Book with CD: Hip Hop Speaks to Children

Music is one of those things that is so hard to explain. Sometimes you just have to hear it to understand. In this book, Hip Hop is explained through notes, written lyrics, and a beautiful CD, with unique performances by Hip Hop's founding poets and artists.

Famous artists such as Maya Angelou, Walter Dean Myers, and Tupac Shakur talk about their inspiration and perform their works aloud. Kids will gain an understanding of where the musical genre came from (its foundations were from slave songs in the American south) and they will recognize that Hip Hop is poetry with a beat.

This is a unique and powerful book that will appeal to many kids who love to listen. It may be a particularly good choice for boys who love to learn while they move; I would encourage listeners to play the CD and read the book while on the move: walking on a trail with headphones, dancing inside on a rainy day, or moving to the beat somehow.

Book with CD

Ages 8-14

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Easy Reader: Watch Me Throw the Ball!

Author Mo Willems has produced another Elephant and Piggie easy reader. These wry, funny books describe the adventures of best friends Elephant and Piggie. With total camp humour, Piggie and Elephant navigate the treacherous waters of friendship and feelings.

In this episode, Piggie finds Elephant's ball, and wants to try throwing it. Piggie is justifiably proud of his strong throwing arm, and he lets his friends have a go even though Piggie doesn't know the SECRET OF THROWING.

When Piggie throws a pop fly (it goes up in the air, and lands a few feet behind him) he crows that he's thrown it "so far you can't even see it!" Elephant becomes more and more irritated at Pig's boasting, until he feels he has to point out that the ball is in fact behind where Piggie threw it. But does this stop Piggle cold? NO! Instead, he's elated that he threw the ball around the WHOLE WORLD!

Kids aged 5-7 will laugh uproariously at Elephant and Piggie. The whole series is recommended.

Easy Reader

Ages 5-7

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Nonfiction: Off to War

This compelling book is a series of interviews with kids whose parents are in the military. Kids aged 5-17 talk honestly about how their parents' job has shaped their family life, and how they feel about their missing parent.

The stories give great insight into the lives of military kids, and show how some families cope with the absence of a parent...and some don't. Every kid has tips and tricks that they use to fight loneliness when their parent is away, and advice on how to welcome back a parent who is returning from war. It's clear that most kids have a deep respect for their parent's job and dedication, even while they are uniformly uncertain about the military's goals in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The common theme is that all kids, both Canadian and American, miss their parent, and worry about their safety. There is always strain on the family when their parent is away, and many kids (but not all) vehemently state that they will find a civillian career when they grow up.

This is an interesting and unusual look at the effect of war on those left behind. It's an excellent tool for families or classes that want to consider the impact of war, and talk about the value of fighting for a cause. Author Deborah Ellis has written many books focusing on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and her focus is always on the experience of the kids who get caught in the middle.

Nonfiction

Grades 5-9

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Realistic Fiction: Cookie

Cookie is the story of plain, timid Beaty Cookson. Beauty is a kind and ordinary girl with a lovely mother; however, she wishes that her life were different.

Beauty goes to a snotty private school, where all the girls think her name is ridiculous. Instead of calling her Beauty, the call her Ugly. Even worse, Beauty's dad can't seem to control his hurtful criticisms and uncontrolled rages. Even the smallest thing can set him off into a storm of shouting. Beauty and her mother try to placate him, but it becomes clear that nothing can make him accept his family as their imperfect selves. Together they discover a new hobby - baking cookies - and a new, better nickname is born.

When Beauty's dad spins out of control during her disastrous birthday party, Beauty's mom is ready to take the reins, and make a new life for herself and her daughter. This book addresses tough issues, like anger and family breakup, but it does it in a sweet and respectful way that gives hope rather than dread. You can't help but love Beauty and her mother, and author Jacqueline Wilson resists the temptation to demonize the angry father. I'm sure this charming book will be up for an award in the next year or two!

Realistic Fiction; family and friends

Grades 4-8

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Historical Fiction: Esperanza Rising

Esperanza's name means 'hope' in spanish, and that's the focus of this book. We meet Esperanza just before her 13th birthday, on her wealthy family's flourishing Mexican ranch. Her family is well off, and Esperanza's sheltered life is full of party dresses, servants and love.

All this is shattered when her father is killed by bandits, and her family's ranch burned to the ground. Suddenly, Esperanza and her Mama are fugitives, and then illegal immigrants in a California Mexican labour camp.

Despite her hardships, Esperanza struggles to retain her pride, values and culture in the midst of a hostile and unfamilar land. Her story is one of resilience, strength, and above all, the hope that can give you the courage to start all over again. A powerful book that provides deep insight into the struggles, hopes and dreams of immigrants and refugees.

Historical Fiction

Grades 5-9

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Poetry: An Awesome Book

Once you get your hands on this book, I guarantee that you will want to buy it and read it to your kids all the time. Heck, forget about your kids; you'll want to read it yourself!

An Awesome Book is an exhortation to dream big. No, not just big, but HUGE! The dreams in the beginning are so wonderful that every person with even a little bit of childhood still in them will say "Oh my god, that's AWESOME!" We're talking candy cane machines, rocket powered unicorns, magical watermelon boats, tiny ant bands trained by raccoons, and a host of other silly and wonderful dreams. The message is, never laugh at your dreams, or question them, or try to make them conform or go away; they are what make us joyful and unique. A perfect and timely message for our stressed, over scheduled kids.

This book will make adults remember what it's like to be a kid, and hopefully it will encourage our kids to retain that sense of wonder and awe at our amazing world. In fact, read the whole thing online here.

Poetry

FOR EVERYONE!

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Biography: Marco Polo

It's not often that you come across a truly excellent biography for children. It's apparent from the first page that this isn't just another standard title, designed for report writers and school projects.

Author Demi has interwoven rich storytelling with luxurious, oriental illustrations. Embroidered motifs and gold overlays set off the chinese ink watercolours; each page contains a beautiful framed image inside an embroidery border. Images break out of the frames for impact, while the minimal text tells the amazing story of Marco Polo's adventures in flowing prose.

Kids looking for report material might find it hard to extract the information they need from this book; it's not set up to deliver fact bites, and this is a good thing. To me, the value of this title lies in its ability to tell a mesmerizing story that will inspire the adventurer in any reader.

Biography

Ages 8-13

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