Toni Buzzeo

I greatly enjoyed Toni Buzzeo's "But I Read it on the Internet!" for many reasons. First, I liked that although the book provided information about online sources, it was structured like a story. The book gives a great deal of information about how to determine whether or not an online source is a reliable source of information, but it also follows a traditional storyline. It is told in the first person point of view by Hunter, a fourth grade student who relies on "true books" for show more information. The narrator, Hunter, is another reason why I enjoyed this book. Hunter is a believable character to whom I found it easy to relate, partly due to the conversational nature of his narration. Hunter makes many informal asides to the reader, like "wouldn't you know it?" and "Carmen and her infallible Internet," which gives the narration a more relaxed, casual feel. Hunter's character is also believable because it becomes more developed throughout the story. When Hunter says that some students like he and Graham "might not even have a computer," it is revealed to the reader that Hunter's lack of access to the Internet at home is the reason why he is so adamant that books are the most reliable sources of information. He seems insecure about the fact that his family does not own a computer, which he displays when he says that he "wanted to say, 'sometimes we don't have an Internet connection.' But then [Carmen] would know," and when he defensively states that he "[knows] lots more facts than Carmen- all from books." This reaction, to me, makes Hunter a more sympathetic character with clear motivations. I also liked this book because I found that the storyline featuring conflict between Hunter and Carmen serves as a good real-life example of why it is important to evaluate the quality of online sources. Hunter and Carmen's debate over whether or not George Washington had wooden teeth introduced the importance of gauging the reliability of online information while still making the story feel like a story. This framework made the inclusion of online evaluation tools like "Mrs. Skorupski's Website Evaluation Gizmo" seem as if they belonged in the story instead of like they were included solely for the purpose of teaching the reader. I also liked this book because I enjoyed its bright, colorful illustrations, especially the comical pictures depicting Mrs. Skorupski wearing her colorful American flag-themed accessories. I would say that the "big idea" of the book is that both books and the Internet can be good sources of information, but when looking for information online it is important to evaluate websites for the reliability of their information. I think this because at the end of the story, Hunter and Carmen both realize that they can get good information from the Internet as long as they "[know] how to make sure the Internet [is] right!" I would give this book five stars. show less

Newly moved to the Ledge Light - a lighthouse located on a small island off the coast of Maine - with their father, Frances and her younger brother, Peter, wonder what Christmas will be like this year. Cut off from the mainland, with supplies running low, it seems as if there will be no real celebration. With their mother recently passed away (the cause of their move from the mainland), it also seems that Papa isn't really in the mood to celebrate. When the children receive an invitation to show more spend the holiday with their Aunt Martha, they are excited to go at first, until they recall that they will be leaving Papa by himself. Then a storm blows up, and a shipwrecked fisherman needs rescuing, making it a moot point in any case. Has Christmas been ruined? Or will the Ledge Light family's resilience, and a surprise gift from the skies set all to rights...?

Set during the Great Depression, this sweet holiday story features the long-established New England institution of the "Flying Santa" - begun in 1929, this custom involved the dropping of holiday gifts and food to isolated lighthouse keepers, and continues to this day (mostly for Coast Guard installations) - and highlights, in a sensitive and compassionate way, the difficulties faced by recently bereaved families at Christmas time. I really liked the character of Frances, and the accurate way in which her new role, as surrogate mother to her brother, and cook and housekeeper to her father, are worked obliquely into the story. I also liked the one-eared cat that the children love, and that their father eventually comes to accept as one of the family. All in all, Lighthouse Christmas was a very appealing Christmas tale, one I would recommend to young readers who have recently been bereaved, or to anyone interested in stories about the "Flying Santa" program. Another recent title to explore this theme, is The Lighthouse Santa. show less

This lovely tale within a tale follows the dual stories of a young girl, visiting with her great-great-aunt Maita, and of Maita herself, and her childhood on a rocky Maine island, where her father kept the Halleys Head Light. After a terrible storm batters the island, Maita and her father discover a sea chest washed up on the shore, and find a tiny baby inside. Wrapped in a quilt - together with a note reading: "We commit this child into the hands of God. May He save her" - the baby is show more christened "Seaward," and becomes Maita's adopted younger sister, and (eventually) the young girl's great-grandmother. Many, many years later, Maita tells the story to her young great-niece, who is waiting for her own baby sibling to arrive, from across the seas...

Based upon a folk legend about a baby found washed up on the shore of Maine's Southport Island - a legend that most likely has its origin in C.C. Munn's 1900 novel, Uncle Terry - Buzzeo's The Sea Chest is a magical tale of family and inter-generational love, greatly enhanced by Mary GrandPré's beautiful oil illustrations. I found myself, rather unexpectedly, caught up in its improbable tale of seaside discovery and survival. Recommended to children who enjoy tales of the sea, of lighthouses, or of adoptive families, and to all who appreciate Mary GrandPré's artwork. show less

An oh-so-proper young boy named Elliot finds his dream companion in this picture-book from author Toni Buzzeo and illustrator David Small. Attending Family Fun Day at the local aquarium with his father, Elliot falls desperately in love with the Magellanic penguins, asking his father if he can have one. His distracted parent, thinking he is talking about a stuffed animal, duly hands over a twenty dollar bill (and gives his permission), and soon Elliot and his new spheniscine friend are show more settling in together at home. His clueless dad is oblivious to the goings on - from Elliot cranking the AC in his room, to creating an ice rink for the new resident - until he goes to take a bath and finds a (live!) penguin already in the tub. Will Elliot be in trouble? Or will there be a surprise in store for him...?

Readers familiar with David Small's hilarious Imogene's Antlers will smile in recognition at the amusing surprise ending here, in which Elliot's father turns out to have a similar pet of his own, in the form of a Galapagos turtle. The story is engaging, and will keep children who long for a special animal companion of their own entertained, while the artwork is expressive and amusing. All that said, somehow I just didn't find One Cool Friend to be quite the stand-out that I expected it to be, based on my friends' rave reviews. I enjoyed it - I appreciated the visual parallel created between the suit-wearing Elliot and his penguin, as well as the little illustrative clues about Elliot's father and his own turtle companion, and can see why this was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book earlier this year - but somehow in the end, I just wasn't as involved in the story as I thought I would be. My funnybone wasn't tickled in quite the way that it was reading Small's Imogene's Antlers, or Margaret Mahy's The Boy Who Was Followed Home.

Of course humor is very idiosyncratic, so I suspect that many other readers will take One Cool Friend entirely to heart. I'd recommend this one to young penguin-lovers, and to children who long for an unusual animal companion of their own. show less