The Explorers Blog Tour!
Kress, Adrienne. The Door in the Alley (The Explorers#1)April 25th 2017 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Netgalley.com
Sebastian lives a well ordered existence with his staid, science loving family, and he is rather annoyed when his cousin Hubert takes him down an unexplored alleyway on their way home from school one day, making him five minutes late getting home. They see a sign in the alley for "The Explorers' Society", and this intrigues Sebastian, although he knows better than to act on just any stray impulse. When he intercepts a pig in a tiny hat and is ordered by a man in a rumpled suit to bring it into the Society, he is concerned, especially when the director tells him he is trespassing and must be punished! The punishment ends up being much to Sebastian's liking, and he cleans and set the Society to rights. It is the assignment to do something out of his comfort zone that perplexes him, until he uncovers a mysterious box and sneaks it home with him.
Evie is still mourning the death of her parents in a car accident, mainly because she is living in an orphanage and has to have boring dinners every week with the bland Andersons. She doesn't understand why until a mysterious man shows up one week and plunges everything into chaos. SHe manages to escape, and finds that her grandfather, Alistair Drake, is still alive.
Eventually, the two children meet up and try to locate the five members of the defunct and not-talked-about Filipendulous Society, since the most famous member of the group was Evie's gradnfather. This course of action is fraught with peril, and the children find themselves rappelling from clock towers, meeting up with boa constrictors, and being madly pursued by a man whose mouth is wired shut. Will Evie be able to locate her grandfather, and will Sebastian be able to come to grips with a wildly unorganized life? This ends in a cliffhanger, so perhaps we will find out in book two.
Perfect for more advanced, younger readers who enjoyed Beha's The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, Milford's The Greenglass House, or Primavera's Ms. Rapscott's Girls, The Door in the Alley is a quirky, action packed mystery filled with puzzles, snarky footnotes, and pigs in hats.
This is very different from Kress' Young Adult titles such as The Friday Society or Hatter Mattigan. I'm not entirely sure that middle school students will go for it, but elementary students should love it.
Date
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24-Apr
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Live To Read
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25-Apr
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Imagination Soup
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26-Apr
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Mom and More
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27-Apr
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Pandora's Books
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28-Apr
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Mommy Ramblings
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1-May
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The Lovely Books
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2-May
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Batch of Books
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3-May
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Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
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4-May
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To Read, or Not To Read
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5-May
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Grandma's Cookie Jar
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8-May
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Good Reads with Ronna
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9-May
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Geo Librarian
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10-May
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Life By Candlelight
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11-May
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Jumpin Beans
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12-May
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Always in the Middle
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15-May
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Librarians Quest
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16-May
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The Book Wars
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17-May
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Middle Grade Mafioso
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18-May
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Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
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19-May
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Tween You & Me
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22-May
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Mrs. Knott's Book Nook
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23-May
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Mundie Moms
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24-May
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The Write Path
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25-May
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foodiebibliophile.com
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26-May
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Beach Bound Books
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http://www.beachboundbooks.com/
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29-May
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Middle Grade Ninja
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30-May
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Night Owl Reviews
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31-May
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Cracking the Cover
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1-Jun
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Jenni Enzor
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2-Jun
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Literary Hoots
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5-Jun
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors
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6-Jun
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The Winged Pen
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7-Jun
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Operation Awesome
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8-Jun
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Leeanna.me
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9-Jun
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Bloggin' 'bout Books
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12-Jun
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13-Jun
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Ms. Yingling Reads
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14-Jun
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MGMinded blog
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15-Jun
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Smack Dab in the Middle
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16-Jun
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Swoony Boys Podcast
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19-Jun
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Book Foolery
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20-Jun
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Unleashing Readers
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21-Jun
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Kit Lit Reviews
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22-Jun
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The O.W.L.
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Rue, Ginger. Aleca Zamm is a WonderJune 6th 2017 by Aladdin
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Aleca is not having a great tenth birthday, because she has to take a timed math test in class, and she's horrible at these tests. Her mother tries to reassure her, as does her friend, Molly, but when Mrs. Floberg steps out of the class and puts the snotty Madison in charge, Aleca ends up getting into trouble not only with the teacher, but with Mr. Vine, the principal. When Aleca has to tell him her name, something odd happens-- time seems to stop! Once she realizes that this is, in fact, what has happened, Aleca uses the opportunity to put glue in Madison's hair, a hamster in Mrs. Floberg's scarf and a bug in a boy's mouth! She also manages to get the answers to the test correct. The ability to stop time also comes in handy the next morning, when she gets to sleep in AND do her forgotten homework before school starts. Of course, this can't go on indefinitely, so when her Great Aunt Zephyr shows up, Aleca finds out that being a "Wonder" runs in families and skips a generation. Luckily, she has Aunt Zephyr to show her how to use her powers for good and not for evil.
Strengths: This was a fun, fast book with magical realism that will appeal to readers who have some imagination. It's silly, of course, but also a great idea. I really liked the backstory of Aunt Zephyr and her brothers discovering their powers. The sequel is very necessary, because this book is just the start of the adventures.
Weaknesses: Aleca Zamm-- the name is rather twee. Would I have cared? Probably not. I never had a problem with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle!
What I really think: I would have loved this when I was ten. It reminds me a little of Ruth Chew, whose work is still very popular with my 6th graders.
The second book in the series was also released on June 6th. Great choice for summer reading, especially if you know a girl who is turning 10!(Thanks, Dad, for those great pictures from MY tenth birthday!)
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