User:Pam.tag/sandbox

Rain Drop Splash is a children's picture book by American author Alvin Tresselt, with illustrations by Leonard Weisgard. Rain Drop Splash was published by HarperCollins in 1990, though it was first published in 1947 in which time the work won a Caldecott Honor.

Description
Rain Drop Splash is a small format book measuring 9.9 x 8.5 x 0.1 inches.

Plot
This children's book is as entertaining as it is beautiful while depicting how a heavy rain changes not only the landscape, but follows the people and animals who are experiencing the rain as well. As reviewed by Goodreads, "With its poetic text and lovely, detailed illustrations, Rain Drop Splash is a delight to read, rain or shine."

Description
The Moon Jumpers is a hardcover book comprised of 32 pages, measuring 0.2 x 8 x 10.5 inches. Now that printing technology has enhanced, The Moon Jumpers has been reissued and now, as described by Barnes and Noble, "with new color separations, the reproduction of Maurice Sendak's artwork comes closer to his stunning originals than ever before."

Plot
This work by Udry follows four small children and a black cat as they find themselves in awe of the beautiful, magical moon on a hot summer night. Told in a lyrical fashion, Barnes and Noble showers it with praise commenting, "Sendak's wondrous starry skies and Janice May Udry's evocative text immediately transport us back to cool, moonlit nights and fill us with the universal warmth of childhood."

Description
The Boy Who Was is a medium sized book measuring 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches.

Plot
In the Prologue, an unnamed artist visiting the town of Sorrento, Italy, encounters a young goatherd named Nino, who agrees to pose for a sketch in return for the artist's help in painting some figurines Nino has carved. These figurines represent historical figures from the past 3,000 years of the area's history, beginning with Odysseus and the Sirens, and ending with Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Chapter 1, "Siren Songs", and chapter 2, "Song of Odysseus", set up the premise of the book: 3,000 years ago, Nino was befriended by a siren who gave him the gift of eternal life and health in thanks for his friendship. The rest of the book consists of stories from various points in history, connected only by Nino's involvement.

Chapter 3, "Poseidon and the Greeks", covers the building of the temple of Poseidon in Paestum.

Chapter 4, "The Romans and the Volcano", tells of the destruction of Pompeii.

Chapter 5, "The Last of the Goths", is a highly romanticized view of the fall of the Ostrogothic kingdom in southern Italy which followed the western Roman empire and was in turn followed by the Lombards.

Chapter 6, "The Normans and the Saracens", has Nino telling Robert Guiscard's army about a group of Norman soldiers sixty years earlier who repelled a Saracen pirate attack on Salerno.

Chapter 7, "The Crusader", is about the Children's Crusade from two viewpoints: that of a minstrel who has heard the tale and retells it at a great feast, and that of the young boy who led the crusade, whom Nino befriends.

Chapter 8, "Students of Salerno", is about John of Procida and his diplomatic and spying work in favor of the Hohenstaufen rulers of southern Italy against Charles of Anjou's French.

Chapter 9, "Redbeard and Saint Andrew", tells about a raid of the Muslim privateer Barbarossa on Amalfi, and how the town was saved by a miraculous storm.

Chapter 10, "The Bandits", tells how Nino arranges for an Italian Prince to be captured by the Carbonari and brought into sympathy with their cause.

The "Epilogue" which follows is a short poem addressed to Nino by the author, which brings the book to a close.

Description
The Wanderer measures 8.2 x 5.5x 1 inches. It is recommended for ages 8-12.

Plot Overview
Sophie, a thirteen-year-old girl, with two non-biological parents, is the only girl amongst a crew of her three uncles and her two cousins on a journey to find her destiny with the sea on the way to visit her grandpa, Bompie, who lives in England. The story is told from her point of view and also from her cousin Cody's. Through the journey, Sophie learns to accept who she is and gets to knows a lot about her relatives that really create some bonds between them all.

Critical Reception
Publishers Weekly says, "Creech once again captures the ebb and flow of a vulnerable teen's emotional life, in this enticing blend of adventure and reflection."

Description
Roller Girl is a small format book measuring 5.6 by 0.9 by 8.3 inches, containing 240 pages. It is recommended for ages 9-12.

Plot
This graphic novel follows main character Astrid and her best friend Nicole. Previously joined at the hip, that all comes to a halt the summer before junior high when each girl decides to do something different over the summer: Astrid goes to derby camp while Nicole attends dance camp. Jamieson does an amazing job depicting the trials and tribulations Astrid faces in trying to juggle roller derby and keeping up with older more experienced girls, all the while trying to preserve her friendship with Nicole before it slips away as they venture into newly discovered interests.

Critical reception
As reviewed by Maria Russo of The New York Times, "This spiky, winning graphic novel captures the bittersweetness of finding a new passion and saying goodbye to your former, more uncertain self.” Kirkus Reviews also showered it with praise saying, "Jamieson captures this snapshot of preteen angst with a keenly decisive eye, brilliantly juxtaposing the nuances of roller derby with the twists and turns of adolescent girls' friendships. Clean, bright illustrations evince the familiar emotions and bring the pathos to life in a way that text alone could not...Full of charm and moxie—don’t let this one roll past."

