tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-225592142024-03-18T23:58:47.584-04:00Ms. Yingling ReadsAt least one review of middle grade literature every single day, and years of reviews going back to 2006. All the #MGLit you could ever want. Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.comBlogger6392125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-24602253524126546652024-03-18T05:00:00.070-04:002024-03-18T05:00:00.233-04:00MMGM- Unstuck and The Enigma Girls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s1600/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s200/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">It's</span><br /><div><span face="">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</span><br /><span face=""> at </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://gpattridge.com/"><span face="">Always in the Middle </span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">and #IMWAYR day </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">at</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""><a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNeQpEVwlm6_V4fmgaliG4nLCN1VZzF-d99aE0dL3dr-OKd05HTHjmab-E6Nt0QMkrbcTCjUtUj85G6zpXTMI6SOfjHwvsXrKTrvfO3yWSfGPNfCSxPpwP-nwLT7hD-07Chx-iqaX1PoctL822rAx0npN2tmYQdhS_R5K7haM73qGTGdNnSPPwg/s2116/176529483.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2116" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNeQpEVwlm6_V4fmgaliG4nLCN1VZzF-d99aE0dL3dr-OKd05HTHjmab-E6Nt0QMkrbcTCjUtUj85G6zpXTMI6SOfjHwvsXrKTrvfO3yWSfGPNfCSxPpwP-nwLT7hD-07Chx-iqaX1PoctL822rAx0npN2tmYQdhS_R5K7haM73qGTGdNnSPPwg/w133-h200/176529483.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Dee, Barbara. <i>Unstuck</i></div></div>February 27, 2024 by Aladdin<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>Lyla is struggling in 7th grade; her best friend from elementary school, Rania, attends Dickinson Middle School, while Lyla attends Whitman. Lyla still hasn't found a new friend, but does eat lunch every day with Journey, a quirky girl who is very interested in animals and a bit less interested in Lyla's concerns. Lyla's older sister, Dahlia, is a senior in high school, and struggling with writing her college application essays, which causes a lot of friction between her sister and her parents. This also causes Lyla to feel that her parents don't really care about her. For her language arts class, her favorite teacher, Ms. Bowman, is having the students do whatever creative writing makes them happy, and this is a bright spot in Lyla's world because she has a fascinating and complicated fantasy novel she is working on. She has the most amazing first sentence, character studies, names, and even maps... but she can't get beyond that first sentence. She envies others in her class, like Stella, who seems to churn out writing effortlessly. She becomes very stressed with the whole process, especially since she wants to enter-- and win!-- a local writing contest that Dahlia had done well in when she was in middle school. Not only that, but she feels disconnected from Raina. When the two finally plan a sleepoever, Lyla is disappointed that some of Raina's new friends from the track team at her school are also there. Lyla really wants to discuss her story with Raina to help figure out the direction she should take, but when she talks about it briefly, she comes across as bragging, since Raina's new friends make her feel less accomplished. The tensions at home increase, and Dahlia confides in her that she doesn't want to go to college right away, but is afraid to tell her parents. Not only that, but she is failing some of her courses! She begs Lyla not to tell, which puts her in a difficult position. When Lyla finds out that Raina's new friends bullied Journey so much that her parents pulled her out of school and homeschooled her, Lyla wants to confront her old friend, but isn't sure quite how to approach the topic, especially since the two rarely talk. As her stress levels rise, Ms. Bowman tries to help, having the whole class do free writing, letting Lyla go to the library for a change of scenery, and letting her know that all writers occasionally struggle and that Lyla should be kind to herself and "write her feelings". This helps, and Lyla begins to work on her story, using it as a way to process her emotions about what is going on in her life. Dee includes 25 tips for writers at the end of the book. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: Dee is always on trend with issue of friendship, mental health, and family dynamics; in fact, she may set the trends. Dahlia's college application process is no doubt exactly what many post-pandemic high schoolers are going through right now. Who knew that gap years were even an option? The fact that the parents are supportive but also really irritated with her is perfect. Ms. Bowman is a great teacher (and also plays bass in a rock band!), and will be a big draw for adult readers who love her approach to the writing process. The friend drama is definitely on point for today's tweens as well; everyone loses at least one friend during middle school, and when you only HAVE one friend, it is especially devastating. There is a nice balance of the different plot threads. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: This was a hard read for me personally, and we're supposed to share these emotions with people or they get angry because we're holding back, right? I was Lyla in middle school. I wrote the world's worst novel in 7th and 8th grade, and was probably just as irritating to my friends about my process. Does Dee capture middle grade sensibilities and emotions? Absolutely. This just hit a little close to home for me, but was certainly very well written and insightful. I certainly did not become a writer. </div><div><b>What I really think:</b> Dee's novels are very popular in my library, and I will definitely purchase this one. It's a good choice for readers who are working on their own fantasy novel, or who enjoyed Baptist's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/12/isaiah-dunn-saves-ths-day.html" target="_blank">Isaiah Dunn Saves the Day</a></i> or Mills' <i>Write This Down</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1v7uKpnEP1l7YuuDWtfl_3AZ7qQiO4gKhvYz0pRA7eC7PTlxTVLEcRx-Ohz3xKLJHXxy6mN5JNe1qzhK3oLAyYPfCJR43Nahljo0uglxAFVjCBbC8L4SpIhFC-wT2vwaO4-OW8JGFlm2PDcz-qTmRqrOrHpI7A4k5ESPhZdF_JVz2tIe5_OdcA/s2475/124932715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="1650" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1v7uKpnEP1l7YuuDWtfl_3AZ7qQiO4gKhvYz0pRA7eC7PTlxTVLEcRx-Ohz3xKLJHXxy6mN5JNe1qzhK3oLAyYPfCJR43Nahljo0uglxAFVjCBbC8L4SpIhFC-wT2vwaO4-OW8JGFlm2PDcz-qTmRqrOrHpI7A4k5ESPhZdF_JVz2tIe5_OdcA/w133-h200/124932715.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Fleming, Candace. <i>The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II</i></div>March 5, 2024 by Scholastic Focus<br /> E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /><br /> Fleming's Scholastic Focus titles like<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/09/mmgm-barefoot-dreams-of-petra-luna-and.html" target="_blank"> The Curse of the Mummy</a></i> (2021) and <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/10/mmgm-space-ships-crashing-everywhere.html" target="_blank">Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell </a></i>(2022) are popular in my library, but since this involved World War II, it will be even MORE popular! <div><br /></div><div>Focusing on just ten of the young women who worked at Bletchley Park in a variety of roles, this book gives a great overview of the different types of jobs held by women from different social classes who had a range of abilities. There were debutantes who had been to school abroad, and so spoke language, girls who signed up for the WRENs, and even tall girls who were assigned to the bombe machines because of their height! Given that, according to the book, there were four hundred men and a thousand women working at the facility, this is just a fraction of the stories that could be told. </div><div><br /></div><div>While all of the women signed the official secrets act, and in general, held their tongue and work their work was (two women who got in a fight in the canteen and mentioned some of the secrets out loud were summariliy dismissed!), there is a lot of information about the types of work they did, and even pictures of some of the Enigman machines, German cipher books, and notecards. While there were a number of steps that the higher ups knew in their entirety, the workers at each step were unaware of what the other divisions were doing, to the point where messages were pushed through openings so that the workers couldn't communicate with each other. Some of the more significant accomplishments of the code breaking at Bletchley included taking down the Italian navy and sinking the German Bismarck. The depiction of how the women would feel when codes didn't get broken, knowing that it meant that the British army didn't have information about what attacks might happen, was heartbreaking. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was a good mix of information about the code breaking that went on and how daily life unfolded. I loved that one of the more well-to-do women found a family friend with an estate eight miles away who was able to billet a number of the women. The feeling that everyone had to do their part makes the story intriguing, and there is even some romance. It is amazing how young some of the women were. The research to uncover information about them had to have been daunting, but Fleming is a master at this. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's hard to even get my mind around all of the information in the book, but it is presented in a very engaging way. Young readers won't have seen the television program, <i>The Bletchley Circle</i>, about women who had been working in decoding and didn't tell anyone about their wartime activities even when they came back to haunt them in various ways in the 1950s, but will still be interested in the sort of work that was done. Not as many of my female readers are interested in WWII, but that makes this book even more valuable. Keep this one available for readers who enjoyed Farrell's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/12/mmgm-world-war-ii-nonfiction.html" target="_blank">Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII </a></i>(2019), Wein's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2019/01/mmgmnonfiction-monday-electric-war.html" target="_blank">A Thousand Sisters:The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II</a></i> (2019), and Pearson's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/01/mmgm-bringing-me-back-and-fly-girls.html" target="_blank">Fly Girls: The Daring American Women Pilots Who Helped Win WWII </a></i>(2018).</div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-65153204817931733282024-03-17T05:00:00.000-04:002024-03-17T05:00:00.128-04:00 A Stinky History of Toilets and Gut Reaction<div><div>I would feel somewhat bad about listing these two books together, since the history of toilets might seem to be less serious than the medical issues addressed in <i>Gut Reaction</i>, but a parent recently thanked me for pairing fiction and nonfiction titles for her son, who had previously refused to read fiction books. </div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEFgX6yesdKo0IYIAP0gxjsVjECP8vs3stUwo0ynBbkcronzEUurYBvyfjQPgUuiDZihSdQX4uIQWsvqTL-5wqHANC4F12XxqKV6yjew7fawbkIk0RfeVg6CJO7eNH9SSjReyxhZVzrsuQ99M75LtRV76R5kEVDYpKXyJE7NrwzL5Qumb68NIRQ/s400/101404540.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="329" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEFgX6yesdKo0IYIAP0gxjsVjECP8vs3stUwo0ynBbkcronzEUurYBvyfjQPgUuiDZihSdQX4uIQWsvqTL-5wqHANC4F12XxqKV6yjew7fawbkIk0RfeVg6CJO7eNH9SSjReyxhZVzrsuQ99M75LtRV76R5kEVDYpKXyJE7NrwzL5Qumb68NIRQ/w164-h200/101404540.jpg" width="164" /></a></div></div><div>Meikle, Olivia, Nelson, Katie, and Kasperowicz, Ella (illus.) </div><div><i>A Stinky History of Toilets </i></div><div>March 5, 2024 by Neon Squid</div><div>Copy provided by the Publisher</div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah Albee's fantastic 2011 <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/05/scholastic-titles.html" target="_blank">Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up</a></i> includes just about everything this new title does, but with more detail. For readers who are more inclined toward shorter snippets of information as well as colorful, infographic style illustrations, this is just as informative, and a tiny bit sillier. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you're familiar with the classic Taro Gomi<i> Everyone Poops</i> from 1981, you will not be surprised that there are lots of pictures of poop, done in a somewhat similar style. That will be a big draw for younger readers, who find much humor in this, but the real value is in the complete history of the development of toilets and attendant sanitary facilities. This goes around the world and talks about the differences in practices, and how sometimes people are at odds over these. </div><div><br /></div><div>Everything from the well known practices of the Romans, to the Viking midden at Jorvik, to a brief description of John Snow's work with cholera is presented with statistics, maps, and lots of facts. Sure, there are lots of pictures of people sitting on toilets with their pants around their ankles, but if King Louis of France could entertain people in his throne room like this, there's no reason these circumspect illustrations can't point out how things have changed in the world of lavatories. </div><div><br /></div><div>Middle school and elementary school libraries need this as a nonfiction accompaniment to all of Dav Pilkey's <i>Captain Underpants</i> books, along with Yomtov's <i>The Gross, Grimy History of the Toilet</i>, Perdew's<i> How the Toilet Changed History</i>, and Marsico's<i> Stinky Sanitation Inventions</i>, and Gregory's 2006 collection of photographs of Toilets of the World. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrH8hcKbwlgaq4xX4ymCrYM1s47ifD6ud0byIINI67F_DMJ-97-yuiLqPWra8z_v1GnCRSUNNQpldnUgQILvNjmm0utxGFBb3W5jNGDy_bdYO8hHCfoyN0JcOjpVHx72w122Q6jblOMhwHG-dG4T_ya5M5QSOqFmemKkJIbfmQIarEG65E8ZLHrg/s400/124932788.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrH8hcKbwlgaq4xX4ymCrYM1s47ifD6ud0byIINI67F_DMJ-97-yuiLqPWra8z_v1GnCRSUNNQpldnUgQILvNjmm0utxGFBb3W5jNGDy_bdYO8hHCfoyN0JcOjpVHx72w122Q6jblOMhwHG-dG4T_ya5M5QSOqFmemKkJIbfmQIarEG65E8ZLHrg/w134-h200/124932788.jpg" width="134" /></a></div></div>Larson, Kirby and Wyatt, Quinn. <i>Gut Reaction</i><br />March 5, 2024 by Scholastic Press<br />E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /><br />Tess and her younger sister Gracie have moved to a new place after her mother gets engaged to Scott. Scott is fine, but Tess is still dealing with her father's sudden death from a heart attack three years ago. He was a baker, and Tess has followed in his footsteps, although since he died when she was in the middle of a children's baking competition, it's sometimes hard. Her stomach has been bothering her, sometimes a lot, and she suspects that all of the stressors are piling up. She tries to watch what she eats and avoid things that trigger her, but doesn't tell her mother about her problems. Things get off to a rocky start at her new school, but she eventually makes friends with Elly, who is into older music by artists like Nina Simone and Jimi Hendrix, and her friend Rajit, by bringing baked goods to school. There's also Emmett, who also lost his father, and Brooklyn, who is trying very hard to get their language arts teacher to update the books that the students have to read. When Tess gets an invitation to another competition, she really wants to go, but knows that her mother is struggling with money, and also that this reminder of her father might be difficult. There's also her worsening health condition. Her mother eventually catches on and notices that Tess has lost weight, but it takes a medical emergency to really finally get answers. Still on the mend, Tess has to practice for the baking competition with the help of her new friends. This is tiring, but she manages to come up with some good ideas. The competition is tough, and it doesn't help that Flora, a winner of a previous competition, is a nasty participant. Still, things go well until the final round. <div><b>Strengths</b>: I am all about weaponizing baked goods, even if I will never have enough patience to measure flour by ounces instead of cups! It was good to see that Tess managed to integrate into her new school, and eventually found some friends, and also to see that her stepfather to be was a good guy who was supportive. These are both important messages for young readers; there are too many books where these occurrences are portrayed in very dire ways. Tess' health problems unfold in a realistic way, with enough drama to appeal to young readers. Author Wyatt's own struggles add a nice level of depth to the experience. It's been almost ten years since the We Need Diverse Books movement; now that we have more variety in the ethnic and cultural connections, the new frontier seems to be health issues and LGBTQIA+ characters. It's nice to see a growing number of books with these concerns, and there's certainly room for more of them. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: I wish there had been more about Tess and Emmett's interest in each other, especially since Elly also had a crush on him, but we don't hear much about that after the competition begins. While I loved that Tess was involved in the competition, I could have used more information about Crohn's disease and fewer details about the baking competition. </div><div><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for readers who found Arlow's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-year-my-life-went-down-toilet.html" target="_blank"> The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet </a></i>or Eliopolis' <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/06/will-on-inside.html" target="_blank">Will on the Inside</a></i> informative, but has more in common with books involving cooking competitions, like Harper's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/07/guy-friday-lights-cameras-cook.html" target="_blank">Lights, Cameras, Cook</a>!,</i> Delaney's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/05/who-she-is-and-alice-flecks-recipe-for.html" target="_blank">Alice Fleck's Recipe for Disaster,</a></i> LaMotte's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/10/cartoon-saturday-measuring-up.html" target="_blank">Measuring Up</a></i>, Schroeder's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2010/03/strange-case-of-origami-yoda.html" target="_blank">It's Raining Cupcakes</a></i>, or Negron's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-last-super-chef.html" target="_blank">The Last Super Chef.</a></i> </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-17799681747825322772024-03-16T05:00:00.066-04:002024-03-16T05:46:30.442-04:00Amy's Big Brother and The Lucky Poor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI544DGaBu4UwJTEaa-o1flMqoeM2ibSuu2-Bn1SXM7fBzu2O3Yo90-oXiAEf7Mgn6Q6AyHiUlAOEr5LqRBHIDtrsC_u2HRUaRpld-e3ALc8o4rApEQ8DJlqlVWyZD29LH2DXWcSbjJi1-euV87p001YmE9PgayoVe-rFGDeU-j-801Mk8IvyD_A/s500/194805610%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI544DGaBu4UwJTEaa-o1flMqoeM2ibSuu2-Bn1SXM7fBzu2O3Yo90-oXiAEf7Mgn6Q6AyHiUlAOEr5LqRBHIDtrsC_u2HRUaRpld-e3ALc8o4rApEQ8DJlqlVWyZD29LH2DXWcSbjJi1-euV87p001YmE9PgayoVe-rFGDeU-j-801Mk8IvyD_A/w133-h200/194805610%20(1).jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Jeong, BonHyung. <i>Amy's Big Brother </i><div>December 12, 2023 by JY</div><div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>In this companion to <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/07/cartoon-saturday-kyles-little-sister.html" target="_blank">Kyle's Little Sister</a></i>, we meet Andrew, who is a friend of Kyle's. He struggles a bit with issues at home, since he was adopted as an infant, but his parents then had a biological child, his younger sister Amy, who is not well behaved. He feels that his parents baby her, and always take her side whenever there is an altercation. Often, Amy makes a small issue into an altercation to get attention, which is endlessly frustrating to Andrew. He just wants to play basketball with his friends, but he is also interested in a girl in his class, Hannah. After an awkward start, they start "going together", but even this is not easy. Hannah has less time to spend with her friends, and Andrew wishes he had more time to spend playing basketball. He wants to be a "good boyfriend", however, and pays lots of attention to Hannah, waiting for her after class and texting her frequently, but this starts to feel oppressive to Hannah. They eventually break up because of this lack of communication, but the two do talk things over (with a little help from Amy) and come to an understanding. <br /><b>Strengths</b>: This has a fairly pleasing illustrative style that is reminiscent of <i>Speed Racer </i>and manga, so there is a built in audience for it right away. This does a good job at capturing how all consuming romantic relationships can be in middle school, and how fraught with anxiety tweens can get in such situations. The push and pull between competing desires is not terribly well represented in middle grade literature; too many books concentrate on the emotion of grief, when really, the desire to be liked and wanted is probably much more prevalent in this demographic, and is no less powerful because adults might think it's silly. Adults view loss as death; tweens view it slightly differently, and this book shows some very realistic feelings about being in a budding relationship. <br /><b>Weaknesses: </b>I personally found the yelling and over the top emotions to be wearying, but then, even in middle school I had no patience for dramatic hystrionics. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for readers who want graphic novels with lots of tween angst and emotion, like Misako's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/11/bounce-back.html" target="_blank">Bounce Back </a></i>or Chmakova's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/10/enemies.html" target="_blank">Berrybrook Middle School </a></i>series. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL66197RxcEAiE1hyJkRWrSPH7SiwKWJe_s_INi710v2h4wdGPL0ysSJ0RyzNC9pOizGH5-cnVhfPbvxwPo9xSPVMZBRzWa5DCN9Ue6qHZiG3lDsS_g2OyxO6vh_FEbYvdKGL3-VnYoLvX5CDkKmaYkR_zDkzazEai4_FbOlX-HzQdsTFttu_l1Q/s400/125374045.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="286" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL66197RxcEAiE1hyJkRWrSPH7SiwKWJe_s_INi710v2h4wdGPL0ysSJ0RyzNC9pOizGH5-cnVhfPbvxwPo9xSPVMZBRzWa5DCN9Ue6qHZiG3lDsS_g2OyxO6vh_FEbYvdKGL3-VnYoLvX5CDkKmaYkR_zDkzazEai4_FbOlX-HzQdsTFttu_l1Q/w143-h200/125374045.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>Lovie, Mazie. <i>The Lucky Poor</i></div><div>March 12, 2024 by Iron Circus Comic</div><div>ARC provided by the Publisher</div><div><br /></div><div>In this graphic style memoir, we follow the various housing and life experiences of young Mazie. While her family managed to stay housed, the quality of the dwellings was often sub-par; there was the "bug house", apartments with the mother's boyfriends, and apartments with mice in sketchy neighborhoods. The author still considers her family "lucky poor" because of the support of grandparents, who not only had a farm but also access to a summer cabin, and were supportive of Maizie and her autistic younger brother Jake. Maizie even had the opportunity to go to a summer program for siblings of children with autism, that provided her with a break from having to be patient with her brother. Maizie's grades were decent, and she had some friends, including ones who accept that she may be a lesbian or bisexual. After several years with an unkind boyfriend, her mother applies for a Habitat for Humanity Home, and the family spends a lot of time working on the house. Maizie is glad to have a larger, safer place to be, and wonders why this opportunity isn't extended to everyone, and not just people who know to apply to the program. <br /><b>
Strengths</b>: The topic of housing challenges doesn't come up in middle grade literature as often as it could, and this is a good representation of different situations that young people might find themselves in. The information about the Habitat for Humanity process of applying and providing "sweat equity" was interesting. Jake's behaviors are challenging, but the family does a good job at helping him process situations, and I was glad to see that Mazie was able to understand his needs and be helpful to him even when he was somewhat burdensome to her. The depiction of a supportive extended family was good to see.
