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.

Throw an Independence Day Party

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by Elizabeth Neuenfeldt

Express!: Party Time! is a six-book series that introduces holidays and their history. Then, gives directions for some simple decorations, foods and activities. Everything has step-by-step directions with illustrations and a list of extra materials over those noted at the beginning of the books. Each project is introduced with some information connecting it to the history of the holiday. There are Table of Contents, Index, Glossary and “To Learn More” section with extra resources. Particularly helpful are the “Top Tips” scattered throughout each book. Color illustrations are engaging and the text is accessible.

Throw and Independence Day Party has all the red, white and blue that one would expect for this holiday. Projects range from decor and food and drinks to games and party hats. Readers learn about the history of this day and the symbolism of the colors, Stars and Stripes and fireworks. One fact that I learned was the Thomas Jefferson had his own ice cream recipe – yum! Many of the projects use easy-to-find materials. “Top Tips” are located throughout to help make the process easier or different. For example, one tip suggests that you can make a sweet version of the veggie dip flag using cut fruits and yogurt dip of the same colors. This is a nice addition to your holiday books.

A Dump Truck’s Day

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Written by Betsy Rathburn and illustrated by Mike Byrne

Blastoff! Missions: Machines at Work is a series of ten narrative nonfiction books that explore different large machinery led by “Blastoff Jimmy”, a cute cartoon astronaut. Each book has mission goals that enhance the reading adventure. Readers learn facts about the large equipment and unfamiliar words are bolded within the text and defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Bright, engaging illustrations are labeled and each book has an index, table of contents and “To Learn More” section. The machines’ jobs are noted and a diverse mix of workers are happily working with the equipment.

Young readers will be surprised by this book, because it isn’t about your everyday dump truck. This dump truck is used in pit mining and is huge! Besides the huge tires, there are ladders to climb up into the cab, which gives you perspective in size. Most kids have probably never seen a dump truck of this size. Therefore, it should be a high interest topic and a fun read! One illustration that really stands out is of an open pit mine with dump trucks way down inside driving along the roads. The mine is absolutely enormous, because the dump trucks look tiny in comparison. Readers will find this book an engaging read. Highly recommended.

A Fire Truck’s Day

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written by Lily Schell and illustrated by Mike Byrne

Blastoff! Missions: Machines at Work is a series of ten narrative nonfiction books that explore different large machinery led by “Blastoff Jimmy”, a cute cartoon astronaut. Each book has mission goals that enhance the reading adventure. Readers learn facts about the large equipment and unfamiliar words are bolded within the text and defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Bright, engaging illustrations are labeled and each book has an index, table of contents and “To Learn More” section. The machines’ jobs are noted and a diverse mix of workers are happily working with the equipment.

Kids love fire trucks and this book will explain all about them, including how they are used for fighting fires, why they are red or yellow and how they respond to a fire or accident. I love that the firefighters are diverse in gender and ethnicity. Young readers will see themselves in this book and envision their future as firefighters as well! Highly recommended.

A Backhoe’s Day

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written by Betsy Rathburn and illustrated by Mike Byrne

Blastoff! Missions: Machines at Work is a series of ten narrative nonfiction books that explore different large machinery led by “Blastoff Jimmy”, a cute cartoon astronaut. Each book has mission goals that enhance the reading adventure. Readers learn facts about the large equipment and unfamiliar words are bolded within the text and defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Bright, engaging illustrations are labeled and each book has an index, table of contents and “To Learn More” section. The machines’ jobs are noted and a diverse mix of workers are happily working with the equipment.

The backhoe has a big job and many tools to use move dirt, level surfaces and dig a trench. Readers learn about all the functions of the backhoe and why it does some of its work (what are those trenches used for after the backhoe makes them?). The female operator is having a great time as evidenced by her smile as she works. Young readers will want to try it out! Highly recommended.

A Bulldozer’s Day

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written by Harriet Loy and illustrated by Mike Byrne

Blastoff! Missions: Machines at Work is a series of ten narrative nonfiction books that explore different large machinery led by “Blastoff Jimmy”, a cute cartoon astronaut. Each book has mission goals that enhance the reading adventure. Readers learn facts about the large equipment and unfamiliar words are bolded within the text and defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Bright, engaging illustrations are labeled and each book has an index, table of contents and “To Learn More” section. The machines’ jobs are noted and a diverse mix of workers are happily working with the equipment.

