Reviews
for Selected Orchard Books for Children:
Orchard Books
557 Broadway, New York NY 10012
1-800-242-7737 www.amazon.com
These excellent
new stories are different, appealing picturebooks kids will appreciate:
Night
Dancer by Marcia Vaughan (0439352487, $16.95) tells of the mythical
piper
of the Native Southwest, Kokopelli, who invites
others to dance and enjoy music. Lisa Desinimi's beautiful illustrations
bring the story to life. Patricia Wolff's A New Improved
Santa
(0439352495, $15.95) receives Lynne Cravath's appealing illustrations
as it tells of Santa's quest for self-improvement. Santa slims
down, and becomes more fashionable but do kids really want spiked
hair and a thin man? A jolly, rollicking tale emerges.
Two "Mama
Rex & T" stories by Rachel Vail and Steve Bjorkman ($14.95
each) provide fun and comedy for kids. The Horrible Play
Date (0439406277) tells of T's friend Walter
and a play date gone wrong by different
play styles. Simple chapters introduce kids to the chapter book
style. Homework Trouble (0439406285) has
the
wise dino mother helping her child with his assignments. T has
two problems here: he has to make a diorama about pigs and he
doesn't know what a diorama is or what pigs are about. Mama Rex
must organize
a research trip to help out. Both are inviting problem-solving
tales for kids.
Sara Pennypacker's Stuart's Cape (0439301807, $15.95)
receives Martin Matje's inviting story, though it does have black
and white drawings. Kids with rudimentary reading skills in grades
2-4 will find this a whimsical story telling of a boy's boredom.
Stuart is new in town and must discover his own path to adventure
in this fun and realistic story.
Review syndicated
from Midwest
Book Review.
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