• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; Pap/Com edition (April 1, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1402238339
• Source: Publisher

Summary: a collection of over dozens of humorous and outrageous poems about animals!

The portion of this review listed in italics was written by my oldest son, John, as part of his “Tales of a Formerly Reluctant Reader” feature.  All the ideas and comments are his own. My review follows his.

John’s Review: When my mom told me that we were going to read a book of poems before I went to bed, I wasn’t very excited.  Poems are about love and stuff like that, things I totally don’t want to read about!  But then my mom told me they were different kinds of poems.  I didn’t believe her until I saw the cover of the book.  A spider…in underwear?!  I had to read this!

The Tighty Whitey Spider: And More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up is the funniest book of poems I have EVER read.  Kenn Nesbitt, the author, is so crazy!  The poems aren’t dull and boring, they are full of action and fun.  A few of my favorites include I Bought a New Tank for My Goldfish and My Hamster Has a Skateboard.   If all poetry was this exciting, I’d definitely read more!

My review: What can I say? Anything that gets my son excited about reading poetry has to be good!  John was very skeptical when I told him about the book but instantly opened up after seeing the cover and reading the first two poems.  They are full of wit and fun, I was honestly laughing a bit myself.  There are several poems that should be read to the tune of popular children’s songs  nursery rhymes.  Those were a real hit! Let’s face it, little boys like it when they think they’re making fun of another song or rhyme!

The only thing I should mention is that some of the poems are a little on the crude side and do discuss bodily functions.  Nothing totally off the wall or completely repulsive. Just something I thought worth mentioning. Still this book is still worth checking out!  Exclusive audio is available online, including Kenn singing and reading many of these hilarious poems!

I’m excited to announce a special feature to celebrate National Poetry Month: Followers of Jenn’s Bookshelves can download/view online Kenn’s previous book, My Hippo Has the Hiccups for free at www.zinio.com/KennNesbitt until April 30th!

Following  is a list of other blogs participating in the National Poetry Month 2010 Blog Tour for the next few weeks.  The tour runs all month and covers a wide range of poetry subjects, be sure to check them out! For a complete listing of blogs participating in the tour, please check out Savvy Verse & Wit.

April 1:  Savvy Verse & Wit Welcome Post, Maw Books showcases her old poetry, Semicolon’s Favorite Classic Poems Survey

April 2:  Diary of an Eccentric on Emily Dickinson, 32 Poems Interview with Geoffrey Brock

April 3:  Regular Rumination on poet Claudia Emerson

April 4:  Indextrous Reader interviews poetry publisher Brick Books

April 5:   West of Mars introduces the Roadie Poet

April 6:  Janel’s Jumble showcases Estrella Azul, The Betty and Boo Chronicles showcases Poems from the Women’s Movement

April 7:  Reading Frenzy features Edgar Allan Poe

April 8:  Books and Movies features Billy Collins

April 9:  Rhapsody in Books features W.B. Yeats

April 10:  Booking Mama will review Poetry Speaks Who I Am, Write Meg! features Kim Addonzinio

April 11:  Tea Leaves will review “Song of two worlds” by Alan Lightman

April 12:  Monniblog will highlight British Columbia, Canada, poets/poetry

April 13:  Life Is a Patchwork Quilt features poetry for the deaf

April 14:  SMS Book Reviews will surprise us with a poetry book review, Author Ru Freeman will talk about poetry’s cross-cultural presence, such as Palestinian poet Dharwish

April 15:  KCBooks will discuss Robert Frost’s The Outsider and how it impacted her.

April 16:  the life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object will review Poetry Speaks Who I Am and host a giveaway for 2 books

April 17:  She Is Too Fond of Books will review Tighty Whitey Spider, A Circle of Books will review a small illustrated Poetry anthology, Wordsworth The Eternal Romantic.

Tales of a (Formerly) Reluctant Reader: The Tighty Whitey Spider by Kenn Nesbitt is a post from: Jenn's Bookshelves. Reproduction of this content is forbidden unless approved through prior written consent.