<br /><b>Weaknesses:</b> The illustration style is certainly different from recent graphic novels; the pictures are clear, and in bold colors, but somehow simpler than many I've seen.
<br /><b>What I really think:</b> This is a good choice for readers who enjoy books like Lesage's <i>AWOL</i> or Knisley's<i> Stepping Stones </i>that deal with a sometimes difficult living arrangements for tweens.</div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-15920961536656600322024-03-15T05:00:00.032-04:002024-03-15T05:00:00.157-04:00Guy Friday- Walkin' the Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAuzwZ8AKSeh61XonEj9S-uRumIrlUI1ynxtk_QYrN1dYakr2IMOB-5B1pbPJnCjUJGKC-_8ywfQTBnV3cuFm9I-KC71_v5QiX4Ov-NElH3wz27SVm9AvXOBcobg2oR85Kkh6JNTzerHuEoHPCwXSYThozXGkTUbdGdTYmimNJHAAhhsspY7RAw/s2114/176442696.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2114" data-original-width="1399" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAuzwZ8AKSeh61XonEj9S-uRumIrlUI1ynxtk_QYrN1dYakr2IMOB-5B1pbPJnCjUJGKC-_8ywfQTBnV3cuFm9I-KC71_v5QiX4Ov-NElH3wz27SVm9AvXOBcobg2oR85Kkh6JNTzerHuEoHPCwXSYThozXGkTUbdGdTYmimNJHAAhhsspY7RAw/w133-h200/176442696.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Lynch, Chris. <i>Walkin' the Dog</i><br />March 12, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers<div>ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central</div><div><br /></div><div>During the summer before high school, things are not going exactly the way Louis would like. His father is a fisherman, and needs Louis to walk Old Man Dan's dog so that Dan can go out and work on the boat. Both Dan and his dog, Amos, are both rather odiferous, for various reasons, but the dog is commonly called "Anus" because of his smell. While Louis isn't thrilled with getting up early and walking the dog, it's a pleasant enough way to spend time, and it might get him out of visiting his mother. His mother worked at a women's shelter, and after an injury sustained at work, became addicted to pain killers. She's been recuperating at the Knoll, but isn't ready to come home yet. Louis' slightly older sister, Faye, is determined that they will visit their mother, especially since another brother, Ike (who is training to be a policeman), doesn't get along with her quite as well. While out walking Amos, he meets Agatha, who forcibly becomes his friend. She even tags along to a new dog walking client that Dan has arranged for Louis, in exchange for a discount, of course! The friendship with Agatha is amusing, and a good thing for Louis, because he has been homeschooled and struggles a bit with making friends. Faye especially is amused by Agatha, and encourages the two to spend time together. There are plenty of dogs to walk, and Louis even finds a couple of unusual dogs at the edge of town. One of these seemingly belongs to Agatha, but she's not always telling the entire truth, especially about where she lives. Louis misses his mother, and desperately wants her to come home. He meets up with Cy, who is a few years older, and who had been tutored by his mother for some tests a few years back. Cy lives in the same apartment building as Agatha, although Agatha has claimed to live in a mansion. It's not always easy to deal with the dogs, his mother, his older brother, or the thought of going to public school for high school. Will Louis find the support he needs to continue to make progress in his life? <br /><br />Lynch, who has written a wide variety of young adult novels, including the <i>I Pledge Allegiance</i> series and the fantastic 1995 <i>Slot Machine</i>, gives us an interesting look at a very mundane yet impactful summer in one young man's life. It's good to see Louis put his freedome to good use, walking dogs, visiting his mother, and hanging out with Agatha and Cy. The problems he has to face are interspersed with amusing activities and dogs, and his relationship with Agatha is peppered with witty repartee and an eventual light romance. </div><div><br /></div><div>Louis is such a great character, and shows a lot of reluctant resilience. He doesn't want to get up early and walk the dog, but his mother has inculcated in him that he should help others, so he does it with good grace. He doesn't like Ike or the way his brother treats him, and copes with this by avoiding his brother, which is sometimes the only thing to be done. He and Faye get along well, and seeing the juxtaposition of the sibling relationships adds another layer of interest to the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are some sad things; not one but two dogs die, Louis' mother struggles all summer with dealing with her addiction, and Ike is not at all pleasant to his brother for most of the book. The publisher lists this as being for readers ages 8-12, in grades 3-7, but I think that the book will resonate most with slightly older readers who will appreciate the introspection and the descriptive quality of Lynch's fantastic writing. There is one f-word, and lots of description of dog effluvia, so is perhaps not the best choice for tender readers. </div><div><br /></div>Older readers who enjoy combining human social drama with dog shenanigan's will love this one; I need to let one of my readers who would ONLY read dog books know about this one, now that he has moved on to the high school. He read everything I could find, like Cameron's <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/08/zeus-water-rescue-dogs-with-purpose-1.html" target="_blank">Zeus: Water Rescue (Dogs With A Purpose #1)</a>, Northrop's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2013/03/rotten.html" target="_blank">Rotten</a></i>, and Jennifer Li Shotz's various dog books like <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/07/scout-national-hero.html" target="_blank">Scout</a></i>. I liked that Walkin' the Dog focused a little more on Louis' journey with the dogs as sidekicks, instead of focusing on what the dogs were thinking and feeling! Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-64708120057142840942024-03-14T05:00:00.002-04:002024-03-14T07:36:47.394-04:00Goblin Monday and Evil Spy School: The Graphic Novel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdSn53NeYQMhhxq_E0QNc7kysM-oQPE3jn-itVxScMlrRHs_mTXl0OIJewKvxPRGjMlPCghV7tG92fn6s76XrfU-vet1exTAaF6tAfgwHuHK_ZnClPD1WFqY96wbzsJakEi0K0-E5H709actdFcQDAHHwC_g8zHAJZHWI5P6wGK7MlcLHX7SnVQ/s2288/124932716.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2288" data-original-width="1575" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdSn53NeYQMhhxq_E0QNc7kysM-oQPE3jn-itVxScMlrRHs_mTXl0OIJewKvxPRGjMlPCghV7tG92fn6s76XrfU-vet1exTAaF6tAfgwHuHK_ZnClPD1WFqY96wbzsJakEi0K0-E5H709actdFcQDAHHwC_g8zHAJZHWI5P6wGK7MlcLHX7SnVQ/w138-h200/124932716.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>Stine, R.L. <i>Goblin Monday</i> (Goosebumps <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/09/book-of-screams-plus-rl-stine-scariest.html" target="_blank">House of Shivers</a></i> #2)<br />
March 5, 2024 by Scholastic Paperback<br />
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /><br />
Mario Galagos has moved to Philadelphia from Florida, where he has never seen snow. His new neighbors are Todd and Jewel Simms, and he's super excited to be traveling to Vermont over winter break to visit his new friends' grandparents. He even brings a snow blower so he can do snow sculpting. Tweety and MomMom are a little quirky, but it's nice to be away from the city, so Mario can put up with MomMom's constant barrage of stew and grandpa Tweety's strange stories. The cat, Firefly, is often on edge, and Tweety claims is is because of the goblins in the garden. Todd and Jewell brush this off, but after he is attacked by one in the garden, Mario takes the warnings seriously. Tweety has given each of the kids an amulet filled with nutmeg that he warns them to wear, since goblins are put to sleep by the aroma of the spice. As the days pass, Mario see Tweety eating birds in the garden, and is creeped out by the fact that when birds in his glass aviary die, he saves their feet. Mario also finds a lot of small green outfits knit by MomMom that seem to fit the goblins! When things goes badly wrong, Mario learns new things about the Simms... or did he know these things already? <div><b>Strengths</b>: Are goblins scary? To me, these books are just sort of goofy, but to third graders, this might be scary. My own personal children were really frightened by Debbie Dadey's <i>Bailey School Kids</i> books. There is an undeniable appeal to these quick reads, and it is sort of nice that the series can be read out of order. Mario's experience is rather odd, but his character seems very grounded, because he is so enthralled with the concept of snow in Vermont. This somehow made the odd behavior of the grandparents seem all the creepier. There's a fun twist at the end. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: I'm not sure how this relates to the first book with Betty and Billy in the woods. Doesn't particularly matter, but it would be nice to be able to tell how the books in the series relate to one another. Also, the ending was a bit strange since the book is written in the first person. This is one of those instances where one just has to suspend disbelief to make the story work. <br /><b>What I really think:</b> These are not quite my favorite, but I'll definitely be buying most of this series. Stine's writing is always fast paced and easy to read, and I think that James Patterson has copied his cliff hanger chapter endings. Do think that the covers are not attractive, but they do embrace the style of the original 1990s titles. </div><div><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizMelVrGico2BbrrjPNJ0Bn7Ue1C34LA32uHO-QTartBn9xn4Xwh-V2eBBwpRWuoWXR3OT1JpuePd7YMHnIbHzlhrRVQP0smhwGUucx4PARGu4lkTO8IVziGLG8I4Q_hP4st2dZVbamaBDoCyw1N_v7IxMiJN_YYCtJkPAyHPR9pkSJYk7i2YDw/s475/17571236.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizMelVrGico2BbrrjPNJ0Bn7Ue1C34LA32uHO-QTartBn9xn4Xwh-V2eBBwpRWuoWXR3OT1JpuePd7YMHnIbHzlhrRVQP0smhwGUucx4PARGu4lkTO8IVziGLG8I4Q_hP4st2dZVbamaBDoCyw1N_v7IxMiJN_YYCtJkPAyHPR9pkSJYk7i2YDw/w133-h200/17571236.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Gibbs, Stuart and Sarkar, Anjan.<i> Evil Spy School: The Graphic Novel</i><br />
March 5, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Reader<br />
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central<br /><br />
Ben Ripley is doing his best at beginning of the year exercises at spy school when he is blamed for blowing up the principal's office. It's really a plan by Erica and her family to get him to infiltrate SPYDER's spy school, and Ben suspects as much. First, though, he has a disastrous day back at his old middle school before SPYDER does approach him and whisks him away to their ultra secret and very posh training center in New Jersey. There, Ben is in a house with Nefarious, who is always playing video games, and Ashley, the 6th best gymnast in the US who has turned to a life of crime after her failure to make the Olympic gymnastics team. He learns some of SPYDER's ways, takes a bit of a liking to Ashley, and finally is contacted by Erica, who tells him that SPYDER is up to something, and it's his job to find out what. The what ends up involving a lot of bombs, counter spying, and some unpleasant reminders of Ben's past. Which side is offering Ben a better deal?<br /><br />
The graphic novel adaptations of this popular spy mystery series are very dense, both visually and textually, so they are all extremely close to the storyline. Often, adaptations gloss over a lot of the emotional journeys of the characters or background information, but that is not the case here. The illustration style is well suited to the tone of the text; it's not as peppy and cartoonish as many titles, but not as serious as others, which is a good balance considering that as hard as Ben tries, he often has some humorous fails. <br /><br />
While 2023 brought a lot more diversity in genres of graphic novels, there is still a marked lack of spy and mystery titles. Johnston's adaptations of Horowitz's Stormbreaker series, Riordan's first 39 Clues by Ethan Young, and Blasco and Springer's Enola Holmes reboot are some similar titles. Spy novels have been popular with middle grade readers for over twenty years, which isn't surprising given the number of similar adult books. Fans of Gibbs' novels will like these as a quick refresher, and I hope that new readers will be enticed to pick up the longer versions after reading the graphic novels.Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-16424419022936998012024-03-13T05:00:00.000-04:002024-03-13T05:00:00.126-04:00One of a Kind and Uprising<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoPGHiq2RYcMtgmuWHgG68SMPs-S-HApfAALfp1LCVmky3nWJ2HIOuq9-7HiUbGRXIthKgkgjUATmB79vG3H6HCr84ApQVM-sat9VcKEOY_TYdyrEUjR2_SWn5O7IqDa5oue5LvSDXFF3RYuYBlioY0vlqjx6BH3U38OXP6qyle_sdky9T3tTsA/s2560/154540987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2017" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoPGHiq2RYcMtgmuWHgG68SMPs-S-HApfAALfp1LCVmky3nWJ2HIOuq9-7HiUbGRXIthKgkgjUATmB79vG3H6HCr84ApQVM-sat9VcKEOY_TYdyrEUjR2_SWn5O7IqDa5oue5LvSDXFF3RYuYBlioY0vlqjx6BH3U38OXP6qyle_sdky9T3tTsA/w158-h200/154540987.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>Michelson, Richard and Green, Sarah (illus.)</div><div><i>One of a Kind: The Life of Sydney Taylor</i></div><div>February 13, 2024 by Calkins Creek</div><div>Copy provided by the publisher</div><div><br /></div><div>Sydney Taylor is, of course, a well-known name in children's literature circles, because of her classic All-of-a-Kind Family books as well as the literary award named after her. What might not be as well known is the fact that she was a dancer and social activist. Her stories were started as a way to tell her daughter about her past, as well as to give her characters that were Jewish rather than Christian. It wasn't until 1950 that her husband sent in a long-shelved manuscript to a contest, winning a $3,000 prize and giving the world the wonderful stories of Taylor's childhood, growing up in an immigrant neighborhood in New York. </div><div><br /></div><div>I loved that there were some quotations from Taylor's diaries, and that the author was inspired to write the book after winning the Sydney Taylor award twice and meeting the author's daughter. It was also good to see that he grew up in a similar neighborhood and wanted to capture that. This is a good overview of life in the early twentieth century; Taylor was born in 1897, just a few years after my grandmother! </div><div><br /></div><div>Green, who also illustrated Hannigan's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/01/stem-tuesday-josephine-and-her.html" target="_blank">Josephine And Her Dishwashing Machine</a></i> and Barton's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/05/mmgm-bernice-sandler-and-shine-on-luz.html" target="_blank">Bernice Sandler and Title IX</a></i>, does an excellent job of capturing the wide range of historical settings in Taylor's life, from the New York neighborhood with her sisters in their pinafores, to the 1920s college scene, as well as Taylor's later life. While I wouldn't have minded a nod to the Helen John illustrations in the originals (as Zelinsky did a bit in Jenkins' 2018 picture book, <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/10/wndb-wednesday-all-of-kind-family.html" target="_blank">All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah</a></i>), Green's illustrations are colorful and engaging. </div><div><br /></div><div>What better way to direct children to women authors during March than to put up a display of picture book literary biographies? Include this title with <i>Lucy Maud and the Cavendish Ca</i>t by Manuel and Wilson, <i>The Story of Maya Angelou </i>by Obeng,<i> Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller </i>by McDaniel and Harrison, and <i>Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird</i> by Hegedus and McGuire.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3EQFl6Q44eeeWzCAGoZB4k97-6jjsRztFGBH0KJL_d0K7j_CPjZzQabEyK6YKUfXx1XOnxGrUaWxQfXhFUUFdv_owDs1iP0JbVO0S3A7j6aZbU2fJWMnviXI9g-FuRXTNjDnk31IazLja7Er3cifWA4RpcTeehe0z-2OSOPObVICysQaEZd-Vw/s2549/124932732.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2549" data-original-width="1678" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3EQFl6Q44eeeWzCAGoZB4k97-6jjsRztFGBH0KJL_d0K7j_CPjZzQabEyK6YKUfXx1XOnxGrUaWxQfXhFUUFdv_owDs1iP0JbVO0S3A7j6aZbU2fJWMnviXI9g-FuRXTNjDnk31IazLja7Er3cifWA4RpcTeehe0z-2OSOPObVICysQaEZd-Vw/w132-h200/124932732.jpg" width="132" /></a></div></i>Nielsen, Jennifer A. <i>Uprising</i><div>March 5, 2024 by Scholastic Press </div><div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1939 Warsaw, Lidia Durr has to deal with the new reality that the German Nazis are in control of her country. Her father, a veteran of WWI, has gone off to fight, Leaving Lidia, her mother, and her older brother Ryszard behind in a damaged house. The three take in an old family friend, Doda, and her mother, even though the women are Jewish. Right behind their house is the area the Nazis have set aside for the Jewish Ghetto, and Lidia is able to see how bad things are. While Lidia at first thought that things would improve fairly quickly, it's clear that this is not going to happen. She does continue to take piano lessons for a while; she is a keen player, and the family moved to Warsaw so that she could study at the same university where Chopin studied. As the situation in Warsaw worsens, and Doda and her mother are taken away, Lidia takes an interest in being part of the Resistance. Along with a neighbor, Maryna, she starts to deliver packages of wheat to the Ghetto, but eventually becomes a messenger for the Resistance. Things become more and more grim, and the chances of survival seem so slim that Lidia just hopes that she can make the Nazis regret having taken over Poland. Once she has packed her mother off to Sweden, and her older brother is killed, little stops Lidia from doing whatever it takes to help the Poles fend off the Nazis. Many of her friends die, but a cease fire finally occurs in October of 1944. After all the years of surviving, Lidia makes her way to Sweden, and eventually manages to locate her mother in the US. End notes describe the lives of the real Lidia Durr and her family. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: Like this author's <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/08/resistance.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Resistance</a> and <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/04/wwii-rescue-and-flight.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Rescue</a>, this is a well researched look at a slightly different facet of WWII. There are lots of books from the point of view of Jewish citizens in Poland who ended up in the Ghetto, but certainly there were many people who had to survive while still living in Warsaw. Lidia is a strong character who rises to the occasion and is willing to help in any way she can. Nielsen always provides really good details about not only the military actions, but about the conditions of daily life. </div><div><b>Weaknesses</b>: This was not a great choice for a gray, rainy day, and it just made me wonder why there are still wars. Didn't WWII teach us that was is bad? This was heart breaking to read, which is, after all, the point. </div><div><b>What I really think</b>: This was an excellent look at World War II, but there are so many books about that conflict that I wish we would see more on different historical events, especially since WWII is no longer in the 8th grade curriculum. I understand why writing about WWII is so popular; it's easier to know who is "good" and who is "bad", and my students still read the books eagerly. Still, there's very little on the military conflict in Vietnam and Korean, and given the current problems in Gaza, it would be helpful for my students to know some of the history of those areas of the world. <br /> <img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" /></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-32764662581652044502024-03-12T05:00:00.004-04:002024-03-12T07:04:31.261-04:00Millie (Best Friends Dog Tales #3) and Shadow Over Aetheria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznGeZtUlBbA2O0HfG47VyqDWYNv1J4txPAUoDjnR_W-ZZIGrfamCUodwPshJ0FYPf7D23Bdm0Kuvph2obOsVfwkymcmo6wCV5c5IDGnoQphVlUBL2cQtbnnFscBQJgbzwodKCFZZWrgRLKEDzhrAsJ0GmM_jCbQ1YQqnZHrKiLkz6exjuMREneA/s1513/185724104.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1513" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznGeZtUlBbA2O0HfG47VyqDWYNv1J4txPAUoDjnR_W-ZZIGrfamCUodwPshJ0FYPf7D23Bdm0Kuvph2obOsVfwkymcmo6wCV5c5IDGnoQphVlUBL2cQtbnnFscBQJgbzwodKCFZZWrgRLKEDzhrAsJ0GmM_jCbQ1YQqnZHrKiLkz6exjuMREneA/w133-h200/185724104.