I am astonished to discover that I never wrote about Bo at Ballard Creek, one of my favorite books of 2013. That book is about the realistic (and yet fantastic) adventures of Bo, a four-year-old girl, who was adopted as a tiny baby and raised in a mining camp by two best-friend miners, Arvid and Jack, in the 1920s. After reading all about her wonderful town full of people that love her, I was sad to reach the end–particularly as the book ended with her little family (recently increased by the addition of another orphan in need) having to leave Ballard Creek after the mine is played out.
I never expected to see a sequel, but I was thrilled when I found out that Kirkpatrick Hill had continued to chronicle Bo’s adventures in her new mining town: Iditarod Creek. Bo’s new town is very different from Ballard Creek — it’s bigger, uglier, and MUCH louder, and there are almost no other children aside from Bo and her younger brother Graf. She misses the trees and the tundra of Ballard Creek, but most of all she misses all of her friends — the Eskimos that lived in the village along with the miners. (Hill makes it clear in an author’s note that ‘Eskimo’ is the self-preferred name of the particular group of native Alaskans that she’s writing about).
Bo never stays down for long, though, and makes friends with almost all the residents of her new town, young and old, male and female, Athabascan, Finnish, Inuit, Japanese, and white. Throughout the year she has her usual myriad adventures–making hundreds of donuts, catching guppies, going to the miner’s Fourth of July celebration, and even (gasp) learning to read! Bo’s sweetness of spirit is utterly charming, and this book would make a wonderful read-aloud for children too young to read a 200-plus-paged novel on their own, or any child who loved the Little House books. (A caveat for parents, though: the miners do occasionally say ‘Damn’, and in one chapter there is a conversation about hurtful names for people of other races).
This book also ends with Bo and her family on their way to a new living situation–I can only hope that Kirkpatrick Hill continues this delightful series.
Posted by: Sarah
Elliot is a very polite and proper boy, so when his father asks him if we wants to attend Family Fun Day at the aquarium, Elliot responds, “Of course, thank you for inviting me” although he is actually thinking “Kids, masses of noisy kids”. In order to avoid the noisy kids, Elliot goes to the less popular penguin exhibit where he immediately feels a kinship to the proper birds. He rushes back to ask his father for a penguin and in a hilarious misunderstanding, his father gives him $20 to purchase a plush penguin, without ever looking up from his National Geographic.
An ambulance arrives one rainy day at City Hospital. The Pengamedics call out “Urgency Emergency! We have an injured spider.” As it turns out, Miss Muffet was the one who had called the ambulance because she found the spider at the bottom of the waterspout. Everyone knows that Miss Muffet is afraid of spiders, but that doesn’t stop her from worrying. While Doctor Glenda examines the injured spider she learns that her name is Itsy Bitsy, and that she was climbing the waterspout when the rain washed her out. After the cut on Isty Bitsy’s head is stitched up, she is a bit wobbly and needs someone to help her home and take care of her. Once again Miss Muffet comes to her rescue!
In Bear Sees Colors, the latest addition to their series of Bear picture books, author Karma Wilson and illustrator Jane Chapman do not disappoint. Bear Sees Colors is a delightfully bright and interactive romp through Bear’s colorful world. As Bear and mouse take a stroll through the forest on their way to a picnic they gather their friends and discover a rainbow of colors along the way. Each color is introduced by a rhyming cliffhanger with a visual clue as to what color is coming. A page with two blue dragonflies reads:
A boy, a girl, a Viking babysitter, and a vicious (but still kinda cute) merbaby – To Catch a Mermaid has it all! When Halvor (aforementioned Viking babysitter) sends young Boom Broom down to the docks to pick up fresh fish for dinner, Boom finds himself with only enough money to choose from the reject seafood bucket. What he brings home turns out to be a growling, sharp-toothed merbaby. Naturally, Boom’s sister falls in love with the merbaby and they decide to keep her instead of returning her to the sea. Danger, hilarity, and fantastical adventures ensue!
Bullfrog Books Machines at Work is an easy non-fiction series for the youngest transportation lovers. Titles include Airplanes, Fire Trucks, Garbage Trucks, Helicopters, Ships, Tractors, and Trains. Currently, Garbage Trucks is the favorite in our house, but there is something to appeal to everyone in this series. The books include real photos and short text. In Garbage Trucks, children are introduced to front loaders, rear loaders and side loaders and how they work. In the back of each book, there is a page that highlights different part of the vehicle and a picture glossary. It’s a great way to introduce some new vocabulary.
Watch out! The Hug Machine is on the loose and ready to hug! At first glance the Hug Machine looks like a typical boy in a striped shirt, shorts, and red boots. But readers will quickly learn this is no ordinary boy. There is no person or thing the Hug Machine will not hug. It doesn’t matter if one is small, large, long, or spiky. There are hugs for everyone!
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