World Wednesday-- Operation Oleander

Patterson, Valerie O. Operation Oleander
5 March 2013, Clarion Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Jess is committed to collecting school supplies for a girls' orphanage and school in Kabul, even though some people on the military base where she lives don't think it is appropriate. Jess was an orphan as well, and is glad that her father and her best friend Merriweather's mother are delivering the supplies... until a bomb at the orphanage kills Merriweather's mother and gravely injures her father. Jess still feels that it is important to help out the orphanage, especially since they have to rebuild, but with her own mother off in Germany helping her father recuperate, and the commander at the base (and father of another good friend) telling her that she needs to stop, she doesn't know what to do. Also bothering her is the fact that Merriweather holds her responsible, and will be moving because of her mother's death. How can Jess convince people that her charitable acts need to continue even in the face of evil and violence?
Strengths: Interesting depiction of a military family dealing with issues of deployment. Some books deal too much with the entire family; I liked how this centered on Jess. The cover is fabulous. (Oleander grows in both Florida and Kabul, which is why Jess picks it for her project name.)
Weaknesses: I wish that more attention had been given to Jess's background-- what circumstances made her an orphan, and how did her family adopt her, etc. I would also have like to more a little bit more about Warda, the girl at the orphanage with whom Jess really connected.

Dark Lord: The Early Years

Thomson, Dirk. Dark Lord: The Early Years
2 October 2012, Walker Childrens

Curses on the White Wizard, Hasdruban the Pure! In a battle that the Dark Lord was surely winning, Hasdruban managed to send the Dark Lord into our world, where he was turned into a puny human boy. Beset by social workers and pyschologists, he is mistakenly called Dirk and sent to live with a doctor and a minister and their son Christopher. Even his Ring of Power is dull and useless. At his school, he manages to make friends with Sooz, a Goth Child of the Night, and gives the Ring to her when she admires it. Soon, Dirk has a small cadre of school mates who are willing to try to get him back to his kingdom. Attempts at this are thwarted (resulting in the unfortunate burning down of a pavilion), but Dirk makes a few inroads at contacting creatures from his world. Some are successful (like getting skirrits to rebuild said pavilion) and other are frightening (like the White Beast of his dreams that is set lose on his town in this world). Even though Dirk's memories of his kingdom are fading (although, to his chagrin, he sees that his Iron Tower of Despair has been painted pink), he manages to assemble the ingredients for a spell to send himself back; this does not go smoothly, but hopefully if the sequel, A Fiend in Need, is published in the US, we can find out what happens.
Strengths: **Snerk** This definitely deserved to win the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize. So many things to recommend this; where to start?  The Dark Lord's transformation is realistically portrayed-- at first, he doesn't know what things are in our world, but as his memories fade and his knowledge grows, he seems less like a Dark Lord. The descriptions are so funny, and his glee in his own evil is beautifully voiced. ("Puny humans!Oh, if only I had my gauntlets of ineluctable destruction!" page 10). This will appeal to readers of fantasy, game players, and Michael Lawrence's Jiggy McCue fans.
Weaknesses: British illustrations don't always appeal to my students, and these look too much like Jared Lee's The Librarian from the Black Lagoon pictures. While I love the Nick Sharrat illustrations for Jacqueline Wilson's books, they make my students think the book is younger than it is. Still, the cover is clever, so this will do well.

Charlotte at Charlotte's Library gives, as always, a much more complete review of this.

Middle Grade Monday-- The Runaway King

Nielsen, Jennifer A. The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy Book #2)
1 March 2013, Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

We meet Jaron again at the funeral of his family...only he is so conflicted about this that he is taking a moment in a garden, and Roden shows up to assassinate him.In league with Devlin, the pirate king, Roden grievously injures Jaron, but takes off. When the regents meet, they are concerned about the growing threat of the pirates, but also don't feel that Jaron is ready to rule or that he has good opinions, so they want to send him to hide. Jaron feels that there are a lot of hidden threats both outside and inside the castle walls, so he pretends to hole up in the castle, but runs off. On his journey, he runs into the pirates and saves a young girl, Nila, after her mother has been killed. He returns he to Libeth, where he meets her very helpful grandfather, Rulan Harlowe, who offers him support and a place to rest. Feeling that the evil King Vargen is in league with Devlin, Jaron leaves, only to be turned over to the pirate Erick by a young boy, Fink. Jaron becomes a pirate and is taken to Tarblade, where he must adhere to the pirate code. He pretends once again to be Sage, a thief, and even Imogen (who he sent off from the castle for her own safety) doesn't give him away. Jeron promises the pirates that he will take them to a cave where the treasury of Carthya is, but before they set off, Gregor, a traitor who is on the board of regents, shows up and blows Jeron's cover. Roden shows up as well, and Jeron is in terrible danger. Will he be able to defeat the pirates and stay alive?
Strengths: As in The False Prince, this is a good adventure book with tons of political intrigue and enough sword fights to keep fans of The Ranger's Apprentice happy. It's not really fantasy-- there's no magic. I liked the relationship with Imogen and thought it had a good twist. Harlowe was just wonderful, and I hope to see more of him in the next book. Plenty of villains, and some that weren't completely evil, which is always interesting.
Weaknesses: A bit heavy on the intrigue and light on the action. Jaron spends a lot of the book injured in various ways; I would hope he would be a better fighter! As long as the whole issue of Carthya being under attack by all and sundry ends in an epic battle, I'll be happy, but this was a bit slower than I thought it would be.
 It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts. Both sites have lots of links to reviews about books that are great for the 4th through 8th grader. It's also Nonfiction Monday, hosted this week at Supratentorial.