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Hoyle, McCall and Keele, Kevin (illus.) <i>Millie (Best Friends Dog Tales #3)</i><br />March 5, 2024 by Shadow Mountain<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /> </div><div>Millie is a stray dog who lives on the street after a disastrous home experience where messing up the carpet and nipping at a young boy who was poking her with a stick got her driven out to the country and abandoned. She was befriended by Big Guy, who has disappeared, but has a companion in Little Pup, whom she is helping in the same way that Big Guy helped her; finding food and shelter for the younger dog. There is one alley near a bakery that is particularly nice, and Millie cautiously connects with a young girl, Tori. Sadly, Millie and the smaller dog are separated when Millie ends up in a shelter. She is very cautious, and the shelter despairs of placing her with a family. Luckily, Lee, who trains dogs and takes them to the local elementary school, sees the good in Millie and decides to take her home. She trains her along with another dog, Bella, and finally takes her on a visit to a school. Lee warns the students that this is Millie's first time, so they shouldn't approach her, but when Millie sees Tori and smells Little Pup on her, she is drawn to the little girl. Tori has problems of her own; she is living with her grandfather, who owns the bakery, because her mother is in rehab for a drug addiction brought on by a back injury. The grandfather doesn't want a dog, but Lee asks Tori to help train Millie. When another dog is brought into the shelter who needs help, Lee asks Tori's grandfather to take care of Millie for a few days. It goes fairly well, and Millie is glad that these new people are kind when she makes a small mess on the carpet. Little Pup lives not far away, and Millie sometimes sees her young friend. When Tori leaves one day, Millie follows her, and ends up having a terrible adventure after Tori shoos her away from the bakery. Eventually, Millie makes it back home. The two are so good for each other, and when Tori's poem wins a competition at an adoption event, her grandfather reluctantly agrees to adopt the dog. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: I liked how Tori's mother's addiction was in the background, important, but not the point of the story. The grandfather was appealing; I wouldn't have minded seeing more of him and the bakery! Millie has a similar background to Tori, with humans who have done them wrong, but they are both resilient and learn to go on and to befriend new people. The tips on dog training are good, and the notes at the back with further information are a good addition. The cover is adorable, and I know this one will be picked up quickly. I appreciate that this is not connected to the author's other two dog books, so can be read in any order. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: I would have preferred this more if it weren't written from Millie's point of view (why does Millie understand what bells are, but not what cell phones are?), but this won't bother my students. <br /><b>What I really think:</b> <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/03/epilepsy-alert-dogs.html" target="_blank">Stella</a></i> and <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/04/guys-going-to-dogs.html" target="_blank">Just Gus</a></i> both circulate well in my library, and I like this one a bit better than the other two, so I will buy it. It's always a good idea to buy a couple of dog books and a couple of horse books every year. Even if I don't currently have as many readers who want books about dogs, there will be some in the future, and need to keep the collection fresh. (Just realized that Ibbotson's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2012/04/middle-grade-monday-be-kind-to-animals.html" target="_blank">One Dog and His Boy</a></i> is now as old as most of my students! Twelve years is a long time for a book to survive in a middle school library.)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYwr0gqpXUnlwYe9JNOPy3phPPc0yxhHh2fOplIwV_q3iOEObnCCtiRyD5FFk2V159SIzoKrzDd5V7Boa4UE3Nb_aDnmKXiMDdsPSO06WUTEZkDT6e8Z19-QfpkOwIIoV2Dek7IBboBqHh1cxQSbZXVjsAvJFyPzXlULHkfcR6nsseIMfsvelmg/s1500/198014446.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1031" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYwr0gqpXUnlwYe9JNOPy3phPPc0yxhHh2fOplIwV_q3iOEObnCCtiRyD5FFk2V159SIzoKrzDd5V7Boa4UE3Nb_aDnmKXiMDdsPSO06WUTEZkDT6e8Z19-QfpkOwIIoV2Dek7IBboBqHh1cxQSbZXVjsAvJFyPzXlULHkfcR6nsseIMfsvelmg/w138-h200/198014446.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>Cube Kid. <i>Shadow Over Aetheria (Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior #7)</i></div><div>March 12, 2024 by Andrews McMeel Publishing</div><div>E ARC provided by Netgalley</div><div><br /></div><div>Runt seems like he knows everything that he could possibly need in order to vanquish illagers, villagers, and pillagers, but it's not enough! Along with Emerald, Ophelia, Stump, and Max he's heading off to the magical academy, where students receive training before they head off to save the kingdom, after meeting with the king and being assigned a job. The trip to the school is a long one, but luckily the group's bedrolls have a warming spell on them for when they are camping under the stars. There's a nice map of the kingdom, and the group finally arrives at Dawnsbloom, which is a good thing, because they run out of food. Eventually, they get to Dawnsbloom, which is very different from their village. At the school, Runt meets with an advisor who tells him he only has an MP of 3, but has some good skills. She also gives him some coins for the quest that he went on, which is a huge improvement from when he was a noob and had a single carrot. The dorm has a questboard, and Runt is super excited to be able to go on fairly safe quests in order to gain training, but he can't go quite yet. In true boarding school fashion, there is even a human who is very mean to him, Bayard. Runt often struggles to stay awake in class or answer questions, and gets very tired of always being with Emerald, especially when Stump and Breeze are away. When things start to go wrong in the kingdom, Runt learns about the evil wizard Herobrine, or the Eyeless One, who is causing destruction. He and Emerald learn that Otherworlders can be effective against him, and go in search of Mike and Steve, who are from Earth. They find Mike, but Steve has gone missing from the ruins under the city, most likely teleported far past the void by demons. Not only that, but Herobrine has a very evil plan involving monsters and experience points. Runt isn't able to solve that problem, but meets Elodi, the daughter of the King, and continues on with his education. It looks like his time at Greater Aetheria Academy isn't over yet, and I hope that we will see more adventures. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: My readers who want Minecraft books usually want stories that read like playing the game. Given how much food is discussed, and how many times Runt and his friends talk about different skill levels or items they have to acquire, I'm going to guess that this will fill the bill. It is fun that Runt gets out of the village and learns information about the world around him. The school is very ornate, and has all of the elements that magical academies usually have, so fans of that type of story will appreciate the Greater Aetheria Academy. The art seems a bit different from the other books, and this is another full color, heavily illustrated novel with Geronimo Stilton type font that is larger when words and phrases are emphasized. <br /><b>Weaknesses: </b>Runt still hasn't learned to think things through, so is goaded into doing silly things by Bayard the Bully. As much as he would like to be able to pick from the Questboard and increase him MP level, he doesn't seem to concentrate very well and use more discretion in his actions. I guess this makes him the quintessential middle schooler!<br /><b>What I really think</b>: I was sorry to hear that Cube Kid had experienced writer's block, but am glad to see him back. While these books are not my personal favorite (since I've never played Minecraft), my students enjoy them, and I'd rather have them reading the books than playing video games. They'll be glad to hear about this new volume. I always buy these in prebind, because they get a lot of use. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here are the reviews for most of the series: <br /> </div><div><i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2016/05/guy-friday-six-kids-and-stuffed-cat.html" target="_blank">Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior</a></i> (#1)</div><div><i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/06/diary-of-8-bit-warrior.html" target="_blank">From Seeds to Swords (#2),</a></i></div><div><i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/06/diary-of-8-bit-warrior.html" target="_blank"> Crafting Alliances (#3), Path of the Diamond (#4)<br /></a></i></div><div><i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/04/guy-friday-adventures-game-on-graphic.html" target="_blank">Ultimate Warrior</a> (#5)</i></div><div><i>Forging Destiny (#6)</i></div><div><i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/09/dogs-are-best-8-bit-kittens-though.html" target="_blank">Tales of an 8-Bit Kitten</a></i></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-34633660319584263442024-03-11T05:00:00.152-04:002024-03-11T05:00:00.160-04:00MMGM-The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry and Spying on Spies<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s1600/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s200/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">It's</span><br /><div><span face="">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</span><br /><span face=""> at </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://gpattridge.com/"><span face="">Always in the Middle </span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">and #IMWAYR day </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">at</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""><a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaLy7ewghlLEEZEWnyK9373Z8mqYEJDK73n8XKOKzYZ-uXm10eo1fmbKMGRNO0_96byfG5-kbkY8KY7hirhQp4T5bqgeAPa9uR6Ta0gVuEef5CQOjr2QPYSeuhu15vY6to2egKiuX8u3WSSlVlN8rfbYe543LIHpXva9IGOP1UfWdqXhf7-qf7A/s1381/9780823453634_0a6aa.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="920" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaLy7ewghlLEEZEWnyK9373Z8mqYEJDK73n8XKOKzYZ-uXm10eo1fmbKMGRNO0_96byfG5-kbkY8KY7hirhQp4T5bqgeAPa9uR6Ta0gVuEef5CQOjr2QPYSeuhu15vY6to2egKiuX8u3WSSlVlN8rfbYe543LIHpXva9IGOP1UfWdqXhf7-qf7A/w133-h200/9780823453634_0a6aa.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Johnson, Anna Rose. <i>The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">March 5, 2024 by Holiday House</div><div style="text-align: left;">E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1912, Lucy's father perished at sea a few years back, giving her a reasonable fear of water, and since her mother had died previously, she was under the care of Miss Mamie. When Miss Mamie also passes away, her friends are not quite sure what is to be done with the eleven year old. She's being cared for by Sarah, Miss Mamie's housekeeper, but when the will is read, it turns out that she is to be sent to Michigan, nesr the Keweenaw Penisula, to be raised by the Martins, who share her Anishinaabe heritage. Mr. Martin is the keeper of the Harmony Lighthouse, and he and his wife are raising six children. Mr. Martin arrives to escort her "home", and is patient with her imaginative ways and her fears. The children, ranging from 15-year-old Maureen to two-year-old Orville, are less patient, especially when Lucy claims to be a princess of Acadia. Things at the lighthouse have to be kept in very neat order, since the lighthouse inspector is very strict, and Lucy has a bad habit of not paying attention when she is working. She drags laundry in the dirt, and even spills ink on the floor! She is also obsessed by a shipwreck from the 1880s that has some similarities to the one that killed her father. Her father claimed to have a note that he found in a bottle when he was young that had information about the wreck, and he always told Lucy that he wanted to find the ruby necklace that was supposedly in the cargo. The site of the wreck, Mermaids Corner, isn't far away, and Lucy even meets a mother and son who know two elderly women with a connection to the wreck. Lucy is devoted enough to her cause that she is willing to get on a boat to go and visit the women, but nothing goes smoothly. It's a very helpgul conversation, however, that leads her to uncover some surprising things. Unfortunately, this also causes some problems in the family, and the father's job is in danger. Luckily, the children all step up, and when people need help along the coastline, the family is able to rescue them and keep the lighthouse operating. While it's nice to have worked on her father's quest, the most important thing is that Lucy feels like part of the family, and is able to settle in to her new life with the Martins. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Strengths</b>: While many of the things that have happened to Lucy are sad, they are also very common occurrences for children in the early part of the 1900s. It was not unusual for children to be orphaned and left to others to be raised. Literature of the time period, like Fisher's 1916 <i>Understood Betsy</i>, often has these themes. Johnson does a great job of taking this classic format and infusing it with some Anishinaabe culture as well as a mystery, to keep modern readers interested. It's all upbeat, and the children, especially Frederick, all try to get along with Lucy, despite the number of "scrapes" she gets into. There's a lot of information about what it would be like to work at a lighthouse, and also about how important they were to coastal communities. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Weaknesses</b>: Modern readers, who don't have as much imagination as Lucy, might not quite understand her flights of fancy and claims of being a princess. Those of us raised on Langton's 1961 <i>Her Majesty, Grace Jones </i>or <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> will recognize Lucy as a kindred spirit. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a great choice for readers who enjoyed this author's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/07/mmgm-star-that-always-stays-and.html" target="_blank">The Star That Always Stays</a></i> or who want a bit of historical fiction that is fairly upbeat. A LOT of historical fiction is fairly depressing, so it's always good to read some that isn't. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PE8qPR8kX3Vw6TH_sny0j-HdEhpoY0PjAhOW_PYAPALbU1aQ_QRGdQMwTQdTemsekz3axdmr2uNR5v5liGYgbuMTse6F3ldX08OR1osACvU5xn5aeuwDeuQRDjslc0qfwkYYRJ5xdy_G9tcNP_T___Oxfvstisr71yMgItm_khDNHGzOxlXBwQ/s1339/195660553.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1339" data-original-width="920" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PE8qPR8kX3Vw6TH_sny0j-HdEhpoY0PjAhOW_PYAPALbU1aQ_QRGdQMwTQdTemsekz3axdmr2uNR5v5liGYgbuMTse6F3ldX08OR1osACvU5xn5aeuwDeuQRDjslc0qfwkYYRJ5xdy_G9tcNP_T___Oxfvstisr71yMgItm_khDNHGzOxlXBwQ/w138-h200/195660553.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>Moss, Marissa. <i>Spying on Spies: How Elizebeth Smith Friedman Broke the Nazis' Secret Codes</i><div>March 12, 2024 by Abrams Books for Young Readers</div><div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>Elizebeth Smith was born in 1892, a year before my grandmother, so the challenges she faced in even obtaining employment were well known to me. What was impressive was Smith's drive to break free from her family and use her skills. Even though she didn't have any support, she put herself through college and set out to find a job in 1916. Through a bit of serendipity, she asked at a library about employment possibilities and was put in touch with an eccentric millionaire, Mr. Fabyan. Taking a huge chance, she drove with him to his estate, Riverbank, and learned about his many projects, one of which was solving a code that he believed proved that Francis Bacon wrote the plays of Shakespeare. Elizebeth wasn't keen on the project, but she needed the work. She learned a lot of good skills, and worked on a new field of study, cryptoanalysis, with William Friedman. The two didn't have much luck with the manuscripts, but found their decoding skills in great demand by the armed forces during WWI, and extended their partnership into marriage. Of course, William was treated much more fairly; at one point, Elizebeth was getting paid half what he was, just because she was a woman. Both ended up working various jobs that were so secretive that they slept in separate rooms so they wouldn't run the risk of revealing secrets in their sleep! Elizebeth was not only essential in WWI, but kept up her work during Prohibition, helping the Coast Guard and others figure out the messages of rum runners. WWII brought further challenges. Through all of this, Elizebeth raised her family, worked long hours, and loved the challenges that her work brought. Leery of publicity and bound by the secret nature of her work, not much was known about her until a few years ago, when some of the records of her career were declassified. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: I've read that women were making inroads into the workforce starting in the 1920s, but the Depression made things difficult. The years that Smith Friedman was active make this a particulary interesting snapshot of feminine employment for me. The fact that she wasn't just a teacher, librarian, or secretary made this even better! There was a good mix of information about code breaking and what was going on in the world, and her own personal life and how it fit into those times. Moss' illustrations, at the beginning of the chapters, will make this easier to suggest to middle grade readers. This read quickly, and built on information I already knew about WWII, Bletchley Circle, and the Enigma machine. I'm just sad now that my math and puzzle abilities aren't any better, but if there's ever a need for me to dress up as a historical figure for a wax museum, I'm picking Elizebeth Smith Friedman!<br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: Smith Friedman was involved in so many projects it just boggles the mind, and now I feel like a miserable slacker who wasted the opportunities that the women's movement provided for me! <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a great book for readers who enjoy nonfictional discussions about women's history and have read titles like Rubin's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/04/mmgm-audrey-covington-breaks-rules-and.html" target="_blank">The Women Who Built Hollywood 12 Trailblazers in Front of and Behind the Camera</a></i>, Maraniss' <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/09/mmgm-inaugual-ballers-and-victory-stand.html" target="_blank">Inagural Ballers: The True Story of the First U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team</a></i>, Blumenthal's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/06/happy-title-ix-day.html" target="_blank">Let Me Play</a></i>, or my favorite, Dreilinger's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-secret-history-of-home-economics.html" target="_blank">The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live</a>. There are also a growing number of books about women involved in various aspects of spying, like </i></div>Purnell's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/08/mmgm-agent-most-wanted-and-12-to-22.html" target="_blank">Agent Most Wanted:The Never-Before-Told Story of the Most Dangerous Spy of World War II</a></i>, about Virginia Hall. Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-35466576626776542132024-03-10T05:00:00.085-04:002024-03-10T11:17:34.686-04:00Coyote Lost and Found (#2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctulJQamZdYW7hT_Y5xsNNYweMxukAKvlIpBd-U2Hh0MhphQhh-M4EDKKN1GHQpp7pVpLbM9atncrWcNjUvibNS2xLUKxFfBqrv0iN2_w-WacN_5vwe_i4GB9w9xulbkNTLiGF5SDRbklAxJ_9njQd9k_rLenNP7Oe2GBPg6Kt2yUdeA5BK2TcA/s400/124940521.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctulJQamZdYW7hT_Y5xsNNYweMxukAKvlIpBd-U2Hh0MhphQhh-M4EDKKN1GHQpp7pVpLbM9atncrWcNjUvibNS2xLUKxFfBqrv0iN2_w-WacN_5vwe_i4GB9w9xulbkNTLiGF5SDRbklAxJ_9njQd9k_rLenNP7Oe2GBPg6Kt2yUdeA5BK2TcA/w129-h200/124940521.