"The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Big Birthday Bash" -Frank Cammuso

I really like Frank Cammuso's artwork so when I saw Salem Hyde go by, had to have a look!
Salem is a young witch who can't seem to get her magic under control. Her non-magic parents(?) hire a companion to keep her out of trouble. Whammy, the cat companion, has quite a literary streak to him, some odd ideas of living, and dependable when Salem needs him most.

The most interesting part for me was which classics Cammuso incorporates into the story. Book #1 used Moby Dick, Book #2 used The Gift of the Magi. Book #3 is recently published; can't wait to see what he chose!!

Read Also:

Frank Cammuso also wrote a spoof of King Arthur in his "Knights of the Lunch Table" series.

Sandra Boynton's Amazing Cows: udder absurdity for children.

Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son.

"U.S. Presidents: the oval office all-stars!" -Dan Green

It's my 2nd NoBloPoMo and I'm ashamed to say I'm not nearly as ready for it as I was last year. I was coordinated, I had it planned out, timed down to the last book! I was even able to post December 1st. Ah well, this year will feature a lot more picture books, but then, I'm reading a heck of a lot more picture books!

Goal: to post non-picture books on the weekends and picture books throughout the week. So here goes...

This book caught my eye because the artwork was so darn cute!! Turns out there's a whole set ranging from history to science to math to music. http://www.basherbooks.com/usa/aboutbooks.html

U.S. Presidents: the oval office all-stars! has each president, using very informal language, talk about himself. The pictures are designed to illustrate not just the man but his presidency and life. There are fun facts and direct quotes.

It was a fun, light read about the presidents. Not so good as a research book but definitely makes parts of history fun! I want to read Mythology and States and Capitals by Basher.

Read Also:

The "A is for ___: a ___ alphabet" series (I've read C is for Cowboy: a Wyoming alphabet by Eugene Gagliano) is a good series, not so much for the research, but for the relaxed, fun tone of the books while still talking about history.

"The Wing Wing Brothers" series by Ethan Long is a graphic novel look at math and is very funny!



"Ancient Rome: an interactive history" -Rachael Hanel

"interactive" ... Did you see that?! You choose what historical route you take! It's a choose your own adventure.

Well I chose mine: living in Ancient Rome whether as a Roman senator under Julius Caesar, a woman under Nero, or merchant at the close of the Roman empire, there are many different choices you make to determine how you will end up. Most end in death seeing as how it's, I don't know, history! But there are a few ways to retire into obscurity.

Read Also:

There's a fun series "You Wouldn't Want to Be..." which tells it like it is, and from a contemporary viewpoint. Soon to be read: You Wouldn't Want to Be in a Medieval Dungeon

Jean Fritz's series about the founding of America includes titles such as And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? which puts a personal, first person spin on history. I've read her Shh! We're Writing the Constitution.

"Black Radishes" -Susan Lynn Meyer

Gustave leaves home and friends behind when his parents move him out of Paris to a tiny village just before the Nazi occupation of Northern France begins. As the situation gets worse, Gustave learns how to deal with life's changes (being Jewish, smuggling across the demarcation line, trusting strangers) in order to help others.

This was a pretty good book. The solution to the problem is really simple (it's in the title) but it didn't undermine the writing of those tense scenes when going through the Nazi checkpoints. Although not often, I appreciate a hopeful ending with these kinds of stories.

Read Also:

Hero On a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes is a similar scene set in Italy.

The Auslander by Paul Dowswell is about a German boy who sees what is happening in Poland and forms his own opinions about it. Young Adult

The Traitor by Gudrun Pausewant is about a German girl who decides to help a Russian soldier rather than turn him in. Young Adult

"Journey" - Aaron Becker

Ack! I went a whole month without posting!! It's not that I haven't been reading, I just haven't been reviewing them. I will try to post once a week this month.


Journey was a gorgeous, stunning book! Magnificent pieces of art that make you want to search every bit of the page to not miss a thing. There is no text, the story is in the illustrations. A little girl builds her own dreams and fantasies from a single red boat. Ah! It was beautiful...

Read Also:

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson is a simpler version of a child's imagination.

Maurice Sendak's classic Where the Wild Things Are, which is not one of my favorites but does show how imagination uses things to grow.

It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll as each thing leads to a completely different and equally fantastic place, but still connected somehow.

"Adele & Simon" -Barbara McClintock

Done in the style of Gigi and Madeline, this was a fun romp through Paris. On each page, Simon loses something which is somewhere on the page (and not a big object either). You also can look for Simon and famous artists and works. There's a guide in the back for those.

Read Also:

John Skewes' "Larry Gets Lost in..." series is a picture view of Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and his latest, Washington D.C.

Where's Waldo? by Martin Handford.

There's a great series from the 80s and 90s, "Agent Arthur..." by Martin Oliver put out by Usborne Puzzle Adventures, that is all about seeing the right things in the pictures and solving the puzzles. Whew, blast from the past there!

"The End" -David LaRochelle

Such a fun book! The whole story, in fact the whole book, is told in reverse. The title page is at the end, the cover is backwards, really clever.

I'm going to spoil the finish by saying the Princess and the Knight fall in love. But how do they fall in love? Because... And that's how the story goes, always telling the effect before the cause.

Read Also:

Why is the Snow White? by Heinz Janisch