Author Archives: Candy Ranney

About Candy Ranney

Candy is an elementary school librarian in Shelton, WA at the school where she was a student (so many years ago!). Her library is unique in that she brings her background and love of biology to her students in many ways. Not only does she have an awesome selection of science books; she also has a beaver, bobcat and mink sitting on her shelves and a variety of jarred specimens for her students to study. When she's not in the library, she is taking care of her baby trees on her tree farm and hanging out with her family and many pets.

The Whiskers Sisters. #1,May’s wild walk

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Three sisters, antlered Maya, feline Mia and pink-eyed May are awaiting the return of their grandfather, the the Guardian of the Forest. One morning, Mrs. Owl brings them a letter and after reading it, Maya and Mia plan a celebration. They don’t include May (who is younger and speaks in baby talk “ga ga ga”), so she wanders off and ends up in Mrs. Owl’s letter bag. She is carried off and falls into the forest when the strap on the bag breaks, dumping her and the rest of the mail. Interestingly, the animals in the forest understand May perfectly and she has a great time locating the missing letters with them. Maya and Mia spend their day preparing for the celebration and realize May is missing just as the party is to start. They have just a short time to be sad before May, the forest animals and, surprise(!), grandpa show up. Let the celebration begin!

This is a light little story with manga-like characters set in a cute cottage in a lovely forest. There isn’t a lot of depth to the story in this graphic novel. But, that’s ok, given it appears to be directed at the younger crowd. It’s a sweet introduction to graphic novels and is sure to please the target audience.

Cool Indy Cars

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Cool Indy Cars is an adrenaline rush inducing introduction to the history, parts and current racing of this type of vehicle. The book is loaded with photos, both historic and current and text boxes add tidbits of fun information about those pictures. A labeled diagram, extra facts, extra resources, index and glossary come together to make this an accessible interesting read for young students. The sentences are short and sometimes choppy. But the content is solid and interesting.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day details what the holiday is, the origin, who celebrates and traditions. A timeline, map, historical and current photos make this book a nice introduction to the holiday. Short sentences with highlighted words that might be unfamiliar (defined in the glossary) make it an appropriately leveled book for younger readers. My only complaint is that most of the photos, even the current ones, are fairly homogeneous in ethnicity, which is unfortunate and unrealistic. A more accurate portrayal of people of all backgrounds coming together should have been pictured.

Football Records

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Football Records, part of Blastoff! discover. Incredible sports records series, is a quick “dip your toes into the stats” kind of book. Glossy action shots of various record holders with short paragraphs and extras in scattered text boxes will leave the casual reader satisfied and the sports fanatic ready to explore more (which will be simple, given that there are extra print and internet resources listed in the back of the book). Highlighted words are defined in the glossary and an index is a nice quick reference. This will be a good purchase if you are looking to update your sports collection.

Super Potato. #2.Super Potato’s galactic breakout

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Super Potato is captured by the evil Zort, a slug king that collects creatures from different planets for his personal zoo. Fortunately, the slug’s robot servant is easily manipulated by the brilliant Super Potato and opens all the cages to release the creatures. Minus the Magnificent, king of the Planet Micron, and his armada (who came to rescue him) return the creatures to their home planets and take Super Potato back to Earth. Is this the end? Nope…I know this, because it says it on the last page! There will be more adventures to come.

This innocent little graphic novel will appeal to those readers who might be beginning their exploration of the genre. It is not too difficult to follow and the humor is at the perfect level for the 2nd-5th grade reader. Pages range from single panel to three panel comic spreads that move the story along. The colors are bright and the writing is simple. Pick up this book (and the first one) for your young readers.

The Donkey Egg

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Bear and Hare are back after their escapades in Tops and Bottoms. Fox stops by Bear’s ramshackle home and sells him a $20 watermelon, convincing him that it is a donkey egg. Well, Bear takes care of that “donkey egg” for quite awhile. He does a great job caring for it, keeping it warm and playing with it. Hare stops by occasionally (he seems to be training for a race against a tortoise) to give bear encouragement. One day, Bear falls asleep and the “egg” rolls away from him and crashes, breaking into several large pieces of watermelon (surprise!). Bear and Hare decide to make the best of it, after Bear realizes he was fooled by the Fox. They plant the seeds and end up with so many lovely watermelons! They take some to town to sell and buy …a donkey! Fox sees the trio and the book ends with Fox scratching his head and climbing up on a watermelon.

