Just because you happen to be a good reader doesn't mean you always want to read challenging books. At our house, there is a variety of reading materials on hand for all of us. I am just as likely to catch Frances and Gloria poring over a Lego catalog as I am to find them reading Secrets of Walt Disney World. In fact, both of these events happened in the past week at our house. Frances and Gloria read the catalog, picking out the sets they each would like. And each night after they went to bed, I would hear Gloria reading Secrets to Frances at her request. That's the thing about readers. Once they get the bug, they read.
What I've also noticed about Frances and Gloria is that they like to read both a large variety of materials, but that what they read is also on a variety of reading levels. Just because they can read harder books doesn't mean that is the best thing for them every day. That's why we love the Branches series by Scholastic - there is something satisfying about completing a book in one sitting. I find that Frances and Gloria still are building their reading stamina, and can get discouraged when they tackle longer books. They can build fluency in reading, no matter what they read.
I was so lucky to get this new title in the Branches series during the Cybils review process. I instantly fell in love with Olive and Beatrix, and so did the girls. I bet you will too!!
Olive and Beatrix are twins. The story is told from Olive's point of view. She sounds fairly matter of fact as she notes "Beatrix make look like an ordinary girl, but she's not. She is a witch." (p. 2). Olive breezes right on to point out that "I may also look like an ordinary girl. That's because I am. I'm not a witch at all." (p. 3) These twins are not identical, but Olive is okay with that. Each page of this particular spread has a picture of one of the girls with some important things pointed out. While Beatrix has a talking pet pig and a "head full of tricks", Olive has pet bugs and a "head full of smarts". Even from the introduction, you can tell that Olive doesn't feel that Beatrix's talents outpace her own.
By the way, the whole becoming a witch thing? Olive explains that Beatrix is a witch because she was born precisely at midnight on a full moon. Needless to say, Olive was not. But instead of magic spells and tricks, Olive loves science. She and her best friend Eddie are always working on a project. While they are experimenting, though, Beatrix is always playing tricks on them and causing their ideas to go haywire.
Olive and Eddie get tired of Beatrix's mischief and decide to play a trick of their own. They know that Beatrix is afraid of spiders, so they plan to dump a whole pile of them on Beatrix. And their plan works perfectly! The problem comes when that gaggle of spiders runs through a growth potion Beatrix had conjured up. It takes all of them to help contain the not-so-itty-bitty spiders!
As I mentioned before, these twins are very different. Olive is confident in her science and her brain. Olive has Eddie, and their friendship seems collaborative and supportive. Olive operates very differently than Beatrix. I wouldn't exactly say that Beatrix is the bad guy here, but it's pretty clear that she doesn't have close friends like Eddie. She has her talking pig, Houston, who comments on the action wryly - when Beatrix is screaming, covered in spiders, Houston calmly steps over to Beatrix's dropped phone and announces to the caller "Miss Beatrix will have to call you back." (p. 14) - but that's all she has. Beatrix seems bossier, not as friendly. It takes some effort for her to work with Eddie and Olive to deal with her overgrown spiders. Even then she peppers her dialogue with insults ("Step aside, dull skulls!" (p. 37)) I will be interested to see how these girls' relationship progresses through the series - will they learn to meet in the middle? Become friends, even? We'll have to wait and see.
One of the things I love most about the Branches group of titles is the diversity of text and illustration within each book. In The Not-So-Itty-Bitty Spiders , there is such a great mix of text and illustration, keeping readers on their toes. Even though there is only a line or two of actual text on each page, Stadelmann incorporates text throughout the illustrations too. There is a map to examine, with captions to help the reader get situated. There is dialogue in many of the pictures too, giving this a graphic novel feel. Readers are absorbing the plot and characterization without spending a lot of time on the text. It makes the book feel breezy, not onerous.
And this brings me back to my original thoughts about reading. Frances and I are reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets out loud. As we all know about the Harry Potter books, each chapter can take a long time to read. We read for twenty minutes, and maybe get through five pages. So it's fun to be able to read something like this, too. The Branches series also can successfully tempt the reluctant reader with a book that is a chapter book, yet there is a manageable amount of text for them. The reading level assigned by Scholastic is Grade 2, but I can see the plot appealing to a much wider range of readers.
I love the illustrations in this book too. The palette is a little dark and moody - greens, grays, and purples - which keeps it from feeling too girly. It is attractive to girls, with the twin sister angle, but would also appeal to boys with the magic and science emphasis (and I haven't yet mentioned the cool inventions Olive and Eddie come up with!). The illustrations have a good deal of humor in them as the three join forces. Magic and science don't always work well together, and that is evident in their adventures! Both Beatrix and Olive wear comfortable clothes for what they need to do - tunics, leggings, and no-muss hair styles. These are can-do girls and they'll take charge!
