Jo Ellen Bogart. Illustrated by Yvonne Cathcart.
Richmond Hill, ON: Scholastic Canada, 1996. 24pp, paper, $5.99.
ISBN: 0-590-24906-1.
Grades K - 2 / Ages 5 - 8.
**/4
Review by Leslie Millar.
excerpt:
Reginald had two too many rockers on his chair. Madeleine had two too many saddles on her mare. Eleanora's elephant had two too many knees. Susan's Mississippi had two too many ``P"'s.
Jo Ellen Bogart has written a counting book of sorts in Two Too Many. She makes her home in Guelph, Ontario and has published several children's books, among them Gifts, Mama's Bed, Sarah Saw a Blue Macaw, and Malcolm's Runaway Soap.
Not recommended.
Leslie Millar is a substitute teacher and volunteer in Winnipeg schools.
Compiled by Nikki Siegen-Smith. Illustrated by Bernard Lodge.
Toronto, ON: Key Porter, 1996. 80pp, cloth, $24.95.
ISBN: 1-55013-695-X.
Grades 4 - 6 / Ages 8 - 11.
Review by Lorraine Douglas.
***/4
excerpt:
Our Children's Earth
(Nomadic Pastoralists, Africa)
Treat the earth well. It was not given to us by our fathers, But is lent to us by our children.
What is happiness?
(Santal, Asia)
In life, what is happiness? In life, what is joy? To be in love with others For when we die, We go with no one.
This attractive volume gathers songs from tribal peoples all over the world in four thematic chapters in. The themes are:
Recommended.
Lorraine Douglas is Youth Services Coordinator for the Winnipeg Public Library.
Written and Illustrated by Roy Condy.
Richmond Hill, ON: Scholastic Canada, 1996. 62pp, paper, $5.99.
ISBN: 0-590-24622-4.
Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 8 - 12.
****/4
Review by Leslie Millar.
excerpt:
Track-Star Turtles
Think all turtles are slow? Think again. Soft-shelled turtles are the fastest turtles alive. They're pretty funny to look at: with their flat, round shells and pig-like snouts, they resemble pan-cakes with noses. But these are some serious turtles. Not only do they bite, but one North American species can out-run humans on level ground! The clumsy-looking creature is just as quick under water. It can easily outswim a brook trout, the fastest freshwater fish.
Roy Condy came to Canada in 1946, and now makes his home in Ontario. Shark Attacks & Spider Snacks is the first book he has written, although he has long lent his talent at illustration to the world of television, text books, and children's literature. Some of the titles he's illustrated include How to Get Rid of Bad Dreams; Christopher, Please Clean Up Your Room; and the Scholastic Student Organizer Diary.
Highly recommended.
Leslie Millar is a substitute teacher and volunteer in Winnipeg schools.
Yvonne Owens. Illustrated by Kevan Lane Miller.
Victoria, BC, Horned Owl Publishing, 1995. 36pp, paper, $12.95.
ISBN: 0-9696066-1-3.
Grades 4 - 7 / Ages 9 - 12.
Review by Maryleah Otto.
***/4
excerpt:
She learned that there are many chalices in the world like the Cup of Mari Anu and the Holy Grail of the Isle of Women, and that they are a sacred trust of all women. They represent the actual essence of women as the symbols of women's sacred nature. The Cups mean many things to different people. They signify the cauldron of the belly, the womb, and creativity. They are symbols of nurture and of life itself. Lu Sin learned that the Cups exist wherever this awareness exists . . . And she learned that wherever this awareness is not, the Cup of Life exists not, for treasures can be lost or stolen or disappear. Rivers, lakes and the entire oceans can become poisoned and die.
Yvonne Owens draws on her lifelong study of mythology, adding elements from folklore, shamanism, and magic, to tell the story of Lu Sin and the wild dog, a story in the pattern of the Holy Grail myth.
Recommended.
Maryleah Otto is a former children's librarian in Toronto and London, Ontario. She has had four books for children published since 1985.
