Discovery Girl. ASIN: B0000633EA.
Plot Summary: Discovery Girl is a magazine geared for girls between the ages of 7-12.Topics covered include; relationships, school, problem solving, embarrassing moments, beauty and fashion.
Critical Evaluation: The magazine seems to be appropriate for the age group and contains a good range of articles for a variety of interests. This magazine reads like a Cosmo or similar for young girls.
Reader's Annotation:N/A
Author Info: N/A
Genre: Current Events, Non fiction
Curriculum Ties: Current Events - Social Studies
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Interest Level: 7-12
Selection Process: I wanted an example of a magazine for the tween age range.
Challenge Issues: None
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The Witches
Roald Dahl. Illustrated by Quintin Blake. Puffin Books, 2007. ISBN:978-0142410110
Plot Summary: A young boy who has lost his parents goes to live with his grandmother in Norway. As the two become better acquainted, she begins to tell him all about witches. Many people are not aware, but witches live in many communities and blend in except for a few telltale signs. The boy's grandmother tells him all about how to spot these evil women and the terrible things they do to children. The two decide to take a seaside holiday and end up in the middle of an annual witch convention attended by the grand high witch herself. How will the boy stay safe in a hotel full of children hating witches?
Critical Evaluation: This is an excellent choice for this age group. It is also a good choice for reading aloud, perhaps in a library or classroom setting. The book is original and is amusing, and a little bit scary at the same time. The book is written in a way that it will be equally enjoyable for children and parents alike.
Reader's Annotation: A young orphan, together with his grandmother, must try to outwit a hotel full of child hating witches. The grand high witch is in the hotel - is anyone safe?
Genre: Fantasy, suspense
Interest Level:7-13
Curriculum Ties: None
Booktalking Ideas: Focus on relationship between the boy and his grandmother, focus on how to identify witches.
Selection Process: Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors form both children's and adult literature.
Challenge: If any, readers can be directed to research the author or reviews of this and his other works.
Plot Summary: A young boy who has lost his parents goes to live with his grandmother in Norway. As the two become better acquainted, she begins to tell him all about witches. Many people are not aware, but witches live in many communities and blend in except for a few telltale signs. The boy's grandmother tells him all about how to spot these evil women and the terrible things they do to children. The two decide to take a seaside holiday and end up in the middle of an annual witch convention attended by the grand high witch herself. How will the boy stay safe in a hotel full of children hating witches?
Critical Evaluation: This is an excellent choice for this age group. It is also a good choice for reading aloud, perhaps in a library or classroom setting. The book is original and is amusing, and a little bit scary at the same time. The book is written in a way that it will be equally enjoyable for children and parents alike.
Reader's Annotation: A young orphan, together with his grandmother, must try to outwit a hotel full of child hating witches. The grand high witch is in the hotel - is anyone safe?
Genre: Fantasy, suspense
Interest Level:7-13
About the Author: Roald Dahl is the author of a great number of children's books including: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Great Glass Elevator, The Enormous Crocodile and many others. He has also written books for adults such as My Uncle Oswald and many books of short stories. He is known for darkly humorous stories.
Curriculum Ties: None
Booktalking Ideas: Focus on relationship between the boy and his grandmother, focus on how to identify witches.
Selection Process: Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors form both children's and adult literature.
Challenge: If any, readers can be directed to research the author or reviews of this and his other works.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers. Hollywood Records, 2007.
Summary: This the the second album released by the Jonas Brothers. Many of the songs are written by them and the album contains many successful singles such as "Hold On" and "SOS".
Critical Evaluation: The CD is filled with catchy songs that will appeal to all ages. While some of the songs sound very "produces" there are also many that feature acoustic guitar and have an earthier sound to them. Overall, it is upbeat music that will appeal to tweens and is appropriate in content for that age group, but parents will not mind having it playing in the car.