Plot Summary
Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader in 1967. In his school, the student body is largely divided between Catholics and Jews, and every Wednesday both groups go to their separate churches for religious classes. Holling, a Presbyterian, is forced to remain at class with his teacher, Mrs. Baker.

Initially, Holling is convinced that Mrs. Baker resents him for this. This suspicion is compounded when she begins having him read Shakespeare. As he begins to enjoy the plays, though, he also begins to understand Mrs. Baker—whose husband, he learns, is stationed in Vietnam.

The story's main focus is Holling's struggle to get out from his overbearing father's shadow. Mr. Hoodhood is an arrogant, cutthroat architect who is determined that Holling take over the business when he retires. Holling ultimately finds an ally in his older sister, Heather, and eventually comes to understand that Mrs. Baker is also trying to help him learn to be a man.

Other subplots in the story include Holling entering track, him going on his first date with classmate Meryl Lee Kowalski, her father of the other architecture firm in town, Kowalski and Associates, his sister Heather running away to California, and the ever-present shadow of the Vietnam War—as well as other historical events, such as the shootings of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The plot follows a steady, progression-focused format, lacking any clear climax. Instead, it simply follows Holling as he struggles through school, forms friends out of supposed enemies, and tries to grow up.

Characters
Main Characters: Holling Hoodhood, Mrs.Baker

Secondary Characters: Danny Hupfer, Mai Thi Huong, Meryl Lee Kowalski, Doug Swieteck and his brother, Sycorax and Caliban (rats), Heather Hoodhood, Mickey Mantle, Mr.Hoodhood, Mrs. Hoodhood, Mr. Goldman, Mrs. Sidman, Mr. Vendleri, Mr. Guareschi, Mrs. Bigio, Mr. Petrelli, Coach Quatrini,

Critical Reception
Kirkus Reviews claims, "Schmidt has a way of getting to the emotional heart of every scene without overstatement, allowing the reader and Holling to understand the great truths swirling around them on their own terms. It’s another virtuoso turn by the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2005)".

Plot Summary
In the exposition of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the main character, Minli, is introduced. She is a little girl from China who is very eager for adventure, so she wants her family's fortune to change. Her parents, Ma and Ba, are also introduced; Ma is very "bitter and resentful", and wants to protect Minli from all of Ba's silly stories. Ba is more happy, and has a very good relationship with Minli. He tells her stories, which make her very happy.The setting is also revealed. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon takes place in the Village of the Fruitless Mountain. It is called the Village of the Fruitless Mountain because there is a huge mountain surrounding the village where nothing grows and no animals live. The village is very poor, there is hardly anything to eat, only rice. There is mud everywhere. The Jade River also surrounds the big Village.

As the novel progresses, Minli goes on an adventure. Settings include the City of the Bright Moonlight, the Village of Moon Rain, and the Never Ending Mountain. The underlying conflict is that Minli's family and village is poor, which causes many problems throughout the book. One problem that is causes is that Minli runs aways to find the Old Man of the Moon, who could change their fortune. Another problem that it causes is that there is a strain in Minli's relationship with Ma. The first part of a rising action is that Minli runs away from her home to find the Old Man of the Moon, when she meets Dragon and they go on the journey together. Minli also meets a very important character on her journey; his name is Buffalo Boy, and he helps Minli realize that her home life isn't so bad, she should appreciate more, because she has a real home and parents who love her, and he does not, but he shows her how lucky she is. Next, Minli goes to the City of Bright Moonlight and meets the King. He gives her the borrowed line, which is essential to her journey, but it turns out that a stone lion had another borrowed line too, and he gave it to Dragon. Then, the climax was when Minli and Dragon were in a cave, and the evil Green Tiger came. He tried to kill Minli, but Dragon protected her, scaring the Green Tiger away, but in the process getting wounded. His cut soon became infected by the poison of the Green Tiger and Minli set off to find help. She then met Da-Fu and A-Fu, two twin children who tricked and killed the Green Tiger. Their grandfather comes and helps Dragon, and Da-Fu and A-Fu take Minli to their village, which is the Village of the Moon Rain. Everyone in the village shows great hospitality, and Dragon, who now healthy, was soon reunited with Minli. Da-Fu and A-Fu take Minli to the Never Ending Mountain,to meet the Old Man of the Moon. Instead of asking the Old Man of the Moon to fix her family's fortune, she asks him why Dragon cannot fly. The Old Man of the Moon tells Minli to take the stone ball off Dragon's head, and Minli and Dragon fly back to the Village of the Fruitless Mountain. It turns out that the stone ball on Dragon's head is a dragon's pearl, which is worth an entire fortune of a king. Also, Dragon is one of Jade Dragon's children. The resolution is when Minli is reunited with her parents and the Fruitless Mountain is no longer fruitless and the Jade River is clear and fresh. The village they live in is now happy and bright. beautiful flowers and fruit started to grow on now what is fruitful mountain in the village of now the village of fruitful mountain.

Critical Reception
Kirkus Reviews claims, "Lin deftly incorporates elements from Chinese folk- and fairy tales to create stories within the main story and provide context for Minli’s quest. With her 'lively and impulsive spirit,' Minli emerges a stalwart female role model who learns the importance of family, friendship and faith during her amazing journey. Richly hued illustrations reinforce the Chinese folk theme."