scholarly journals Return to Titanic: Time Voyage by S. Brezenoff

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Blackwood
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
100Th Anniversary ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
Book Series ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Spring Break ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
The University

Brezenoff, Steve. Return to Titanic: Time Voyage. Illus. Scott Murphy. North Mankato, MN: Stone Arch Books, 2012. Print.    The legendary Titanic resurfaces for this children’s novel which cleverly combines history with science fiction.  The subject of the Titanic voyage is timely, since it is recently the 100th anniversary of its maiden voyage. Tucker and Maya spend their spring break helping out at a museum and as they sort through a box labeled “special collection” for the Titanic exhibit, they find an original ticket to the maiden voyage of the Titanic.  Their curiosity provokes them to open its protective case.  Once they touch the ticket, they are sent back in time to Queenstown, Ireland in 1912, the day the Titanic was to set sail across the Atlantic Ocean.  Tucker’s mother, the museum’s curator, always said there was “magic in the junk at the museum”.  Tucker and Maya must decide what to do next.  Should they stop the Titanic from sailing?  Is it possible to change history?  They begin to wonder how will they ever return back to 2012? Detailed pencil-sketch drawings by Scott Murphy decorate every few pages.  These illustrations enhance the description and imagery in the novel while supporting reluctant readers.  The shaded teal-coloured sketches assist with setting the tone of history, mystery, and adventure.  Inclusion of a map, at the beginning of each chapter, indicates the location of the characters at that moment in the novel, whether they were in Queenstown, Ireland or in New York.  To assist with these transitions, the change of time occurs at the start of a new chapter, as well as clear setting descriptions are included throughout, integral in showing the time and place.  These time transitions are smooth and easy to follow.   Themes of friendship, curiosity, history, time-travel, adventure, and courage are intertwined.  Educators can integrate this novel into lessons about the Titanic's history.  Time Voyage is an exciting adventure story to accompany non-fiction titles.  It is interesting to note the correct historical references of location, dates, and the company that sailed the Titanic incorporated in this work of fiction. Time Voyage is the first novel in the Return to Titanic four book series, written by Steve Brezenoff.   With easy vocabulary, great plot description, imagery, and consistent use of strong adjectives, this novel will captivate readers aged 9 to 13 years old, appealing to grade 2 to 3 reading levels.  The cliff-hanger at the end of the book will surely entice readers to continue reading this four book series. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Melissa Blackwood Melissa Blackwood is a Primary/Elementary teacher, presently completing a Master of Education in Teacher-Librarianship with the University of Alberta.

Seraphina by R. Hartman

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kymberly Sobchyshyn
Keyword(s):  
The Novel ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
The University ◽  
New Religion

Hartman, Rachel. Seraphina. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2012. Print.Rachel Hartman’s debut novel, Seraphina, is a fantastical journey into a world where humans and shape shifting dragons live among each other. The novel follows Seraphina, a strong and intelligent female character with a talent for music, as she is caught between two races. Hartman has masterfully created a new religion, culture, language, political system, and multiple species in order to fully immerse the reader in Seraphina’s world.Hartman’s dragons, a unique breed of cold, unemotional mathematicians, are mostly intrigued and confused by what they consider to be overly emotional and artistic humans. The strong differences between the two races are cause for tension, but Seraphina has a mysterious gift of being able to understand how dragons think and why they react to humans in such curious and sometimes dangerous ways.Seraphina is a story of political unrest and adventure, with a little romance added in for good measure. Not only is the book a quick and entertaining read, but the glossary is not to be missed. That’s right, the glossary! Hartman created much of the foreign vocabulary in the novel, and the glossary is the place where her sense of humour and criticism of the world she has created really shine through. Some of the more challenging vocabulary in the novel is defined in the glossary so readers who might feel discouraged by the language should know that the author has invented most of these words. For a good laugh and some added detail about Seraphina’s world, the glossary is a great way to finish. Seraphina is the first in what Hartman has planned to be a series.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kymberly SobchyshynKymberly is currently in her second year of schooling to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. In her free time she enjoys traveling, ancient history, and reading of the fiction and non-fiction variety.

scholarly journals Falling Kingdoms by M. Rhodes

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Leung
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Baby Girl ◽  
Humanities Computing ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The University