The story moves smoothly along, with some interesting facts about time along the way. This might distract some readers, but most won’t be bothered. They will be busy moving on to the next page to find out what will happen with Bear, Hare and the ‘egg’ on the next pages. The illustrations are wonderful. It is like seeing old friends again after several years away (24 years since Tops and Bottoms). Highly recommended.

Passover

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Passover is an introduction to the Jewish holiday. The book explains what it is, its traditions and origins, who celebrates and when they do so. There is a nice pronunciation guide for unfamiliar words and a recipe typical to the holiday. There is also a glossary, which defines the bolded words that are throughout the text. This is part of the Celebrating Holidays series and is very appropriate for early readers. While the text is spare, the photos also do a great job of illustrating the different aspects of the holiday. Purchase this book to update your collection.

Mr. Monkey Take a Hike

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Mr. Monkey wants to win his video game, but even though he   “runs…ducks…climbs…swings…jumps [and] falls” over and over. He is just about ready to give up when a chick comes in and swipes his game controller. OH NO! Mr. Monkey must leave his game to retrieve his controller from that silly little chick and the chase commences.  Mr. Monkey “runs…ducks…climbs…swings…jumps [and] falls” over and over as he attempts to catch the chick and his controller . Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? In the end, he finally gets his controller back, but is too tired to play. Poor Mr. Monkey And, as he peacefully sleeps in front of the television, a certain little chick returns and takes the controller. The end.

Readers will enjoy the cartoon-like illustrations and comic action of the story as they cheer on Mr. Monkey. Repetitive language is helpful as for those readers that need it. Mr. Monkey never gives up and the action along the way will elicit some gasps and giggles from young students. This is a third book involving Mr. Monkey and if the others are similarly written, I would certainly consider purchase of all three.

Monster Mache Art: Easy-to-make Amazing Monsters

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Get ready to get messy and make some fun monsters along the way! This book takes the old school standard art project and amps up the fun with such pieces as “Greedy Garbage Monster” or “Mummy in the Cupboard”. Necessary tools, materials and methods are all described and step-by-step instructions are clear and, for the most part, illustrated. Purchase this book if you are looking to update your tired art section.

Amazing Origami Dinosaurs

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How can it get any better than dinosaur facts and origami? How about both of them in a single book! We begin with a little introduction to origami – history, paper and typical folds. This book, geared toward the 3rd-6th grade crowd, then gives illustrated directions for six different dinosaurs (and facts) and a prehistoric tree. Most pieces are eight to nine steps and the iguuanodon is a whopping 16 steps. The directions and illustrations are clear, but this book is better suited to the experienced origami aficionado. Beginners might get a bit frustrated. All in all, a nice addition to the library.

Plumbers

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Plumbers, part of the Community Helper series, is a nice introduction to this very important career option. A plumber’s job, necessary skills and tools are discussed and the photos are a great mix of genders and ethnicity. Sentences are simple (this is marked a Level 1 book) and unfamiliar words are highlighted and available in the glossary. At the end, there are additional resources listed,both books and web links. At 24 pages, it is very accessible to the primary target audience. Buy this book and the rest of the series to update your career/community section.

Chevrolet Silverado

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This book is part of the Tough Truck series and, as such, describes one make/model of vehicle. The reading level is 5.7 and the book is targeting the 3-6 grade reader. Chevrolet Silverados are described – including their history, distinctive parts (bow tie shaped logo, square grill and tailgate spoiler),lots of color photos and specifications for the model. Typical nonfiction aspects include table of contents, glossary, index and extra resources list.

While this is a great book for the target audience, it isn’t really a stand-alone book, because truck aficionados are loyal to their brand, even at an early age. Therefore, there might be limited circulation. Because it is part of a six book set of different makes/models, one should buy the entire set or none of them. The entire set would be fun to have in the library, because one can just imagine the heated arguments in the 600’s section over the best truck out there!

Dragsters

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Dragsters, part of the Full Throttle series, is full of color, action and facts that will make your readers’ hearts race. This book describes a drag race, the history of drag racing and parts of a dragster. Color photos, a timeline, index, glossary, short paragraphs and a list of further informative resources make this a good choice for its target audience – the high/low reader. This is an adrenaline rush of a book that is very accessible and it will have your auto junkies begging for the rest of the series.

International Space station

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Space and astronauts are popular subjects, given the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. It is not often that K-3 crowd gets a good nonfiction book on those topics. This book should fit the bill. It discusses the origin of the space station, life on the space station today and more. Each two page spread has a full photo with a short paragraph describing the picture. Highlighted words are in the glossary. Other nonfiction elements include a table of contents, index and extra resources listed.

