This is What Happy Looks Like

Smith, Jennifer E. This is What Happy Looks Like
2 April 2013, Poppy

Ellie answers a mistaken e mail that a boy sends her about walking his pet pig, and the two connect, telling each other about their likes and dislikes, pasts, etc., even though they don't know each other's names. It turns out that the boy is Graham Larkin, a film star, and he arranges for his next movie to be filmed in Ellie's town of Henley, Maine. Ellie can't believe that Graham is the boy from the emails, and admits that had she known he was a celebrity, she would have been too freaked out to divulge so much of her personal details. The two get along in person, too, but are thwarted by Ellie's mother's and Graham's agent's disapproval as well as by the paparazzi, who are determined to get pictures of the two together. This is a problem, since Ellie's father is a well-known senator who wants to run for president, and if Ellie's picture gets out there, it might cause problems for everyone. There are other problems as well-- Ellie wants to go to a poetry camp at Harvard but lacks the funds, and Graham feels abandoned by his parents, who are homebodies and not used to the way he lives.
Strengths: This was a nice romantic book about two teens who see past a lot of each others' veneers and like each other for the person inside. The angst level is moderate, but not enough to detract from the romance. Very fun, and even better than this author's The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.
Weaknesses: I found that I didn't really care about Ellie's father very much, but she definitely did. I would have been okay with more romance and less parental involvement.

Taylor, Chloe. On Pins and Needles (Sew Zoey #2)
4 June 2013, Simon Spotlight.

After meeting designer Cecily Chen at the fabric store, Zoey enters a sewing contest. She has to do the design in just a few days, and she has other issues with which she has to deal. Her friend Kate is still shy and doesn't care about what she wears, but after getting her braces off, she is attracting a lot of the boys' attention. Libby offers to model for the contest, but is concerned since her aunt is one of the judges-- is Zoey interested in her, or in her aunt? The characters from the first book, like Zoey's supportive aunt, her friend Priti, the clerk from the fabric store, and the fashion forward principal  all appear.
Strengths: Fun and fluffy, nice characters, substory of dealings with mother's death.
Weaknesses: I still find it hard to believe that Zoey has so many followers on her blog or that she is allowed to buy silk to work on, but it's a fun idea.

Books for Older Readers

Steinmiller, Teddy. Trash Can Days
20 August 2013, Disney-Hyperion
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Jake has a very convenient best friend-- Danny. Danny's parents both work for Jake's, and the two get along well together. As they start junior high, however, they start to have separate interests. Danny has gotten much taller, and is more interested in hanging out with his cousins, some of whom have some connection to Hispanic gangs. Danny also takes a romantic interest in Jake's sister, Hannah, but the two keep their relationship secret. Chapters alternate between the point of views of those three as well as Dorothy Wu, a Manga obsessed girl who becomes Jake's girlfriend. All four try to navigate life at San Paulo Junior High.
Strengths: This is fairly funny and not a bad representation of what life is like... in high school. Either that, or students in California are WAY more mature than they are in Ohio.
Weaknesses: I was hoping that this would be a funny book for boys, but since there are chapters from Dorothy and Hannah's point of view, this might be a bit of a stretch, especially since Hannah is really interested in all of the gossip. I kept thinking that something inappropriate would come up, and for a long time it didn't. Then, there was the Health Class Question Wall, and that was all I needed. I'm not handing a student a book with stupid penis references.

That was my objection-- the more mature material. Pink Me has more to say about why she didn't like the book, so I feel a little more justified in not finishing it. Books on Bellevue, however, think that "This book would be an asset on every middle school library shelf."

Crane, Caprice. Confessions of a Hater.
27 August 2013, Feiwel and Friends. 
E ARC from Netgalley.com

I admit to thinking the cover of this was great, and a lot of girls do want books about high school. This, however, had too many mature situations, and just made me uncomfortable. Anya is a social outcast because she got pregnant and gave a child up for adoption, and there was a lot of mean girl stuff going on. Still, for high school, this is an intriguing look at how group dynamics work!

