Fireflies

CLIP Review: The Problem with Chickens

Author: Bruce McMillan
Illustrator: Gunnella

When you've just gotten interested in a story and you come to a sentence that says, "That is when the problem started," - you know you're in for a treat!

The ladies in this Icelandic village bought the chickens to solve their problems. They never imagined the chickens would forget they were chickens and begin acting like the ladies!

"When the ladies went to a birthday party, the chickens went too. When the ladies sang to the sheep, the chickens sang too."

Things were completely out of control. That is when the ladies came up with a clever idea. They knew how to get the chickens acting like chickens again. Can you guess what they did?

Coming up with a clever solution to solve a problem is always a good idea, don't you agree?

Mary Byrne Klin

CLIP Review: Feathers for Lunch Review

Author & Illustrator: Lois Ehlert

This is a book that is never read once, for as soon as it is finished you will hear, "Read it again!"

We have a very hungry cat on the loose, determined to make lunch of some birds. He's sneaking around the backyard and his adventure is an engaging and entertaining rhyme.

            "His food in a can is tame and mild,
             so he's gone out for something wild."

Will the cat be successful in his attempts at catching a bird?

            "But cats can't fly and they can't soar,
             and birds know what their wings are for."

At first glance it may appear to simply be a short quick read, but look closely and you will find some hidden treasures. Each bird is identified, along with the plant or shrub upon which it is resting. All birds illustrated in the story are portrayed life sized and true in their coloring.

At the end of the book the reader is given the factual treat of "The lunch that got away." These four pages are filled with information on the twelve birds our poor cat couldn't catch.

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Riki’s Birdhouse

Author and Illustrator: Monica Wellington

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer.
It sings because it has a song." Chinese Proverb

Riki loves to watch birds in his yard. He likes their bright colors and their cheerful songs. This book provides the reader with his year-long journal filled with information on birds. In September Riki begins planning how to attract birds to his yard by designing a birdhouse. In the following months he carefully follows his plans, builds a birdhouse, then chooses a special place in his yard to mount it for returning birds in spring. During the winter months the reader continues on Riki's journey through his journal as he awaits the arrival of the first occupants in the house he has built. Will they be robins, sparrows, cardinals or what Riki really hopes for - bluebirds?

This book is illustrated with brilliant colors and detailed pictures that allow for much discussion in addition to the text. Seeing the daddy and mama bird feeding worms to their babies in Riki's birdhouse while he looks on is quite an endearing picture.

The author has provided several pages of detailed information at the end of Riki's story. Step-by-step instructions on "Building a Birdhouse" are given, as well as how to "Install a Birdhouse." You'll also read more about Birdbaths and Feeders, how to make Bird Food Cupcakes and find some helpful websites on birds and bluebirds. Enjoy these great bird resources!

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Let's Go, Hugo

Author & Illustrator: Angela Dominguez

"Scaredy-cat, Scaredy-cat!" What childhood fear popped into your mind when you heard those words ringing in your ears? Our fears may have seemed irrational to others, but to us they were very real and very hard to overcome.

Children today are no different - and HUGO himself is no different. Hugo, you see, is afraid to fly. Now that certainly presents a rather large problem as he is most obviously a bird. A bird who desperately wants to fly up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. How will he ever find the courage to face and overcome this seemingly hopeless dilemma? Hugo makes a wise decision. He shares his fear with his friend Bernard the owl and adventurous Lulu.

It's amazing what trust and courage can accomplishwhen friends work together!

This endearing story helps the reader understand that getting past all our excuses can lead to something beautiful. Like Hugo, we can all stretch our wings and find beauty in ways we never imagined.

"Hugo was a little bit different.
He preferred walking to flying.

Let's Go Hugo: Book Trailer

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Bear Says Thanks

Author: Karma Wilson
Illustrator: Jane Chapman

Bear is lonely and bored. He misses his friends.

       "I could make a big dinner!
       A feast I could share.
       But he looks through his cupboard,
       and the cupboard is bare."

But his friends know just what to do. Soon Mouse shows up with a huckleberry pie, the hare with a big batch of muffins, Badger with a string of fish from the old fishin' hole and on it goes... Each friend is most gratefully thanked by Bear, but he soon begins to "mutter and stutter and wear a big frown", because he has brought nothing to share. Well, perhaps in his mind, but not in the hearts and minds of Bear's friends. His friends hug him tight, telling him that what he has to share is every bit as special and important as the food they have brought. Can you guess what it could be?

