Steve Johnson (9) (1960–)

This is really an inspiring book about an inspiring man, and it would be such a great read for young children who have dreams of a less conventional career path. Jim Henson always let his passions guide him and, sure, they guided him to success, but that was really only incidental in their guiding him to his own happiness and his own place in the world. In this strange world where children are lead towards career paths at younger and younger ages, it's important to point out that your best show more ideas about life can come to you while tipping your toes into a lazy stream. They did for Jim Henson and the world is infinitely better for it. show less

A delicious retelling of the nursery rhyme, The Farmer in the Dell, hearing this book read aloud demonstrates how much fun you can have with the conniving rat and the rest of the gullible cast of characters from the rhyme who never stop to question: "Why must the cheese stand alone?"

This is the sort of story that can be appreciated by readers of any age. It's all based around the familiar song, The Farmer in the Dell, and what it does best is point out the absurdity of that old nursery rhyme. The class that I shared this with laughed the entire time. The repetition builds the momentum of the book. Like so many other stories that Margie Palatini has whipped up over the years, the wordsmithing is top of the line and the illustrations pair well with the general silliness show more of the text. Add it to your fractured faiy tale collection or your nursery rhyme collection, but don't miss out on the fun. This is worth your time. show less

This simple introduction to Dr. Seuss' life is a good choice for beginning and intermediate readers. It starts with Dr. Seuss being awarded the Pulitzer Prize and then jumps back to his childhood experiences. It touches on his love of doodling, wacky inventions, interest in animals, and other events that shaped his life. The second half of the book traces his publishing career from cartoonist to children's author, including his writing habits. It discusses books that changed the way people show more read, like The Cat in the Hat and titles that had a big effect on popular culture, like How the Grinch stole Christmas! and later titles that focused on conservation and pacifism.

The story includes soft watercolors by Johnson and Fancher that show a friendly, but shy man and his quirky creations surrounding him throughout his life. This is a level three title from Step into Reading. They are aimed at grades 1-3, but I find they can cross over into beginning chapter books if needed. It has limited text and plenty of art on each page.

I'm gradually being sold on biographies for younger readers (I'm not talking about picture book biographies!) and this one hits all my requirements - a readable font, illustrations, and most importantly, a relevant subject to kids. Dr. Seuss' life includes both positives and negatives and Klimo touches on controversies and painful episodes in his life as well as the positive side.

Verdict: I'm looking forward to using this in my younger book club, Bookaneers, and I recommend it as a primary purchase for libraries looking to fill in their upper level easy readers.

ISBN: 9781101935514; Published 2016 by Random House; Purchased for the library show less