A Bulldozer’s Day takes the reader through a typical day on the construction site. The bulldozer and other large machines are introduced and then the bulldozer gets to work. It uses several accessories to do the various jobs on the site and, eventually, completes the task of preparing the site for a building. This won’t stay on the shelves long. What kid doesn’t love a bulldozer?

A Tractor’s Day

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written by Lily Schell and illustrated by Mike Byrne

Blastoff! Missions: Machines at Work is a series of ten narrative nonfiction books that explore different large machinery led by “Blastoff Jimmy”, a cute cartoon astronaut. Each book has mission goals that enhance the reading adventure. Readers learn facts about the large equipment and unfamiliar words are bolded within the text and defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Bright, engaging illustrations are labeled and each book has an index, table of contents and “To Learn More” section. The machines’ jobs are noted and a diverse mix of workers are happily working with the equipment.

A Tractor’s Day details the hard work that this piece of machinery throughout the seasons. Driven by a female farmer, the tractor and its extra implements prepares the soil in the fall, plants the seeds in the spring and looks forward to the harvest at the end of the summer. After a quick clean up by the farmer, the tractor is back in the barn and ready for its next job. This will be a hit with your youngest readers!

An Airplane’s Day

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Written by Harriet Loy and illustrated by Mike Byrne

Blastoff! Missions: Machines at Work is a series of ten narrative nonfiction books that explore different large machinery led by “Blastoff Jimmy”, a cute cartoon astronaut. Each book has mission goals that enhance the reading adventure. Readers learn facts about the large equipment and unfamiliar words are bolded within the text and defined in the glossary at the back of the book. Bright, engaging illustrations are labeled and each book has an index, table of contents and “To Learn More” section. The machines’ jobs are noted and a diverse mix of workers are happily working with the equipment.

In An Airplane’s Day, Blastoff Jimmy leads the reader through the day of an airplane and its crew. Starting with leaving the hangar, fueling up and loading cargo and passengers and ending with a completed trip and preparations for the next one, this book does a fantastic job of giving the reader a general idea of the work done with an airplane. Text is accessible for young readers and the labeled illustrations are really helpful. Give this book to young travelers or kids that love airplanes. They will love this book!

Sam’s Super Seats

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by Keah Brown and illustrated by Sharee Miller

Sam is excited – her mom is taking her school clothes shopping at the mall with her two best friends, Sarah and Sydney. She starts the morning with her dad, singing and brushing her teeth and then saying four things that she likes about herself that day. Her mom joins in the fun and they end up downstairs where we meet Sam’s couch, Misty, names after famed African American ballerina, Misty Copeland. Sam often rests on Misty, because she has cerebral palsy and her legs get tired at times. Her other favorite seat is Laney, the jokester back seat of her mom’s car. She and her friends giggle and chat in the back seat as they head to the mall, where they try on some amazing school outfits, including Sam’s cute adaptive clothing. They take a break on a new bench called Maya and then are on their way back to Sam’s house and a final fashion show. Sam is really excited for school to start now!

Colorfully drawn illustrations enhance a story that embraces and celebrates differently abled children. Characters are diverse. Sam and her parents are Black, Sarah is Asian and Sydney is a red-haired white girl. This is a sweet story that normalizes differences. It’s a winner!

The Cozy Home: Three-and-a-Half Stories

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Ame Dyckman & Mark Teague

Three friends (Bat, Cat & Rat) are introduced in this book containing three (and a half!) short stories centered around their move into a new home. Personalities are evident from the start. Cat unpacks books and is somewhat serious. Rat unpacks a bunch of joke and prank stuff (he’s the funny one) and Bat is smart and able to turn the tables on jokester Rat in one story. Stories are short (up to sixteen pages) with simple text and few sentences on each page. This accessible book is filled with Mark Teague’s cartoon–like illustrations, colorful and bright. Young readers will feel very accomplished after reading three-and-a-half stories about three friends that live together and care about each other. Highly recommended.