Rhodes, Morgan. Falling Kingdoms. New York: Penguin Group, 2012. Print.This young adult fantasy novel tells the story of three different fictional kingdoms: the prosperous Auranos, the impoverished Paelsia, and the oppressed Limeros. The book opens with a short prologue where two witches steal a baby girl, who is prophesied to become a powerful sorceress.Sixteen years later, the story continues with Princess Cleo of Auranos, who is out with some friends and Lord Aron, whom she hates but may one day be her betrothed. They visit a wine merchant in Paelsia, as the country is known for its wonderful wine. After tasting a sample, Aron uses his position to bully the wine merchant into letting him buy many cases of wine for only a fraction of their cost. When the merchant’s two sons, Tomas and Jonas, interrupt the trade, they become insulted and start a fight with Aron, who pulls a dagger and kills Tomas. The incident serves as a catalyst for war between all three kingdoms.The novel follows four different storylines. One is the story of Princess Cleo, who feels incredibly guilty about the death of Tomas.  She discovers love and loss, and is kidnapped by the neighbouring kingdoms, who wish to use her to make the King of Auranos give up his realm. Another major storyline is that of Jonas, who seeks revenge for his brother’s death. He aligns himself with the Chief of Paelsia, and helps instigate a rebellion with the help of the Kingdom of Limeros, in order to conquer Auranos. The last two storylines deal with the royalty of Limeros. Prince Magnus, who grew up under the abuse of his tyrannical father, struggles to live up to the king’s expectation as heir, and also to protect his younger sister Lucia. Even more torturous for Magnus are his strong, romantic feelings towards Lucia. The last storyline is that of Lucia, who is in fact the baby stolen years ago, raised as a princess in Limeros. At age sixteen, her powers manifest, and she learns to control them, and she seeks to protect her brother at all costs. Her father wishes to use her powers to his advantage during the war on Auranos. All four of these stories converge by the end of the book.Falling Kingdoms takes a serious look at politics, and the effects of economic discrepancy between social classes. The book ends on a cliffhanger. It is the first in a series, the second of which is called Rebel Spring. This series explores not only the repercussions of the war between kingdoms, but the place of magic in this fictional world.As the book alternates between the four different viewpoints, and each of these viewpoints engage multiple characters, the story is complex, and might be hard for some to follow. The novel also deals with heavy themes, including war, revenge, death, incest, abuse, and sex.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Colette LeungColette Leung is a graduate student at the University of Alberta, working in the fields of Library and Information science and Humanities Computing who loves reading, cats, and tea. Her research interests focus around how digital tools can be used to explore fields such as literature, language, and history in new and innovative ways.

scholarly journals Why We Broke Up by D. Handler

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mead-Willis
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
New York ◽  
English Literature ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Rare Book ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Object A ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Sexually Explicit ◽  
The University

Handler, Daniel. Why We Broke Up. Illus. Maira Kalman. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2011. Print. In 1975, Judy Blume published Forever, in which a girl meets a boy at a high school party, dates him, falls madly in love with him, sleeps with him, and then breaks up with him. The novel was the first of its kind— a frank and sexually explicit portrait of teen love, delivered by a modern, post-women’s-lib female narrator. And while the book scandalized some readers, it became a coming-of-age touchstone for others. (Indeed, this reviewer remembers getting a copy from her mother – a bit embarrassing, given all the sex that was in it – as a sort of warning of the pleasures and pains of incipient adulthood.) Fast forward thirty-five years to Daniel Handler’s Why We Broke Up, in which a girl meets a boy at a high school party, dates him, falls madly in love with him, sleeps with him, and then breaks up with him. Not quite the trailblazer of a story that it was in 1975, but a fascinating (and in many ways superior) revision of the doomed-teen-romance downer. Daniel Handler is, after all, known to most as Lemony Snicket, and readers may detect shades of Snicket in the sly wit and mordant humour that infuse this particular series of unfortunate events. But his improvements on Blume’s prototype do not stop at style. For one thing -- and this is a big thing -- Handler invents a far more interesting narrator to tell the tale. While Min Green encompasses the moods and caprices typical of the teen girl umwelt, she also displays repertoire of quirks unwedded to age or gender: an obsession with cult cinema, a wicked sense of humour, and a singular worldview disclosed to the reader in lyrical, synaesthetic morsels. (“Enormous as a shout” is how she first describes Ed Slaterton, her love interest.) Through Min’s voice, Handler creates something that is less a love story than a headlong plunge into the teenage psychic cosmos— that welter of sensory, emotional, and cultural bric-à-brac that young people accrue in their projects of self-creation. The book is cluttered with spurious allusions to movies that were never made, musicians who don’t exist, food and beverages not on offer anywhere outside the text. (Viper shots, anyone? How about a bottle of Scarpia’s Extra Bitter?) These are a clever device on the author’s part; instead of attempting to tap the vocabulary of teenage cool (and burden the novel with effortful hipness), Handler fabricates a pitch-perfect simulacrum. As befits a post-2000 story of young love, there is a visual counterpoint to Handler’s text. Each chapter begins with the image of an object -- a bottle cap, a comb, a pair of earrings – rendered in lush oil paint by artist Maira Kalman. All are mementos of Min’s and Ed’s relationship, and all are cast away as Min comes to grips its ruin. But just as love leaves a trace that cannot be easily expunged, so the images conjured by this novel will resonate, mournful and comic, long after the book is closed. Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sarah Mead-WillisSarah is the Rare Book Cataloguer at the University of Alberta's Bruce Peel Special Collections Library. She holds a BA and an MLIS from the University of Alberta and an MA in English Literature from the University of Victoria.

Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception by G. Paulsen

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Storie
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Medical Illness ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Second Nature ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
The University

Paulsen, Gary. Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2011. Print. Kevin Spencer, the fourteen year-old protagonist of Gary Paulsen’s latest novel, is a consummate and unashamed liar.  He considers lying to be second nature, “a way of life”; even going so far to proclaim that it is his duty to lie for the greater good because it makes things easier for everyone.  In his words, the secret to successful lying is that “people only listen for what they want to hear, so I only tell them that.”  Possessing this particular skill also means he’s never been caught in a lie. This novel chronicles a week in Kevin’s life, the week in which his lying gets out of control and his life goes from “zero to crap”.  He lies to his classmate about a medical illness to get out of working on an assignment, lies to his teachers so he can get skip class and spend more time trying to impress a girl, and lies to his parents to get his siblings in trouble.  Along the way, he explains the rules behind “good” lying as he rationalizes and justifies his actions, until finally he is forced to face the fact that his lying has consequences. Liar, Liar is full of Paulsen touchstones, including a bright, self-aware teenage protagonist, a cast of quirky supporting characters, and witty and fast-paced dialogue. Ultimately, the novel is stronger on character development and dialogue than on plot.  Although the story moves along briskly enough to keep most readers interested, it is not as satisfying or cohesive as those in Paulsen’s other novels.  The series of events that precipitate Kevin’s eventual realization about the negative effects of his lying are less dramatic than expected, resulting in a rather understated story overall.  Similarly, the romantic interest that drove many of his lies was also left resolved (likely to be continued in the next novel in the series). Nevertheless, anyone who is a fan of Paulsen’s later novels such as Lawn Boy will still find Liar Liar to be an enjoyable read.  Even if it’s not always clear where Kevin is going with his consistent lying, his inner monologue keeps the journey entertaining.   Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Dale StorieDale is Public Services Librarian at the John W. Scott Health Sciences Library at the University of Alberta. He has a BA in English, and has also worked in a public library as a children's programming coordinator, where he was involved with story times, puppet shows, and book talks. 

scholarly journals The Summer I Learned to Fly by D. Reinhardt

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Assistant Professor ◽  
The Novel ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
True Meaning ◽  
The University

Reinhardt, Dana. The Summer I Learned to Fly. New York: Ember, 2012. Print. The enthusiastic endorsement from Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, on the cover of The Summer I Learned to Fly was persuasive. I picked up this coming-of-age novel with high expectations and it did not disappoint. Reinhardt’s heroine, Drew Robin Solo, aka Birdie, doesn’t have many friends and spends most of her time hanging around her mother’s cheese shop. It is 1986, the summer before Birdie begins grade eight. One night after closing the cheese shop, Drew meets a mysterious young man named Emmett Crane who eats the day-old bread and leftover cheese that Drew puts in the garbage. Drew learns the true meaning of friendship as she finds out who Emmett is, why he is there, and the sacrifices she is willing to make on his behalf. Over the course of the summer, Drew’s friendship with Emmett and his eclectic group of friends develops and when tragedy strikes, Drew must also cope with changing relationships with her Mom and her co-worker and surfer dude, Nick. Reinhardt’s characters, both teen and adult, are flawed, fully drawn, and gloriously human. Drew’s emotional progression throughout the novel is encapsulated in a quiet and profound way: “I didn’t want to be the sort of friend who dashes dreams. Friends, I was pretty sure, lift their friends up; they don’t weigh them down like a sack full of stones.” The Summer I Learned to Fly is a heart-warming and worthy reminder of the choice we all have: to weigh each other down, or to lift each other up. It is highly recommended for a broad audience, but for young girls this book will particularly resonate. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Tami Oliphant Tami Oliphant is an assistant professor at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta.

scholarly journals How do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? by J. Yolen

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbi Feisst
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Full Effect ◽  
General Feeling ◽  
The University