About the Group: The Jonas Brothers are a group that is extremely popular with teens and tweens. They have a huge and enthusiastic fan base and their wholesome lyrics and youth friendly sound make them an approved choice by parents as well.
Curriculum Ties: Music
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Selection Process: I chose this album to review because they are such a popular band with the tween age group.
Challenge Issues: None
Summary: This the the second album released by the Jonas Brothers. Many of the songs are written by them and the album contains many successful singles such as "Hold On" and "SOS".
Critical Evaluation: The CD is filled with catchy songs that will appeal to all ages. While some of the songs sound very "produces" there are also many that feature acoustic guitar and have an earthier sound to them. Overall, it is upbeat music that will appeal to tweens and is appropriate in content for that age group, but parents will not mind having it playing in the car.
About the Group: The Jonas Brothers are a group that is extremely popular with teens and tweens. They have a huge and enthusiastic fan base and their wholesome lyrics and youth friendly sound make them an approved choice by parents as well.
Curriculum Ties: Music
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Selection Process: I chose this album to review because they are such a popular band with the tween age group.
Challenge Issues: None
Online Games for Girls
http://girlonlinegame.com/arcade/
Summary: This website is geared to tween girls and contains a variety of games such as;
Dress the Emo, Dress up Mario, Cutie Makeover 3, and Beach Girl Fashion.
Critical Evaluation: This website contains a vast variety of games geared towards tween girls. The majority of theme involve some sort of dress up or makeover theme. None of the games have much educational value but they are easy to play and the content is appropriate for the age group.
About the Author: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Genre: Game
Curriculum Ties: None
Interest Level: 8-14
Challenge: None
Summary: This website is geared to tween girls and contains a variety of games such as;
Dress the Emo, Dress up Mario, Cutie Makeover 3, and Beach Girl Fashion.
Critical Evaluation: This website contains a vast variety of games geared towards tween girls. The majority of theme involve some sort of dress up or makeover theme. None of the games have much educational value but they are easy to play and the content is appropriate for the age group.
About the Author: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Genre: Game
Curriculum Ties: None
Interest Level: 8-14
Challenge: None
Monday, September 28, 2009
Mean Girls
Written by Tina Fey. Directed by Mark Waters. Paramount Studios.2004
Plot Summary: Cady has spent most of her life being homeschooled in Africa by her Zoologist parents. Constantly living on Safari, she is adept at surviving among wild animals. This comes in handy when she starts attending an American high school. She becomes friends with two students who while they may not be the coolest, have a good sense of self and are smart, funny and self aware. The three become fascinated with "the plastics" a girl only clique that rules the school. They decide that Cady should infiltrate the clique to learn all their secrets. The only problem is that Cady gets caught up with being popular. She begins to enjoy other looking up to her for being pretty and popular rather than smart and accomplished.
Critical Evaluation: Mean Girls received a great deal of critical acclaim, and for good reason. The story sends a valuable message to young girls while avoiding being overly preachy. The movie is touching and funny and brings back memories of how painful it can be to be an adolescent.
Reader's Annotation: Cady is new to school. She has been living in Africa with her zoologist parents. She has to learn the hard way that fitting in is more complicated than it looks.
About the Author: The book is based on a non-fiction work by Rosalind Wiseman, Queen Bees and Wannabes.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Curriculum Ties: None
Booktalking Ideas: Have you ever had to lie to fit in? How did it make you feel?
Interest Level: Age 12 and up
Selection Process: I have seen it several times and believe it has a positive message for tween and teen girls.
Challenge Issues: None
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J.K. Rowling. Bloomsbury, 1997. ISBN: 978-0747532743.
Plot Summary: Harry is a boy who lives with his horrible Aunt, Uncle, and his cousin Dudley. One day, just before his 11th birthday, Harry learns some exciting news, he is a wizard! He discovers that he has been accepted to Hogwarts, a wizarding school. Once he arrives there he encounters a new world. He learns that he is a celebrity! He also learns magic, meets new friends (including ghosts!), and begins to learn about the truth of what happened to his mother and father. Harry also learns that there is a dark force in the wizarding world that he needs to be careful of.
