Lynne Rae PerkinsReseñas

When a squirrel called Jed is picked up by a hawk but manages to escape, his friends Ts-Ts and Chai go after him, navigating outside their realm by using landmarks and "buzzpaths" (power lines). Miraculously, they find Jed, but they also find three humans with noisy equipment they're using to clear tree branches away from the buzzpaths, destroying squirrels' homes in the process. Jed, Ts-Ts, Chai, and their new friend Tchke race home to try to convince everyone to move before the humans come, but their tale is so unbelievable they realize they have to make it into a game in order to mobilize their community.

A marvelous animal adventure tale and survival story, filled with friendship, danger, courage, and squirrel humor.

See also: The Hedgehog of Oz; Violet and Jobie in the Wild

Audiobook narrated by the incomparable Jessica Almasy (Clementine, Falling In, etc.).

Quotes

That's what disasters do sometimes, They throw us together with those who are our adversaries. Who play for a different team. For a short time, a common enemy dissolves our differences and makes us realize what we share. (106)

He could be anywhere. Absolutely anywhere. How do you know when it makes no sense to keep looking? (136)½

One of the newbery winners and, I think, deservedly so. Warning for those who like stories with a clear cut beginning middle and end. This book is more a slice of life, episodes in a group of teenagers lives in the 60’s, most interconnecting through the device of a lost necklace. Nostalgic for me, though earlier than my childhood. Not sure what today’s kids would make of it

Friendship

I like the unique art, the multimedia scenes. I like the 3 dimensions. The artist di a great job playing with expectations. Would never want to read again.

Charlotte's Web is one of my all-time favorite books, so it is high praise for me to say V&J belongs in the same category. Here are some things they have in common:

1. Great read-aloud potential. The voice of the narrator is friendly, wry, and sometimes poetic. The story is not too long and never drags. There are great spot illustrations that help young listeners engage with the characters and setting.

2. The animals are kinda anthropomorphized, but retain essential animal qualities. Violet and Jobie watch TV and play games, but they don't eat with a knife and fork or wear clothes, you know? Charlotte was a spider who could read and write, but still caught flies and drank their blood. Zolian in particular was a Charlotte-like character -- a good friend and teacher who understands the ways of the world.

3. It's a wholesome story, but not saccharine. It's the kind of book that makes you want to snuggle up under a blanket and enjoy together. But it might make you choke up a little in the end.

Completely unbelievable, trying too hard to be charming, ridiculous at every turn, and yet I still kind of liked it.

Though I am not sure about how the book ended, it was an overall good book on friendship. It shows that two people do not have to be exactly alike to enjoy each other's company. It shows a low point in their friendship and how one friend deals with the situation.

There is some great vocabulary opportunities in this book. However, it's too long and has too much text. I got bored. And that's saying something.

Narrated by Cassandra Morris. Violet and Jobie are sibling mice who've been living a good life in a house with humans and access to warmth, food and TV. When the humans trap and humanely release them in a natural area, Violet and Jobie find there is a lot to learn about living in the wild. A solid read-aloud for young families that explores complex themes: resilience, family, love, and friendship. Morris' youthful voice nicely suits the small mice and their explorations.

Violet and Jobie, mouse siblings, find themselves in a frightening predicament. While playing the Cheese Game (make the game go snap with the stick, then eat the cheese and peanut butter inside it), they are captured in a box and taken to something called a "State Park," where they are released. These two house mice have no idea how to survive in the wild, but they soon make friends who can tell them about the dangers and pleasures of outdoor life.

This is a charming little book for fans of anthropomorphic tales. It's generally realistic in its treatment of mouse life, where mice are considered a tasty snack for most of the larger creatures they encounter, though there are some fanciful parts. There's a good balance of excitement and thoughtful bits. The ending is a little more open than many tales for this age group, and would provoke discussion if read in a group setting. I can see this being a nice classroom read for second or third grade.

Cute story about a lost squirrel

Fourteen-year-old friends in pre-cell-phone summer in the small town of Seldem, PA, do some growing and changing. Hector, inspired by a coffee house performance he attends with his older sister, takes up guitar. Debbie helps a neighbor, and develops a crush (mutual) on her visiting great-nephew. Lenny fixes things, teaches Debbie to drive, and listens to a radio show. Thin on plot, perhaps, but strong on character and setting. The characters seem slightly older than 14; it feels like YA rather than middle grade, but maybe that's because there's so little upper middle grade/young YA out there.

Quotes

Have you ever been somewhere, and it hit you that if you lived there instead of where you do, your whole life might be really different? (89)

I felt ten years old and a thousand years old, but I didn't know how to be my own age. (Debbie, 126)

"I really like how when you go somewhere for the first time, everything seems unusual." (Peter to Debbie, 258)

They were both trying to be quiet; every bump and scrape seemed to tear holes in the silence. (297)

He had always been able to get away with things. The flip side was that no one took him seriously. (Hector, 304)

Violet and Jobie are siblings who have always lived in a house with humans, but one day they are caught in a trap and transported to the woods. There, they must figure out how to live in the wild, following the wise advice of Zolian, an old mouse they meet early on: Always Be Careful (also, Don't Exit the Foliage). Together, they find a new home, encounter dangers and pleasures, make friends, and - in Jobie's case - begin a new family. Violet's path takes her in search of Zolian, who has disappeared, and then even farther afield.

