Palmetto Parent 2009 November Issue : Page 16
The searchison $20. any Off 00 November Party Whether it is magic, bad guys or dinosaurs, it seems everyone is looking for something in new children’s books n “Gone with the Wand” By Margie Palatini Illustrated by Brian Ajhar For Ages 4 – 8 Th e world’s top fairy godmother has a wand on the fritz and doesn’t know what to do. Her best friend, a tooth fairy, tries to help out with suggestions for other positions a plump fairy might be able to fi ll — fairy duster, snow fairy, sugarplum fairy and a few others.Nothing seems to fi t. Palatini meanders a bit in her storytelling, but eventually brings both the readers and the fairies around to the right job for a fairy godmother. Th ere is no moral here, just a bit of fun. Children and parents will be enthralled by Ajhar’s illustrations. He brings each char- acter to life with pizzazz. Children will enjoy pointing out characters t form other fairy tales in the fairy god- f mother’s photo collection. Th e story is cute, but the illustrations will have my family reading “Gone with the Wand’multiple times. n “Ace Lacewing Bug Detective: Bad Bugs Are My Business” By David Biedrzycki For Ages 4 – 8 Th e clever parody of detective noir is sure to please even the most hard-boiled reader. With quick catchy dialogue,word- play and puns galore, children will dive into the mystery as Ace Lacewing follows the case of a little bug with a big bump. When 16 Palmetto Parent www.palmettoparent.com Scratch Mur- phy’s fl eabag full of money goes missing, everyone is a suspect. Mur- phy is owner of Six Legs Park. With the help of his gal, Xerces, and his Books McGeath Freeman buddy on the force, Sgt.Zito, a mosquito, they question the carpenter ants union, a hissing cockroach banker and a lady- bug, as well as other sticky-fi ngered bugs. Readers familiar with Biedrzycki’s fi rst foray in the dark world of Motham City will enjoy this witty follow up as will any new readers.Additionally, the digitally enhanced illustrations will have readers searching for visual puns and wordplay such on the streets of the city and throughout the amusement park. n “Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt” By David Catrow For ages 5 – 8 New readers will enjoy this adventure with Max Spaniel as he hunts for elusive di- nosaurs.Much like a child with a god imagination,Max fi nds bones, hips, lips and teeth in the most unlikely of places. What appear to be junk and discarded tools and toys be- gin to take shape. Pretty soon the e November 2009
Books - The search is on
McGeath Freeman
Whether it is magic, bad guys or dinosaurs, it seems everyone is looking for something in new children’s books.
* “Gone with the Wand”
By Margie Palatini
Illustrated by Brian Ajhar
For Ages 4 – 8
The world’s top fairy godmother has a wand on the fritz and doesn’t know what to do. Her best friend, a tooth fairy, tries to help out with suggestions for other positions a plump fairy might be able to fill — fairy duster, snow fairy, sugarplum fairy and a few others. Nothing seems to fit. Palatini meanders a bit in her storytelling, but eventually brings both the readers and the fairies around to the right job for a fairy godmother.
There is no moral here, just a bit of fun. Children and parents will be enthralled by Ajhar’s illustrations. He brings each character to life with pizzazz. Children will enjoy pointing out characters form other fairy tales in the fairy godmother’s photo collection.
The story is cute, but the illustrations will have my family reading “Gone with the Wand’ multiple times.
* “Ace Lacewing Bug Detective:
Bad Bugs Are My Business”
By David Biedrzycki
For Ages 4 – 8
The clever parody of detective noir is sure to please even the most hard-boiled reader. With quick catchy dialogue, wordplay and puns galore, children will dive into the mystery as Ace Lacewing follows the case of a little bug with a big bump. When Scratch Murphy’s fleabag full of money goes missing, everyone is a suspect. Murphy is owner of Six Legs Park.
With the help of his gal, Xerces, and his buddy on the force, Sgt. Zito, a mosquito, they question the carpenter ants union, a hissing cockroach banker and a ladybug, as well as other sticky-fingered bugs.
Readers familiar with Biedrzycki’s first foray in the dark world of Motham City will enjoy this witty follow up as will any new readers. Additionally, the digitally enhanced illustrations will have readers searching for visual puns and wordplay such on the streets of the city and throughout the amusement park.
* “Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt”
By David Catrow
For ages 5 – 8
New readers will enjoy this adventure with Max Spaniel as he hunts for elusive dinosaurs. Much like a child with a god imagination, Max finds bones, hips, lips and teeth in the most unlikely of places. What appear to be junk and discarded tools and toys begin to take shape. Pretty soon the cat takes flight as the dinosaur comes to life.
“A great hunter knows where to look.” And Max certainly knew where to look in this tale.
Children will relate to Max’s brand of play and adventure. Parents will see both their pets and their children in the character. And new readers will enjoy learning to read with this new series of tales starring Max Spaniel.
Additional reading
For additional entertaining reading adventures, check out these titles:
* “The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the Ghosts, Found Out Where They Went, and Went There,”by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Calef Brown, for ages 9 – 12 — This follow-up to “The Neddiad” is set in a kooky late 1950s Hollywood. Very loosely based on “The Odyssey,” this tale follows Iggy Birnbaum, who lives in a haunted hotel, from one strange encounter to another through an alternate world called Underland as she tries to discover why all the ghosts of Hollywood are disappearing. Very tongue and cheek and very entertaining.
* “The Princess Plot,” by Kristen Boie, for Ages 9 – 12 — Jenna has just won the part of the princess of a remote kingdom in a new movie. It’s a dream come true until strange things begin to happen and she realizes she has an uncanny resemblance to the real princess. As the plot twists we discover plans are in motion to overthrow the country and that Jenna is a pawn in the scheme. Political intrigue, fairy tales and fun all rolled into one story.
* “Chicken Dance,” By Tammi Sauer, illustrated By Dan Santat, for Ages 3 – 9 — It’s always good to see fun references to Elvis. The King is alive and well in this silly story about a barnyard competition to see Elvis Poultry in concert. Witty dialogue and word play are the rule as chickens set out to prove the have talent beyond clucking. Children will giggle and laugh as the chickens “bwak and roll.”
Publication List