Yolen, Jane. How do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? Illus. Mark Teague. New York: Scholastic, 2012. Print. If you have ever set foot in the children’s section of a public library or bookstore, you will likely recognize the dinosaur on the cover of this book. Yolen, a much-lauded author who has also penned science fiction and fantasy, has over 300 children’s books to her name and is the author of How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? and many others in the wildly successful How Do Dinosaurs… franchise created by bestselling author Jane Yolen and illustrator Mark Teague. The familiar classic dinosaur characters from Yolen and Teague’s books try their hands at baking and eating cookies while learning some ‘cookie etiquette’ along the way.  While Yolen’s prose is fun and lively, in general the images of the dinosaurs have been ‘re-purposed’ from other titles in the series save for the addition of a cookie here and there. The book is also marketed as a scratch-and-sniff and according to the Scholastic web site, includes 3 cookie recipes.  Sadly the 5 scratch-and-sniff scents have almost no scent at all, even in a brand new copy with minimal scratching, and there are only 2 recipes included.  If your young readers are excited about the scratch-and-sniff potential they will be sorely disappointed.  The recipes look easy enough and will be fun for kids to assist with in the kitchen but you will require dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters (not included) to get the full effect. There is no denying, however, the uniqueness of Mark Teague’s illustrations as well as his award-winning talent.  The dinosaurs are realistic-enough looking to get slightly older kids’ attention but friendly enough for the younger set. The sturdy board-book binding, smaller size and aesthetic design make for an attractive book but the displeasure in the quality of the scratch-and-sniff and the general feeling of ‘I’ve seen this somewhere before’ is reason enough to bypass this title. Not Recommended: 1 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

scholarly journals Mystery at Lake Placid by R. MacGregor

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Leung
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Information Science ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Humanities Computing ◽  
Team Members ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Lake Placid

MacGregor, Roy. Mystery at Lake Placid. 1995. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2013. Print.This Young Adult mystery novel is the story of Travis Lindsay, a twelve year old boy, and his Canadian peewee hockey team, the Screech Owls, while they play at an international tournament. Travis dreams of being an NHL hockey player someday, even though he’s small for his age and still afraid of the dark. He is not the star of his team, the title of which belongs to team captain Sarah Cuthbertsome, but Travis is a great skater, stick handler, and is very passionate about the sport and his team. The Screech Owls is a diverse team, with people of all backgrounds including the excitable and loyal Nish, the science fiction fanatic “Data”, the clever strategist Fahd, the ambitious Dmitri, the loveable and humourous coach Muck, team trainer Mr. Dillinger, and his son, Derek.In this novel, the Screech Owls team is on their way to Lake Placid, New York, where they will play at an international peewee tournament, and potentially be seen by scouting agents for other important hockey teams. This tournament is even more exciting for the team, because they get to play on an Olympic rink in a huge arena.Almost as soon as the team arrives, however, things seem to go wrong for them. At the hotel, people keep knocking on star player Sarah’s door, stopping her from sleeping and making her too tired to play. Next, Travis is knocked down in the street by a player from another team at the tournament. Finally, Sarah’s equipment is tampered with and damaged on multiple occasions during the night. The Screech Owls believe that these acts are not random, but that someone is sabotaging the team. They must use their combined skills to figure out who the culprit is. In the process, Travis challenges his own limits and witnesses the importance of teamwork and forgiveness.Roy MacGregor, the author of the novel, is also a sports columnist for the Globe and Mail. This background gives MacGregor excellent insight into the hockey world in both a national and international level, and he brings the sport to life through his detailed accounts of a hockey game. The novel takes great care in describing the workings of a team, and the various roles that coaches, parents, and other team members play. Important themes about competition, forgiveness, teamwork, and gender roles are conveyed through this detail, and MacGregor shows both the good and bad side of being caught up in the love of a sport.Mystery at Lake Placid is part of a larger series of twenty-two novels focused on the Screech Owls as they travel around the world for tournaments, and solve mysteries. It is also a re-publication, the original novel was published in 1995, but the story remains contemporary and engaging, partly due to its humour, light action, and well-developed characters. This book will appeal to a wide audience of children and young adults interested in sports or mystery stories.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Colette LeungColette Leung is a graduate student at the University of Alberta, working in the fields of Library and Information science and Humanities Computing who loves reading, cats, and tea. Her research interests focus around how digital tools can be used to explore fields such as literature, language, and history in new and innovative ways.

scholarly journals I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! by L. Davick

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Children ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Series Books ◽  
Words And Images ◽  
The University