From Goodreads.com: "Hailey Harper has always felt invisible. Now her dad has a new job and the family is moving to Hollywood. Just what Hailey needs: starting a new high school.

As she's packing, Hailey finds a journal that belonged to her older sister, Noel, who is away at college. Called "How to Be a Hater," it's full of info Hailey can really use. Has Hailey found the Bible of Coolness? Will it help her reinvent herself at her new school? Will her crush notice her? Will she and the other Invisibles dethrone the popular mean girls? After all, they deserve it. Don't they?"

Guy Friday-- Football and Concussions

 Weyn, Suzanne. Full Impact.
1 May 2013, Lerner

Norval is on a high school football team where many of the players' only chance to go to college is to get a football scholarship. Scouts come to many of the games, and Norval and his friend Aidan hope to impress them. When Aidan starts to act hostile and unfocused on and off the field, the coach asks Norval and another player to watch Aidan and report anything "off" that they see about his behavior. When Aidan suffers several more falls, his behavior becomes more alarming. Norval thinks he is being disloyal by telling the coach, but when Aidan's health is clearly imperiled, he reluctantly speaks up. When Aidan is hospitalized and requires months of recuperation, Norval tries to keep up his visiting his friend, even when Aidan doesn't want him to.
Strengths: I like this hi/lo series for it's interesting problems and quick pace. This is a good book for any of my football obsessed boys to read. It gives good information about signs of a concussion.
Weaknesses: I wish there had been more resources at the end of this about dealing with concussions, even though a lot is covered in the story. 

Klass, David and Klass, Perri. Second Impact
6 August 2013, Farrar Strauss and Giroux.
E-ARC from Netgalley.com

Jerry is a football player who has made some bad decisions. Carla is a soccer player who has messed up her ACL and needs surgery. The two alternate blog posts for the newspaper and cover a variety of sports-related topics.  Jerry also sustains serious head injuries several times, and becomes a bit concerned about his future when Carla starts researching head injuries. Carla and Jerry become closer, take a stab at being investigative reporters, improve their writing and consider where their various activities will take them for college.
Strengths: This had more information about sports injuries than anything I have ever read. There was enough football to make this interesting to die-hard sports fan, and the inclusion of Carla will make this one that girls may pick up, too. Klass has a good (and long!) background of writing sports books (Danger Zone (1998) and Wrestling with Honor (1989) are still popular in my library) so it's good to see another book from him.
Weaknesses: The format of blog posts really got in the way of the story for me. For one thing, the posts were WAY too long to be successful for actual blog posts, and the included "comments" seemed contrived. That's my perspective as a blogger; I think my students would just be confused, since they don't read blogs at all. Makes me wonder when the Klasses started writing this book. If it were up-to-the-minute, it would be a novel in Instagram. Still, will probably buy this, since football books are so hard to find. This has a great cover.

McClafferty, Carla Killough. Fourth Down and Inches:Concussions and Football's Make-Or-Break Moment
1 September 2013

E ARC from Netgalley.com

There has been a lot of discussion in the news about the effects of football related concussions on the brain, especially regarding younger children playing the sport, and this was an excellent treatment of the history of injuries in the sport, with an emphasis on head injuries. Covering deaths and injuries starting in 1905, when 29 young men died playing the sport, it discusses the changes that were made by coaches, and even Theodore Roosevelt, to make the sport safer. It then proceeds to cover a variety of young men who were injured, and examines the different types of injuries and ailments that lead to mental problems and even death among athletes who suffer them. Vintage photos add a lot to an engrossing story that is a great accompaniment to Klass’ Second Impact or Gordon Korman’s Pop.

Strengths: The author does a very good job at putting faces to these injuries in a way that will make football players think about how much damage they might be doing to themselves. I thought that the studies that were done with special helmets that measured the number of impacts players’ brains received during a season was interesting. Definitely will purchase this.
Weaknesses: A chapter on preventing injuries might be helpful, but otherwise, this is a very complete book.

 

Accepting Applications for Cybils Judges

Head over to Cybils.com!