The Cup of Mari Anu was reviewed by classes across Canada as part of the Collaborative Book Review Project. You can read the students' reviews at the Collaborative Book Review Project site.
Jim Cameron.
Burnstown, ON: General Store Publishing Company, 1995. 220pp, paper, $17.95.
ISBN: 0-919431-93-3.
Grades 8 and Up / Ages 14 to Adult.
Review by Bob Haxton.
***/4
Jim Cameron, PhD., is an Associate Professor of Geography at York University with an interest in nineteenth-century Canada. From the books, pamphlets, and newspapers of the period, as well as replies from letters to newspapers and Women's Institutes, he has culled self-help remedies for ailments from nervous disorders to cancer.
Recommended.
Bob Haxton is a teacher-librarian at Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver.
Produced by Kent Gravelle and Robin Webb.
Maple Ridge, BC: Keyeye Productions, 1996.
51 min., VHS, $24.95 ($74.95 with public performance rights).
0-9680537-1-8.
Grades 3 - 7 / Ages 8 - 12.
****/4
Review by Theresa Yauk.
excerpt:
We all have the ability to recognize danger. It's a matter of knowing what to look for that keeps us safe -- that keeps us from getting hurt or being taken away. We'd like to show you how to do just that. So -- the object of this program is to learn to recognize danger in our daily lives no matter how small. That means learning to listen to your gut and trust your instincts.
This high-quality video is the result of years of work. The Keyeye program has been taught in schools since 1981, and the producers of this video also put out Hands Off II in 1990, a self-defense video for women that also included a segment at the end showing the Keyeye program for children.
Highly recommended.
Theresa Yauk works in the Special Services department at the Winnipeg Centennial library; she previously worked in the Children's Department for six years. She is currently studying for a Master's degree in Library and Information Science.
Written and illustrated by Edward Lear.
Edited by Simcha Shtull.
Israel: MAXIMA New Media Ltd., 1995.
46pp, hard-cover book with CD (including 3 audio tracks and one CD-ROM track), $24.95.
ISBN: 1-888297-01-8.
Grades 3 and Up / Ages 8 to Adult.
**/4
Review by Theresa Yauk.
excerpt:
`How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!' Who has written such volumes of stuff! Some think him ill-tempered and queer, But a few think him pleasant enough.
His mind is concrete and fastidious, His nose is remarkably big; His visage is more or less hideous, His beard it resembles a wig."
Of course, the above was written by none other than Edward Lear himself, and is included in Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense. This multimedia set celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lear's first Book of Nonsense, -- evidence of the timeless appeal of Lear's work. The attractive hard-cover book includes Lear's simple and comic black-and-white illustrations.
Not recommended.
Theresa Yauk works in the Special Services department at the Winnipeg Centennial library; she previously worked in the Children's Department for six years. She is currently studying for a Master's degree in Library and Information Science.
Every week, CM presents a brief collection of noteworthy, useful, or just interesting sites we've turned up and actually checked.Please send us URLs and evaluations of any web-sites you think deserve the exposure.
Okay, no space or robot stuff this time, just this highly cool submarine exploration site. Live chats with the scientists, broadcasts from the sub, virtual reality tours (if you have the bandwidth), views from the portholes at that moment and more.
Well, it's just that cool (and informative). Cockroaches wear their skeletons on the outside of their bodies was ``Today's Fun Fact" when I looked. You also get ``A Day in the Life of a Cockroach" and a test your knowledge of cockroaches, ``Cockroach World," quiz. In ``activities learn how to catch and keep cockroaches. See the sights and sounds of `Cockroach World' in the multimedia library..."
How to catch and keep them. Notice again how our perspectives completely alter as we age. . . .
CM
Editor
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e-mail: cmeditor@mts.net
CM
Executive Assistant
Peter Tittenberger
e-mail: cm@mts.net
Postal address:
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Copyright © 1996 the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
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Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
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