's so powerful in such a quiet way. Sprinkling Dr. King's words throughout, we are told the story of the Greensboro Four, the first four black students to sit down at a whites only Woolworth's counter and ask to be served donuts and coffee. It tells the story of King's nonviolent, peaceful approach to affecting change, using the metaphor of baking bread. Brian's watercolor and India ink illustrations are a perfect match for this story, but I couldn't tell you why. Perhaps because of the contrast between the delicate watercolors and the harsh black lines - the rightness of blending the two to create something beautiful though not clearly defined. I also love the added material at the end - a Civil Rights timeline, a note from Andrea about her research, and a bibliography of books and websites (selected by ALSC!) to consult "for further enjoyment." Gush gush gush. I love it. Definitely use it with 4th/5th grade students - and be surprised by the great discussions you will have.

Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy

Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy
published May 2010 by Simon & Schuster
40 pages (hardcover), children's nonfiction picture book

How do I express adequately how much love I have for this book? But it's not the gleeful, jumping up and down kind - it's the quiet admiration of a job well done. So well done that I'm a little bit in awe.

The subtitle of this book gives it away - it is the story of how Walter Diemer persevered to create the perfect bubble gum. The topic will be an instant hit with kids, but what I love most about this book is how it tells a story by using actual quotations. No need to put this book in your picture book section, it's as real as they get. Every quotation is cited! And can we talk about the illustrations, please? The sweet, bubble-gum flavored, acrylic illustrations perfectly evoke the 1920s in color and style. And not only is it perfect for a read-aloud, but this is also a book the little ones could read on their own, with just a little help from an adult.

I am so happy when I find a nonfiction book that I enjoy because let's face it, nonfiction has a tendency to either be too dry or tries too hard to appeal to the kiddos. This book is neither - it's confident in its subject matter and tells the simple story of bubble gum's beginning. There is added material at the end for those wanting to know more about Walter Diemer and gum in general.

Check out the Nonfiction Monday Wrap-Up at Wrapped in Foil!

First grade wonders

I've been teaching first grade students the difference between fiction and nonfiction for the past couple weeks, and this week's lesson involved a reading of each type of story. It's no secret that I prefer fiction - I love made-up stories, especially fantasy, so I share that love often. But I may be doing things a little differently from now on.

Beware of the Frog by William Bee
published June 2008 by Candlewick
48 pages (hardcover), picture book

Sweet little old lady, Mrs. Collywobbles, is afraid of the "big, dark, scary wood" near her house - but luckily, she has her pet frog to keep her safe. Monsters leave the forest en route to Mrs. Collywobbles house (goblin, troll, ogre) but are gobbled up by her pet frog before they can make any trouble. In a surprising twist of events, Mrs. Collywobbles gives her pet frog a little kiss of gratitude and is transformed into a frog herself! Whatever will she do?

The kids loved this book - all three classes of first grade students ended this story with a chorus of "Read it again!" Of course it helped that I love this book and used all kinds of creepy, scary voices for the monsters. It was good choice for the fiction side of things because although little old ladies may have pet frogs, 1. their frogs don't eat monsters and 2. humans can't change into frogs. This was an easy concept for some students to grasp - others alluded to The Princess and the Frog, and I had to remind them that that was a made-up story too. But all in all, they were pretty good about telling each other why this book was fiction.

Frog by Moira Butterfield
published October 1991 by Simon & Schuster
24 pages (hardcover), children's nonfiction

Frog is the story of the life of a frog, from egg to tadpole to full-grown frog. Each page has a single sentence with clear illustrations. It's a small book. It's simple. It's easy to understand.

And the students were mesmerized. I read each word slowly and fanned the book to show the illustrations. Not a peep from the children. They were leaning forward, completely captivated by what I was showing them, which totally shocked and confused me. It was so quiet in the library that when I finished the book, I used my whisper voice and asked if this was fiction or nonfiction and why. Students raised their hands and gave articulate responses. Well, knock me over with a feather! I'm only surprised because the previous story brought out the silliness in students and this one sobered them up so quickly. Bad librarian for being so biased! Nonfiction is interesting to the little ones, so I've witnessed. I'll have to bring more of it to my library lessons.

