Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover

Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover

Josh Schneider

Boston: Clarion Books, 2014, Ages 3-5

Amelia's favorite doll gets destroyed by her dog because she left her toys on the floor unsupervised. She is heartbroken, however her mother makes a new doll for her. Amelia designs her new doll all by herself.

The author used very short sentences that have lots of description in them. It is more of a picture book than a reading book.

The illustrations really reflect the sentences well and will hold younger children's attention. The dog looks mean, and acts mean while tearing up her doll and then looks afraid of it once she gets a "makeover" and also really demonstrates how a child would really feel after their favorite toy was destroyed.

I like that Amelia got to design her new doll and loved it just the same even though it wasn't as "pretty" or "feminine" as her first doll. I would like to read it to a preschool or kindergarten class, they would really like the pictures and they may think twice about leaving their toys on the floor. 

Reviewed by SC

The Meanest Birthday Girl

The Meanest Birthday Girl

Written by Josh Schneider
Boston: Clarion Books, 2013, Ages 7-9

The book tells the story of how a mean girl, Dana, got everything she wanted for her birthday, including an elephant. The elephant is so much hard work that it takes up all her time and energy then she starts to become bullied by another girl, Gertrude. Later, Dana gives Gertrude the elephant for her birthday.

There is dialogue, and does everything in a logical order with longer sentences. The book is also broken up into chapters to give an overview of what the chunks of the story are about.

The illustrations are very nice, and makes the elephant look fun to have, and also shows very well how stressed out Dana gets from caring for it. Also displays very well the children's attitudes that are reflected in the text.

I feel passing on the elephant is indirect bullying as the kids who have had it know how hard it is, and they pawn it off on the next kid when they are done with it. It does show kids though to have empathy and understanding (with the elephant) and that no matter how mean someone is, they can change their ways and people will still like them and give them presents even if they are mean. I disagree with that method because it is praising bad behavior, when no kids should have brought her gifts if she was mean to them, and have them explain why. I wish the book would go into more detail about why the children changed their attitude when given the elephant.

Reviewed by SC

Tony Baloney: School Rules

Tony Baloney: School Rules
By Pam Munoz Ryan and Edwin Fotheringham
New York: Scholastic Books, 2013, Ages 3-6

Tony Baloney the penguin learns about the rules at school and how to follow them. He learns things the hard way however, but later improvises when he understands that there is a situation that would be against the rules, however his friend needed help so he broke the rule and the teacher explained why that was a good thing. 

Has a dialogue with Tony and his stuffed animal. The stuffed animal talks about common fears children have before going to school about rules, and Tony is more optimistic about how fun school will be despite the common fears. 

The illustrations are really cute and demonstrate what would really happen at school. Everyone is a penguin. 

I think it's cute and I would read this to a group of Pre-K and Kindergarten students at the beginning of the year. I think telling the consequences through Tony's bad experiences will help students realize the bad things that might happen if they do not follow rules. I wish they would have added a rule about how to stand in line, I think first graders have a particularly difficult time with this concept.

Reviewed by SC