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>Gemeinhart, Dan. <i>Coyote Lost and Found (#2)</i><br />March 5, 2024 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>Coyote thought that staying in one place after her adventures in <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-remarkable-journey-of-coyote-sunrise.html" target="_blank">The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise</a></i> would be okay, but being new to middle school in the 8th grade is hard. She does have one sort-of friend, and the school librarian is nice ("There's a limit to how bad a school can be if it's got a library. That's just a fact."). While hanging out in Yager, the van they lived in for sevearl years, Coyote finds a box containing her mother's ashes. She asks her father, Rodeo, about it, and he tells her that he hasn't had the heart to scatter them yet. Both her and her mother had written down where they wanted their cremains scattered in a copy of Mary Oliver's Red Bird, but Coyote is horrified to realize that she sold the book when they were traveling. When COVID shuts down her school for three weeks, she talks Rodeo into hitting the road. She doesn't tell him that she lost the book, but plots a course to revisit the shops where she might have left it during a small window of time. Of course, they are all over the US, but since Rodeo is very philisophical, he buys into the idea that the mother wanted the process to be a journey. Salvador, whom they met on their last trip, is invited along, but so is Candace, a neighbor whom Coyote likes, up to the point where she suspects the woman might be more than a friend to her father. Along the way, the group picks up Wally, a retired office worker who wants to travel but doesn't want to drive. His cultural background is Thai, and there is a racial incident because he is Asian and people are upset about COVID that mirrors so many of the horrible incidents that occurred during that time. The restaurants are only doing take out because of the pandemic, but the thrift stores are open. The book doesn't surface, and Coyote becomes more and more desperate. In Pittsburgh, the store is closed, so after some bowling, Coyote and Salvadore sneak out to try to break into the store. Coyote manages to break her arm, but the police and the store owner are kind about it after Rodeo pays for the broken screen door. Eventually, Coyote has to tell her father the truth about the book and the lack of plans for an exact place to scatter the ashes, and they realize that the picture of the book they've been referencing is actually of the very book that Rodeo had, and they manage to drive to the thrift store and talk to the owner. He's just given the book to a friend, but Doreen still has the book. They even ask her to continue back to the west coast to scatter the ashes over the family's favorite pond. While the trip doesn't go smoothly, it is an adventure. </div><div><b>Strengths: </b>It was interesting to see the pandemic portrayed in a book that wasn't ABOUT the pandemic. Life did go on in a limited way, so having Coyote on her journey during that time made sense. Candance was a reasonable addition, and Coyote's attitude toward her was very realistic; she liked her, but also resented her; she wanted to be kind, but struggled with actually acting that way. Coyote and Salvadore have to look at their relationship again as both have gotten older, and Wally and Doreen are reasonable travel companions. I liked the inclusion of books, and was glad to see that Coyote was a big reader. I was also glad that Yager didn't have any mechanical problems; during the pandemic, it might have been difficult to get it fixed! <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: During the pandemic, our thrift stores and bowling alleys were all closed, so that seemed unusual. Also, having had to deal with three sets of cremains recently, I would imagine that the ashes would have been delivered in a plastic bag, and it would be somewhat odd for Rodeo to pour them out of the bag into a box. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a great choice for readers who want to know what happened to Coyote and her father, for fans of Mary Oliver, or readers who enjoyed Lawrence's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/09/fire-on-headless-mountain-and-deadliest.html" target="_blank">Fire on Headless Mountain</a> </i>or Burnham's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-infinite-questions-of-dottie-bing.html" target="_blank">The Infinite Questions of Dottie Bing</a>.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I get Coyote's ambivalence about her mother's cremains; I do. My own mother is still in a cardboard box (and a bag) in my closet, and I always put my newest pair of shoes near her, which would make her happy. I haven't scattered the ashes because she said at my aunt's funeral in 1984 that the columbarium was nice because my aunt would always be warm. This book is a good reminder that I just need to stop being sentimental, move on, and put the ashes on my tomato garden. (A location okayed by both my late father and my brother. Mom was a big gardener.)<br /> <img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" /></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-78447087238415647962024-03-09T05:00:00.040-05:002024-03-09T16:15:29.549-05:00Saturday Morning Cartoons- Beak to the Future, Finder's Creatures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHa1LPkzb9hkNyNkv2dIAQZ-3xcoJv5OPEKjqcmA_Gak9eXGM6cWHKb11pffO9DKIwcnfzZNXmqcmUcGiBDYUaKV_DZq1eD8CcRO1fIwbeL0VnbzX3YSUHuMEzZ6yy7-s7YXaNE7XgXbtiSHM55HpXGJhSfDDbQ-g1mp_eZkinAz_gF8GKWLZU6Q/s400/83823689.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="274" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHa1LPkzb9hkNyNkv2dIAQZ-3xcoJv5OPEKjqcmA_Gak9eXGM6cWHKb11pffO9DKIwcnfzZNXmqcmUcGiBDYUaKV_DZq1eD8CcRO1fIwbeL0VnbzX3YSUHuMEzZ6yy7-s7YXaNE7XgXbtiSHM55HpXGJhSfDDbQ-g1mp_eZkinAz_gF8GKWLZU6Q/w137-h200/83823689.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>Angleberger, Tom. <i>Beak to the Future (Two-Headed Chicken #2)</i><div>September 12, 2023 by Walker Books US</div><div>Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central<br /> </div><div>The <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/12/two-headed-chicken.html" target="_blank">Two-Headed Chicken</a></i> is back, and ready to travel in time. Using the AstroCap, they travel back into the Timestream (also referred to as "Tammy") to visit prehistory. They have been warned about the Butterfly Effect, but tell a knock knock joke when they travel back in time, therefore changing the world. They are now a duckter cuckoo, and spend a great deal of time trying to change the world and get back to the way they were. The AstroCap's 45 second charging time makes for some narrow escapes as they encounter some of their old nemeses, including Kernel Antler (who looks like a crocodile). They also get stuck in a time loop (or do they?), meet Emily Dickinson and Sherlock Holmes, enter a role playing game called The Magical Gathering of Dragons in Dungeons, and even fight book banners! Eventually, they are restored to their original incarnations, and use a book of poetry to inspire a young artist named Tom Anklebarker, or something like that, to create a comic book with a two-headed chicken in it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Like the first book in the series, this is a frenetic goof fest of crazy adventures and silly conflicts, illustrated in a hyperactive style. There are close up photographs of brocolli to illustrate the time stream, Victorian clip art and sepia toned pages with information about Bangerter's Marvelous Time Cap, and a lot of brightly colored comic style illustrations that are heavy on bright blue, purple, red and yellow. </div><div><br /></div><div>I especially appreciated the fact that on one of the activity pages, it is mentioned that if the reader has a library book, there are printable pages at https://twoheadedchicken.wordpress.com.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not surprisingly, Angleberger gives a shout out to Daniel Pinkwater's work like the 1982<i> The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, </i>and this certainly embraces that stream of conscious style, replete with random characters, sight gags, and self referential jokes. This graphic novel would definitely be a good way to warm up younger readers for eventually picking up Pinkwater's 2007 <i>The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization (Neddie & Friends, #1).</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Readers who love Dav Pilkey's work or Green's <i>Investigators</i> will appreciate the frenzied art and nonstop jokes as the Two-Headed Chicken travels through the chronoverse getting into trouble. Things work out in the end, but who knows when further opportunities to POOOOOZB might occur! <br /></div><div><br /></div>I thought it was interesting that while Bradbury's 1952 story "A Sound of Thunder" is one of the first instance of the "Butterfly Effect", but that the idea also appears in Norton Juster's 1962 T<i>he Phantom Tollbooth</i>, when The Princess of Pure Reason says "whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world." <div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaRTC07eIBwjBGBqQWTUdnoMnPaJ2yOdjhWEO53DHSswzdtL0KZWNLEd4kdPW6tWVpvmATHhB5FFHUVVSc7_WF_w8s3AcbGiwDVpu4Buprb_S351VIgE_gNe-Kn03SGFzJi4Z16crNCL6RhV-8BR1NMZAYE2TDwplyEyQ0XwArj9SrjPzcP8Vgg/s500/136345860.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaRTC07eIBwjBGBqQWTUdnoMnPaJ2yOdjhWEO53DHSswzdtL0KZWNLEd4kdPW6tWVpvmATHhB5FFHUVVSc7_WF_w8s3AcbGiwDVpu4Buprb_S351VIgE_gNe-Kn03SGFzJi4Z16crNCL6RhV-8BR1NMZAYE2TDwplyEyQ0XwArj9SrjPzcP8Vgg/w135-h200/136345860.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>Jones, P. Knuckle. <i>Bog Gone! (Finder's Creatures #1)</i><br />August 8, 2023 by Penguin Workshop<br />Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central <br /><br /> Finder is a frog in second grade who idolizes the detective Seymour Warts. Her best friends are a beaver, Chopper, and a turtle, Keeper. They all hang out together at the bog, but one morning they all wake up to find everyone GONE! They start their investigation with Big Al, an owl of whom they are all afraid. They know that since he is nocturnal, he might have seen something, and he gives them a hint: he saw headlights in the middle of the night. The trio also finds a carving on Al's tree, C.R.O.A.K., which stands for the Committe to Restore Order to the Animal Kingdom. The group believes in segregating animals, sort of like a zoo. They kidnap animals, lock them up, and leave a mysterious calling card. Their leader is the Zookeeper. Finder locates several clues, including a feather coated in goo, and a link to the Tickled Pink drink corporation. After meeting a variety of quirky characters, voyaging into suspicious basements, and having some fun during stake outs, will Finder and her friends be able to locate the denizens of the bog before it is too late?</div><div><br /></div><div>This graphic novel is full of adventure and goofy hijinks. This has a whiff of film noir to it, especially when Seymour Warts, in his Sherlock Holmes' deerstalker cap comes on the scene. Finder is committed to solving the mystery, and her friends are along for the ride, even if they are not as serious as she is. There are lots of quirky supporting characters, like a mustachioed kangaroo covered in tattooes, Snapper, a local investigator who is a lizard of some sort, and Old-Lady Goose Liver. </div><div><br /></div><div>The colors are very bright, but with a darker palette suitable to the mysterious content. The outlines of the characters are in very thick black lines. I love how the illustrator can convey so much emotion even though the eyes are just dots! My one quibble is that the text is very wordy and in very small font. This makes it more of a middle grade novel, so I wish that Finder had been older than second grade. </div><div><br /></div><div>Green's Investigators, Kochalka's Banana Fox series, Eaton's Flying Beaver Brothers, Braddock's Stinky Cecil, and, of course, Blabey's hilarious Bad Guys books. </div></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-60834783923928540722024-03-08T05:00:00.097-05:002024-03-08T06:19:45.040-05:00Farewell Friday-- Freaky FridayI feel like this book is one that people have fond memories of but haven't read recently. I certainly hadn't. Since I hoard older titles (although I have lots and lots of NEW books), it's not surprising that it was still in my library. But it's 52 years old. Ms. Rodgers is deceased. Does it hold up?<div><br /></div><div>Probably not. But might I spend my Friday night hunting down the Jodie Foster version of the film?</div><div><br /></div><div>Absolutely. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvHwQoxsqRq8-wY-L7c9JbgKwdsfDqSIlcyVtXCs7ZuJJuPCy9m13IbjYve2R39G2tV_u3qN1gMBqaykVPoawjKpM2NHpwlxwEmjZ-aWn8bnPflTqzozlMUDpaHIoE1bFQJ1gzU8n71wzVeZg_8-0_Y9cfQlsr4aiCnx6ovptJLqJt2OWRN-Vhg/s635/1071623.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="419" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvHwQoxsqRq8-wY-L7c9JbgKwdsfDqSIlcyVtXCs7ZuJJuPCy9m13IbjYve2R39G2tV_u3qN1gMBqaykVPoawjKpM2NHpwlxwEmjZ-aWn8bnPflTqzozlMUDpaHIoE1bFQJ1gzU8n71wzVeZg_8-0_Y9cfQlsr4aiCnx6ovptJLqJt2OWRN-Vhg/w132-h200/1071623.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>Rodgers, Mary. <i>Freaky Friday</i><br />
May 2, 1972 by Harper & Row</div><div>(Former) Library Copy</div><div><br /></div><div>**Spoilers ahead**</div><div><br /></div>Annabel Andrews, of New York City, suddenly wakes up in her mother's body one day, and is surprisingly unshocked. She even has the realization that she was rather terrible to her mother, so this is no doubt pay back. She doesn't question how her mother could have done this, but instead glories in brushing her mother's orthodontia free teeth and donning a velvet pantsuit and lots of makeup after admiring her mother's body. She manages to get Mr. Andrews and young Ben (aka Ape Face) off on their day, and settles in to eat junk food and watch Little Rascals on television, complaining about the lack of good programming in the morning. Upstairs neighbor, 14-year-old Boris, stops by, and she entertains him for a while, trying to change his perception of Annabel, who is rather unpleasant to him. She does do a load of laundry, but adds too many things, and breaks the machine. When the housekeeper shows up, the two have some words, and Annabel fires the woman, partly because she drinks the family gin, and partly because she says nasty things about the state of Annabel's room. Heading to the liquor store down the street to buy an inordinate amount of liquor, she sees a hullabaloo on the street, which turns out to be Ben causing a fuss, since his mother has forgotten to pick him up after school. She manages to get him home without social services becoming involved and feeds him lunch. Mr. Andrews calls to remind her of her mysterious 2:30 meeting; it's at Annabel's school, to discuss her grades, and also tells her that he is bringing people home for dinner. She convinces Boris to babysit, and he also agrees to cook the dinner. She is late to the meeting, which discusses Annabel's poor performance in school, especially a very overdue English paper. After the meeting, Annabel finds out that while Boris has dinner ready, a "beautiful chick" has walked off with Ben! Annabel panics, complications ensue, and when her mother returns, Annabel finds out that her mother has spent the day shopping for new clothes for Annabel, getting her braces off, and having her hair done. Annabel has a new appreciation for her mother, has attracted the attention of her crush, Boris (really Morris; the vacillating stuffed up nose is never explained), and finishes her school work.<br /><br />
The most troubling portions of this book are the outdated, racist language. While Annabel's family is more liberal, the housekeeper makes the comment that "I'm not one of your colored", and when Annabel reprimands her, she replies "You call 'em black, right? Well I call 'em no-goodniks." The derogatory terms "spic" and "retard" are also used, and the television is referred to as "the boob tube". The ick factor with Annabel as the mother interacting with Boris, a 14-year-old, is quite high; he has a crush onher, but the whole incident is just glossed over. It doesn't help that the "new and improved" Annabel is objectified as a "hot chick". <br /><br /><div>There is some sexism as well; Annabel's mother does not seem to work outside the home, and must ask Mr. Andrews for money for the liquor. He complains about how she spends it, although the family must be very well off; Annabel wants to go to a summer camp that costs $900. At the time, my mother was probably earning $8,000 a year as a teacher. The teachers treat the mother in a way that I don't think we treat parents now.</div><div> <br />Annabel is absolutely horrible to everyone; rude, slovenly, and very, very angry. She is cruel to her younger brother, who idolizes her. Ben even loves being called "Ape Face" and goes by that at school because no one else has a "cool" nickname, and his classmates also think Annabel is cool. While it seemed a bit clever for her mother to make Annabel go through the mother's day and attend her own meeting while the mother went out and "improved" Annabel, I couldn't help but thinking that the problems with attitude would not really be solved so easily. <br /><br />
I haven't seen the movie with Jamie Lee Curtis, which seems to involve a guitar, so much diverge from the original plot, and haven't seen the 1976 Jodie Foster version for ages (as of March 1, 2024, it looks to be available on Amazon Prime for 54 cents!), but I can only imagine they are somewhat more entertaining than the book. It's a clever idea, certainly, but the details don't hold up. Now that I have reread it, I don't feel comfortable handing it to modern children, so will be pulling it from circulation. There are only 2 other copies in my entire district, so it looks like it's time.</div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-72164524743101594002024-03-08T05:00:00.092-05:002024-03-08T05:00:00.143-05:00Call Me Al<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWfouwwJ3Jf-HzWovWdoY_r9CaHr4m67gV8DB7pgsNvQ8iK9_8JfKoDYkcb8If5tNt_UT5f38PkTKUtThcx14LLcl8ml-KLzNTC4Nw-JKB-1RnoaKUitWGxKyX018vu2PUVW9XebjUHTtp7iDCYbMWR9bzkEzDqmDDt4-ODdBrP-0i__ElycSww/s400/181615116.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWfouwwJ3Jf-HzWovWdoY_r9CaHr4m67gV8DB7pgsNvQ8iK9_8JfKoDYkcb8If5tNt_UT5f38PkTKUtThcx14LLcl8ml-KLzNTC4Nw-JKB-1RnoaKUitWGxKyX018vu2PUVW9XebjUHTtp7iDCYbMWR9bzkEzDqmDDt4-ODdBrP-0i__ElycSww/w134-h200/181615116.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>Shah, Wali and Walters, Eric. <i>Call Me Al</i><br />March 12, 2024 by Orca Book Publishers<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>Ali Khan is in the 8th grade, and struggling with several issues. His family works hard, and there is a lot of pressure for him to do well in school like his older brother, Osama, who goes by Sam. His father was a doctor in Pakistan, but drives a cab, and his mother, who was a teacher, is the manager of the apartment building where they all live. His grandfather was a well known professor of literature, but now works as a security guard. There's some tension with his longtime neighbor and best friend, Zach, who is hanging out with a well-to-do crowd of white students, and even leaves school for lunch at a nearby mall. Al wants to tag along, but feels guilty the whole time, especially when he runs into his grandfather. Al also has a crush on one of the girls in this group, Melissa, and is inspired to write a poem about her, which he keeps to himself. His teacher, Ms. McIntosh, encourages his writing, but does constructively criticize his work when he writes about what it is like to live in a ghetto: she wants him to use his own voice instead of trying to sound like a rap song. After Al's father helps deliver a baby in his taxi while Al is tagging along, Al has a lot of conflicting emotions about the way his father is perceived. When he, his mother, and his younger brother Danny are verbally and physically assaulted on their way home from the grocery store, Al has conflicting feelings about Zach, since his friend has made similar comments but brushed them off as "jokes". Emotions are running high as these events pile up during Ramadan. When a mosque in the US is the target of violence, Al finds himself turning more and more to writing poetry even though his father wants him to concentrate on his school work, since it is more important to learn skills so he can eventually deliver babies instead of writing about delivering them. Ms. McIntosh, as well as Al's grandfather, understand the importance of writing as a way to deal with events around him, but his father still is more interested in his academic progress. The Khans invite a larger number of people for their Eid feast, and include the wealthier classmates, some teachers, and others with whom they have interacted, as a way to increase understanding in the community. Zach surprises them by encouraging Al's classmates to fast during the day of the celebration so that they know a bit more about what the process feels like. At the end of the school year, Al is named the valedictorian of his class and encouraged to share his poetry, and his father makes peace with this after learning about Lazarus, the Detroit, Michigan based rapper, songwriter and physician of Pakistani descent. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: Walters is a prolific Canadian author who has done interesting collaborations with a number of others, in this case the poet and motivational speaker Wali Shah. This is a good look at how a middle school boy might struggle with racism, microagressions, and family expectations, on top of other pressures of middle school like crushes and fitting in. The story moves along quickly, and has a nice mix of topics. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: My students are not particularly fond of poetry, so I wish there had been a tiny bit more basketball in this to hook them, especially since Walters does such a good sports novel. I also wish there were more books about Muslim students who are of Somali descent, since that's the background of most of my students. There are a lot of books by Pakistani authors, but relatively few by Somali authors. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for students who like Grimes' <i>Garvey's Choice</i> and Baptist's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/08/guy-friday-isaiah-dunn-is-my-hero.html" target="_blank">Isaiah Dunn is My Hero.</a></i> As of November, 2023, Follett does not list a prebound copy for sale, and paperbacks do not hold up in my library, so I'll have to wait to purchase. <br /> <img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" /></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-51839828731217385152024-03-07T05:00:00.042-05:002024-03-07T05:00:00.139-05:00The Voice Upstairs and Roses & Violets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3q7EJbIz8e_9Oomc8kV9cAZY63LzsVBAZIYgQLZC3DDBE_hYoAI8nxwVfj9CF2dnVGFhcVMnKoYTrdS0AfEjUuojGdeV_Xg1qswKSzvFjoFHg3vUcFRgxSJTDI8JCMdFzRuxZpFSS1-qKGuF_WJfaV4S4E_RasZsmg0cevlz9WX9Y4Bgn3eQPQ/s2204/59732264.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2204" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3q7EJbIz8e_9Oomc8kV9cAZY63LzsVBAZIYgQLZC3DDBE_hYoAI8nxwVfj9CF2dnVGFhcVMnKoYTrdS0AfEjUuojGdeV_Xg1qswKSzvFjoFHg3vUcFRgxSJTDI8JCMdFzRuxZpFSS1-qKGuF_WJfaV4S4E_RasZsmg0cevlz9WX9Y4Bgn3eQPQ/w127-h200/59732264.