Max Spaniel series by David Catrow

I'm currently weeding the picture book section in the library - for you non-librarians, that means that I am making the critical and heart-breaking decisions of what books to remove from the library - and I'm having a blast getting to know the collection better. It's quite enlightening. Especially since children's books on my radar are either novels or picture books. That's all there is, right? Silly me, of course not. In between these two categories is a vast collection of early readers and first chapter books, from the I Can Read! series to Dr. Seuss to Dick and Jane. I don't have fond memories of these types of books - mostly because they're for emerging readers, with simple and repetitive language, and I was a reader at a very young age. But I am happy to say that authors do realize there is an audience for these books, and they are producing work that is just as engaging in content, text, and illustrations as those picture books that we get kids to love. One fine example of this is David Catrow's new Max Spaniel series. No need to See Spot Run anymore!

Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt by David Catrow
published August 2009 by Scholastic

Max Spaniel is not a dog. In this book, he is a hunter. Of dinosaurs. He traipses around the yard, collecting evidence that will help him create a dinosaur fossil. A bottlecap as an eye, a football for a head, a rake for teeth, a toy fire truck for a knee, etc. With no more than a sentence or two per page, Max will completely captivate young audiences. The illustrations are lush and vibrant - the kind that make kids drool (or is that just me?). I love all the little details Catrow fits on a page - an olive on a toothpick piercing a sandwich on a plate, a lazy cat observing in the background, Popsi and Cola bottlecaps, and a night sky filled with sparkling dots of stars. The illustrations alone will sell this book to kids, but that's not all - Max is such a character. Full of life and curiosity, he will definitely pique kids' imaginations and interests. He's got my attention!

Max Spaniel: Funny Lunch by David Catrow

published May 2010 by Scholastic

review copy provided by publisher

Max is back, but this time as a chef, family legacy and all. He partners with the fat cat we saw lurking in the shadows in Dinosaur Hunt to make the special of the day at Max's Restaurant- pizza! But it seems that no one wants to try the special. Instead, a dog asks for chili (and gets a scarf) and another customer who asks for a hot dog gets quite literally just that. Finally, a take-out order comes in for 100 pizzas - Max has a lot of work to do! 

If at all possible, I liked this Max book better than the first. I giggled at the silliness and the subtle additions of adult humor - the Gray Spaniel Bus Line and a leaning tower of pizzas. :) Love love love the illustrations again. Glossy watercolor prints make my heart flutter. My favorite page is: "A tummy growls. I growl back." where Max bares his teeth at the customers while flipping a burger, including the cheese, lettuce, tomato, bun, olive, and pickle. The illustrations have that I Spy feel that kids absolutely adore. The one thing I noticed that was different from the first book is the slightly longer text and use of dialogue, but it's still very much an easy reader. Check out the book trailer for more of Max!

My Weird School series

Being an elementary school librarian has its perks for a YA-minded person like me - it forces me to read children's books. And not just the highly literary, hey look I won an award-type books, but also the books that kids are actually reading and enjoying. Which brings me to the My Weird School series by Dan Gutman. Students gobble these books up - I don't how much of it comes from library promotion or peer pressure or comfort in a formulaic story; whatever the reason, they check them out repeatedly. I confess, until today, I had not read a single one. If you're unfamiliar with the series, the premise is fairly simple. A.J. is in second grade, and he's not shy to admit that he hates school. Each book introduces a teacher or administrator who acts as the catalyst for conflict and resolution in these humorous stories.

In Miss Daisy is Crazy, the first book in the series, Miss Daisy is the second grade homeroom teacher, but she doesn't know a thing. She can't read, write, add, subtract, know her history or social studies - she's pretty dumb. So, her second grade students have to teach her a thing or two, especially when she admits to hating school too. Told through the voice of A.J., who truly does hate school and can be a bit oblivious himself, this story sets the tone and introduces the characters for the rest of the series.

In Mrs. Roopy is Loopy, the third book in the series, we meet the new school librarian, Mrs. Roopy or George Washington or Johnny Appleseed or Little Miss Muffet or Humpty Dumpty or one of her other many aliases. Mrs. Roopy has a thing for bringing characters to life, quite literally. The students don't know what to think of her play-acting and some are genuinely confused if she's the one dressing up or if these people who visit the library and tell them their life stories are actually real. I never realized how fragile students' perceptions of fantasy versus reality were, but I definitely see it in my own school. I'm constantly asking students if what we just read was nonfiction or fiction and how they can tell the difference - not an easy task! So, this one resonated with me. And it made me want to dress up in character the next time I read a story. :)