Even young children will understand that it's okay for friends to have different gifts and we can say "Thanks" to each other for sharing many different things.

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Author & Illustrator: William Steig

I wonder if any of the myriad of wishes I have wished have ever come true! I have wished on the first star of evening, four-leaf clovers, the wishbone in a turkey and more birthday candles than I care to remember. But whether or not I've seen some miraculous event follow any of my wishes - well, I'm afraid that hasn't yet happened.

Sylvester, however, DOES find that magic pebble that changes everything for him! As an avid collector of pebbles of unusual shape and color, he is always on a quest for one that is extraordinary. One rainy Saturday afternoon he finds a flaming red, shiny and perfectly round pebble. Examining it, Sylvester wishes it would stop raining and immediately the rain stops. His newfound power continues to be quite an adventure, until he mistakenly wishes himself to turn into a rock. With no way to touch the magic pebble and reverse his wish, Sylvester is helpless while his parents have no idea what or where he is.

What will happen to Sylvester? How will his parents possibly find him? Will the magic pebble be able to help them? I will tell you that something as simple, yet wonderful as a picnic lunch will be the happy ending to Sylvester's story!

Often we make wishes for things that really aren't important at all. Sylvester learned he was truly grateful, not for things he could wish for, but for what he had all along.

Mary Byrne Kline

"What a lucky day this is!" thought Sylvester.
From now on I can have anything I want.

CLIP Review: Thank You Bear

Author & Illustrator: Greg Foley

Ever hear the words, "Look at the treasures in my pocket!" from a child? And then out spills a shiny rock, a feather, a broken plastic toy or similar items of seemingly useless value. But the joy with which these items are lined up, fondled, and stuffed so carefully back into a pocket makes us realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Thank You Bear is a story for anyone who ever thought they had a great treasure.

Little Bear is sure he indeed does have something great. It is a little box - and he cannot wait to share it with his friends. Convinced that they also will be in awe with his box, he sets out. His encounter with Monkey leaves him with, "That's not so great." Fox tells him he's holding it the wrong way. With each meeting Bear becomes more discouraged until he begins to wonder if his treasured box is a treasure after all. By the time his dear friend Mouse comes along and finds Bear sitting mournfully staring at his little box, Mouse reacts as a true and faithful friend always does.

If you have a true friend that you would like to say "Thank You" to, this book is the perfect gratitude book to send. C'mon, this book is WAY better than giving them a shiny rock, a feather or a broken plastic toy! (It also comes in a miniature paperback version all ready to mail with an envelope flap for about $5.00.)

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Henry's Life as a Tulip Bulb

Author & Illustrator: Linda M. Brandt

As a child, I certainly had a lot in common with Henry the Tulip Bulb. Especially in the story when he wails, "Why, oh why does this have to happen to me and what did I ever do to deserve this?" I'm thinking back to the years of, (deep breath..), piano lessons!

Now don't get me wrong - piano lessons are a wonderful and important thing for most children. My parents encouraged me to keep practicing, and told me they loved me regardless of my less than perfect skills.

So how does Henry figure into all of this? He too found himself in an awkward and uncomfortable situation. After being plopped into a dark, damp hole in the ground, he finds himself sprouting hairy bunches of legs. It isn't long until the warm spring rains cause a strange growth to emerge from the top of his head! After all the grumbling and protesting Henry has done, how will he react once he realizes just what he was made to become?

Mary Byrne Kline
(and tulips...)

I wish I could say that I too emerged a success, but alas, that is not the case. The piano and I have long since parted ways, but I'm grateful for the lessons my parents taught me. They accepted me as I was, allowed me to "bloom" in other ways and loved me always.