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• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (March 1, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1402237839
• Source: Publisher

Back of the book summary:

Nivienne never thought she’d be in direct contact with barbaric Humans-let alone help them  She’s only heard stories of the evil that occurs outside the forest.  But her dear friend Merli has brought word that Arthur’s kingdom-where Humans dwell- is threatened by the Saxons.  If Nivienne doesn’t help, it could be the end for her own peaceful home.  Nivienne must now learn to trust the Humans and her heart.  Even more difficult than going to war alongside your enemies is discovering you are falling in love with them.  Anne Eliot Crompton will immerse you in a world of fantasy, passion, and adventure.

My review:

Let me start off by saying I really wanted to enjoy this book.  I love to read tales about Arthurian legends and the like, and after reading the summary, I was instantly drawn to the book.  Unfortunately, that attraction waned within a few pages.  Crompton’s writing is beautiful, I grant her that.  But it’s so exceedingly flowery and complicated it was very difficult to understand and get interested in.  I found myself rereading passages in attempt to gain understanding of what the author was trying to say. I probably comprehended one sentence out of every paragraph and unfortunately I don’t feel that it’s going to keep the attention of the intended audience. The complicated prose also prevented me from really meshing with any of the characters.

Following is an excerpt of the writing so you can form your own opinion:

Merlin’s Harp Chapter 1 Excerpt

In the end, I don’t know if I could honestly recommend this book to anyone, other than someone who isn’t restricted by excessively complicated writing.  It’s unfortunate as I was hoping this book would make the world of King Arthur exciting again to youth.  The intent was there, but perhaps not the follow-through.

Following is a list of other blog stops on this tour:

Mini-Review: Merlin’s Harp by Anne Eliot Crompton is a post from: Jenn's Bookshelves. Reproduction of this content is forbidden unless approved through prior written consent.

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• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire, March 2010
• ISBN-10: 781402239441
• Source: Publisher

Four teenagers from Ellerton High have died in the past year: Jonas, Summer, Arizona and Phoenix. All have died under mysterious circumstances. Darina, Phoenix’s girlfriend, is trying to deal with the loss of her boyfriend. She begins to hear the sound of wings beating in her head and then one day, Phoenix appears before her. He tells her about the Beautiful Dead: souls that are unable to pass on to the afterlife. Their bodies are in limbo until they can right the wrong that caused their deaths. They each have one year to solve the mysteries of their death before passing on. Each of the Beautiful Dead have superhuman powers, including the power to erase the memories of those that are living. They are also all marked by a tattoo of angel wings. Darina has been given the special privilege of helping each of them find the answers to the questions surrounding their deaths. But as Darina begins to investigate their deaths, she unveils information that might be best left undiscovered.

This is the first in a series of four books by Eden Maguire; each will focus on one of the Beautiful Dead. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It started off a little slow but the intensity picked up as I continued reading. While the focus of this book is Jonas, we learn a great deal about the relationship between Darina and Phoenix. The character of Hunter, the watcher of the Beautiful Dead, has a bit of mystery surrounding him. I look forward to learning more about his character and of the rest of the Beautiful Dead, in the subsequent books.  Maguire’s writing style is very readable and flows well.   I’d be remiss not to mention the gorgeous cover, it alone will make you want to pick up the book and read it! Beautiful Dead: Jonas Bk.1 (v. 1) is a short and quick read. I recommend it to fans of YA and the paranormal.

Review: Beautiful Dead, Book 1-Jonas, by Eden Maguire is a post from: Jenn's Bookshelves. Reproduction of this content is forbidden unless approved through prior written consent.

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As with the other Horrid Henry books, Horrid Henry and the Mummy’s Curse is made up of four hilarious stories about Horrid Henry’s antics.

My ten-year old, John, and I decided to do a joint review of the title story The Mummy’s Curse.

In Horrid Henry and the Mummy’s Curse, Henry is doing what he does best-being horrid and getting into trouble.  Since he is unable to share his toys with his younger brother, Perfect Peter, Henry has been banned from playing with Peter’s toys. Typically, that’s not a problem for Henry.  Who wants to play with Peter’s childish, baby toys?  Well, that changed when Peter won a “Curse of the Mummy” kit from the museum.  It came with a plastic body to mummify, mummy wrapping gauze,  a curse book, amulets, and removable mummy organs!  What little boy wouldn’t love this !?