Critical Evaluation: This a book that appeals to a wide range of ages and personalities. Not only is there something in The Philosopher's Stone, but it invokes a wide range of emotions from the reader.
Reader's Annotation: Harry lives a rather unhappy life with his Aunt, Uncle and cousin Dudley. One day his whole world changes when he discovers that he is a wizard and there is a place waiting for him at Hogwarts, a school for wizards.
About the Author: J.K. Rowling is the British author of the popular Harry Potter series. There are 7 novels in the the series and all have been made into movies or will be in the near future.
Genre: Fantasy, Coming of Age
Curriculum Ties: None
Booktalking Ideas: Have you ever had one day that changed your whole life?
Reading Level: Grade 4 and up
Selection Process: This book is a part of one of the most popular children's series in history so I thought it should be included.
Challenge Issues: When the book first came out, several groups were unhappy with the magical content and did not approve of witches being the main characters of children's literature. To defend the book, challengers could look at other books with similar content that are well known classics. The Narnia series by CS Lewis is a good example of this.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
George's Marvelous Medicine
Roald Dahl. Narrated by Richard E. Grant. Harper Collins Audio, 2005. ISBN: 978-0060758325
Plot Summary: George is a nice, polite boy who lives with his family and his grouchy, impossible to please, grandmother. One day while he is responsible for his gramma, he decides to add a bit of something extra into her medicine. The results are quite surprising to say the least! When George shows his father the results of his little experiment, his father is eager for him to recreate the potion so they can profit from the benefits. Because George threw everything but the kitchen sink into the medicine and cannot remember the quantities, he and his father begin experimenting with wild results!
Critical Evaluation: Like all of Roald Dahl's work, this story will be enjoyed by parents and children alike thanks to it's darkly humorous content. This story is well narrated and really is brought to life by being read aloud. Richard E. Grant does an excellent job of imparting the unique personalities of each character into his voice and intonations.
Reader's Annotation: George is a smart little boy who lives with his family and his terrible, grumpy grandmother. One day, he decides to make her medicine "special" to cure her grumpiness.
About the Author: Roald Dahl is the author of a great number of children's books including: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Great Glass Elevator, The Enormous Crocodile and many others. He has also written books for adults such as My Uncle Oswald and many books of short stories. He is known for darkly humorous stories.
Plot Summary: George is a nice, polite boy who lives with his family and his grouchy, impossible to please, grandmother. One day while he is responsible for his gramma, he decides to add a bit of something extra into her medicine. The results are quite surprising to say the least! When George shows his father the results of his little experiment, his father is eager for him to recreate the potion so they can profit from the benefits. Because George threw everything but the kitchen sink into the medicine and cannot remember the quantities, he and his father begin experimenting with wild results!
Critical Evaluation: Like all of Roald Dahl's work, this story will be enjoyed by parents and children alike thanks to it's darkly humorous content. This story is well narrated and really is brought to life by being read aloud. Richard E. Grant does an excellent job of imparting the unique personalities of each character into his voice and intonations.
Reader's Annotation: George is a smart little boy who lives with his family and his terrible, grumpy grandmother. One day, he decides to make her medicine "special" to cure her grumpiness.
About the Author: Roald Dahl is the author of a great number of children's books including: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Great Glass Elevator, The Enormous Crocodile and many others. He has also written books for adults such as My Uncle Oswald and many books of short stories. He is known for darkly humorous stories.
Genre: Humour
Booktalking Ideas: What would happen if you could make a magic potion? What would you want it to do?
Focus on relationship between George and his Grandmother
Focus on relationship between George and his Grandmother
Challenge Issues: None. If any, they could be advised to look up reviews of the book.
Interest Level: Ages 9 and up
Selection Process: I have read most of Roald Dahl's work and this one is a favorite.
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