Classroom Review- Apples Galore

Fall has arrived!! Cooler weather is upon us, Halloween is right around the corner, and Fancy Nancy's class is going apple picking! 

Apples Galore!

By: Jane O'Connor

Fancy Nancy, and her classmates, are taking the fun and learning on the road! In this adventure, the class goes apple picking. Nancy is determined to find her Dad's favorite apple, a Gala apple! However, Lionel, is determined to spend the field trip playing practical jokes. When Lionel tells one too many lies, will anyone believe him when he tells the truth?

While Kids Book Korner is a big fan of Fancy Nancy, we decided to turn over the review to Mrs. Duvauchelle's 2nd grade class. After all, who better to tell you about Nancy's newest adventure than them?!

On a scale of 1-4 stars, the class gave it an overwhelming 4 stars!!! They loved learning new words, and that the book included French words. While they loved the vocabulary Nancy uses, Lionel's lying didn't escape their attention. They knew he shouldn't have been tricking everyone and was glad he learned his lesson. 

Here's some of the comments the class had to say about Apples Galore!

Olivia- "... inspired by Fancy Nancy" (us, too!)

Scarlett- "Nancy helped him even though you knew he was moody" (so nice of her!)

Anneliese-"I really liked it because there was a lot of commotion, big words, & it was very funny"

                    (so true!!)

Michael- "It teaches us a lesson to not lie." (very important lesson!)

Jake K.- "I learned that new words are fun to use in stories. I like to learn new words." (we do, too!)

There you have it! Apples Galore is a 4 star winner with this bunch! One is never too young to learn fancy and new words! Thank you for your opinions, kids! We will be passing them on to Miss Fancy Nancy, herself! 

Mrs. Noodlekugel and Four Blind Mice

Mrs. Noodlekugel And Four Blind Mice

By: Daniel Pinkwater

90 Pages

Ages: 5-9 yrs

The ever lovable Mrs. Noodlekugel is back! Mr. Fuzzface, her cat, and the four mice from her first book join her in this newest adventure. This time, the mice take center stage.

While having tea, Mrs. Noodlekugel notices the mice spilling their cups. There is only one thing to do about this. Why, strap them onto her hat, coax Mr. Fuzzface into a cat carrier, and go into the city so the mice can get glasses. However, nothing is just your regular trip with Mrs. Noodlekugel. No, while riding on the bus, you get to find out how Mrs. Noodlekugel and Mr. Fuzzface met. I'll give you a hint: it involves trains and a gold medal. 

Mrs. Noodlekugel and four blind mice also reunites one of the characters with a long lost family member. 

This book is as adorable and fun as Mrs. Noodlekugel was. From the characters and their personalities, to the adventures they all share. The writing is easy to understand. The chapters are short and to the point. Readers are in for a treat. At the beginning reader stage, readers can enjoy this book on their own, or it can be part of a story time. Perfect fit either way!

Icing On The Cake

The Cupcake Club: Icing on the Cake

By: Sheryl & Carrie Berk

Pages: 115

Ages: 9-12

Summary:

Jenna has a full plate: a 5th grader, cupcake business & club, plenty of friends. Suddenly, her life is about to change. Jenna isn't happy about all the new changes, either. See what takes her, and the rest of the club, to Las Vegas, what connection they have to an Elvis impersonator, and why the club would be baking pupcakes.

Jenna's life may not be perfect, but she's happy the way it is. So when her Mom announces she's now engaged to her boyfriend, Leo, Jenna is less than thrilled. The impending nuptials may have many supporters, but Jenna isn't one of them. Still, Jenna goes along with it when her Mom asks Peace, Love, and Cupcakes to bake them a tower of cupcakes for the wedding- in a month and across the country.

The girls find themselves baking the night away in the kitchen of the fancy Venice Hotel- but not just for Jenna's Mom. Upon their arrival, they meet an Elvis Impersonator with quite a problem. His 100th show is that night and he can't find anyone who can bake a cake big enough for his 250 person audience. Nor can he find someone who can make it a peanut butter and banana cake. Thankfully the girls come to his rescue.

As if all that isn't enough, Jenna falls in love. Her school Community Friends project takes her to Rescue Rover, a dog shelter. Promptly, Jenna meets a puppy she names Dulce. 

The Mother-Daughter writing team of this series brings you another fun adventure to read. I loved seeing what fun things the girls would be doing in this book. It will find a home on my bookshelf. 

Rifka Takes A Bow

Rifka Takes A Bow

By: Betty Rosenberg Perlov

36 Pages

Rifka introduces you to the world of Yiddish Theater. With her parents being actors in it, she's able to give you a backstage tour of it all. From the trip the family takes to the theater, to the backstage happenings while everyone is getting ready for the show to start. With Rifka as your guide, you get to see a world you may not otherwise get to see.

Follow Rifka as she and her Dad go under the stage and look at the many props stored there. And no tour of a theater would be complete without an impromptu performance. That's exactly what happens when Rifka  moves from her chair by the stage. She follows the stairs and ends up right in the performance. When an audience member wants her to say something, Rifka makes a prediction for her future.