Losure, Mary. The Fairy Ring or Elsie and Frances Fool the World: A True Story.
27 March 2012, Candlewick

Cousins Elsie and Frances are thrown together during WWI when their families have to move in together. Even though Elsie was much older, they get along well, and share a love of drawing and photography. They create tableaux of fairies and use a heavy camera with plate glass negatives of the time to take a few pictures. These are kept and shown to assorted friends, and come to the attention of someone interested in paranormal events. Additional pictures are taken and lauded as being true and untampered with, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who also found phenomenon like fairies interesting. He managed to get some of the pictures published in a national magazine. After the attention, which made them uncomfortable, the cousins went on their ways and didn't admit for years and years that the pictures were of drawings.
Strengths: This was an interesting book that might appeal to Rumer Godden fans, and I enjoyed the whole 1920s feel of the book. It was well researched and the interview process was impressive. It was interesting to see the pictures in question.
Weaknesses: I wish that pictures of the cousins when they were older and being interviewed in the 1980s would have been included. There were also a few places where it would have been useful to have dates included.

The Marble Queen

Blake, Stephanie. The Marble Queen
18 Decemeber 2012, Amazon Children's Publishing

In 1959, Freedom Jane McKenzie is frequently in trouble for getting dirty and tearing her dresses, which makes her pregnant mother unhappy with her. Freedom is a tomboy, and her mother is trying to make her more ladylike, since she is starting fifth grade. The one thing that gets Freedom in the most trouble is also the thing she does best-- playing marbles. Her mother thinks this is just for boys, and the boys she has been playing with, especially her best friend Daniel, think that as well. There are bigger problems in her life, however-- her father has been drinking more and more, her mother is trying to make ends meet, and her next door neighbor, Mrs. Zierk, becomes ill not long after Freedom decides she is interesting to be around. Freedom would love to play in the Autumn Festival marble tournament, since the $100 prize would come in handy, but it's hard to practice when she has been forbidden to play.
Strengths: The cover is excellent-- the girl looks sort of '50s but not overly so. The crown is a nice touch. The writing in this book was excellent-- flowed beautifully, kept my interest, went down very smoothly. I've read a few things lately that were NOT well written, so it's great to read something that shows some real craftsmanship.
Weaknesses: This is a bit young for my students, and might be a bit of a hard sell. Girls today are not going to really understand why Freedom's mother objects to her marble playing.

Younger Middle Grade Books

Clements, Andrew. About Average.
24 July 2012, Atheneum Books for Young Readers 

**Spoiler Alert**Jordan Johnston doesn't have any particular talents, she gets C's and B's, and she isn't pretty and vivacious like the girls in her class. When mean girl Marlea finds a list that Jordan jotted down about her strengths and weaknesses, Marlea uses this information to make fun of Jordan, especially her strong points of being good at babysitting and gardening. Jordan realizes, with the help of her friend Nikki, that one of Jordan's best points is that she is always a good friend and nice. Jordan decides to deflect all of Marlea's barbs with kindness; while this doesn't stop Marlea from being mean, it makes Jordan feel better. When a fierce storm surprises Jordan's class during an after school band rehearsal, she uses some of her babysitting related fort building skills to help her classmates stay calm and safe.
Strengths: Clements always writes interesting school stories about things that concern younger middle grade readers. This is a realistic depiction of bullying behavior, including a description of the school's antibullying process and why Jordan doesn't want to go through it.
Weaknesses: This is missing the subversive edge that Clements' books usually have. This makes them appeal to the older students as well. This seemed, well, a bit average. The interior illustrations seemed very 1980s to me. 

Glassman, Miriam. Call Me Oklahoma!
15 February 2013, Holiday House
ARC from Baker and Taylor 

Paige has decided that fourth grade will be different. She wants everyone to call her Oklahoma, and she has a new style of dress for her new, more outgoing persona. She's excited that mean girl Viveca won't be in Ms. Hardy-Wilson's class, and she's excited to see her friends Gavi, Lily, and Mackenzie again. It's hard to adopt a new persona, but her teacher is willing to call her her new name, putting some of the comments of other students to rest. Viveca, however, has ended up in her class and keeps poking fun of Oklahoma and excluding her... until Oklahoma buys a stuffed monkey at the book fair that all of the students like. Viveca tries to get a club started, and invites Oklahoma... but not her friend Gavi. Oklahoma has to make a choice-- does she want to be in the talent show by herself and refuse to be friends with Viveca? How strong does her new persona make her, and how strong is she as just Paige?
Strengths: If I recall, third and fourth grade are filled with Girl Drama, and the attempts to set up clubs and exclude people is something the teachers have to address all the time. Paige was a fun character who really was trying to discover herself and fit in. I think she will be very popular with girls who like Amber Brown, Ivy and Bean, and the Friends for Keeps series.
Weaknesses: The stakes are much higher in middle school, so this is too young for my group.

Read Across America Day Celebration!

We finally thought ahead and came up with a plan! We challenged the students to read 4,000 Accelerated Reader points during a three week period, the motivation being that they could wear pajama pants today. They managed to accumulate over 6,500 points! Along with reading time in language arts class being saved up for today, I also issued passes to read IN the library for teachers to hand out to students who have been doing an especially good job. Normally, we are too busy to let students hang out in the library, but we were trying to recreate the elementary school Read Across America Days with pillows and all day reading.

This works, and hopefully it's something that I can do every year. I have the Cat in the Hat footie pajamas now as well as my hat, and traditions are nice for students to look forward to. For my part, I always have a lot of trouble remembering that 2 March comes right after the end of February!







Morgan, Judith and Neil. Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel
22 August 1999, DaCapo Press

Need some reading for this evening to keep the Seuss mood going? This biography, written by Geisel's long time neighbors with his cooperation, is a well-researched and complete biography of the man and his work. Pictures are included, and a lot of information about how he came to write particular books in presented. I normally love biographies and have read any number of them-- but this one was a tiny bit boring. Must admit that I preferred the Childhood of Famous Americans version, Dr. Seuss: Young Author and Artist!

Hold Fast

I was such a fan of Terry Deary's Horrible Histories that I bought a box of Frosties on my trip to England so I could have the CD of The Rotten Romans. My children can still sing the songs. Notice I said WAS. Rita at Screwy Decimal posted about his anti-library rant that claims that libraries are a waste of money and no longer relevant.