Special Offer

From the Publishers: Thank you Fireflies, for reviewing Henry's Life As A Tulip Bulb. Please let your readers know that we will offer an exclusive coupon for them as Fireflies readers. The coupon code is:

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and entitles them to $1.00 off of Book One of the Henry the Tulip Bulb series when purchased from the Innovo.com site. CLICK HERE

CLIP Review: Roxaboxen

Author: Alice McLerran
Illustrator: Barbara Cooney

There's just something about a kid making a fort that stimulates their imagination to a higher level. Forts can come in any number of shapes and sizes. As kids we had forts under our beds, in boxes, under sheets spread over the dining room table, and in trees. I would guess our most elaborate forts were those we created when asked to rake leaves in the Fall. Rather than make piles, we would rake our leaves into rows of walls and rooms with doors and passageways. We'd eat and play in these forts for days at a time.

Reading the story of ROXABOXEN brought back all the memories of our forts in the leaf piles. For you see, the children in this story really did create a magical world known as Roxaboxen on a hill on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Eighth Street in Yuma, Arizona. And on this hillside the town of Roxaboxen grew - with its town hall, ice cream parlors (yes, there were two!), a jail with a floor of cactus and of course a mayor for keeping order. There were also many "treasures" to be found among the homes in town, as only children with great imaginations can find.

There across the road it looked like any rocky hill -

but it was a special place.

Marian called it Roxaboxen.

A town of Roxaboxen began to grow, traced in lines of stone,

Old wooden boxes could be shelves or tables or anything you wanted.

You may want to get an old sheet, spread it over a table for a fort, and begin reading this wonderful book right now!

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Henry's Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

All children have dreams and wishes. Every year we place the appropriate number of brightly lit candles on beautifully iced cakes and say, "Make a wish!" But things were different for Henry...

Henry Brown wasn't sure how old he was. Henry was a slave. And slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays.

But Henry still had dreams. He dreamed of a world where his life belonged to him. Throughout Henry's life, he experienced much joy and sorrow, but never lost sight of his dream. One morning he saw a little bird flying free in the open sky and an idea came to him. He realized what he must do in order to gain his freedom. Henry found a large wooden box and said to his friends, "I will mail myself to place where there are no slaves!"

The adventure began! How would Henry make it stuffed in a box? He was tossed on a railway car, then a steamboat, then another railway car - to travel all the way to Philadelphia with only a few biscuits and a small container of water. Perhaps he will end up with a birthday "date" after all - hmm, it's almost here!

"Henry, do you see those leaves blowing in the wind?
They are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families."

Henry "Box" Brown was one of the Underground Railroad's most famous runaway slaves.

Want more information about the true story that inspired this book?
CLICK HERE to view an intriguing interview with author, Ellen Levine.

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Boxes for Katje

Author: Candace Fleming
Illustrator: Stacey Dressen-McQueen

This is a true story about boxes.

It's a story of two little girls who were kind and believed that miracles happen. But what made the miracles so special is that they weren't special at all! They simply took the form of a tube of toothpaste, a pair of socks or a box of powdered milk. For you see, after World War II much of Europe was left cold, hungry and hopeless.

Katje's town in Holland was no exception. Then one day Postman Kleinhoonte pedaled his bicycle down Katje's cobbled street and brought her the first of many "miracle" boxes from Rosie, a girl in Indiana. Once Rosie and her town received Katje's note of thanks, the boxes she sent increased in size and content. Soon coats, cans of meat and bags of sugar began to arrive - much to the delight of Katje and her entire town!

How could Katje's family and town ever repay Rosie? You'll be filled with a sense of wonder and delight when Rosie and her family sample the seeds of friendship that grow from Katje's box.

"Dear friend Rosie, I shared the sugar with our neighbors.
They have 5 children who are skin and bone.
Your gift has surely helped us. Your friend, Katje"

"Dear Rosie, Your box caused much excitement in Olst.
People stopped worrying about the holes in their shoes and their threadbare coats.
You see? Your friendship has not only filled our stomachs,
it has lifted our spirits as well. Love, Katje"

As you read this incredible book with your children, may we be reminded that at any age it truly is "more blessed to give than to receive."

Mary Byrne Kline

CLIP Review: Not a Box

Author & Illustrator: Antoinette Portis

A box is just a box . . . unless it's not a box. From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows.

Inspired by a memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her sister, Antoinette Portis captures the thrill when pretend feels so real that it actually becomes real—when the imagination takes over and inside a cardboard box, a child is transported to a world where anything is possible.

Booklist

(Thanks Annie, for reminding us about this book!)

Deni Corbett

And don't miss Portis' other book Not a Stick, published in 2007.