Books
Faraway Grandpa
Henry Holt & Co. (ISBN 0-8050-6785-X)
* The Best Children’s Books of the Year 2005 Bank Street College of Education
* Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2005: Best Toys, Books, Videos, Music & Software for Kids
* Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List
Dear Kathleen,
Heard a new song. We'll sing it together this summer! Oops, almost forgot. The song is called "Danny Boy." Such a fine name!
Love, Grandpa Danny
A poignant story about the changing relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter as he experiences Alzheimer's disease.
Grandpa Danny sang bass, and Kathleen sang the high notes. That was the summer that Kathleen learned about listening with her heart and not her ears. But when it was time for her to visit with Grandpa Danny again, Gramps wasn't himself -- he forgot things, and sometimes his mind seemed to be cloudy.
Still, even on Grandpa Danny's most shadowy of days, Kathleen knew that when she sang "Danny Boy" he was listening with his heart. This granddaughter's story about love and devotion will touch the hearts of readers young and old alike.
Reviews
"As Grandpa continues to be forgetful, Kathleen is always there to remind him of their favorite song and traditions. The illustrations are beautiful and the story touching. This book will help children understand Alzheimer's disease." (Sparks: Children's Book Review Journal)
"Written from a child's viewpoint, this picture book tells the story of a beloved grandfather with Alzheimer's disease. In Rand's warm, pencil-and-watercolor paintings and Karim's short, unrhymed lines, the quiet scenarios of hurt and humiliation and heartfelt love tell the truth." (Booklist)
"I marveled at Kathleen's loving response to her grandfather's illness and her determination to maintain their close bond despite his faraway mind. Karim's engaging prose and Rand's lively illustrations make a heartbreaking subject easy to digest." (Ann B. Weaver, Amazon)
"Rand's lovely pastels, furnishings, and clothing recall a bygone era with the warm of this intergenerational bond." (Kirkus)
"The story's dominant themes of distance, loneliness, and loss appear in the title, in the lyrics of Grandpa's favorite song, and most obviously when he gets lost in Kathleen's house. Still, she always helps him find his way back, however briefly. Rand's pencil, watercolor, and acrylic art depicts the period with warmth and detail." (School Library Journal)
Kindle Me a Riddle
Greenwillow / HarperCollins Books (ISBN 0-688-16203-7)
* Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000
* Smithsonian Magazine - Notable Books for Children 1999
* Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee 2002-2003
* Publishers Weekly - Starred Review
* Kirkus - Pointered Review
Constance and Jack and their mama and papa are playing a riddle game that stretches from morning to night. As the family stirs up one riddle after another, young readers will delight in puzzling out answers that illuminate the details of daily life for settlers living on the frontier.
"The guessing game offers readers insight into the rhythms of another century. As a bonus, four pages of illustrated capsules at the end of the book further detail 'The Life of a Pioneer Family'." (Publishers Weekly)
"A good choice for primary classes studying pioneer life." (Booklist)
"When young Constance accidentally lets the cabin's fire die out, her father composes a riddle to cheer her up, spawning a riddle marathon as the entire family participates in creating conundrums. Karim devises clever puzzles that reveal the origins of items that would be commonplace for a pioneer, e.g. before it was a basket, it was 'saplings that leaned in the wind.' Andersen's oil paintings depict carefully researched, authentic scenes from pioneer life and capture the strong, loving family bonds that resonate in the text. The sparkling tale is fun to read and illuminating, and will round out any lesson on early settlers." A [4-page] addendum, 'THE LIFE OF A PIONEER FAMILY,' provides further information about the objects in the riddles, such as how a log cabin is constructed." (Kirkus)
This is a Hospital, Not a Zoo!
Clarion / Houghton Mifflin Books (ISBN 0-395-72099-0)
Recommended by:
* The Cleveland Clinic "Books for Kids"
* Children's National Medical Center, DC
* Children's Hospitals and Clinics, MN
* Many hospitals and libraries
* Many accelerated reader book lists
Hospital patient Filbert MacFee is sick of nasty shots, bad-tasting medicine, and ice-cold medical equipment. He just wants to go home. So he starts acting a little . . . beastly. And it's "tough to treat a boy who has turned into a rhino, a penguin, or a giraffe"!
No-nonsense Nurse Beluga and her staff try their best to cure Filbert of his wild behavior, but eventually it's wise and kindly Dr. Kebob who makes the perfect diagnosis and puts a happy end to all the monkey business. Hilarious illustrations and lively, rollicking text turn a hospital stay into a reassuringly comic escapade.
"A perfectly silly take on the indignities of a hospital stay... The snappy text, featuring quirky characters and understated humor, works well with Truesdell's loosely drawn, larger-than-life animals who pop up at the turn of a page." (Kirkus)
Karim's goofy, fantastical story has sweet charm," says ALA Booklist, "and it is a great vehicle for Truesdell's funny irresistible artwork, which pictures animals and humans alike leaping and cavorting across the pages."
THIS IS A HOSPITAL, NOT A ZOO! Audiocassette
Recorded Books, Inc. (ISBN 0-7887-2063-5)
Kliatt praises narrator John McDonough: "His inflections are lively and spirited, his tone matches the story's wit, and his voices are perfect..."
Mandy Sue Day
Clarion / Houghton Mifflin Books (ISBN O-395-66155-2)
* American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
* Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education
* Lead story in Harcourt Brace's Rare Finds Anthology for U.S. schools
* Joan K. Blaska Collection of Children's Literature