Book Reviews 1985

“Let there be a corner somewhere in your house … where [children] will see at least a few books of the kind upon which great minds have been nourished”
(President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, November 1975, p. 39).

Mr. Plum’s Paradise Can just one person do any real good? Mr. Plum did when he created his wonderful garden.
Elisa Trimby
all ages

The Baby’s Bedtime Book The poems by Tennyson, Kipling, Rosetti, Anonymous are enchanting lullabies. And their illustrations are just as enchanting!
Kay Chorao
2–5 years

Will That Wake Mother? A could-be-wordless photo story of lovable, mischievous kittens.
Martha McKeen Welch
3–6 years

Apple Tree Christmas The apple tree provided good food, shade, and Christmas ornaments. It was also Josie’s playground and Trinka’s art studio. And even the ice storm couldn’t destroy its gift of self at Christmas.
Trina Hakes Noble
3–7 years

Nothing Ever Happens on My Block If Chester would just turn around, he would see all the funny and exciting things that we can see happening on his block!
Ellen Raskin
3–8 years

Singing Bee! This book has an amazing number of children’s songs, many with finger plays or other activities. The simple but catchy tunes (for piano and guitar), superb illustrations, and comments, suggestions, and historical information make this compilation worth its weight in gold.
Jane Hart (compiler)
3–8 years

The Legend of the Bluebonnet “Great Spirits, the land is dying. Your People are dying, too.” Of all the Comanches, it is little She-Who-Is-Alone who makes the sacrifice that saves her tribe.
Tomie Depaola (reteller)
4–8 years

Backyard Insects How do insects protect themselves? Some hide, some pretend to taste bad, some do other things. This easy-to-read book has close-up photographs of insects in your backyard.
Millicent E. Selsam and Ronald Goor
4–8 years

The Happy Funeral Grandfather died. Grandmother put half a comb in his hand; she will keep the other half until they are together again. Small pieces of candy are given to May-May and Laura to “sweeten their sorrow.” These and other Chinese customs show how Grandfather did indeed have a happy funeral.
Eve Bunting
5–9 years

Saint George and the Dragon This retelling of the classic legend from Spenser’s Faerie Queene has magnificent art that shows the beautiful princess, the faithful dwarf, the fearless knight, and the dreadful dragon exactly as we would imagine them.
Margaret Hodges (reteller)
5–10 years

Old Arthur Old Arthur was too old to round up the sheep, guard the henhouse, do tricks, or even play fetch. But he was the perfect dog for William.
Liesel Moak Skorpen
5–10 years

Basil & Maggie Basil can’t do anything right, but Maggie loves him and enters him in a horse show anyway. An easy-to-read book.
Elise Primavera
6–8 years

Shining Moments A compilation of Latter-day Saint stories for children.
Lucile C. Reading
6–9 years

What Goes On at a Radio Station? A whole lot! This book shows and tells all about radio announcers, sports broadcasts, music, weather, commercials, and much more.
Susan Gilmore
6–10 years

McBroom’s Almanac An easy-to-read spoof of other almanacs, McBroom’s tells how to make your own flashlight with frozen lightning bugs, forecasts wind for March and mud for April, advertises reusable birthday cake.
Sid Fleischman
6–11 years

Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp Liza Lou outwits the marvelous swamp monsters in this typical example of the American folktale.
Mercer Mayer
7–10 years

The Halloween Candy Mystery One twin loves science, the other loves sleuthing. Using both skills, they nab the tiger burglar.
Marion M. Markham
7–10 years

How to Stop a Sentence “Think of a hyphen as glue.” That’s one of the tricks to using punctuation marks correctly. A funny story illustrates how to put these tricks to use.
Nora Gallagher
8–11 years

How Kids Can Really Make Money This book really lives up to its title! It has ideas for kids with different interests and abilities; most of the ideas are very enjoyable—all are practical for kids.
Shari Lewis
9–12 years

Folk Tale Plays Round the World These one-act plays are royalty free. Some are about history, some romance; some are comic, some heroic. Notes on playing time, props, etc., are included.
Paul T. Nolan
9–14 years

Unexplained Mysteries Buried treasure, a modern dinosaur, a book no one can read, and more are in this book about real happenings written about in newspapers and magazines.
Thomas G. Gunning
9 years and up

The Man Who Was Don Quixote Carnival wanderer, Vatican secretary, soldier, nobleman, prisoner, tax collector, poet, playwright, novelist! Don Miguel de Cervantes embodied everything—and nothing—of the marvelous, mad Man of La Mancha.
Rafaello Busoni
10 years and up

Science Experiments You Can Eat If you like to know why and how things work and how to do them yourself, if you like desserts or homemade bread or “rabbit food” or steak or snacks, read this book!
Vicki Cobb
10–13 years

Hang Tough, Paul Mather Fighting cancer, Paul leaves his hospital bed to help his Little League team win a crucial game.
Alfred Slote
10 years and up

Watchmaker’s Daughter For running an underground railroad, Corrie ten Boom suffered in concentration camps and watched her sister die in one. But she gained the peace of Jesus Christ as she learned and put into practice His teaching to love your enemy.
Jean Watson
11 years and up

The Bayeux Tapestry This embroidered work of art is a strip cartoon of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. About 230′ (70 m) long and 20″ (51 cm) wide, it portrays the causes, battles, intrigues, and outcome of the war. The accompanying text explains each scene and gives fascinating details.
Norman Denny and Josephine Filmer-Sankey
all ages