The Spooky Story

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by Amy Marie Stadelmann

Paige is a fact collector and carries around a handy notebook in which to write her facts and solve mysteries. Along the way, she engages the reader by sharing her notebook pages and insights. One might notice that she seems to be using parts of the scientific process in her methods. In “The Spooky Story”, she and her friends, Penn and Karla, investigate the mysterious ghostly occurrences at Karla’s home. Karla shares a house with her grandmother, who teaches music to a collection of interesting characters that were introduced in the first book of the series. In this case, there are ghostly footsteps on the stairs, an upstairs door that slams shut and eery shadows that show up. Paige and friends are able to use their keen senses to determine that the occurrences can be explained with observable facts, although Penn is still a little caught up in the notion of ghosts. Paige remarks, “Even when you have fully investigated, made clear observations, and proven the facts, some people still come to their own conclusions”. Hmm…that rings true even with adults, doesn’t it?

There are color illustrations throughout and glimpses of Paige’s notebook pages help explain her reasoning as the story moves along. The cover of the book calls this story “a graphic novel chapter book”, which should hook your graphic novel readers AND your easier chapter book readers. Highly recommended.

Aardvark or Anteater?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Readers Level 1: Spotting Differences is a twenty book set that delves into the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details their physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include table of contents, index, glossary and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar words are bold type and the animal pair’s differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Aardvark or Anteater? is a highly engaging look at two animals that initially seem very similar. Yet, we learn that despite those similarities, they are very different animals. They are both mammals with long tongues that eat ants. But, their fur, snouts, ears and habitats are very different. New readers will enjoy discovering new information in a simply written book packed with facts and wonderful photos. This won’t be on your shelves for long!

Crow or Raven?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Reader Level 1: Spotting Differences is a twenty books set that delves in the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details their physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include table of contents, index, glossary and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar word are bold type and the animal pair’s differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Crow or Raven? There’s a lot to learn about these two types of birds! This book gives some really solid differences between two birds that seem very alike. For instance, crows have fan shaped tails and ravens have wedge shaped tails. Additionally, their beaks, size and throat feathers differ. Accompanying these memorable facts are photos that show those characteristics very clearly. Young readers will enjoy learning about these differences and will be quick to share! Word choice is appropriate to the audience and the nonfiction text features are helpful. Recommended.

Dolphin or Porpoise?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Readers Level 1: Spotting Differences is a twenty book set that delves into the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details their physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include: table of contents, index, glossary and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar words are bold type and the animal pair’s differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Dolphin or Porpoise? starts out by sharing that both are mammals and swim in oceans or rivers. Then, the book describes several different features, including fin shape and size, tooth size and their general body types. Behavior differences are also touched upon. Young readers will be able to share some solid facts about each animal and make some great comparisons. This book would be great for beginning animal reports. It has just enough information to be interesting and not so much that it’s overwhelming. Perfect for the target audience!

Lizard or Salamander?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Readers Level 1: Spotting Differences series is a twenty book set that delves into the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include: table of contents, glossary, index and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar words are in bold type and their differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Lizard or Salamander? looks at the differences between those organisms. Different physical features are noted like dry skin vs. wet skin and claws vs. no claws. Then, behaviors are compared. The reader also learns that lizards come out at daytime and salamanders are active at night. and each live in different places. Photos are clear and crisp and text is not dense. Give this to your new readers as the books have high interest content. These won’t stay on the shelves!

The Polter-Ghost Problem

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by Betsy Uhrig

What do you do when you have a long, boring summer ahead of you and a journal-writing assignment to go along with it? Three friends (Pen, Aldo and Jasper) discover an abandoned orphanage with some ghostly children. These young ghosts are trapped in their old home by a poltergeist that throws some major tantrums, furniture and lots of other stuff. The boys want to help these trapped entities while still dodging Aldo’s older brother and the possibility of being grounded for the rest of the summer. They investigate the old orphanage through documents at the library and the cranky librarian turns out to be more help than they can believe. With her next to them and Aldo’s brother tailing them, they plan to figure out what the poltergeist wants and free their ghostly friends.

Told in a conversational tone, with lots of middle school humor, this story moves along at a nice pace. It is humorous and slightly scary at times, ending with a nice twist that wraps it up with some laughs and a a big brother that really is kinda nice to have around. Give this to your readers that enjoy slapstick adventure.