He is free to say whatever he wants. I am free to never buy his books again. He doesn't want to support libraries monetarily; I choose not to support HIM monetarily. Consider doing the same. The smoke you see out of your window is pouring from my ears. So onto happier thoughts....

Balliet, Blue. Hold Fast.
1 March 2013, Scholastic Press
ARC received from Young Adult Books Central and reviewed there.

Early Pearl's parents Dash and Summer, are having a hard time of it-- Early was born when they were still in high school, they don't have Early's grandparents around to help, and Dash, the father, works hard at the Chicago Public library to make ends meet. The family lives in a small but cozy apartment, reading lots of books and playing together. One day, Dash is apparently hit by a truck and disappears. Summer knows that Dash isn't the kind of father to run off on his family, but all of the police and social workers look at the family's socioeconomic status and decide that he is. Things go from bad to worse without Dash's income, and after the family's apartment is trashed by masked robbers looking for something in the family's book, the Pearls end up in a homeless shelter. Early is especially upset by this (her brother Jubilation is too young to understand their plight fully) and is determined to find out what has happened to her father so the family can get back to their dream of owning their own home. She spends time at the library where her father worked, interviewing those who knew him and trying to figure out why he was selling books out of their apartment, and finds her father's former teacher, Mr. Waive, who has fallen on hard times himself but does all he can to assist Early. How are the books tied in to her father's disappearance? What does the largest diamond heist have to do with the masked robbers? Will Dash return to the family before things become even more dire?
Strengths: A strong sense of place, as well as excellent details about what it is like to be homeless, add a lot to this mystery. Lyrical language and the use of Langston Hughes' poetry will make this one teachers love to use as a class read aloud. The social aspects of Early's homelessness and her desire to help other families in her situation is a good touch as well. I found this a more intriguing read than Chasing Vermeer and the books in that series.
Weaknesses: A bit unsure about the student appeal, although the library helper to whom I gave it adored it.  The Danger Box is one that I can't get off the shelves, and even the Chasing Vermeer series is getting a bit dusty.

My new theory is that lyrical language sometimes goes over better in 4th and 5th grade. Students can read and appreciate the language, but aren't as busy as they are in 7th and 8th grade. Students become a bit impatient in middle school, maybe because they have so much homework, sports, and activities with friends, and this makes them want more action and straight forward language. This is a new thought that I'm rolling around in my brain-- any opinions?

World Wednesday-- Out of Nowhere

Padian, Maria. Out of Nowhere
12 February 2013, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Tom is the top of the heap in his small Maine town-- excellent soccer player, good student, golden boy with hot girlfriend.  He's hoping to get some scholarships so he can afford college. When he and long time stoner friend Donnie get into trouble for painting a rival schools rock, he has to perform 100 hours of community service at a Homework Helper organization. There, he meets Myla, a local college student working there, as well as Samira, the sister of a boy on his soccer team, Saeed. While Myla takes a liking to Tom, Samira wants nothing to do with him. Saeed is an excellent player, but struggles with English, and Tom slowly comes to learn the story of his coming to the United States. When the rival school questions the eligibility of several of the players, including Saeed, Tom becomes even more involved with the Somali community. Tensions run high in the small town, and when Donnie is gravely injured in an accident and Saeed goes missing for a few days, an innocent gesture is taken the wrong way, with devastating consequences for Saeed and Samira's family.
Strengths: This should be required reading in all high schools. It is a beautifully written account of how small towns struggle with waves of immigration, and how some citizens understand that most of us are from immigrant families and rise to the occasion to help others, while other citizens try to close ranks to keep their way of life intact. There are a ton of great scenes-- a discussion of how people in America might find goat meat distasteful, but how Somalis find pig even grosser, Tom's realization that his girlfriend is petty and narrow minded, a great sub plot with a young boy at the center who is struggling to learn the English alphabet. I like how Tom goes from having no real thought about the Somalis to understanding their plight and wanting to help. Even though I knew early on that this wasn't a middle grade book, I couldn't stop reading.
Weaknesses: Frequent f-bombs, drinking and drugs, as well as some mentions of sex make this a bit out of middle school range, which is too bad, because the story of immigrant families assimilating into a community is a good one.

Bonjour, Mr. Satie at The Saffron Tree 
Glory Be at Kiss the Book 
Goal at There's a Book for That.
The Great Migration at A Wrung Sponge
No God But God, The Origins and Evolution of Islam at Kiss the Book
Red Madrassa (and author interview) at Geo Librarian
Slam at Guys Lit Wire 
Something to Prove at Kiss the Book
Spirit Princess at Charlotte's Library 
Underground at Great Kid Books 
Various titles at Teacher Dance.
What Color is My World at Teach.Mentor.Texts

Author Spotlight on John Steptoe at The Pageturn
Author Interviews every day in February at The Brown Bookshelf

A nice list of more YA books for boys at YA? Why Not?

The Fellowship for Alien Detection

Emerson, Kevin. The Fellowship for Alien Detection.
26 February 2013, Walden Pond Press
ARC Received from Publisher

Haley wants to be a newspaper reporter and is extremely interested in alien life forms, so when she gets a summer fellowship from the Gavin Kellar foundation, she's thrilled. She gets to investigate at her discretion, and her family gets a free cross country car trip as well! Haley is starting with the story of Suza Raines, who was reported missing after many towns in her area had problems with unnatural phenomena. Haley wants to check out this area and talk with Suza's sister. The other winner of a fellowship is Dodger, whose real estate selling father has fallen on hard times, so has no objection to a long car trip, either. Dodger has been plagued by visions of a town called Juliette-- he hears radio broadcasts in his brain from this town. In the beginning of his journey, Dodger finds out that he may have been abducted by aliens when he was two, which might explain some of his unusual brain activity.

When the foundation finds out about some of Haley's discoveries involving United Consolidated Amalgamates, Haley is told to come home because she is in danger. When she insists on continuing her journey, a strange guy named Alto is sent from the foundation to help her continue investigating without involving her parents. Eventually, they meet up with Dodger, who has been finding out many things on his own. Once the two converge, things start to get really hectic. It turns out that the disturbances Haley and Dodger have been investigating are because of the Paha'Ne who had to flee their planet after a supernova and who are well on their way to figuring out how to find a new home for the inhabitants... on earth!

