Picture Books: Candace Fleming part II

Clever Jack Takes the Cake

One day jack receives an invitation to visit the princess’s birthday party up at the castle. His mother tells him that he will not be able to go because they cannot afford a gift. Jack is disappointed but he comes up with a plan. With a little bit of creativity and work he manages to make the perfect cake for the princess. Cake in hand he sets out for the castle only to discover that the way there is more difficult that he imagined. First, crows eat the nuts on the cake, then a troll demands a toll to cross a bridge, and the candles are used in order to get through the dark, dark forest. Jack travels until finally he reaches the princess’s feet with nothing to offer but a brave adventure story of how he travel to see her. Delighted with the gift of a clever story the princess becomes Jack’s fast friend.

Once again the clever and polished story telling of Fleming delivers a delightful and entertaining tale about a boy poor boy who tries very hard to give his princess and nice birthday present.

Seven Hungry Babies

Momma Bird’s eggs hatch one morning and now she has seven hungry baby birds on her hands. She travels all over the neighborhood snatching things for them to eat. When she if finally done feeding all seven and settles into rest they are hungry again. All moms can sympathize with this harried momma bird. This is a cute little tale full of fun repetition and sounds.

Imogene’s Last Stand

Imogene Tripp is a unique character, who has had a passion for history from a very early age. In fact, her first words were “four score and seven years ago.” She takes over the historical society of her small town Liddleville in New Hampshire. After organizing, cleaning, and repairing the old building news comes down from the mayor that he is going to tear down the historical society in order to build a shoe factory.

Imogene will not stand for the destruction of her town’s history, but no one will listen to her protests. Not even when drops flyers from a bi-plane. Then she makes a marvelous discovery about the history of Liddlevill—George Washington stayed the night there once. Imogene notifies the town historian and asks for help, but it might be too late. Imogene is the only thing standing between the bulldozers outside and their town’s precious historical heritage.

Seriously! I found another picture book I just adore by Candace Fleming. This little tale could also be ranked under my most favorite picture books ever. Imogene is a hilarious, passionate, and precocious little character that you can’t help but root for. It is fun to watch her take on the whole town and fight for what she believes in.

Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming

Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming


I previously read and reviewed Candace Fleming’s biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. So when I saw that she recently released a biography of Amelia Earhart I was thrilled. I ordered it in at the library and thoroughly enjoyed Fleming’s talent for making history entertaining. The opening chapter starts with the dramatic story of Amelia Earhart’s last but fateful flight. The scene portrays the instant when the navy crews expecting Amelia’s arrival first realized she was lost.

The book then switches to information about Amelia’s childhood, and those experiences that gave her the personality and interest for being an aviatrix. So, the biography continues to switch between the narrative history of Amelia’s life and the dramatic clips about what happened after the Navy discovered that Amelia was lost.

I found this biography fascinating, as this time period is full of so much adventure. The author manages to convey just how dangerous the beginning of aviation was, and the progress that it made through Amelia’s life. I felt that the biography showed just how courageous Amelia was but illustrated that her courage also made her reckless in her decision making. To every virtue there is the downfall. The biography also discussed how strongly Amelia felt about women being able to do the same as men, and portrayed this as a motivating factor behind her flying. As a result Amelia Earhart inspired a generation of woman. I found this honest and human look at this legendary woman to be inspiring and interesting.

I really love Candace Fleming. I hope she writes more books similar to this one, though they must take years of work.



Visit the website of Candace Fleming

Picture Books: Candace Fleming

Picture books: Candace Fleming

Sonny boy the life and times of a Tortise

Alright, this may have just become my all time favorite picture book. The little one did not like to sit through it because it was too long, but I found it charming.

It is the story of a tortoise named Sonny Boy, who likes plants, stamp collecting, and Latin. Each of his owners have been nice and docile professor types until he gets handed down to Biff. Biff is a dare devil who isn’t that good at his job. In order to prove his mettle he decides to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Sonny boy ends up taking the plunge with him.

I enjoyed this delightful character story. I have enjoyed Candace Fleming’s non-fiction books before, but I am now quickly becoming a fan of her picture books. Fun times! Fun times!

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!

Mr. McGreely has dreamed of planting a garden for years, and finally decides to start one this spring. He plants and waters and hopes and his garden starts to grow. Then he discovers that he isn’t the only one enjoying the fruit of his labors. He has found three little intruding bunnies that keep trying to eat his vegetables. He refuses to allow such pilfering and builds a fence around the garden, but the bunnies manage to sneak through. As a result Mr. McGreely decides to build a bigger and better defenses around his garden.

This story even made the hubby (over on the couch trying to pretend he wasn’t interested in a measly picture book) laugh. This one is a joy to read out loud. Mr. McGreely’s determination to keep the bunnies out of his garden and the bunnies’ sneaky little tricks makes for a humorous and entertaining show down.