If you have an active blog that deals predominately with books for school age children, you can apply to be a judge in either the first  or second round of the Cybils.

More information on what is required is listed here.

Running

Cotler, Steve. Cheesie Mack is Running Like Crazy!
25 June 2013, Random House Books For Young Readers

As Cheesie enter Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School, he fears he will linger in the shadow of his older sister, 8th grade vice president Goon (or June). After accompanying Eddie to the office for a classroom transgression, he decides to run for 6th grade president, as does Eddie. To complicate matters, his friend Lana Shen wants to run as well, and they fear they will split the Rocky Neck Elementary vote. Instead, they have Georgie run in their place and start campaigning for him.  Aided by a new girl from Iceland, Oddny Thorsdottir, the group works out the best campaign possible. Eddie and Cheesie are also approached to run on the 6th grade cross country team, and do so with some success.
Strengths: This third book in the Cheesie Mack series has the same likeable, mischevious characters, the same quirky situations, and enough illustrations to appeal to notebook novel lovers. I can see these being even more popular in elementary schools, where students like to read about older characters, but it will do okay in middle school.  The information about Iceland is correct.
Weaknesses: I'm disappointed only because I wanted this to include a lot more about running cross countyr! Election books leave me cold. There are so many, and they all seem unrealistic to me.

Maybe I'm just in a crabby mood, but the constant reference to the web site got on my nerves. Or, I'm just really disappointed that this wasn't more about cross country.

Maddox, Jake. Running Scared.
Really written by Emma Carlson Berne
1 January 2013, Stone Arch Books

Olivia loves to run, especially with her friend Jessica. When she tries out for the track team, however, she starts to worry that she won't do well. When she runs her first race, she freaks herself out so much that she drops out of the race with an "injury". When this happens a second time, her Aunt Naomi steps in. The two run together at the track, time the distance that the race would be, and compare Olivia's times to the winners. After she sees that her time would have been a good one and she would NOT have finished last, Olivia is able to run a race with more confidence.
Strengths: This had very good descriptions of running, what it feels like to love to run, and what it feels like to be scared during a race. There are even good tips for training at the back of the book. Either Ms. Berne runs, or she has done her research.
Weaknesses: This is a very short, hi-lo book, so there will be students who won't read it because of that, even though it's a great story. Ms. Berne, feel free to write something akin to Van Draanen's The Running Dream. That would be awesome!


Some personality leakage here. The image is from an interview with fashion historian Jayne Shrimpton, at http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2011/05/family-photos-what-are-they-wearing/ , who mentions that in the 1920s, older women frequently retained the dark, floor-length clothing of the Victorian Era.

I have become the woman on the left.

Most of the teachers wore sundresses with asymmetrical hems and shunken sweaters with flip flops for the first day of school. I had on a pleated skirt, blouse and plaid jacket with penny loafers. Looked like I was overdressed for a barbecue on the beach.

Checked out 300 books, though. I'm useful, not decorative.

*Sigh*

Fig.14 Four generations photograph c.1925 - click to enlarge. By the early 1920s young and middle-aged women’s dresses were rather shapeless and made to mid-calf length, the scooped neckline typically strung with beads. Elderly ladies often retained the dark, floor-length clothes of the Victorian era. - See more at: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2011/05/family-photos-what-are-they-wearing/#sthash.k0GrQKuT.dpuf

Fig.14 Four generations photograph c.1925 - click to enlarge. By the early 1920s young and middle-aged women’s dresses were rather shapeless and made to mid-calf length, the scooped neckline typically strung with beads. Elderly ladies often retained the dark, floor-length clothes of the Victorian era. - See more at: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2011/05/family-photos-what-are-they-wearing/#sthash.k0GrQKuT.dpuf

World Wednesday-- Chinese Americans

 It's the first day with students! I have ten classes scheduled in the library, and will try to get as many books checked out to students as I can. Don't think we'll hit our record of 400 books in one day, but I don't know that I want to. It's always hectic, but always fun!


