Tales of the Norse Gods and Heroes

Author: Edward Thomas

First line: Long ago, in Iceland, there was a king named Gangler who was famous for wisdom and for magic, and there were few things which he could not understand.

Why you should read this book: Betrayal! Murder! Betrayal! Treasure! Betrayal! Love! Betrayal! Magic! Betrayal! Inlaws! Betrayal! And more Betrayal! This fine Dover reprint comprises, primarily, modernized excerpts from the Prose Edda and the Volsungs, two ancient manuscripts recording even more ancient traditions. The world of the Norse was violent, their lives short and uncertain, yet in their mythology, they reconcile the brutish nature of existence with the obviously magical elements of the universe, creating a cosmogony that still resonates with modern readers and evokes the best and worst of mankind's nature.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're suspicious of your in-laws.

The First Thing My Mama Told Me

Author: Susan Marie Swanson

First line: When I was born, the first thing my mama told me was my name.

Why you should read this book: Most children's understanding of identity begins with their own name, and Lucy's story centers around representations of her name throughout her short life: piped in icing on chocolate cupcakes, cooked on the griddle in pancake batter, written on the tag of her lost and found sweater. As the girl grows older, she learns to leave her mark by writing her own name instead of depending on adults to do it for her. A sweet story about family and growing.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You changed your name the moment you turned eighteen.

Belles on Their Toes

Authors: Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

First line: Mother was going to Europe and leave up by ourselves.

Why you should read this book: Before it was a slapstick comedy, Cheaper by the Dozen was an intelligent children's book about the real-life efficiency expert, Frank Gilbreth, and how he raised his brood of twelve children according to the laws of motion study; this book is the sequel to the first, picking up several days after the clan's patriarch dies of a heart attack. Lillian Gilbreth, a single mother with eleven mouths to feed, determines to continue her husband's business so as to keep her family together, and must struggle in a world where women are not accepted as competent engineers. Meanwhile, her children practice their own version of efficiency, determined to help their mother, honor their father's memory, and enjoy their lives to the fullest, all on a shoestring budget and with no privacy.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't think women should work outside the home, you believe children should be seen and not heard, and you insist that bare ankles and wrists on a girl are immodest.

Good Night, Gorilla

Author: Peggy Rathman

First line: Good night, gorilla.

Why you should read this book: Short on dialogue but long on whimsy, this perfect bedtime story allows children to narrate events as the naughty gorilla shadows an oblivious zookeeper at closing time. The pictures are expressive and the animal antics adorable. A very engaging, popular, and cozy picture book.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You know all too well the pain of a crowded bed.

A Big Fat Enormous Lie

Author: Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

First line: I told a lie.

Why you should read this book: A little fib seems like a convenient way out of his accidental consumption of an entire jar of cookies, but the protagonist of this story finds his lie personified as an ugly green monster that grows and grows as he grapples with the consequences of his actions. Published almost thirty years ago, this tidy morality tale still imparts the value of a clean conscious without preaching or talking down to kids.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're so good at lying you can do it to yourself.

Two Bad Ants

Author: Christ Van Allsburg

First line: The news traveled swiftly through the tunnels of the ant world.

Why you should read this book: When the ant world and the human world collide, the result is a bug's-eye view of reality, executed in crisp, Escheresque ink drawings with an eye to detail that only the award-winning Van Allsburg could pull off. Grains of sugar are priceless crystals to the ants, who seek to please their queen by carrying this wonderful discovery back to the anthill, but the two bad ants get greedy and decide that life in a sugar bowl is sweeter than the drudgery of their world. Multiple encounters with their new and dangerous environment soon convince the creatures that there's no place like home.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You've spent the past week laying down poison and storing your sugar in the freezer.

Max's Chocolate Chicken

Author: Rosemary Wells

First line: One morning somebody put a chocolate chicken in the birdbath.

Why you should read this book: Perenially immature bunny Max does not grasp the concept of the Easter egg hunt, and even when it is explained to him, his short attention span keeps him from being successful at it. Max's strength lies in thinking outside the box, and not even know-it-all big sisters can keep him from the object of his desires.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a stickler for rules.

Animalia

Author: Graeme Base

First line: An Armoured Armadillo Avoiding An Angry Alligator

Why you should read this book: Base's alliterations are clever and well-thought-out, while his illustrations are luscious, intense, and intricate. Children will enjoy learning initial consonant fluency as they search the detailed pictures for familiar words; adults can't help but play along, since the pictures are complicated enough to confound the most extensive vocabularies. Quite possibly the best alphabet book ever published.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You give up easily.

Journey to an 800 Number

Author: E. L. Konigsburg

First line: When my mother married Mr. F. Hugo Malatesta the First, she sent me to stay with my father while she went on a honeymoon.

Why you should read this book: R. Maximilian Stubbs is ready to get used to all the good things in life, and now that his mother is marrying the wealthy old man she's always dreamed of, he's going to get the chance, but first, he has to wait out their honeymoon with his own father, a man whose life and livelihood is tied to a camel and a trailer. Max travels through the American west as his father sells camel rides for $1.50 and gradually finds that he must confront his own identity issues, from acknowledging the history of his real first name to understanding the meaning of the blue private school blazer he feels compelled to wear despite the astounding heat. A brilliant cast of characters illuminates Max's journey from elitism to open-mindedness in another spectacular story from Newbury-winner Konigsburg.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're trying to encourage your child's snobbery.

Mea Culpa

A brief apology to the eight people who follow this blog; I have been traveling since the beginning of the month. Sometimes life gets in the way of reading. Since schools out here start in mid-August, there is a vast backlog of children's books to be reviewed. I will be working through them this week, and hopefully get caught up and ready to write about big people books next week.

Cheers,

Dragon