This one was enjoyed by the girler and me alike. The text is fun to read as it has a lot of alliterative and onomatopoetic elements to it.

Tippy Tippy Tippy hide

Is the sequel to Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! It involves all the old cast. This time winter is coming and Mr. McGreely is preparing for winter and is ready to hole away inside. Then the bunnies start sneaking into his house to get warm. Mr. McGreely runs around the house stopping up all the places they can sneak in.

This one also had the husband and me laughing. My favorite part is when Mr. McGreely finds bunny drops on his pillow. Hilarious! Seriously, I recommend these two stories! Go check them out from the library now.


Visit Author's Candace Fleming's Website

Our Eleanor by Candace Flemming

Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming

Earlier this year I read a “scrapbook” biography of Benjamin Franklin’s life written by the same author. This Biography is about Eleanor Roosevelt, and her tremendous life. I’m so glad I came across this book, and read it. It gave me a whole new picture of this revolutionary woman. I always knew that Eleanor was a unique figure in history, but this really made me understand her life and the influence she held in America at the time. I hadn’t known that she was the first woman delegate to the United Nations, or that she helped to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or that she was a huge leader in the Democratic party for many years.

The number of things that she accomplished in life is absolutely amazing, and it was for the majority centered around helping people in all walks of life, and in dozens of different places. Yet this biography also shows the human side of her, how her marriage wasn’t picture perfect, and her mother-in-law was controlling and overbearing. My favorite detail was the fact that she was a terrible driver. She got in car accidents all the time, complete with newspaper articles detailing what happened. This entertaining and informative biography really is a delight to read.

I really do love how this format allows the reader to view primary documents along with the narrative text, though I wished that some of the scanned documents had been larger and clearer, because I was squinting to read them. The book is full of pictures, documents, cartoons, articles, letters, and posters that make the book more fascinating. This was a really excellent book, and an excellent resource for young people interested in history. I would highly recommend this to all!

Author's Website:http://www.candacefleming.com/

Ben Franklin's Almanac by Candace Fleming

Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life by Candace Fleming

“But as I read Ben’s letters and essays, looked at pictures of his family, and uncovered Franklin stories and anecdotes, I began to see him differently. Innovative, vulgar, sometimes heroic, sometimes flawed, the incredibly complex Ban Franklin I discovered beguiled me, and I was no longer satisfied to tell his story in a ordinary way. I needed a form that would illuminate each of the many facets of his life—the vastness of his interests and accomplishments, and the deep commitment he made to each one….And like a scrapbook, the stories of Ben’s life has been centered around visuals—portraits, etchings, cartoons, and sketches. These images—most created long ago—will bring you face-to-face with history, and help you to connect with Ben the person, rather than just a name and dates. You will actually see Ben’s childhood home. You will see his electrical equipment, the faces of his family, the first pages of his most famous writings. And hopefully, like the individual pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, these snapshots will come together and a whole picture of Ben Franklin will emerge.” ~Candace Fleming

This middle grade non-fiction biography of Ben Franklin’s life includes multiple, cartoons, pictures, images that come directly from Franklin’s own life. The Biography is not organized in a chronological form, but by chapter theme. Some chapter topics are: “Boyhood Memories,” “A Family Album,” “Tokens of Well-Lived life,” and “Revolutionary Memorabilia.” This book totals 120 pages, and includes a Year-by-Year look at Ben’s life, a bibliography, picture sources, and recommendations for books and websites about Ben for Younger readers.
The instant I opened this book I absolutely adored it! I seriously love this book! Each of the pages is typeset to looks exactly like a pamphlet, broadside, newspaper or almanac from the colonial era, except the print is far more legible. Most of the images or pictures are from the time-period, something the Ben would have printed, or seen himself during his lifetime. They are all black and white, and add to the illusion that you are reading from an old book. The book has fun little anecdotes and stories about Ben’s life, and illustrates his humor, wit, and intelligence. I wonder if the book should be for middle grade readers, since Franklin’s prose is a product of his time and a bit hard to understand at times. Still each page has a layout that looks like old newspaper articles, complemented with pictures. These little articles are small and approachable to read, and I can see myself as a small student browsing through and reading the small articles and looking at the pictures. Then as I became an older student going through and reading some of the longer passages and learning the more complex background behind Franklin’s life and inventions. This truly is an innovative and versatile scrapbook of Ben’s life that will bring entertainment to readers of all ages. The history major in me applauds.

This book is a James Madison Honor Book, and had won multiple other awards. The author has published several other scrapbook looks into the life of American Heroes and also writes fiction. Check out her other work at her website: http://www.candacefleming.com/index.html