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>Weymouth, Laura E. <i>The Voice Upstairs</i><br />October 3, 2023 by Margaret K. McElderry Books<div>Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central</div><div><br /></div><div>Wilhelmina Price's life revolves around the Summerfield family in Thrush's Green, England not long after World War I. Her grandfather, who is the butler there, is raising her after the deaths of both of her parents. Her mother passed away under horrible circumstances (she drowned), and ever since Wil has been able to see the souls of people who are soon to die leaving their bodies. She's tried to intervene, but it rarely ends well, and when she sees the sould of a housemaid at the Summerfield's house, she doesn't say anything. Wil is also great friends with Edison Summerfield, whose older brother Peter died in the Great War, and whose spirit is haunting the house, destroying the nursery whenever Edison is home from school and forced to live in that wing. Since his sister Kitty is throwing a house party for her birthday, he is once again battling this ghost, and Wil has been unable to contact Peter and convince him to stop. Wil and Ed have always been friends, and know that their relationship would be tricky, Since things are changing for women, Wil has studied all of Ed's school texts, and has even earned money writing papers by mail for his classmates. She hopes to go to college herself, but after the latest death takes a job as a housemaid in order to earn some money and also get a better idea of what is going on. Her grandfather does not approve, but he doesn't approve of housemaids in general. Wil does a good job, and Abigail, who is now the head maid, is glad to have her help. Kitty's party is busy, but Kitty seems to be struggling with something big enough that she even talks to Wil about some things. When Wil sees Edison's spirit leaving his body, she panics, and tells Kitty. Kitty makes a cryptic comment that she will make sure her brother is okay... and then is found thrown from her horse. Clearly, something malevolent is leading to the deaths of all of these women, and Wil and Ed are even more motivated to find out after Kitty's demise. While Wil consults ghosts of the past, some ghosts that are more real surface and lead her to believe that both dark spiritual forces, as well as even darker human forces, are at work. Will she be able to combat them before even more deaths occur?</div><div><br /></div><div>There's something comforting about an English country house, even if it IS inhabited by murderous ghosts! The cozy nooks, the servants' quarters downstairs, the hidden rooms, and palatial common spaces are something that most readers will never get to experience, so the next best thing is to be able to join Edison in his reading room! </div><div><br /></div><div>This had a fair amount of twists and turns, some of which were great surprises, and others which had been strongly suggested all along. We are never quite told why Wil has the ability to see ghosts, but the post WWI setting of this gives plenty of room for the belief in ghosts, as well as for a seance. The reasons for the ghosts are a bit dark, and while there is nothing graphic on the page, and the language is circumspect, the hinted history of sexual abuse and domestic violence might make this more suitable for upper middle grade or young adult readers. <br /><br />Readers who like historical novels filled with romance and mystery, like this author's<i> A Treason of Thorns</i>, Harvey's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-lovegrove-legacy.html" target="_blank">A Breath of Frost</a>,</i> Wallach's<i> <a href="https://www.yabookscentral.com/hatchet-girls/" target="_blank">Hatchet Girls</a>,</i> or Johnson <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/10/weekend-reading.html" target="_blank">The Name of the Star</a></i> series will enjoy the friends-to-lovers romance between Wil and Ed, the murderous ghosts, and the drama of the<i> Upstairs, Downstairs</i> social dynamics of early 1900s. </div><div><br /></div><div>This could have used more period details; this could have been set today and been just as effective if the need for servants could have been spun a bit. There weren't any descriptions of the house, or many of the clothes, and fairly little about Wil's chances before she took a job as a maid. What had she been doing, other than selling papers? This was oddly unclear. <br /> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-zTOkcHZxle836qom_-4PHp40MyNOXRjMb-ICsOh_Ak9pR3H8ImLsBn5h7xU2L3w9DG-oJqg_38kEp6XynXRJLQuLHlVmYP8HGGyrnz5-3VMF7mwfPTs0UNqWP1P8A-I8lKQdfy9D49WKA9OxLT1Z0qBdISusNAdBMNp7LY1dwtvhduduK-sDQ/s400/101137332.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-zTOkcHZxle836qom_-4PHp40MyNOXRjMb-ICsOh_Ak9pR3H8ImLsBn5h7xU2L3w9DG-oJqg_38kEp6XynXRJLQuLHlVmYP8HGGyrnz5-3VMF7mwfPTs0UNqWP1P8A-I8lKQdfy9D49WKA9OxLT1Z0qBdISusNAdBMNp7LY1dwtvhduduK-sDQ/w129-h200/101137332.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>Jensen, Gry Kappel. <i>Roses & Violets</i></div><div>Translated by Sharon E. Rhodes </div><div>September 26, 2023 by Arctis</div><div>Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central</div><div><br /></div><div>Kirstine steals a letter from her father's desk, accepting her into Roseholm Academy. Even though she's too old to be in high school, she desperately wants to go, but her parents are very conservative Christians and don't want her to. Victoria also gets a letter, but since her mother is an alumna who works as a wise woman, she has no problem. Chamomile's mother also attended the school, but Malou comes from a background of poverty and is distrustful of the others. Kirstine meets Jakob on the train to the school and thinks that he is also a student, but it turns out that he is a teacher. The school has a variety of tests that the students must take, and they are very odd. When all four girls pass, they find out that Roseholm is a school for magical arts, from blood magic to spirit magic, with some traditional Danish subjects thrown in. The girls are not supposed to consort with the boys from the school, since romance takes up too much energy, but this doesn't stop them from talking to Vitus and Benjamin, and jealousies are sometimes stirred. At a party on All Hallow's Eve, the girls have a seance after drinking a bit, and they find out about a girl named Trine who was killed back in 1989. Kirstine tries to coax information out of Jakob, and the girls do manage to find a little bit of information, which is crucial since Roseholm seems to be haunted in a particularly dangerous way. When another student, Anne, is attacked over Christmas, the investigation is continued, and comes to a climax during the spring dance in April. Will the classmates be able to solve the mystery before a tragedy occurs?</div><div><br /></div><div>While this is clearly set in a country that is not the US, the translation is great, and most readers will not notice the difference. The cover is fantastic, and the shiny gold and dark purple will speak to readers who love paranormal romances. </div><div><br /></div><div>Told from each of the girls' points of view, we see a little of their backgrounds, and the different situations that brought them to the school. Kirstine's parents have thrown her out, Malou is suffering because the other girls are from more privileged backgrounds, and Victoria has the support of her mother. There's just enough romance to keep teens happy, and lots and lots of magical details. </div><div><br /></div><div>There seems to be a new trend in magical academies where the magic is rather dark. Even though the students at Roseholm are forbidden from participating in dark magic, they would be right at home with other magical schools like Aldridge's Deephaven and Alexander's Gallowgate. <br /> <img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" /></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-34181188802782715242024-03-06T05:00:00.164-05:002024-03-06T05:00:00.141-05:00Pedal, Balance, Steer and Summer at Squee<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WmscyAicPwuhi_uxX3nmpoJGbP5HE9Vg0uvbP78fEkcehmxp0Visptt7PQZi7_zGrORny-BANv9xPMhORe304a7hTM_36fFmFybY4IaYweE2dg7JZDktn7Ut-_3KQexso8PGqDRfnD56YvSpwhGnUmS1KH99kpqIc6NZeKiakVvWU4L_KDJIOg/s500/157995364.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="500" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WmscyAicPwuhi_uxX3nmpoJGbP5HE9Vg0uvbP78fEkcehmxp0Visptt7PQZi7_zGrORny-BANv9xPMhORe304a7hTM_36fFmFybY4IaYweE2dg7JZDktn7Ut-_3KQexso8PGqDRfnD56YvSpwhGnUmS1KH99kpqIc6NZeKiakVvWU4L_KDJIOg/w200-h195/157995364.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Kirkfield, Vivian and Jay, Allison (illus.)</div><div><i>Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World</i></div><div>February 20, 2024 by Calkins Creek</div><div>Copy provided by the Publisher</div><div><br /></div><div>Since children's bicycles weren't available until 1920 (a fact I did not know until reading this book!), Annie Cohen, who was born in Latvia in 1870, wouldn't have pedaled her way around her neighborhood the way today's children might. It wasn't until 1894, when she needed money, that she decided to enter a contest to bike around the world and had to learn this skill! Bicycles were not as comfortable and ergonomic as they are today, and she started out her journey in the clothing of the time; long skirts, a corset, and all of the other heavy trimmings! Rethinking this, she set out again wearing bloomers, with scant supplies but an iron will. Along with undertaking the travel, she had to earn $5,000 along the way, which she managed to get through speaking engagements and sponsorships. She managed the arduous and dangerous journey with some help along the way, and managed to finish 14 days ahead of schedule! </div><div><br /></div><div>Jay's artwork, like her illustrations in <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/01/stem-tuesday-josephine-and-her.html" target="_blank">Pitch Perfect and Persistent!</a></i> has a nice folk art fel that adds a vintage vibe to the tale, and the robin egg blue and tan color palette nicely captures Annie's time outdoors. The details of the various destinations, as well as the vintage bicycle, are vividly represented as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>This really piqued my curiousity; Annie's best bet was to leave her three children at home and take off on a bicycle with just a change of underwear? This is similar to the set up of the real life journey that inspired Dagg's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/04/fame.html" target="_blank"> The Year We Were Famous</a></i> or Speno's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/05/mmgm-baseball-and-running.html" target="_blank"> The Great American Foot Race:Ballyhoo for the Bunion Derby!</a> </i>but still seems.. not cost efficient? Thanks to Kirkfield's storytelling, however, I want to know more! </div><div><br /></div><div>Macy's fantastic 2011 <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/09/middle-grade-nonfiction-monday.html" target="_blank">Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way</a> </i>is for readers who are a bit older, but Pedal, Balance, Steer is a great way to get young readers interested in the history of bicycling, and a great lesson in resilience for young girls! Pair this with other books that showcase women's determination to travel despite the odds, like Rockliff' and Hooper's<i> <a href="Rockliff, Mara. Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 miles." target="_blank">Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 miles</a></i>. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhksiEBxdoL1RHhz1Th1Ju7jeeASpFjmSVGF8ohvCutVIT5NFARKxIubp8FyBdvaNZlBl3Wp38Vtv0Mr-vB6DOzSYjmFnZOx3887dcGkdWKp0y00YgNAVuUSweErnWFltI786SUaPwrbLCiFliNtsdawiR0SJ5Yn7ARGWtJXJr6gWJGQ2O0FkGg/s500/174136029.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhksiEBxdoL1RHhz1Th1Ju7jeeASpFjmSVGF8ohvCutVIT5NFARKxIubp8FyBdvaNZlBl3Wp38Vtv0Mr-vB6DOzSYjmFnZOx3887dcGkdWKp0y00YgNAVuUSweErnWFltI786SUaPwrbLCiFliNtsdawiR0SJ5Yn7ARGWtJXJr6gWJGQ2O0FkGg/w133-h200/174136029.jpg" width="133" /></a></div></div>Wang, Andrea. <i>Summer at Squee<br /></i>March 5, 2024 by Kokila<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>Phoenny Fang and her best friend Lyrica are super excited for the summer camp their mothers run, Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience (SCCWEE for short, pronounced “Squee”). It's always been Phee's happy place, where she can explore her Chinese culture and also do a lot of her favorite activity, sewing, but this year feels different. Her older brother is a Counselour in Training, and the girls who are usually in a group together are split up because there are some new girls. The new campers all seem to be cousins, since their Chinese names seem to match, but they are all cagey about their relationship, and one, McKenna is just downright rude. It turns out that the new campers have all been adopted by US families, and are a bit resentful. Phee loves speaking Mandarin, doing traditional crafts, games, and sports, and is hurt that the new girls don't necessarily want to participate. She's also crushing hard on Harrison, her brother's friend and fellow CIT who has just moved to the US from Hong Kong. He's only about a year older, and Phee thinks he might be interested in McKenna. There's a lot of stuff to do at the camp, and a final show to prepare for, but the campers have to also deal with online trolls who say racist things about the Squee posts on social media. Some on the counselors try to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice, but the experience leaves everyone in the camp shaken. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: There aren't a lot of books about adoptees from China (except for the 2012 <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2012/10/red-thread-sisters.html" target="_blank">Red Thread Sisters</a></i> by Peacock), and I love the idea of a summer camp that is culture based. The camp is a huge amount of fun, but also has plenty of drama. Not only is there the rivalry with the angry McKenna and the crush with Harrison, but there are also other campers with different sexual identities who are trying to figure out their own crushes. The camp is located on a college campus, which is interesting for those of us who only went to camp out in the woods! Being the daughter of someone who runs the camp would be intriguing, and Phee's struggles during her last year as a camper with the changes that have occurred will resonate with childre who find that their own worlds are changing. <br /></div><div><b>Weaknesses:</b> At 320 pages, this packed in a LOT of characters and a lot of activities on top of a wealth of information about Chinese culture as well as racism and prejudice. This was all good stuff, but it would have helped the story move more quickly if there had been fewer things like Phee's allergic reaction to a weasel bristle art brush and detailed descriptions of her sewing projects. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: There's been a significant decline in the number of adoptions from countries outside the US; it seemed like we'd had fewer such children at my school, and statistics so seem to show that. This is a good choice for readers who liked this author's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-great-destroyers.html" target="_blank">The Many Meaning of Meilan</a> </i>or camp books like Matson's<i> <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-firefly-summer.html" target="_blank">Firefly Summer</a> </i>or Soderberg's<i> <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-great-destroyers.html" target="_blank">Sky Ropes</a>. </i><p></p></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgau-wW-NAyHDSI4L-C3OGlLGdYINr-avAq_d_ygCjzntH6ynzTxcVna4g6LCF6rfYVoYDhFpgbfxRJ3zh7tG80s8y6WidX_v9rjgmbnmhka50sROIGAKzpJkhNhW_sWcRYm_DYtP1Rtioo7iah1whItZV9tG4qCr-nbfercf4wjZZBEnIbBDSygw/s400/63241506.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="342" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgau-wW-NAyHDSI4L-C3OGlLGdYINr-avAq_d_ygCjzntH6ynzTxcVna4g6LCF6rfYVoYDhFpgbfxRJ3zh7tG80s8y6WidX_v9rjgmbnmhka50sROIGAKzpJkhNhW_sWcRYm_DYtP1Rtioo7iah1whItZV9tG4qCr-nbfercf4wjZZBEnIbBDSygw/w171-h200/63241506.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>Lin, Grace. Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods</i></div>September 12, 2023 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers<div>Public library copy</div><div><br /></div><div>This larger format book (8.95 x 0.91 x 10.4 inches) is shelved in the 641 section (food) of my public library, but I would put a copy in the 398.2 section (folktales). There is information about the origins and history of a lot of different food, and then folk tales related to it, but no recipes, and the folktale sections far outweigh the food sections. </div><div><br /></div><div>This would be a great book if you needed more Chinese folktales, and is worth having for the food timeline alone. This would also be perfect for the campers in Wang's <i>Summer of Squee</i>! </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-81751186036338857792024-03-05T05:00:00.003-05:002024-03-05T05:00:00.248-05:00The Vice Principal Problem (The Blue Stars #1 Mission One) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKDO9XTR0R_TtM6VuAbGNxmN6ojm1E5o6P6XJrOfRlSABNNq4FVxrbxyg4UbOMT0SeBp8lonSSL1mdJYXx8S7Y0EI1pYQKb-ZxOKWXrW_gvsw00b2iRM9V7cc5yyXGa7ZjhMjO3xVoncvvjxXjeWQ3YWyyvAJCkEhUa0h5L34DoxzbnUkqRE84g/s450/53024761.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="319" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKDO9XTR0R_TtM6VuAbGNxmN6ojm1E5o6P6XJrOfRlSABNNq4FVxrbxyg4UbOMT0SeBp8lonSSL1mdJYXx8S7Y0EI1pYQKb-ZxOKWXrW_gvsw00b2iRM9V7cc5yyXGa7ZjhMjO3xVoncvvjxXjeWQ3YWyyvAJCkEhUa0h5L34DoxzbnUkqRE84g/w142-h200/53024761.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>Magoon, Kekla, Smith, Cynthia Leitich, and Murakami, Molly (Illustrator) <br /><i>
The Vice Principal Problem (The Blue Stars #1 Mission One) </i><br />
March 5, 2024 by Candlewick Press<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /><br />
Riley Halfmoon has lived most of her life in Oklahoma near her mother's closeknit Muskogee family. When her mother, Jill, gets a job in Urbanopolis as the City Hall press secretary and her father wants to go to nursing school, the three leave to move in with her father's mother, Gayle, who is a Black artist. At the same time, her cousin Maya Dawn has to move in with Grandma Gayle as well because her parents are in the military. Her father, Dave's brother, and her mother, who is white, can't take her to their latest post. Riley is apprehensive about her new living arrangements, but is looking forward to rooming with Maya, and has arranged to continue her gymnastics at a local gym. Maya is not happy to be away from her parents and takes it out on her cousin. The two start middle school and find activities to do. Maya is the only person in robotics club, but both girls decide to run for student body president. They are leery of Vice Principal Balderdash, who drives a very fancy car and is fond of sending people to detention. When the mayor's office announces that it will be delegating budgetary decisions to the school administrators, Jill Halfmoon knows that this is a veiled way of announcing budget cuts. Balderdash tells each of the three candidates that he will support their favorite activities (clubs, the library, sports) while secretly plotting to take all the money he can and build more detention facilities. The girls work together to expose the vice principal's evil scheme, luring him out of his office so they can place a bug, combing through hours of tape, and when they find him detailing his evil plans, playing a clip on the school screens. Will this be enough to scuttle his plans and save the programs that students really want?<br /><b>Strengths:</b> I love Maya's interest in science and technology, especially because this gives her many skills that are very useful to the girls campaign against Balderdash! The extended family living together and having Maya live with them while her parents are in the military is something that doesn't come up frequently in middle grade literature, but perhaps should. The girls have different interests, but they are able to both campain for student body president without fighting with each other, which was refreshing. The team of Magoon, Smith, and Murakami adds lots of diversity to the cast of characters, and the story is generally upbeat. I liked the note from the authors at the end about kids getting involved in their schools. <br /><b>Weaknesses:</b> I'm not quite sure why the mayor would have anything to do with school funding; this isn't the way our districts are set up in Ohio, and cuts are made on a district level, involving the superintendent and school board, after a LOT Of discussion. It seemed odd that the vice principal would have any say at all, but perhaps this is the case in other cities. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for readers who want a graphic novel similar to Varian Johnson's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2014/05/armchair-bea-mgya-guy-friday-great.html" target="_blank">The Great Greene Heist </a></i>or books with evil principals or school elections.<i> </i>There isn't much Native representation in graphic novels (Cohen's <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/08/saturday-morning-cartoons-two-tribes.