Strengths: Finally, some science fiction that is not of the futuristic/dystopian variety. I liked how this was set up in three distinct sections: Haley's journey, Dodger's journey, and then when they work together and are able to tie together all of the different bits of information. There is a LOT of action and adventure, chasing around in the south west, as well as evil aliens. I didn't see the ending coming, so it was hard to describe the book without giving too much away. I also really enjoyed the characters of Haley and Dodger.
Weaknesses: The length. At 428 pages, this might be a tough sell. If it were a medieval fantasy, that would be a perfectly acceptable length, but my space alien readers tend to like books that are a bit shorter. While the family interactions were amusing, I might have cut those out to make the book move more quickly.

Personality leakage for the day: I've had a lot of books come to grief lately. It's making me cranky. I spent about fifteen minutes of my study hall flat ironing the edges of a book because it was returned damp. A mini flat iron is a great thing to have about the library-- as long as a book isn't very wet, and the moisture is just at the edges, a flat iron, carefully wielded, can do a good job drying out a book. 

Nonfiction Monday-- War

Polansky, Dan. The Vietnam War (Profiles #5)
1 February 2013, Scholastic Paperbacks
E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

This Profiles series by Scholastic is fascinating. I had never heard of Ngo Dinh Diem, for example, and this book gives an overview of his life and leadership, up to his assassination. This also included Kennedy (whom I never really connected with Vietnam), Ho Chi Minh, Lyndon B. Johnson, William Westmoreland, and Henry Kissinger. Each person gets about 20 pages, describing not only his life, but his involvement with Vietnam. Each person got a different border color, and the layout and pictures were very attractive. It struck me that this would be an excellent book for Common Core purposes. Easily digestible bits on nonfiction that could go along with, for example, Chris Lynch's Vietnam series. The pages fit perfectly on the iPad and didn't have the slow loading time that some books have had. My one objection is that this series is published in paperback and there doesn't even seem to be a prebind available. Very frustrating, especially since the other books in this series are appealing as well.


Along with The Civil War and World War II, there are also the books Tech Titans, Peace Warriors and Civil Champions. 

I did have one former boy tell me that while he would read just about anything on any military conflict, biographies were not high on the list, lacking as they tend to be in depictions of violence and bloodshed. While this might still be true of my young war mongers, I'm betting that most of mine will read any book with the name of the war on it so prominently.





Sherman, M. Zachary. Bloodlines: Heart of War
1 February 2013
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Good news for fans of this series! Instead of buying all seven pricey books (which are super short), you can get them all in one volume! This would make a great present for boys who love to read about war, and is fantastic in libraries because the stories are in order.

From the Publisher: This compilation of seven previously published works, edited to form a single narrative, follows the Donovans through four generations of American wars, from World War II to the War in Afghanistan.



It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts. Both sites have lots of links to reviews about books that are great for the 4th through 8th grader. It's also Nonfiction Monday, hosted this week at Shelf-Employed.

Secrets

 MacDonald, Maryann. Odette's Secrets.
26 February 2013, Bloomsbury USA
Copy provided by Raab Associates

Odette and her parents live in Paris, and don't really think much about their Polish/Jewish heritage until Paris is invaded. Odette's father goes off to fight in the war but is soon captured, and the kindly land lady, Madame Marie, and her husband, Henri, make sure that Odette and her mother have enough food. The mother works for the Resistance for a while, and sends Odette to the country to live with the Raffins for a while. Odette enjoys the country, and doesn't mind learning to be "Christian". Eventually, her mother joins her, and the two wait out the war in a small village. Going back to Paris after the war is difficult, but Madame Marie has kept their apartment for them, and they are slowly able to rebuild their lives. Based on the true story of Odette Meyers.
Strengths: This is a gentler Holocaust book for more sensitive students-- there are some scary moments, but not as much of the sheer brutality found in other books. If you have entire classes who are assigned to read books set during this period, this is an excellent choice to have on hand for students who do not want to read more harrowing tales set in concentration camps. I love the cover. The concerns of a child in this situation are realistically portrayed, and the book is well researched.
Weaknesses: I started reading this in E ARC format, and didn't realize until I got the actual book that it was in verse. Students won't mind, because it makes the book shorter, but the format did not add anything to the narrative.

Benway, Robin. Also Known As.
13 February 2013, Bloomsbury

Maggie has traveled the globe with her parents, spies who work for the Collective, an shadowy organization that works hard at making sure that things... go right. Not much more is said. Maggie is a fantastic safe cracker, so has helped out wherever they are, most recently Iceland, but the family gets a new assignment which involves Maggie in a much bigger role than safe cracking. The family moves to Manhattan, and Maggie is enrolled in high school for the first time. Her job? To get to know Jesse Oliver, the son of publishers Armand Oliver, who may be working on an article that will blow the lid off the collective... and also Maggie's life. High school is harder than safe cracking, but with the help of her new friend, Roux, as well as long time family friend and forger Angelo, Maggie manages to survive high school, get Jesse interested in her, and keep her family's cover from being completely blown.

Strengths: Just the thing for readers who are anxiously awaiting the next Gallagher Girls book. Like Annabel Monaghan's A Girl Named Digit, there's a great mix of New York City setting, romance, and spy action and adventure. Such, such fun! Glad to see there will be a sequel to this one, as well as a sequel to Monaghan's book, Double Digit, in the fall of 2013. Spies!!!
Weaknesses: I was a little disappointed in her spying abilities, but I guess she is just a teenager. Of course, the fact that she is a teenager is the real weakness-- I want a book from her mother's perspective. I could be a spy. No one would suspect me!

The Lost Heir

Sutherland, Tui T. Wings of Fire (The Lost Heir #2)
1 January 2013, Scholastic Press
Copy received from Young Adult Books Central and reviewed there.