I mentioned it before, but I'll say it again, these books are funny and formulaic. And they're what some kids need. Especially reluctant readers or kindred spirits who don't think there's anything worth reading in the library. The kids who constantly check out joke books should check these out too. As a librarian, I understand the place that these books have in the library and in kids' lives. They hook non-readers. They allow students who may not be strong readers to read for pleasure and humor, within the confines of a very structured story with familiar characters. And they're not for everyone. Obviously. No book is. But I say this because some people, parents especially, need to be reminded that books in the library are as varied and diverse as students themselves. The collection is for everyone, but not every book will be the book for every child. And so Dan Gutman says so himself in a School Library Journal article entitled "How I Corrupted America's Youth." Check out the article - it's why I blogged these books in the first place. :) Happy reading!

End of the Year Read-Alouds

Can it be that we only have ONE month of school left? That means I'll only see my classes FOUR more times - or less depending on field trips, assemblies, and end-of-the-year festivities. Which doesn't leave me a whole lot of time for read-alouds! I need short novels! Less than 100 pages. Make it 80! Here's what I'm thinking about reading to the little ones...

Kindergarten
We'll end the year with a Mo Willems author study. Mo makes me happy, even if the students make me a little crazy. We'll read some Pigeon books, Edwina, the Knuffle Bunny stories, and hopefully some Elephant and Piggie. They're all so much fun. :)

First Grade
I have SO many books I want to read to first grade. Do I have to just choose one? I think I will end up reading Miss Daisy is Crazy by Dan Gutman, the first in the My Weird School series. But I also really want to read Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osbourne, the first Magic Tree House book. Decisions, decisions.

Second Grade
I am definitely reading The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman. When I read it during the Dewey Read-a-thon, I knew instantly that it would lend itself very well to a read-aloud. It's such a magical story!

Third Grade
I'm leaning towards Frindle by Andrew Clements, but I'm worried that they'll know it. Will they, won't they? My back-up is The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling, which I don't think I've ever read. Yeah, I need to read or re-read all these books this weekend!

Fourth Grade
This grade has me stumped. Are there not any short, uplifting novels for this age group? My options at the moment are Bird by Angela Johnson (which looks to be a bit too long) or The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman. But I'd rather have a short, funny book. Any ideas?

Fifth Grade
They also have me wondering... So far, all I have is Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. Hmm, maybe I should look into getting the audiobook - I don't know that I have the voice for this one.




So, those are my ideas. But I'm still open to suggestions! Please, suggest away! I've consulted quite a few sources already, but it's really hard to find books less than 100 pages for the upper grades.

Picture books

The Squeaky Door retold by Margaret Read MacDonald, pictures by Mary Newell DePalma
published January 2006 by HarperCollins

Based on a Puerto Rican folk song, this is the story of a little boy who has trouble sleeping in his big bed all by himself. His grandma tucks him in and asks if he'll be okay, and he insists that he'll be fine - only to start wailing when she closes the door. To help him sleep, one by one, the animals in the house (and on the farm!) join him in bed, but as soon as the door squeaks closed, the boy and the animals are crying and making noise. In the end, the boy sleeps with his grandparents for a night, grandma fixes the squeaky door, and just the cat sleeps with the boy at night.

This one would be great for a unit on "What are you afraid of?" or paired with a similar book like The Napping House. Or even with more Latin American folktales. There are many directions to go with this one! It is very repetitious and students will definitely want to read along (and make the animal sounds) by the middle of the story. I would use it with K-2 students, depending on the theme.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas

published January 2009 by Simon & Schuster

Silliness abounds in this book, in a slightly sophisticated way. Four dust bunnies are hanging out (Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob), finding rhyming words because that's what they like to do, but one of them (you can guess who) is never able to come up with a rhyming word. Well, it turns out that he's trying to warn the rest of the group about a monster with a broom ::shudder:: and later a vacuum! The text is sparse, with only cartoon bubbles from the dust bunnies and the illustrations are large, filled in with solid colors. It's a clever little story that could serve as a fun introduction to rhyming words and/or poetry.

