Berries, cats and candidates

“Blueberries for Sal”

Robert McCloskey

Little Sal and her mother go blueberry picking on Blueberry Hill. Sal picks three blueberries and eats two. Sal wanders off to find more blueberries. As she leans forward to grab another handful of blueberries from her mother’s large tin pail, she discovers it is not her mother holding the pail of blueberries. Where is Sal’s mother? Who is holding the pail of blueberries? Will Sal find her mother? Read this story to find out more.

Reviewed by Frankie, 8

St. Finbar School

Burbank

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“The Cat Who Went to Heaven”

Elizabeth Coatsworth

A poor painter lives in China with his housekeeper. One day, the artist sends the housekeeper to get something to eat. Instead of getting food, however, she brings a cat home, because she thinks that the artist is lonely. The artist gets mad. He screams at the housekeeper, and she cries.

Then the artist opened the basket and saw the pretty cat. He saw the cat had yellow, black and white spots all around. The artist realized that those colors are lucky, and that the cat is well-behaved. Then the artist liked the cat and started to care for him.

The local priests ask the artist to paint them a picture to give to God. The artist wants to paint his cat but can’t because the priests think cats are unlucky. This makes the cat sad, so the artist does it anyway. To find out what happens, read the book.

Reviewed by Andrea, 10

Ivanhoe Elementary School

Los Angeles

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“The Kid Who Ran for President”

Dan Gutman

Kids, would you like to run for president? If so, this is a book for you. Yes, it is fiction, but it is also hilarious and entertaining. This boy named Judson Moon has a geeky friend who has a very serious idea, and it is running for president of the You-Nited States! At first Judson thought it was a joke, but he was wrong.

Lane (his friend who came up with the idea) is his campaign manager and wants him to look great on TV, have a first lady, have a vice president (and that would be Judson’s elderly African American baby-sitter) and produce all different kinds of merchandise. But that kind of stuff costs $5 million! How will they be able to make all of that money? Will Judson become president? You will have to find that out by yourself.

Reviewed by Clair, 9

El Marino Language School

Culver City

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Kids, send us your reviews. Mail them to Kids’ Reading Room, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; or fax to (213) 237-5946; or e-mail kidsreadingroom@latimes.com. Don’t forget to include you name, school and age.