Tsunami has escaped from the control of the Talons of Peace with the other dragonets of the prophecy. She is tired of the neverending war between the different dragon factions and wants to finally meet her mother, Queen Coral of the SeaWings, since Tsunami was stolen from the royal nursery as an egg by Webs, who was merely trying to keep the dragonets safe. When Tsunami and the other dragons approach the SeaWing kingdom, Riptide rushes to attack them! Eventually, the misunderstanding is cleared up, and he takes the group to the Summer Palace. Queen Coral and her young daughter Anemone are pleased to see Tsunami but afraid of the other dragonets, who are placed under guard for their own safety. Tsunami finds that things are not going well in the SeaWing kingdom either-- the dragon eggs are being killed far too often. Tsunami is able to figure out what is happening, and prevents her mother from killing Webs when he returns to collect the dragonets so that they can continue to help with the war. The Hidden Kingdom, book three, comes out 1 June and centers on the RainWing kingdom.
Strengths: Here's the kicker-- Sutherland has written three of the highly addictive Erin Hunter books. I can't explain why reluctant readers like these books SO much, but they do! There is something about the different types of animals, the different factions, the territorial disputes and the general soap opera-ish feel of these that keeps young readers waiting breathlessly for the next installment. The same is true here, but it's even better than cats, polar bears or feral dogs-- it's dragons! The book is complete with maps of the dragon kingdoms as well as pictures of the different types as well as descriptions and explanations of which kind of dragon is aligned with which.
Weaknesses: I had a copy of the first book in the series and couldn't get into it at all, so I gave it to a 6th grader who liked it so much that he bought the second. He also loaned the first to several friends, so now I have to buy the series. Nothing I personally dislike more than the Warriors series, and this is also about dragons and involves maps. Just not my cup of tea. More my cup of brussel sprout/beet juice. Wrinkling your nose? That's just how I feel. How I suffer for my students!

Guy Friday: Notebook Novels From Cartoonists

Awesome fun here in Ohio! "Winter Storm Q" is just messing with our heads-- a "wintery mix" was supposed to start at 2 am., so the students made plans to flush ice cubes and/or throw them in the street, put spoons under their pillows, tape scissors to the window (this is new to me), and wear their pajamas inside out and backwards. I waited an hour to come in to work; of course we have a two hour delay now.

No, wait. School is closed. Back on with the boots for the walk back home. Hope your day is not this... interesting.

And the scissor thing apparently works. Who knew?

Pastis, Stephan. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
26 February 2012, Candlewick
ARC from Baker and Taylor

Timmy lives with his mother and his polar bear, Total, and is obsessed with his budding detective agency, Total Failure. (His last name is Failure.) He hopes to grow his business so that it makes a lot of money so that his mother can stop stressing about bills, but he is not getting many jobs since the evil Corinna Corinna is undercutting his business, aided by her father's vast wealth.  Timmy has some helpful people in his life, like the playground aide, Dondi, his mother, and his friends Rollo and Molly, even though he doesn't like them. At least they are better than Mr. Crocus, his evil old teacher, Crispin Flavius, his mother's boyfriend, and even Total, who cause enough destruction that he is sent to a zoo. Timmy doesn't do well in school because he is more interested in his agency, his mother's hours are cut and they have to move to an apartment, and his mother's Segway has gone missing.
Strengths: I love Pearls Before Swine and was definitely looking forward to this. The illustrations are great, and I think students will be quick to pick it up. Fabulous beginning: "It's harder to drive a polar bear into somebody's living room that you'd think."
Weaknesses: This was one that I just did NOT understand. Maybe it was too far on the elementary side of the Pilkey line, but I couldn't suspend disbelief long enough to deal with the polar bear, and I didn't particularly like Timmy. I will still buy it, but I wish I could be really gung ho so that the publisher would send me a Timmy Failure watch or Post It notes! (Reading the marketing information on the back of ARCs can be really interesting. A Timmy Failure iPhone case? Why?)

Fry, Michael. Bully Bait: The Odd Squad #1
12 Feburary 2013, Hyperion
ARC from Baker and Taylor

Nick is tired of being shoved into his locker by Roy, who relentlessly bullies everyone at Emily Dickinson Middle School, but know that as the shortest 7th grader EVER, he is unlikely to break free of Roy's tyranny. When the school psychologist decides that Nick would be safer if he had a peer group, Nick doesn't protest too much when he gets put on the Safety Patrol with the lone member of said patrol, Warren, as well as Molly, a tall girl whose shoelaces are frequently tied together. With the help of hippie dude custodian, Mr. Dupree, (whose philosophy in warding off bullies is "bring the crazy", a philosophy which I have heard extolled by professionals in the anti-bullying movement!), they decide to bring Roy down by finding the one thing that means the most to him and seizing it. This plot takes some time, but the group perseveres, learning not only about what makes bullies tick, but about how they can each survive middle school.
Strengths: Have to admit here-- I wanted to loathe this intensely.  Bullying, kids being put in lockers, Unrealistic school shenanigans AND a Wimpy Kid-style notebook novel? Everything I hate. And yet, I rather enjoyed this. The drawings reminded me strongly of Bloom County, and I really liked the characters. Nick is willing to control his own destiny, and even Karl, with his strange habit of losing his pants (Really, in 15 years in the middle school, I've only heard of one kid losing his pants, and that was because someone pulled down the kid's gym shorts. Punches were exchanged. It was ugly.), had a certain likeability. The conflict between Roy and Nick was fairly realistically portrayed. So why do I feel like giving this to my library patrons is roughly akin to giving my children cookies to eat for breakfast?
 Weaknesses: No one has ever been put into a locker in my middle school even in one of the oversized ones. And yet this is still a fear that 6th graders have. So no, I don't believe that Nick gets put in lockers that frequently.

If your students are interested in seeing a notebook novel in progress, they should check out David Tiefenthaler's OK is Great at http://okisgreat.blogspot.com/?view=sidebar .There are five chapters so far. As a bonus, the main character, O.K., occasionally runs!

Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have a middle grade notebook style Zits novel entitled Chillax, and I'm hoping to get my hands on an ARC. 