Cheng, Andrea. The Year of the Book
May 22nd 2012, HMH Books for Young Readers

Anna is experiencing a very common occurrence for fourth grade-- her best friend Laura isn't hanging out with her as much but IS hanging out with Allison and Lucy.  Anna loves her family, but feels a little embarassed that they aren't like Allison and Lucy's families-- her mother, who was born in China, is just learning to drive and cleans apartments to earn money. When Laura's father becomes abusive, however, she takes comfort in staying with Anna's family for a while, and the girls reconcile a bit. Anna love to read and is very smart, so books that she enjoys are often mentioned.
Strengths: Nice, realistic book highlighting a variety of difficulties that young girls face-- nothing horrible, but some serious things. Told in a comforting way, with supportive adult characters, so that readers don't have to feel that Anna is alone. I would definitely recommend this series for elementary schools. 
Weaknesses: Many of the details make this seem too young for middle school, as do the illustrations and the small size of the books.

Cheng, Andrea. The Year of the Baby
May 28th 2013 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Anna's parents decide to adopt a baby girl from China, and Anna enjoys Kaylee fairly well, and she is certainly worried when Kaylee doesn't want to eat and isn't gaining weight as expected. When she and Laura fail to find another topic for their science project, they decide to see if singing to Kaylee while she is eating distracts her enough that she eats more, and therefore gains weight. Camille, from Anna's Chinese school, also gets in on the project, and Anna tries to learn some Chinese.
Strengths: There have been a couple of excellent books about older children being adopted from China, although summer has leached all pertinent information from my brain. I can't think of another one from a child's perspective about a baby being adopted. I thought that the way Anna was concerned and helped out in a productive way was very nice.
Weaknesses: Again, too young for my purposes, but since this one was set in 5th grade, perhaps I can reexamine the books as she gets older.

The Shade of the Moon

Head over to Green Bean Teen Queen for an interview with yours truly about what ten books would make me cry should children lose them. Thanks, Sarah! It's just in time to help me convince all of my new 6th graders that I really am FAMOUS!
 
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. The Shade of the Moon
13 August 2013, Harcourt Children's Books
ARC from Baker and Taylor

Just four years after the moon is knocked out of alignment and death and despair settle over the earth, Jon is doing okay in Sexton, a protected enclave. He is an excellent soccer player, so his "job" is to play soccer.  He's not really a "claver"-- someone who has a skill needed for survival in the current condition, like doctors and botanists; he is a "slip". He's only in the enclave because Julie's brother, Alex, had a pass, and Julie died. Jon's mother, Alex, and Jon's sister Miranda all live in the "grub" town of White Birch. They have jobs like teaching, driving a bus, and working in the greenhouse. Jon lives with Lisa and his stepbrother Gabe. Lisa places domestic workers in claver families. Jon meets Sarah, whose father runs a medical clinic in White Birch, and starts to question the more comfortable world in which he lives. When Miranda becomes pregnant (something rare since the problems began), everyone's comfortable world falls apart, and Jon must go on the lam.
Strengths: I love this series, but I always read the books when horrible weather is predicted. I can't tell you the number of times this has resulted in me overstocking the basement with peanut butter! The best part of this was seeing how quickly people accept "grubs" as a lower class and think that they are worthy of special treatment.
Weaknesses: This one is more YA. There is discussion of rape, and of the use of grubber girls by claver boys; one scene depicts a boy cutting a bar of soap into four pieces even though he could "get" a girl for an eighth of a bar. Certainly realistic, but not conversations I want to have with middle school students. There are also several violent deaths. Very good, just a bit beyond middle school at this point.

Get ready for the Cybils!

Hope over to Cybils.com to review past winners, FAQs, and category organizers. Remember, I am the Middle Grade Fiction Organizer, so if you want to avoid me, you'll have to apply for a different category.

Want to apply to be a Cybils panelist? There are lots of options, so find one that best suits your talents and reading preferences. If you're not sure, go back and look at the list of 2012 Cybils Winners to get an idea about what was considered the best book in each category.
Please note these changes for this year: Nonfiction categories are split differently with the Elementary/Middle- Grade Nonfiction category replacing the Nonfiction Picture Books category and including picture books. Also, Fantasy and Science Fiction has been  changed to Speculative Fiction.
For Book Apps, it is important that panelists have consistent access to an iPad.