Frog Can Hop

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written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Fred Blunt

Frog can do many things – hop, shop, bop and chop. Pig can….flop. But, Frog suddenly flops and Pig takes over and hops, shops, mops, bops and pops. He pops a little too much popcorn and Frog jumps in to hop mop, and flop with him. They can do it all together!

Simple, repetitive sentences and engaging illustrations make this short reader a perfect book for a young student. There is an added word box in the front and questions in the back to increase depth of understanding. Put this in your library for kids that love “Elephant and Piggie”. They’ll thank you!

Night Market Rescue

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written by Charlotte Cheng and illustrated by Amber Red

GoGo, a stray dog, is resting near the bustling night market when his nose leads him to some delicious snacks. As he wanders through the crowds, he notices a little girl that looks sad and alone. He leads her through the market, sharing its vibrant scents and sights. Eventually, she breaks away from him to run into her parents’ arms, who tearfully hug her. GoGo thinks his friend is now gone. But, no! They call him over and he now has a family and a home!

This vibrantly illustrated book is a wonderful glimpse at the lively hustle and bustle of a night market. Text is spare and the illustrations serve to fill out the story beautifully. And, who doesn’t love a story where the girl and the dog become best friends forever?

Out of Range

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by Heidi Lang

Three sisters are sent to a rigorous camp together as a punishment for their constant fighting and terrible choices. Ollie ( age 9), Emma (age 12) and Abby (age 14) had moved to a new home and making friendships was difficult. Prior to this move, they had had typical sibling relationships, sometimes doing things together or sometimes two breaking off to have their own adventure. Abby starts to pull away as she tries to forge new friendships and in the process embarrasses Emma at school pretty horribly. Emma and Ollie then team up to get revenge and target Abby. As a result, their parents send them to a camp known to help kids figure things out.There are lots of unpleasant hikes and the girls don’t seem to regain their previous close bond. There is an incident and the head of the camp decides to take the girls on a punishment hike. During this hike, the girls stray from the trail and leave the camp director. What ensues is a harrowing few days as the girls work together, surviving every possible outdoor disaster (ear drownings, falling down a cliff, bear encounter and so much more) and realize they really do love each other.

The story is told in alternating views and jumps back and forth from the present (at camp) and the past (all the awful stuff leading up to it). These girls are absolutely horrible to each other and I was feeling secondary embarrassment on their behalf with each social/emotional attack they wielded. The camp part was a little over the top, with every conceivable disaster befalling the girls. I could see a couple things going wrong. But, this was EVERYTHING. You might want to take my view with a grain of salt, though, because my family has grown up in the outdoors and guides in Alaska during the summers. So, that part might be more believable to a reader that doesn’t have such a background. I did like how the girls spent quite some time reflecting (individually and together) on their actions and came to the conclusion themselves that they needed to change. Buy this book if you are looking for a survival story that has all the bells and whistles.

First Day, Worst Day

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written by Andy Nonamus and illustrated by Amy Jindra

An anonymous narrator (we know this because we can’t see a face, which is covered by a sticker in all the illustrations and there appears to be no name) recounts the adventurous horror of the first day in a new school. Readers will cringe and laugh at all the crazy stuff that happens in this weird place, from being “attacked” by a pack of dogs that want to lick the maple syrup off their shirt to locating a classroom through a locker! Along the way, friendships are made and what started out as the First Day, Worst Day ended as the First Day, Best Day.

Written in very accessible language with fun black and white illustrations, this book will appeal to those reluctant readers that enjoy books that are humorous in a goofy way. Characters are diverse and their behaviors and interactions are age appropriate. This is the beginning of a series that will be popular. Recommended.

Hydroponic Hijinks

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written by Rie Neal and Illustrated by Talitha Shipman

Astrid is excited to work with her best friend, Hallie, when the Petite Picassos and the Shooting Stars get together to combine art and science. She’s not as thrilled to have Pearl on the team. Pearl is competing against Astrid for a scholarship to space camp and she always says that Astrid doesn’t share or work with others. She called her a ‘plant hog’, for goodness sake! The trio work together (kind of…no, not really) and Astrid is worried that Pearl is trying to ruin the project. So, she and Hallie spy on her and realize that Pearl is just sneaking into the lab to feed a hurt bunny. She isn’t there to ruin the project. They pull together as a team to care for the bunny and tell Mrs. Ruiz, the teacher, who adopts the bunny as a class pet. Even though they didn’t win, they learned the value of teamwork and trust.