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
published July 2008  by HarperCollins

It's Splat the Cat's first day of school. He's scared senseless and tried everything he can to stay home. Alas, he gets to school, and he finds that it's not so bad. The class greets him with a warm welcome, and he learns that cats are actually pretty amazing creatures. But the one thing Splat learns that he's not so sure of is that cats chase mice. See, Splat likes mice and befriends one in the class, who just so happens to be able to open the milk closet and who changes the minds of all the cats to like mice too. I really loved this book, but the mouse sub-plot was too reminiscent of Despereaux to me. Nonetheless, the illustrations are absolutely fantastic - the furry, fuzzy cats look like they pop off the page. This is a great "first day of school" book that I would share with K-2.

Read-alouds in the Library

Because I am now gainfully employed (at least for the next two months), I have a lot less time on my hands, and most of what I've been reading lately is to share with my students. And now I'll share them with you...

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
published  April 2002 by Scholastic

So, I'm doing a David Shannon author study with first grade students. Last week, we read Too Many Toys and The Rain Came Down. Eventually, I'll get to the David books (though I'm not really a fan), but today was definitely a Duck on a Bike day. Sometimes I just want to jump for joy at how a great book can captivate and inspire a group of students.

If you don't know the story, Duck rides a bike around the farm, and on each page he encounters an animal who reacts to Duck's unusual activity (Dog is excited, Mouse is jealous, Sheep is wary, etc.) with an animal sound and an exclamation. In the end, a group of children conveniently leave their bikes outside the house, and all of the animals on the farm get to ride a bike for a short time.

There are many factors which contribute to a great read-aloud - many of which have nothing to do with the reader or the book. Time of day, weather, lunch, recess happenings, etc. Those seemed to all be in my favor today because my students came in quietly, sat down in their neat, little rows, and listened to the story. I asked them to raise their hands every time a new animal was introduced, and they did! With enthusiasm! They asked good questions, gave thoughtful answers, and were just wonderful. We got a little silly at the end of class; I read the book again, but this time I asked them to contribute the animal sounds. Yeah, they love that.

Hansel and Gretel retold and illustrated by Rachel Isadora

published April 2009 by Penguin

Grimm's tales with fifth grade = a lot more fun in theory. I was so excited to share these gruesome, scary versions of everyone's favorite fairy tales - except that kids today don't know the fairy tales at all. Last week, I read Cinderella, but before I did, I asked students to retell it for me, just basic plot points. Yeah, that wasn't happening. I got the Hillary Duff A Cinderella Story version, with a cell phone left behind at a high school dance. Really? Really?! Do I have to suck it up and admit that fairy tales are on their way to being obsolete? Am I supposed to thank Disney for keeping them alive as long as they did? I digress.

This week, I read this AMAZING retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Rachel Isadora stayed true to Grimm's story, but she set it in Africa with bright, bold colors in a collage style - and a green, nasty-looking witch. I immediately fell in love with this book. There's nothing in the text that specifies setting, so I'm thrilled that Isadora just made it up and stuck with it. I hear that she's quite good at this. I hoped that my excitement would be contagious and that students would really get into the story and especially appreciate the illustrations. Not so much. What can I say? Grimm's tales are repetitive (in keeping with the oral tradition) with some interesting morals, and well, a little boring. It takes a lot to entertain these students, and they just weren't having it with this story.

But the point of the lesson was to compare two retellings of the same story to see how time and perspective can introduce many variables to essentially the same text. But I need more than 30 minutes for this. And I need students who care. I don't know how to make them care. They just see it as something they need to get done - another worksheet to fill out (or not, as the case was for many of them). Is it just that it's spring and they're tired of school and perhaps a little jaded and ready to leave elementary school behind? I sure hope so.

What Happened to Marion's Book? by Brook Berg, illustrated by Nathan Alberg
published September 2003 by Highsmith

Kindergarten is absolutely my weakness. With over 20 five year-olds and just one me, I have trouble reading a story and checking out books in just 30 minutes. This book is lengthy but a good review of how to care for a book, especially at this time of year when books are coming back sopping wet ("I left it in the rain") or chewed up ("It was my dog").

Marion the hedgehog loves to read and has lots of books of her own. When she starts school, she gets to borrow two books from her school library, and she decides that she wants to be a librarian when she grows up (yes, it's a little cheesy). One day, while Marion is reading her library book at the breakfast table, a big glob of jam falls on a page. Oops! Marion knows that her librarian will be disappointed if she brings back a dirty book, so she decides to clean it. Her dog licks it, she puts toothpaste on it, takes it in the bath, and puts it in the washer - until the book is completely ruined. Moral of the story - 'Fess up right away and all is forgiven (well, you know, except that fine you'll have to pay).