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Two Tribes</a> is the only one I can think of), so this was good to see. </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-77080633070316574182024-03-04T05:00:00.000-05:002024-03-04T06:56:29.892-05:00MMGM- Hoop Con and LeBron James: Beyond the Game<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s1600/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s200/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">It's</span><br /><div><span face="">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</span><br /><span face=""> at </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://gpattridge.com/"><span face="">Always in the Middle </span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">and #IMWAYR day </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">at</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""><a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1EZ-vwnz3fWUwtGOW-iE8XwgR1RQiHwgoPN3mmML1rJ5BLhO_FQzh4iSxc-u-lcsuBXDhs7YbFZoknAOz0PlG2T3Dlu6PoGPemVRMqxLi9ejnVTm9r_4alrku1Sml6bB4XXf6IuM3G0YK2xGve8bb45g9zuefgnS4_s8MHVYH89Zw0ml6Ne3Uvg/s2475/63899023.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="1650" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1EZ-vwnz3fWUwtGOW-iE8XwgR1RQiHwgoPN3mmML1rJ5BLhO_FQzh4iSxc-u-lcsuBXDhs7YbFZoknAOz0PlG2T3Dlu6PoGPemVRMqxLi9ejnVTm9r_4alrku1Sml6bB4XXf6IuM3G0YK2xGve8bb45g9zuefgnS4_s8MHVYH89Zw0ml6Ne3Uvg/w133-h200/63899023.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><a href="https://www.amarshahwrites.com/" target="_blank">Shah, Amar</a>. <i>The Hoop Con (Play the Game #1)</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">May 7, 2024 by Scholastic Press</div><div style="text-align: left;">E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Raam Patel is very interested in playing basketball, and takes every opportunity to play in his Orlando, Florida area community. At the end of 6th grade, he and his friend, Cake, are also into basketball celebrities, merchandise, and the Hoop Con that is coming to their area. Cake's parents get tickets for him, but since they cost at least $500, Raam's dancing instructor mother and father who works for a relative are reluctant to buy him tickets. They would rather he attend Spelling Bee camp at the community center, especially since they have already paid for it. Through a contact, however, Raam's mother manages to get entry level tickets that don't have the same level of swag as Cake's. They still include court time with the star, Aron Hardaway, but Raam has difficulty on the court when it comes to sportsmanship. He doesn't like to pass to others, even when it is best for the team, which has led to problems in his previous experiences. When he gets drawn into a competition with a celebrity tween player, things get ugly. He not only doesn't do well, but he embarasses himself on the court. His antics are caught on camera, the player he idolizes shakes his head at Raam, and the videos go viral. To add insult to injury, Cake shares the video and refuses to take it down when Raam asks, because having it on his social media platform results in many more followers. Raam doesn't want to leave the house because everyone knows of his defeat. His parents, who are having work and relationship struggles themselves, have no patience for his hystrionics. They make him go to the Spelling Bee camp, but eventually make a concession; he can go to California to spend time with an aunt, uncle, and older cousin (actually an aunt, but nearer his age) Trina while the parents take time to work through their difficulties. While some people in California have seen the video, it's not as bad as being at home, and he has the opportunity to explore California and hang out with Trina. When new opportunities for competition present themselves, will Raam be able to work out the issues that are holding him back from being a winner?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Strengths</b>: Readers who are fascinated by sports AND social media will definitely love Raam's embarassing brush with internet fame, and enjoy all of the opportunities that Raam has to see celebrities and revel in designer shoes and swag. There is plenty of basketball as well, and the cover alone will sell this story. The family dynamics and history are interesting, and I especially liked the difficulties with Cake, since middle schoolers seem to lose at least one good friend. Having Trina also be interested in basketball gives this appeal to wider audiences. This is a great middle grade debut by Shah, whose background as a sports writer imbues this book with a lot of authenticity. This is like Fred Bowen's books, but with a sort of less traditional, social media feel to it.<br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: While I am decently knowledgeable with the sport of basketball, I am woefully deficient in knowledge of its celebrity culture and all its trappings of clothing, gear, and NFT. For me personally, Raam wasn't as sympathetic a character as he could have been, but perhaps we will see him become a better person in the next books. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: Sports book are a fantastic way to teach the life lessons that many language arts teachers and librarians wish to impart to students. The difference is that sports book actually get read, while award winners (especially ones that don't take student affection for the title into consideration) gather dust on their shiny stickers. While I didn't personally like Raam very much, he is a very relatable character, and middle grade readers who like a little schadenfreude dusted on the basketball court will empathize with Raam's embarassment and root for his comeback. I am looking forward to the next two purported books in the series. (<i>Take the Shot</i> is slated for publication on October 15, 2024.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxi4YlcmyKyVCSqvw6aJAS_56usxSKL6vNtXZezhE5X4XJq-lm2Vp0LQCJic2dA6F46tDQPWELTAppyWtUrt9tm7PcZNpIVRHUkevi_GjgKXJjHSeYfc8pkEoxJyd-zlf_EEb7lAAozweBJTLAHmKFt_Vl7rPiZE_5qkrwHmzjDeOkwCLjYIgeRg/s2475/174135912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="1650" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxi4YlcmyKyVCSqvw6aJAS_56usxSKL6vNtXZezhE5X4XJq-lm2Vp0LQCJic2dA6F46tDQPWELTAppyWtUrt9tm7PcZNpIVRHUkevi_GjgKXJjHSeYfc8pkEoxJyd-zlf_EEb7lAAozweBJTLAHmKFt_Vl7rPiZE_5qkrwHmzjDeOkwCLjYIgeRg/w133-h200/174135912.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Maraniss, Andrew and Hodge, DeAndra. <i>Beyond the Game: LeBron James</i></div>March 5, 2024 by Viking Books for Young Readers<div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>LeBron James is probably the number one reason many of my students think that they have a chance at a career as a professional basketball player, but I wish that they would read this book and think instead about the ways that James has tried to help other people. James' story is a well known one in my state; he was raised by a young mother with few resources, helped by a family who took him in during the week and gave him stability, and did well in school and not only on the basketball court. After joining the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he did very well for himself but also paid attention to issues of social justice, and decided to give back to his community by founding an <a href="https://ipromise.school/" target="_blank">I PROMISE</a> program in Akron which guarantees college help for children who stay in the program. The end of the book has basketball statistics as well as suggestions for ways in which young readers can help change the world. </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: Anything with James' picture on it will be checked out in two seconds flat in my library. Add Maraniss' story telling skills and Hodge's great illustrations, and I should probably just give in and buy two copies right away. This is a good length for reluctant readers, and the pictures will add to the appeal. I'm looking forward to other titles in this series. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: Since I don't follow sports, I could have used a timeline of James' basketball career. <br /></div><div><b>What I really think</b>: This is an essential purchase for middle school and elementary school libraries in Ohio, right along with Wetzel's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2019/11/guy-friday-basketball.html" target="_blank">Epic Athletes: LeBron James</a></i> and Andrea Williams' <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/08/guy-friday-we-are-family-and-tremendous.html" target="_blank">We Are Family</a></i>. </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-44967045881013328142024-03-03T05:00:00.086-05:002024-03-03T05:00:00.248-05:00 Louder Than Hunger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBr3JQJtF8L14pYbML2BXo73Qh3RdBbBSEGUHbDUXrfDkIL8eW82uFni77O65S3gy80RbGMNJsKCxEVht-ardpcMBPAwZyF3oyVPvMj14esuWE6vuI8gE29PMjfMGG_I26M3WcPAwMCzCxnCwXPyseO6pMqiUkWVbBhrwWllk6c5nHJMMoegmayw/s900/177721395.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="602" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBr3JQJtF8L14pYbML2BXo73Qh3RdBbBSEGUHbDUXrfDkIL8eW82uFni77O65S3gy80RbGMNJsKCxEVht-ardpcMBPAwZyF3oyVPvMj14esuWE6vuI8gE29PMjfMGG_I26M3WcPAwMCzCxnCwXPyseO6pMqiUkWVbBhrwWllk6c5nHJMMoegmayw/w134-h200/177721395.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>Schu, John. <i>Louder Than Hunger</i><br />March 5, 2024 by Candlewick Press<div>ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central </div><div><br /></div><div>In this novel in free verse, Jake is struggling as middle school progresses. He views himself as "different", and kids in his school often give him a hard time about his interests or the way he dresses. He loves being with his grandmother, with whom he shares a passion for Broadway musicals, and would rather read to older residents of a retirement home than hang out with children his own age. He has a very loud voice in his head that tells him that if he doesn't eat, he will get smaller, and his problems won't be as bad, especially if he can manage to disappear. He has lost a lot of weight, and his mother, who struggles with depression herself, is worried. His grandmother is, as well, but has her own health struggles. He's managed to hide his weight a bit by wearing overalls with big sweaters over them, but when he finally visits a doctor, he is admitted to an in patient treatment facility. As much as he wants to disappear, he is not fond of being in the facility and losing his freedom. He doesn't want to talk about his feelings, and balks at having to eat anything, since he knows he will gain weight. When an exam reveals that his heart rate has been affected by his weight loss, he must stay in a wheelchair. There are a few bright spots, like meeting Kella, who is in the outpatient program. The two have some shared interests, and like to talk, but Kella is improving and soon doesn't come to the facility. Jake is intractable, and struggles with the doctors who want to see him improve. He is granted some day passes, but he still cannot deal with the challenges of having to eat food. His grandmother dies, and this is a devastating blow. He feels that there is no one else who really understands him, but he does have conversations in his mind with Frieden, a statue in a park near his grandmother's house. He eventually starts to find some things to look forward to, and his love of books, music, and the theatre give him a reason to fight for his own survival. Once he is released from full time treatment, it is still a process to become healthy again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Based on the real life experiences of educator and one time Scholastic ambassador John Schumacher ("Mr. Schu"), this is a timely exploration about one struggle with anorexia. Jake's mental state is well depicted by the sometimes choppy, frantic verse outlining his panic, self-loathing, and pervasive grief. The language isn't necessarily poetic, but just like in Fipps' <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/03/starfish-aminas-song.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Starfish</a><i> </i>(another novel in verse about body image), the fragmented format helps deliver the message. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is a note from the author about how his life unfolded after the events of this book, as well as a list of resources for anyone who might be struggling with similar issues. </div><div><br /></div><div>I wish there had been a little more of the book showing the descent into the eating disorder, instead of starting so close to the crisis point. The verse format made it difficult for me to understand the origins of Jake's problem, as well as how the connection to art was able to help him see a way out. The connection to the statue, Frieden, while possibly very important to Schu, also was a bit confusing.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is no shortage of books about eating disorders, starting with Levenkron's 1978<i> The Best Little Girl in the World. </i>There are even a decent amount of books about young men with anorexia, like<i> </i>Vrettos' 2006 <i>Skin</i> and Shahan's 2014 <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2014/03/guy-friday-skin-and-bones.html" target="_blank">Skin and Bones</a>, </i>which are more Young Adult in focus or Pollan's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-year-i-didnt-eat.html" target="_blank"> The Year I Didn't Eat</a> (2019). </i>Any book with a medical tie-in should be reevaluated for currency, and it's important that books on these topics be fairly recent. Blume's Deenie, for example, offers outdated treatment and attitudes toward scoliosis. Add Louder Than Hunger to an updated list of books covering body image disorders along with Dee's<a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/06/everything-i-know-about-you.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"> Everything I Know About You</a><i> (2018), </i>Petro-Roy's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2019/02/good-enough.html" target="_blank">Good Enough</a> (2019), </i>Gerber's <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/03/mmgm-occasionally-happy-family.html" target="_blank"><i>Taking Up Space</i></a>, Lerner's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/05/cartoon-saturday-work-in-progress.html" target="_blank"> A Work in Progress</a></i>, and the graphic novel by Edkins <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/05/smaller-sister-and-daily-bark-dinosaur.html" target="_blank">Smaller Sister</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div><div><p>
<img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" /></p> </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-50296199053370214542024-03-02T12:08:00.040-05:002024-03-02T12:08:00.149-05:00Saturday Morning Cartoons- Animals<div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHXLuhqnbBVuUC_PXw2tsg7RWaOUXIhhYJqT7os1C8S2oVztfNTO8NqNH13AlPximYcXWf7XmlN3_BQh6jjAFYYbqSqYbs2vNU6GH2UZFifgsnNgkCMkdaoiHeSVGfIqRYEyuR6m2E1gTL9BawTvh4IVcpQ7NIeen0AS_rPaHgP-Mjm-DvVwvkA/w146-h200/188958496.jpg" width="146" /></div></div>Stromski, Rick. <i>Schnozzer and Tatertoes Shoot the Moon (#2)</i><br />February 6, 2024 by Union Square Kids<br />E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /><br />After their adventures in <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/06/cartoon-saturday-emma-hopper-and-take.html" target="_blank">Take a Hike</a></i>, Schnozzer and Tatertoes are having a lazy Saturday. Their television isn't working, and they decide to spend their time writing a story. Tatertoes has trouble coming up with ideas, and Schnozzer suggests that going to the Air and Space Museum would be both fun AND educational, two things that rarely happen at the same time. Soon they are hopping on a bus and visiting the museum. While there, they see lots of interesting things, but when Tatertoes drops something and accidentally gets himself stuck in the Apollo 11 command module, Schnozzer tries to get him out. Of course, they accidentally blast off, although the capsule has supposedly been disabled since 1971. (The Mr. Magoo-like custodian seems to be to blame!) The president of the US is alerted, and NASA is following their journey. Soon, they are crash landing on the moon, where they find a golf club and a ball, and are greeted by moon creatures. Communication is difficult, but the moon creatures make it clear that they want our intrepid Barkonauts* to take all of the space detritus with them. They strap it to the capsule, and launch it back to Earth with, of course, a giant sling shot. On the way back, the space junk makes the capsule unsteady, so Tatertoes ventures out to cut it off with toenail clippers. In doing so, he gets stuck on a passing asteroid that NASA has determined is soon going to crash into the Earth. Tatertoes manages to disentangle himself at the last moment, and his interference manages to redirect the asteroid, and the Earth is saved! <div><b>Strengths</b>: The best part of this was the detailed exploration of the Air and Space Museum, which I didn't realize was getting a new facade and major renovation. This is goofy fun, in an easy to read graphic novel. Tatertoes is not quite as obtuse as he was in the first book, and shows some initiative when he and his friend get to the moon. It's an unlikely adventure, but one that will make young readers laugh.<br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: The moon creatures were a little stereotypical. I was hoping for a bit more innovation.<br /><b>What I really think</b>: The first book in the series is really appealing to my emerging readers because of the bright pictures and easy-to-read text. We have had more English Language Learners recently, as well as other students who are struggling a bit with reading, so I'll purchase this one to help them out a bit. </div><div><br /></div><div>This took me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I lived in the DC area in 1970-72, and have fuzzy memories of visiting the OLD Air and Space Museum, which was l<a href="https://siarchives.si.edu/history/historic-pictures-smithsonian/south-yard" target="_blank">ocated in a 1920s era Quonset hut</a>! This was torn down in 1975, the current museum was built, and I visited it with my high school orchestra in 1982! I've been several other times, and have been to the annex as well with our 8th grade Washington D.C. trip. Unfortunately, these visits were not as adventure-filled as Schnozzer and Tatertoes! </div><div><br /></div>*Apologies to Greg van Eekhout who uses this term in his 2018<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/09/voyage-of-dogs-third-mushroom.html" target="_blank"> Voyage of the Dogs</a></i>. <div><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvaWKZ_KM17Z_tEYIX2QeWDSTDU4FHJKLl1pl4esL4xThPZiEyrJG5DRL0iGJVMpQhM6oIM9KoJYfXikWXUlVzE_mpo6izQZ3zRUTUbQpBGBARMZiqafEKjJ_Kvv4HNH8bnYStFaRYbipD4BjGdf0P0orGh67O6omb58_TaaOLDuA9gGE_84jNA/s2963/176440299.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2963" data-original-width="1917" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvaWKZ_KM17Z_tEYIX2QeWDSTDU4FHJKLl1pl4esL4xThPZiEyrJG5DRL0iGJVMpQhM6oIM9KoJYfXikWXUlVzE_mpo6izQZ3zRUTUbQpBGBARMZiqafEKjJ_Kvv4HNH8bnYStFaRYbipD4BjGdf0P0orGh67O6omb58_TaaOLDuA9gGE_84jNA/w129-h200/176440299.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>Venable, Colleen AF, Stubbings, Ellen (illus.) and Colleen, Marcie. <i>Kitten Ninja</i><br />February 27, 2024 by Andrews McMeel Publishing<br />E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<div><br /></div><div>This was a little younger for my students, but if <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/10/cartoon-saturday-cats.html" target="_blank">Cat Ninja</a></i> is popular in your school, this will get younger students primed to read those books. <br /><br />
From the Publisher:</div><div>"Fans of comics, and heartwarming stories—not to mention cats!—will love Kitten Ninja, the origin story of the incredible Cat Ninja!<br /><br />
Before Cat Ninja grew up and became Metro City’s greatest defender, he was tiny, adorable Kitten Ninja and he battled...much tinier foes. (Hey, everybody has to start somewhere, right?)<br /><br />
In this spin-off prequel to the enormously popular Epic Original Cat Ninja series, our favorite feline hero takes on everything a kitten-size ninja has to battle on the way to his heroic a sun spot that won’t stay put, an irresistible ball of yarn, and—every cat’s archenemy—snow!"</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0eRiXeVPSYanyP5xyjjt-IzjL68olBTsr7y9JFpxq1H728f_9weVxIdfI7osSRlEPNRCl_u4OyWfDl7OZfvtlt6NfnidS8eVSrzJIjet1a9CWpOSEKVcP4i-xOrS_wHOR7Avj_UujeOHiPP83zWjkvhSRRdMh-9YW_GirwNhFhTfpU5phq1Yaw/s362/cover291757-medium.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0eRiXeVPSYanyP5xyjjt-IzjL68olBTsr7y9JFpxq1H728f_9weVxIdfI7osSRlEPNRCl_u4OyWfDl7OZfvtlt6NfnidS8eVSrzJIjet1a9CWpOSEKVcP4i-xOrS_wHOR7Avj_UujeOHiPP83zWjkvhSRRdMh-9YW_GirwNhFhTfpU5phq1Yaw/w141-h200/cover291757-medium.png" width="141" /></a></div>Underhill, Scout. <i>DnDoggos: Get the Party Started</i><br />
February 27, 2024 by Feiwel & Friends<br />E ARC provided by Netgalley<br /><br /> If you have a culture of D&D at your school that is super strong, this would be a good choice. It presupposes a lot prior knowledge of the game. It's cute, but I don't have a lot of D&D fans, so will pass on purchase at this time. This is based on a web comic. (https://www.scoutunderhill.com/dndoggos)</div><div><br /></div><div>From the publisher:<br />"Four adorable dogs are tail-waggingly excited to play their favorite role-playing game in Get the Party Started , the middle grade graphic novel debut from online comic creator Scout Underhill.
