Kaline Klattermaster's tree house by Haven Kimmel illustrated by Peter Brown

To be honest when I started this book the voice of Kaline ANNOYED me but after a few pages I was so caught up in his life I found myself ENJOYING all his antics and misunderstandings.  I have put in these capital letters because that is how this book is written.

Kaline's dad has left.  We don't know why but it is clear early on that dad suffers from an obsessive-compulsive personality while his wife, Estelle and son Kaline simply find these behaviours confusing.

With the help of his mother, his neighbor Mr P and two wonderful imaginary brothers, Kaline slowly makes sense of his new life.  Kaline even feels confident enough at the end to tell Mr P about the bullies who are tormenting him and also about his brothers.

"Kaline got to hold Maestro's leash as they walked down the street, and Mr P. asked him question after question.   ... Mr P. asked him if he had any brothers or sisters.  'Yes! as a matter of fact, I have two brothers who live in a tree house, along with their one hundred puppies and their motorcycle and their Santiago Zepplin, which is one of the fastest cars in the world.'  Mr P. clapped again,said, 'Tell me about them! Are these imaginary friends?' Kaline felt a tug behind his ribs. But Mr Putnaminski had said it with such excitement and understanding that Kaline felt like it was okay to say, 'Yes they're imaginary, which is as you know a very perfect kind of thing."

This book reminded me of The curious incident of the dog in the night time but for a younger audience.  It also reminded me of O'Diddy and if you enjoy Kaline Klattermaster's tree house you might like to look for Swashbuckler by James Moloney.

One fun aspect of this book is the invented language words like pangemonia, rememorize, precisedly and diffimult.  Also Kaline loves the old television program The Waltons and so do I. Finally, Kaline finds numbers and dates very confusing, and these little moments were quite hilarious.  The cover is also a delight.

Here is a thoughtful review and here is a very detailed review.

Kaline Klattermaster, fresh out of third grade, is one of those kids who TALKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS, has a crazy mother and moves between his imaginary world and the real world with breathtaking frequency.

Spunky tells all by Ann Cameron illustrated by Lauren Castillo

"I lay on my belly and pulled myself forward, creeping toward Ralph's socks.  My fur caught loudly on the rough places of the rug. Ralph couldn't hear a sound. His ears were not good enough.  This is another question I must put to the ancestors.  Why do humans have such big ears when they can hardly hear anything?  What exactly is the point? But right then I had work.  I had reached the socks.  I dropped my head. I sniffed deeply. A sweet, ripe scent filled my nostrils. I opened my jaws. The socks  went into my mouth! Thousands of tiny lights flashed in spangled colors!"

Spunky is a middle aged dog (he is fourteen in human years) who lives with the Bates family.  While he can understand human language the family cannot speak dog.  In Spunky tells all, Spunky himself tries to make sense of his family all the while bemoaning their daily lack of understanding of his needs and habits.  The whole book is told from his point of view which is so funny.

Everything is going well until this incident with the sock.  After a long discussion, in which Spunky tries unsuccessfully to contribute his point of view,  the family decide Spunky needs a friend.  The friend will be a cat!  They go to the animal shelter and select Fiona - she is a cat who smells of foolish.

Somewhat like the relationship between Stuart Little and Snowbell the cat.  These two disparate souls have to find a way to live together.  Actually Spunky demonstrates amazing heroism when Fiona places her self in two life threatening situations.  Once in the toilet and later in the freezer drawer.

This is a perfect book.  It made me smile from page one to page 105.  It would be brilliant to read aloud or give to a young child who is ready for chapters.  Read this review if I have not convinced you that this book is special.  Here is a link to the author web site.

I have discovered that this is a book in a series by Ann Cameron about all the members of the Bates family.  We only have one of the ten titles in our school library Julian Secret Agent but I plan to add more.

Lulu and the Hedgehog in the rain by Hilary McKay illustrated by Priscilla Lamont

Ever since I read Hodgeheg by Dick King Smith I have had this little obsession with hedgehogs which is why I picked up Lulu and the Hedgehog in the rain.  This is a charming little story slightly reminiscent of The Little Red Hen because Lulu asks everyone to help her care for the little lost hedgehog she finds washed up one day after torrential rain but ultimately this task falls to Lulu herself.

Lulu is determined to let the little hedgehog live a free life.  She feels the hedgehog should not be treated as a pet.  To do this she needs the co-operation of everyone in her neighbourhood so she can be sure when the hedgehog burrows under the fence he will still be safe in the next garden and the next and the next.

She needs Charlie to remember to shut his gate, the new old lady to stop using snail and slug poisons and the bossy man must not burn the piles of leaves he rakes up in his garden.  Lulu and her cousin decide to form a hedgehog club complete with special badges and instructions.

This is a easy book to read with just six short chapters and delightful illustrations.  It would be fun to read aloud or give to a newly independent reader.

Here is a little extract that made me smile :

"We still need a name.  What have you thought of?'  ...  
Mellie lifted up the shoebox lid and looked at the hedgehog. 
 'Pineapple,' she said.  
'Pineapple!' 
'Or Prickles.' 
'Nearly every hedgehog in the world is called Prickles,' objected Lulu. 
There was a pause while Lulu and Mellie patted hay and leaves into a comfortable bed and tried to think of a name that no hedgehog in the world had yet been called.  
'Bubbles!' said Lulu.  
'John' said Mellie.  
'John? John! are you mad?' 
'John Cherry Bubbles Pineapple Prickles,' said Mellie. 'Five names, like the queen!"

There are six books in this series and we have all of them in our school library.

