Elise Broach

A young boy pleads with his mother for a puppy, longing to have someone to take care of. Eventually she relents, and boy and dog are happy together. Until the puppy too decides he wants someone to care for, and he adopts a kitten. Soon enough the kitten too wants a pet, and the process continues, until the house is full of animals and the boy's mother is beside herself. How can he show her the pleasure of caring for another...?

Very easily, as it happens, since he himself is the being in her show more care. A sweet and heartwarming tale about longing for and then loving an animal companion, My Pet Wants a Pet is also a madcap adventure with a fun, read-aloud quality - "What?!" cried the boy's mother. "That worm is the pet of the pet of the pet of your pet! He does NOT NEED A PET" - that would make it an excellent story-time selection. The artwork by Eric Barclay is well-suited to the humorous nature of author Elise Broach's tale, capturing the zany hi-jinks quite well. Recommended to all young children who long for a pet, and to anyone looking for new picture-books to entertain their youngsters. show less

Elise Broach does an excellent job of weaving together various legends about the Superstition Mountains just outside of Phoenix, Arizona-- including the one about the Lost Dutchman Mine. Children will be reading an exciting tale of adventure, but they'll also be absorbing the deeper subjects of history, friendship, and exploration.

When this book was offered to me, I wasn't told that it was a children's book, but since it is a mystery, and it is set right in my own backyard, it didn't make show more much difference. What impressed me was how much I enjoyed reading it, and how much it reminded me of similar books I read when I was a child. Simon, Henry, and Jack are following in the footsteps of the Hardy Boys, and it was wonderful to read about four children who were off on their bikes exploring and not cooped up inside enslaved to electronics. In fact, they're only on the computer once for a brief time in the entire book.

Since this is the first book in a trilogy, it will be interesting to see how the characters and the story develop. Simon is the responsible older brother with just a touch of the know-it-all. Jack is the extremely annoying little brother his siblings wish they could leave behind, and Henry as the middle brother feels a bit like a misfit. The story is mostly told from his point of view, so we get to know him best. Delilah? She's the first friend the boys have made in Superstition, and even though she's a girl, she's a big help and can't be left behind. The parents are there behind the scenes. They're busy keeping the bills paid so the boys can have adventures.

It's obvious that this is the first book in a trilogy because little plot threads are left dangling. I'm convinced Josie the cat knows a lot more than she's admitting, and what about the behavior of the local librarian? Is she hiding something? And there was definitely something odd about those tombstones in the cemetery!

If it sounds as though I was hooked after reading Missing on Superstition Mountain, I was. I'm looking forward to seeing what those four get up to next. show less

It's dinosaur time over in the Picture-Book Club to which I belong, and this hilarious picture-book was one of our official selections! Reluctantly accompanying his mother on her errands, a bored young boy finds his day transformed when, instead of lollipops or balloons, he is given real live dinosaurs at the various businesses they visit. Soon, the boy finds himself being trailed by a triceratops, a stegosaurus, and a pterosaur, while his frazzled mother wonders what they will do with such show more huge, unwieldy creatures.

A surreal adventure in the style of Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, this delightful story takes a common childhood fantasy - that of having a dinosaur for a pet - and runs with it, perfectly capturing the reactions of both boy and mother. The accompanying ink and watercolor artwork of David Small - whose Imogene's Antlers has always been a personal favorite of mine - accentuates the humorous contrast in each scene, adding to the reader's enjoyment. With its well-matched text and art, When Dinosaurs Came With Everything is a book that young dinosaur fans will relish! show less

Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays' apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy.After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help show more recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help. And that's where things get really complicated (and interesting!). This fast-paced mystery will have young readers on the edge of their seats as they root for boy and beetle. In Shakespeare's Secret Elise Broach showed her keen ability to weave storytelling with history and suspense, and Masterpiece is yet another example of her talent. This time around it's an irresistible miniature world, fascinating art history, all wrapped up in a special friendship— something for everyone to enjoy.Masterpiece is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. show less