For the 2013 Cybils, here are the categories for which you can apply:
Book Apps
Easy Readers/Early Chapter Books
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Elementary/Middle- Grade Nonfiction
Young Adult Nonfiction
Poetry
Middle Grade Fiction
Young Adult Fiction
Elementary/Middle- Grade Speculative Fiction
Young Adult Speculative Fiction

MMGM/Nonfiction Monday-- Make the Grade, Spy Camp

Martin, Lesley Schwartz. Make the Grade: Everything You Need to Study Better, Stress Less and Succeed in School. 
9 July 2013, Zest Books
Copy provided by the publisher

We used to teach study skills in middle school, before standardized testing took such a stranglehold on our day. It is all too easy to forget that study skills are just that-- skills. They must be taught, practiced, and reinforced before students really have a grasp of them. When I had my 75 student study hall last year, I had to tell students that really, they had to read their text books chapters. And reread their notes. That they DID need to take in class! This book would be good to go over with children at home, since there is no time in the day for this kind of instruction in the class room, and handing it to a child in study hall probably wouldn't be that effective. Still, for parents, this would be a good resource to help teach these skills.


Gibbs, Stuart. Spy Camp.
2 April 2013, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Looking forward to a summer at home after his event filled year in Spy School, Ben is dismayed to find that he only gets a weekend at home, and must go to a wilderness survival camp for the summer, along with his classmates. Also dismaying is a note from SPYDER. The group eventually demands that he join them or die, and they send Murray Hill, who is supposed to be incarcerated, to encourage him. Ben's a good guy, though, and doesn't even consider it. Things quickly go south when he is at camp, but he has the help of the brilliant and talented (not to mention pretty) Erica Hale. Her father, Alex, is assigned to keep Ben safe; it's just too bad that Erica is more equipped to deal with the situation than the acclaimed spy! When the bus they are on gets highjacked by SPYDER, Ben, Erica and Alex escape into the wilderness and decide to figure out whether Murray is really in the juvenile detention center. That's just their first mistake-- SPYDER is four or five steps ahead of them at every turn, and it's clear that they are not really after Ben. The romp continues with lots of twists and turns, as well as a stint in a Civil War reenactment. The group manages to save the day... for now.
Strengths: The first book has been popular in my library-- the covers are spot on for middle school. This book had all of the action and adventure of the first, awesome twists, and was somehow more believable than the first. A touch of goofiness, a hint of romance, but really good spy details. Enjoyed this very much, especially Erica's character.
Weaknesses:  Found it slightly hard to believe that SPYDER had such a jump on Erica, and would have liked a tiny bit more of Ben's family, but this was good stuff.


It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts. It's also Nonfiction Monday, with the Round Up this week at Prose and Kahn.

Crushes

Darling, Angela. Maddie's Camp Crush
7 May 2013, Simon Spotlight

Maddie is a bit leery about going away to camp for six weeks. In the past, her father made the trip there fun, and encouraged her to enjoy it, but since he passed away, Maddie worries about her mother being alone. Her friends at camp have changed a bit too-- the girls in her cabin start getting up early and doing their hair and make up because they see the boys at breakfast. Maddie has her eye on Gabriel, a very cute British boy, but all of the girls seem to like him. He makes some overtures to her as well, but she's just not sure what to make of them. First crushes can be difficult under the best of circumstances, and Maddie is dealing with enough change that she's not ready to act on her crush.
Strengths: Well, who wouldn't be crushing on Gabriel? He sounds dreamy. And the camp friendships seem very realistic for middle school. This will be a popular series in middle school (See #1, Lauren's Beach Crush) because they are light, easy to read, and show a good understanding of how middle school girls think.
Weaknesses: Less satisfying romance than the first book, since Maddie and Gabriel never have their moment of standing in the sunset hand in hand. A bit more angsty, what with Maddie grieving for her father. Not a bad thing, just a bit sad for a romance.