Hideout, The Different Girl

I've been cranky all week. Part of it is a cold with a lovely reverberating cough, but part of it is that there are not enough computers to go around my school. I have 15 total in the library; we keep two for catalogs and Accelerated Reader tests, so that makes 13 (on a good day) for classes. My school has four labs; two with 30 computers and two with 20. Most classrooms have just one teacher computer. There are two mobile labs of 20 netbooks each. There is such pressure on the teachers to incorporate technology and research, but we have about 150 computers for 750 students. And soon state testing will all be done on computer? And it seems to be requiring some computer skills-- and we no longer have a technology class, so many students don't even have keyboard skills? We're even looking into a fundraiser where students sell things to fund more computers. This makes my head hurt even more than whatever incipient crud is attacking my sinuses!


Korman, Gordon. Hideout (Swindle #5)
1 January 2013, Scholastic
EARC from Netgalley.com

When the nasty Wendell Palomino, aka Swindle, appears at Savannah's house with a paper saying that Luthor is really his, and he plans to take him back, since Luthor came to national attention in the last book and Swindle suspects he is a very valuable dog. The kids decide to hide Luthor, but since all six of them are off to summer camp, this is a problem. Why not bring a giant dog with them to the woods and hide him at camp? Griffin takes him first, but when he's in danger of being found out, the group manages to finagle delivery trucks to head over to Camp TaDa! where Logan and Melissa are studying theater. It's not easy to hide a dog there, but between Logan's acting and Melissa's technical skill, they manage. Eventually, Luthor has to be sent on to Ben and Pitch, and that's when Swindle and his hired lackeys close in on the group. When all of the kids disappear from their respective camps so that they can keep Luthor sout of his clutches, all of the parents end up coming to the rescue while just trying to make sure their children are safe.
Strengths: This was a wild and completely unrealistic romp-- but not so totally out of the realm of possibility! Savannah calming Luthor down via iPod, hiding a giant dog in a theater, even getting rides on the various delivery trucks are all things that particularly clever kids could pull off. There is nonstop action and humor in these books, and Korman is an expert at weaving middle grade stories.
Weaknesses: While a wide variety of my students likes these books, this series is not my favorite work by Korman. He does stand alones so well.

Dahlquist, Gordon. The Different Girl
21 February 2013, Dutton Juvenile
ARC from Baker and Taylor

Veronika lives on an island under the care of Robbert and Irene, along with Caroline, Eleanor and Isobel. They differ only in the color of their hair-- even their thoughts are strictly regimented. When another girl, May, washes up on the shore, it makes them all question their existence. What was May's life like? Why was she under the care of her Uncle Will and his friend Kat on a boat? From whom are they hiding? What's different about her? What is the deal with Veronika and her companions? Why do they have off switches hidden behind their ears? Are they androids? When May shows up, why do Robbert and Irene run off?
Strengths: This was a compelling read that kept me turning the pages. So many questions!
Weaknesses: We never find out any of the answers! Argh! I have no patience for that! Is there a sequel? What's going on?

Charlotte, at Charlotte's Library, has a much better review of this. I was just so confused.

World Wednesday-- Never Say Die

Hobbs, Will. Never Say Die.
29 January 2013, HarperCollins

Nick enjoys his life in the small Canadian Arctic Inuit village of Aklavik, but things are changing. His grandfather, Jonas, is dying of cancer, the herds of caribou are decreasing rapidly with the warming weather, and Nick is attacked by a strange and ferocious bear that is a cross between a polar bear and a grizzly. When his half brother, Ryan, wants Nick to go on a wildlife photo shoot with him, Nick isn't sure he wants to go. Jonas convinces him that he can hang on long enough, and that he would like to hear about Nick's adventures in the wilderness. Ryan has done a lot of wilderness traveling for his job as a photographer, and this latest trip is for an article about the changing climate in the Arctic and how it is affecting the wildlife. Nick is definitely interested in this, and appreciates how sensitive Ryan is to the difficult issues in his life. The two set off for a remote area only to have their raft overturn a few miles into their journey. They manage to survive the freezing water, horrific mosquitoes, and lack of supplies and find their raft, only to have to battle grizzlies, the "grolar" bear, and the worst storm the area has seen in years. This is certainly the trip of a lifetime, and Ryan and Nick not only bond, but find out alarming facts about the affect that climate change is having on this area of the world.

http://www.cbc.ca

Strengths: Like all of Will Hobbs' books, this was exceedingly well researched, set in a real place, and discussed in just enough detail problems that exist in the area. I like how Hobbs manages to advocate for the protection of the wilderness while being entertaining rather than preachy. There is lots of action and adventure in this one, and is a great additional to any list of survival stories. Nice inclusion of Inuit lifestyle-- there's a part of the world not often covered in literature!
Weaknesses: This starts with the grolar bear attack, but then spends a little too much time discussing the grandfather's illness and the half brother before heading out on the trip. I found it interesting, but my adventure lovers might skip a few parts.

For news from another part of the world, I was very saddened to here that Maeve Binchy, noted Irish author, passed away back in July. I read few adult novels and purchase even fewer, but I own just about everything she has written.

Thanks for joining us for World Wednesday. If you have a post about a middle grade book set in another part of the world or with great multicultural characters, please tell us about it in the comments.

Great Basin Indians at Provo Library Children's Book Reviews
Greenhorn at The Fourth Musketeer
Harlem's Little Blackbird at Sharpread and Watch.Connect. Read.
Home Court at A Wrung Sponge
Lions of Little Rock at Middle Grade Mafioso
A President from Hawaii at Teach Mentor Texts

Interviews all month at The Brown Bookshelf

Surely I'm missing something. This can't be all the books reviewed in the past week with global characters!

Zombies!

