Beauty

Author: Robin McKinley
Lexile measure: 970
Bottom line:  Beauty and the Beast on steroids
Language:  mild medieval name calling, affectionate name calling at horse.
Violence: the Beast is scary at times and does things like crushing a bottle in his hands.
Big Kid Mature Topics: losing a business due to storms at sea, romance and marriage, losing a betrothed at sea.  The heroine obviously chafes at typical female roles.
Illustrations: none.
Plot: moderately complex.

This was one of my favorite books growing up and we pulled it off the library shelf because DD currently has a thing for horses.    DD gave it the thumbs up, but it is a very mature book and scary for sensitive little ones.  However, that being said, I don't think it is a lot more scary than the Disney version.

One caution:  I read several of the author's other books and they are definitely teen material with teen (and adult) level romance and swearing.  This was the only one benign enough for younger children.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

Author: T.S. Eliot
Lexile measure: >1000
Bottom line:  T.S. Eliot for kids
Language: appropriate
Violence: there is mention of "crime", though its cat crimes like "stifling a Peke" ,  stealing things, or messing up property.
Big Kid Mature Topics: as above.
Illustrations:  Black and white etchings every other page.
Plot: Each poem stands by itself so you can skip the violent ones (Macavity, Battle of the Pekes, Mungojerry) if you want.  The main difficulty with this book is its very challenging vocabulary, and its cultural references, especially to neighborhoods in London.  Its children's poetry but its not dumbed down or sentimental.  DD loved it even though she could only understand 90% of it, and DS enjoyed whatever he heard.  It helps that we have a cat and understand that cats misbehave and its not criminal, just cat.

Clementine

Author: Sarah Pennypacker
Lexile measure: 720
Bottom line:  More innocent than Pippi
Language: mild name calling--main character calls her brother names of vegetables instead of by his real name, which my older boy found hilarious.
Violence: none.
Big Kid Mature Topics: cutting your own or a friend's hair, using permanent marker on self or friend, getting sent to the principal's office, being a "difficult" child. The main character also notices that the lunch lady and the janitor are kissing.
Illustrations:  infrequent black and white shaded drawings.
Plot: moderately complex.

Of interest, Clementine is clearly a gifted child.  She often has good intentions but does the wrong thing.  I wondered if she had ADHD, too.  She seems like she has a ton of energy, creativity, and definitely difficulty with attention.   The parents seemed likeable and reasonable, too.

I really liked this book except for the part about the lunch lady and the janitor, which for some reason just seemed gross, even though there wasn't a lot of detail.  I censored this one for later.  You could easily leave the yucky part out if you don't have an independent reader, but I think children who have not attended school yet might not really appreciate this one.

The One and Only Ivan

Author: Kathleen Applegate
Lexile measure: unknown, probably about 900
Bottom line:    A Light in August, but narrated by a gorilla.
Language: refers to words used when mad, also "stupid".
Violence:  An elephant dies of neglect, another elephant is hit with a hook by a human.  The animals tell their stories of being caught in the wild.  Some family members were killed and dismembered.
Big Kid Mature Topics: This book is about some animals in a circus.  The animals are somewhat neglected.   The narrator talks about humans as if they are the same as other animal species (some people may find this offensive).   Talks about "face licking" in romance movies.  Talks about Mack getting drunk.  One of the characters has a mother who is very sick.  Poverty.
Illustrations:  infrequent black and white shaded drawings.
Plot: moderately complex.

DD (age 5) really loved this book.  However, I would never read this to a sensitive younger child.  It is too sad and there is a lot of violence towards animals.  Some of the mature topics would easily go over a young child's head.  The gorilla narrator really doesn't seem to understand those aspects of human life very well, so a child would not probably see through the narration.  Still, there are a lot of other animal stories out there.  I would save this one for at least age 5 or 6, possibly later.

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile

Author: Bernard Waber
Lexile measure: 760
Bottom line:   The civilized crocodile.
Language: No issues.
Violence:  None.
Big Kid Mature Topics:   The friendly crocodile ends up being put in the zoo, where he is rejected by the other crocodiles.  He is let out of the zoo by a friend in disguise.  There is a house fire.
Illustrations:  This is a picture book.
Plot:  complex.

Both of my children enjoyed this book.  I did as well, which makes this our first 3 thumbs up book on the blog!  It is about 45 pages, so it is good for a bedtime story.  The main character is very sweet, for a crocodile.  This was a good one for teaching vocabulary related to emotions.  It is also a member of a series of books on Lyle, though the reading level on the others is a little lower, with Lexiles in the mid-500s.

An apology

For a variety of reasons, I have decided to scale back on my blog for a short while.  I have returned to work and want to concentrate on finishing my novel (a children's novel, but probably not for very young readers).  Dear daughter has really graduated to more mature fiction.  But, I will probably still write a review occasionally.  Dear son is 2 1/2 and starting to show interest in reading, though, so I predict there will be more soon!

The Newbery Medal

And the Medalist for 2013 is The One and Only Ivan, by Kathleen Applegate!

Now, what is the Newbery Medal?  The Newbery Medal is the oldest and most prestigious award in children's literature and is given to the author/book with the "most distinguished contribution to children's literature".  As my children's librarian explained it, the Newbery is for writing, the Caldecott is for illustration.   The Newbery Honor is given to noteworthy runners up to the Medal.

Newbery Medal/Honor books are usually pretty interesting and always well written, but not always guaranteed to be appropriate for young children nor necessarily enjoyable reading for everyone.   And sometimes the books (like all books) get dated after a while, using vocabulary and expressing viewpoints that you may not want your child to repeat in an undiscriminating fashion.  If you're looking for a little light reading to relax the brain or you're trying to catch the interest of a reluctant reader, it might not be the best place to start.  If you're looking for a challenge or a new author, the Newbery list is a worthwhile place to check. 

Newbery Medal/Honor Books Featured in the Young Precocious Reader
Abel's Island

Doctor Doolittle

Multiple books in the Little House series

Mr. Popper's Penguins

The Twenty One Balloons

My Father's Dragon

Charlotte's Web

The Cricket in Times Square

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankwiler

The Tale of Despereaux

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Abel's Island

Author: William Steig
Lexile measure: 920
Bottom line:   Mouse Robinson Crusoe.
Language: One incident of pseudoswearing "Gosh Almighty" by a supporting character.
Violence:  None.
Big Kid Mature Topics:   The main character is marooned on an island by a bad storm.  There is a lot about how he loves his wife and misses her that might be lost on a younger child.  One character is a very old frog with a sleepy memory/dementia.
Illustrations: frequent blank and white drawings every 2-3 pages.  William Steig has also won the Caldecott Medal.
Plot: moderately complex.

DD and I enjoyed this one.   It reminds me of Stuart Little, but with a more coherent plot focused on how Abel, the mouse, uses his wits and survives while marooned on an island.