Perfect Peter soon finds Horrid Henry in his room and threatens to tell on him. But Henry convinces Peter that he’s not stealing his toy, but trying to protect him from the Mummy’s Curse, the curse that turns people into a mummy.  At first Peter doesn’t believe Henry, but he is convinced after a hilarious exchange with his Mom:

“Mom, ” said Peter, “Henry says you are a mummy.”

Mom looked puzzled.  “Of course I’m a mummy,” she said.

“What?” said Peter

“I’m your mummy,” said Mom,  with a smile.

Peter too a step back.

“I don’t want you to be a mummy,” said Peter

“But I am one,” said Mom.  “Now come and give me a hug.”

“No!” said Peter

“Let me wrap my arms around you,” said Mom

Peter is certain his Mom has been mummified. He asks Henry to help him remove the curse.  Henry insists they must wrap Fluffy, the cat, in the sacred bandages (toilet paper) so he can be a messanger between this world and the next.   Peter, too, must be wrapped and remain silent for thirty minutes. Henry begins chanting the “sacred spell”

“By the powers of Horus, Morus, Borus and Stegosaurus!”

But before the spell can be completed, Henry is discovered by his Mummy, I mean, Mom.  He is grounded from the TV for a month, but since Peter no longer wanted anything to do with his mummy kit, Peter had free reign!

My Review:

Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry series, does another outstanding job with this one! Each of the four stories are long enough to tell a good story, but short enough to keep the attention of my two boys.  They love to hear about what sort of trouble is getting into next.  My oldest, John, is still convinced he’s Perfect Peter and his younger brother, Justin, is Horrid Henry.  Justin doesn’t seem to mind!

As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Horrid Henry books are perfect for any child, boy or girl, in the 7-10 age range. But they are particularly great for reluctant readers. The stories and characters engage them and the text isn’t challenging.

So, like in the past, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this, or any of the Horrid Henry series!

John’s Review:

I think Henry is a little crazy for telling Peter that their Mom was a Mummy!  He acts like Justin (John’s younger brother), telling you things that are not true.   Horrid Henry was so good at convincing Peter that he was telling the truth. When his Mom said that she was a mummy, she really meant a “Mommy” so that was a little confusing.  Henry was so rude to wrap up Peter and Fluffy!

I liked this story because I think mummies are interesting.  But I don’t think Henry’s punishment was good. It was a good punishment for Henry to lose his TV privileges, but it wasn’t fair that he still got to play with the mummy kit!  If I had done something like this to Justin (I wouldn’t Mom, I promise) I would definitely get in a lot more trouble! I’d like lose my privileges for a MONTH!

Stay tuned for more reviews from John!  He’s starting to receive his own review requests, so he’s pretty excited!

In Which My Son and I Review Horrid Henry & the Mummy’s Curse is a post from: Jenn's Bookshelves. Reproduction of this content is forbidden unless approved through prior written consent.

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Halloween is a popular holiday in our household, so when I was approached by Sourcebooks about reviewing a children’s Halloween book I jumped at the opportunity!

Everyone is familiar with the Twelve Days of Christmas, right?  What about the Thirteen Days of Halloween?  In this hilarious story, a ghoul tries to win the heart of his beloved.  He does so by presenting her with a slew of outrageous and ghoulish gifts, including bats, cooked worms, and hissing cats.

My boys demanded to read this book as soon as we received it (back in the summer!).  They fell in love with the silly and lyrical language.   They loved counting down the days and  would both call out each gift as we went along.  They enjoyed screaming the first gift “A VULTURE IN A DEAD TREE!!!” The elaborate illustrations, done by Tim Raglin, were a perfect complement to the engaging text.  As we read along with the text, my boys made a game of finding each of the “gifts” in the illustrations.  We all had a great time guessing what the final gift was; the final consensus was “an ugly zombie!”  What can I say, they’re my boys!  We all have an obsession with zombies!

This book will definitely be making a reappearance as we get closer to Halloween and a treasured book for years to come!  This is a must read for any ghoul this Halloween season!  Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing me a copy of this book for review.

Book Review & Blog Tour: Thirteen Days of Halloween by Carol Greene is a post from: Jenn's Bookshelves. Reproduction of this content is forbidden unless approved through prior written consent.

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