The Fourth King by Ted Sieger

We have celebrated Christmas in our school library by announcing a book of Christmas every day for the last twelve days - The Twelve Books of Christmas.

One book I sent out to a lucky class was The Fourth King.  Our narrator is the Fourth King himself who has been watching the stars for "the sign that would herald the birth of the King of Kings."  Finally one night King Mazzel (the Fourth King) sees this star so he grabs two special presents - the royal star map and the royal star crystal - and he rushes off to catch up with the other three kings - Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar.

Just as he is getting close a huge storm rages across the desert and Mazzel and his faithful camel Chamberlin are blinded by the sand.  As the winds die down they hear the cries of a young girl.  Our intrepid heroes rush back into the storm to rescue her.  "We headed back into the storm, and there, in its heart, we found a little nomad girl - sand-stung and frightened,. her name blown away by the wind."  They find her family and set off again only to discover they have missed the Three Kings by minutes.

This next part of their journey sees them meeting up with a merchant caravan - hundreds of camels travelling through the desert, lost and with no map.  Naturally Mazzel stops to help "it was quite a detour to their hometown,.  In slow procession, we led the caravan safely out of the desert.  My heart soared: I could still see the star; perhaps we would meet up with the Three Kings after all."

On the third part of the trip as they are resting for the night they hear a sound of tinkling.  It is coming from a small thirsty plant.  Mazzel gives the plant the last of his water. "To our amazement, the plant began to flower, then dropped into my palm a little round fruit that sounded like a bell."

The next obstacle is a huge wall which is being built by child slaves.  Mazzel offers his gift that was intended for the newborn king in exchange for the children's freedom but the rich man takes the star crystal and he will not free the children.  So Mazzel and Chamberlin stay on and help the children with the building.  As a way of saying thank you a  little girl gives them a wooden toy lamb. "It made me smile.  I hid the lamb in my tunic and promised her, that somehow, we would all be free."

This is a religious Christmas story but surely Christmas is a religious time.  The ending will make you smile along with the time you share exploring the joyous and detailed illustration.

Here is a web site about the author with some funny comments about camels.  Here is a detailed review. An animated film was made of this book but it seems to be unavailable.

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's library by Chris Grabenstein

"These twelve children have lived their entire lives without a public library.  As a result they have no idea how extraordinarily useful, helpful, and funful - a word I recently invented - a library can be. This is their chance to discover that a library is more than a collection of dusty old books.  It is a place to learn, explore and grow!"

Today was a rainy day.  I thought I would just spend half an hour dipping into this new book.  Three hours later I lifted my head with an enormous smile on my face.  Saying I loved this book is not enough!  I LOVE THIS BOOK!

If you are a fan of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Jumanji, The Mysterious Benedict society, any books by Blue Balliett, or The Mixed up files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler you will love this book.  Rush out and grab it now!

Just like Willy Wonker, Mr Lemoncello sets up a competition and the winners (there are twelve of them) will spend the night in the new library in the town of Alexandriaville.  Yes you should make your first connection.  Have you heard about the famous library at Alexandria?  Our hero Kyle almost misses the competition because he did not listen when it was announced but Kyle knows in any good game you sometimes get to roll the dice again and so he works furiously and writes his essay entry.  The teacher will not accept his work but Kyle decides to email directly to Mr Lemoncello himself.

The twelve lucky winners enjoy a wonderful night in the new library but the real surprise comes the next morning when they have the chance to play a far more exciting game.  They must find a way out of the library (it used to be a bank), they have only 24 hours and  "the way out is not the way you came in.  You may not use any of the fire exits. .. Creating an incident that requires evacuation will not count as having discovered a way to exit the library."  The children have three lifelines each and they can also participate in extreme challenges but while the rewards will be great failure means elimination.  The library is filled with holograms, amazing technology and rooms organised using the Dewey decimal system.

Here are a set of questions to use with your class.

I have made a list of some of the books Chris Grabenstein cleverly mentions in his story either in a sentence or as a pun:

"The correct answer is - and not just because of Winn Dixie - D"
"something wicked this way will probably come"
"there's no place I'd rather be on my big day than inside a library, surrounded by books. Unless, of course, I could be on a bridge to Terabithia."
"And thus ends the story of Andrew and the terrible, horrible, no good very had day."
"Fail ... and ... you will be eliminated from the game, and your team, due to a series of unfortunate events, will be forced to struggle on without you."
"Well, it's cloudy with a chance of meatballs and I had nothing better to do."

There are two books on each of the children's library cards - No David!; One fish, two fish, red fish, Blue fish; Tales of a fourth grade nothing; Olivia; Scat; Where the sidewalk ends; I love you, Stinky Face and The Napping house are a few examples.

Read this review if I have not convinced you that this book is wonderful.

Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike.

The Little Riders by Margaretha Shemin illustrated by Peter Spier

This is one of those books I mentioned where our school library copy is old and needing replacement so I bought it home to re-read just to be sure it was worth buying a new copy.

I read this book over twenty years ago and yes it has stood the test of time.  Actually The Little Riders was first published in 1963.

Johanna is sent to the safety of her grandparents in Holland during World War II and for four years she has enjoyed helping her grandfather care for the little riders.  The riders are a set of figures that live in the town clock.  Each hour, on the hour, music plays and the little riders emerge from the clock.

"They would ride up to each other, lift their swords in a salute and then go in the opposite door. In and out as many times as the clock had struck.  While they rode in and out of the doors, the carillon of the church played old Dutch folk tunes."

One day the German soldiers march in to the town.  The little riders are no longer safe.  "Grandfather started to think again about a safe hiding place for the little riders because now, more than ever, the Germans needed every scrap of metal for ammunition."

The real crisis is not long in coming.  A German soldier has moved into the house and even into Johanna's room.  In this same room there is a hidden space inside the cupboard.  When her Grandfather and Grandmother are taken by the soldiers Johanna has only minutes to hide the precious riders.  Will she dare to hide them in this cupboard which is filled with German uniforms?

You can watch the movie here.

My father's dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett ilustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett

My Father's dragon (1948) seems to appear on so many beginning reading lists I was very pleased to discover we have an almost new copy in our school library.  Today I had a spare twenty minutes so I picked up this book and read it from beginning to end.

This is absolutely my kind of book!  It truly is a timeless classic and yes it would make a fabulous read-a-loud for a young class.

I loved this book because it is so very tidy.  Our hero sets off to free an enslaved dragon.  Under the guidance of a cat he has befriended he packs:

• chewing gum
• two dozen pink lollipops
• a pack of rubber bands
• a toothbrush and toothpaste
• six magnifying glasses
• a comb and hairbrush
• seven hair ribbons

As his adventure unfolds each of these 'supplies' is used in different and quite inventive ways to save him from a number of life-threatening situations involving tigers, a rhinoceros, a lion, an itchy gorilla and some very fickle crocodiles.

I recommend you read this book with a supply of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a huge pile of tangerines.

Here is a set of teaching notes.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

I have loved this book The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear for a long time so you can imagine my delight when I discovered a copy with a CD - this adds another dimension to this deceptively simply story.

Someone is talking to the little mouse - warning him about the big hungry bear and the desperate need to protect a yummy ripe red strawberry that the mouse is just about to pick.  I think the charm of this off stage narrator works in a similar way to the extra voices we hear in Spot.  See below for my favourite page where we see the mouse trying to disguise the strawberry.  This is a book I never tire of reading and I know my kindergarten students have really enjoyed reading it with their teachers this term too.

In addition to the book and CD I also have the mouse, the strawberry and even the knife in my toy collection.

This book is a timeless classic for our youngest children.  Look for it in your library today.

Here is a video of the book.  Here is a detailed lesson plan.

Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Is it too early to review a Christmas book?  The shops are already filling with trees and decorations and today I saw my first fruit mince pies so perhaps I can talk about this very special Christmas book even though it is only early November. The story of Holly and Ivy is very old.  It was first published in 1957 but we have bought a beautiful new copy for our school library.  I remember an elderly relative gave me a book by Rumer Godden when I was about four or five - Miss Happiness and Miss Flower.  I still have my precious old copy.

The story of Holly and Ivy is a Christmas book that should be read with a young child beside you.  It is a long story which could be enjoyed over several nights.  Here in Australia you would be reading this book in the Summer but it would be even better shared on a cold winter evening with snow falling softly around your home.

This story is slightly reminiscent of The little match girl by Hans Christian Andersen but it does not have the same tragic ending - in fact the ending here is miraculous and this is part of the charm and delight of this story.

Holly is a doll in a toy shop.  The time is Christmas eve. Nearly all the toys have been sold but the little Christmas doll in her red dress, red shoes and green socks has been overlooked.  In a scene like the one in Toy Story 3, there is an evil toy who also remains unsold - an owl.  He is the voice of doom.  His name is Abracadabra and he seems determined to make Holly's life miserable.  He even tries to stop the shop boy Peter from giving Holly to Ivy the little orphan girl who has spent the night sleeping near the toy shop after looking all day for her 'Grandmother.'

"Peter said that Abracadabra must have toppled, for a toy owl cannot fly, but it seemed for a moment that Abracadabra was right in his face; the green eyes were close, the spread of wings, the hooked beak, and the claws."

Ivy has left the orphanage when no one offers to take her over the Christmas holiday.  She is supposed to travel to an infant home but instead stays on the train and arrives in Appleton.  Ivy is convinced her grandmother lives there.  "I must look for a house with a tree and no children,' said Ivy.

Meanwhile Mrs Jones is longing for a child to share her Christmas. She tells her husband 'Christmas needs Children.'  I am sure by now you have joined all the dots here just as Rumer Godden did when she wrote this book over fifty years ago.

I love the sentiment of this quote :  "Dolls are not like us, we are alive as soon as we are born, but dolls are not really alive until they are played with."

Here is a link to the television movie of this book.  I am also including one illustration here.  As far as I can work out Barbara Cooney is the third person who has illustrated this classic Christmas Story.  The Christian Birmingham one looks lovely too but it is long out of print.  

Flora and Ulysses -The illuminated adventures by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by KG Campbell

I hardly know where to begin with this amazing book Flora and Ulysses.  If you have not met Kate DiCamillo she truly is a master storyteller.  I have adored every book she has written and yet each book is entirely unique.  If I gave you a tiny extract of each book and you were unfamiliar with this writer I am sure you would never guess each piece of writing is by the same author.  Read my review of The Magician's Elephant, and The Tale of Despereaux.

Flora and Ulysses is such a unique and special book.  Read this review in the Boston Globe and this one in the NY Times as both explain this madcap adventure between a squirrel, a special girl called Flora and a cast of odd ball characters - some evil and some really good.  Reading this book you will also gain insights into superheroes, poetry, huge donuts and wonderful advice books such as "Terrible things can happen to you", "The illuminated adventures of the Amazing Incandesto!" and "The criminal element." The warm intelligence of a temporarily blind boy and a socially clumsy father will also add to your enjoyment but it is Flora herself that I am sure you will love.

Here is a terrific book trailer from Candlewick press.  The quote below comes from an amazing review in the SLJ.  I do hope this book wins some major awards - even perhaps the Newbery!  Teachers should grab this book with both hands and read it to their class.  The vocabulary is splendid and the way this book stretches the reader is just wonderful.  You and your class will be richly rewarded.

Flora and Ulysses does precisely what I always want in a book. It lures you in with the ridiculous and then when you least expect it gets you in the gut with a bolt of pure, uncut, unadulterated meaning. Rare fare.