*Spoilers*

Mice are small, and often at the whim of other, larger creatures, humans included. Jobie never knows Violet's fate, Violet is never certain of Zolian's fate, and likely never returns to the home she made in the woods with Jobie. Readers who like everything tied up in a neat bow at the end will likely be displeased, but those who accept open-ended or unresolved endings can imagine further adventures for Violet and the other mice.

See also: various Kate DiCamillo titles, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Quotes (read ebook, so noted chapters instead of page numbers)

She shook her head. She took a deep breath. She looked inside, for her brave self. She knew it was in there somewhere.
"If we pretend we're brave," she said, "we can be brave." (ch. 6, the fox)

"There's always an owl...but there are ways to live so that you're not always afraid of the owl. Just aware of the owl." (Zolian to Violet, ch. 9)

Before long, they had another chance to play What Is It? and Does It Eat Mice? (ch. 11, Violet gets an idea)

Our brains are always busy, even when we're not trying. They take all of the events and information of our days and try to make them fit together. Try to make sense of them. And now and then, two or three pieces of information fit together in an unexpected way. This is called "getting an idea." (ch. 11)

"Are you all right, dear?" he asked. "That could have been a close call."
"I'm not all right yet," she said. "But I will be." (ch. 18, Zolian tells a story)

"She liked hearing my stories, but only when they were in the past. She didn't want to know about them while they were actually happening." (ch. 18)

"Where do chipmunks go in a tornado?" "All over the place." (ch. 19, Jobie and the other mice)

"The world is such a big place. I think it's interesting to learn about it. (Violet to Zolian, ch. 20)

"Which is harder....To lose someone when they die, or to lose someone while they're still alive? ....And what should I do now?" (ch. 28, Violet on her own)

"How many times do I have to be brave?" she asked. She knew the answer: At least one more time. Always one more time.
"I don't want to," she said.
It's scary when you don't know what to do. But if you can think of one or two things that you do know how to do, and then do them, that can help. (ch. 30, one foot in front of the other)

Another great story about little animals in the wild trying to survive by Lynne Rae Perkins. 2 little mice who lived in a people house get themselves trapped in a box, and luckily, let go in the wild. They have so much to learn about to survive and thankfully meet Zolian, a kind old mouse willing to impart some of his knowledge to the young brother and sister. A survival story that's not too frightening, this would be a good pick for a 3rd grade book discussion.

Friendship, not assuming, starting traditions.

thoughtful ...

What if you could create a museum to store all of your imaginings? The young narrator of this book by author/illustrator and Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins does just that. Mixed-media art using 3D modeling shows the ideas for exhibits generated by the young narrator. There are, for example, skirts made from flowering shrubs, bushes in wildly creative shapes, hiding places, shadows and shadow boxes, and cloud formations.

Readers aged 4 and over will be inspired to think outside of the box and come up with their own thoughts for a Museum of Everything.

What an amazingly wonderful book! I loved everything about it and my 13 year-old loved it even more. She laughed, she was horrified, she was concerned, she thought it was awesome. The narrative is fast-paced and written in a unique and engaging way. The plot was amazing. I loved that though Ry finds himself alone, there are caring adults at every point. The sub-stories add so much depth and interest. I wish I had more children so I would be able to read it again with them!

Camp was canceled for Ry and while calling his grandfather the train left without him. After missing the train he tries calling his grandfather again, no luck, and his parents who are on a cruse, no luck. He decides to follow the train track and went into a town. A guy gives him clothes and food. Ry's grandfather has suffered a concussion while walking the dogs. His parents cell phone was lost on their trip. The guy, Del, decides to drive Ry home to Wisconsin from Montana, where problem after problem happens.

I don't know which I enjoyed more, the story or the pictures.

Thomas can't find the fruit he was drying to make his Wintercake. His friend, Lucy, followed some clues. Will she be able to find who took those fruits? I love the theme, don't jump to conclusions. The illustrations are beautiful and fun!

The sounds of the falling snow and animals walking, the trucks, and the conversations all make up music in the winter-time. This is a good book for the coming winter season.

"Really good read. He’s in a journey and goes through trains, buses, boats, and cars"

This book follows a group of friends on the cusp of adolescence, as they explore new ideas, find new interests, and form first crushes. The plot structure is very loose and episodic; the content is rooted in nostalgia. There are occasional illustrations that don't do a whole lot for the story. Set in a small town in the 1970s, I found myself wondering what sort of appeal this book would have for young readers today. It won the Newbery Medal in 2006, inexplicably. This reads like a book for adults who grew up in the 1970s, and not a book for children at all. The writing is good, and the characters are interesting, if not always fully realized (I had trouble distinguishing some of the boys, particularly, and Debbie's best friend Patty has no personality to speak of), but there's so little action that I really had to push myself to stay engaged. I wouldn't recommend this for kids, but adults who were teenagers in the '70s might find it a nice walk down memory lane.