Savage, J. Scott. Case File 13: Zombie Kid
26 December 2012, HarperCollins

Nick is devastated when he and friends Carter and Angelo can't go trick or treating in their awesome zombie costumes because a great aunt that Nick has never heard of has died. Nick has to travel to his aunt's creepy old house near New Orleans instead, because his parents claim that his aunt had some "connection" to him. Nick suspects that his aunt might have been involved in some voodoo because of items he finds in her basement, and after he passes out in a crypt while in possession on a mysterious amulet, he begins to wonder if he has turned in to a zombie. Being a middle grade boy, of course, this is great news, especially when he can use his new found abilities to hold his breath and play dead to scare off the school bully. Despite the encroaching stench and occasional "brain farts" that are endemic to zombie-dom, Nick and his friends are rather enjoying the experience, until Nick starts losing body parts (Warning: pinkies in mashed potatoes are less than appetizing). When an attempt to return the amulet and reverse the zombification process fails, Nicks starts to panic. He and his friends will have to deal with more forces of evil than expected, but aided by the knowledge of a cool librarian and by the spirit of his aunt, the three manage to survive to rot another day.
Strengths: Since there are not enough zombie books to satisfy all my students, I am always glad to find a book that is just gross enough to make them happy and not so violent that I don't want it on my shelves. Like Kloepfer's Zombie Chasers, the cartoon cover belies the fairly serious zombie issues inside. I particularly liked how this brought in voodoo, how it realistically portrayed how the average middle school boy would feel about being a zombie, and how the friends worked together. Lots of nice touches make this my second favorite zombie book after Higson's The Enemy.
Weaknesses: There were no zombie parents eating brains, so this will not be violent enough for some of my boys. Actually, the only weakness is that I don't have a copy RIGHT NOW to give my readers.


Hutton, Clare. Zombie Dog (Rotten Apple #2)
1 August 2012, Scholastic.

**Some spoilers.**
Becky isn't happy that she moved away from her friend Charlotte and now lives on Tulip Street next to the super creepy McNally house. The upside is that she has room for her much beloved dog, Bear. She had wanted a dog for years and was allowed to get Bear only because she promised to take care of him, but something in the McNally house is making the dog afraid. There's also a horrible stench emitting from the house. There's also a creepy chihuahua with glowing green eyes menacing both her and Bear! When she has to have a partner for a school project, Becky ends up with Nate, a boy who also lives on her street. They do some research, and even visit Mrs. McNally in the nursing home, where they find out that Mrs. McNally had two dogs. One, Chichi, she had stuffed and lives with her at the home, but they other dog was the subject of her husband's experiments and was turned into a zombie. Eager to put her pet back to rest, Mrs. McNally gives the children Chichi's toy, since Mimi's toy being dug up is what precipitated the Rise of Mimi.
Strengths: This series belongs to the Goosebumps School O' Creepy-- somewhat frightening, but nothing that will ever really happen. This and the Poison Apple series are hugely popular at my school.
Weaknesses: It's going to be hard to tell a student that this is about a zombie chihuahua without snickering. Now, zombie dachshunds-- that would be scary! (Sorry. Some days Middle Grade Lit is "too much with me" and I feel like I should read something like War and Peace. Then I get a good night's sleep, see the error of my ways and read another book involving farting or football. Preferably both.)

Middle Grade Monday-- Athletics

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts. Both sites have lots of links to reviews about books that are great for the 4th through 8th grader. It's also Nonfiction Monday, hosted this week at Wrapped in Foil.


Mack, W.C. Athlete Vs. Mathlete
19 February 2013, Bloomsbury USA
ARC From Netgalley.com

Owen and his friends are really annoyed because the new basketball coach is requiring them to try out for the team even though they were on it last year. Not only that, but when the coach sees Owen's twin brother, mathlete Russell, he asks Russell to try out for the team because he's tall. Unfortunately, Russell is uncoordinated and prefers to spend his time working on a Masters of the Mind team. When the twins' father finds out that Russell might finally be interested in a sport, he gets so excited that he takes Russell to buy athletic gear. Russell enjoys his father's enthusiasm, and feels uncharacteristically cool in the gear. He puts in some effort to train for tryouts, and actually makes the team. Owen isn't thrilled, but Russell has even more problems. Basketball practice conflicts with his Masters of the Mind ones, and gives him very little time to do homework. When Russell finds that he has more basketball abilities than he thought, Owen feels threatened. His performance on the team is clouded by his anger at his brother, and the boys no longer get along. Russell backs off from the team a bit, but is that really the answer?
Strengths: It's official-- I'm turning into a 12-year-old boy, reading-wise. I had to chose between this book and one about Emily Dickinson and read this! I really liked it because I think my students will. Russell and Owen are both successful in their own circles, but not as successful in other areas. The tension between the boys is realistic, and neither are overly stereotypical. Not enough middle grade books touch on time management and exploring other activities. What I liked best was Russell's struggle with personal identity. He was perfectly happy with who he was, but would he be even happier including basketball? This is going to be a series, and I hope some romance is on the way!
Weaknesses: A little cliche. I didn't like the new rich kid who tries to buy his way on to the Masters of the Mind team. Supporting characters lacked a bit of depth. Still, very excited about this one! Adore the cover.

Whitehead, Erin and Walters, Jennipher. A Girl's Guide to Fitting in Fitness.
26 March 2013, Zest Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

It's amazing how life much the world has changed since I was a preteen. I can't imagine Seventeen magazine telling me in 1977 that I should eat well and exercise not because it would make me thin and able to attract boys, but by telling me that exercise would make me feel more confident, so I could even ask out that cute senior. This book is very practical and gives lots of good advice about nutrition and various forms of exercise, all leading to the fact that taking care of one's body is about feeling good and strong, not looking good in a bikini. This book is fairly short, with the good book design I have come to expect from Zest, although I could have done with a little more color than just the lavender (but hey, it wasn't pink). The drawings will age well, but there were a few colloquial phrases that would have been better dropped-- a reference to Justin Bieber will be obsolete in ten years. There are some web sites mentioned; hopefully those will stay around for a while.  Still, this is a very good and practical book for girls who want to take care of themselves better. Since I grew up thinking (with parental permission) that two chocolate chip cookies for breakfast was fine as long as I didn't gain weight, perhaps I need to read this again more closely!

