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Book and audiobook review: The One and Only Ivan

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Title: The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate
Format: Single book, audiobook
Audiobook narrator: Adam Grupper
Audiobook length: 3hrs 46min
Age Group: 10+

There once was a 400lb western lowland gorilla named Ivan, who lived in a concrete cell in the middle of a shopping mall. For 27 years, he entertained shoppers and gawkers, but had no contact with others of his kind.

It is from these dire, real-life circumstances, that author Katherine Applegate spins a soaring and unforgettable tale. Read more…Book and audiobook review: The One and Only Ivan

Audiobook review: Where the Sidewalk Ends

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Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends – recited, sung and shouted by Shel Silverstein
Author: Shel Silverstein
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Shel Silverstein
Length: 6hrs 15min
Age Group: 6+

Hearing poetry read out aloud is something altogether different from reading it in a book. But to hear poetry in the poet’s own voice is an experience not to be missed.  Read more…Audiobook review: Where the Sidewalk Ends

Book review: Pax

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Title: Pax
Author: Sarah Pennypacker (author of acclaimed Clementine series)
Illustrator: Jon Klaassen (award-winning picture book author/illustrator of I Want My Hat Back)
Format: Single book
Age group: 9+

A mesmerizing book about the profound bond between a fox and a boy.

Peter is 7 years old when he finds an abandoned and starving fox kit in the woods nears home. Peter adopts the fox and names him Pax. The two form a deep connection, “two, but not two”. But the disease of war encroaches, and Peter’s angry and restless father has caught the bug. When he decides to enlist in the army, Pax and Peter are forcibly separated after more than 5 years at each other’s side. Read more…Book review: Pax

Meet Salva Dut, refugee, reformer

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These are troubled times. Turn on the news and our children are just as likely as we are to be barraged and confused by the turmoil around the world. The word refugee comes up often in this context, and raises many questions for kids: Who are refugees? How do they come to be in such a desperate state – displaced, on the run, seeking respite anywhere they can find it?

By telling the true story of Salva Dut, A Long Walk to Water presents parents and kids a chance to understand some of the forces and faces behind one particular refugee crisis. Read more…Meet Salva Dut, refugee, reformer

Audiobook review: A Boy and His Bot

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Title: A Boy and His Bot
Author: Daniel H. Wilson
Narrator: David Ackroyd
Length: 4h 40m
Format: Audiobook
Age group: 10+

Code Lightyear is a shy young Cherokee boy. At school, he keeps his head down and tries to avoid the taunts of bullies. Rather than standing up for himself, Code prefers to concentrate on doodling robot designs. He also misses his beloved grandfather, who disappeared on a visit to Mek Mound, the hilly site of an ancient, Native American civilization.

On a field-trip to this hallowed place, Code wanders off from his classmates only to stumble through a portal into Mekhos, a bizarre and dangerous land populated entirely by robots. Read more…Audiobook review: A Boy and His Bot

Audiobook review: Big Hero 6

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Title: Big Hero 6 Junior Novelization (Disney’s Big Hero 6)
Author: Irene Trimble
Narrator: MacLeod Andrews
Length: 2h 18m
Format: Audiobook
Age group: 8+

Fourteen-year old Hiro Hamada is brilliant but wastes all his time hustling at ‘bot fights in dark alleys instead of focusing on his future. He worships Tadashi, his older brother, who rescues him from scrapes and encourages him to think bigger. Everything changes when Hiro loses his big brother in a terrible accident at a famous robotics lab where Tadashi was developing a health-care robot named Baymax. Heartbroken, Hiro teams up with Baymax and with 5 of Tadashi’s friends when he realizes that the explosion at the lab may not have been an accident at all.

You may be surprised to hear about Big Hero 6, the audiobook! The movie was of course a huge hit and no doubt your kids, like mine, saw it when it was released. But the audiobook is really well written and read with a beautifully resonant voice by MacLeod Andrews.  Read more…Audiobook review: Big Hero 6

Book review: Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot

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Title: Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot
Author: Dav Pilkey
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Format: Book series (9 books)
Age group: 5+

Poor Squeakyville! This town and its mousey inhabitants seem perpetually on the hit-list of some mad scientist or colony-craving alien. Luckily for Squeakyville, one of its littlest residents – boy-mouse Ricky Ricotta – has teamed up with his best buddy, The Mighty Robot, to hold chaos at bay. From facing down school bullies, to combatting all manner of mutants from around the planetary system, Ricky and his Robot embark on 9, action-packed adventures.  Read more…Book review: Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot