Book Review: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser

From the back cover: "Nancy Clancy has everything she needs to be a super sleuth (that's a fancy word for detective): She has a glamorous magnifying glass complete with rhinestones, a totally professional pink trench coat, and a sleuthing partner with awesome code-breaking skills--her best friend, Bree.
  Now all she needs is a good mystery to solve. But when crime strikes right in the middle of her classroom, will Nancy have what it takes to crack the case?"

Little girls who have grown up with the Fancy Nancy picture books and early readers will rejoice to learn that Nancy has grown with them, and is featured in her first chapter book and solving crime in her own inimitable Fancy Nancy style. (I think she is in second or third grade, although I can't find any place in the book that mentions her age or grade.)

When my girls spotted this in Costco a few months ago, they both instantly clamored to be the first to read the book. Olivia won the coin toss and was completely tickled by the Nancy Drew mentions. (Nancy Drew is Olivia's favorite super sleuth.) I had to stop her from reading parts out loud and ruining it for Karina.

It's a quick read. Both girls read it in short order, and both really enjoyed it.

And they're both anxiously awaiting the next book, due out in January 2013, Nancy Clancy: Secret Admirer.

Published in 2012 by Harper Collins.
Ages 6 and up.

Book Review: Mrs Noodlekugel by Daniel Pinkwater

From the publisher: "Nick and Maxine live in a tall building with one apartment on top of another. So when they look out their window and see a little house they never knew was there, of course they must visit (especially when their parents tell them not to!). Going through the boiler room, they’re amazed to find to a secret backyard with a garden, a porch, and a statue of a cat. And they’re even more amazed when that cat starts to talk. . . . Welcome to the world of Mrs. Noodlekugel, where felines converse and serve cookies and tea, vision-impaired mice join the party (but may put crumbs up their noses), and children in search of funny adventures are drawn by the warm smell of gingerbread and the promise of magical surprises."

This book would have been ideal for my newly emerging readers:  it has a kid-appealing story with just enough fantasy, folly, and humor (and plenty of charming black-and-white illustrations by Adam Stower) to keep a beginning reader's attention, in addition to great cover appeal (for girls, anyway.) But be aware that this book has a limited readership, given that the text is overly simplistic (quite Dick-and-Jane-ish, just in longer chapter form.) It is, in effect, a long beginning reader, when the child has mastered the basics but still needs some help. 

The problem is that the publisher's info page of the book makes no mention of the ages for which it's suited.  Upon further research online, it is listed for the 5 to 10 age group, but again, just be aware that this is for young beginning readers. They will likely be the only ones excited about the story. (Both my older girls tried reading the book. My nine-year-old brought it back to me after a couple of pages, declaring it a book for babies and utterly annoying. My seven-year-old persevered to the end, declaring it a cute story, but written for "little kids." She hadn't heard her sister's scorn of the book, as she was asleep the night her sister tried to read it.)


Published in March 2012 by Candlewick.

Olivia Reviews the First Book in Her New Favorite Series: the Harriet Bean Books by Alexander McCall Smith

Eight-year-old Olivia (who had her birthday this month) now has a new favorite series that she is devouring: the Harriet Bean books by Alexander McCall Smith. I found them at the online library site while I was checking on the availability of his Akimbo series (of which they only have one), and hoped she might like them.

The other night she dashed into the family room, gripping the first book, and exclaimed in an excited way, "This is SUCH a good book! I've been so absorbed in it!" Yes, she really did say that, and yes, she was. She lay on her bed all evening and read the book from cover to cover. It's so fun to see kids connect with books. When she was done, she handed it to me and said, "Mom, you've got to read this!" And I will, so we can talk about it together.

But since I haven't finished it, and Olivia is anxious to tell everyone about it, I asked Olivia to do a quick review of the book she liked so much. Here is what she has to say about it, synopsis and all:

The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean

Written by Alexander McCall Smith
Illustrated by Laura Rankin

Harriet Bean lives with her absentminded inventor father. She learns, for the first time, that she has five aunts, her father's sisters. She takes an interest in that right away, especially when her father shows her a unfinished portrait of his family, and wants to know where they are. When her father tells her he has lost touch with them, she decides to take matters into her own hands, knowing her father is too absentminded to do so. She decides to write to the one aunt her father still has an old address for. Join Harriet Bean as she goes in search of her five lost aunts and tries to bring the family together again.

The way she went about finding the lost aunts was very interesting. And I thought she was clever in how she got her father to talk about his sisters. She discovered that the only way to get her absentminded father to talk about her aunts was to keep feeding him buttered scones and peppering him with questions. That's how she kept getting bits of the story from him. Isn't that funny? When she finds the aunts, she discovers they all have interesting jobs, but I'll let that be a surprise. I just loved this book. I hope you will, too.

P.S. I forgot to say that I loved the pictures in the book, especially of Harriet's father. And I'm still reading the second book, Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats, but it's good too. I think the third one, The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean, will be just as good.

My Girls' New Favorite Book: Ivy & Bean by Annie Burrows; Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Ivy & Bean

Written by Annie Barrows
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Ages 6 and up
(Published in 2006 by Chronicle Books)

I bought this book a few weeks ago, not knowing anything about it, but as I skimmed through it at the store, it looked like one both my girls could and would want to read because:

1. The two little female protagonists are seven years old.
2. It is a book about best friends.
3. It has a young reader-friendly print size.
4. It is liberally peppered with pictures.

I was sure it had "hit" potential with my girls. They ignored it.
Then, when we were at the library the other day, I saw the audiobook version and borrowed it, hoping it would jump start their interest. And boy, did it! They have giggled over the audiobook all week (whose reader, Cassandra Morris, does a superb job, by the way), and now Karina is half-way through the book, with Olivia chomping at her heels to be finished so she can read it.

The synopsis:
Bean's mother keeps wanting Bean to make friends with Ivy, the new girl her age in the cul-de-sac. But Bean thinks she looks boring. One day, in hiding from her older sister Nancy after playing a practical joke on her, Bean finds an unexpected ally in Ivy. And a friendship blossoms as they discover their similarities and differences, and together conspire to take revenge on Nancy for her big sister meannesses.

The book is a quick read, for you moms (and dads) who like to pre-read books before handing them to your kids. It's a fairly quick read for kids too, which is appealing to young readers. And while, as a mom, I hope it doesn't give my girls any ideas about ill-treating each other (as if they didn't get plenty of ideas themselves!), the kid in me giggled along with the adventures of these two quirky, funny, vibrant, REAL girls. We look forward to more Ivy and Bean adventures.


Also go visit Chronicle's Ivy + Bean Website for the Ivy + Bean Fan Club and some great teacher and librarian resources, such as book-inspired worksheets and fun games you can play.

Book Review: The Golly Sisters series by Betsy Byars; illustrated by Sue Truesdell

We discovered the Golly Sisters books by Betsy Byars at our local library. And we've checked them out a LOT! Written in the 1980's and early 1990's, these books are a delight.

Meet the Golly Sisters: two singing, dancing, thoroughly lovable, slightly dim-witted sisters traveling west in their covered wagon, who love putting on shows for people in the towns they pass through. They get into one misadventure after another.

I think the antics of the two sisters really resonates with my girls, because it reflects the rivalry and love that real sisters have. And Sue Truesdell's whimsical, funny illustrations fit the text perfectly. These books make my six year old laugh out loud and come running to share passages and even whole chapters with me. They are great fun for reading aloud to your non-readers, too.

Published by HarperCollins Publishers. Later versions list them as a reading level 3.