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BOOK REVIEWS
CHILDREN’S FICTION
Ahmek, by Patrick Watson. Toronto:
Stoddart Kids, Stoddart Publishing, 1999.
ISBN 0773731458, HBB, $14.95.
F. Thomson, Tom, 1877-1917--Fiction; Beavers--
Fiction. 167 p. Elementary (Middle school).
Ahmek is a young badger who lives with his
father and grandmother on a quiet pond. One
day a human appears at the pond. Ahmek is a
very curious young badger and soon discovers
that this human, an artist named Tom Thomson,
is not to be feared. Soon Tom is chased away by
hunters who break up Ahmek’s home,
separating him from the rest of the family.
Heading south, Ahmek hopes to locate his father
and grandmother. Instead he meets new groups
of badgers, has many adventures, and eventually
forms his own family unit with Kwezenhs.
After their kits One and Two are born, Ahmek
and Kwezenhs travel North in hope of finding
some evidence of the rest of Ahmeks’s family.
When the new young family reaches the pond, it
is to discover that not only are Ahmek’s father
and grandmother there, but also his mother, long
thought to have been killed by humans.
Author Patrick Watson tells a tale of beavers
living in their natural environment with enough
detail to put the reader into the story. Place
names and the beaver’s names are from the
Ojibway language. An excellent glossary is
provided. Tracy Thomson, great grand niece of
the real-life artist, Tom Thomson, illustrates
each chapter with line drawings. Children and
adults alike will appreciate the detail in both the
environment of the story and in the artwork.
There are several excellent books of animal
survival away from the native environment.
Ahmek fits well into this genre.
Barbara Wall, School Library System Director, Oswego County
BOCES, Mexico, New York
All you ever need, by Max Lucado;
illustrations by Douglas Klauba. LCCN
99045155. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books,
Good News Publishers, 2000. ISBN
1581341342, HBB, $15.99.
F. Generosity--Fiction; Conduct of life--Fiction;
Parables. unp. Elementary.
Once again, Max Lucado expresses a biblical
truth in a simple, yet beautiful way. All You Ever
Need is a story about Tobias, the Watermaster,
who distributes fresh water to the desert people.
He and his Son, Julian, never limit the amount of
water, or set standards of who may receive.
When the Watermaster and his Son leave their
servant Elzevir in charge, Elzevir changes the
method of distribution. Eventually, no one in
the desert is “good enough” to receive the water.
Julian returns and explains that the water is
freely given to all, thus demonstrating the grace
Jesus so freely offers everyone.
All You Ever Need is an excellent story to teach
younger children about the grace Jesus gives to
us all, no matter where we are or what we do.
The illustrations are colorful and detailed. The
story is short enough to hold the interest of
younger children and uncomplicated enough to
deliver the intended message.
Tammy Williams, Freelance Writer, Social Worker, Port Orchard,
Washington
Armadillo tattletale, by Helen Ketteman;
illustrated by Keith Graves. LCCN
99014722. New York: Scholastic Press,
2000. ISBN 0590997238, HBB, $15.95.
F. Armadillos--Fiction; Animals--Fiction; Gossip--
Fiction. unp. Elementary (Small children).
Following in the tradition of the Just So stories,
Armadillo Tattletale by Helen Ketteman tells
how the armadillo got his small ears. Its main
theme, however, is the problems caused by
gossip.
Armadillo’s big ears allow him to overhear the
other animals’ conversations. He then
misreports them, causing trouble between the
animals and leading them to dislike him.
Finally, alligator clips Armadillo’s ears by biting
them until they are tiny, and he can no longer
overhear conversations he’s not supposed to.
This is much like the traditional how and why
tales which use an incident of the animal’s
behavior to explain certain physical
characteristics. Armadillo Tattletale is a fun
story. It presents a good lesson in a humorous
and non-didactic way. Keith Graves’s
wonderfully exaggerated drawings are well
done in acrylic paint, ink, and colored pencil.
They should delight readers almost as much as
the delightful tale itself.
Betsy Ruffin, Teacher/Librarian, Cleburne, Texas
Baseball for breakfast : the story of a boy
who hated to wait, by Bill Myers;
illustrated by Frank Riccio. LCCN
99012182. Nashville: Tommy Nelson,
1999. ISBN 0849958717, HBB, $14.99.
F. Time--Fiction; Christian life--Fiction; Patience--
Fiction. 32 p. Elementary.
Jimmy complains to his mother as he is getting
ready for bed that he wants all the good times to
happen now and skip all the in-between times.
He mother explains to him that the in-between
times are important, too, and that Jimmy can’t
spend all his time just playing baseball or eating
desserts. The next morning on his way to
school, Jimmy finds a pocket watch that allows
him to skip time. By turning the knob on the
watch, Jimmy can fast-forward his day at any
time he chooses. Because he skips baths and
haircuts and other necessary things, Jimmy
starts to smell bad, his clothes are ragged, his
hair is a mess, and he is growing weaker because
he only eats desserts.
One night a group of people gather outside his
bedroom window complaining. Jimmy causes
them to skip rainy days, which leads to a
drought, he skips school and is failing, and he
won’t let others go to bat so the team is losing all
its games. His mother explains why the inbetween
time is important, and Jimmy makes
the decision to throw the watch out his bedroom
window. The loud crash awakens Jimmy, who
realizes he was just dreaming about skipping
time. He looks outside his bedroom window at
the rain falling and realizes he is glad to have a
rainy day, even if he does miss baseball practice,
because now he’ll have puddles to play in.
Bill Myers hits a homerun in Baseball for
Breakfast, The Story of a Boy Who Hated to
Wait. Young children will learn how important
the in-between times are and the consequences
for living only in the good times. The colorful
illustrations by Frank Riccio bring life and
realism to the text. The two create a guaranteed
favorite for young readers.
Eileen Zygarlicke, Freelance Writer/Editor, Grand Forks, North
Dakota
Big bad beans, by Beverly Lewis. (The
cul-de-sac kids; 22.) LCCN 99006753.
Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2000. ISBN
0754221272, PAP, $3.99.
F. Bicycles and bicycling--Fiction; Christian life--
Fiction. 76 p. Elementary.
Jason Birchall has two problems: his mother
has the family on a new ‘healthy diet,’ and he
dreams of saving enough money to buy his
friend Eric’s royal blue/gold, flashy, mountain
bike. With only ten dollars to go Jason can
almost feel the bike beneath him as he races
down the street. For some time he has been
caching his money in his top dresser drawer
quite near his stash of bubble gum, which is
hidden from his vegetable wielding mother.
The Cul-de-sac Kids pitch in and help Jason
earn the rest of his money by taking part in a
recycling project. Money in hand, Jason heads
for Eric’s to buy the bike, only to find out that
Eric has sold it to someone else for more money.
That is bad enough but Jason’s troubles multiply
when he first offers to help his friend, Abby, by
hiding her Mother’s Day gift money in his
drawer separated from his by his baseball cards.
All this time Jason has been secreting his
vegetable snacks in pockets, under his mattress,
feeding them to his dog, anywhere he can to
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