The kids appear ethnically diverse and Astrid uses hearing aids. While not a huge part of the story, it is incorporated seamlessly into the book. This is wonderful, because there are very few books with differently-abled characters, who are just part of the group, getting into mischief like their peers. The focus on girls in science is very positive and much needed. There are black and white illustrations throughout and the language is very accessible. This is a very nice addition for those that need some easier chapter books. Presently, there are four books in the series.

Tomie DePaola’s Book of Christmas Carols

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by Tomie DePaola

This is a refresh of his 1987 book and it is filled with 32 songs with music and lyrics. Accompanying illustrations are the wonderful artworks that we expect from this great author/illustrator. This book will be a treasure to anyone that chooses to add it to their Christmas collection. Highly recommended, of course!

Crankosaurus

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by Katherine Battersby

Cranky Chicken and Speedy the Worm engage in all kinds of silliness in this simple graphic novel. Each chapter is a separate short story, ranging from “The Happiest Nap Ever” to “Best Feathered Friend”. Stories are sweet and somewhat reminiscent of “Elephant and Piggie”. And, there are plenty of giggles for adults in the room (Note the Star Wars and Where’s Waldo references). Give this to your young readers who enjoy the above-mentioned “Elephant and Piggie” or “Narwhal and Jelly”. They won’t be disappointed!

Snack Cabinet Sabotage

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by Jarrett Lerner

The Hunger Heroes (a bean, chip cheese and tomato) are on the case when a babysitter is left without snacks. Her “hanger” is rising and only they can save the day. Unfortunately, Ava (the jealous super-fan avocado) attempts to foil their rescue using a variety of methods – all of which fail. The super hero foods save the day and Gabby, the babysitter, is ready to do her job with a smile after a few well-chosen snacks. The Hunger Heroes plus Ava (they forgave her) fly off into the night in their taco hovercraft to await the next snack emergency.

This graphic novel chapter book is a fun read for kids who are ready to try something a bit more than a traditional early chapter or picture book. Its spare text and colorful illustrations are are engaging and accessible. Kids will eat this up!

I Can Be All Three

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written by Salima Alikhan; illustrated by Noor Sofi

Multicultural Day is coming and the teacher has assigned a project. Students will make something that tells the story of who they are. Kids begin cutting, pasting, drawing and planning. But, there is one student that is struggling. Does she highlight her mom’s German culture or her dad’s Indian heritage? What about her American roots? All are integral to who she is as a person. After much thought, the child displays items from all three cultures. She doesn’t have to be one or two cultures. She is all three, “telling the story of who she is”. And, guess what? Other students come forward to share their multicultural stories, too!

This important book will lead to some wonderful conversations about who we are – a marvelous combination of those that come before us! Proudly embracing our cultural heritage is told in simple language with beautifully rendered illustrations. In a day and age when we are even more a mix of so many vibrant cultures, this book is a winner. Share it with everyone!

Martina Has Too Many Tias

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written by Emma Otheguy; illustrated by Sara Palacios

Martina is not happy that her three tias are coming to her home. They are loud and vibrant and they give her a headache. She slips into the kitchen to smell the pot of bubbling guava fruit and is transported to a wonderful island paradise, where she meets a variety of animals. Each animal wants to play. But, their voices are too loud for Martina. She meets a mouse, who sits quietly as he plays and it’s perfect! Eventually, he tires and leaves. This is when Martina becomes lonely and it seems almost too quiet. She is then transported back to her loving, lively family and tells her story. She realizes her family is special and her place is there with them.

This story is a nod to the Caribbean folktale “La Cucaracha Martina” and reminds us all that individuals come in all shapes, sizes (and volume) yet can fit together like puzzle pieces to make a nurturing close-knit family. The author’s note discusses this and the connection to “La Cucaracha Martina”. Digital collages illustrate the story beautifully in bright, vivid colors, which are especially appropriate in the illustrations of the tias. This is a fun, warm story that will definitely resonate with the quieter kids in the family.