They've picked their characters and favorite dice, and are ready to set off on the adventure their game master Magnus has created for them.<br /><br />
Pickles, a rough and tumble fighter; Tonka, a playful and fun-loving bard; and Zoey, a wise and caring cleric, are given a quest to fetch a magical dog collar from a nearby swamp. But when they triumphantly return, they soon find that the collar isn't the only thing that has gone missing from Tail's Bend. All the squeaky toys in town have disappeared and Squish, the mayor's young son, has set off on his own to find them.<br /><br />
It's up to the Doggos to rescue Squish, track down the missing toys, and save the day!"</div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-62556248062695587222024-03-01T06:44:00.004-05:002024-03-01T06:44:33.228-05:00February Statistics<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDqZBsIOwpQ0eVD9BlH06NhcTO2gvyMxAZTu5I4FKOYZSe-AUS1-PArhkx1wsVJT-RIsS4LH8pwu6DLSO6pHsgw3NetuR3PEJbDNYUHcEpvr0hRV-ILuY1yKcnRLd66nz1U-LL9fRqE7JLKbFHXQ-xMlG9SAr5k1wCOXtiP6e8tSU4aokHso1pA/s1080/Books%20Read%2083%20Full%20Reviews%2061(75%25)%20Buying%2019%20Elementary%203%20YA%203%20MG%2077%20Fantasy%2024%20Nonfiction%2017%20Realistic%2042%2060%25%20of%20titles%20included%20underrepresented%20cultures.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDqZBsIOwpQ0eVD9BlH06NhcTO2gvyMxAZTu5I4FKOYZSe-AUS1-PArhkx1wsVJT-RIsS4LH8pwu6DLSO6pHsgw3NetuR3PEJbDNYUHcEpvr0hRV-ILuY1yKcnRLd66nz1U-LL9fRqE7JLKbFHXQ-xMlG9SAr5k1wCOXtiP6e8tSU4aokHso1pA/w640-h640/Books%20Read%2083%20Full%20Reviews%2061(75%25)%20Buying%2019%20Elementary%203%20YA%203%20MG%2077%20Fantasy%2024%20Nonfiction%2017%20Realistic%2042%2060%25%20of%20titles%20included%20underrepresented%20cultures.png" width="640" /></a></p><br />Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-41277936339232189882024-03-01T05:30:00.002-05:002024-03-01T05:30:00.134-05:00Women's History Month- Skybound!The lovely people at Calkins Creek sent me a box of picture book biographies to celebrate Women's History Month. What a great way to introduce young readers to all of the possibilities! <br /><br />
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFMjjo757vrydQUEINMUVaPTdiALzzLF9icLYvzABzvjzCUlwU94UraD1utMB0jjjn1mjFGWbxYZbmVY9N1XMQU0XjL6RMoTwChivasMerSJS1b4tdREuo_wIqiap-3qlIaBj0NYVuLW1SNb6vbPMOC1x-UCjrh0p18thsFRG8tIQhpIBpw4kvw/s2560/150065054.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2109" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFMjjo757vrydQUEINMUVaPTdiALzzLF9icLYvzABzvjzCUlwU94UraD1utMB0jjjn1mjFGWbxYZbmVY9N1XMQU0XjL6RMoTwChivasMerSJS1b4tdREuo_wIqiap-3qlIaBj0NYVuLW1SNb6vbPMOC1x-UCjrh0p18thsFRG8tIQhpIBpw4kvw/w165-h200/150065054.jpg" width="165" /></a></div>Ganz-Schmitt, Sue and Bruno, Iacopo (illus.)<br /><i>Skybound!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist</i><br />April 16, 2024 by Calkins Creek<div>Copy provided by the Publisher<br /><br /> Not many girls born in 1850 were able to become scientists, but Mary Breed Hawley was fortunate enough meet and marry Carl Meyer, who shared her passion for engineering, science, and invention. He had an extensive library, and Mary studied aeronautics and meteoraolgy through his books. She even invented a better fabric for balloons, and helped make them. The couple hired an aeronaut to fly their newfangled vehicle, but when they needed someone to take scientific measurements as well as fly the balloon, Mary stepped in and volunteered. Choosing the stage name Carlotta, she traveled up in the balloon at various exhibitions and brought back data on the weather components of her journey. There were some close calls, but she continued her flights for a number of years. When she retired, she and Carl started a balloon manufacturing business, the Balloon Farm, in Frankfort, New York. <p></p><p>Encouraging STEM studies in young girls is so important, and Mary's devotion to studying despite the strictures of her time are an inspiration. I loved that she wasn't just a daredevil, but wanted to make scientific contributions as well. She even managed to get a patent for her invention that helped her steer the balloon at a time when few women were listed as inventors. </p><p>Bruno's illustrations capture the feel of the late 1800s well, with ornate fonts included in the text and great detail in the clothing and settings. The palette is heavy on brown and blue with touches of red, perhaps drawing from the one vintage postcard of the Balloon Farm. The outfits in particular are well researched, but there is plenty of scientific detail in the balloons as well as some of the instruments used in collecting data. </p><p>In addition to Mary's story, there is an informative section at the end with more details about the Myers' foray into balloons, complete with a timeline and bibliography. This would make a great additions to alouds that show that the sky wasn't a limit for women at all like Borden and Kroeger's <i>Fly High!: The Story of Bessie Coleman</i>, Bass and <i>Williams' Me and the Sky: Captain Beverley Bass, Pioneering Pilot</i>, Engle and Palacios'<i> The Flying Girl: How Aida de Acosta Learned to Soar</i>, Lang and Colón's <i>Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine</i>, and Smith and Tavares' <i>Lighter than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot</i>. </p><p> <img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" />
</p> </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-13553527689439359132024-03-01T05:00:00.085-05:002024-03-01T06:33:47.216-05:00Poetry Friday- In and Out Window and Forsooth<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMqOvi09xLvQ54e6vqdGuZkbgePOdjzhxJVSWk2QG3cKcKT3PWvwm0i8GWUuw2Abizgd54iII1V2tPdkya7sWyPyqowu3gXrhCs9GnJE8uyETPdl_o9t8aLZ6VRWtg8HLybsdfbF1A5X1w5E5I_aEaOh76lxSjuLH_uEmLUkVVYoaWkaIZSYOYQ/s2560/177188713.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1707" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMqOvi09xLvQ54e6vqdGuZkbgePOdjzhxJVSWk2QG3cKcKT3PWvwm0i8GWUuw2Abizgd54iII1V2tPdkya7sWyPyqowu3gXrhCs9GnJE8uyETPdl_o9t8aLZ6VRWtg8HLybsdfbF1A5X1w5E5I_aEaOh76lxSjuLH_uEmLUkVVYoaWkaIZSYOYQ/w133-h200/177188713.jpg" width="133" /></a>Yolen, Jane and Peterslund, Cathrin. <i>In and Out Window</i><br />March 12, 2024 by Philomel Books<br />Copy provided by the publisher</div><div><br /></div><div>Jane Yolen has been writing for quite some time, and has enthusiastically embraced many genres and formats, from my favorite Young Heroes series with Robert J. Harris to her graphic nonfiction title <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2013/10/mmgm-blue-moon.html" target="_blank">Bad Girls</a></i> with Heidi Stemple to picture books. She has also been writing poetry for a while, with several books like 1990 <i>Bird Watch: A Book of Poetry</i> as well as single poems in anthologies and magazines. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>In and Out Window </i>combines some retrospective inclusions with newer poems, and range from very short rhymed couplets to longer, formal poems like "My Teacher". There is some free verse, but the vast majority of the poems embrace scansion and rhyme but play with it in innovative ways. Her formal verse is so good (like "Souble Up June's Black Belt Memories", and so few people write it, that I wished she had thrown in a sonnet or two!</div><div><br /></div><div>The topics vary widely but do focus on the elementary school experience. Poems are thematically linked, with chapters headed "At Home", "Animals", "School", "After School", and my favorite, "Career Poems", with each chapter divided into "In" and "Out". This gives a nice feeling of organization to the book, although there is not a table of contents. <br /><br /></div><div>I liked that this was the size of a fiction book; many poetry collections have more of a picture book format, that some middle school readers don't like. This reminded me strongly of collections I had as a child, although I would argue with the publisher's description that this was like collections by Shel Silverstein. Yolen's verse is much better. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've actually debated whether I will keep this for my own or put it in my library collection. It was really quite a nice collection that I very much enjoyed. We don't do much with poetry in language arts classes now, but since I thought it was a good idea to pursue writing poetry as a career when I was in college (not that majoring in Latin was a better idea when it came to gainful employment), I am reluctant to hand books of poetry to any future progeny who might contribute to my care when I am elderly. It's an excellent choice for public libraries, and for schools where poetry is studied widely. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZVyN6GWUcAjpLsu79EAEUjuZ_5TVGXocTkQkB5COqNU0jOV9N1vpPNqOBF9IR3AzTCiaNi9BrZ9wjNPmz5EqNCqhN_QopjudzV9QZDRjNw0A9w6xqRbDmqkxjU9A2L9u_RzdpRAkx6zYvmSoyCQeQIxoi9r1wFR2RWzbyPAnAjXa3RgucoU54w/s400/130222213.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="284" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZVyN6GWUcAjpLsu79EAEUjuZ_5TVGXocTkQkB5COqNU0jOV9N1vpPNqOBF9IR3AzTCiaNi9BrZ9wjNPmz5EqNCqhN_QopjudzV9QZDRjNw0A9w6xqRbDmqkxjU9A2L9u_RzdpRAkx6zYvmSoyCQeQIxoi9r1wFR2RWzbyPAnAjXa3RgucoU54w/w142-h200/130222213.jpg" width="142" /></a></div></div>Matejek-Morris, Jimmy. <i>Forsooth </i><br />November 7, 2023 by Carolrhoda Books ®<br /> E ARC provided by Netgalley<div><br /></div><div>Calvin is best friends with Kennedy and Jonah, but things start to become problematic when he has a disastrous performance in Cinderella. Kennedy is Cinderella, and Jonah is the prince. Calvin is a footman who blows his lines (the titular "forsooth") and "ruins" the play. When Calvin sees Jonah and Kennedy kissing afterwards, it strikes him oddly, but the really upsetting thing occurs later, on the last day of school. When yearbooks are signed, Kennedy uses the opportunity to tell Calvin that she's leaving to move to New York City to live with her mother and go to a performing arts school. Calvin is devasted. In the wake of this announcement, he develops some new friends, including Kennedy's rival, Maia, and neighbor Blake. Calvin's mother makes him go to choir practice at the Catholic church, and Maia hopes to get the solo. After another disastrous occurrence, the priest gives the solo to Calvin. He keeps that information to himself, especially since Maia is helping him and Jonah put together a film that they hope will encourage Kennedy to move back. Calvin is anxious about many things, and Blake, whose father suffers from anxiety, teaches him some valuable coping skills. Calvin is attracted to both boys, but his Catholic upbringing makes him want to deny this. His older sister is dating a boy, and keeping it secret because the parents are so strict, so he knows he can't tell them, even though his father seems to be oddly understanding at several points in the book. Jonah is studying for his bar mitzvah, and trying to find a way to honor his deceased father at the ceremony. Calvin helps him, but also has moments with Blake. When Maia finds out about the solo, that new friendship is in danger of falling through. The whole summer is very tense for many reasons, and when Kennedy comes back to visit (after blocking both Calvin and Jonah from her social media after realizing they like each other), things get very dramatic. Will Calvin be able to figure out what it is that he wants from his family and friends so that he has the support he needs to be his authentic self? </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: This captured the progession of middle school romances in a very realistic way-- a whole lot of the process is just figuring out if the other person likes you, and if they do... what do you even do? Layering this on top of a theater background gives it some form, and the addition of friend drama is perfect, because losing at least one friend in middle school is almost guaranteed. There should probably be a few more middle grade books with families who are religious, but it is becoming increasingly rare for families to have religious affiliations. The interactions with Calvin and his parents and sister are quite interesting. The inclusion of Kennedy's social media "fame" will make this even more appealing to young readers. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: This had a LOT of angsty drama. I wish that there had been more of an underlying plot that dealt with something other than Calvin figuring out his identity or his relationship with his friends and family. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for readers who liked <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2013/05/guy-friday-better-nate-than-ever.html" target="_blank">Better Nate Than Ever </a></i>or Pancholy's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/10/nikhil-out-loud.html" target="_blank">Nikhil Out Loud</a></i>. <br /></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-60182747443557961362024-02-29T05:00:00.123-05:002024-02-29T05:00:00.137-05:00I Will Follow and The Girls From Hush Cabin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhva8pwIyfsCvQwPASrafdTDSFjGk12H61_megb9gfhCA2SOnBd8lq2x1Xf6C_u2_Qf_u962iZ2lbZVIX1BM7OCNFJ8ccm-zc_marYGtk_Xdf6p9AAh8h7T2wMtsWmtz2m8JEjqDY-oxiUgMXmRKt4KaMnmuErmkCuCk3w6x72Pe6R1VZi_-Spdcg/s346/125489488.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="227" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhva8pwIyfsCvQwPASrafdTDSFjGk12H61_megb9gfhCA2SOnBd8lq2x1Xf6C_u2_Qf_u962iZ2lbZVIX1BM7OCNFJ8ccm-zc_marYGtk_Xdf6p9AAh8h7T2wMtsWmtz2m8JEjqDY-oxiUgMXmRKt4KaMnmuErmkCuCk3w6x72Pe6R1VZi_-Spdcg/w131-h200/125489488.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Corrigan, Eireann. <i>I Will Follow </i><br />February 6, 2024 by Scholastic Press<br />E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<div><br /></div><div>Nora is obsessed with the social media dance stare Shea, as a way to detach from her life. Her mother has passed away, and her father, whom she calls Sonny, is a disaster prepper who has the two living in a remote location in shipping containers. Shea has her own probles; she started dancing after her father died and her mother slipped into a deep depression. Now, her mother is engaged to marry her best friend Delaney's father. Delaney, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, is supportive of Shea but a little bitter about her almost a million followers and the free items she gets from sponsors and fans. The two are planning an elaborate dance for the parents' wedding, and have a disagreement about whether or not it should be posted. They barely notice that Nora shows up at the dance studio, claiming to have scheduled it. Later, Shea goes to the fair, and is irritated that her mother has scheduled an appearance. She just wants to hang out with her friends, but when she is in the funhouse, Nora approaches her an drugs her with an injection! Having stolen her father's truck, Nora drags Shea, drooling and half conscious, into the truck and takes off into the wilderness, heading toward a family cabin. There, she handcuffs Shea to the bed and outlines her plan. The two of them will become best friends, and create new content together. Nora even goes as far as pressing the sleeping Shea's thumb to her phone screen to unlock it, changing the password, and posting pictures on the account hinting that she is on vacation. Shea tries to survive. While Nora feeds her and even gives her medicine for the wound caused by the handcuffs, she is mercurial, and Shea never knows how she will react. The two do some dances together, but these cause concern for Shea's family, who have alerted the police to her disappearance. The police, however, are treating it as a runaway teen situation. Nora is enraged by the negative comments about her dancing. Clearly unstable (early on, she is shown communicating with an older sister about much needed therapy sessions), Nora holds Shea captive. As the videos include more and more bizarre music, the family try to figure out where Shea is being held. Will they be able to locate her before Nora's behavior becomes unsafe?<br /><b>Strengths</b>: I'm not sure my students will appreciate it, but I did love Shea's insights on her social media presence, and how perhaps certain actions were unwise. I do tell my students they shouldn't post pictures of themselves at school or in local sports uniforms, and this clearly shows why. The thing that will make this popular is the abduction; fifteen years ago I couldn't keep titles like Mazer's<i> The Solid Gold Kid</i> (1977), Nixon's <i>The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore</i> (1979), Duncan's <i>Ransom</i> (1990), and of course, the hugely popular <i>The Face on the Milk Carton </i>(1990) by Caroline Cooney. Henry's <i>The Girl in the White Van</i> (2020) and<i> The Night She Disappeared</i> (2012). I'm not entirely sure why abduction stories strike such a cord in middle grade readers, but they do. This has a good level of threatening behaviors without being too scary. I also appreciated the shout out to Warner's <i>The Boxcar Children.</i> </div><div><b>Weaknesses</b>: Once again, Scholastic only publishes horror in paperback. Corrigan's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/02/mystery-thursday-remedy.html" target="_blank">Remedy</a> (2021)</i>, <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2019/10/creep.html" target="_blank">Creep</a> (2019)</i>, and <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2013/05/accomplice.html" target="_blank">Accomplice</a></i> (2010) all circulate steadily, so I would love to have this in hardcover. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: Definitely purchasing, and this will be popular with students; just look at that creepy cover. Once I mention social media, there will be fights breaking out. Maybe I should buy two copies. </div><div><br /></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5FoAlfd7BHME2taljUkr0KKILfxFRhaZ6ymENiY1CSsJUfemCRraOKJTtwo5eAq0aIfBnRUe1ouY3bi9rzpF76sn9VPx-8q7qRx6bREnDECmAvEKelUn76RE9Fw0wuP-Fepava5sxJcXVX8VDxQjRQJf5k3Fegzu4e5C9RYkrq0t94LFgoeHaw/s400/75637380.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5FoAlfd7BHME2taljUkr0KKILfxFRhaZ6ymENiY1CSsJUfemCRraOKJTtwo5eAq0aIfBnRUe1ouY3bi9rzpF76sn9VPx-8q7qRx6bREnDECmAvEKelUn76RE9Fw0wuP-Fepava5sxJcXVX8VDxQjRQJf5k3Fegzu4e5C9RYkrq0t94LFgoeHaw/w125-h200/75637380.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>Hoy-Kenny, Marie.<i>
The Girls From Hush Cabin. </i><br />August 15, 2023 by Blackstone Publishing<br />Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central<br /><br />Holly, Denise, Calista, and Zoe are all in high school, ready to plan the next chapters of their lives when they find out that their favorite camp counselor, has died. Violet, who was a strong swimmer, drowned in her mother's swimming pool, and the girls suspect foul play right away. When Violet was their counselor, her boyfriend went missing, and another girl at the camp was found dead, so there is reason to be suspicious. The four reconvene for a long weekend to attend the funeral and other memorial events, and try to solve the mystery despite other problems going on in their lives. Holly is glad to be away from home, where she lives with her mother after her father's death, and her very controlling boyfriend. Zoe is hoping to meet a young man to marry, since her college prospects are limited, and even spends times on dating apps, meeting men in bars with a fake identity card. Denise is romantically interested in one of the college friends that is grieving Violet's passing, Janie, which causes complications. Calista has a large, close-knit family, and isn't sure how she will be able to move forward without them. As the story unfolds, we find that Violet had a lot of influence over the girls, who were in late elementary and middle school. For the first four years, Violet was a fun counselor, but during the last year, she took an odd turn. She had the girls spying on other campers, stealing items from people, and generally being sneaky and dishonest. What part did she have in the disappearance of her boyfrience, and the death of the girl? What did she do that caused the past to have such serious repercussions? And will the former campers investigating her death solve the mystery and manage to stay safe themselves?</div><div><br /></div><div>Summer camp seems like such an innocent experience, and the girls have generally good memories of Violet. Slowly, details begin to emerge about the ways that she manipulated and mistreated their trust, but I don't want to spoil any of the plot! There's plenty of dark secrets, clandestine assignations, and murderous subplots to keep readers turning the pages of this dark and twisted tale. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is told from alternate viewpoints of the four main characters, Holly, Denise, Calista, and Zoe. I found this to be a little confusing, but readers who enjoy this style will love the deep dives into the circumstances of each. I thought Holly was the most interesting character, and was glad that she was able to get away from her controlling boyfriend, but didn't like the way that the other girls treated her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since the girls often engage in more adult behaviors, like drinking, and have a more mature vocabulary, this is more suited to young adult readers who enjoyed titles like Natasha Preston's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-island.html" target="_blank">The Island</a> (2023)</i>and Stoffel's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/09/fright-night.html" target="_blank"> Fright Night</a></i> (2020). Younger readers who want similarly creepy titles with a more upper middle grade approach to social behavior might look instead at Henry's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/08/mmgm-eyes-of-forest.html" target="_blank">Eyes of the Forest </a></i>(2021).<br /><p><img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" />
</p> </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-19935975446732041872024-02-28T05:00:00.138-05:002024-02-28T05:00:00.139-05:00Partition Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE-X82Q8Utvz5_zpT_rj-OqgiLo4Ug9QUtoePgr2WYaRO7Kyhq9jBD7no6mvfiawpVzjXLMey7FxCccG5YAiZYcySlnUvgaubwRULdhP9oy3lIvIsLb2-beAy73r_MpTOCfYPFNdXVEIbxh3vl5CNZIeffHEbyYA7zjiEaaAtFyH5SsMDOtBtjw/s900/167006921.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="595" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE-X82Q8Utvz5_zpT_rj-OqgiLo4Ug9QUtoePgr2WYaRO7Kyhq9jBD7no6mvfiawpVzjXLMey7FxCccG5YAiZYcySlnUvgaubwRULdhP9oy3lIvIsLb2-beAy73r_MpTOCfYPFNdXVEIbxh3vl5CNZIeffHEbyYA7zjiEaaAtFyH5SsMDOtBtjw/w133-h200/167006921.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Faruqi, Saadia. <i>The Partition Project</i><div>February 27, 2024 by Quill Tree Books</div><div>E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div><br /></div><div>Maha Raheem thinks that her family, including dietician mother, doctor father, and older basketball playing brother Talha, is perfect. Of course, she only thinks that because now that her father's mother, Dadi, is coming from Pakistan to live with them, her life is <i>ruined.</i> Maha is very invested in the idea that she can become a journalist when she grows up, and is irritated that her media class is assigned to do a documentary. She had hoped they would write news articles. She's also irritated that she has to "babysit" Dadi, who is almost 90, and has some aches and pains. Dadi isn't all that thrilled, either, because she doesn't feel as useful as she did back home, where she was retired from teaching math. When Maha starts to listen to her grandmother relate stories about her childhood, she is amazed to find out about the Partition of India, and learns that her grandmother was forced to leave her home and start over in Pakistan. As she gets to know more about her grandmother's life and how it intersects with history, Maha uses this information for her school project. She interviews her grandmother, as well as others at the Senior Center the two visit every Saturday. She also learns some things about modern day Pakistan from new student, Ahmed, whose family has just moved from there. Her interest in this project does run her afoul of her best friend, Kim, who is working with her on another school project involved The Lightning Thief, and after the two fight because Maha isn't reading the book, Maha tries to make it up to her friend by honoring her friend's Korean ancestry and reporting on Lai's <i>Inside Out and Back Again</i>. Maha has a new appreciation for history and its part in news reporting, and also comes to enjoy having her grandmother living with the family, especially since her cooking is much better than Maha's mother and brother's! </div><div><b>Strengths</b>: Maha is a typical middle school student who gets heavily invested in her own interests and tends to forget other things, like her book project with Kim. Her family is realistically busy, and Dadi's arrival seems fairly typical of how grandparents are often added to family life. I was very glad that Maha was interested in the Partition, since it is my second favorite horrible historical event, right behind the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. More people should know about it, and this is a fast paced book that includes just enough friend and family drama to make it an easy sell for students who, like Maha, aren't immediately interested in history. Faruqi has been a publishing powerhouse in the last few years, with everything from the early chapter book <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/07/meet-yasmin-and-courage.html" target="_blank">Meet Yasmin</a></i> series (2018), <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-place-at-table.html" target="_blank">A Place at the Table</a></i> (with Laura Shovan, 2020), <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/10/mmgm-thousand-questions-blood-and-germs.html" target="_blank">A Thousand Questions</a> (2020), <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/10/kitten-chaos.html" target="_blank">Must Love Pets</a> (2022), <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/10/marya-khan-and-incredible-henna-party.html" target="_blank">Marya Khan</a> (2022), </i>the graphic novel <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/09/saturday-morning-cartoons-saving.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Saving Sunshine</a><i> (2023), </i>and even the collective biography,<i> <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/06/mmgm-wonders-we-seek-and-fort.html" target="_blank">The Wonders We Seek</a> (2022). </i><br /><b>Weaknesses: </b>This was on the longer side, but also included a lot of different sub plots. Dadi's story is so important that I wished there were less about Tiffany and her grandfather and Maha's love of journalism so that the book concentrated more on Dadi and information about the Partition. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for readers who want to learn more about the Partition and may have read Senzai's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2015/11/ticket-to-india.html" target="_blank">Ticket to India</a></i>, those who like to read about struggles with identity, as in Kelkar's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/05/american-as-paneer-pie.html" target="_blank">As American as Paneer Pie</a></i>, or who want to know what it is like to have a grandparent move in with their family, ala Shang's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/02/some-new-some-old.html" target="_blank">The Great Wall of Lucy Wu</a></i>. I feel like there are more books about grandparents coming (especially from other countries) to move in with a family with tweens and teens, but other than Smith's horribly dated 1984 <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-war-with-grandpa-movie-tie-in.html" target="_blank">The War with Grandpa</a></i>, I can't seem to find them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Other middle grade books about the Partition include Bradbury's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2013/07/world-wednesday-moment-comes.html" target="_blank"> A Moment Comes </a></i>(2013) and <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/06/outside-init-all-comes-down-to-this.html" target="_blank">Outside In</a></i> (2017), Senzai's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2015/11/ticket-to-india.html" target="_blank">Ticket to India</a></i> (2015), Kelkar's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/10/wndb-india.html" target="_blank">Ahimsa </a></i>(2017), and Hiranandani's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-night-diary-what-night-sings.html" target="_blank">The Night Diary</a></i> (2018, mentioned in the book).<br />
