The Children's Hour - Children's Book Reviews - Third-Fifth Grade

CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEWS
THIRD - FIFTH GRADES
NOTABLE BOOKS 2007

Third-Fifth Grades

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SKY SWEEPER
written by Phillis Gershator, illus. by Holly Meade, (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $16.00, ISBN 978-0-374-37007-7), 40p, Ages 7+.
A young Japanese boy becomes "Flower Keeper" at a Zen temple working in the monks' garden. Year after year when family and friends recommend that he find more lucrative work, he replies, "The monks need a temple, the temple needs a garden, and the garden needs a Flower Keeper." Takeboki works contentedly by sweeping, arranging patterns in the sand, and tending to the leaves and flowers. This he does into adulthood and beyond into the next life sweeping the celestial garden in the sky. The moral of the story is simply that hard work has value, no matter what the task.

MOSES
written by Margaret Hodges, illus. by Barry Moser, (Harcourt Children's Books, $16.00, ISBN 978-0-15-200946-5), 32p, Ages 8+.
The late Margaret Hodges brings the famous story of Moses to young children in this picture-book biography of a man known by God and called to become a great leader of the Jewish people. From his early life as an infant, floating down the Nile River in a bulrush basket, to an old man who receives the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, Moses is portrayed as a man of faith who overcame many obstacles in his life. The appendix contains the Ten Commandments, each preceded by its Hebrew letter/number. This brief introduction to an important leader of Judeo-Christian history should be included in every library.

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT
written/illus. by Brock Cole, (Farrar Straus, and Giroux, $16.00, ISBN 978-0-374-32737-8), 32, Ages 8+.
When an Ogre comes to town demanding a bride, the mayor decides to sacrifice a pesky, homeless girl. The poor girl is dressed in fine clothes and a paper crown, put in a sack, and is left outside the town gate to wait for the Ogre. Discover how the resourceful girl manages to outwit the Ogre and townspeople, earn a fine dowry of gold and jewels, a sharp sword, and a name for herself, Good-Enough-to-Eat.

GENIES, MEANIES, AND MAGIC RINGS: THREE TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
retold by Stephen Mitchell, illus. by Tom Pohrt, (Walker Books, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-8027-9639-4), 192p, Ages 9-12.
Deceit, greed, justice, and faith are dealt with in this child-friendly version of the thousand-year-old tales from The Arabian Nights. "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" tells of a poor man who discovers thieves' gold in a cave, eludes the swords and spears of the thieves, and uses wisdom to manage his great wealth. "Abu Keer and Abu Seer" presents the story of two men (one good and one bad), the trials they suffer at each other's hands, and a king who can kill with a glance. The third tale, "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", is set in China, and surrounds a poor boy, his mother, a sorcerer, a magic lamp, a genie, and the rescue of a princess. The afterword discusses the origins of the tales originally told by merchants who traveled on the Silk Road between China and the Middle East and the influence of 16th and 17th century European translations.

IGRAINE THE BRAVE
written/illus. by Cornelia Funke, translated by Anthea Bell, (Scholastic Books, $16.99, ISBN 978-0-439-90379-0), 224p, Ages 9-12.
Not wishing to become a magician like her parents and brother, Igraine dreams of becoming a knight. On the eve of her twelfth birthday, her parents misspeak a spell and turn themselves into pigs, and a neighbor's greedy nephew tries to capture Pimpernel Castle to steal the magic books belonging to her family. Big brother Albert, enlists the help of the castle's fire-breathing gargoyles, stone-roaring lions, and moat-hissing snakes to defend the castle. Meanwhile, Igraine befriends the Sorrowful Knight who teaches her the rules of chivalry: "Never turn your skill with a sword against weaker opponents, use it only in self–defense–and never use it to enrich yourself." Together they retrieve needed hairs from a redheaded giant to turn Igraine's parents human again, and all work together to defeat Osmund the Greedy and save the castle. Other delightful characters include Sisyphus, Igraine's talking cat, singing magic books with faces, arms and legs, and the redheaded gentle giant, Garleff. The conclusion of an action-packed battle of magicians will not disappoint readers and listeners.

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