Jessica Young (1)

This new Branches series features two kooky dogs and the art of James Burks, author of Bird & Squirrel and other fun books.

Haggis the terrier is bored. Tank the Great Dane is not. Tank has lots of great ideas, including being pirates! She's sure it will be lots of fun, but Haggis isn't so sure. Using their imaginations and some creative recycling, the two set sail on a wild adventure.

There's a lot of wordplay in the text, which mostly takes a back seat to the colorful graphics. Burks' show more trademark square corners and surreal humor shine through in the wacky adventure and Young's silly dialogue and easy text make a good combination.

For Branches I'd say this is intermediate - it does not have a lot of text, but the combination of simple sentences and dialogue would confuse a beginning reader and the font is smaller than the average easy reader. The wordplay will also be challenging to a reader who is not fluent or doesn't have a decent vocabulary.

Verdict: Fans of Burks' Bird & Squirrel and kids who like funny books but aren't quite ready for full-length chapters will be the ideal audience for this. It would also make a fun read-aloud for younger children. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780545818872; Published 2016 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library show less

As far as a book for a first grader, I was nothing but pleased with Original Recipe! Often times in books for this age, children are doing things beyond what a child their age should be able to do. I loved how realistic these characters felt. The ending was different than one would have thought. I loved that they didn't win the competition. I loved that the person that Finley already had a problem with won. That is something kids can really relate to. Kids don't always win, no matter how show more great their intentions are. More often than not, the person you are really jealous of does well. In a lot of books the characters would come to a cheesy unrealistic friendship with their "enemy." That didn't need to happen. The character development wasn't much- which is what being a kid is sometimes.
I really loved this book and am excited to read the 2nd book to my 6 year old daughter. show less

I read this to my five-year-old in one sitting. After four chapters he wanted to take a break, but when he saw the sea monster, he said, "No, keep reading!"
Even though he didn't catch all the word play, it was a fun read and the story and pictures made him laugh.

When I asked him if he would give it 5 stars, he said, "No, 54!" and then, "No, 10,000!"

I liked this book a lot, even despite a few "wha-why?" decisions by the author/illustrator. The illustrations are utterly engaging, the rhyming text is fun and lilting, and the interactivity factor is high. But - I wonder why a butterfly was featured as a pet, as well as two dogs - may have been a five star if we'd had more pet variety. The tips on how to take care of pets were cute without seeming didactic but didn't even pretend to be complete. I also wonder why the pets are featured on a show more farm - maybe because a horse was included? Also, why is one kid dressed as a doctor? Is she supposed to be the vet? She's the same size as the other kids, and they're all wearing normal clothes (except for the butterfly one, who has a pocketed vest and pith helmet). The world will never know. show less