Davick, Linda. I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! New York: Simon & Schuster-Beach Lane Books, 2013. Print.Graphic artist, illustrator and animator Linda Davick, whose colourful images have appeared in several seasonal counting series books such as the New York Times bestselling 10 Trick-or-Treaters, has penned her first book for children aimed at celebrating the unique qualities we all have. Starting from our head right down to our toes, the simply drawn children, with fun disproportionately-scaled features and descriptions to portray many kids, show off their various body parts. The book is essentially a whimsical love poem to our bodies that children will find entertaining, both in the prose and the illustrations.  Take this stanza as an example:I love you, nose, though there’s no doubt that when you sneeze some stuff comes out.The images are great, too: a little girl covering her nose to the smell of her baby sibling’s diaper, a child thinking about smelling pepper (spoiler alert: she sneezes), a stinky sock and fragrant flowers; young children will enjoy the interplay of words and images, especially about body parts and functions that are generally not discussed:I love the parts my friends don’t see: the parts that poop, the parts that pee.Ending with a sleepy boy drifting off to sleep, this would be a fun book to read with young children at night as part of a bedtime routine or even as part of an early-years story time, though the latter would certainly create a memorable experience for the students! Highly recommended: 4 stars of out 4 Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

scholarly journals Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz by J. Batten

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Luyk
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Music Criticism ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
The Social ◽  
Jazz History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University ◽  
Adult Reader

Batten, Jack. Oscar Peterson: The Man and His Jazz. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. This young adult non-fiction novel explores the life of the legendary Canadian jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson. Beginning with an account of Peterson’s 1949 breakthrough performance at Carnegie Hall as part of the influential Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) concert series, Batten traces the seventy year musical career of Oscar Peterson in an engaging and insightful style. This book seamlessly combines a personal and musical biography of Peterson with a history of the development of jazz from the 1920s to the time of Peterson’s death in 2007. True to the title of the book, Batten’s is indeed one about both the man and his music. From Peterson’s humble upbringing as the son of immigrants from the West Indies living in poverty in Montréal, the influence of his family on his personal and musical development is a consistent theme throughout the book. Batten does not hold back when describing the social conditions Peterson was operating under throughout his career. The racism Peterson encountered both at home and abroad, as well as the drug use prominent among jazz musicians is honestly explored, as are the personal tragedies Peterson faced, including his failed marriages and consistently poor health. Peterson’s many longtime musical collaborations are explored in great detail, with Batten highlighting the influential performing and recording achievements of his career. From his longtime relationship with the jazz promoter Norman Granz, through the many iterations of Peterson’s famous trio, Batten doesn’t leave out the details at any point. The addition of multiple photographs, quotes from Peterson’s teachers and collaborators, and a selected bibliography and discography add to the historical richness of this title. This book is recommended to the young adult reader with an interest in jazz history, and the life and accomplishments of one of Canada’s most cherished musicians.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sean LuykSean is the Music Librarian for the Rutherford Humanities and Social Sciences Library at the University of Alberta. Sean holds an MA in Music Criticism and B.Mus from McMaster University, as well as an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario.

scholarly journals The Best Birthday Party Ever by J. LaRue Huget

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
Elementary Grades ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Birthday Party ◽  
Layer Cake ◽  
The University

Huget, Jennifer LaRue. The Best Birthday Party Ever. Illus. LeUyen Pham. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011. Print. “My birthday is 5 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, and 8 hours away.  Today I started to plan my party.” And so the planning begins for the 5-year-old soon-to-be birthday girl in this charming picture book.  She has to start planning early if she wants the best birthday party ever.  She is going to invite all 57 of her friends including the mailman and the invitations will be sprinkled with fairy dust.  She will have 9 thousand balloons, streamers and napkins: all in pink.  On the menu is a 17-layer cake, each layer a different flavour, with 6 zillion candles on top.  Not only will there be: a magician, camel rides and a Ferris wheel, but each lucky guest will receive a hamster as a party favour. In a kid-friendly countdown style towards the big day, our sweet party planner gets more and more excited as her birthday approaches and the plans get more and more grandiose.  Only after her mother comments that this birthday party is “getting out of hand” does she agree to skip the sparkly necklaces.  The day finally arrives and while it may not be the party she dreamed of, she is appreciative and enjoys her day so much that she immediately begins plans for her next birthday. This beautifully illustrated read-aloud captures the excitement of a child as she looks forward to her special day and will appeal to lower elementary grades as well as preschoolers.  The whimsical mostly-pink drawings may be initially off-putting to boys but they are certain to relate and enjoy the story. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction. 

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