Darling, Angela. Lindsay's Surprise Crush. 
23 July 2013, Simon Spotlight

Lindsay and Nick have been friends since birth, since their mothers were in a "pregnant-lady-exercise class" together. They've been out of touch over the summer before 7th grade, though, and when Lindsay sees Nick on the first day of school, she's really surprised. He's grown six inches and gotten really cute. He's now the star of the soccer team and apparently dating Cassidy, who is also a good soccer player, very cute, and rather stuck up. Lindsay misses Nick, but she's also mad at him. He's not answering her texts, and seems to be enjoying his new found popularity a bit much. He surprises Lindsay by telling her that one of the 8th graders on his soccer team, Troy, wants to take her to the school dance. Lindsay is trying to find her own way in 7th grade, has some friend problems, but thinks about more than just herself when she introduces Mexican exchange student Claudia to Cassidy in the hope that Claudia will be able to play soccer, as she had done at home. Will Lindsay go to the dance with Troy, or is there someone else who is interested in taking her... someone she has known her whole life?
Strengths: Again, very realistic interchanges between middle school students, and appealing characters. I liked that Lindsay took an interest in other people, and was shown as being very compassionate to Cassidy even after Cassidy was mean to her. Lots of good soccer details, as well.
Weaknesses: Probably a scenario that happens very few times in the real world, but an appealing thought. I don't know that there are any middle school foreign exchange students, though.

The End of Summer

 I love going back to school. I really do. It's my favorite time of year. But there's something about every summer that starts with such promise, especially when one is in high school. How is it that the sense of disappointment goes away every winter? Must be the sunshine. This was a perfect read for this time of year.

Dessen, Sarah. The Moon and More.
4 June 2013, Viking Juvenile

Emaline has a comfortable life in her small beach community. She's spent her entire high school career dating Luke, a super hot boy who also cleans pools for her family's rental business, frequently while shirtless. Even though her mother was in high school when Emaline was born, her mother has always been supportive, and there's her grandmother, dad, and stepsisters who are also close. Then there's her father. She didn't meet him until she was ten, but the two connected over education, and he even promised to pay for her college. When she gets into Columbia, however, he is oddly silent, saying only that he can no longer afford it. Emaline makes plans to go to a lesser known college with Luke, and prepares to spend her last summer at home. When her father and step brother show up, things get rocky. She and Luke break up, and she starts dating Theo, the assistant to a high strung woman renting one of the family's properties while filming a documentary on a local artist. Emaline is attracted to Theo because he is different from everyone that she knows. He sets up elaborate dates, and makes her feel that there is life outside of her small town. As the summer comes to an end and college looms, Emaline knows she must make peace with all facets of her life before she will be able to move on.
Strengths: Dessen always does such nice but complicated romances. Her depiction of families that have problems but are strong despite them is always solid. She gets summer, and is able to encapsulate that feeling. It is no surprise that my 8th grade girls are so fond of her work.
Weaknesses: I wish there were not so much casual drinking in this, and there is one page early on that almost made me send the (gulp) two copies of this I ordered before reading it up to the high school. Emaline and Luke have obviously been intimate, and there's some discussion of this, but nothing... instructional or graphic, so I think it will be okay. Still, the book would have been fine without this.

Guy Friday- Little League

Christopher, Matt. Play Ball! (Little League #1)
Actually written by Stephanie True Peters
5 March 2013, Little Brown and Co.

Cousins and neighbors Liam and Carter, who live in Pennsylvania, are really close, and are glad to be on the same baseball team. After a very tense championship, Liam disgraces himself, mainly because a boy Carter met at a baseball camp, Phillip DiMaggio, managed to distract them both. Liam's disgrace is all over the internet, but it just gets worse-- Liam's family decides to move to Southern California. Both boys take it badly. Carter doesn't want to befriend the boy who moves into the house, Ash, even though Ash plays ball and his mother runs the local indoor ball complex. Liam ends up on a team with Phillip, and his fame has preceded him. Still, both boys love to play ball, and while things are difficult and they miss each other, they manage to pull themselves together to continue in the game they love.
Strengths: I'm torn about the continuation of the Christopher franchise-- there are some of the titles that are feeling rather dated, so I'd almost rather that Peters write under her own name. This book is certainly up to date, with a good mix of sports and problems that is always successful with students who want baseball books.
Weaknesses: A little too much angst. Between the emotion of the move and the disgrace on the field, Liam and Carter spend a lot of the book being unhappy. I don't know that most 11-year-old boys think about life in quite as much depth, but they will probably enjoy reading about it.