This book is considered a level “3” and deemed a transitional text for those students that are becoming more independent in their reading. It will also work well for the those higher grade/lower level readers, who will enjoy the great illustrations. Pick up this book for your library – it will be checked out often!

How I Learned to Fall out of Trees

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Edward and Adelia have been friends for a very long time and now she has to move. So, they gather many of their favorite things as Adelia explains to Edwin that she is going to teach him to climb a tree and fall. As she is explaining the steps to climbing (and falling from) a tree, she is also teaching Edwin to say goodbye. And, at the end, he does fall out of the tree onto all the things they used and collected and he has a smile on his face, because “Adelia made certain that falling was the easiest part of all” and saying goodbye wasn’t too painful.

This is a very sweet book that gently moves along to the day Adelia leaves and Edwin climbs her tree and let’s go (in more ways than one). Pictures are bright and the characters are sweet. While the underlying message of letting go of one’s friend might be missed by readers, the books is still a very sweet friendship story and will open up discussions about friendships.

Farmers

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Farmers, part of the Community Helpers series, informs students about the work of farmers, including text boxes labeled “Farmer gear” and “farmer skills”. Sentences are short and highlighted words are identified in the glossary. There are numerous color photos showing farmers that are a mixture of gender, ethnicity and ages. Farmers are working with their hands and using equipment.

This is a nice introduction to farmers and farming. The photos of the many types of people that farm is realistic and timely. There is one part of the book that will need some discussion. It describes where farms are located – in the countryside (obviously), but also in cities and towns. Hmmmm….young students will wonder what that means, given the rural nature of the photographs included. This will be a good discussion point for classes – what defines a farm? Can we all be farmers?

Add this book to your collection for those grades that study community helpers. This series includes fourteen different community helper profiles. If this book and the cover art of the others are indicative of the helpers highlighted (age, race, gender), then this is a series that will resonate with most children, who will see themselves (no matter who they are) in those roles.

Surviving a Shipwreck: the Titanic

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Surviving a Shipwreck: the Titanic is a narrative nonfiction following the timeline of the sinking of the Titanic, from its launch and sinking in 1912 to its discovery in 1985. The book begins with a hook on the first page – a single paragraph detailing the moments after the ship struck the iceberg. Text is interspersed with historical captioned photos to move the reader through the maiden voyage and sinking as well as the rescue and eventual changes in law (United States and Great Britain) concerning safety measures so that this type of disaster would never occur again.

Typical nonfiction features – table of contents, index, glossary, source notes and so forth are present in this book. An interesting diagram of the sinking itself, from hitting the iceberg to the ship breaking in half and sinking in two pieces is included. Another interesting addition is the short biography of Margaret Brown, who tirelessly aided her fellow passengers as they loaded lifeboats, went on board the Carpathia and later when they got to New York. One last page of note is the guide to surviving disasters with steps to take to keep safe in the unlikely event of a ship sinking.

Pair this book with some of the newer fictional stories about the Titanic to give students more history about the event. Surviving a Shipwreck: the Titanic will be a riveting read for your upper elementary readers and a nice addition to the nonfiction about the event.

Toucans

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Toucans is a colorful informational book about a bird that most students will not see outside of a zoo. Short sentences with labeled photos are accessible to the beginning readers. Maps, labeled diagram, glossary and index pack a lot of information into a slim volume and the internet links for further reading add more for the inquisitive student.

This book is part fo the Animals of the Rain Forest series. Look at this series if your younger students are studying biomes, environmental science or just want to read about these cool birds!

Flubby Will NOT Play with That

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Flubby is a typical cat and Kami discovers that fact when she brings home an assortment of cat toys from the pet store. She introduces each toy to Flubby with cat-like results…no interest on Flubby’s part. She tries a singing toy, rolling toy, swinging toy and a surprise toy. But, Flubby is just not interested. Kami gives up and walks away and then Flubby discovers the best toy of all – the paper bag from the pet store. What a fantastic toy for a cat!

Drawings are cartoon-like and text is simple. Occasionally, there are two to three panels on a page, giving the ‘feel’ of a graphic novel. Pet- loving young readers will enjoy this short, easy book about a girl and her cat and they can look forward to more, because there is another Flubby book cover shown on the back.

Chris Pratt

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This slim, yet informative biography details the life and career of movie star, Chris Pratt. We learn that he was born in Minnesota and grew up in WA State, dropped out of college his freshman year and lived in his van, working at restaurants until his movie career took off. From there, we learn about his movie and television career and his legacy in public service, specifically his volunteerism with terminally ill children.

