Archive for July 18, 2016

Enchanted Files: Diary of a Mad Brownie

Written by Bruce Coville
Illustrated by Paul Kidby

If you’re not already familiar with Bruce Coville’s work, why not? This, one of his more recent books, is hilarious and heartwarming at the same time.

Angus Cairns is a one hundred fifty year old brownie, bound by the terms of a curse laid against his father by an elven queen. When his Scottish mistress dies, he must provide service to an eleven-year-old American girl, Alex Carhart. Angus first makes his way to America and figures out a way to keep his very messy and disorganized charge neat and organized. He also watches in horror as the second part of the curse plays out – the men of the family abandon everything except horrible poetry. A sister who befriends a goblin and her harsh kindergarten teacher complete most of the contributing cast of characters. How can they together save the family of a father who quits his job to write bad poetry?

Kidby’s illustrations are also hilarious and add a lot to the story. From diagrams of the Carharts’ house to labeled illustrations of magical folk to a family portrait of the Carharts, they pull the reader into the brownie world.

Told entirely in diary and journal entries, letters, and notes, this is a fun way for fourth graders to learn about journaling and about a few of the English words that are different in Scotland.

Buy on Amazon

  • Mad BrownieTitle: Enchanted Files: Diary of a Mad Brownie
  • Author: Bruce Coville
  • Illustrator: Paul Kidby
  • Published: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2015
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Humor
  • ISBN: 978-0-385-39247-1

At the Sea Floor Café: Odd Ocean Critter Poems

Written by Leslie Bulion
Illustrated by Leslie Evans

The invitation is issued: “Let’s visit a habitat shallow and deep.” With that, this book takes off to help the reader learn about many ocean dwellers. The author chose many unique species, making this an even more fascinating book. Numerous sidebars help to make it a truly educational book.

patient reef shark waits

a cleaner wrasse dances in –

what’s for breakfast?

Within the pages, kids read about creatures as diverse as convict fish, bottlenose dolphins who us sponges as tools, sea spiders, krill, broody squid, and Osedax worms. Meanwhile, the author uses a large variety of poetry forms: kyrielle, haiku, cinquain, limerick, pantoum, etc.

Illustrations are linoleum block prints, realistically hand colored, providing a great background for the text.

This book could easily be included in a science class, a unit on poetry, an art class, or a cross-curriculum unit. Fourth graders should be able to handle the language and most of the science.

Buy on Amazon

  • At the Sea Floor CafeTitle: At the Sea Floor Café: Odd Ocean Critter Poems
  • Author: Leslie Bulion
  • Illustrator: Leslie Evans
  • Published: Peachtree Publishers, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, 48 pages
  • Grade Level: 4 to 7
  • Genre: Fiction, Nature, Poetry
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-920-9
  • Extras: Glossary, Poetry Notes, Websites to Explore, Books You Might Enjoy