The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe

Poblocki, Dan. The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe

30 July 2013, Scholastic Press

E ARC from Netgalley.com

Gabe family moves in with his grandmother, a famous book illustrator, after a fire destroys the family home and his father’s puppet studio. Gabe is just as happy—he meets Seth, a neighbor, and has a great role playing game going in the woods. When school starts, he meets Mazzy and Felicia and gets accepted into a popular crowd, which is better than being taunted as “puppet boy” back home. Seth is no longer welcome in the group, although he once was, since his brother David’s disappearance. Soon, strange things start happening in the area. Children feel they are being stalked, a rocket is set off at a school bake sale, and Gabe starts to fear that the game he and Seth were playing has more serious ramifications. After consulting with his grandmother, he decides that they are in trouble. His grandmother had a friend, Mason, who went a bit off and now seems to be haunting the woods. Around Halloween,  Mason starts stalking the boys so they continue to play his wicked “game”; Gabe’s small sister Miri is kidnapped and almost dies in a fire. The boys are eventually able to stop Mason but figure out the mystery of David, but only at a terrible cost.

Strengths: Poblocki always writes very good horror, and this dark tale, set in the cool dark of autumn in the woods near a small town, is ultra creepy. I loved that he referenced a former book, The Nightmarys, and dedicated the book to Gory and Bellairs!

Weaknesses: This got off to a bit of a slow start, which  is unusual for Poblocki, and the role playing game was confusing at first. It made sense eventually, but I wouldn’t have lingered on it so long.  I don’t know that I would put any of Poblocki’s books in an elementary library; a major character does die. 

World Wednesday-Gaby, Lost and Found.

Cervantes, Angela. Gaby, Lost and Found.

30 July 2013, Scholastic Press

E ARC from Netgalley.com

Gaby is living with her father, since her mother, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, was rounded up by immigration officials at her work and deported. Gaby would like to live with her friend Alma’s family, since her father doesn’t seem to be able to keep a job or care for her properly, but he won’t let her. She would also like a cat, so is glad when the students at her Catholic school pick an animal shelter as their community service project. She uses her writing skills to write biographies for the pets, and takes a great interest in the animals, especially a cat named Feathers who was abandoned by his yuppie owners, who now want to reclaim him. She hopes that her mother, who is saving money to pay a coyote to help her get back to the US, will be home soon. When she realizes that Feather’s owners are going to reclaim her, she takes the cat home, which gets her in trouble with everyone. Eventually, Gaby comes to realize that her mother is not going to make it home, and that she needs to advocate for her own needs and stand up to her father in order to get the kind of life she needs.

Strengths: This has very good details about a child living in poverty, but is not overly sentimental. Gaby has some support structure, and is not afraid to use it when needed. This will also appeal to students who like animals, since there are lots of loveable cats and dogs. There is also a little middle grade girl drama, but Gaby has a good friend in Alma and is able to triumph over it.

If you

Weaknesses: It is rather sad that Gaby has no one from Social Services checking on her, but 6^th graders are able to hide a lot about what is going on in their families, so this is rather realistic.

Marciuliano, Francesco. I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats
15 August 2012, Chronicle Books

Marciuliano, Francesco. I Could Chew on This and Other Poems by Dogs
30 July 2013, Chronicle Books

If you're looking for poetry books, these two might not be the best choices, but if you are looking for FUNNY books, they are great. Once I get over my surprise that this author also writes the comic strip Sally Forth, I may debate purchase. Great gifts for the dog/cat lover in your life who likes poetry!