The Friday Society

Kress, Adrienne. The Friday Society.
6 December 2012, Dial
Book from Young Adult Books Central and reviewed there.

In early 1900s London, Cora is the lab assistant to the opium addicted Lord White, who has taken her off the streets and raised her to be his helper, only to ignore her contributions to his inventions when he hires Andrew Harris as his assistant. Nellie is the assistant to The Great Raheem, a magician, and Michiko works for the nasty Callum, who trains Londoners in Japanese martial arts. The three meet up when all of them are at a ball. On the way home, Nellie and Cora happen upon an injured Michiko... and the dead body of a scientist who had also performed at the ball. The three find themselves again and again in situations where there are dead bodies... to the confusion of Officer Murphy, who takes a shine to Nellie. Cora continues inventing and starts regularly making out with Andrew even though she resents his presence; Michiko, whose grasp of English is rather weak, trains a young Japanese man to be a samurai; and Nellie finds herself kidnapped! The dead bodies continue to mount, and when St. Paul's cathedral is blown up, the girls decide they must use their skills to try to uncover who is behind all of the destruction... and why. At the end of the book, they decide that they did such a good job at this that they will form a business as The Friday Society (since they are all "gal Fridays", ensuring that another book is to come. 
Strengths: Lots of adventure and a Jack the Ripper, Edwardian era vibe. Steampunk gadgets (cavorite-- which glows and makes objects impervious to gravity!), martial arts, kick butt heroines, mad scientists, and some steamy kisses make this lots of fun.
Weaknesses: If you suspend all thought that this is a historical novel, it will go down better. This was the suggestion of Charlotte's Library, and it did help. While there was a general air of historical fiction, there were frequent lapses in language that struck me as really awkward. (Page 68 "But the fact was, she did look charming. She looked smokin'.) This won't bother the target demographic, but it did make me enjoy the book a bit less.

Who's on First-- Blogiversary

Abbott and Costello. Ilustrated by John Martz. Who's on First. 
19 February 2013, Quirk Books
Book received from the publisher.

When I was in graduate school, one of my classmates, David Ball, used to try to talk other students into doing this skit with him. I was always amazed at how many (usually) men were able to do this skit from memory, since I had never heard it, but then, I knew a lot of graduate students who could recite whole Monty Python films, if given the chance.

This picture book does a great job of introducing the work of Abbott and Costello, the only nonbaseball players to be included in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame, to young readers. The crisp, bright drawings make the story less confusing, with diagrams and the dialogue broken down visually in ways that make things more clear. I love the color palette of the front cover (as my daughter pointed out, baseball's is "America's game", so the red, white and blue make sense), and inside the addition of avocado and orange backgrounds make the bear and bunny really pop. Different fonts and sizes also help the dialogue along. A brief history of the skit is included at the back. I can see this being a really popular read-aloud for second graders, who will no doubt giggle a LOT.

Sadly, David passed away last year.  At his memorial service, I found out that he was a member of the Scholars for American Baseball Research, and had contributed many articles to various publications. Few of us who were in the Classics department with him knew this about him. I am glad that Quirk sent me this book; I will be donating it to my local elementary school in David's memory.

 Since it's Saturday, I can be a little self indulgent with posting about my seventh blogiversary. Looking back at my original posts is rather embarrassing, but I think I have improved.

During this past year, I feel like I made some significant strides. Baker and Taylor sends me review boxes, and publicists and authors occasionally contact me. I became a Young Adult Books Central reviewer in April, and that has been a good learning experience. Serving as an organizer for the Cybils Awards was also vastly interesting and helpful in so many ways. As much as I would like to review for School Library Journal or to be a Newbery Award panelist, I'm not sure that I'm that good yet, or have the kind of stature that would cause me to be chosen.

I have settled into a somewhat discernible pattern in reviews-- Monday is realistic middle grade and nonfiction, Tuesday is fantasy, Wednesday is multicultural books, Thursday tends towards mysteries, Fridays are Guy books. The weekends are reserved for blathering, picture books, girl books, and anything else I can't fit in to other days. I do post in advance, and right now have a TBR that consists of books coming out in April and later, so I feel pleasantly organized.
 

Occasionally, fun things happen because of my blog, like Betsy Bird calling one of my posts "required reading" for the day. Ego boosts-- isn't that why we blog?

Wish I could send all of my loyal readers some cake. If I were a more organized person who could manage to get to the post office, I would do more giveaways and perhaps have more than 220 followers, but I hope that those of you who read this blog find my reviews helpful to you!

Guy Friday: Play Makers

Lupica, Mike. Play Makers (Game Changers #2)
5 February 2012

Ben and his teammates have just finished a successful football season (in Game Changers) and are heading right into a basketball scrimmage with their biggest rival. New to that school is Chase Braggs, who is an even better player than Ben but is cocky and mean as well. Not only that, but Ben's friend (and crush) Lily hangs out with some friends of Chase's and thinks he's okay. When the basketball season gets progressively worse instead of better, Ben's playing goes downhill as well. He's not having any fun. In one extra angst-fueled practice session, his friend Sam sprains his ankle and is out for a while. Coop and Shawn try to rally, and MJ, who has never made the team before, gets a chance to finally play, but the team can't pull it together. Ben starts acting out on the court, and comes to blows with Lily over her friendship with Chase and Ben's actions on and off the court. Can Ben bring himself out of the funk before the end of the basketball season?
Strengths: Like the first book, the emotions in this surprised me but then rang very true. Students get very invested in sports, and their performance on the field can affect their school work, and vice versa. I liked Lily a lot (although we are still told repeatedly that she's cool "for a girl"), and the parents have brief and understandable appearances. Excellent basketball action-- or it must be, because there were a lot of games described and I really didn't quite understand! I even like the name of Ben's nemesis-- it's a name that could really exist and not overly goofy. Chase Braggs. Good stuff.
Weaknesses: I would have liked to hear more about Shawn, and seen Ben at school a little more. I know this was busy with games, home life, and hanging out, but school is such an integral part of the middle grade experience that I would have liked to see how Ben acted there.