This is a series that we will definitely be watching. I can't wait to see what else happens to these twins. I am so glad it was nominated for a Cybil award so we could read it.
Olive & Beatrix: The Not-So-Itty-Bitty Spiders. Amy Marie Stadelmann. Scholastic: Branches, 2015.
sent by the publisher for review as part of the Cybils process.
In the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about dads. It's only natural at this time of year, after all, since Father's Day was just a few weeks ago. But I'm also getting ready to blog about The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher later this week, and that's a really great book about dads. I've known that I wanted to blog about this picture book, Mighty Dads, for awhile, and I was lucky enough that Scholastic was willing to give me a copy to review.
Mighty Dads is illustrated by James Dean, of Pete the Cat fame, which made this book a favorite with Frances and Gloria. But I knew that this book would be a perfect match for a father/son pair who are very dear to me. Since the son is making his blog debut here, he'll need an alias, just like the girls have. The post where I talk about why I chose their aliases is here, and many of the reasons I chose those names are still true today, more than three years later. And if you know Russell Hoban' books, you will know that Frances has a best friend named Albert. Perfect for our young friend, who I will now refer to as Albert. My Albert turns four in two weeks. He is full of imagination and chatter, and is blessedly flexible about playing with any and all of the girls' toys. He is also a big library fan, and whenever we go, Albert requests books about diggers, cranes, dump trucks, and construction sites. Albert is sweet, loving, funny and all boy in his fascination with construction equipment. Frances and Gloria never cared very much about those sorts of vehicles, so it's fun to learn new facts about them as Albert does.
Each construction vehicle father in this story takes their child to work with them. On each two page spread, the father teaches the child how to do the job they'll share. "Bulldozer Strong shows Dozy right from wrong. They go roar, roar, roar!" The simple text (just two sentences per spread) is rhythmic and easy to predict. Listeners will enjoy chiming in with the sound that vehicle makes. I can imagine a storytime getting progressively louder with each repetition. It might also be fun to make the story more physical, acting out the various jobs. The cranes reach, the cement mixer and his child go spin, spin, pour. There are all sorts of applications for this story.
Another thing I love about this book is the way the fathers engage with the younger vehicles. They are guiding their children through the routines of their everyday jobs, but they also are there to protect and support their children. The text in the beginning of the book states that Mighty Dads "keep them safe and bolted tight and show them how to build things right." That emphasis on doing their job correctly is referred to throughout the book. These dads take pride in what they do for a job, in doing it well, and teaching their children to do the job successfully also. And they don't neglect the fun, either. "Dump Truck Sturdy teaches Dumpy to get dirty." Isn't that the best part of a construction zone? There are so many opportunities to do a dirty day's work.
While the fathers exhibit patience, strength and pride, the young vehicles show their energy and enthusiasm. They want to be 'just like Dad'. Each of the little vehicles looks just like a mini version of their father. While they are trying to do their father's work, the younger versions always produce just a little less than their dads. Junior Crane has to work on hauling girders on the shorter side of the building; his dad, Crane Long Arm, is delivering beam on the taller side. Same with the dump trucks - Dumpy's pile of dirt is dwarfed by what his father has delivered. But the child's contribution is just as worthy. I love the nicknames Holub has created for the equipment too - there's Boom Truck Tall and Boomer, Excavator Big and Vator (I sort of wish this father/child pair were dressed all in black to give off the Darth Vader vibe). The nicknames keep each family related, but also keeps the personalities distinct.
Dean's illustrations are a perfect match for this story. The backgrounds are simple and bright, keeping the focus on the equipment and their actions. On the excavator page, there is a huge swath of blue sky framing the bright orange excavators. The excavator pair balances on the brown dirt, their scoops digging out the earth below. It helps create a sense of perspective for the reader, too. Excavator Big fills most of one side of the spread, while little Vator is even smaller than the adjoining text.
The most winning part of the illustrations are Dean's trademark faces incorporated into the vehicle windows. There is so much personality embued just by the slant of a large eye. The crane's long arm resembles a pointy nose because of the eye placement. Looking at the father-child pairs is so much fun. The solid primary colors from the backgrounds continue on to the vehicles themselves. It gives a sense of play to the construction work. They are bright, attractive, yet simply drawn - the way construction equipment should be. Each father is plain and hard-working, and proud of it.
And those hard-working fathers are proud of their children too. When the day of work is done, they celebrate their children's achievements: "When their rumble day is through - Mighty Dads say 'I'm proud of you! Tomorrow let's build something new!'" I love that the fathers end the day looking forward to spending the next with their children! And everyone is fast asleep as the book ends.
This book is going to be well-loved by Albert and his dad, and I can't wait to share it with them. Here's to a fun day spent together!
Mighty Dads. By Joan Holub; pictures by James Dean. Scholastic Press, 2014.
sent by the publisher on request.