One of Abdo Zoom’s Star Biography series, it has all the typical nonfiction features – table of contents, index, glossary, further internet information and a nice mixture of color photographs and short paragraphs (unfamiliar words in red). The text is fairly simple, and the content is engaging for the older elementary/middle school reader. So, this is a good purchase for struggling readers as well as other fans. While I typically don’t buy many ‘trendy’ biographies, I would pick this one up for its local connection, since he grew up in the Lake Stevens area and the fact that he appears to be continuing his rise in fame.

Kiwi Cannot Reach!

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Kiwi has a problem – he wants to pull the rope and he cannot reach it! Will the reader help? This interactive beginning reader is written with cartoon-like illustrations and word bubbles. The sentences are short and the words are accessible, while still moving the story along. Readers who enjoy Elephant & Piggie will giggle along with this fun story about an engaging, but helpless, little kiwi.

Magic Tricks with Cards

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Magic Tricks with Cards explains a variety of card tricks that range from “not so tricky” to “terrifically tricky” with step-by-step instructions and diagrams throughout. Budding magicians will enjoy the playing card trivia and magician biography near the end of the book as well as the internet links for further study.

Typical nonfiction features, such as table of contents, glossary and index are included. This well-organized book will keep young magicians busy as they learn and practice some fun magic. Take a look at the other titles in the series, which includes disappearing acts, optical illusions and magic with props. These books won’t be on the shelves for long!

Crab Cake

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Crab Cake, written by the author of Accident! starts out innocently enough. The sea creatures are doing what sea creatures normally do – “Seahorse pretends to be seaweed” and “Puffer fish puffs up” and “Crab bakes cakes’ – what?? Yes, crab is a different sort of sea creature and bakes lovely cakes. This comes in handy when disaster strikes their lovely undersea world. A boat comes by and dumps a huge amount of trash into their home. Everything turns dark and they all freeze! Then, crab does what crab does best – he bakes a cake. The other sea creatures come out of hiding and begin to relax, brainstorming ideas as they eat his yummy creation. They are united in their resolve and each works with the others to clean up the terrible mess. They deposit the pile of garbage on the dock with a sign that reads “Come get your junk!’. And, life turns back to normal. The sea is clean and bright, the animals are doing what they do and crab is baking cakes (with some help from his friends!).

This story is so multifaceted in its message! While it is a lovely little narrative about a crab that doesn’t act like his fellow sea creatures, it is also a powerful reminder that individuals can come together to solve a big problem and highlights that individuals can all contribute in some way to the solution. In this case, “Snapper shoves”, “Clownfish rolls”, “Clam encourages” and all the other sea creatures help in their own ways to clean up their home and send a message to the humans above. This book is also a reminder that we shouldn’t stand by and let the others destroy the earth. All of this begins with a crab that bakes!

The last page has some great links to a variety of ocean environmental websites that are appropriate for kids. Read this book during Earth Day or any day that you are empowering your students to work together to benefit the world!

Ocean Friends

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Ocean Friends is a combination of two types of books – a drawing instruction book and a story. And, it involves mermaids, which are hot characters at the moment (along with unicorns)! The book begins with simple instructions and a materials list, pictured. It continues with the story, interspersed with instructions for drawing different ocean creatures that are introduced along the way. In the story, we meet Alana, a charming young mermaid that introduces herself and her friends to a dolphin names Aqua that is new in the area.

The story is charming and has a good message about making new friends welcome and the drawing instructions are fairly simple to follow. There are not many drawing books for the primary level and this one is quite suitable for that grade range. This will be a fun book to read with students and go back to draw with them. Purchase this book if you want update your drawing books.

30 – Minute Rainy Day Science Projects

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Ten simple science projects with materials that are easily found and clear, numbered (and, often illustrated) steps, make this book a necessary addition to the library. The directions are clear, a time frame is noted and a ‘science takeaway’ is given for each accessible project. There are typical nonfiction features, such as index, glossary, and further information. There are QR codes with more digital content, including more projects. Parents and teachers will appreciate the safety notes at the beginning of the book and the wrap-up (clean up!) notes at the end. There are very few pictures of children (one Caucasian girl and one Asian boy). The rest of the illustrations feature hands performing the steps of the project or just the materials used.

This book is part of a STEM maker series that includes five other books on topics like robotics, sustainable science, chemistry, edible science and outdoor science projects that are all 30 minutes or less. This book will not be on the shelf very long.