Students were truly shocked at the choices Marion makes during the course of the book (thank goodness!), and I think they'll remember to keep their books clean and dry. Now if I can get them to bring back their books at all...


That's all for read-alouds this week. Third grade is working on using the online catalog, and fourth grade is using magazines for information. More next week!

Library Loot: March 17-23, 2010

Library Loot is a weekly meme hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at ReadingAdvenures. It encourages bloggers to share what they've scored at the library that week.

This week's loot is collected at Eva's blog.

Middle grade, YA & Adult

Soulless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel by Gail Carringer (currently reading)

Heist Society by Ally Carter

The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

Paris Pan Takes the Dare by Cynthea Liu

Kitchen Princess (Vol. 1-10) by Natsumi Ando

Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma

After next week's spring break, I'll be back in the school librarian's chair, teaching K-5 students, so I thought to do some author studies with the little ones, to ease myself back in the role and just because they're always fun for everyone. I haven't decided on all the books or even the authors yet, but this is what I'll be perusing during my break.

Kindergarten - Kevin Henkes

  My Garden

Chrysanthemum

Chester's Way

Kitten's First Full Moon

Julius: The Baby of the World

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

First Grade - David Shannon

 Good Boy, Fergus!

Alice the Fairy

The Rain Came Down

Duck on a Bike

Too Many Toys

David Goes to School

Second Grade - Tomie dePaola

Tom

Big Anthony: His Story

Strega Nona's Magic Lessons

Strega Nona: Her Story

The Unicorn and the Moon

Here We All Are

26 Fairmount Avenue

The Art Lesson 

The only one that I'm absolutely sold on is Strega Nona (because it's one of my favorites) and maybe some more of her stories if the kiddies enjoy it. Personally, I'm not a fan of David Shannon, but I think the little ones do like him quite a bit.

Any personal favorite read-alouds from these authors?

Amulet 1 & 2 by Kazu Kibuishi

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
published January 2008 by Scholastic
192 pages (paperback), middle grade

Back cover:

After a family tragedy, Emily, Navin, and their mother move to an ancestral home to start a new life. On the family's very first night in the mysterious house, Em and Navin's mom is kidnapped by a tentacled creature. Now it's up to Em and Navin to figure out how to set things right and save their mother's life!

What's missing from this summary is that the family finds itself in an alternate world by way of their new home's basement, an alternate world in which Em and Navin's presumed lost great-grandfather resides with a secret that will change all of their lives.

The story itself is quite engaging and action-packed. And I absolutely love the illustrations. I don't presume to know how to write about graphic novels. I don't know why this book appealed to me particularly - no more than the happy feeling I get when I read it and pore over the illustrations. It's all very mysterious to me, the process of drawing it all out, the decisions made regarding style and layout and colors. All I can say is, they were good decisions in this case! But I can talk about the story and that I did enjoy very much. Oh, how I love to think about alternate universes and realities! Emily and Navin, sister and brother, are likable and relatable children who are merely trying to save their mother from a large, squishy octopus-looking monster. Who knew that their new basement was a portal to another world? They're brave and unphased by the strangeness all around them, determined to free their mom and get back home.

Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi
published January 2009 by Scholastic
224 pages (paperback), middle grade

Yes, Emily and Navin save their mother, but unfortunately she's been poisoned, and they need to travel to another town to see a doctor for a possible antidote. The journey would take too long on foot, and they do not have any vehicles left - except of course, their house. Their house! Um yeah, that's ridiculously cool.

While The Stonekeeper introduced us to the Amulet series' characters, The Stonekeeper's Curse delves deeper into the story of the amulet itself (which was found by Emily in Book 1) and the powers it can have over its keeper. Not to mention the keeper's role in saving this town from the rule of the Elves!

This book was much more striking in its illustrations than the first. There was more variation and saturation of colors - blues and greys for the Elves, bright white tinged with pink for the amulet's power, and tons of reds and oranges for the village scenes. And four awesome pages of black with eye slits for a return to consciousness - this was too cool.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series to upper elementary/middle school students. I don't think I need to say it, but I will anyway - fans of Bone will definitely gobble this one up. I don't normally pick up graphic novels that are drawn in this style, but I'm glad I read these two. I'm only sorry that the third volume isn't out yet!

Other reviews:
100 Scope Notes, A Year of Reading, Read About Comics, Omnivoracious