<p>
<img alt="Ms. Yingling" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9qfxZE758UdTM-u6HBBwSaqpzZJch7U4UTSVrIV1Y13h7SSOtfy6YlOs_BMAju1tCZaVr8AmxwrSTT1wh0eBM82P3Bh5jhViOQSx1TDloHhyphenhyphenJHd7LHDzSJDGKcEEIhYi4NCDuQ/s1600/signature.png" /></p> </div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-89298472810672442512024-02-27T05:00:00.003-05:002024-02-27T06:48:11.490-05:00Bumps in the Night<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_XFMmV6LTMxSv3zYr96fcGRXihyphenhyphenHyOWBBLPIsVonvQyynBF9ngHjPiWjyUl4LCjSwcrRx94fRyvS6JXPn45H7QVwNgTr-A89GU8fGe3HsImRfoT14XM0zeJE1WEFkQgfwNfV-lVaLSKsQR7ZX5heknPEiXv_kw8ggW6aKxRkftGV7pfk6Nf7yQ/s400/157981720.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_XFMmV6LTMxSv3zYr96fcGRXihyphenhyphenHyOWBBLPIsVonvQyynBF9ngHjPiWjyUl4LCjSwcrRx94fRyvS6JXPn45H7QVwNgTr-A89GU8fGe3HsImRfoT14XM0zeJE1WEFkQgfwNfV-lVaLSKsQR7ZX5heknPEiXv_kw8ggW6aKxRkftGV7pfk6Nf7yQ/w134-h200/157981720.jpg" width="134" /></a>Howard, Amalie. <i>Bumps in the Night</i><br />February 20, 2024 by Delacorte Press<br />E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus<br /><br /> After almost thirteen-year-old Darika Lovelace vandalizes a school wall with her artwork, she is sent from Colorado to live with her grandmother, Delilah, out in the Trinadadian countryside. She's angry for many reasons; her mother Dulcie has been gone for several years and has not contacted her at all, her father has remarried and has other children, and there isn't even any internet at her grandmother's house. When Rika had visited when she was nine, her grandmother was mentoring an older girl named Monique who was possessive and nasty. There are a few good things about being with her grandmother, including the fact that her grandmother is having Rika clean out an older part of the house, including her mother's childhood bedroom. Rika hopes to get some insights into her mother's whereabouts, since her grandmother is oddly secretive about everything. This is actually a fairly awful plan on her grandmother's part. Rika has seen some odd people and things around, including a woman who acted oddly at the airport, Ushara. Neither the grandmother or her handyman will tell Rika anything, but they do demand that she stay away from parts of the property. Once she makes friends with a baby iguana and children from the area, she gets herself in some supernatural trouble with Bazil, a bad guy who seems to know a lot about her mother's disappearance. Rika is sent on a quest by Bazil, along with Nox, Hazel, Monique, and Fitz, an has to beat his challenge in order to shed light on a whole host of family secrets. Will Rika be able to be reunited with her mother, and will she learn more about the fact that she is actually a witch?<br /><b>Strengths</b>: This was an interesting look at summer with a grandmother who also happens to be a witch but isn't telling you anything. There are lots of good details about the house, the surrounding area, and the local traditions of magic. There are some interesting literary shout outs, including one to "old favorites" that Rika and her high school math teacher mother had in common, including Riordan's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2006/11/rick-riordan-is-demi-god.html" target="_blank">Percy Jackson</a></i>. I did the math, and, yeah, the mother of a 13-year-old could have read <i>The Lightnight Thief</i> in middle school. Rika is able to assemble a team of local children to help her with her efforts to find out more about her mother. I love the cover on this one! <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: This has several middle grade fantasy tropes; finding out about powers at 13, going on a quest that involves going underground, answering riddles, and defeating a bad character, a missing parent, etc. Young readers who haven't read as many fantasy books as I have won't care. I also didn't quite understand why Rika's grandmother just didn't tell her the truth.<br /><b>What I really think</b>: This is a good choice for readers who like culturally infused horror books like Traoré, Efua. <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/07/children-of-quicksands.html" target="_blank">Children of the Quicksands,</a> </i>Bourne's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/06/nightmare-island.html" target="_blank">Nightmare Island</a>, </i>Hendrix's<i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/10/gone-wolf-circle-of-shamans-and-mari.html" target="_blank"> Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans,</a></i> or Abu-Jaber's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2020/03/we-need-fantasy-books-at-times-like.html" target="_blank">Silverworld</a>.</i></p><p>Just a side note: I don't believe in anything I can't see and explain, so I don't believe in douens or jumbies or witches. That being said, if my grandmother had told me not to do something AND I had seen some creepy things, I absolutely would have listened to her. If I came from a culture that DID believe in the supernatural the way that Trini culture does (Baptiste's <i>The Jumbies</i> is another good example of a book that incorporates these elements), I would not be messing around outside. Of course, I also have every confidence that no supernatural evil would have dared set foot on my Pennsylvanian Presbyterian grandmother's farm. She would have been able to wither it with a glance! </p>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22559214.post-73739573650657617222024-02-26T05:00:00.002-05:002024-02-26T07:12:08.449-05:00MMGM- Social Media<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabs0cwcr2mr1WgNuvlm2bRCdItbNfA3H5pLamLlf5cqC4_udvtVkZcEwvCMrkbbI7Y3pRD7rxG0jdIkIZqBjbe41jkXZdqPfyEff9jomDZLks2pID_ReXRHVaB7F-c9VWzG2Oqg/s1600/mmgm2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s1600/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc6NE2MCHO3cqjPDoK0-NoKC7YcDgFp-RXcpeUGTqMFCf1GgVx5n0UxIh-vG68E5IayGm-81XPVbnJXft1FDgvVUIgaUrjKR05qkgCKCdP_KY4R5rOeBfru2gr386-U4yfw__3A/s200/IMWAYR-2015-logo-300x300.png" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">It's</span><br /><div><span face="">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</span><br /><span face=""> at </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://gpattridge.com/"><span face="">Always in the Middle </span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">and #IMWAYR day </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="">at</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""><a href="http://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It looks like books about social media are finally here. We'll see more. In ten years, these will seem pretty dated, although Instagram has held on strong for a dozen years or so. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These books made me realize that while having thousands of followers on Twitter would be cool, I... don't really care. I hate going on social media, I take horrible pictures, and I don't really understand how to get more views. Never making videos, which seems to be the hot new thing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Instead of spending hours on various apps, I spend hours actually reading. I don't need the world to tell me I'm an expert at middle grade literature. I am. If you want a book review every single day, I'm here. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbF9Y9RK4U-NnXA6CBsdbKvGaxyOhJ76gNM-bsqv0D2TvWIZxxBiFaf3ZkDlrwCVkV0wDmZATWffWjqnh-HFCKxx20qF8rLOIGSntyo9kpZ58aOm3dP_ihCngg4DURdujk4JBuBIYwCZOaJhQNILLiJ4yNDkA74igpzFRY043qM3Gyk_DBSJcExw/s400/154488431.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbF9Y9RK4U-NnXA6CBsdbKvGaxyOhJ76gNM-bsqv0D2TvWIZxxBiFaf3ZkDlrwCVkV0wDmZATWffWjqnh-HFCKxx20qF8rLOIGSntyo9kpZ58aOm3dP_ihCngg4DURdujk4JBuBIYwCZOaJhQNILLiJ4yNDkA74igpzFRY043qM3Gyk_DBSJcExw/w134-h200/154488431.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>Parks, Amy Noelle. <i>Averil Offline</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;">February 13, 2024 by Nancy Paulsen Book</div><div style="text-align: left;">E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Averil and her sister Delia cope with their parents' overprotective habits in very different ways. While Delia (who is in high school) often ignores their requests and fights with them, Averil just wants it to be quiet and conflict free in her world, so she just puts up with it. Both girls were born very prematurely, and almost died, so Averil understands her mother's actions even as they irritate her. The worst offender is the Ruby Slippers app which tracks everything Averil does with her phone and reports it to her mother. If she takes to long to walk home from school, or if she doesn't answer her mother's text soon enough, her mother panics, and sometimes an alarm goes off! Both Averil and her best friend Priya are interested in coding, and Averil loves when the coding of a program is nice and clean and works properly. The two are in a coding class with few girls, and a teacher who seems enamored of the speed of a Steve Jobs wannabe even when Averil's coding is much better. When new student and Rich kid Max approaches her in class and wants to meet after school for ice cream to talk about changes that the company is going to make to Ruby Slippers, Averil gives Priya her phone so she can have a moment to herself. Max, whose father is a tech entrepreneur, outlines the strategies of Rider Woolyback, the creator of the app, which has been sold to a larger company. Although reclusive, he had at one point issued a statement saying that if the app hurt children, he would work to change it. Since his office is in a secret location at nearby Clarion College, Max has a plan. He and Averil, along with Priya, are supposed to go to a coding camp over spring break. He wants Averil to not go, but to spend three days hanging around the campus, trying to talk to Woolyback, who makes people jump through hoops like chess games and puzzles before meeting. Averil doesn't want to rock the boat and says no... until she catches her mother reading a notebook she promised NOT to read. Before she knows it, Max's parents are asking her parents around to dinner at their posh house, and Max's driver is dropping them off on the Clarion campus to get the bus to camp. Max has called the camp about their absences, provided proper documentation of strep through, and Priya and Max's friend have the runaway duo's phones so their parents think they are at camp. Priya is even prepared to answer texts and send photos of "Averil's" healthy meals! Running away is a little rocky, but the two do really well, finding a place to sleep in the college library and even brushing their teeth! Averila even makes sure to get vegetables and fruit at all their meals. They find Woolyback's office, but have to answer a question about the most expensive hyphen mistake... without their phones! Their research skills rule, and they are granted admission. Talking to Woolyback's assistant, Loriel Cady Krowb, the only help they get is that she will forward the message. But what's really going on? There's a bigger mystery behing the Ruby Slipper app, and the two are determined to find it, even after running into Delia. How will Averil and Max find a way to get the freedom to make their own mistakes?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Strengths</b>: Kids doing things! Not only that, but kids doing things that they are not supposed to do! For good reasons! Oh, this ticked all the boxes. Didn't we all have moments in middle school when we were irritated with our parents and wanted to run away from home? I was going to live in the woods near my aunt's house and get food from the fridge in her garage if I needed to! Max has made excellent plans, and asks Averil because he admires her ability and intelligence. Do the two have a tiny crush on each other? Perhaps, but it's based on mutual respect and confined to actions like holding on to the other's hair ribbon or hoodie, so very much like the great relationship in Heldring's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-football-girl.html" target="_blank">The Football Girl</a></i>. I'm not a fan of puzzles, but even I was intrigued by the questions, as well as how they solved several of the problems. There's a good mix between the nitty gritty of running away and the philosophical focus on women in computer fields. Plus, this was just FUN! I especially liked how Delia and Averil ended up getting their parents to see their point of view. For kids to be okay with giving up their phones and being grounded until the parents quit relying on the Ruby Slippers app, and to not fight or argue but to be steadfast in their determination was brilliant. There was so much to love about this title by the author of <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2021/03/summer-of-brave-violet-and-pie-of-life.html" target="_blank">The Summer of Brave</a></i>.<br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: I loved the <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> and <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> references (I mean, why didn't I name my daughters Averil and Cordelia?), but I'm not sure middle grade readers will understand them. As much as a cultural fixture as <i>The Wizard of Oz </i>was for generations, thanks to the annual airing of the movie, my students don't seem to be familiar with it. Small quibble in a fantastic story. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: We are starting to see more middle grade novels involving technology, and it's time. Might the be dated in ten years when we all have cell phones imbedded in our brains? Possibly. This is my new book crush, and I'm buying at least two copies. I'm thinking of buying a third so I can encourage the teachers to read this one as well. Very much enjoyed this; most of the books I've been reading have been rather sloggy with Deep Messages, so this was a delight.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UOw9gO8Kp4pLMcvn6hbYv4C7Zu4KyWeqvA860JYNT9MOYSdikwlBhbA__XgzDmjmc7s16mwGRIS6JipJkZqhActoifebQKq7IdECK_acjzQ7kgNuFtvzboSk0OirRN6UG_X7eOLXRTOTBoJEOcALOUepJr3LETLHHWBS3QiYD1XrSTFecijUiw/s400/150246131.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UOw9gO8Kp4pLMcvn6hbYv4C7Zu4KyWeqvA860JYNT9MOYSdikwlBhbA__XgzDmjmc7s16mwGRIS6JipJkZqhActoifebQKq7IdECK_acjzQ7kgNuFtvzboSk0OirRN6UG_X7eOLXRTOTBoJEOcALOUepJr3LETLHHWBS3QiYD1XrSTFecijUiw/w133-h200/150246131.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Kyi, Tanya Lloyd. <i>Emily Posts</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">February 6, 2024 by Tundra Books</div><div style="text-align: left;">Copy provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's always just been Emily and her mother, who is an events planner at a boutique hotel. When her mother decides to move in with her boyfriend Richard, whom she is planning on marrying, Emily's calm life is disrupted by the change. Richard's eight year old son, Ocean, is particularly irritating, since he is loud and often breaks things. Emily is determined to be a social media influencer, and is very irritated that her mother won't let her post her picture on her YouHappy account. She's sure this is why she only has thirty followers, which is going to make it hard to monetize and get product placement agreements. She idolizes Asha Jamil, an actress who played an astronaut on a television show and posts frequently on the app about her lifestyle and environmental issues. Emily and her friend Simone, who wants to be a sustainable fashion designer when she grows up, are in charge of the school podcast, which is supervised by librarian Mr. Chadwick. The two hope to translate the skills they learn doing that into big social media accounts, but are struggling with the strictures the school puts in place. Principal Mr. Lau nixes a podcast they have put together that encourages students to attend a climate march, feeling that it's dangerous for middle school students to leave school in the middle of the day. Further complicating matters is new student, Amalie, who is pretty, claims to be a vegan, and really turns Simone's head. After Emily gets in trouble for publishing her climate march podcast without permission because she felt it was the right thing to do, Simone and Amalie are not only put in charge of the podcast, but are given the opportunity to interview Asha Jamil when she comes to town. Emily is stuck without her phone after her mother finds out that she posted pictures of herself, and she gets stuck babysitting Ocean, who blackmails her with an audio recording of her struggling with the family bidet. Emily finds out that Mr. Lau has changed the date of Jamil's visit to coincide with the climate march, so that students don't want to leave school, but Emily uncovers an even darker agenda with new corporate sponsors CA Energy and CoastFresh foods, who are talking about funding a new auditorium for the school, as well as other perks. Will Asha Jamil support CA Energy? Is Mr. Lau doing something shady? And, above all, what would Emily Post say about all of the manners of the modern day? <br /><b>Strengths</b>: Yep. Most of the 6th graders want to grow up to be social media influencers without having any idea of how much work goes into it. There are plenty of good details about what one needs to do, and to Emily's credit, she has done her research and is really trying to "build her brand". I also REALLY appreciated the fact that she only jumps from 30 followers to 50; After almost twenty years, I still only have about 300 followers of this blog! The blended family dynamics add a lot to this story; I love that Richard cooks, but has poor taste in artwork, and that Emily doesn't really mind him. The friend drama is spot on. Even though Amalie is perfectly nice, I kind of wanted to slap her. While this might one day be as dated as Pfeffer's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2016/05/timeslip-tuesday.html" target="_blank">Rewind to Yesterday</a> (</i>1988), tweens really need to see how social media influences others who are their age in order to understand how they use it themselves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Weaknesses</b>: While I found the inclusion of the historical Emily Post fascinating, modern readers will not know who she is. I would have swapped out Ocean and his bratty antics (which were realistic, but stressful to read about) for more concrete tips on how to behave in public. My students certainly would benefit from some of them! The inclusion of the mother and Richard sexting was a bit...odd. It was handled really well, but who in their right mind would ever do anything that questionable on a device?<br /><b>What I really think</b>: Add this to a growing list of social media related novels like Sax's <i>Picture Day</i> (2023) Hart's <i>Marcus Makes it Big (2022), <a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/02/mmgm-it-happened-on-saturday-and-madame.html" target="_blank">It Happened on Saturday</a> (2023) and </i> Feldman's <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2022/12/mmgm-ezra-exposed.html" target="_blank">Eza Exposed </a></i>(2023) for all of the students who KNOW they are going to be the Next Big Thing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAe4FT1b2KVuiqOU8Ie7KxR_uSmkvy3OGSvCfRE8fmt7TvBAJBDkYn3TK1Nmeq3rEEqqgfaKvtptvGix27yM6V4tUhKmLBZ-3l1bSxmfTt0jzt3Ce_JMxsYLbg8rN1Jen1AApgmqDZtv9xT-XP-N8DEZrWWILNVenl0m8mcvQw6JE0qSsE1xLFQ/s445/176442588.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="295" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAe4FT1b2KVuiqOU8Ie7KxR_uSmkvy3OGSvCfRE8fmt7TvBAJBDkYn3TK1Nmeq3rEEqqgfaKvtptvGix27yM6V4tUhKmLBZ-3l1bSxmfTt0jzt3Ce_JMxsYLbg8rN1Jen1AApgmqDZtv9xT-XP-N8DEZrWWILNVenl0m8mcvQw6JE0qSsE1xLFQ/w133-h200/176442588.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Yang, Kelly. <i>Finally Heard </i></div><div style="text-align: left;">February 27, 2024 by Simon & Schuster BYR</div><div style="text-align: left;">E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that Lina has settled in to her new life in the US (depicted in <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2023/03/mmgm-finally-seen.html" target="_blank">Finally Seen</a></i>), she is concerned about helping her mother grow her bath bomb business by starting a social media presence. After contacting an influencer who wants to charge $5,000 to pitch her bath bombs, Lina's mother reluctantly agrees that Lina and her younger sister Millie can help with the videos, even though she has reservations about children on social media. Lina has her own issues; she's feeling uncomfortable about her changing body, and tends to hide in baggy sweatshirts. She wishes that she were comfortable in front of a camera like her archnemesis, Jessica, whose mother sells the steam from cooked brocolli as expensive "brocolli water". When the first video for the bath bomb video results in a lot of business, her mother takes a lot of time to consistently post content, even though it means staging the videos in IKEA because the family apartment is too small! Lina is relieved that things are going well, and thrilled when her mother gives her her old phone. She downloads all the apps she can except for Discord, because she's run out of memory. While her teacher, Mrs. Carter, talks about how social media affects students' brains, Lina still gets sucked into caring too much about what life looks like online. She even coats her face in glitter glue after seeing posts about "glazed doughnut skin". She and Carla and Finn are helping other small businesses in the neighborhood with their social media, and getting paid for it, but not everything is positive. Finn is struggling with his parents' divorce, and saying mean things on Discord because "it's not real, it's like a video game", and Carla is chatting with a boy whose father also isn't in the picture... but who isn't exactly who he claims to be. When everything blows up right around the time the school has an informational session about the dangers of social media, will Lina be able to find a way to use social media more rationally?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Strengths</b>: Many of the incidents in this book are based on bad social media interactions Yang's own children had, and there are even notes at the back of the book on some of the things children should keep in mind when consuming social media. I'm sure this is very realistically done, but I'm not as current on social media as I should be (Discord is a real app, by the way). I did like that Lina was able to talk to her grandmother in China, and that she had generally good relationships with Carla and Finn. Younger readers will love their success on social media, and be amused by all of the trends. The information about how social media affects the brains is important. <br /><b>Weaknesses</b>: I know that Yang wanted to include a lot of different problems that children face in this book, but there was a lot of information, and the story could have been more focused. As she points out through Mrs. Carter, social media is making it harder for children to concentrate, so some of my students will find 352 pages a bit long. <br /><b>What I really think</b>: My students enjoyed <i><a href="https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2018/05/front-desk.html" target="_blank">Front Desk</a></i> because it was fun, and also had deeper content. As adults, we like to read books that are entertaining, but want books for kids to have Important Life Lessons. Lina's discomfort over her changing body is certainly something that many children feel, but in combination with the social media concerns, the story does come closer to being didactic than I expected. It's a tough balance. I will purchase this, since my students have been eagerly awaiting this sequel, but I didn't enjoy the book the way I enjoyed Park's<i> Averil Offline</i>. </div></div></div>Ms. Yinglinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.com4