This book was such a cute read. I loved the story and the illustrations. Rifka Takes A Bow allows it's readers to learn about a world beyond theirs. After the story, Perlov gives a brief history of Yiddish Theater and includes pictures. A fun read!!!

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween

Melanie Watt

64 Pages

Age Range: 4-8

Our favorite lovable, overly cautious squirrel is back and he's helping you get ready for Halloween! With his help. you are guaranteed to have a safe and fun time. We must warn you, though. Those with sticky fingers, claws, or tentacles may not hold this guide. (As per Scaredy's instructions.) Also, you cannot take this book through walls, on brooms, or by a dragon. (Again, per Scaredy's instructions.) 

Within the pages of Scaredy's handy guide, you will be given tips that should prove invaluable. For instance, turning your blender on will, in fact, scare off ghosts and goblins. Also, when it comes time for your trick-or-treating, avoid any untamed lawns. It's just better that way. Halloween can be a practical, but fun, holiday. Turn on your washing machine. This gives you a great sound effect, but you also can do a load of laundry at the same time. 

Costumes are an important part of Halloween. Scaredy provides you with helpful tips! Such as- start thinking of your options in June. To avoid the Halloween night chills, he suggests layering several costumes over each other. Scaredy even tells you how to make do-it-yourself costumes. All you need is 8 vacuum hoses and 4 ping pong balls to make your own spider costume!

This book is a great Story Time read! Kids of all elementary ages will love the silly things Scaredy comes up with. Pictures illustrate everything, and they are fun to look at. While this book is longer than previous books, I don't think it'll be hard for independent readers to enjoy. This book is broken up into 8 chapters, but they aren't very long.

My only downside to this book is the price. I think $17.95 is a lot to ask for a picture book. Even one that is longer than your average picture book length. Hopefully, your library will have it. 

Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain

Athen has always been above average. She's never quite fit in at Triton Junior High, but who would've guessed that Athena is actually a goddess? Principal Zeus's daughter, to be exact. When she's summoned to Mount Olympus Academy, Athena thinks she might actually fit in for the first time in her life. But in some ways, school on Mount Olympus is not that different from down on Earth, and Athena is going to have to deal with the baddest mean girl in history- Medusa!

Authors Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams put a modern spin on classic myths with the Goddess Girls series. Follow the ins and outs of divine social life at Mount Olympus Academy, where the most privileged godboys and goddessgirls in the Greek pantheon hone their mythical skills.

This is a good start to a series that I'm really excited about. It provides a fun way for kids to learn about Greek myths, and puts it on their level. I love that it's pretty much all these gods a goddesses in junior high, and junior high in Ancient Greece was about the same as it is now. There are nice girls and mean girls, popular guys who know all the girls like them (in this case, Poseidon), and embarrassing situations for the main character. How would you feel if the whole school found out that your mother was a fly? I think we can all relate to the circumstances of the story. 

I really liked how the authors chose to write the character of Athena. I think she is a good role model for young girls, and she makes good choices throughout the book. This book might just get some of those girls who aren't interested in the Percy Jackson series into Greek myths as well.  

Amelia Bedelia series

Jen and I read these with her two daughters, ages 3 and 7, the other night. They were a bit too long to hold the 3 year old's interest, but they had the rest of us in stitches.

Imagine Amelia Bedelia in your homeroom! Everyone's favorite zany lady finds herself teacher for the day- and what a day it turns out to be!

This was my favorite Amelia Bedelia as a child. There is some outdated terminology in it, so I had to stop reading at some parts so Jen and I could explain some of the words to the kids. I think for beginning readers some of the newer Amelia Bedelia books might be better. This is a classic, though.

When Amelia Bedelia went to the station to meet the conductor, Mrs. Rogers did not expect her to bring back a man who worked for the railroad. The concert could not start until the orchestra leader arrived- which he finally did, no thanks to Amelia Bedelia. 

But neither the conductor nor the school orchestra was prepared for Amelia Bedelia's contribution to the musical event. The master of literal interpretation, Amelia Bedelia is just as happy with a flat bee as with a B flat. And if you want a wind instrument- well, what blows more wind than an electric fan? 

Amelia Bedelia is as funny as she has ever been in this musical extravaganza. Do you wonder what she plays in the orchestra? She plays havoc!

Wow, this one was pretty crazy! By the end of the book, she had really gotten under the conductor's skin. (And I don't mean the train conductor!) Kids will like this one.  Ages 5 and up.

She's back! Amelia Bedelia,  America's favorite housekeeper, has returned. Armed with a driver's license, Amelia Bedelia hits the road! 

Amelia Bedelia listens to what people say. She believes they know what they are talking about. If someone tells her to watch out for a fork in the road- well, she's heard of needles in haystacks, so why not a fork in the road? Readers will find her exploits hilarious.

I think this was the funniest one yet! The part about the fork in the road had us all cracking up. And Mr.  Rogers learned his lesson- never go driving with Amelia Bedelia!