Joe and Sparky, Superstars! by Jamie Michalak illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

Here is another joyous beginner book - Joe and Sparky, Superstars!  Joe Giraffe is a man with ideas.  Sparky, the tortoise, is somewhat reluctant to try new things but he is a loyal friend.

The friends, who live in cageless zoo, see a show on television about Talented Pairs and immediately Joe can see fame and glory.  The problem comes when they try to discover Sparky's talent.  Nothing seems right :

"I am done!' said Sparky.  'I cannot dance or tell a joke.  I cannot run, slide, or stand on one foot.  I cannot be Sparky the Star.  Just for you Joe, I have tried.  But we will never be a talented pair."

Of course this is not quite true and at the end of the day Joe and Sparky make a surprising and wonderful discovery.  This is, however, not the end.  The last page is perfect.  Joe sees a poster advertising positions for movie extras and it is clear the whole process will begin again.

Here is the web site for the author.  There are three books in this series. We definitely need to add all of them to our library collection.  You can read an excellent review here.

This book reminds me of the Minton series by Anna Fienberg so if you are a Minton fan you should look for Joe and Sparky.

Annie and Simon by Catharine O'Neill

If you have read my blog lately you might have seen the inclusion of some terrific easy books perfect for very young children who are just developing confidence with reading.  Here is another one.  Annie and Simon is a colourful little book with four chapters which explore the special relationship between Annie and her ever patient brother Simon.  The School Library Journal reviewer said :

"Anne's frenetic pace is right on for a young child, but the something special here is Simon."

Chapter One is The Hairdo.  Little Annie has decided to be a hairdresser when she grows up but for now she needs to practice.  There is only so much she can do with Hazel, her short haired dog, so she asks Simon to volunteer.  Annie creates a spectacular hairstyle for Simon and then she experiments with her own hair.  Predictably this has disastrous results but luckily Simon is able to come to her rescue.

My favourite is chapter three where Annie is desperate for rain so she can try out her new large polka dot umbrella.  While playing in the garden she is bitten by a bee.  Once again the patient Simon saves the day and even though there are no clouds in the sky Annie's wish for rain comes true.

The other joy in this book is the mention of a loon.  When I lived in Canada I was desperate to see a loon - they look and sound so spectacular.

I now discover there is a second book about these special siblings so I will be adding that to my shopping list tonight.  This book comes from the Sparks series.  We already most of these including the very special Houndsley and Catina.

See Saw girl by Linda Sue Park

We have begun collecting books for our school library to link with the Asian Focus of the new English Curriculum.  We have collected a large number of picture books and now we are adding short novels.

Set in Korea See Saw girl is a perfect Middle Primary novel  Jade Blossom lives a protected a closed life inside the walls of her home.  Boys are allowed outside but not girls.  Jade longs to see the mountains and to visit her cousin Willow who has recently been married so she contrives a way to sneak out of the Han house using the market cart.

Jade is successful but she has not considered how her clothes and status will stand out in the poor market square.  She befriends a beggar child and is able to rub dirt all over her fine clothes and get directions to the home of her cousin.  Alas protocols will not allow Willow to see Jade and she is forced to return home in disgrace.  The only reward for her enormous efforts has been a glimpse of the wonderful snow covered mountains that surround the city.  Jade longs to see these mountains again.  She makes three important discoveries.  She finds joy in painting, she sees images of her beloved mountains in the school room (an area forbidden to girls) and she makes a see saw. Historical information at the back of the book explains the significance of this and other Korea traditions.

The ending of this little book did seem rushed but in just 86 pages Linda Sue Park crafts a very authentic feel of Korea and of Jade herself. You can read some reviews here. I have been a huge fan of Linda Sue Park ever since I read A single Shard.

This book reminded me of In the Shadow of the Palace so you might like to look for this one in our school library too. You should also look at the picture book Ruby's wish by Shirin Yim Bridges.  The image below comes from the illustrator web site.

The High-Rise Private eyes series by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by G. Brian Karas

The hot topic among my second grade students (boys and girls) right now is spies.  I am not sure why but this is a topic that seems to arise from time to time.  The two little books in this review are about spies or perhaps detectives but sadly they are not going to meet the expectations of my second graders because they want 'how to' guides. They want to be spies!

All that to one side these are two little fun beginner books where the spying is more often a case of setting straight a misunderstanding or righting a tiny wrong.  There are eight books in this simple series and we now have two - The case of the Missing Monkey and The case of the Climbing cat.

Bunny Brown and Jack Jones are the High-Rise private eyes.  In the first book a glass monkey goes missing from a diner.  Bunny and Jack stake out the joint at breakfast and review the suspects. There is a fox eating chocolate chip pancakes, a crow eating powdered doughnuts and a sheep with a lunch box but it is Bunny who sees the truth.  The fox is reading a book about trains - he likes machines not delicate monkeys and the lunch box owned by the sheep is badly dented - he is too clumsy to want a glass ornament. Suspicions must fall on crow who has a large tote bag.

What is in this bag?  Is crow the real thief?  Why did he take the glass monkey?

The setting for the second book, The case of the Climbing cat, is the high-rise apartment building where our two intrepid heroes live but Jack lives on the ground floor because he is afraid of heights.  This is a problem because Miss Nancy lives on the twentieth floor and her binoculars have been stolen.
If you enjoy this little episode you might like Andy Shane and the Barn Sale Mystery by Jennifer Richard Jacobson.

These two little books are perfect for beginner readers because they contain satisfying stories that can be read easily in one or two sittings, they have loads of colour pictures and Bunny and Jack themselves have a happy jokey relationship.

Be sure to look for other books by Cynthia Rylant in our library including the marvelous Mr Putter series.